Is there a sequel to The Family Upstairs?

Yes. Lisa Jewell continued the story of the Lamb family in The Family Remains (2022), the second book in the two-part Family Upstairs series.

Where is The Family Upstairs set?

The novel centers on a mansion at 16 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London, alternating between the present day and flashbacks to the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Family Upstairs

Reader reviews of The Family Upstairs

Shubhankar Sharma · 2026-08-01T10:42:20.000000Z

This wasn't the thriller/mystery combo that the synopsis led me to believe. It was more about the drama that ensued in the lives of the characters after a 'certain' eventful night. I don't have a problem with that. I like being deceived, at least when I am reading. The problem arises when you claim to bring the ruckus but fall short, because that's not very Wu-Tang of you. The pivotal POV gets narrated by the 15 year old horny, gay teenager who spends more time talking about another guy than focusing on the harrowing ordeal that was unfolding within those walls. He ends up being the MVP in the end, yes, but the way to that point is filled with the essays about long lashes, luscious hair, fuller lips and mystical eyes of the guy he had a crush on. A 41 year old man impregnated a 14 year old girl, can we talk about that please? It was like the author was just too afraid to go there. The writing felt equivalent to sleeping with a night bulb on while claiming to love the dark. The cursory descriptions of debauchery & crime feel like a cop out at best, which ends up spoiling the overall fun for me. The motivations of the character who plunged our main characters' life into the dark depths of hell were never even explored. In an attempt to somewhat imitate Darren Aronofsky's Mother, the author fails to fully capture the unease that every frame of that movie effortlessly emanates. 3.7/5🌟🌟🌟

A Novel

Psychological Thriller Domestic Thriller

Pages: 384
Published: 2019
Language: English

Libby Jones turns twenty-five and inherits a derelict mansion on Cheyne Walk in Chelsea from parents she never knew existed. The inheritance comes with a police file: three adults found dead inside in what investigators ruled a suicide pact, a ten-month-old baby left alive and well in her crib, and two older children who disappeared and were never found.

The novel moves between Libby and Lucy in the present, tracing what each of them is willing to risk to learn the truth, and Henry's account of his childhood in that same house in the late 1980s, as an outsider named David gradually installs himself in the family home and reshapes the household around him.

It is a story about domestic control taking hold in plain sight, told across two timelines that meet at the same address.

Prose complexity: 7/10

Dark Tense Mysterious Atmospheric

Unreliable Narrator Multiple POVs Dual Timeline

Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell (born 19 July 1968) is a British author of psychological thrillers and contemporary fiction. Born in the West End of London and raised in Totteridge, she worked in fashion, including at Thomas Pink, before completing a creative writing course. Her 1999 debut novel, Ralph's Party, became the UK's best-selling debut of the year. She has since published more than twenty novels, including Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, Invisible Girl and None of This Is True, and is a number one...

Libby JonesProtagonist

Inherits the Chelsea mansion at twenty-five and investigates her birth family's past.

Henry LambProtagonist

Narrates his childhood in the house as an outsider gradually takes it over.

David ThomsenAntagonist

A physiotherapist who moves his family into the Lamb household in 1988 and gradually seizes control of it, isolating the Lambs and squandering their money.

Lucy LambSupporting

One of the missing Lamb children, living rough in France in the present timeline.

All characters in The Family Upstairs

Frequently asked questions

Is there a sequel to The Family Upstairs?
Yes. Lisa Jewell continued the story of the Lamb family in The Family Remains (2022), the second book in the two-part Family Upstairs series.
Where is The Family Upstairs set?
The novel centers on a mansion at 16 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London, alternating between the present day and flashbacks to the late 1980s and early 1990s.

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The Family Upstairs

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