I read all of Lisa Jewell's books and knew that this one would be no exception. The only problem...it's a sequel of a prior book that I certainly couldn't remember all of the details. Fortunately, I found a good recap, spoilers and all, online that helped fill in the back story, because you will definitely need that knowledge to appreciate this book. This book is another win for this author. Great story, detailed characters, and a nice tight mystery. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was perfect, since it had been awhile since I read the family upstairs I decided to re-read it and honestly it was not necessary, this book could be read as a standalone but I am SO GLAD we got a sequel!! I am glad we got a chapter form henry's perspective. The writing was excellent.

You may hear that his is a standalone book, and you don’t need to have read The Family Upstairs first but I disagree. The Family Remains continues the story of Lucy, Libby, Henry, and Phin and switches between the same two narrators as the first book. If you can’t grab The Family Upstairs from your local library, you can find a detailed recap online to catch you up. In The Family Remains, we are updated on Lucy’s, Henry’s, and Libby’s lives and are introduced to new characters Rachel, Michael, and Samuel. The Rachel/Michael narrative is related to the “main” story but seemed a bit out of place at times. I loved learning more about what Lucy has been doing and seeing her relationship with Libby. Henry is as creepy as ever and on a mission to reconnect with Phin. I appreciated the conclusion of the story and as always, I look forward to Lisa Jewell’s next book!

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

Pick up with the Lamb family one year after their reconnection. They have just settled the family's estate when a detective with London's PD starts to ask questions about the triple murder-suicide that occurred 25 years ago. The family scatters as they try to hunt down old family members while racing against Detective Owusu as he starts to solve the decades old cold case.

This sequel wrapped up a few loose ends from the previous novel. Not sure I'd read it as a stand alone. I do like that we were able to learn more about characters from the first novel that were only just mentioned (Rachel Rimmer, Michael Rimmer's second wife).

I enjoyed the multiple timelines and POVs. I actually liked this one more than #TheFamilyUpstairs. I really enjoyed Rachel’s POV. I thought this was a fun deeper dive into all the characters and liked seeing where they ended up several years later.

This was a disappointment. The first Lisa Jewell I haven't loved. Having a sequel to the Family Upstairs seems tired. I wasn't able to fall in love with the mystery in this one because it really didn't have one. I became bored of the story and didn't like the twists.

The Family Remains is a follow-up to author Lisa Jewell's best seller The Family Upstairs. I loved The Family Upstairs (5 stars), but there were several loose threads left at the end. So I was excited to see that Jewell was releasing a follow-up. I have to be honest though, The Family Remains is a tough book to get through if you haven't read (and remembered) The Family Upstairs. I chose -- wrongly -- to not go back and reread The Family Upstairs because The Family Remains is really not a standalone novel. I found myself constantly trying to remember characters and events that I read about over three years ago, and my memory is honestly not that good.

In this new novel, police in London retrieve the body of a young woman from the Thames River. While the body is newly discovered, they quickly learn that the woman died many years ago and is not a drowning victim. What's more, they are able to trace the body to the creepy home from The Family Upstairs. Thus the reader is reintroduced to Henry and Lucy Lamb, as well as Lucy's daughter, Libby. We are also tangentially reintroduced to another character from the first book, Phineas, a boy with whom Henry was obsessed. Henry gets a lead on Phineas's whereabouts and decides to take off to Chicago to find him somehow. A good percentage of the book follows Henry and his misadventures in Chicago. The third narrative stream is about Lucy Lamb's ex-husband (Michael) who has been killed in France. This introduces us to a new character named Rachel, Michael's wife.

It's a lot of characters, several plotlines, and for me, a lot of confusion. If I had read this book directly after reading The Family Upstairs, I probably would have given it 4 or 5 stars. However, because this is not written as a stand-alone, I'm dropping it to 3.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an eGalley. I still love Lisa Jewell, but this was a miss for me for the reason stated.

This is the follow up to The Family Upstairs and although it might be able to be enjoyed as a standalone story, it really builds on the previous plot. I was interested to find out how Lucy and Henry moved forward in life and how strongly the character of Phin still impacted their existence (especially Henry). There is a mystery plot that runs alongside their story and that was some of my favorite material in this book. I loved the DI character and finding out how the story of Rachel connected to the characters we already knew. Overall, I enjoyed this book but not as much as The Family Upstairs. The first book is a shocking psychological thriller while this one is more of a slow burn mystery. I definitely recommend reading it if you read the first because it was interesting to revisit this tortured family and see how they continue to navigate the world.

Thank you to Lisa Jewell, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had a really hard time with this one. I liked the first book but this one dragged for me and I almost didn't finish it.

An excellent thriller with unexpected twists and turns along the way. This is a sequel to The Family Upstairs, but I think it could also be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed this book and believe it is one of Lisa Jewell's best, and I have read all of them.

The Family Remains is a follow-up to Lisa Jewell's novel The Family Upstairs. This can be read as a standalone but I recommend reading The Family Upstairs first. I had to refresh my memory about what The Family Upstairs was about in order to really make the most of reading this new book. A set of human bones is discovered and the remains end up being tied to a cold case from thirty years ago. This case unravels all kinds of secrets for the characters involved in this story. Plenty of drama and intrigue to keep the plot moving right along. Read and enjoy!

The Family Remains is a page turning sequel to The Family Upstairs that answers some questions the first book left unanswered. Lisa Jewell's newest installment in the series picks up years later as we follow Henry, Libby, and Lucy as the past starts to catch up with them. It begins with a body being found. and a mystery left to be solved. Many twists and turns later, we finally get answers about what really happened thirty years ago in the Lamb household. I had forgotten many of the plot points from the first book, and it took me a minute to catch up. This sequel was a page turner that left me guessing until the end. I would recommend this book, but I think it would be best to read after the first in the series as it is not a standalone novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Aria Books for the ARC!

I didn't actually realize this was a sequel to The Family Upstairs until I started reading it and was like, wait a second. With that said, I liked the first book, but I didn't necessarily long for a part 2. As such, I enjoyed this book, as Lisa Jewell is a fine writer, obviously, but I'm still not sure I needed it. It does flesh out the previous story, though, if you were looking for closure.

I did like the first book, The Family Upstairs - it held much originality, For me the story worked well with the characters being younger - moving from their youth to their 20's. As older adults - 30 years in the future, they just didn't ring true to me. The story was difficult for me to get through and didn't flow well.

I mean this is Lisa Jewell. Obviously this is going to be a positive review. Is it my favorite? No...but holding the thriller queen to a standard she has created is a tricky thing to do. I wish it had more twists and turns and a shocking ending which is what I typically associate with LJ. I think because of that my expectations weren't in line with what I got and thus I didn't rate it higher. However...it's still dang good! I'm just comparing it to her other books.

Interesting characters and a well-done stand alone novel, even though it's technically a sequel to The Family Upstairs. While it may have been nice to reread the first novel before diving into this one, it's not necessary to have read The Family Upstairs to enjoy this book—though some of the more convoluted areas of the plot would likely make sense quicker if having done so. It's not poorly written, just a complex story with lots of context needed for understanding. I enjoyed reading it and think it fits well with the rest of Lisa Jewell's body of work.

TW: Child abandonment, divorce, depression, smoking, language, teenage pregnancy, single parenthood, gaslighting, rape, loss of parent, domestic abuse

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book: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.
Release Date: July 26th, 2022
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 384
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Second book in a series 😍
2. The writing style was awesome
3. I was absorbed in the story
4. I loved Rachel

What I Didn't Like:
1. Everyone chasing down Finn

Overall Thoughts:Let me tell you I was INVESTED in this story. I was hooked on every👏🏻single👏🏻word.

Rachel had me seriously laughing at some of the things she did and said.I thought the writing was so good.

I pretty much liked all the characters and could understand where they were coming from.

Final Thoughts:I just wish it would have went somewhere with Phin because it felt as though everyone was chasing him and they find him and it's just like "hello". That's all. I thought Henry was going to do something. Kind of a let down to not have anything happen.

Also it's weird to have a sequel to the first book when I didn't think it was needed.

Recommend For:
• Family drama
• Mysteries
• Second book in a series

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

The Family Upstairs was only the second adult thriller I had ever read in my life and was the first one that I gave 5 stars to. It started not only my love of adult thrillers, but my absolute DEVOTION to Lisa Jewell. So when I found out there was going to be a sequel (which is all you ever hope for with her books since they usually have a somewhat open ending) I knew I had to get my hands on it.

This book was everything and more that I could have expected. I loved that we had the original band of characters with their alternating POV, but that we also got to meet a new one and boy was I hooked on her storyline. I could not be more grateful that this book was described and written as a "standalone sequel", because it has been so long since I read book one that I was very worried I would be lost. The only thing that caused extremely minor confusion was that I couldn't remember if we ever met Phin in book one or if we were just looking for him...

This book was amazing. I read it in one day because I simply couldn't put it down. That was due to two reasons. Number one, Henry's strange and creepy holiday to Chicago was a total car crash scenario. I honestly didn't want to read about it because it made me so uncomfortable, but at the same time, I couldn't not read it. I had to know what was going to happen. Number two, Rachel & Michael. I LOATHED Michael so much. I don't think I have ever hated a character more. I wanted him to PAY and I needed to keep reading to make sure he got what was coming.

Overall, another stellar book from Lisa Jewell. Not surprised in the least that this gets 5-stars, but very happy and honest to give it as well.

The Family Remains is a mystery thriller that shows how far a person will go for those they love. I thought the first book “The Family Upstairs” pretty much cleared everything up in terms of the mystery and murder but I was wrong because this book tied up everything and still left me wanting more. In this sequel we see where all the intriguing characters from the first book are and how they are dealing with life after everything went down in “The Family Upstairs”. We see Lucy and Henry and the children and dog are all living together and are somewhat happy until Uncle Henry decides to take a trip to see their old pal Phin at the same time that the police have found a dead body that has been traced back to the house of horror that they lived in when they were children. This story is filled with family drama, unsolved murder, and so many shocking twists.

I love that we are able to see the story through so many different POVs including the lead detective on the case, Rachel who married Lucy’s ex husband, and of course Lucy and Henry. I reread the first book right before I picked up this one and it made such a difference because I knew exactly what the characters were talking about especially when why mentioned the house they grew up in. In my opinion this had the most satisfying conclusion that tied up everything single loose end that was flying around. I found myself picking up the book to read more about the characters than the actual mystery and murder because the characters were so well written and complex. I loved finding out more about Rachel who wasn’t really a huge character in the first book but in this sequel were able to uncover so many crazy reveals that involve her. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the digital copy of this book. Lisa Jewel is fast becoming an automatic buy author for me because I find her books to be instant page turners that surprise and capture me. I had such a fun time reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery, intriguing characters and surprising twists that stay with you after you turn the last page.

Another amazing book by Lisa Jewell. Full of twists and turns, I didn’t know what to expect and wanted to keep reading to find out. Even though the book has different points of view and in different times, it is easy to follow and engaging!