I thoroughly enjoyed The Family Upstairs and couldn't wait to read this one as well. Don't worry, this can be read as a stand alone novel and I would highly recommend it.

The story is told from alternating viewpoints, those of Lucy and Henry who are siblings and Rachel and Samuel who work for the police. The story really starts when bones are found wrapped in a plastic bag by a mudlurker. The bones belong to a musician whose brother said she pretty much fell off the face of the earth. Not only that, the bones are part of a cold case from years earlier that left 3 people dead.

This is a strong book but be warned - there is a lot of detail with different characters so it isn't an entirely easy read.

I am so sorry but I have to DNF this one. I have been trying for months to get into it to no avail. I enjoyed The Family Upstairs and was so excited to be given an ARC of this one! But I just don't care abut the characters and I cannot get lost in the story. I even tried the audio version to see if that would help.

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first book in the series,The Family Upstairs, and really enjoyed it.

It took me a few tries to get into this book. The first few chapters started out a little slow and there was not a prelude to share a bit about the first book or the characters but then it transformed into a page turner! So don’t give up!

This was a great sequel and would definitely recommend!

This was such a good book! After the ending in the book The Family Upstairs, I needed more. I was so excited to hear there was a second book! You do need to read the first book for this one to make sense. This book will have you hooked right from the start and you won’t be able to put it down. The short chapters will keep you flipping through the pages. If you loved the first book in the series, you’ll love this one too. I recommend checking it out!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A totally unputdownable thriller, this book will have you gripped from the very first page until the jaw-dropping final twist. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.

I wish I had gone back and reread The Family Upstairs before reading this book. There is an included list of the main characters n the front of the book, but I had forgotten so much. One I started to remember the characters I really got into the story, it was a very enjoyable book. Would definitely recommend this one, but also recommend a reread of The Family Upstairs first!

I didn't know Jewell was coming out with a sequel! I was thrilled to be picked for an Advanced Reader Copy. The authors states that she has written this one as a standalone, but I definitely recommend reading The Family Upstairs before reading this. Even though she gives the reader a brief explanation of what happened in the 1st book in relation to all that is happening here, it is so much more enjoyable when you really have the context and deeper understanding of the characters from all that we know about them from book 1.
I think I liked this one even more than the first. I enjoyed the first book, but sometimes it was so cringy and awful reading on about the horrible things happening to the main characters. I felt like in this sequel, the main characters were really taking control of their life and I was so happy to see everything come together for them throughout the journey of this read.

Lisa Jewell does it again! I love her writing and the way that she keeps you guessing. This is a good story, one that I could not put down. A very fast read! Already been recommended to many!

I love Lisa Jewell's writing, but this book wasn't my favorite. So many characters and time periods made it hard for me to stay interested.

This isn’t truly a sequel to Jewel’s previous novel <i>The Family Upstairs</i>, but I had read it previously and it does help get a broader picture of the family and main characters of <i>The Family Remains</i>, Henry, Libby, Lucy and Phin, along with Rachel and Michael.

<i>The Family Remains</i> follows Henry as he journeys from the UK to the US in search of Phin. Libby and her children, Marco and Stella, have relocated to the UK after a harrowing tale, involving Michael and his wife Rachel. And a third story evolves around a bag of bones that washed up along the Thames River, that lead the DCI to a decrepit mansion where 30 years ago 3 bodies were found mysteriously murdered.

Like many of Lisa Newell’s novels, this one spans time and perspectives and leaves the reader with a sense of wonder and mystery, always on the edge of their seats. I loved this one as both a stand alone and a sequel.

I enjoy Lisa Jewell's work and The Family Upstairs. I was excited to read a sequel! While this book, does continue the story of the Lamb family and provide a deeper history, it is a very different book. There are lots of characters and timeline jumping that I found quite confusing. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but not as much as her previous titles.

this is a complicated read. It is book 2 in the Family Upstairs series and I would highly recommend reading it first. The characters are numerous and some go by several names. I read book one and maybe I should have reread it before starting this one. Not sure why I don't remember half that story.
The suspense factor isn't real high. I've enjoyed her other books more than this one.

I really loved The Family Upstairs, but I feel like this one was even better! The complexity of the characters kept me hooked the entire time.

A decent sequel to The Family Upstairs. I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the first one so was thrilled to find out Jewell was releasing a sequel. I thought it did a decent job wrapping it all together and followed the things that occurred after the first book. While interesting and entertaining, I ultimately found the Rachel perspective unnecessary and everything ultimately anti-climactic. The ending with Finn and Henry did surprise me, however. But I find it hard to believe that given Henry's character arc.

3.5/5 stars

The Family Remains is marketed as a standalone sequel to The Family Upstairs. So did it work as a standalone for me? Unfortunately not; however, it can work as one. I did read The Family Upstairs, but three years later, I forgot most of what happened. I didn’t know what I should have remembered and what I didn’t know yet, which took away some of the suspense in the story. I didn’t need to remember anything, as Lisa Jewell provides us with the background we need to know. Reading both back to back would be the best reading experience to get to know the characters and the horror they endured while living in the house of horrors. If you read The Family Upstairs and don’t remember much or haven’t read it, you are in good hands with Lisa Jewell

The hook and pace: Was the story a page-turner?

The story opens in 2019, when human remains are discovered, creating questions about who and how long they have been there. Then we are taken back to 2018 London, where Rachel Rimmer is awoken by a phone call informing her that her husband, Michael, was found murdered. DCI Samuel Owusu suspects the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago, known to us as “the house of horrors.” Then we’re taken back to 2019, where Henry Lamb now lives with his sister Lucy and her children in London.

It sounds a bit confusing with a lot going on, and Lisa Jewell had me turning the pages as she juggles the three storylines and weave together four narratives that eventually overlap and come together nicely. However, she takes her time, slowing down the pace, and waits too long to show us the connections. That was slightly off from her signature writing style. BUT Lisa Jewell has given her readers what they ask for here in The Family Remains: to find out what happens next for the characters who survived the house of horrors after that line in The Family Upstairs.

The Characters

Jewell dives back into the psyche of Henry Lamb, one of her most unsettling characters from TFU. Libby locates her birth father, Phin Thomsen, who also survived the house of horror. Phin disappears again, and Henry becomes obsessed with finding Phin. I loved the creepy feeling Henry gave me, TFU, and the last chapters left me chilled to the bone. With so much going on, I didn’t get that chilling feeling I wanted from Henry in this one, which detracts from the suspense of Henry’s pursuit of Phin. I wanted to spend more time in Henry’s head.

Lisa Jewell introduces us to a new character Rachel Rimmer as she remembers her disastrous marriage with her abusive husband, Micheal.

Payoff: Are the twists and turns exciting and shocking with a rewarding payoff in the end?

Yes, Even though things didn’t quite go as I wanted them to, I did find them exciting and rewarding in the end.

Overall I enjoyed it and I am glad Jewell allowed us to see what happens next for the characters.

I had a difficult time with this one. It was just super dark and a bit hard to follow. Perhaps I would have had a better experience if I had re-read the Family Upstairs, but I found it tough to get through.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book and its earlier one, The Family Upstairs, provides a clear indication of just how one's family and early developmental years have impacted on one's outlook and goals. Many of us come from unfortunate backgrounds, and many of us are trying, as in this book, to overcome the misdeeds of the past and make amends for family members' shortcomings. This is very sad story but so very true in its telling. A must read for anyone in developmental psychology or in family practices. I loved both these books and felt the protagonists' anguish.

I am a fan of Lisa Jewell's books. Each one seems to capture my attention more then the previous one. The book begins with a a discovery of bones that are connected to a cold case from 30 years ago. Rachel Rimmer receives news that her husband has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. Lucy Lamb is coming back to London after being gone for 30 years. They all are surrounded by mysteries and come to find that they are connected in ways they didn't imagine. Family secrets become unburied. Great writing of complex themes.

I was so excited to read the sequel of The Family Upstairs because I loved the original book.
It was great to meet all the characters again and see what they were up to.
The book introduces some new characters like a detective and an old character’s ex wife.
The story takes some more twists and turns but all in all I was quite pleased with the ending.
A must read for fans of the original book.