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A review by megmccreery
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
When Libby turns 25, she knows she gets an inheritance from her birth parents, but what she doesn't know is that it includes a multimillion-dollar house. Even though the house is worth millions, it comes with a haunting past-- a family cut off from the world in a commune-type fashion. Children are abused and neglected, adults are manipulated, and nobody can get leave. Not until three bodies are found by the police 25 years ago, along with a ten month-old baby. Nobody knows what happened in the house, but Libby is determined to find out where she came from.
I think this was the first Lisa Jewell book where I was genuinely creeped out and figure out what was happening (may be good or bad). I was SUPER confused at the beginning with the three switching POVs and verb tenses. It was even harder when the narrators were being so elusive about things. Throughout the book there were a lot of names flying around, and I found it a little hard to keep track of everything.
I'm not really sure why Lucy's POV was included; I don't think it really added anything. There was nothing about her past that was even relevant to the rest of the plot.So there really was just added domestic abuse for no reason.
I really was creeped out by Henry's character; you can definitely tell from the beginning that he's got some things going on in his head that just are not right. One note I want to make is why are there two acid trips talked about in here? By like a 13 and a 16 year old. I get that it made Phineas more open to conversations with Henry which changed their relationship, but it definitely could have been done with a different, not-as-scary drug.
I really hate a teenage pregnancy trope. It just doesn't do anything for me; it makes me angry.
I really DON'T understand why Libby/Serenity wants to still have contact with this psychotic family. Like Clemency, cool, that's cool. Her mom has two other kids with two different dads and has been a literal fugitive for 20+ years. Her uncle is a literal psychopath who drugged her and her boyfriend, took their phones, and put trackers on them! Did they ever figure out their phones were bugged? Are they still bugged?! She should have moved on because they just seem messy, and she could have avoided it.
Overall, this was just like an episode of Worst Roommate Ever. It was a very solid thriller. I wish Lucy's POV would have been cut out and replaced with more details on the living situation of the house and have more of the minor characters be more involved.
I think this was the first Lisa Jewell book where I was genuinely creeped out and figure out what was happening (may be good or bad). I was SUPER confused at the beginning with the three switching POVs and verb tenses. It was even harder when the narrators were being so elusive about things. Throughout the book there were a lot of names flying around, and I found it a little hard to keep track of everything.
I'm not really sure why Lucy's POV was included; I don't think it really added anything. There was nothing about her past that was even relevant to the rest of the plot.
I really was creeped out by Henry's character; you can definitely tell from the beginning that he's got some things going on in his head that just are not right. One note I want to make is why are there two acid trips talked about in here? By like a 13 and a 16 year old. I get that it made Phineas more open to conversations with Henry which changed their relationship, but it definitely could have been done with a different, not-as-scary drug.
I really hate a teenage pregnancy trope. It just doesn't do anything for me; it makes me angry.
I really DON'T understand why Libby/Serenity wants to still have contact with this psychotic family. Like Clemency, cool, that's cool. Her mom has two other kids with two different dads and has been a literal fugitive for 20+ years. Her uncle is a literal psychopath who drugged her and her boyfriend, took their phones, and put trackers on them! Did they ever figure out their phones were bugged? Are they still bugged?! She should have moved on because they just seem messy, and she could have avoided it.
Overall, this was just like an episode of Worst Roommate Ever. It was a very solid thriller. I wish Lucy's POV would have been cut out and replaced with more details on the living situation of the house and have more of the minor characters be more involved.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug use