The Best Lisa Jewell Books Ranked: Complete List for 2023

Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell

To me, this is by far the creepiest of all of Lisa Jewell’s books.  While I did have some idea of what the ending was going to be, I was not prepared for how creepy this book would be. 

I think the point of this was to take the fear factor up a few notches.  This book definitely left me wanting to keep my kids a little closer to home.

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter with her whole life ahead of her until she disappears without a trace. Now, after ten years, her mother cannot stop looking for answers. When she sees a girl who looks just like Ellie, her unanswered questions begin to haunt her.

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

I love Lisa Jewell.  As I read her books I find each one creepier than the last.  This book starts with Libby’s 25th birthday when she inherits a multi-million dollar home. She knows that she was adopted at 10 months old but, she doesn’t know the truth about what happened to her family. She is shocked to find that the story that she was told is not what happened to her family.

25+ years ago Henry, his sister, and his parents are living a very privileged life.  When he is 12 years old, things change when David moves into the house with his wife and kids with no plans to leave.  He is charismatic and alluring to everyone except Henry. The story moves between past and present until the two stories come together and you finally understand what happened in the house all those years ago.  I love listening to full cast audiobooks and this one was no exception. If you love Lisa Jewell, check out our post: The Best Lisa Jewell Books Ranked: Complete List

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

Of all the Lisa Jewell books, this is the one that I was most looking forward to reading. I put it third on this list after much debate. I loved The Family Upstairs and I think in order to get the full experience with this sequel, I think you need to that book first.

The book begins with the discovery of bones in the Thames River that are related to a 30 year old cold case.

Rachel Rimmer is shocked to discover that her husband has been found dead in his cellar and Rachel has to answers questions that delve into Michael’s past. He is connected to Lucy Lamb who is trying to settle her family after leaving London 30 years ago. All the stories come together in a way that only Lisa Jewell can write.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell

This story is told from three perspectives.  A man loses his memory and is trying to figure out who he is. Simultaneously, a woman can’t find her husband who has disappeared without a trace.  

The third storyline is about a family in 1993. How do these stories come together? I loved this Lisa Jewell book. She has a brilliant way of bringing the stories together with a slow burn throughout.

The Girls in the Garden

This thriller starts with Pip a pre-teen, finding her older sister Grace, a young teenager, hurt and possibly dead and/or assaulted in a park in Central London.

The plot quickly moves to “before” the incident. Clare has moved to a flat in London with a communal Garden with her two daughters.  Adele and Leo have three girls named Willow, Fern, and Catkin who seem like a collective group of misfits. There is also a gang of kids, a nosy neighbor, and a host of other characters who are all slightly eccentric in their own way.

The Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell

This book was firmly OK. I’m normally a big fan of Lisa Jewell’s writing, but this one didn’t have me flipping pages at top speed.

The story is about a person who is sexually assaulting women, a girl gone missing, a lonely incel, and a philandering child psychologist and his family. It had promise but lacked the plot to fully draw me in.