Highly anticipated sequel to The Family Upstairs didn’t disappoint.

I would say you have to read the previous book first as this is not a standalone and even though I have read it, it took me a minute to get oriented.

This book does what it needed to and fills in the story and gives you that fair ending you always want from a book.

Although The Family Remains is a follow-up to The Family Upstairs, I think that anyone would enjoy this book even without having read the first story. I recall thoroughly enjoying The Family Upstairs, but couldn’t fully remember everything that happened - and I think in some ways this made me enjoy the sequel all the more! I had completely forgotten about some aspects of the story so could enjoy them as surprises all over again!

The new story starts as a new character - DCI Samuel Owusu - is called to a crime scene - a member of the public has found human bones in the River Thames. His investigations quickly lead him back to the house on Cheyne Walk and its mysteries that have never fully been solved.

As DCI Owusu investigates, Lucy is finally settling down in the UK and beginning to buy her own home for the first time, when Henry disappears and blocks all the family’s phone numbers.

Meanwhile, we keep flashing back a few years to Michael’s wife after Lucy- Rachel Rimmer. Rachel tells her story of meeting Michael and the development of their relationship - for me, this was the most gripping part of the book. The slow build up of tension and fear was expertly done, and I found myself absolutely terrified for Rachel and her dad and it made me race through the chapters because I couldn’t wait to get back to Rachel!

Not that the other characters’ chapters were to be raced through - from the light humour of Henry and his exploits in Chicago, to the secrets slowly being unearthed by Samuel, the whole story was gripping from start to finish and an absolute triumph! The ending was hugely satisfying too!

The family returns
Just like with the family upstairs I absolutely flew through this book. Intense and with never a dull moment I could hardly put it down.
This book follows the police and suspects in a twenty five year old crime as details unfold. As the reader we know all the detail of the case already and watch helplessly as more information is revealed to the police leaving us never knowing who is going to get the blame in the end.
This book does a great job of exploring a fiercely loyal family dynamic where even in the most horrible situations family comes first. This is done through Lucy a protective mother who is willing to kill for her children and Libby who willingly lies and averts attention from her mother and uncle regardless of the crimes she knows they have committed. Rachel’s story also follows this theme though not technically part of the family she like the rest has been bonded to them through a traumatic experience. Henry on the other hand is a more complex and confusing character who’s motives are never quite clear but he still shows immense loyalty to the ones he holds closest in his own way.
This book has many distressing elements so I advise checking trigger warnings before reading.

Lisa Jewell has done it again. Family Remains is a fast paced page turner. There were many characters , but all were well developed. The opening pages , where the bones of a woman were found in the river , led to a great story of loss and redemption. Very good book.

The Family remains by Lisa Jewell is the sequel to The family upstairs. As it has been a while since the last book, I had familiarised myself of my review from the family upstairs just to remind myself what was going on. But was excited to read this.
A bag of human bones is discovered on the bank of the River Thames. DCI Samuel Owusu is to investigate which leads to 16 Cheyne walk where thirty years previously three dead bodies were found dead in the kitchen.
We are reacquainted with Lamb family, now getting on with their lives but seem to end up in more trouble. Harry after all these years is obsessed in finding Phin which takes him from London to Chicago. Lucy is searching for Henry and is afraid that he will do something to Phin when he finds him.
Rachel meets Michael Rimmer who is Lucy’s ex-husband, and they have a short relationship and then they get married. But it goes sour even before they finish the honeymoon!!
I thank NetGalley and Random House Cornerstone for a copy of The family remains. This is an intriguing continuation from the previous book. This is a well-written, multi-layered story with well-developed characters and different timelines that came together with a satisfying conclusion at the end. 4 stars from me.

A wonderfully fast-paced follow-up from ‘The Family Upstairs’. I didn’t think that could be beaten, but this sequel was in fact better than the first.
With a number of the main characters’ lives intertwined in this thriller coupled with Lisa Jewell’s compelling writing style, this was hard to put down!

Bones are found in a sack in the Thames. They are, according to forensics, around 25 years old but the sack is only about a year old. A strange mis-match. So starts this sequel to "The Family Upstairs" by Lisa Jewell. Everything seems to link back to an elegant house, on Cheyne Walk, which has recently been sold.
This dwelling lies at the heart of this intriguing novel. As is often the case in Jewell's novels, the actions of the lead characters' result from personal traumas - many suffered in their formative years.
The story is chillingly believable, largely due to her clever depiction of characters whose strengths and weaknesses somehow justify the responses they make to the events they experience - even when criminality is involved.
Having read quite a few of Jewell's novels I view this as her strongest work to date. It is intelligently constructed, well-paced and will keep any reader guessing as to what is on the next page. Exactly what a good murder mystery should do.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping novel

the 2nd book in this series and it answers all the questions you would have had from book one

a bag of bones is found, which leads to a 30 year old cold case where 3 other people ended up dead

i cant even get my head around what i have just finished reading...its a minefield of emotions and relief, relief that i finally have some answers

but most of all how lisa jewell can write a book like this and leave you feeling exhausted, brilliant just brilliant

If you've not read The Family Upstairs you could probably enjoy this sequel. But it's an awful shame if you miss out the back story of why a group of people are so messed up.

Henry Lamb now a strange, edgy, middle aged man has changed his name to that of his boyhood idol and even trys to look like him.. He's willing to cross the world to track said hero.

Henry and his idol (Phinn) along with Henry's sister Lucy are survivors of a bizzare cultush upbringing. This resulted in the death of their parents but only after years of imprisonment and abuse. Eventually escaping this left each with a need to hide their real selves and disclaim any connection to their strange past.
Unfortunately when a mudlark discovers human bones relating to this strange household things are once again stirred up and a cat-and-mouse dance to evade the police ensues.
This sounds okay, but add Lisa Jewell's flair for getting you to the heart and mind if her characters it becomes gripping. At one stage, as tension mounts and our quarry is about to to come face to face with his chaser the scene shifts to a flashback which leaves one too overwrought to think!
I really hated having to leave off.

This is the follow up to the family upstairs, I massive enjoyed that but I think I enjoyed this more. Lisa Jewell is a fantastic writer and has really honed her style over these two novels. She takes time to build the story and the character backgrounds, she is a master at designing an engaging story that keeps you reading until the very end. When I finished the book I felt disappointed that it had come to an end. I will certainly be continuing to read Jewell's work and will look forward to the next.

Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite go to authors and a first sequel and this did not disappoint.

This can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend you read the Family Upstairs first!

I could not put this book down, a fantastic read so well written and really enjoyable.

Thoroughly recommend.

There are three stories going on here! DCI Samuel Owusu discovers a bag of bones on the bank of the Thames, a young woman who may have been a dancer? The bones are at least twenty years old! A year earlier we have Rachel who is woken by a phone call from the police to tell her that her husband has been found murdered in France! She goes back to sleep! Back to the present time Henry Lamb is relating his story - he is searching for a family friend Phineas Thomson! I understand this story is a sequel and may be I would have understood it easier if I had read the first! However, although these three stories do come together in a very satisfactory conclusion I found it all rather confusing! There were too many aliases, too many time zones and the similarities in names, i.e, Libby and Lucy did not make for an easy ready!

This is my first Lisa Jewell title, I took the Netgalley ( thank you Century)  e-copy with me on holiday which made for a perfect summer read. I now understand why Jewell has so many fans, she really knows how to spin a yarn and although "The Family Remains" is a prequel to The Family, it is a perfect stand alone. 

When a bag containing bones is washed up along a river, the case lands on DCI Owusu's desk.  It soon becomes clear that the bones are female, date back to 25 years and are tied to a mansion which has a  mysterious history with possible abuse within the family who used to live there and was just been sold to a new owner... Enter siblings Henry, Lucy and Libby....  I will not go into details as it would spoil the plot.  Jewell does a great job in building up suspense and has several story lines running which she ties together perfectly in the end.  She did a great job in keeping me interested and hooked to the last page...

This is the long awaited sequel to 'The Family Upstairs' and I was so excited to start this. However, I soon realised I could not really remember the plot of 'The Family Upstairs' and sadly this did impact my enjoyment of this read. This aside, 'The Family Remains' is still a strong thriller with a lot of mystery and intrigue at its heart.
Jewell writes this from multiple character perspectives and I enjoyed learning about them and their secrets. Again, my lack of knowledge from the first book did hamper my enjoyment a bit but I got by.
Jewell once again throws a fair few twists in this book which only added to the intrigue and mystery. Despite my intiial confusion. I still found this to be an enticing thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for an advance copy.

A very good read with a complex storyline and even more complex characters. This book is a sequel to The Family Upstairs and I really think that the first book needs to be read jn order to fully comprehend and appreciate this one.

A real page turner. Truly gripping and can be read as a stand alone novel, or after reading The Family Upstairs. Highly recommended to add to your list of books to be read in 2022.

Having read The Family Upstairs I was thrilled to see that the author had developed the story in this book. It certainly did not disappoint.

This is a deep and emotional read which delves into the backgrounds of the characters. Lisa Jewell writes in such a way that you feel you ‘know’ these people and get immersed in their lives.

Another 5* read from this author.

Well I didn’t realise this was a sequel but that didn’t bother me as it is a standalone book.
Fairly complicated storyline, told from different POV’s and different years.
Set in London initially it opens with the body of a girl being found on the banks of the River Thames. DI Samuel Owusu sets out, with few clues, to uncover who she is, who killed her and why.
The story moves swiftly between different time periods, people and places so I had to pay attention or I would’ve become lost.
The main characters are complex, have had difficult pasts and complicated lives.
I was quite surprised in the twist in Rachel’s story and it was believable and well written, if sad.
Lucy had led an interesting life from a teenager and is trying to make a life with her children
Her brother Henry us the most challenging character in the book, not someone I would like to meet.
This is not an easy book to read but it is enjoyable, scary, has lots of twists and all the loose ends are tied up nicely at the end.
Highly recommended psychological thriller. 4 Stars ⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.

A cracking sequel to The Family Upstairs, I was sooo pleased to be granted this from Netgalley! The story flowed seamlessly on from the first book, with even more twists and turns, all of which came together beautifully. A cleverly executed tale that brings satisfying closure to the fates and fortunes of the Lamb family, and though the blurb says this can be read as a stand alone novel, the reader will undoubtedly enjoy this far more having previously read the first one. Many thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for the ARC.

I was utterly gripped by this tense and absorbing thriller. I hadn’t read the first book before I read this one (but it’s now in my to read list!) but I’m not sure it made that much difference to me really. The story wove between the two timelines and as the stories unfolded, I found myself reading ore and more quickly to the gripping conclusion. Cleverly plotted and brilliantly written.