Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Oh, Lisa Jewell. I can never put down your books! I read this one quickly, over just a few days, enjoying every minute.

I couldn’t remember much of the original book, aside from that first line that I loved - “the baby is 25.” - but it did come back to me as I read The Family Remains. I believe you could read this as a stand-alone, as so many years has passed since I read The Family Upstairs and I was still able to follow the compelling plot and story.

Jewell manages to make you care about these characters, even if I’m being honest, I didn’t like Henry at all. But their journey from 16 Cheyne Walk through London to Chicago and back is a great read.

Will definitely add to my public library’s collection when published.

This is the sequel to Lisa Jewell's chilling The Family Upstairs, a top notch multilayered and intricate psychological thriller with its old and new characters. Jewell weaves her magic with her disturbed and unsettling storytelling, in which there are mysteries and surprising connections are made. In London, a mudlark discovers a washed up bag of bones on the banks of the River Thames. The bones are those of a young woman who had suffered blunt force trauma, DCI Samuel Owusu investigates as forensic evidence leads him to a Chelsea mansion in Cheyne Walk where 3 decades ago, three dead bodies were found in the kitchen. We become reacquainted with the Lamb family, Lucy, with her two children, Marco and Stella, her brother, Henry, and Libby, haunted by the trauma of their past. The novel is relayed through the perspectives of the various characters.

Rachel Rimmer had married the seemingly perfect Michael perhaps rather too quickly, the abusive Michael is Lucy's ex, and he has now been found dead at his home in France and the French police want to talk to her. Lucy is living with her brother, and seeking safety, stability and security after experiencing a challenging set of circumstances and periods of homelessness. The fragile and lonely Henry, with his self-esteem issues, is feeling a tangle of mixed emotions and feelings, not all straight forward, he is obsessed with Phin Thomsen, wanting to know where he is, with rumours of him being in Africa. This is a dark, intense and thrilling read, never less than compelling, which includes trauma, blackmail, abuse, murder, in this superior narrative where the separate threads are expertly woven together and connected.

I would definitely suggest and recommend reading The Family Upstairs before beginning this novel. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Lisa Jewell is a master storyteller and her newest thriller The Family Remains does not disappoint. This is twisty and complex and will take you on a wild ride with turns that you won’t see coming.

The siblings from The Family Upstairs return in all of their traumatized yet resilient glory. Henry has altered his appearance to resemble his childhood idol Phin to the point of being unrecognizable. His sister Lucy is living with him and her two youngest children until Henry disappears on a quest to find Phin and Lucy has no choice but to follow him. The misadventures that follow are sometimes funny and sometimes truly frightening.

We also meet Rachel and Michael, the seemingly perfect couple whose marriage takes an unexpected turn on their honeymoon. With Jewell’s amazing flair for the dramatic - and traumatic- she weaves a complex connection between the characters that will keep you guessing until the very end.

I absolutely loved this sequel! I loved the characters in the first book and this one did not disappoint! I was pulling for my favorite characters and was surprised by many of the events in this book! I love a good surprise! I highly recommend even if you have not read the first book. She does a good job of filling you in without it dragging down the present plot!!

Lisa Jewell does it again! In her newest novel, you will be on the edge of your seat for the entire page-turning journey. Highly recommend!

Wow Lisa Jewell has done it again. I didn’t realize this book was a sequel to The Family Upstairs until I was a few chapters in. This book has the same suspense and thrill as the first book. I found myself getting hooked in after the first chapter and read this book in a day.

I love how the characters are all woven together expertly and I was kept on the edge of my seat. I will continue to read any Lisa Jewell book! She is a brilliant writer and this story is no exception.

Thank you net galley and publisher for the advanced copy. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I enjoyed Rachel’s storyline much more than everything else that was going on here. Maybe because I kind of forgot what happened in the first book. Maybe this is more enjoyable if you read them back to back.

I loved The Family Upstairs and was really excited to read this sequel. They say it’s a standalone but I recommend reading The Family Upstairs first to understand the characters and family dynamics that carry over into this book. I read the first book over a year ago and had to google a bit to refresh my memory of what took place.

The pace was very slow and each chapter skipped around with different characters and timelines. Some characters were from the first book and some were new. It was hard to keep track of what was going on and because of the slow pace I was beginning to not care. I put it down for a while and read other things. I went back to this after 2 weeks and stuck it out to the end. It wound up all coming together in a satisfying way but it just moved too slow and was told in a confusing way.

I went into this book not realizing it was a sequel to a previous Lisa Jewell book (The Family Upstairs). I figured it out in short time because it had links to the plot of the first book that was very memorable. It kept the same dark, creepy atmosphere of the first book. Honestly, if I had realized it was a sequel I might not have picked it up because I was satisfied with the complete story in the first book without wanting to know more. The first book was more suspenseful, and this one just sort of tied up some loose ends without a lot of twists or thrills.

Lisa Jewell is traditionally one of my must-read authors, and I've devoured most of her work during the course of the last five years. When I read The Family Upstairs, I knew she was a solid thriller writer, and I hadn't suspected there would be a sequel. It didn't necessarily need one, but the vivid characters and partially unresolved moments from the book demanded to be revisited. In this second of the series, which is likely not to have a third I suspect, we see some of our favorites and learn more about a few we hadn't known all that well in the first book. The Lamb family is not without its faults, and they blur the line of good and bad. None are outright devils, and they have all suffered to the extremes; however, the need for vengeance and their obsessions with people from the past can push them into complex territory.

Jewell conjured a terrific plot, one with a bit of a history not-so-much re-writing as much as a filling-in-blanks that pushed the envelope on believability. That said, it is compelling and easily pulls readers into the drama by the fourth or fifth chapter. If you haven't read the debut, I suggest rereading it again immediately before tackling the sequel... not because it's necessary but it really helps you remember the specific character flaws and actions that happened 25 years earlier. Jewell catches you up on most of the pertinent points, yet reading back-to-back is probably ideal to experience the shock value we deserve. It was mostly clear where the plot was going from the beginning, and it's easy to forgive this family for the things they do wrong... at the same time, the overarching theme needed a little more gut-punch and possibly another side story to really make it a 5-star shine. Definitely a must-read for anyone who enjoyed the first book.

I will read anything Lisa Jewell and this was another much anticipated summer read! I really love The Family Upstairs and reread it to refresh my memory. While this book could probably be read as a stand alone, I would suggest reading book 1 for the backstory. The Family Remains was a nice wrap up of the loose ends. I was happy to know more about Rachel in this book and I still think Henry is creepy. Real MVP is Marco.

The Family Remains was a perfect sequel to Lisa Jewell’s The Family Upstairs. If you haven’t read The Family Upstairs, you will still enjoy this thriller tremendously, though I would say you’ll enjoy it MORE if you have the backstory. But Jewell does an excellent job providing context naturally throughout the story.

With three characters in a few timelines, I found myself getting more excited to follow along with certain story lines than others, and as a result, this book felt slower at times than most of Jewell’s books. But it still kept me completely invested. I found myself picking up my kindle to read in every free moment I had.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy.

I mean, this was just GOOD.

A twisted family drama/thriller involving murder, abuse and hidden identity.

This book has the perfect eerie tone and slowly enfolds all of the interconnected stories/subplots as the book goes on and it is delectable to the very last page!

This book opens with the discovery of a dead body and the re-opening of a twenty year old cold case. The story then closely follows the lives of Rachel, Henry and Lucy.

Rachel has just married a seemingly perfect man named Michael. Henry has reconstructed his face and altered his appearance to be near identical to Phin (whose name he is also using) and Lucy is making ends meet whilst taking care of her children and making herself scarce. I was so enthralled by all of their stories, especially Rachel’s (I was shocked and horrified by many moments in her story line).

*Please note, I think it’s very important to give a TW for sexual assault for this book. If this is something you are sensitive to, I wouldn’t recommend..*

This book is advertised as a standalone and I have not read the first book (though I will now immediately be doing that) but it seems that in this case it may be helpful, as I felt I was missing some important background details that a reader who has read book one wouldn’t be missing. I will probably re-read this after I finish The Family Upstairs and I’m sure I will pick up some additional details.

Lisa Jewell can write one hell of a thriller!!

5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I made. a huge mistake and read the reviews and was so excited. They all kept talking about the ending and how they didn't see it coming.

The book was very confusing to me. I had to refer back to the cast of characters that is in the front of the book. It kept going back and forth.

It was a good story, but wasn't my favorite Lisa Jewell book. The twist at the end was good, but I was set up for something crazy. It was a solid read and most people will like it, I just didn't like being confused.

The Family Remains in a stunning sequel to The Family Upstairs! As popular as the first one was, I always expect sequels to fall flat, but that is NOT what happened here. We are reacquainted with the messed up family. They have a new inheritance and all have secrets. I think the continuing of their story is fascinating in how they are dealing with the trauma they experienced in their childhood.

This book is probably best enjoyed by ardent Lisa Jewell fans, of which I am one. I say that not only because you have to read The Family Upstairs to understand the family dynamics that carry over into Family Remains, but also because nothing happens for the first half of the book. It plods along, reacquainting us with the dysfunctional surviving family from Cheyne Walk and introducing Sam, the police detective who is trying to solve the puzzle of what happened there 25 years ago. There's also a parallel storyline about Michael, the father of Lucy's son Marco, that occurs in flashbacks. It all comes together at the end in a satisfying way, but it takes time and patience on behalf of the reader to get there. Not my favorite of Jewell's books.

Thanks @netgalley and Lisa Jewell for read number 75 of 2022. Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite authors, and this book did not disappoint. Make sure you read THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS first to get familiarized with the characters and the plot line. There are many characters & relationships, but they are so well-developed in this book that this was not problematic. Jewell really has you thinking more about right and wrong here, and the blurry line in between. Rarely does a book make me cry, and particularly a suspenseful one, but this one did. I’m still thinking about the ending. This character has me continuing to question and wonder where I stand. Some disturbing elements in this book & probably the need for some trigger warning as well, but I just don’t want to ruin anything. This was a highly-anticipated read for me, and ended up being an all-in-one-sitting book. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 read! Lisa Jewell does it again! 💕

I was a huge fan of The Family Upstairs and was expecting a lot from this sequel. I am very happy to say that I was not disappointed. The Family Remains picked up pretty much right from where the first book left off, at the same breakneck speed with the same intriguing characters and, best of all, with some new ones added into the mix. This time around Libby and friends were more secondary characters and Henry and Lucy were more to the forefront along with Lucy’s ex-husband’s wife Rachel. There was also the added jeopardy in the form of a determined police detective investigating a murder associated with the family home.

This book did an excellent job tying up the story from the first book. By the end, there was a definite sense of closure. I did feel, however, that maybe things were tied up a little too neatly. I was happy for everyone, but it seemed a little too tidy; a little too fast.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

This is considered a sequel to "The Family Upstairs," which is a book with so much happening that when you are done with it, you are left gasping for more. In "The Family Remains," Lisa Jewell delivers and ties up many of the plot points. If you are wondering if you need to read "The Family Upstairs" before reading this book, I highly recommend it. If you are wondering if you need to reread "The Family Upstairs" because it has been awhile, I don't think so. The author is quite good about bringing the reader up to speed enough that you don't need that prior story fresh in your mind, although I think many readers are likely to return to that compelling story for a refresher.

While most of the characters from the prior book return, the focus is on Lucy and Henry, and they narrate many of the chapters. A police detective also joins in as a narrator, and a new character, Rachel, who is involved with Lucy's ex enters into the story and narrates a number of chapters on her own. Some would say she isn't necessary to the story, but I disagree, and I think her story line added much to the story and helped turn an idea for a sequel into a meaningful standalone book.

I'm so glad Lisa Jewell decided to bring these characters back and give us more. My thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve always enjoyed Lisa Jewell’s books but this was not my favorite solely for the fact that I found it to be very confusing at times, which is not usually the case for me with her books. This book is a sequel and I read and relished the first one last year, but I had difficulty in remembering all of the characters and the details of the plot. Add to this the multiple characters and multiple time periods of this and I really had trouble keeping everything straight. It had certain elements that make Jewell such a great suspense writer, but overall I found this one to be too much work to really enjoy as I have with her others.