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The Girl Upstairs: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller debut with a jaw-dropping twist from a stunning new voice in crime fiction

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Georgina Lees studied creative writing and film at university and has since pursued a career in video-games journalism, covering some of the most popular games in the world. Her psychological thrillers are inspired by her surroundings, from the congested London streets to the raw English countryside. She can be found playing games, writing stories, and reading anything from fantasy to crime fiction. I've been in London over ten years now and I haven't found a quiet place. I live in Angel, Islington. The nice part, with the grand white townhouses, the ones advertised as being on tree-lined streets. I can't see any trees, just blunt shavings in the ground, weeds rising and arching over the stubs like gravestones. I'm on the ground floor of a two-storey house and Emily is above me. She moved in over six months ago and I thought she might leave, as people do here. People Emily's age, early twenties, they come and go like the seasons, and it's spring now. Time for Emily to leave. Compelling, heartbreaking and beautifully written. This superb thriller will stay in my mind for a very long time’ B P Walter, Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Dinner Guest

Emma @damppebbles is honoring #bookbloggers with her annual #R3COMM3ND3D2023 – and today is myday! November 18, 2023 The voices stop, I hear movement off the sofa and Emily whisper, ‘I don’t know, shall I answer it?’ I slam my fist into the door again. Yes, you should answer it. The door opens slowly and Emily’s small face peers around. She sees me and a flash of recognition and concern crosses her features. She furrows her eyebrows and opens the door wider. Suzie can hear everything, yes absolutely everything that happens upstairs, from visitors to her neighbor Emily using the toilet.When Emily stops being so noisy, Suzie is the only one who is genuinely concerned. Upon realizing no one can account for Emily’s whereabouts, Suzie is convinced something nefarious is at play. She pushes further than the police are willing to go to figure out the truth about Emily’s disappearance. From the beginning, Suzie appears to be an unreliable narrator and this element creates doubt as to what she observes. As more is revealed about Suzie and Emily, it becomes clear how each are desperate for meaningful interactions but both are in different places in their lives. I just didn’t find this to be the spine-tingling psychological thriller described in the synopsis. In fact I felt very little tension or suspense at all. Living alone in London, Suzie Arlington is acutely aware of every movement and noise made by her neighbor, Emily. However, when Suzie realizes it is suddenly too quiet in the upstairs flat, she cannot help but get answers to her neighbor’s mysterious disappearance. I’ve put this one off for a while, fearing I’d made a mistake by accepting the widget; fearing this wasn’t the type of story I’d enjoy. Since it proved to be more of a character study and less of a mindless thriller, I actually found myself pleasantly surprised by the content. While certain areas could have used more development, I enjoyed Georgina Lees’ writing style and found myself glued to the narrative. It’s not often that I finish a book in two days so, despite any complaints I might have, I’m grateful for the story’s immersive distraction from real life.

Eventually we will hear from Emily as well-but although these chapters tell us why Emily moved to London, the things shared don’t have much bearing on what transpired after, and we didn’t need several chapters to explain this choice. This was creepy AF and kept me guessing the entire time. Definitely not a predictable thriller and so many twists and turns’ Lisa, NetGalley Both Emily and Suzy are interesting characters. Emily is an aspiring writer, shunted off to London by her parents while they endeavour to repair their fractured relationship. Suzy lost her husband suddenly and tragically and is struggling to cope. Both women are emotionally fragile and vulnerable, and have far more in common than either realise. We can make up your old room and look after you for a bit? Lunch down the pub and coastal walks, doesn’t that sound nice?’Suzie lives in a downstairs flat in London – depressed, lonely, and extremely frustrated with her noisy upstairs neighbor Emily. The floors are thin, and Suzie can hear EVERYTHING – Emily’s music, her phone conversations, even her bathroom habits. So when Emily’s flat suddenly goes quiet, Suzie knows there’s something wrong. Book Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller The writing kept me engaged throughout the book. I could easily visualize the house, the flats, and the occupants. The setting was a major force in the narrative. With overriding themes of grief, loss, and loneliness, this book cast a lingering look at lives of single women in the big city. I’ve been in London for over ten years now and I haven’t found a quiet place. I live in Angel, Islington. The nice part, with the grand white townhouses, the ones advertised as being on tree-lined streets. I can’t see any trees, just blunt shavings in the ground, weeds rising and arching over the stubs like gravestones. I’m on the ground floor of a two-storey house and Emily is above me. She moved in over six months ago and I thought she might leave, as people do here. People Emily’s age, early twenties, they come and go like the seasons and it’s spring now. Time for new life. Time for Emily to leave. DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, via Netgalley for providing both a digital and audio ARC of The Girl Upstairs by Georgina Lees for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Seeing Suzie filed a complaint against her neighbor for excessive noise, wouldn’t you be relieved that she’s missing? I’d be lying if I didn’t say some of this was a little corny, but I appreciate what the author wanted to do for her character. I did find the ending to be anticlimactic, and it was disappointing in another way I can’t expound upon, as I don’t want to spoil the story. I just thought things were building up toward something different. I came to care about both Suzie and Emily, which made the abruptness of the conclusion rather jarring. WOW!!! I. COULD. NOT. PUT. THIS. DOWN. I read it all in ONE sitting! It was amazing! The storyline was captivating and engrossing while the main characters, Suzie and Emily, were so well written and interesting that I couldn't get enough of them. Plenty of suspense and twists to keep you guessing until the very end! Bravo!!’ Yamil, NetGalley

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Then one day it is strangely quiet upstairs, what has happened to Emily? Suzie decides to try to find out and reaches out to her landlord. The police get involved, but Suzie feels that they aren’t doing enough.

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