Having read the family upstairs which left many questions hanging, i was absolutly delighted to be able to read this follow on. Now feeling very satisfied that i know how and why things happened in the first book.

When the human bones are found out if the river thames DI Owusu has a task on his hands to identify them, particularly as they are not from recent years.

Rachel experienced an extremely short abusive marriage but on her visit to gajn revenge it seems somebody has beaten her to.

Henry has fled England in a desperate attempt to find his childhood love Phin...except the relationship was never reciprocal and Phin definetly does not want to be found.

A brilliant book with many twists, highly recommend.

Unlike pretty much every other reviewer, the fact this story is a sequel (to ‘The Family Upstairs’) escaped me. I haven’t read that one - no idea how I missed it! Putting that aside though, I didn’t feel confused or like I was missing anything at all though so although this book would undoubtedly make more sense if you have read the first one, I do think it stands alone.

Ok, that’s that dealt with!

The story opens with a mudlarker on the Thames finding a bag of human remains…. Jewell tells the story from different characters’ perspectives and across multiple timelines but I found it easy to follow and enjoyed finding out about the characters’ personalities through their chapters.

This is an intriguing story, full of interesting and sometimes unnerving and downright horrible people. I guess people who have read the first book will know who the victim is, how they were killed and what led to it - or maybe not - but I didn’t feel I had missed out by not having read the first book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and couldn’t put the book down, I’m quite glad I have The Family Upstairs to read - although I definitely know what happens in the end 😂

Thank you #Netgalley for a preview copy in exchange for my thoughts.

Firstly - make sure you read The Family Upstairs first, as without prior knowledge of that story you will be completely lost! Then put your seatbelts on because this is a thrilling sequel!!! That said, you can’t go wrong with a Lisa Jewell book.

A brilliant belter of a thriller! I loved it, twisty, compelling, pacy and an excellent sequel to The Family Upstairs. You do need to have read the first one in order to understand The Family Remains, but here is where your questions are answered and then some! I enjoyed the addition of Detective Owusu in this, he wasn't for giving up and did a great job of digging into the past. Linked back to what had goe before really well, learing about Rachel and how Michael had treated her fit very nicely into Lucy's story. The whole plot and the writing really flow, a fine page-turner and highly recommend!

I found this book to be quite complicated to read, that was both good and bad. I felt like there was so much going on with lots of different characters that I had to keep my wits about me as I read it .I did like it although I didn't find it an easy book to read. I think it was clever writing and storytelling, and I kind of wish I had enjoyed it more, but still well worthy of 4 stars.

Sequels - sometimes brilliant, sometimes a disaster. This is neither. It's not as gripping, twisty-turny or tense as the first novel, The Family Upstairs, but it is still a decent read.

A great read with the caveat that it is a sequel and won’t make do much sense without reading The Family Upstairs first. I read this last summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. Most of the events and characters came back to me as I read the new novel. Loved getting the answers to many of the questions that had been left up in the air.

Like everyone else (!) I read the Family Upstairs and was totally hooked and desperate for a sequel so was thrilled when I received The Family Remains from netgalley.

For some reason, though, the book itself felt a bit flat. It didn’t seem to properly stand up on its own. Now, I doubt many people will read it without reading the first one, but without a prior knowledge of that story a reader would be totally lost. Perhaps I should have reread it before I started The Family Remains and it might have reconnected me to the characters. I just found it slightly hard to get into this time and to care about.

Given all the other rave reviews this is clearly a lone opinion and the book will do really well. Something was just lacking somewhere with this that wasn’t with the Family Upstairs. Nothing much seemed to happen, somehow!

Absolutely excellent! I did not think The Family Upstairs could be beaten and started this book with one eye open. I soon realised my hesitation was not warranted. This book is pure entertainment which picks up the pace straight away; I was immediately back in the world of Cheyne Walk and its host of inhabitants from the time gone by. And boy, I was I happy to be back!

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.

The long awaited sequel to The Family Upstairs. Which stands really well on its own. Lisa is great at creating solid characters and does not shy away from them being flawed. The theme that everyone is good and bad character intertwines with the themes of damage and restoration. Another brilliant masterpiece from Lisa Jewel that would appeal to fans of any genre.

Back in May I finally got around to reading The Family Upstairs and it proved to be one of my favourite reads of the month. A group, mainly children, held in a cult-like household led to a riveting read. However, I'm sure I wasn't the only reader who finished the book wanting to know more. Thankfully author Lisa Jewell has satisfied my curiosity by writing a sequel, The Family Remains.

Most of the events in The Family Remains take place a year after the end of The Family Upstairs. Lucy, Henry and Libby are learning to be a family and get their lives onto a normal footing. Libby is making plans to track down the mysterious Phin but at the last minute something spooks him and he disappears. Henry then takes off, trying to track him down.

While all of this is happening a black sack containing the bones of a small female is discovered in the River Thames and a police detective connects the remains to the house from the original story. He's determined to track down what happened and who is responsible.

We also have a storyline set three years ago involving Lucy's ex-husband and how he met his current wife. At first this storyline, even though it is a really intriguing one, doesn't seem to fit in with the main story. As we approach the conclusion everything eventually fits together with a very satisfying finale to this thread.

The main story begins with a quick recap of the events in the first book. The narrative then moves forward very quickly. Henry is an intense, brooding character. A human chameleon with almost sociopathic qualities. As he hunts the elusive Phin you wonder what his end-goal is but you also wonder why Phin is so determined not to be tracked down.

When the traumatic events of 25 years ago are recounted in greater detail there are feelings of anger and sadness. You wonder how anyone can develop into a normal adult having experienced such events.

As we reach the conclusion to the story there is a sense of trepidation and dread. Lisa Jewell keeps the reader in suspense right up to the satisfying conclusion - however, I have my doubts that we've seen the last of Henry. Henry's story seems to have a life of it's own.

You really can’t go wrong with any of Lisa Jewell’s novels, she is such an engaging author, the only thing I would add is make sure you have read the first book in the saga, not that this doesn’t stand alone but you won’t appreciate the full trauma of what the Lambs experienced

Brilliant sequel but can read as a standalone. Complex, twisted characters, brilliant plots intertwined. Couldn’t put it down 5 ⭐️

‘Four deaths, an unsolved murder’

One morning in 2019, on the banks of the Thames, a bag of human bones is found by a mudlarker and it’s DCI Samuel Owusu’s job to solve the mystery and find the murderer. Following a trail of clues discovered with the bones which include seeds of a rare tree, the path takes us back to the house in Chelsea where a baby was discovered all alone but clean and well-fed, and three dead bodies were found thirty years ago. The house which Libby inherited in book 1, The Family Upstairs.

Taking us to Chicago following a brother and sister, and back to France a few years earlier, this book twists and turns and paths switch and cross over, all coming to a neat conclusion at the end.

I hadn’t planned on reading this book just yet, but having just DNF’d another book and feeling in a bit of a slump, I found I had clicked on this one on my Kindle and was hooked from the start. It was just what I needed. A fast-paced, murder mystery which had me trying to work out the connection between all the characters as well as throwing me off the scent a tiny bit with a red herring which had me on edge. This is a brilliantly compulsive sequel and if you haven’t read The Family Upstairs, I suggest picking it up before The Family Remains is published in July!

I was so excited to get my hands on The Family Remains. As soon as I started reading, I was absorbed...then realised if I re-read The Family Upstairs I could prolong this reading treat! So that’s what I did and I’ve had a great week rediscovering the characters at the big house in Cheyne Walk and finding out what happened to them. Both books are tightly plotted and impossible to put down. I really cared about the characters, especially Lucy and Rachel. I was on the edge of my seat sometimes wondering what Henry was up to! There are some beautifully-drawn family relationships, for example, Rachel and her devoted father. So much to enjoy in these books - five stars!

5 stars

I was soo excited to be selected for an ARC of this book.
I'm always apprehensive about sequels, despite being desperate to read them, as they rarely live up to expectations and in the case of this book, the hype too.
These characters clearly still had a lot to say, there was definitely plenty of story, still to be heard and Lisa Jewell told it beautifully.
This book had me hooked from the start, I was very curious after finishing the last book, as to what happened next and now I know.
Anyone who loves thrillers and who loved the first book, should not be disappointed, as this book was well worth the wait and in my opinion, definitely lived up to its hype.

Wow, wow, wow. What a sequel! I’m a big fan of Lisa Jewell, but I must admit that The Family Upstairs wasn’t one of my favourites. I saw so many glowing reviews about it though that I thought I must’ve missed something, which is the only reason I decided to give the sequel a try. And boy am I glad I did! First things first, You really need to read the first book, this one doesn’t stand alone. And secondly, strap yourself in! This book has a much faster pace and doesn’t do the thing that sequels sometimes do of trying to recap a whole previous novel. The characters were already developed and didn’t need a reintroduction, which allowed us to leap straight into the story. I’m so pleased I decided to give this a try, it’s right up there with Lisa’s best writing.

Well worth waiting for! I couldn't put the book down, I was desperate to find out what happened to the characters. I soon remembered the original book and was transported back tot he house! You could read this book as a stand alone but so much better to read the first book.

Wow. I was absolutely hooked. I don't know how Lisa Jewell does it every time, but this book was AMAZING. It followed the lives of the characters from The Family Upstairs, with some plot twists, new developments and some answers explained. If I could go back in time, forget that I've read it, I would. Just so I could read it again!!