The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1), Lisa Jewell

What a fun, twisted book. Lisa Jewell writes in a way that pulls the reader right in.

The family upstairs is about an affluent family, who, for whatever reasons allows a stranger to move in with them, and then her boyfriend, and then the woman who is going to teach her children and her family. The complexities of the three families become wildly intertwined as David, one of the newcomers, worms his way, into a position of power, cult-like fashion.

The children fall victim to David’s crazy, and within a short time all of the occupants of the house are wearing robes, forbade to wear shoes, or leave the house. They are not not allowed to eat anything other than vegan and follow all of David’s instructions lest pay the price.

When one of the 14 year old girls becomes pregnant by 42 year old David, things go south real quick.

The reader follows the adult perspective of Lucy and her brother Henry, two of the children in the house, as well as the baby that was born into the household, found as the only survivor in what appeared to be a cult fashion murder suicide, as they find their way back to the house on Chelsea where it all started.

If you’re not yet a fan of Lisa Jewell, you will be after reading this.