The Family Upstairs

by Lisa Jewell

Flipping between past and present, this weaving mystery/thriller follows the story of a beautiful mansion in Chelsea and what happened behind closed doors. On Libby Jones’ twenty fifth birthday, she receives an inheritance from her dead parents: a multi-million dollar mansion in Chelsea. Shocked at her reversal of fortunes, she excitedly takes possession only to discover a series of unsettling mysteries surrounding her birth parents and the people they kept in their home. Twenty-four years prior, her parents had been found poisoned along with an unidentified body while Libby’s ten-month-old self lay happily cooing in a crib.  

Who was the unidentified body? Who reported the dead bodies? Who was taking care of baby Libby while her parents lay dead? As these questions begin to be answered, more questions arise! Full of unreliable narrators, misdirection, and suspense, The Family Upstairs keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. As the story weaves between past and present, and between character story lines, Jewell leaves just enough of a cliff hanger that you are desperate to get back to that thread thus making for a very fast read! 

I loved how this book started with what seemed like four or five completely unrelated stories, each interesting on their own, and managed to work them together tighter and tighter until they all connected. A well crafted mystery, in my eyes, ties up all the loose ends in a satisfying way, and I feel that happened in The Family Upstairs. 

If you like this style of mystery thriller, I would recommend The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks, or anything by Liane Moriarty.

Winter in Paradise

by Elin Hilderbrand


Irene and Russel Steele live a very comfortable life in Iowa. Russel’s job takes him away from home much of the time, but Irene doesn’t mind because he earns plenty of money so she doesn’t have to worry. She spends her time renovating their Victorian home and she never doubts his love for her as he shows it in extreme, sky writing kinds of ways. Although their life is undergoing some changes, their adult sons, Cash and Baker, don’t seem to need their mother anymore, the magazine at which Irene has been editor is pushing her to retire, their life, at least on the outside is idyllic.


This seemingly perfect life takes an odd turn when Irene gets a call to say that her husband has been killed in a helicopter crash on the island of St. John in the Caribbean. Irene was not even aware that Russ was in the Caribbean. She flies down to get things sorted to find that not only has someone already identified Russel’s body and sent it for cremation, but also that Russel had a huge villa and a second family on the island. These events begin Irene’s Winter in Paradise as she, Cash and Baker (each with secrets of their own), try to determine the truth about the life their husband and father has been living.


This is the first book in Hilderbrand’s new trilogy and the first book of hers that I’ve read. It appealed to me as a lighter read in these heavy times and was not disappointed. The story is a good combination of intrigue, romance and tension in a Caribbean setting.


The second book, What Happens in Paradise is just as intriguing and fortunately has been available since October 2019. Be aware that book three of the trilogy does not come out until the end of 2020 and each of the novels ends with a real cliffhanger. I have enjoyed the series so far and will definitely be looking for the third one as soon as it is available. The books are good if you are looking for a distraction that includes a little escape to a Caribbean Island from within your living room.

The Zig Zag Gi

By Elly Griffiths

Edgar Stephens, an inspector in Brighton, is a rather boring man. He has nothing going on in his life, he gets no respect from his underlings at work, his family is distant, his friends have all moved on with their lives… All he has is his unusual skill at solving crosswords and an exciting past as a special operative with The Magic Men during the war. That is, until a horrible parcel is delivered to the station addressed to him. A woman has been cut into three pieces in the same way that the famous magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl, would have been if the trick failed.  This is the first casualty of the magic trick murderer! As the bodies pile up, it seems that Edgar and his intriguing past just might be at the centre of this murder spree.  Will Edgar be able to find the killer before it’s too late?

This murder mystery set in the 1950s has a lot of charm. While I would not say that it is nearly as clever as some of Agatha Christie’s brilliant creations, it does hit many similar notes and tones to the famous author’s style. What made this book particularly unique was the centre around magicians and the dying variety show entertainment circuit. I loved the references to the old glamour of live theatre and the skepticism and distrust of the ‘tackiness’ of early television. 

As Edgar investigates, we get to meet all his colleagues from the war. These supporting characters really bring the story to life. Max Mephisto, Edgar’s best friend, is a successful magician at the decline of his career. Full of Mediterranean charm and sarcastic humour, he really plays well off of Edgar’s bland persona. Mix in a stodgy military captain, a hilarious 80 year old trickster magician Diablo, and a charming young girl with a secret, Ruby, and you have a fun crew to escort you through a light murder mystery!