| Title | : | The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1982178892 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781982178895 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 |
| Publication | : | First published July 26, 2022 |
| Awards | : | Goodreads Choice Award Mystery & Thriller (2022) |
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.
In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller, The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell proves she is writing at the height of her powers with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth.
The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2) Reviews
-
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. -
Even though Lisa Jewell remains one of my favorite writers in this genre I have always maintained that
The Family Upstairs is probably my least favorite among her books. Guess what? The Family Remains changed that and how!
The Family Upstairs left me with some unanswered questions. I had hoped (Lesson Learned: Be careful what you wish for!) that the sequel would answer those questions and redeem the previous book in my eyes. Were my questions answered? Yes! But to be honest, I think living with those questions would have been more satisfying than having to endure The Family Remains. I try not to DNF books out of respect for the author’s hard work, but this book really tried my patience. My buddy read with SabiReads (you can read her review
here) was what helped me read through to the end.
As the story begins, we see Lucy, Henry and Libby carrying on with their lives after the events in the previous book. A trip to Botswana to meet Phin is planned but falls through when Phin leaves Botswana when he finds out about their upcoming visit. Henry is adamant about finding Phin and following certain leads ends up in Chicago, temporarily severing contact with his sister and her kids who, however, track him down and promptly follow him to the Windy City. There is absolutely no character development for any of the main characters in the novel. Yes, we have a new character, Rachel, Lucy’s ex-husband Michael’s second wife, whose perspective is shared as part of the narrative and is of absolutely no consequence except to serve as a filler for what is overall a weak and underdeveloped story. We already knew Michael was an abusive husband with shady dealings. It was indicated in the previous book that Lucy was not a suspect in his murder and the case was closed. So why reintroduce that plot point here for the sake of a twist that again is of no consequence? We also have a bag of bones discovered by a mud–larker in the Thames which connects to the house of horrors that has since been sold off to a new owner. An investigation into the identity of the deceased is launched and the past comes back to haunt the family! We have an investigator who appears now and then but again he remains always one step behind.
The initial 50% was boring with not much happening but the background of the story (events of the previous book) being mentioned quite a few times and Henry’s obsessive search for Phin (therefore, if you haven’t read the first book, you won’t have much problem following this one since the basic details about past events are mentioned frequently). The only interesting (though immensely unlikeable) character in this story is Henry whose obsession with Phin is the only engaging part of the narrative but only up to a point because after all that build-up, the climax will either have you rolling your eyes and/or laughing at its absurdity and/or throwing the book at the nearest wall in frustration (please take care not to do that if you’re using your e-reader, it’s not worth it!)
Needless to say, this was a disappointing read. I am aware mine is an outlier opinion so you might want to go through other reviews before you decide on this one. Many have liked this novel more than I have. It pains me to rate a Lisa Jewell novel this low but there is absolutely nothing about this book I feel good about. After reading this one, I'm left with only one question: What was the purpose of this sequel? -
Happy belated book birthday!🥳🍾💃🏻📚
Wow! I was so thrilled to read this book! Because that creepy, intense, extremely eerie, spin tingling “Family Upstairs” book rocked my world! When I learned there was sequel, I screamed “yes, please, I need this!”
I have to advise you to read or reread the first book again to get into this story because this is not a standalone and without knowing the characters’ back stories and things happened that haunted mansion that invaded by parasites who act like cult members, you find yourself left in the dark!
Actually : this book is not a mystery or thriller. Of course there’s a crime investigation conducting by DI Samuel Owosu after a mud larking professional found bones of 25 years old ballerina thrown at Thames River.
And Michael Raimes found murdered brutally at his house in France , the very same man was married with Lucy Lamb: one of the victims who has been raped and abused at the mad house!
But those mysteries unfolded so slowly! The reason you’re so drawn into this sequel: your desire to find out what happened to those characters! This book is a CLOSURE! In my opinion, the way how things conclude is so fair!
I have to remind you how the story ended at the first book:
Innocent, famished, tortured, psychically and psychologically abused kids accomplished to escape from the mad house and that evil couple David and Birdie: scarier than Natural Born Killers’ Mickey and Mallory got what they deserved. The little baby Serenity is raised by foster parents, becoming very nice, gold hearted young lady called Libby inherited the mad house and learned the traumatic truth about her parents, having a fulfilled relationship with her journalist boyfriend Miller who wrote an article about mad house!
And as I told, the bones of a young woman found in Thames and another murder case in France may be linked to the Lamb siblings!
What happened to them exactly?
Lucy moves Henry’s house with her two teenage children, reconnecting with her daughter Libby, looking for her own house with the help of inheritance money her daughter kindly shared with her and uncle Henry.
They also found traces of Phineas, living in Botswana. They even plan a family reunion but Lucy finds out Phin already hit the road as soon as he found out their intention.
Henry who is not only using Phineas’ name, but his looks with his bleached hair and reconstructed face, whitened teeth has no intention to give up so easily. We know how obsessed with Phin and his obsession grew throughout the years. But what will he do when he finds him? In the past things got escalated between them. Henry already chained him to the radiator and forced him drink love position that poisoned, didn’t he?
I tried to give a quick recap of the events from the first book and extra information about new storyline.
My last conclusions:
Don’t read this book as a mystery, just read it to find out the closures of the characters. It was perfectly and honestly written. Henry was the most interesting, complex, dark and broken character of the book and I absolutely loved his POVs. His character reminded me of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho ( especially his future life, his extra meticulousness, his obsessions, his luxurious life style, his troubled emotional state) I easily connected with him and in my opinion he definitely deserved a second chance after what he’s been through like all the others.
Quick note: As a big fan who devours Double Double burgers weekly , I found a FALSE INFORMATION in the chapter 45! There’s no In&Out Burger store in Chicago. The spokesman of In&Out already told that they don’t have any plans to do so. That information has to be corrected.
Overall: I love the conclusion and I enjoyed to revisit the characters of the book who are middle aged in the new book and I am so happy Michael got what he deserved.
Lisa Jewell is my all time favorite authors! I read anything she writes with full contentment by canceling everything in my life.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts. -
The Family Remains returns to the lives of the characters from The Family Upstairs. A body has been found washed up in the Thames and in a house in Antibes. Will the detectives be able to unravel the mystery and find out what really happened all those years ago?
I absolutely loved The Family Upstairs, unfortunately this sequel didn’t have quite the same tension and atmosphere that I loved so much in the first book. The pacing felt slower, more of a police procedural than an edge of your seat thriller. It became a little repetitive after a while, I just wanted everything to hurry up. That being said, it was always going to be difficult to live up to the first book for me!
I love Jewell’s ability to create such incredibly complex characters. Henry is one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever come across. I love taking a dive into his psychology and really enjoyed the depth this book gave to his character. I still have absolutely no idea how I feel about him, and that is fine by me. I also found myself getting a little emotional near the end, I really liked how Jewell wrapped this up, although it may not be to everyone’s tastes. I also loved that some incredibly important issues were tackled in this book, but they were handled with sensitivity. There was a real sense of female empowerment which warmed my heart. I definitely can’t wait to read more by this author, even if I didn’t love this one quite as much as the first book.
I would recommend this to fans of police procedurals or anyone who enjoyed the first book (although you don’t need to have read the first one to follow the storyline in this book). I want to thank Najma Finlay, Penguin Random House and Lisa Jewell for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for my personal thoughts. -
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
Narrated by Dominic Thorburn, Bea Holland, Hugh Quarshie, Josh Dylan
A year ago I listened to The Family Upstairs, the first book in the Family Upstairs series. The Family Remains is the second book (will there be more?) in the series and it's just as confusing, disturbing, and creepy as the first book. Of course it is, we still have some of the weird characters from the first book, going strong, and doing all their creepy things to other people.
I remembered the first book mostly although the details eluded me until this book reminded me, very well, of what exactly had happened in the first book. Because this book does such a good job of going over past events, I can see how someone could read this book and understand what is going on, more or less. But I think that the story has more meaning if you do read the first book before you read this one. It's not a pretty story, bad things happened in the past and they are happening in this book, too.
There are multiple timelines that are well defined and I felt such dread with the earlier timelines. As with the other book, there is physical, mental, and emotional abuse that is very distressing to read/hear. It was once we got away from the character of Henry that I really got into this story. I care so much for Lucy and her two clever kids. Marco is just the smartest thing and I loved his scenes. There are also new characters in this story that made an impression on me. At some point, I had to know what was going to happen despite all the disturbing things going on. This story won't appeal to everyone, just like the first book didn't appeal to everyone. But I enjoyed it and wouldn't mind seeing some of these characters again except that I know one of them remains as creepy and disturbing as ever.
First pub July 26, 2022 -
Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.
Writing: 3/5 | Plot: MIA/5 | Ending: pls say sike/5
SYNOPSIS
I... I honestly can't even describe this. Uhh... Henry Lamb goes full stalker trying to find Finn. Lucy and her kidlets try to stop him. Some bones are found in the House of Horrors that are prob gonna unearth some unsavoury secrets.
MY OPINION
L M F A O. Ya'll know what time it is... BUCKLE TF UP, IT'S GONNA BE A ROUGH ONE!!!
First things first, I did not read book #1. However, I did read a super long spoiler review of it to get a grasp on wassup because I was mad confused at first. My rating does not reflect the fact I didn't read #1... so pls refrain from the "YoU nEeD tO rEaD tHe FiRsT oNe" comments, respectfully.
Ok. I'm actually cackling because idk where to start. So after the bones are found we don't hear about them again for another 100 pgs or so. It's all about Henry doing THEE absolute most and breaking about 2409104 laws. I mean I have to respect the fact he's so painfully self-aware at times but then bops are Chicago and asks 400+ ppl if they've seen this man without any reservations. I can't even call a resto to make a reservation so you gotta admire the man's ability to talk to strangers during his stalkapade (stalking + escapade) .
The book wasn't terrible until the last 25% or so. I was going to give it a generous three stars because I was caught up in the drama of it all, but then Lisa Jewell said HOLD MY BEER and this story nosedived into one-star territory at the speed of light.
Here are my main complaints:
1. Rachel was useless. Literally you could've just revealed Lucy's big ole secret through a series of flashbacks. Why did we need Rachel other than to give her Ted Talk on BDSM and marital rape? She was kinda like Lowen in Verity.
2. Detective Sam was weird. Idk why but I was picturing Slender Man the entire time. There was one part where he didn't like a dog because its body was too long. Not the overall size of the dog, just the length of its body. It was some sort of Terrier. So what if the dog had a short body but really long legs? Would that be okay? I just didn't know what I was supposed to learn from this whole dog comment. Why was it relevant? Also I literally cackled in the dark when he was like "yo I KNOW that X died here." and his partner was like "oh ya how?" and he goes "just the vibe of the place. " LMAOOO I'm not even joking, he said evidence? Nah. VIBES. VIBRAS!!!
3. Lisa Jewell is the Great Value Sharon Bolton. Yeah I said it. Whereas Bolton can masterfully craft some quirky characters (think of the gypsy fam from Dead Woman Walking) and slanted dialogue, Jewell is the Olympic diver who belly flops into the pool. She tries, but she just doesn't have the chops. I'm sorry.
4. I get that it's fiction, but some of the shit that occurred in this book would've been better suited for a cozy mystery. It was just TOO fictional if you know what I mean. I'm not a fan of an author aiming for some kind of mind-bending, literary masterpiece that can't execute a simple Google search to verify some basic information. If this book had a pic of a cat eating lasagna with a baddie standing in the window holding a vial of posion and was titled 2 Hot 2 Handle then I'd be like ight, this drama is kinda fun or whatever.
OKAY IT'S SPOILER TIME. SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM.
Expanding on #4... This was officially one star when Henry and Lucy reentered the UK with their fake passports AFTER Interpol had located them and they were questioned by the police. BRUH. You're telling me that Interpol wouldn't be waiting for you on the tarmac as soon as you landed to confiscate your fake documents and put you in jail? Instead Henry is like well they need us here so duh they still work! No... Just no. Once again, I'd let this slide in the 2 hot 2 handle cozy, but not in a book that's aiming for something more serious. This is just nonsense. You committed a serious crime and you're just in the streets because some small town Detective wants to keep an eye on you?? PLZ SIR!!!
5. Henry. Oh Henry. What was he supposed to be? A protagonist? An antagonist? An antagonistic hero? He was wilding to the max and then his lil redemption was connecting Finn with his daughter. Okay???? And what about his full-fledged stalking with the initial intent to make luv in da club to him (without consent most likely)? We just gonna blow right past that??
Ok I'm cutting myself off lmao. Anyways. I'm obviously an outlier (what's new) but really this book just fell a part in the last 25% and I couldn't in good conscience give it anything higher than a one.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: the first 3/4 were tolerable
Cons: the last 1/4 was so terrible it earned one star overall -
Good Drama!
3.25 stars
The Family Remainsis a domestic drama/mystery/thriller about found remains and the connection to a notorious crime scene from 30 years ago.
This is the sequel to The Family Upstairs , but you don’t have to read The Family Upstairs (which I barely remember) to enjoy The Family Remains.
There are several POVs and many mysteries to resolve, including the detective trying to solve the case, Rachel; a recently married jewelry designer, Lucy Lamb; who fled London 30 years ago; and her creepy brother, Henry, who, to put it mildly, has some issues. I found the mystery behind the remains intriguing, but the storyline that interested me the most was that of Rachel and her husband, Michael.
Lisa Jewell always writes page-turners, and this book was no exception. Having not loved The Family Upstairs , I went into this book with zero expectations. For this reason, I enjoyed it more than the first book. However, for me, it was lacking in terms of being a suspenseful, tense thriller. The Family Remains is probably a book I won't remember, but it has some fun twists and turns and scores high on the entertainment scale.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. -
I found this book to be overall just ok. Although you can piece together the story without reading book one (
The Family Upstairs), it is a better experience if you know (and remember) what happened in that book. I read through a detailed recap online because I barely remembered anything about that book three years later.
This is the continuation of that story, and for those of you who felt like you needed to know "the rest of the story" about Henry, Lucy, Libby, and Phin, your wish is granted because this helps to flesh out and further their storylines so you know what happens to them in the present day.
I struggled a lot with my rating, and when it comes right down to it, not much even happens in this book. There's nothing really mysterious to figure out, because if you read The Family Upstairs, you already know what took place in the house. Now, it's just the police trying to piece together the last parts, but even that wasn't too surprising. I was let down because there was just no mystery, mostly just domestic drama of Henry taking off to Chicago to find Phin and all of Henry's maneuvering to do that and then Lucy and the kids' maneuvering to find Henry after he blocks them. There's this side story with a person named Rachel that was basically throwaway when all was said and done. I was hoping for something from that but nope.
I'm definitely an outlier here, many people have loved this one. I've been a fan of Jewell's for a long time, but her last two books just haven't been all that great for me. Hopefully I'll like the next one better.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own. -
4.0 stars— I read “The Family Remains” by Lisa Jewell not knowing it was a sequel to “The Family Upstairs”. Oops. It is a credit to Jewell that I was able to keep up with a story that has a multitude of characters with multiple aliases and backstories with the help of the handy family tree she includes at the beginning of the book. The story itself is interesting and Jewell keeps you in the dark about what the complete story is and how three distinct story lines are connected for the majority of the book. The first storyline follows Henry Lamb aka Phineas Thomson as he attempts to find the real Phineas Thomsen for unspecified reasons in Chicago. The author slowly reveals the backstory as why this is concerning for Henry’s family who is desperately trying to find him. Another storyline follows Rachel and her dysfunctional relationship with her husband,Michael, and the third storyline follows a police investigation into the identity of twenty plus year old human remains found near the Thames River. Do not drift off while reading this one with all of the characters and storylines you will have to go back and re-read portions of the book in order for it to make sense(🙋🏻♂️..guilty). The book as a whole is very different and the characters are difficult to relate to, but because Jewell is such a good writer with the ability to brilliantly connect all three storylines, weird or not 4 stars it is. PS — Ms. Jewell likes to cuss … a lot.
-
This is the sequel to Lisa Jewell's chilling The Family Upstairs, a top notch multilayered and intricate psychological thriller with its old and new characters. Jewell weaves her magic with her disturbed and unsettling storytelling, in which there are mysteries and surprising connections are made. In London, a mudlark discovers a washed up bag of bones on the banks of the River Thames. The bones are those of a young woman who had suffered blunt force trauma, DCI Samuel Owusu investigates as forensic evidence leads him to a Chelsea mansion in Cheyne Walk where 3 decades ago, three dead bodies were found in the kitchen. We become reacquainted with the Lamb family, Lucy, with her two children, Marco and Stella, her brother, Henry, and Libby, haunted by the trauma of their past. The novel is relayed through the perspectives of the various characters.
Rachel Rimmer had married the seemingly perfect Michael perhaps rather too quickly, the abusive Michael is Lucy's ex, and he has now been found dead at his home in France and the French police want to talk to her. Lucy is living with her brother, and seeking safety, stability and security after experiencing a challenging set of circumstances and periods of homelessness. The fragile and lonely Henry, with his self-esteem issues, is feeling a tangle of mixed emotions and feelings, not all straight forward, he is obsessed with Phin Thomsen, wanting to know where he is, with rumours of him being in Africa. This is a dark, intense and thrilling read, never less than compelling, which includes trauma, blackmail, abuse, murder, in this superior narrative where the separate threads are expertly woven together and connected.
I would definitely suggest and recommend reading The Family Upstairs before beginning this novel. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC. -
The Family Remains is a whole lot about nothing. No mystery, no thrills maybe some suspense (like very little). I can't believe I'm giving 4 stars, lol! Entertaining though I'll give you that. Jewell can definitely write!
You don't have to read
The Family Upstairs as there are a lot of backstories that I think you can piece together about what happened. BUT book one has a good story and since this will completely spoil the first book I think it's better to read that first. 😁 -
EXCERPT: We follow her to the bottom of the garden, just past a tree with a circular bench built around it. Here there is a tall wall, grown over entirely with a thick ropey lilac. Another forensic investigator is crouched down over a flower bed, pulling items from the soil on to a sheet of plastic. My stomach lurches with shock and I hear Donal gasp.
Bones.
Small white bones.
ABOUT 'THE FAMILY REMAINS': 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.
MY THOUGHTS: I am so grateful to Lisa Jewell for overcoming her dislike of writing sequels and penning The Family Remains. I admit to being underwhelmed by The Family Upstairs, but The Family Remains has cast it in another light, and I am sorely tempted to reread it to see if I feel any differently about it now.
The story is told from the points of view of several different characters, and we, the readers, are assisted by the inclusion of a list of the major characters and their relationship to one another. Which is just as well as some of the characters have more than one identity.
Lisa Jewell has written a spellbinding conclusion to her family drama that is surprisingly tense in places, leaving me holding my breath, heart pounding. The characters are complex, as we expect them to be; the plot twisty and compelling; the denouement just perfect.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
#TheFamilyRemains #NetGalley
I: @lisajewelluk @randomhouse
T: @lisajewelluk @randomhouse
#contemporaryfiction #familydrama #murdermystery #suspense
THE AUTHOR: Lisa was born in London in 1968. Her mother was a secretary and her father was a textile agent and she was brought up in the northernmost reaches of London with her two younger sisters. She was educated at a Catholic girls’ Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school at sixteen she spent two years at Barnet College doing an arts foundation course and then two years at Epsom School of Art & Design studying Fashion Illustration and Communication.
She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph’s Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year.
She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh.
She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and her silver tabbies, Jack and Milly.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... -
Note: This review contains major spoilers for the first book in the series, The Family Upstairs. Proceed with caution.
The Family Remains (fitting title btw) picks up a year after the events of The Family Upstairs. Libby Jones (birth name Serenity Lamb) has grown close to her biological mother, Lucy Lamb, her uncle, Henry Lamb, half-brother Marco, and half-sister Stella. Plus she is bound to them by the shocking shared truth of the horrors that occurred at Sixteen Cheyenne Walk – her family home turned cult, the property she inherited from her grandparents. She has recently sold the Chelsea house, given all the bad things that happened there, and split the proceeds of the sale with her mother and uncle. Libby is also keen to track down her birth father – Phineas (Phin) Thomsen (son of cult leader David Thomsen) – who has been missing for over twenty-five years.
The remains of Birdie Dunlop-Evers (one of the cult follows who abused Henry, Lucy, Phil, and his sister Clemency) have also been discovered by police, put there by Henry, who killed Birdie twenty-six years ago in self-defence to protect baby Serenity/Libby.
A second (more recent) body has been discovered in Antibes, France, belonging to Michael Rimmer, Lucy’s abusive ex-husband and Marco’s father, who she killed (also in self-defence) after he attacked her.
The past is catching up with the Lamb family.
With me so far? Honestly there was so much to remember from the first book. I highly recommend skim-reading it like I did, or at least have a copy handy to refer to if you get lost. POV’s alternated between Henry, Lucy, and Marco (and their search for Phin), DCI Samuel Owusu (investigating Birdie’s murder), and Rachel Gold (Michael Rimmer’s second wife). This is going to sound weird, but even though this was an engrossing read, with top-notch writing, I don’t think a sequel was really needed. Don’t get me wrong, it was great to re-visit these characters, I was emotionally invested, and I appreciated the closure regarding certain characters fates, but by the end of this book, I felt we were at the same place as the end of The Family Upstairs. Rachel’s story arc was my favourite, likely because she was a new character with a fresh take, but the hunt for Phin became rather tedious in the second half. Also, I really missed Libby’s POV, and thought she would’ve had more of an active role in the search for her father.
Furthermore, I would categorise Henry, Lucy, and Marco’s story as more family drama/secrets/tragedy, with Rachel’s being more domestic thriller, and a dash of police procedural thrown in.
An above average read, which I think fans of The Family Upstairs will appreciate, but I preferred The Family Upstairs.
I’d like to thank Netgalley UK, Random House UK – Cornerstone, Century, and Lisa Jewell for the e-ARC.
Publication Date: 21st July, 2022. -
3.5 stars: Lisa Jewell continues to deliver! “The Family Remains” isn’t as unsettling as “The Family Upstairs”, and it lacks the same thriller pacing; yet I found it to be a satisfying read.
It’s been three years since “The Family Upstairs”, and it all came back to me as soon as I began reading “Remains”. I don’t think it’s necessary to have read the first one prior to reading “Remains”. In fact, Jewell adds another character, Rachel, who is struggling to separate herself from her abusive ex-husband.
Lucy Lamb is living with her brother Henry and her two young children. Lucy had a baby, Serenity, in the last novel. Lucy and Henry needed to escape their home and needed to leave the baby, Serenity was renamed Libby; Libby inherited a sizable sum when she turned twenty-five. Lucy and Henry have kept in contact with adult Libby, as they knew she would inherit the money at the age of 25. Henry was the most disturbed of the children living in the house of the last novel. Jewell keeps his sketchy nature in this story as well which adds to the unnerving feeling of this thriller. Libby tracks down her birth father and wants to reunite. At one point, Henry goes rogue. Rachel connects with Lucy. A Police Inspector gets involved when a barrel of bones, connected to the house that Libby inherited.
In Jewell fashion, she keeps her chapters short. She adds tension with dual timelines and the Police Inspector’s investigation uprooting Lucy’s goal of reuniting her family.
Jewell is a solid thriller author. I have never been disappointed with her work. -
This was a DNF for me at 20%.
Wow I struggled with this one!!
It was almost impossible for me to remember the characters from The Family Upstairs and to also remember all of the crazy, immoral things that went on.
I was hoping that this book would be better than The Family Upstairs but it wasn't.
I had always loved Ms. Jewell's books but these last two have been awful. I don't think there needed to be a sequel to Family Upstairs!
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss. -
4.5 stars!
A terrific and engrossing continuation of this fascinatingly creepy, mysterious and oddly entertaining family saga.
The Lamb siblings are back together. I read Book 1 in this series a few years ago so some details weren’t as fresh in my mind as I would have liked, however, Lisa Jewell had me hooked and hanging on every word regardless. I was able to put most the pieces of the characters lives and plot backstory together with the little reminders scattered throughout the book. I enjoyed being lost in the mystery of what was happening to this family (again). Following along on their quirky, dark and unforgettable journey was extremely entertaining.
The plot unfolds through multiple perspectives and timelines which flowed brilliantly. Each perspective added the perfect layer of tension, mystery and intrigue. I really enjoyed the police investigation sections and thought those new characters were a fantastic addition.
Overall, a highly enjoyable read! I loved spending more time with these characters. I highly recommend this series and strongly encourage you to pick up Book 1 first in order to get the full Lamb family experience. As my Goodreads friend Amanda said in my review comments, this is “the sequel I didn’t know I wanted”!
Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan! -
I read, "The Family Upstairs" quite a while ago and didn't really remember it too well. It was not one of my favourite Lisa Jewell books. As, I began to listen to, "The Family Remains" things came back to me. That said I don't think you really need to read the first book to enjoy the second one.
I think I enjoyed this one a touch more than the first one but to be honest this one is not a favourite either.
The audiobook entertained up to a point. Then it just became a little ludicrous for my liking. -
Such a good follow-up to The Family Upstairs. That was my favorite Lisa Jewell book, and this is a close second. Jewell does an incredible job of weaving together different POVs. While this wasn't as dark as I expected, I still found it unputdownable. The promotional material states that this can be read as a standalone. Maybe that's true. However, it was helpful for me to have read the first book beforehand.
There are many characters, but Google helped refresh my memory regarding the plot/spoilers in the first book (that I read a few years ago). Also super helpful is a character list at the start of the book. Bravo, Lisa Jewell!! -
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!
I have a confession…I don’t remember the first book.
I read The Family Upstairs more than three years ago, and unfortunately too much time has gone by. This is the reason why I don’t love reading series…I always forget the previous book by the time that the new one comes out. I did not have time to read the first book again before I got to the sequel, so please keep that in mind when reading my review.
Can this domestic suspense thriller be read as a stand-alone? No. I was confused even with a vague memory of what happened previously.
But…I had to read more Lisa Jewell, as I love her writing!
As always, Jewell does a fantastic job with characterization. I flew through this book in three days, as I needed to know more about Phin, Lucy, Libby, Rachel, Henry, and Michael.
However, a lot of time is spent on Rachel and Michael’s dark plot line of domestic abuse.
Trigger warnings: rape, talk of committing mass shootings
There are a few minor twists that are somewhat predictable, but overall I enjoyed these characters and am glad to have found out what happened next in their lives.
4/5 (My rating might be higher if I had a better memory!)
Expected publication date: 8/9/22
Thank you to Edelweiss and Atria books for the ARC of The Family Remains in exchange for an honest review. -
The Family Remains is the sequel I didn’t know I needed.
It picks up where The Family Upstairs ended.
Detective Samuel Owusu finds a bag of bones floating in the Thames River. Forensic testing reveals that the bones are connected to a decades-old cold case that left three dead in a Chelsea mansion.
The narrative follows new and old characters as they reconnect with each other and as they discover shocking new connections.
This is slated as a standalone sequel, but if I hadn’t read The Family Upstairs before this, I’m not sure I would have been as invested in the plot or its characters.
It’s been a few years since I read the first book, so I skimmed it to help refresh my memory. But, it turns out that was unnecessary because the author seamlessly summarizes it in the first few chapters.
The chapters themselves are short, making this a very bingeable read. It follows multiple POVs and timelines.
There were a few twists, some predictable, some surprising. The addition of Rachel’s character really rounded out the story.
I definitely recommend giving this a read if you’ve read The Family Upstairs. You might get a better feel for the characters that way.
CW: SA, suicide.
Thank you to Atria Books for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com -
Once again, Lisa Jewel has written a disturbing, off kilter story. She brings back characters from The Family Upstairs - Lucy, Henry, Phinn and Libby. There are multiple plot lines and multiple POVs. We’re first introduced to a detective whose case involves 20 year old bones found by a mudlarker. Then there’s Rachel Rimmer, who’s just learned her husband has been killed in their home in Nice. Her story also goes back and forth in time and we get the background of their relationship. Meanwhile, Henry is on the hunt for Finn/Phinn. He’s had an obsession with him for the past thirty years and has finally gotten a bead on where he might be. And Lucy is trying to track down Henry. It’s gradually revealed how some of the characters are intertwined and the common theme between these stories.
Most of these characters are off. Of course, if you read the first book, you will understand their background.
The book is purposefully convoluted but at times it just felt too disorienting. In the beginning, I debated abandoning this, but wanted to see how Jewel would bring it all together. I was impressed by the ending.
There are multiple sex scenes, some of them graphic. The theme at the heart of the stories is disturbing.
The story is narrated by a cast of six. But none of them really impressed me. It also was an issue that when one narrator had to do the voice of another’s character, there was no similarity. -
How exciting to have a sequel to The Family Upstairs at last. Everyone that I know who has read it was left wanting more, and Lisa Jewell has delivered. The Family Remains will give readers closure on what happens next and lets us see how the survivors are coping.
I am not going to go into too much detail on the story, there is a synopsis for that. And you really don’t want to know too much. You will want to have read The Family Upstairs though. Even though the author does a great job of recapping the events of Cheyne Walk, to really understand the characters, especially Henry, you need the full background.
A mudlarker finds human bones along the Thames and calls the police. The bones lead them to Chelsea, and the house of horrors. It has finally been sold and the former residents are trying to move on with their lives. They are all damaged and the bones bring back memories they would rather not have.
Once again, Lisa Jewell has written a clever and twisty tale of many characters. Multiple timelines and plots all work together to get a better understanding of what happened in the house in Chelsea and to these characters.
Highly recommend to fans of the first book. Thanks to Penguin Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on July 5th -
.. It’s official!!! You are AWESOME!! This book is on 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Thank you so much @atriabooks @atriathrillers for putting this in my hands!! Pub date is right around the corner!! Out August 9th!!! 🥳🥳
I LOVED The Family Upstairs so much when I read it last month… yes I was late to the game… 🤫…I couldn’t wait to see what happened to our little family next… 😳 If you remember how the last book ended.. you will know why I was anxiously awaiting..😏
Dark..sinister… twisted… the gang is back! Lucy…Libby…Phin…Henry.. Rachel… Birdie 😳😳😳
Let’s just say @lisajewelluk absolutely KILLED it!!👏👏👏 On my Top 10 of the year? ABSOLUTELY!!! 😍 Look 👀… if you aren’t a slacker like me… and you read The Family Upstairs when it came out… no worries… @lisajewelluk does an excellent job of refreshing your memory!! 😉 If you haven’t read it.. well …🤔…sure this could be read as a stand alone.. but The Family Upstairs was so flipping good that I highly suggest doing what I did and binge both!!!
Okay can you tell I Loved it?? 😂 I am now a fan girl 👱♀️…I am running 🏃♀️ out to get her backlist!! I currently have The Night She Disappeared and can’t wait to read it!! 😍
❤️❤️❤️ Are you excited to read this one? If not… you should be!!! 😂 What is your favorite @lisajewelluk book?? Did you read The Family Upstairs? -
About the book: “From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to The Family Upstairs.”
I want to confirm the above; you need not have read The Family Upstairs in order to read and l-o-v-e The Family Remains. That said, I think you’ll want to read both no matter what.
It all starts with a bang: detective Samuel Owusu is called to a scene where thirty year old bones are discovered… these bones are connected to a case that has never been solved. There are three other intricately drawn “mysteries” within the story that connect the characters, and I don’t want to spoil that part.
Picking up each breadcrumb, and there are many, I analyzed every detail, hoping to figure it all out. Now back to my first paragraph, I actually think you have to read The Family Upstairs first to truly to take the full journey with this book. There are lots of characters to keep straight, and the first book serves as the perfect foundation for getting to know them all. Dark and disturbing, The Family Remains is Lisa Jewell’s best thriller yet.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog:
www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram:
www.instagram.com/tarheelreader -
I wasn't a huge fan of the first one in this series and am left feeling even more than a tad disappointed in this one. Confusion reined and I found the whole thing chaotic. While the narrators were good and did their best, there was not much to pull out of this one besides a lot of f words and murky convoluted details.
Sadly, I drew a blank on this one. -
I had read The Family Upstairs so long ago that I worried that I would not be able to connect with and enjoy The Family Remains, the sequel to The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell. Leave it to Lisa Jewell, though, to pull off this captivating and suspenseful sequel! As I listened to the audiobook of The Family Remains, I was drawn into this perfectly plotted suspense/mystery. All the sinister and creepy details about The Family Upstairs came flooding back to me with Lisa Jewell’s help as she referenced many of the details throughout the sequel. I was happy to discover that The Family Remains tied up many of the loose ends from her previous book, The Family Upstairs. The Family Remains brought a sense of closure for me. It answered many of the questions that remained unanswered at the end of The Family Upstairs. The Family Remains was well paced and had several twists which Lisa Jewell is known for. The characters, old and new, were twisted, troubled and complex.
Several decades after the three adult bodies were found dead on the kitchen floor of the home at 16 Cheyne Walk, a bag of bones was discovered on the shores on The Thames River. DI Samuel Owusu was alerted about the discovery. He immediately sent the bones, thought to be human, for forensic testing. The examination of these bones led DI Samuel Owusu to reopen a cold case about a missing woman that was last known living at the home on Cheyne Walk. Her family had reported her missing all those years ago but her body or whereabouts were never found. All the new evidence pointed to a connection with the dead bodies found on the kitchen floor all those years ago. There was something else discovered in the bag with the bones that connected that particular house with these bones. DI Samuel Owusu reopened this cold case and was determined to discover what had happened to this person for its bones to be stuffed in a plastic bag and emerge on the bank of The Thames River all these years later. Who had been responsible for committing this crime? Was the bag that contained the bones purposely thrown into the River? DI Samuel Owusu would stop at nothing until he discovered who the murderer was.
Thirty years after a sister and brother fled from the dysfunctional and unsafe home at 16 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, they are reunited once again in London. Lucy Lamb has returned to London with her two children, Marco and Stella and has moved in with her brother Henry. For Lucy, this was a temporary solution. Both Lucy and Henry were recipients of a very large inheritance that was left to Lucy’s oldest daughter, Libby Jones. The inheritance was awarded to Libby when she turned twenty-five. Libby gladly shared it with Lucy, Libby’s birth mother, and her Uncle Henry. Lucy had plans of finding a home of her own somewhere close to Libby that she, Marco and Stella could live in. While staying at Henry’s apartment, Lucy had this brilliant idea to go on Safari to meet up with Phin again. Phin was living out his childhood dream of being a tour guide for African Safaris. Somehow Phin got wind of their plans and disappeared. Henry was determined to catch up with the boy he loved as a child. He used all the resources and initiatives he could muster to find out where Phin could have gone to. Once Henry discovered that Phin was in Chicago, he set off alone to find him. Soon Lucy discovered where Henry had gone and what he was about to do. Lucy and her children followed Henry to Chicago and all three of them searched for Phineas Thomsen.
Rachel was a single young woman that was living in London. She had recently lost her mother but had a very close relationship with her father. Her father was well off and offered Rachel a comfortable life style and the ability to design, produce and sell her jewelry. Rachel had met a well to do American man at a bar one night. Months later, that same American man called her and they began to date. Michael Rimmer was not only handsome but he managed to sweep Rachel off her feet. He wined, dined and spoiled her. Michael made her feel special and safe. Before she thought it was possible, Rachel and Michael had fallen in love and were getting married. A little into their exotic honeymoon, though, things changed very quickly. Michael went from being a caring and considerate man and husband to a controlling and verbally abusive husband. Then Rachel’s most dreaded thing happened and she left Michael. A few years later, Rachel received a phone call from the French police informing her that Michael had been discovered dead in the cellar of his French home. Rachel was questioned extensively but in the end it was determined that Michael had been a victim of a home invasion.
Two murders were investigated throughout the plot of The Family Remains. Did the truth about the murders finally surface and reveal themselves by the conclusion of The Family Remains? The Family Remains was a testament to what lengths a family would go to protect the people they love and care about. There were so many secrets throughout the course of this book. By the end, though, the secrets were revealed and dealt with accordingly. All the loose ends came together and resulted in a satisfying ending. I think that it would be helpful to have read The Family Upstairs before reading The Family Remains. However, The Family Remains could be read as a stand alone book because Lisa Jewell does include many details about the previous book in the sequel. I really enjoyed reading The Family Remains and look forward to reading many more books by Lisa Jewell. I highly recommend this book. -
Lisa Jewell's THE FAMILY REMAINS is the sequel to The Family Upstairs, my favorite novel that I've read from the author. That is, until I just had my mind blown by this upcoming new book! The Family Remains takes place directly after the events from its predecessor, but also provides readers with alternate timelines and point of views to wrap up the next installment of a severely damaged family. I don't want to get into spoilers about this book, especially if you haven't read The Family Upstairs yet, but since this book will be released in the end of July, you should start picking up that book ASAP.
The Family Remains focuses on the Lamb family, mainly Henry, Lucy, and Libby. We get bird's eye views on the family's next steps and their dark turns as they continue to navigate their lives post-trauma during their teenage years. I really loved the personalization of some of the characters that we didn't get in the first book. This book is very character-driven, but also provides the mystery and suspense that you've come to love with Lisa Jewell novels. I, for one, love Henry Lamb and his "peculiarities." Never has a flawed main character captivated me as a reader since Joe Goldberg in YOU. If this duology doesn't become a television series soon, production companies are missing out.
There's nothing about this book that I would change. Seriously. It's now my favorite Lisa Jewell novel by far, and it will be one of my favorite books of the year. -
I will not bother to write a review, in respect to all those fascinating 5 and 4 stars reviews. I really don’t want to discuss this book.
I do confess that I loved “The Family Upstairs” and I thought that it was her best one. Now I’m wondering if I was RUI (reading under influence).
My verdict: this book did not have to exist. At least it is a fast read. -
the setup…
Let me start by saying this is not a standalone! If you don’t read
The Family Upstairs first…prepare to be lost. The Lamb siblings are back, this time adjusting to their reunion with each other and Lucy’s return to London. She and her oldest daughter, Libby Jones, are beginning to bond as they both are looking to create a new normal. However, when they locate Libby’s father and attempt to set up a visit with him in Botswana, he suddenly pulls up stakes and leaves. Henry gets a lead on where he might have gone and surreptitiously sets out to find him as he’s still obsessed with the man. Meanwhile, the human remains of Bridget Dunlop-Evers, known as Birdie, are discovered by a mudlarker on the shores of the Thames and DCI Samuel Owusu is doggedly determined to find out who killed her. Rachel Rimmer, Lucy’s ex-husband Michael Rimmer’s wife, gives us a view of the man from the time they first met until his death.
the heart of the story…
There’s so much backstory from the first book I had to read a summary (Googled it!) to remind myself of certain details. It all came flooding back quickly and I got so hooked I abandoned sleep to finish. There’s not a lot of drama, except as it relates to Henry and his relentless pursuit of Phin. We know what he’s capable of so it was beyond creepy. Lucy has also taken her children with her to chase behind Henry, fearing he’d do something rash. Rachel’s point of view was extremely compelling, especially after knowing her as a self assured modern woman who’s taken in by Michael’s veneer. I was so invested in what happened to her and couldn’t wait until the story would transition back to her. DCI Owusu is always in the background, his investigation creeping closer to the truth of what happened in that house of horrors where the children were raised.
the narration…
I was in heaven listening to this full cast narration. Everyone delivered the performance I needed, especially Dominic Thorburn as Henry. He was that man, full of arrogance and a little bit of crazy. This was the best in audiobook listening experiences.
the bottom line…
I was satisfied with the ending in the first book but still had lots of unresolved issues that this story answered. It totally enthralled me as I worried for Phin, got caught up in Rachel’s unfolding drama and felt the tension brought on by DCI Owusu as he closed in on the Lambs. My expectations were high and this still managed to surpass them. I’m sparse on details for a reason and highly recommend the book in any format but the audio version is special. Jewell is an auto listen and remains so. It feels like we’ve seen the last of this family but there was a tiny little crack opened for possibly more. If so, I’m definitely in!
Posted on
Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.) -
Twitter |
Goodreads |
Instagram |
I was excited but apprehensive when I heard that this author was writing a follow up to The Family Upstairs. I wasn’t sure how she would pick the threads up, or if new content and people would be added and if new people were added, how they would weld together.
I was pleasantly surprised and kicked myself for even doubting she wouldn’t pull it off! She did.
There has been lots written about this book and it’s content so if I add more I’m either repeating or revealing new things and I’m a great believer when it comes to thrillers if you want to be “thrilled” read reviews after you yourself have read it.
I see varied thoughts on this follow up book. That’s good as it brings great discoveries and discussions.
This book didn’t wow me but it gave me a lot to think about.
It does jump here and there so you need to concentrate. For me, it was worth it.
I’ll read anything by this author as I just love her writing and how she weaves things around. How her conclusions come about. Her books have body.
