Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

5 reviews

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dark and disturbing but a good thriller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Pedophilia, Confinement, Misogyny, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Rape, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Drug use, Physical abuse, Body horror, Grief, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Cancer, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Homophobia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Torture, and Toxic relationship

peeshpish's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It was a slow start but once it picks up, it moves fast. The story flows well once the three POVs become more closely intertwined & the connections are more clear. There are many twists & turns along the way, & the story continues to develop until the very last sentence. Libby’s POV is an often needed relief from the heaviness of the other two, much less tense but still moves the story forward. Many characters felt flat or aligned with stereotypes that I’d expect more from a book written earlier than one written in 2019, but I still ended up reading most of the book in one sitting so I was definitely invested.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Infertility, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Blood, and Pedophilia

Lucy’s chapters are heavy with

sexual assault & domestic violence. She is raped & murders her attacker. If it helps to know, she is not punished for killing him.

The chapters set in the past (labelled “Chelsea, [year]”) contain a lot lf

child abuse, domestic violence, & are where most of the content warnings come into play.

Libby’s chapters are generally safe for content, mostly vague details about the fate & story of the people who lived in the house she inherits.

booksbytheglass's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

hello creepy cult book!!! 

this one is probably the most hyped out of all of lisa jewell’s books and I can see why wow this one has it all 🤌🏼 we’re talking cults, murder, poison, incest (ish), and of course the good ol fashioned who the heck is the good versus bad guys 

when the story started, I literally had no clue what was going to happen. I went into it blind (highly recommend), and of course knew there would be some sort of creepy twisty fashion. 

BUT THE NUMBER OF TWISTS HAD ME GASPING FOR AIR.

wow, I really thought I was a super sleuth putting the pieces together, but nope. just when I thought I had it figured out - lost again. (I did predict quite a few though, have faith 🤣.)

I really enjoyed the dual timeline aspect unfolding simultaneously with the current timeline as well.  it was fun to try and put the pieces together on who was who and what happened to the family itself. 

also can we talk about how perfectly the sequel is set up now? while the main story was pretty closed up, the little threads of the side plots were just waiting to be pulled. I cannot wait for the family remains!!!

overall, this wasn’t my favorite of LJ’s, but still up there in creepy thriller favorites of mine. 

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: morgon bordeaux blend

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Incest

Moderate: Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal death

kathkas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence