Very good sequel. I loved the family dynamic so much. I would recommend this to anyone who loved the family upstairs!

A complicated mystery with many twists and turns. I have to say, the jumps in timeline and changes in names definitely meant that you had to concentrate. This will work for some readers but not for others. An intriguing story.

I really loved this sequel by Lisa Jewell, a rare occurrence is it’s as good as the first book if not better. Full of mystery and suspence, I loved the Michael back story and the edge of your seat mystery of Henry and his trip looking for Phinn. Lisa is one of my automatic go to writers, I literally wait for her newest one to come out with great excitement and this one definitely did not disappoint, I could not put it down and i highly recommend. Thanks so much to the publisher for the chance to read this early copy and to Netgalley.

An absolute stellar sequel to the brilliant The Family Upstairs. I won’t say much about the plot, cause the less you know the better, but what I will say is that I highly recommend you re-read the The Family Upstairs if you’ve forgotten some of the story like I have. Lisa Jewell is such a reliable author who always guarantees a good story and this was a fantastic follow up. I can imagine some readers being critical that it’s too neat and gives a happy ending but I liked it. Sometimes you need that. Can’t wait to recommend this to my customers over the summer. It’s the perfect beach read.

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

It's the sequel that fans have been waiting for! The next chapter to the highly acclaimed spine-tingling and creepy "The Family Upstairs" and which needs no introduction. However, do not fear if you have not read the first book - though I do recommend it as it is thoroughly dark and sinister and creepy - as THE FAMILY REMAINS is written in such a way that it can be read as a standalone. First of all, take no notice of the premise. In my opinion, it bears little resemblence to what actually unfolds.

It's been three years since "The Family Upstairs" was published which means it's been three years since I've read it; which means I've probably read over 600 books since then so I'm hardly likely to remember every nitty gritty detail...but I do recall some. And as I read this book, there were some aspects that took me right back to 16 Cheyne Walk and I could picture that gothic mansion in Chelsea, with its view over the Thames to Battersea, as if I had lived there myself...or at the very least, read the book yesterday. If I had the time I may well have re-read the book but it didn't matter in any case because the story was so well written as well as the bringing in of two new characters that it felt like a completely new story with a twenty five year old cold case at its core.

There was so much left unsaid at the end of "The Family Upstairs" with so many of us wondering what happened to the Lamb children after 16 Cheyne Walk? I can't remember how the book ended but Lisa Jewell has cleverly expanded on their lives in between where it all ended to where they are now. But she has added a new perspective to the story and a new mystery that is very closely linked to the old mysteries left behind.

Beginning in June 2019, a bag of skeletal remains washes up on the banks of the River Thames that was discovered by a somewhat enthusiastic mudlarker. Not quite sure what a mudlarker is...it sound more like a bird than anything else...lol And enter dogged but very likeable DI Samuel (not Sam) Owusu who is called in to investigate the discovery. And thus opens a can of worms dating back to the mid-90s and the house of horrors in which innocent, malnourished and tortured children had escaped before the triple suicide of their parents with their leader and a crying baby, Serenity Lamb, were discovered.

Then we step back in time by about a year to July 2018 and Rachel Rimmer is awoken by a phone call from French police to inform her that her husband Michael has been found dead in the basement of his Antibes home. As he was stabbed they are treating his death as murder but there are few leads as to who may responsible. So how does his death link to the discovery of decades of human remains fished out of the Thames?

To tell this story accurately and to build the bigger picture, the author takes us back yet again to 2016 when Rachel met Michael and the courtship that followed resulting in a whirlwind marriage. This part of the story unfolds gradually in alternating chapters up until Michael's demise.

Meanwhile, in between the present day 2019 and three years prior, we meet a grown up Lucy who now has two young children and has recently moved in with her now grown up, yet still slightly obsessed, brother Henry. We are also introduced to Libby Jones who was that defenceless little baby Serenity left in her cot once everyone else had escaped or died. She was adopted and had a loving home and has only just recently reconnected with her birth mother, Lucy. There's a story there, which unfolded in the first book but readers' memories are refreshed with the circumstances in this thrilling sequel.

And then there is Phineas. He was the god that Henry adored and aspired to. Since escaping 16 Cheyne Walk two decades ago, he has kept himself under the radar living a quiet life and doing what he loves. Yet when he gets wind of a planned family reunion, he panics and escapes yet again before they can track him down. But fragile and lonely Henry has other plans...to find Phin at all costs. But what does he have planned for the reunion he has in mind?

Yes, there is a lot going on in this book but each of the stories are connected and are expertly woven together with a skillful hand. The alternating timelines that go back and forth in the beginning may seem overwhelming but you soon pick up who is who and what is what. My only complaint with this is that with each chapter a header should have been included to indicate whose narrative it was as it wasn't always clear until a little way into the chapter. Only Samuel's was titled but I feel everyone else should have been also. Having said that, aside from Samuel, it is only Henry that has a first person voice with everyone else in the third person. It kind of made him seem a little more human or more of a villain...who knows? One is never quite sure what to expect with Henry. But after the childhood those children had to endure, it is not at all surprising.

I must note that I did find one aspect a little far fetched in that Lucy's son Marco took on the role of someone senior in years. I don't mean because of his upbringing but the way in which the conversation between he and Kris Doll in Chicago ensued - it was like two adults conversing when in fact Marco is only 11 years old. And Lucy sat back and let Marco lead the conversation in their attempts to track down the elusive Henry who had skipped town on the trail of the even more elusive Phineas. I just found it a little far fetched.

THE FAMILY REMAINS is not a mystery or thriller as such. Yes, there is a murder investigation as well as the death of Michael Rimmer in France woven into the story, it is more of a family drama with some loose ends that need tying up. What this book gives readers is the closure that "The Family Upstairs" didn't.

A dark and intense read, THE FAMILY REMAINS is compelling and addictive from the very first page and is bursting with trauma, abuse, murder, rape, blackmail as well as exceptional story-telling where every thread are expertly woven together. And above all, closure.

Lisa Jewell is an exceptional writer with her ability to weave clever twists into intricate plots with multiple timelines and THE FAMILY REMAINS simply shines in this regard. I was almost sad to leave them behind. And although this is the end of the line for these characters, I can still see another story blossoming at the end. But to do so would probably spoil the enigma so it is best left as it is.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE FAMILY REMAINS far more than I thought I would. I loved "The Family Upstairs" but this one was a little more diverse. Not better, just different.

I would like to thank #LisaJewell, #NetGalley and #CenturyPublishingUK for an ARC of #TheFamilyRemains in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

I didn’t know how much I was waiting for this story, until now!

The sequel to The Family Upstairs took me back into such familiar territory with the array of damaged people who lived through some very dark times at 16 Cheyne Walk .

Lisa Jewell has written (yet again) a brilliantly well plotted, dark, compulsively readable, addictive, twisty, intriguing, ingenious novel. It is full of secrets and lies as the characters struggle with their long buried past and their desire for ‘normality’. It is a bumpy ride and I found myself willing the characters on.

The story is told from alternating timelines and narrators, allowing us to discover more depth about the past and also an understanding of why the characters act as they do.

A totally brilliant read I devoured and am now bereft to leave behind.

A very slow burn of a book, that carries on the story of what happened to the children in the 1st book ‘The Family Upstairs’. Lisa Jewell is an automatic read for me, so I knew I had read the first book but I all honesty I had a really hard time remembering.
There is some backstory in this book, so over time little bits came back to me but I do think this could be read as a stand alone.
At first I wasn’t sure if the characters were really likeable but they grew on me and I got so caught up in why Henry was in Chicago looking for Finn and then why Lucy was there looking for Henry….very convoluted but it just worked! There was a second storyline between Rachel and Michael, I’m not sure it was really necessary but I do understand how it worked in.
A great book for a bit of head spin and I did have to think about things but I really enjoyed it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

I read The Family Upstairs and The Family Remains back to back, so it felt like one book to me in a way. Both of these books are really quick reads and also easy to read.

I believe The Family Remains is supposed to be able to be read as a standalone and Lisa does give a little backstory in the beginning, but I feel like it wasn't enough to understand Henry's obsession with Phin. However you can obviously read it as a standalone, but I was glad I had the history of The Family Upstairs.

Because the first book sets this one up, this was indeed an interesting story, with interesting characters, well written and entertaining, but I do feel like this is more domestic drama with a bit of suspense. I never got that feeling of being overly anxious because of tension or a fear of what was to come.

Lisa did a good job with tying up any loose ends. I believe a lot of fans asked for this book, and she delivered I feel....I just needed some more suspense, that's my only critique.

3.5 stars

Brilliant follow up to ‘The family upstairs’.

This book follows directly on from where we left off, with Libby having split the proceeds of the sale of the house in Cheyenne Walk.

The previous book left a satisfying number of questions unanswered which set up this book perfectly for a second bite at the cherry.

With Henry again narrating, and the introduction of new characters, we have another rollercoaster ride with twists and turns and a manhunt across continents.

Loved every minute of it, a worthy sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and Century publishing for the opportunity to review this book.
OMG I couldn’t wait to read this sequel to The Family Upstairs and I wasn’t disappointed. I thought I may have to re read the first book in order to follow on but impatience got the better of me.
Thankfully key points are revisited so this didn’t spoil the story.
Love, love loved it, a definite must read for Lisa Jewel fans and that ending !!!
Highly recommend

Not everything in this novel made complete sense to me. I'm not sure if that's because I hadn't read the prequel or if I wasn't concentrating enough. The whole sub-plot with the jewellery designer and her crooked husband didn't quite tie together for me. I thought I knew who he was but I was wrong.

The book picks up years after The Family Upstairs (TFU) when the bones of a dead woman are found on the Thames mudflats. She is traced to a house - the house from TFU - whilst some of those who lived in the house are off bouncing around the world trying to find each other. Where is the mysterious Finn/Phin and will they find each other before the police find out what happened.

It's clever, well-written and for the most part, it seems to tie up its loose ends rather well. The characters are interesting, damaged and confusing but I wanted to see where things were going and how it would all end.

People usually ask "Can I read this if I haven't read the previous one?" The answer is clearly yes, you can. My wider question is whether I can now read the prequel without this book spoiling it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy.

Having re read The Family Upstairs before starting this one was a great help to follow on the story. I was not actually a huge fan of The Family Upstairs but this sequel is brilliant. I loved the fast paced action. The storyline was great and had lots of twists and turns which kept me hooked from start to finish. Quite a few characters in this book but found it easy to follow.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A great follow on, I think I enjoyed this more than the first book even. Well written, complex characters. Some tense plots. I did think the Henry/Phin reunion was anti-climatic, but it meant there could be a 'happy' ending for the families.

I read The Family Remains over the course of a day. It’s a clever, twisty tale that draws you straight in. There’s quite a lot of characters but I felt it was quite easy to keep up with who’s who. It kept me entertained throughout. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK and the author for the chance to review.

Firstly, I am one of the few reviewers who wasn't a massive fan of 'The Family Upstairs'. So, although, you may wish to read that one first; I found this to be a far superior sequel and it definitely stands alone as a riveting, complex, thriller.

Some bones are found on the banks of the river Thames and the lead detective, Samuel is determined to get to the bottom of who? / why? / how? These questions lead to a group of people with chequered pasts and the story is told from various viewpoints over many years. This was confusing at times, but, well worth the focus, as each character has their own interesting story to tell.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the opportunity to preview this excellent read.

Another corker of a read from Lisa Jewell. You definitely need to read the first one before starting this (and even then it’s helpful to read a quick synopsis!). Loved coming back to the family and finding out more about what happened next.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. Absolutely loved this book, really felt an connection to the characters, especially Henry, wow. Read it very quickly, once I started I couldn't put it down.

I always give an honest opinion and even though I’m in the minority, I didn’t think this sequel was anywhere as good as The Family Upstairs ( which you definitely have to read for this book to make any sense).
It was an ok read but just didn’t hold my interest.
I enjoyed Rachel’s story, but Henry’s search for Phin was a bit far fetched for me and I didn’t engage with his character.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The sequel to The Family Upstairs this book did not disappoint as with all books by Lisa Jewell. The story picks up with the same characters and manages to entice the reader from the first page with lots of twists and tales …I was engrossed from the first page

I’ve read the previous book and this does not disappoint.. I thought that the book held my interest and that I really didn’t want it to end. Such a good book. Hoping for more!