I could not believe my luck when I was approved for an advance edition of this outstanding book. The second book that follows on from The Family Upstairs. The wait was absolutely worth it. This is truly epic and I was captivated by it right from the first word. I have long been a Lisa Jewell reader and this is yet another superb read. Lisa has a way of keeping your interest with just that right level of intrigue to keep your curiosity peeked. A proper page turner if ever there was one.
A few of the unanswered questions from book one get revealed and the characters become fully rounded. I was left feeling, "wow that was flipping amazing" To have such a talent for writing to this high standard is a true gift.
As the bones of a body are discovered we begin a journey back into the lives and lies of Lucy, Phin, Henry and Libby. Who is the body? Why has it been found now? There are questions a plenty and new characters to get to know.
For me this is a gloriously written sequel that should not be left unread, it's just so compelling with a well thought out plotline that just keeps you turning, just one page.

The first few chapters of this book were really confusing - lots of characters and backwards and forwards in time! Later on the story took over and was really intriguing. The last few chapters were really good and the book became a real 'page turner'. My recommendation to a would-be reader would have to be to be prepared to be confused but stick it out and the initial confusion is worth it!

You really have to have read The Family Upstairs to make full sense of this book. It took me a short while to get into the story and I did have a quick recap of the events in the first book to remember who everyone was.
Once I’d read about 60 pages I was hooked once more by the fortunes and failings of the children who escaped the messed-up family dynamic of the house in Cheyne Walk. Of course they didn’t live happily ever after, because why would they have done? So many questions and so many unresolved relationships.
Henry emerges as an increasingly menacing character, as potentially dangerous to those around him as Michael, Lucy’s ex husband. The latter’s story arc and conclusion was the least convincing to me, but wow, can the author write toxic masculinity!
Birdie remains as nasty an enigma as she was in the first book and although you can understand why the detective is determined to pursue those responsible for her murder, you wish he would just give up, so her victims can live in peace.
The mark of a thrilling read is you want to stay in the world the author has created, to find out more, to delve into the characters for just a little while longer. The Family Remains hits this mark admirably.

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this ARC

This is a follow on to The Family Upstairs and wow what a page turner. I would recommend reading the first book before this one

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
Having read The Family Upstairs I was very much looking forward to reading this sequel and finding out what had happened in the lives of those I became so involved with in the previous novel. It is a gripping psychological thriller and there are some surprising connections revealed.
The story opens with the discovery of some bones washed up on the banks of the River Thames. DCI Samuel Owusu begins to investigate who this woman was and how she came to die from blunt force trauma many years before. The evidence leads him back to the Chelsea mansion where The Family Upstairs was set.
Meanwhile we meet again the Lamb family, Lucy, with her two children, Henry and Libby all of whom are traumatised by what took place decades before. We also begin a story set in 2017 which introduces Rachel Gold who falls quickly in love with the older Michael. Henry appears to be obsessed by Phin (Finn)Thomsen who is apparently working on a safari in Ghana and decides to set off in search of him.
The novel introduces new characters and resolves issues raised in the first novel. Although it has been written as a standalone I would definitely recommend reading the first book prior to starting this novel. I really enjoyed the book. I kept me fully engaged to the end and I will be recommending it to all my book groups. Many thanks to Lisa Jewell, the publishers and net Galley for the opportunity to read it in return for an honest review.

I’m giving this a 3.5 but I didn’t read ‘the family upstairs’ so maybe I would have got a bit more out of this had I of read that before reading the sequel. I did enjoy this book for the most part and felt compelled to keep on reading but I felt like some things were a bit too obvious or with big clues being given along the way!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another brilliant read from a fantastic author.

The Family Remains follows on from The Family Upstairs, picking up the story 25 years later. The abandoned baby is now an adult and about to receive a large inheritance, which leads her to try to uncover how her parents died and what happened to the rest of her family.

Around the same time, a bag of human remains is discovered, reawakening the interest of the police and investigative journalists, and threatening to expose closely guarded secrets.

A fast-paced and gripping read, packed with heart and with well drawn, distinct and believable characters.

This book has got some great reviews so I suspect I am in the minority when I say I didn't find it as exciting as I would have liked. I think the main problem is that I read The Family Upstairs too long ago to remember the details so if I was to read it again, I would definitely recap the the first in the series beforehand. Apart from that though, I just didn't find the plot line thrilling enough and wasn't invested enough in the characters. Jewell is a great writer though and I will continue to read her other books.

Mrs Jewell has smashed it again!
A brilliant follow up to the family upstairs o have recommended this to everyone I knkw

The Family Upstairs was a great read so I was excited to get an advanced copy of The Family Remains courtesy of netgalley. It was even better- I quite literally was carrying my kindle round with me all day so I could squeeze a chapter in at every possible opportunity.

The Family Remains picks up where the previous book left off, with Henry, Lucy and Libby seeking out Phin. In addition to the previous characters associated with Cheyne Walk and all that happened there, we have the back story of Rachel, Michael’s wife, and DI Samuel Owusu who is investigating the cold case.

It’s hard to go into more detail without giving away the plot of both books and I don’t want to do any spoilers, but this is a brilliant follow up. Full of pace and energy. Three plot lines weaving together and moving the story on, and I genuinely couldn’t put it down.

Lisa Jewell is an author who’s books, once read, stay in your mind. As soon as I found out there was a sequel to the family upstairs I was very excited! Even more so when I was accepted to read it.

Admittedly, I had forgotten some parts of the first book as I read it a long time ago but the family remains was very good at bringing back what had happened throughout. It could still easily be read as a stand alone as well as you didn’t necessarily need to know what had gone on in the first.

From start to finish I was hooked. It was fast paced and exciting. I also really liked how it was told through the different characters perspectives. It really helped the story move along.

It was a fab storyline, very cleverly written and it also ended on a little cliff hanger which makes you really question that character.

Overall a good read which I highly recommend to others. Thank you NetGalley and random house UK for allowing me to read and review this book.

When I got this book I didn't realise that it was a sequel.. So, I then purchased the first book so that I could read it first and get a better understanding. I am so glad that I did because I really enjoyed 'the family upstairs' and even though you don't have to have read it to enjoy 'the family remains' I would highly recommend it.
So it was great reading both books together and I will just review The Family Remains. I must have been really engrossed because I finished both books in three nights!
It was great to follow what had happened to Lucy, Henry, Libby and the rest of the characters since the first book. I also became very invested in the characters. Henry, In particular is a very interesting and complex character. In fact I think there could be another sequel just following his story.
When the bones are discovered it opens a whole new can of worms and allows new characters to be introduced. All of these are so well written. I don't want to give the story away but I was very happy with the ending. If you liked the family upstairs you will LOVE this!! Highly recommended!

What happened next? Anyone who has read the Family Upstairs will tell you you're left dying to know what happens to Lucy, Henry and Libby after the events of the first book. The Family Remains is set almost immediately after the events of the first book, tying up all the loose ends you didn't even know were loose ends!

The familiar eerie, creepy feeling was back in this sequel, though not as intense as in the first book. As with the Family Upstairs, Henry is the star of the show, as twisted and manipulative as I remember him to be.

Although the blurb describes it as such, I don't think this book is suitable as a standalone, it's definitely been written for the fans of TFU who demanded a sequel, but I don't mean that as a critism. If anyone was wondering if there was anything left to learn about Cheyne Walk, Lisa leaves you in no doubt that is still so much story to tell. The introduction of new characters is really well done, they feed so well into the original story and don't take anything away from it at all.

I have to say, it's not really a crime book persay,  we already know who of the bones discovered by Mudlarker belong to and we know who killed her, there isn't much mystery to unravel. Yet I was left turning page after page well after I should have gone to sleep. It's not quite up the to spine chilling standard of the first book, but I'd still highly recommend it to anyone who loved TFU.

I'm so pleased to see this follow up novel.
I sped through this book. And in summary, it was satisfying and engaging.
Lucy is living with her two children in Henry's apartment. She has made contact with the daughter she had as a teenager, Libby, and they have shared the inheritance from their childhood house.
But when things are looking more stable, along comes some news that throws everything off balance and Henry disappears. Lucy and the children track him to Chicago and fly out to intervene.
This really kept me engaged, I couldn't see the end coming and was so pleased to see the outcome for the family.

I loved the Family Upstairs so was super excited to receive a copy of this.
It starts with the discovery of bones in the Thames, if you have read book 1 you k ow how they got there it will the detective work it out?
This book ties up some loose ends from book 1, which I enjoyed and the character of Rachel added another dimension to Lucy's story. However I didn't enjoy Henry's story as much and some of the parts about him were a bit irritating. Also I wanted to know more about Phin and where he went.
Like many a sequel this isn't quite as good as the original but definitely worth a read. I recommend you rwad the Family Upstairs first

I am always a bit wary when an author writes a sequel in response to demand from fans, especially when the first book was a domestic thriller that wrapped up pretty well. Are they just appeasing their audience or do they really have something else left to say?

Well, turns out Jewell had quite a bit left to say about the now-grown occupants of 16 Cheyne Walk.

This sequel started with a dead body, as these thrillers often do, and the opening of a twenty year old mystery. But what this leads into is more and more family drama, multiple twisting subplots that eventually, over the course of time, wind together and paint a bigger picture.

Rachel's story kept me mesmerized and horrified (warning to those sensitive to scenes of sexual assault and emotional abuse), made somehow even more satisfying by the fact that the book begins with the conclusion to her story and we get to sit through the backstory in wide-eyed anticipation of what's to come.

I also find Henry a fascinating character and another major reason I enjoyed this book so much. As other characters in the book point out, he is certainly a twisted, messed up person, but I enjoyed reading about him, getting his perspective and more glimpses inside his head. You are never quite sure what he is going to do next, even while reading his first person perspective, which keeps the narrative exciting.

One thing I do think-- the blurb of this book calls it a "standalone sequel" which I disagree with. While I don't think it's necessary to go reread The Family Upstairs to refresh your memory, as the book does contain reminders, there's a lot of characterization and backstory that would be missing here if you jumped straight into this book without reading the first.

The last book left us wondering, now it’s time to find out what happened next. The family upstairs have escaped and spread their wings until circumstances and a bag of bones try to pull them back together. Some want to be found while others are still running scared, and who can blame them. A great sequel that draws you back into these characters lives and leaves you rooting for them once again. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this novel.

I was slow to get into this book. I almost gave up but I'm glad I didn't. I got pulled into the lives of Henry, Lucy and Libby and I needed to read on to find out how it all ends. It seemed at times that it would not end well as Henry and Lucy are living a lie. We follow them in London and Chicago and they seem to stay one step ahead of the police. But when bones are found in the Thames and it is discovered that they are connected to Henry and Lucy, the truly thrilling part of this novel begins. So worth reading.

I had such such high expectations of Lisa Jewell’s latest, I’d read a lot of good reviews and people raving about this novel but I in all honestly didn’t love it. It was fine, but very slow to get into the crux of things, to the point that I took a while to read it as I just couldn’t stay engaged. Henry is also a fairly unlikeable character and again I think this played a part in me not really enjoying it.

Old Secrets, New Discoveries…
Old secrets and new discoveries in this sequel to The Family Upstairs. A bag of human bones and tree seeds discovered on the banks of the Thames may give clues and direction to an unsolved mystery from many years before but how long can a family’s secrets remain hidden? With an expanded and well crafted cast of credible characters and an unsettling storyline this is a riveting and immersive read, plotted to perfection. Compelling and compulsive.