Absolutely the best thriller of the year!

Just how long can family secrets stay buried? Nothing stays hidden forever.

This is written as a sequel to “The Family Upstairs”, but can also be read as a stand alone. You’re immediately pulled into the story with Jewell’s engaging writing. I will keep this as spoiler free as possible by summarizing like this:

The story flows well throughout the whole book. It picks up after “The Family Upstairs”, and it really kept the flow of the first novel. The characters are unique, and believable. The general vibe of the story is suspenseful, creepy, and unnerving. You’ll find yourself needing to solve the mysteries. The description of the “family home” is so spooky that it reminds the reader of a gothic horror novel.

This book is unputdownable. I read the entire thing in one sitting because I could not NOT know what was beyond the end of the chapters. I have already recommended this book to everyone who loves reading, and I will continue to do so. This is probably my favorite Lisa Jewell book to date.

Thank you so much to Lisa Jewell, the publisher, and to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this digital arc in exchange for my honest review!

**Disclaimer: I received a free advanced readers copy of The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity.

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell is an adult mystery thriller and a sequel to Jewell's novel The Family Upstairs.  The novel picks up on threads left behind from the first novel.  We follow Henry and Lucy Lamb in their search for Phin Thomsen, and we also follow Rachel and her relationship with her husband who was murdered.  We also get the perspective of a detective who is investigating a skeleton found in a bag in the River Thames.  It was published on August 9th, 2022.  I rated it 4 stars on Goodreads.


Here's the summary from Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to The Family Upstairs.
Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago.
Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.
After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first-ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.
As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.
In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller, The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell proves she is writing at the height of her powers with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth.

I was excited to read the sequel to The Family Upstairs, which I reviewed on this blog.  You can find it here.  I wanted more of that story, and to see where the characters ended up.  I also wanted it to answer some more of my questions.  I also really liked the additional perspective on aspects of the story that weren't covered in the first novel.  It was very well done.

I found this book really compelling.  Henry is a fascinating narrator and his mind is definitely twisted.  It was very interesting to read his thoughts and to be honest, suspect the worst of him.  He hasn't done much to give you faith in him as a character, so I found myself surprised by him at the end of the novel in more than one way. 

I also liked reading from Lucy's perspective, because she's an empathetic character who has done some terrible things.  However,  you want her to succeed.  She's always done her best for her kids, and you can really see that in both of these novels.  I wanted her to get through this in a positive light.  I also found it interesting to get Marco's perspective and to see how he sees his mother.  It was also great to see his technological savvy.

I found Rachel's perspective hard to read because of the content of it.  I felt for her as you watched her slowly fall into an abusive relationship and also get herself out of it.  She too was an empathetic character, and it was hard to read her be gaslit.  I will admit that it took me a minute to remind myself of who Michael was, but it once I did, it was definitely a worth while point of view to add.

I think my least favourite point of view was that of the detective.  He had an incredibly interesting storyline, but I had a hard time reading his sections due to how they were written.  I'm not quite sure, but it felt a little bit awkward in the phrasing of the dialogue.  However, the mystery he was trying to solve was very engaging, and I liked watching him slowly connecting the dots and adding some other perspectives to the story from the first novel.

I would recommend that you read the first book before you read this one, but it was easy enough for me to put together the pieces of what happened in the first one, since it had been a while since I had read it and I had forgotten some details. So, if you've read the first one and are interested in the second one, I would highly suggest that you check it out!

Lisa Jewell is one of the authors that I will read whatever she writes. I want to thank @netgalley for the ARC of The Family Remains. It was a good read and a nice tie up of the story of The family Upstairs. However, there were a lot of story lines and points of view to keep track of that’s I thought took away from the story.

Perhaps if I had read The Family Upstairs (a book I loved) more recently, I would have liked The Family Remains more than I did. This book can function as a standalone, but to really understand everything, you need some context from TFU. There is also one storyline in TFR that could have completely been cut and not changed the story a bit. Overall, it wasn’t very engaging and I was hoping for something with more of the cult aspect of the first book.

This is a sequel to the book The Family Upstairs. It is a worthy sequel, where many are let downs. Lisa Jewell has created a set of characters that are memorable and lets the reader wanting to know more. There is a sinister undertone to the well written novel and psychological suspense. The Plot: On the shore of the Thames, Detective Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. Upon examination. he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor, a baby alive in a crib upstairs and 4 missing teenagers in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago. I read it within a day. If Jewell would have went in a different direction at the end, there could have been a third book easily, but I'm content with her ending.

This was such a good thriller! It kept me guessing and intrigued the whole time! The characters were likable and well developed. I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

I loved The Family Upstairs and was so excited to get an advance copy of The Family Remains from NetGalley! It picked up right where the Family Upstairs left off and also brings in Rachel, Michael’s wife, to the story. I thought the book was well written and kept my attention throughout. I didn’t want to put it down and couldn’t wait to find out what happened! It was a really good sequel!

What a fantastic sequel. Lisa Jewell has yet to fail me. This was my fifth book by her and I NeVER read sequels but decided to give this a chance. I was immediately pulled in and I’d say Henry and Rachel are what sealed the deal. Their stories balanced perfectly and I wanted more for both along the way. I was so pleased to see it all I come together. Well done.

Wow this sequel is just as drama filled, action packed, and filled with twists as The Family Upstairs!!!!!!!! I was enthralled with the rest of this story and so glad it didn't get left unfinished!!!!! Great sequel Ms Jewell.

A fast moving sequel to her first book. From page 1 you are invested in the characters as the story is told from multiple perspectives. You can’t help but too for Henry, though flawed, and his story kept me on my toes! One tip, read a plot summary of the first book before reading.

Lisa Jewell has another winner on her hands. Many subplots keep you wanting to read more. Even though this is a sequel to The Family Upstairs, it would work fine as a stand-alone.

Thank you again for letting me receive this title early! I am a big fan of the Family Upstairs, it was a book that kept me up at night with my theories! I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel though. I feel like so much happened but still not a lot at the same time. It just felt long? I don't know if that's the correct way to describe it. It just felt kind of boring to read. Sequels are always a hit or miss for me and this one just happened to be a miss, sadly. I still plan to recommend this to anyone who enjoys the author as well as anyone whos read the first book! I believe it's great to have the full story and this book gives you insight more into what happened after!

Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago.

Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.

As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.

Dabney and Maggie are both fans of Lisa Jewell’s writing and are here to discuss her new book, The Family Remains.

Maggie: The back blurb describes The Family Remains as a stand-alone sequel but I have to admit that I didn’t feel that way. (It’s a sequel to The Family Upstairs.) Knowing who most of these characters are and their backstory really makes a difference in how you read the tale. What do you think? Did this work as a standalone?

Dabney: Well… I didn’t realize until I finished it that it was a sequel, of sorts. And I loved it! So I think, if you don’t know better, it works just fine as a standalone. That said, I suspect having read The Family Upstairs might have made for a richer reading experience. Was that the case for you?

Maggie: Yes.I think otherwise some of the behaviors/events would have seemed odd or downright inexplicable.

How would you describe these characters just based on what you learned in this text?

Dabney: It’s true that Lucy, Henry, and Phin were all very mysterious for the first part of the book. But as someone who reads a ton of mysteries, I found that to be normal. My take was that they all had secrets I’d discover as I read which did indeed happen.

Maggie. I think that’s a good take on it, though I would argue that in the first novel, which was more of a psychological thriller/gothic than a mystery, they all had much deeper, darker edges to them. Henry especially seemed less somehow; the Henry of the The Family Remains appears almost incapable of doing what the Henry of The Family Upstairs did. I’d also argue that there is no real mystery at the start of the novel for those of us who read that first volume. We know what happened to whom and why.

On another note, let’s talk about the characters unique to this tale. I thought Marco was what Henry would have been if it weren’t for Henry’s horrific childhood and I absolutely loved him. Normally, youngsters that savvy drive me crazy but he was great. Rachel is another “newcomer” and I found her tale riveting. She’s so strong, resilient, and positive. A Lucy without all the darkness that has defined that woman’s life. What did you think of them?

Dabney: I really enjoyed Rachel’s story – Jewel makes her actions both sympathetic and understandable. Rachel’s able to overcome her bad choices in a way that Lucy struggles to do. I liked seeing how their stories were different and yet similar. Marco was a great kid – believable and able to help his mom in interesting ways. I loved his friendship with Alf – my age group loves to bemoan how the young use technology. It was fun to see the two boys harness that power for good!

Maggie: In fairness, the struggles that Lucy had to deal with in book one – which are only alluded to in much of this book – were far more severe than Rachel’s. I loved that both women had the strength to endure and move on. How would you describe the story (mystery/gothic/suspense/general fiction) and what would you say is the driving factor in it?

Dabney: I would say it’s suspenseful but not intensely so. It’s more an explanation of a stressful time rather than a real time thriller. I liked that about it. Like good mysteries–really like all good fiction – The Family Remains shows you the why behind people’s actions. Everyone in the book behaved in ways that were true to the characters (IN THIS BOOK) were written. I hate books where people act in ways that make no sense in the context of their stories!

Maggie: I would agree with your depiction of the story as more mystery than thriller. I do struggle with the question of the behaviors being true to the characters because I have that back story from the first novel and they don’t seem quite like the people in that book.

One factor that moves this story more towards a whodunit style narrative is the police investigation led by DI Samuel Owosu. I absolutely loved his character and thought he was everything a thorough, dedicated, compassionate officer of the law should be. And I enjoyed watching that investigation unfold knowing what I knew from The Family Upstairs and wondering if he would truly be able to unpack the complex mess behind Birdie’s murder. What did you think of him and that aspect of the tale?

Dabney: It really sounds as if we read two different books! I’ve thought about going back and reading The Family Upstairs – I’m a Jewel fan and it’s one of the few of hers I’ve not read–but since I know how it turned out, I’m not sure it’s worth it.

I like Owosu. He reminds me somewhat of Aaron Falk, the detective in Jane Harper’s compelling mysteries set in Southern Australia–he’s laconic enough to be dryly amusing and smart enough to be fun to follow his investigations. Plus he has his own sense of honor which makes the choices he makes thoughtful and not necessarily predictable. I had faith he’d figure it out!

Maggie: I’m so excited that Aaron Falk book three comes out in January! It’s interesting that you mention your qualms about going back to read The Family Upstairs because I’ve wondered whether these are books that can be read backwards and I just don’t know. There was so much I loved about that first volume but knowing what happens may indeed take all the suspense out of it. I would really recommend that readers that have a chance to do so start with the first book.

Phinn is the impetus for much of our tale – the search for him is the primary driving factor of this particular story – but I don’t want to say too much about him because of how impactful that plotline is to this narrative. I knew Phinn, what had happened to him, and why everyone was so freaked out that Henry was going after him. I understood Lucy’s urgency when she chased after her brother. As a fresh pair of eyes, so to speak, to that dynamic what did you make of that portion of the tale and Lucy and Henry’s actions?

Dabney: The Phinn story seemed like a stalker story to me because, I realize, I didn’t have the background. It made Henry creepy. Even by the book’s end, that storyline was my least favorite although I loved the way Marco played into that.

Maggie: The Phinn story is a stalker story, even with the background. Overall, I think those who have read The Family Upstairs will be happy to read this just to have some additional closure for the characters in that volume. There is a bit of rewriting history here – Henry especially went from being chilling to simply being a man from a desperate situation – but the tale is enjoyable and DI Sam and Rachel are both compelling characters who make The Family Remains well worth a read. I would give this a B+: It’s a solid story with some interesting mystery angles to it. It does, however, lack the dark, eerie edge of the first book.

Dabney: I’d give it a B+/A-. I really enjoyed unfurling the plot. I suspect that had I read The Family Upstairs, I’d still have liked it this much but I’d have had a different experience. So I think it’s a win for those who’ve read the first book and those who’ve not.

Thanks for chatting with me Maggie. Always a pleasure.

In a sequel to the dark thriller, The Family Upstairs, the police have discovered Birdie’s remains and start to investigate what really happened in the house. With the police asking questions, Lucy is terrified they will find out that she killed her ex-husband, while at the same time we learn the backstory of Michael and his second wife. Meanwhile, Henry’s obsession with Finn continues as he tries to track Finn down in Chicago.

It was fun to see what happened to all the characters from The Family Remains. Yet, on the whole, the sequel felt completely unnecessary. Jewell stripped made The Family Upstairs so memorable and went with a slow-burn character study and The Family Remains did not disappoint!

The Family Remains, by Lisa Jewell, is a sequel to The Family Upstairs. I loved the first and had great hopes for this one but it was just an ok read for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC (ebook version) to read in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars. A terrific follow up to The Family Upstairs! I loved that book except for the ambiguous ending. In my review at the time, I wished for a sequel for more closure. The first book was more intensely suspenseful, but this one has definitely provided a good ending to the story. It probably could be read as a stand alone, but I would highly recommend reading them in order. There are quite a few characters (some with aliases) to keep straight. The author does a good job filling in the past events for the reader; but even having read the first book a couple of years ago, it still helped to have the background reminders.

I just finished reading "The Family Remains" by Lisa Jewell. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with a free copy of ths book in return for an honest review. A fabulous author who has written another fabulous book. I didn't realize this was a sequel, it was so well written, I didn't feel like I missed out at all not having read the first book. Lisa Jewell creates rich characters with interesting backstories. She begins the novel with four separate sub-stories and somehow manages to bring all the characters into one singular story by the end of the novel.
The story centers around a murder, a family and a young girl who meets the wrong man. Somehow all these sub stories connect to reveal what happened long ago in a rather toxic home where most of these people lived. It was defenately a page turner and I couldn't stop reading the book. It is written from 4 different perspectives, which keeps it interesting and mysterious.
I loved the family drama, the characters and the evolution of the storylines I loved that every character in this story had a purpose. I loved the twists and turns, and the evolution of the characters and the story. The only negative was that the family tree was somewhat hard to follow, especially because some of the characters changed names. But, at the beginning of the novel, there is an explanation of the family tree. I loved the character of Rachel whose story was interesting, as well as Henry, who was a conflicted and flawed character that I had great empathy for.
Overall, this was a great book. Loved every second of it and I was sad when it ended. Lisa Jewell is a magnificent writer and I am never dissapointed in anything I read from this author.
Happy Reading!

Thank you Lisa Jewell, Netgalley, and Atria books for this ARC!
This is the second book I have read by Lisa Jewell and I really liked it! I thought that it was the perfect sequal to The Family Upstairs. I did enjoy the first book a little more and thought that it was more thrilling than this one but everything that happened in The Family Upstairs was wrapped up perfectly in this book. There weren't any major plot twists in this book which was a little disappointing but I did enjoy the multiple points of view and seeing how each characters story intertwines with the other characters stories. This will definitely not be my last Lisa Jewell book and I can't wait to read more!

Read this if you like:
- Multiple points of view
- Messed up family dynamics
- Faking identities
- A sequal that wraps up the story in a neat bow

This book was incredible and I felt was more compelling than its predecessor, The Family Upstairs. I found that I cared deeply about the characters and what came of them, the shifts in narrator were well executed, and the story progressed in a quicker more interesting way than the Family Upstairs did. It was the right level of unsettling, and the back story we received about each of the characters was rich and beneficial to the story. I have been recommending this book heavily to others.

I was excited to dive right back into this world after finishing The Family Upstairs. This sequel does not disappoint - the short chapters, multiple POVs and alternating timelines keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. It was a satisfying ending for the house of horrors family ! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5