“It’s very strange, looking back, how accepting children can be of the oddest scenarios.”
Nominated in the Goodreads Choice Awards, The Family Upstairs is a bestselling novel by Lisa Jewell. The story follows Libby Jones who returns home from work to find a letter. Opening it reveals the identity of her parents, but also that she’s the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the River Thames. However, unbeknownst to Libby is the building’s sordid history. Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. Upon their arrival, they discovered a ten-month-old in her crib, the four other children who were meant to be at the property had disappeared, and three dead bodies lying in the kitchen. If you loved The Family Upstairs and craving more intensely gripping mysteries featuring twisted families and intense secrets, join us at What We Reading for the best books like it!
Watching You – Lisa Jewell
Kicking off our list of books similar to The Family Upstairs is another one of the best books by Lisa Jewell, Watching You. Melville Heights is one of the most idyllic neighbourhoods in Bristol. Home to doctors, lawyers and old-money academics, it is hardly the sort of place you would expect to see people murdered in their own kitchens. Nevertheless, it is the type of place where secrets are kept hidden, and everyone is watching you.
Tom Fitzwilliam is the local headmaster credited with turning around the fortunes of the local school. He is beloved by all the locals, but none more so than his new neighbour, Joey Mullen. Tom’s teenage son, Freddie, is an aspiring spy and is perplexed by Joey’s infatuation with his father. Meanwhile, one of Tom’s students, Jenna, also lives close by and isn’t convinced that the headmaster is as clean-cut as he makes out. She’s also convinced that he is stalking her.
The Last House Guest – Megan Miranda
Littleport, Maine, has always felt like two separate towns. On one side is a perfect vacation enclave for the affluent, whose summer homes cling to the coastline. On the other, a humble harbour community exists whose residents rely on service to the holidaymakers.
Friendships between the two sides are rare. Except for in the case of visitor Sadie Loman and resident Avery Greer. Each summer for nearly a decade, the pair have been inseparable. That is until Sadie is found dead. Whilst the police are quick to rule it as a suicide, Avery is convinced there are others in the community to blame. Someone knows more than they are saying, and she is determined to uncover the truth, much like Libby Jones in The Family Upstairs.
The Au Pair – Emma Rous
Seraphine Mayers and her twin brother, Danny, were born during the height of summer at their family’s estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their arrival, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, their au pair fled, and their village was engulfed by murmurings and rumours about the aloof couple who pulled a young nanny into their inner orbit.
Now all grown up and in the present, Seraphine is still in mourning over the recent death of her father. Whilst going through his old belongings, she discovers a family photo that instantly raises dangerous questions. Taken on the day the twins were born, it shows their mother surrounded by her husband and young son, beautifully dressed, and holding just one baby. Who is the child and what really happened on that fateful day? Similar to The Family Upstairs, Emma Rous’ The Au Pair is a gripping mystery thriller about a woman’s search into the dark secrets of her family.
The Girl Before – J.P. Delaney
Reeling from a recent traumatic break-in, Emma is looking for a new place to live. She stumbles upon One Folgate Street, a stunning architectural masterpiece featuring pale stone, plate glass and soaring ceilings. But, living in the building comes with a series of strict rules set out by its designer. According to Edward, One Folgate Street is a space intended to transform the occupants living inside its walls.
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street, she is immediately drawn to the space and its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the tragic fate of its previous occupant, a woman of similar age and appearance to her. And, as she attempts to untangle the truth from the lies, she unknowingly finds herself meeting the same people, sharing the same experiences and confronting the same terrors as the girl before.
Check Out Our The Girl Before Book Review
The Wife – Alafair Burke
When Angela met Jason Powell whilst catering at a dinner party, she assumed their romance would be a short-term fling, just like so many others shared between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise, however, the brilliant economics professor had other ideas and the two quickly married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage was a chance to restart her life. Along with her son, she was finally able to move out of her mother’s home, where no one knew about her tragic, troubled past.
Six years on, on the back of a critically-acclaimed bestseller and a growing media career, Jason has become a media sensation, and placed Angela far too close to the spotlight she’s been trying to avoid. When an intern makes a serious allegation against Jason and another colleague emerges with an even more sinister accusation, the couple’s perfect life threatens to split apart. And when Angela is asked to defend her husband in court, she realises that her loyalty may unearth long-buried secrets in a way any fan of The Family Upstairs is sure to love.
The Last Housewife – Ashley Winstead
While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends meet an enigmatic man. He seduced them with a web of lies about how the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By their senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay is attempting to build a new life in her Texas suburb when she hears that Laurel has died from her favourite true crime podcaster. Suddenly, Shay begins to suspect that the past she thought she had buried is still very much alive.
Enlisting the help of the podcast host, Shay returns to the one place in the world she never thought she would be again. As she follows in the footsteps of her friend’s life, she is pulled further and further into a dark and seductive world where wealth and privilege mask unnerving philosophies. Similar to The Family Upstairs, Ashley Winstead’s The Last Housewife is a gripping psychological thriller delving into complicity and conditioning.
The Death Of Mrs. Westaway – Ruth Ware
On a day that begins the same as any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter leaving her a significant inheritance. She realises very quickly that the letter had been sent to the wrong person, but also that the cold-reading skills she has refined as a tarot card reader may come in handy for claiming the money as her own.
Soon, Hal finds herself attending the funeral of the deceased. It is only then that it begins to dawn on her that there is something very wrong about this bizarre situation and the inheritance at the centre of it all. The perfect mystery for readers who loved the gothic, creepy feel of The Family Upstairs, The Death of Mrs. Westaway is a story by serial bestselling thriller novelist Ruth Ware.
Little Secrets – Jennifer Hillier
Married to her college sweetheart and owning a chain of upmarket hair salons, Marin has the perfect life alongside her husband, Derek. The couple are well-liked and admired within the community and are a loving family – until the day their world is upended when their son, Sebastian, is taken from them.
One year on, Marin has been reduced to a shell of herself. The FBI search case has gone cold, public interest has waned and she and her husband rarely speak anymore. She hires a private investigator to pick up the search where the police left off. However, instead of finding her son, the P.I. discovers Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. Determined not to lose her husband as well as her son, Marin now has a face she can target, and a problem she is capable of fixing. Brimming with intense psychological suspense, Little Secrets is undoubtedly one of the best books like The Family Upstairs for anyone looking for their next gripping thriller.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
