THE AUTHOR: Georgina 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. The Girl Upstairs is a story of secrets and obsession. It might appeal to readers who enjoy a domestic Thriller/Mystery. The author has created a fine set of characters, written with compassion and empathy and some very cleverly placed red herrings. When Emily disappears, no one seems as upset about it as Suzie is. Her parents write it off as she has done this before, her job had let her go, the detectives think she's hiding out with friends but Suzie absolutely believes something is wrong and won't let it go. But she soon figures out that by looking for Emily she has put herself in real danger. Can she help Emily or is Suzie just a woman with too many problems who needs real help herself? Emily is trying to make a go of a new life in London away from her family. She’s got a new job and maybe even a new love interest. She is getting annoyed at her downstairs neighbor though, complaining to her directly and now through the council.

From the start, I just knew that this would be an absorbing read. The protagonist, Suzie Arlington is a sad and lonely woman of thirty-five. She works ‘ in marketing‘ and owns the ground floor flat of a house in Islington, London. She longs to return to her family home in Hove, Sussex. However, her attachment to the memories of her husband Ben, in the flat where she lives, override her longing for home. Still grieving the loss of her husband, she refuses to enter her bedroom since he left two years ago. She sleeps on the sofa, or in a chair in her living room. SHE IS NOT COPING! She isn’t looking after herself and she seems absolutely overwhelmed by the sensory overload that is London life. The noise, the smells, the light, the people. This is exacerbated by her upstairs neighbour Emily, who selfishly plays her music too loud, and generally seems to make as much noise as is physically possible. This in a house where sound travels effortlessly so that everything from opening drawers to going to the bathroom is clearly audible. Getting past the emotion, the mystery is a good one. I don’t think that everything truly adds up. The mysterious clues end up a bit more prosaic than expected in the end and I found myself just a tiny bit disappointed at the reason behind everything. I am still at a loss for words. I have been chasing that Gone Girl high for so long when I read thrillers, and this one finally hit the mark’ Amber, NetGalley Suzie lives in a small ground floor flat in Islington. She is very much a loner, doesn’t interact and hates London, especially the crowds and noise. It is evident from the start that there has been a major tragedy in her life and, despite their best efforts, she pushes her family away and won’t discuss it.Suzie owns the lower flat and has a neighbor upstairs, she can hear everything that Emily does, from cooking dinner to using the bathroom. Suzie can't handle the noise, but suddenly there isn't any noise after a big party that Emily had for her birthday. Suzie has had some events happen in her life that are slowly revealed as we read this novel. She then takes it upon herself to try and figure out where Emily has gone You see people every day, some you know and some you don't. Those who live next to you, how well do you actually know them? Fictionophile’s OCTOBER 2023 Reading Wrap-Up #bookblogger #MonthlyWrapUp#Fictionophile October 31, 2023 It is mostly sad, depressing, slow burn thriller gripping your attention from the beginning and you’re trapped inside Suzie’s blurry, unreliable, struggling head! There’s something amiss about Suzie : she keeps drinking, spiraling into pessimism, holding on to memories with some man: a husband, lover, what happened to him?

This is one of those books that I raced to get through because I couldn't wait to see what happened! When Emily moves in above Suzie things go from bad to worse. Suzie is annoyed by Emily's loud music and constant banging of pans as well as a party that keeps her up all night. So of course she complains to the landlord, but we also realize that Suzie has some problems of her own that are only compounded by Emily's noise. Things go downhill from there and Suzie reaches out to help when Emily goes missing. I appreciated the pacing as we get to the chilling conclusion. Looking forward to to more from Georgina Lees! Then Emily disappears and with what happened before, Suzie takes it upon herself to find out what has happened to her. Suzie Arlington can hear everything that goes on in the flat upstairs-she knows when the latest tenant, Emily eats, sleeps, has sex, and uses the toilet. She knows what music she likes, the food she prefers and the wine she drinks.I’ve lived in apartments most of my life, including all of my adult life. I’m accustomed to the noise of apartment living. I’ve lived with fussy neighbors who aren’t as accepting and I’ve lived with neighbors who take the normal noise of apartment living to an undesirable extreme. One day, Emily doesn't come home and Suzie gets herself overly involved in trying to figure out what happened. These characters are real and likeable- they made mistakes and did silly things, but felt relatable. Even when Suzie went way above and beyond what I would do to investigate the disappearance on her own, I felt that I could empathize with her and didn't really have to suspend my disbelief. 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.

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.Fictionophile’s OCTOBER 2023 #BookHaul #Bookbloggers #ForthcomingTitles #TBR #AnticipatedReads October 31, 2023