I’ve only read one book about a cult before and I definitely didn’t find it as dark and twisted as The Family Upstairs. It was like a before and after picture gone wrong and once the cult really got going, it was quite horrifying seeing how this much loved family home became a prison. I definitely preferred Henry’s chapters because they were much, much darker than Libby and Lucy’s, and it was terrifying reading the family’s slow descent into madness. Lucy and Henry were the children of the previous owners of the house and Henry tells the story of how his once happy family fell under the spell of, and became entangled with, the charismatic David who soon reveals that he’s not as charming as he first appears. The present chapters are told from the points of view of Libby and Lucy, while the chapters set in the past are told from the point of view of Henry. The story flips between the past and the present. However, stripped of once well-loved possessions and in a state of disrepair, the house has a very sinister past that Libby is determined to uncover. Soon after Libby Jones turns twenty-five, she receives a letter informing her that she has inherited a house (or rather a mansion) in Chelsea, worth millions. It’s the perfect horror story and one that I’d definitely recommend. I’m glad I did because it was very much a hair-raising story, one took on an incredibly dark turn and I quickly became engrossed in the story. I didn’t plan on reading her other books but I’ll admit this one piqued my curiosity and when I saw it in the library on holiday I immediately checked it out. I’ve only read one book by Lisa Jewell and I wasn’t terribly impressed with it. Who has been looking after the baby? And where did they go? Close to them is a hastily scrawled note. In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Well-fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up. In a large house in London’s fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot.

Title: The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

The family upstairs book 2