I can't get enough of Louise Jensen. The "cult" topic does make me feel a little uncomfortable, but unfortunately that is the way of life. This book had great suspense, and I did not see the ending coming at all. Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy!

I can’t believe that this is the first book that I have read by Louise Jensen! I do have all her others on my Kindle so I’ll definitely be reading them as I enjoyed The Family so much; it was a one sitting read for me, I couldn’t put it down.

Laura and her 17 year old daughter Tilly are struggling to cope after the sudden death of her husband. Crippled both financially and emotionally Laura is faced with losing her florist business and home. There has been a rift in her family due to a dispute so she feels she has nowhere to turn. When a local community offer her and Tilly somewhere to stay in return for working on their farm until she is back on her feet it seems like all her problems have been solved. You know that saying about when something seems too good to be true it probably is….it doesn’t take long for Laura to become uncomfortable in this new environment however enigmatic their “leader” Alex is. After a suspicious death on the farm it becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems at Oak Leaf Organics, a lot of the members have something to hide and Tilly has become quite enamored with her new way of life (and Alex). Laura discovers it’s far easier to join the community than leave it!

I really loved how the story was told from Laura and Tilly’s point of view and seeing how different the same conversation was perceived by each other. As the mum of a 16 year old daughter it really made me think about how my chats are interpreted! I was desperate for them to find some common ground rather than appear to be at each other’s throats as this made them even more vulnerable to outside influences.

The Family is a fascinating insight as to how easy it can be for people in vulnerable situations to be taken in and gas-lighted by a concept/promise of happiness. I will be recommending this one to everyone I meet!

I am a big fan of Louise Jensen and this newest of her books was excellent. I have to admit that this was not my favourite of hers and I am not sure I can exactly pinpoint why but I did find it extremely easy to read and I was engaged with the characters and developments. I read the book in two sittings, which is testament to Louise Jensen's style of writing for sure!

I enjoyed reading this book very much, although it didn’t grab me straight away, which I thought it would. I found myself hoping things would work out for Laura and her daughter, and felt the other characters were interesting in their own ways, I also had a niggling feeling that Alex wasn’t on their side. It was a good book and I will be looking at reading more by this author.

Gavan, Laura and Tilly are an ordinary family of three, with close relatives living nearby. When Gavan is killed at his own building business, their lives spiral into chaos. Laura and Tilly look to their family for support but a massive argument leaves Laura full of uncertainty and with nowhere to turn. The rift is totally unbreakable, so she is grieving, alone and with no help. Unable to access the insurance money until after the coroner’s verdict of accidental death is confirmed, Laura is forced to sell her house and without cash to run her floristry business, Laura and Tilly have nowhere to go and nowhere to generate an income. Tilly is a 17-year-old schoolgirl facing her loss bravely, but looking forward to her university days.
Coincidentally Laura has been selling food hampers assembled by a new local business via the sales girl Saffron, who lives in a community farm where the business is run by an ex solicitor called Alex. Saffron visits Laura and offers a home for her and Tilly in exchange for joining the community, Oak Leaf Organics, as cooperative workers. Laura willingly accepts the offer and Alex tells her he will take on the insurance company and help her to sort out her finances. At last she can see a ray of hope for their future and both her and Tilly settle in and start working in exchange for a roof over their heads and their keep. Laura’s decision turns out to be the worst choice she could possibly have made and both Laura and Tilly soon find themselves separated and in threatening and life changing danger. This is their story.
I have always been a fan of Louise Jenson and I was so happy when I requested to read this book for review and was accepted. I couldn’t wait to start reading it. There is no doubt that Louise is a very talented storyteller, but this novel didn’t resonate with me as much as all her others have. I found the plot overly complicated with massive twists and turns in the story that made it complicated to understand and with teasing red herrings that were misleading. I also found it very difficult to believe in the characters and I was totally flabbergasted by their naivety. I did not like the open ended last chapter of the novel either, although Louise did say that she would like us to make our own decisions. I did like the issues it raised though: crippling grief, long buried secrets, lies, misunderstandings and deception to name just a few. Certainly things were not as they seemed to be.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher HQ through my membership of NetGalley in return for an honest review. These are my own opinions without any outside influences. I did enjoy reading ‘The Family’, just not as much as I expected to.

I have read and enjoyed all this author's previous offerings so I was quite excited to get my hands on this, her latest. Excited and a bit scared - well, she has a lot to live up to! Soon after starting I realised that my fear was wholly unfounded and I settled back to enjoy the ride.
Laura is recently bereaved and she and daughter Tilly are struggling both emotionally and financially. There's a big rift between them that is only getting wider and things are starting to come to a head. This isn't helped by the fact that there are questions about Laura's late husband's death that are stalling his life insurance payout, money that they really could do with. Laura is at work one day, in the florist she owns and runs, when she has a funny turn and is helped by Saffron who supplies her organic veg to sell, grown on the organic farm she lives and works for. Saffron offers her and Tilly a visit to Oak Leaf Organic Farm, saying that there are people there that can help her, and once there, along with the boss Alex, convinces them to move in. Tilly is smitten with Alex, something that Laura worries about. But, is that just the tip of the iceberg? Should there be more to worry about? As certain events from her past are divulged, she starts to worry if there wasn't more to her inclusion than just extending the hand of friendship. And then things get darker still and she starts to fear for her life.
OK, so I admit that some of this book is pretty implausible along the way but, the way that it is constructed just adds to all the confusion along the way and, when the whole truth of all the matters introduced throughout, finally came out, well, I just had to sit back and applaud the author for a great job well done. There are secrets and lies aplenty and more than a healthy dollop of duplicitous behaviour from pretty much all the main characters which made for a very interesting and intriguing read throughout. We also have the obligatory (to this genre) swerves, misdirection and red herrings nicely sprinkled in just the right places for maximum impact. This all meant that I did spend quite a while in a state of confusion but the author delivered enough moments of clarity along the way to both keep me going and also, more importantly, hooked with what I was reading. So much so that I found it extremely hard to put down. She also, more importantly, delivered an ending that left me wholly satisfied.
All in all, another winner for this author - really can't wait to see what she has in store for me next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A dad dies from a suspected suicide leaving the mum and daughter bereft and financially unstable. To add to their worries, a local family have accused the dad's building firm that the land their house was built on has caused their child's illness. Faced with such emotional turmoil and feeling shunned by their local community and close family, mother and daughter are soon sucked into a living at The Farm, a nice but remote and freezing cold location where a group of fellow misfits have got together to grow organic produce and be self-sustaining. Feeling welcomed at first, both mother and daughter have secrets and both discover that everything is not as they first thought. The book takes the reader through the journeys of mother and daughter as they adapt and begin to be brainwashed by the farm's charasmatic leader, Alex. Can they escape before it's too late or is the cost already too high?
The Family had me gripped from the flash-forward prologue as the reader already knows that someone will be shot and things will not end well (this is not a spoiler as it happens in the first few pages). Jensen's reading style is evolving as she writes more novels. This is a tightly paced read that will keep you up at night to finish it. I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping novel

the family...what makes a family is it blood or is it a group of people that come together

in this book we have two brothers who marry and have a child each...one dies and the wife laura and daughter tilly are left behind with no money until all the investigations are over...but what will be discovered...

and why has the other brother and his family turned their backs on laura and tilly...

and why are people avoiding the strange group that grow their own veg and have a different way of life...what sinister goings on are abound....

from the first page this book grips you in such a way that you cant put it down...and the puzzles keep coming as you read until the very last page...so many secrets and lies and disbelief all in one spellbinding storyline

going to be keeping an eye out for more of this authors books

The Family By Louise Jensen
Once you're in, they will never let you leave!!
Laura is grieving the sudden death of her husband. Her business is also struggling, so she makes the decision to move into a local community which is a commune with her 17 year old daughter Tilly.
Laura realises quickly that all is not as it should be, and when a community member dies she wants to leave, however Tilly wants to stay.
This is my first book by this author, and it wont be my last. Great storyline, and great pace. I love a psychological thriller that keeps me guessing, and this book certainly did this for me. A really great and fast paced read.
Thank you @netgalley Louise Jensen, The Fiction Cafe Book Club and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Family by Louise Jensen is a gripping, compulsive and absolutely brilliant psychological thriller. It had me consumed and questioning from the start.
The beginning of the book is from the end of the story. It drew me in as I wanted to know what had led up to this point.
The novel is told from alternating points of view. The reader becomes intimately acquainted with the characters – or so I thought – my line of reasoning proved to be incorrect!
Everyone has secrets, secrets that they want or need to protect. Sooner or later secrets will come out, some with disastrous consequences.
We all want to belong. We may feel isolated. “In a world where everyone was thinner, happier and more popular than I was.” We want a family who will love and care for us. Just how far would you go to protect your family?
Grief consumes. You carry on but it never goes away. “You don’t get over it, you just get on with it.”
Life deals us blows. We pick up scars along the way. “There are scars we carry… Scars that can’t be seen but it doesn’t make them any less painful.” Some scars colour our thinking and the unthinkable occurs.
Louise Jensen has written her best novel yet (and all her novels are fabulous). As minds are manipulated in the novel so I fell for the red herrings along the way. I thought I knew what had happened and who the perpetrator was – how wrong was I? Do you dare to pick up The Family today and weave your way along its pathways? Be sure to read with the light on. Grab The Family today and buckle up for a bumpy ride.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

What a ride!

Laura is recently widowed with a seventeen year old daughter, Tilly. The circumstances of her husband's death mean that his life insurance payout is in doubt and Laura has her back against the wall financially, unable to keep her florist shop open. A lifeline appears in the form of a young woman Laura has met through her job. The young woman is a member of an isolated rural organic fruit and vegetable growing commune. She persuades Laura to come with Tilly and stay at the commune with the promise of assistance from the commune leader, Alex, to sort out Laura's financial problems.

And then the sense of things not being right begin. I love the setting. I love it when there are limited players within closed, isolated communities where suspicion falls on everyone. And in The Family there is plenty of ambiguity, miscommunication and secrets to throw around a lot of doubt. Even the title The Family is ambiguous. It refers overtly to the members of the commune who consider family to be chosen rather than through blood ties. But through other dynamics in the story it also makes us question whether blood ties are enough.

The ending is so clever because the more I think about it, the more consequences I see for the characters.

This is another great psychological thriller from Louise Jensen, with suspense and drama and just the right amount of action.

The Family starts with what is left of Laura’s family, literally falling apart. Her husband Gavan has recently died and his death is being investigated. She’s got no financial support, her own parents kicked her out as a teen and now her husband’s brother and his family have turned their backs. All she’s got left is her 17 year old daughter Tilly, their grief and spiralling debt. She’s desperate. Then a beacon of light sends her to the ‘family’ living at Gorphwysfa, a farm in the country. And its charismatic (but mysterious) leader Alex, charms her and Tilly and life with the family is so much easier. But then niggling doubts appear. Something mysterious is going on. I have to say this book had me gripped. It was tense and had me guessing which way it was going to turn. One thing that took a way that last star (and it’s nothing directed at Jensen) was that secrets play a huge part to this story and none of the characters redeem themselves at the end. I just want to smash their heads together to knock some sense into them. (But I’m guessing that was Jensen’s intention!) A brilliant read, but I really want to slap the characters.

⭐⭐REVIEW⭐⭐

Oh... my... days!! Like where do I even beginning. Loved the writing style of this book. And ot was a fantastic read. Yor all in for some amazing reading with this one! So great twists you don't see coming too 😱
Absolutely loved this book I now need to read more by louise Jenson 😂😂
5⭐

I found The Family to be a book of two halves, grippingly tense at times but I found myself skimming through other parts that did not hold my interest.
Laura joins a commune with her daughter following the death of her husband. As expected, things are not what they seem and secrets soon begin to be spilled. The main characters were complex and I didn't really feel any connection with, or empathy for them which made the book a bit of a chore to get through.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book for an honest review.

I loved this book and read it in 2 days. It was emotional fast and kept me guessing to the end. A definite 5 stars from me, and an recommendation to read it.

ONCE YOU’RE IN, THEY’LL NEVER LET YOU LEAVE.

Laura is grieving after the sudden death of her husband. Struggling to cope emotionally and financially, Laura is grateful when a local community, Oak Leaf Organics, offer her and her 17-year-old daughter Tilly a home.
 
But as Laura and Tilly settle into life with their new ‘family’, sinister things begin to happen. When one of the community dies in suspicious circumstances Laura wants to leave but Tilly, enthralled by the charismatic leader, Alex, refuses to go.
 
Desperately searching for a way to save her daughter, Laura uncovers a horrifying secret but Alex and his family aren’t the only ones with something to hide. Just as Laura has been digging into their past, they’ve been digging into hers and she discovers the terrifying reason they invited her and Tilly in, and why they’ll never let them leave…

I've read and loved every one of Louise Jensen's books and this one was no exception. I'm always in awe of how this author takes a plot and turns it into the work of art that is presented to us readers at the end. Her ability to draw the reader in, make them think that they've got it all worked out and then turn it on its head is pure genius. This one is told from the perspectives of the three main characters; Laura, Tilly & Alex and depicts what can happen when people keep things secret from those they love, I loved the mother-daughter relationship between Laura & Tilly and how that began to break down when Alex was brought into the equation, they were both so taken in by him and the promise that he could help them. It's a tragedy how gullible some people can be when they are desperate. If you like a tense, edge of your seat thriller then this one is for you, I highly recommend it.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and HQ for approving me, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads

Laura is grieving the loss of her husband. She’s struggling emotionally and financially. Added to that the place they live is shunning her. Her daughter Tilly has her own problems she’s lost her dad but she’s also having a tough time at school.
Saffron comes into their lives and offers a branch when they most need it. Taken to a farm Laura is offered help and friendship when she most needs it. Just as she’s about to lose her home, mum and daughter as offered a place to stay.
As a reader you are shouting at Laura. Why fall for it.? Get away!
Laura eventually has to make a choice.
The book had a great twist at the end.

This was my first book from this author and at the beginning I wasn’t sure if I liked her writing style, but I think it was just a bit of a clumsy opening chapter or two, as I was soon consuming it at a decent pace.

The story is based around Mum, Laura and her 17 year old daughter Tilly. The story picks up shortly after Laura’s husband, Gavan, dies from an accident falling from scaffolding at one of his building sites. Laura is struggling to cope financially, her florist is going under and she has no money to pay the rent. The life insurance will not pay up until the inquest to the death has happened, suspecting it could have been suicide as there were also money worries with Gavan’s building business. This is where Laura meets Saffron, a supplier at her florist and after a time where Saffron looks after Laura after having a fit, she tells her all about the community she lives with on the Farm nearby, who are self sufficient and suggests Laura comes to meet Alex their leader, as he maybe able to guide her legally with regards to the insurance company, as he was a lawyer.

Shortly after the visit, Laura has given up the florist and her home and has moved Tilly into the Family / Community. Laura soon has misgivings about her decision to move them in, but also doubts her own judgements at the same time, she is struggling both mentally and physically. Her relationship with her daughter is still strained and if anything is worse than before. They both seem blame themselves and not really each other for the breakdown. Tilly takes an immediate shine to the handsome Alex and this seems to be reciprocated. The story picks up here and spirals, there is a lot of deceit of going on, who are the deceivers? Or are all of them hiding something from each other.

There were some really good twists in this book, well hidden, but almost in full site. The characters are complex and I can’t say that I warmed to any of the characters, but this took nothing away from the plot or enjoyment. The story looks at taking advantage of vulnerability, how damaging lies can be, how also somethings are best left unsaid and also that things aren’t always as they appear.

I really enjoyed this book and may now look at some other books from this author. Thank you for my copy Net Galley. I give this 4.5/5 rounded up to 5.

Found it difficult to connect with the characters and struggled to maintain a momentum. Afraid it wasn’t the type of book that I enjoy and therefore i didn’t get the best from it. Sorry

This is a great psychological thriller.
The opening chapter describes someone being seriously injured, but you don’t know who.
We then get to know Laura and her seventeen year old daughter, Tilly.
They’re both grieving for Gavan, who has left a huge hole in their lives.
Laura is struggling financially as Gavan’s life insurance hasn’t been finalised and she’s becoming more and more worried.
Tilly is struggling without her Dad and is also being picked on at school since returning after his death.
Laura then meets Saffron who offers to help her and takes her to visit the community where she’s been staying.
It’s a remote location with no wi-fi or TVs and the people there seem to love it.
Laura is drawn to the man who runs the community, Alex, and Tilly seems to be mesmerised by him.
They’re soon persuaded to move in as they can’t afford the rent anymore and things start off well but Laura can’t get rid of the feeling that things aren’t what they seem.
I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to spoil it, but I will say this is a gripping, twisty psychological thriller that will have you racing through the pages.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.