Goodreads Users Have Crowned These The Top 5 Best Lisa Jewell Books

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Lisa Jewell has become a leading voice in psychological thriller books in the 2020s, but that wasn't always the case. Her first novel, a 1999 romantic comedy called "Ralph's Party," was only written after a friend bribed her with dinner at her favorite restaurant in exchange for the first three chapters. In the decade and a half that followed, Jewell toyed with several genres, such as coming of age and family dramas, before she hit her stride with her first thriller, "The Girls" (now published as "The Girls in the Garden"), in 2015. Now, just about everything Jewell touches goes straight from her hands to the bestseller lists.

She gets those paws on a lot of paper, too. She's written 24 novels in just over the same number of years, 14 of which are thrillers, and shows no sign of slowing down. That means it can be hard to know where to start if you're thinking about taking a stroll down her twisty turny roads. (The key is usually an abused teenage girl, but you might not want to get in Jewell's way as she leads you there.) Fortunately, Jewell is massively popular on Goodreads, so its users' ratings can be your guide.

One of Lisa Jewell's highest-rated books is also one of her first thrillers. Technically, "I Found You" is three stories, at least at first. On the eastern coast of England, a single mother meets a man with no memory of who he is, what happened to him, or how he got to the beach outside her house. At the same time, a London newlywed reports her missing husband to the police only to be told he doesn't exist. Two decades earlier, a mysterious man causes a rift between a teenage brother and sister on vacation.

Think you know where this is going? Don't be so sure. Many Goodreads reviewers said "I Found You" kept them guessing, one noting that it "played tricks with [their] head." Another marveled at Jewell's ability to "maintain a light and breezy feel" in a story with such a dark subject matter, while one new fan wrote that they would definitely seek out more books by Jewell. If you like a slow burn, rest assured that this one has a long fuse.

25 years before the events of "The Family Upstairs," police found a baby crying alone in a house. Its only other occupants — the couple who owned the house and another woman — were dead, and the rest of the children who lived there were missing. Now, that baby is a grown woman who has just inherited this eerie abode. She never knew about her family, but she's about to meet them. Make no mistake: This house may be haunted, but these are no ghosts.

Goodreads users loved "The Family Upstairs" so much that they nominated it for Readers Favorite Mystery & Thriller in the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards, and it's one of the few novels Jewell gave a sequel to. One user called it a "gothic psychological suspense train," while another praised Jewell's character development and writing craft. Over and over, reviewers kept using one word: disturbing, so it's safe to say "The Family Upstairs" is one of the most disturbing thriller books they've ever read.

"Then She Was Gone" has a plot that seems almost impossible. 10 years after her 15-year-old daughter's disappearance, a now-divorced mother is putting her life back together and even getting back out onto the dating scene. Everything seems perfect with her new boyfriend until she meets his young daughter, who looks, sounds, and behaves just like her own missing child. They can't be the same person, as his daughter is much younger, so how could this girl be her daughter's doppelganger?

That's as far into the story as we should get, according to Goodreads users, who insist that going in blind is essential for prospective readers of "Then She Was Gone." One reviewer compared its twist ending to M. Night Shyamalan's filmography, surely the highest praise shock lovers can give. This was also one user's first experience with Jewell, and their five-star rating that simply reads "ooooooo weeeeeeee" says it all.

"None of This is True" may be Jewell's most ambitious novel. It's certainly one of her most celebrated, boasting one million copies sold, instant New York Times bestseller status, and numerous awards and nominations. (It was even Book of the Year at the TikTok Book Awards U.K. and Ireland.) It follows a podcaster who falls under the spell of a woman she meets in a pub after learning they were born on the same day in the same hospital. As this woman spins her a tale of woe, however, the true crime junkie starts to suspect that her new friend isn't what she claims to be. Soon, three people are dead, and there's no telling how many episodes it will take to untangle this web.

According to several Goodreads users, "None of This is True" is impossible to put down. Many reported blowing through its nearly 400 pages in one sitting, glued to the page the whole time and left speechless when it was over. If you decide to pick up a copy, look for one published after the 2024 rerelease that includes a bonus chapter that turns an already wild ending on its head.

Just edging out "None of This is True" for the top spot of Lisa Jewell's Goodreads rankings is "The Night She Disappeared," which starts out with a fairly well-worn premise, even for Jewell: a missing teenage girl. Most of those cases, however, don't get dug back up (literally) by a cozy mystery writer who finds a surprise in the garden of her new cottage in the form of a note that reads "DIG HERE." From there, she can't resist teaming up with the missing girl's mother to find answers for once instead of making them up.

It's no surprise that users nominated "The Night She Disappeared" for Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller in the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards. They particularly praised Jewell's deft handling of a nonlinear narrative that weaves three different timelines together into what one user described as a puzzle for readers to put together. As another put it, "Are you a ballerina? Well you better be, because Lisa Jewell's latest will keep you on your toes."