by: Lisa Jewell
OCTOBER 2022
The anticipated sequel to The Family Upstairs!
THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD
The book three plots. Henry goes to America to find Phin. Lucy is under investigation for the murder of her ex, but unadvisedly leaves to find Henry and prevent Phin from being harmed. Then a seemingly random plot line of a woman named Rachel and the horrible abuse she endures from her husband. At the very last minute, its revealed that Rachel’s husband, is the ex that Lucy killed.
The novel was overall enjoyable, but not as mind-blowing as the first novel. It was good to have closure on the unresolved story lines. However, Rachel’s plot line seemed completely irrelevant until the very last minute. We felt that that plot line could have been condensed and revealed later on in the story to provide more interest, because most of us were wondering how this fit in to the rest of the story. It was a little distracting.
On a side note, we all felt bad for Henry’s need to be anyone other than himself. It seemed like he was starting on a journey of self-healing towards the end but veered off to copy another person’s identity instead. This book provided a lot of very good discussions about motives, psychosis, and the long term effects of childhood trauma.