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Audiobook Review

The Family Upstairs

By
Lisa Jewell
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LENGTH

9 hrs and 37 mins

READ BY

Tamaryn Payne, Bea Holland, Dominic Thorburn

average rating is 5 out of 5
Performance
average rating is 5 out of 5
Overall
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Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest

Very good, thoroughly enjoyed, 

Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects

STAR RATINGS GUIDE

Story? Good. Narration? Good. Result? Fantastic.

THE BIRDICT

šŸ§” Iā€™m here to say all the good things about this audiobook. I think it is one of Jewellā€™s best and Iā€™d bet even her grocery list is gripping so thatā€™s saying something.

šŸ’š This has everything youā€™d want in a creepy, clever thriller. Thereā€™s a murder-suicide, a toxic commune, multiple missing people and layer upon layer of mysteries. And it all starts with an ordinary woman inheriting a massive derelict house in one of Londonā€™s most expensive areas.

šŸ’œ What makes this so smart is that it is not a mystery/thriller for the sake of a whodunnit. Yes, it keeps you guessing, but itā€™s a thinky one. It explores what it takes for people to join an extreme community and the effects on the minds of the children within.

SQUAWKING THE TALK

šŸŽ§ Three narrators, all of them absolutely brilliant, not just great voices, but well cast for their roles. Libbyā€™s voice was particularly good as she sounded like a relatable person not, as is so often the case, a haunted woman before anythingā€™s even happened to her. The female voices are just about different enough to allow the listener to differentiate and itā€™s always nice to have multiple narrators.

šŸŽ§ The chapter listings need to be revisited to reflect the numbering correctly. This is mostly down to starting them as ā€œchapter 1ā€ instead of ā€œcreditsā€ and ā€œpart 1ā€.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS

No spoilers for this one. Maybe next time!
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Click For Spoilers

The Family Upstairs

THE BLURB

In a large house in Londonā€™s fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot. Well-fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up.

In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them is a hastily scrawled note.

Theyā€™ve been dead for several days.

Who has been looking after the baby?

And where did they go?

Two entangled families.

A house with the darkest of secrets.
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