The Family Upstairs book cover

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell Summary

The Family Upstairs
Lisa Jewell
Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Fiction
Overview
Key Takeaways
Author
FAQs

Overview of The Family Upstairs

A #1 New York Times bestseller where three bodies and a baby are discovered in a Chelsea mansion. Lisa Jewell's bone-chilling thriller captivated Good Morning America's Book Club and is now becoming a TV series. What dark family secrets are hiding upstairs?

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Key takeaways

1

A House of Shadows on Cheyne Walk

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The envelope arrived on Libby Jones' twenty-fifth birthday, transforming her ordinary life in an instant. Inside lay news that would shatter her carefully constructed world: she had inherited a mansion worth millions on one of London's most prestigious streets. The modest achievements she'd been proud of-her small St Albans flat, recent pay rise, planned Barcelona holiday-suddenly seemed insignificant against this windfall that promised to rewrite her future. What the envelope didn't reveal was the dark history woven into the walls of 16 Cheyne Walk. The house where her birth parents, Henry and Martina Lamb, were found dead in an apparent suicide pact alongside an unidentified man. The house where baby Libby-then named Serenity-had been found alive in her crib, while her teenage siblings mysteriously vanished. By stepping into her inheritance, Libby unwittingly opens the door to a past filled with cult-like control, manipulation, and violence. Have you ever wondered what secrets old houses keep? What whispers might linger in the spaces between floorboards or behind peeling wallpaper? For Libby Jones, the answer to these questions would force her to question everything she thought she knew about herself.

2

The Slow Invasion of Unwelcome Guests

3

From Wealth to Cult: The Systematic Destruction

4

The Breaking Point: Murder and Escape

5

Twenty-Five Years Later: The Search for Truth

6

The Inheritance of Identity

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Break down key ideas from The Family Upstairs into bite-sized takeaways to understand how innovative teams create, collaborate, and grow.

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@Raaaaaachelw
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"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum
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"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
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"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

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"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum
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"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
platform
comments
254
likes
17

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore
platform
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"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful
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