Have spent the perfect #Jolabokaflod glued to @lisajewelluk #TheFamilyRemains. As tense and thrilling as I knew it would be, but also unsettling and haunting. Trauma and fear playing havoc with the lives of the damaged Lamb kids made for a deeply and surprisingly emotional read.

I was drawn to this book because I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Family Upstairs' and this is described as a sequel.

This novel ha a plethora of intriguing characters, which are engaging and beautifully crafted.

The book continues to explore elements of family dynamics, expectations and the generations. One could also say culture, taking a literal sense of the word.

The character of Lucy is central to the story. Her voyage of discovery about her birth prior to adoption, takes the reader through a gripping psychological thriller.
Alongside this is the story of Rachel and her relationship with Michael. This follows a slightly different timeframe. All the time one is feeling that the tales of Lucy and Rachel could merge, but will they?

Plenty of red herrings along the way. At times the story takes on some surreal twists, which adds to the enjoyment.

It is late in the year, but this is one of the few books which I have rated as five star.

I give my thanks to NetGalley and and Random House

I had previously read The Family Upstairs & wasn't totally convinced that I needed to read a sequel, nor that I would remember the characters- but once I got going I was intrigued & hooked.

The characters are dark, obnoxious and fascinating, and Lisa moves a tight story along with pace, resolves questions, adds unexpected twists & ties all ends up satisfactorily.

Lisa Jewel’s never written a book I haven’t loved - and family remains doesn’t disappoint. Her first and only sequel, it ties up all the loose ends from The Family Upstairs. Mystery, suspense, I couldn’t put it down

Wow another great book it took me a little while go get it to the story but it then got me hooked Lisa got a way of pulling u into the story you feel the plot and gripping plot loved the characters another fab read

I loved The Family Upstairs so was very unsure whether or not I would enjoy this one as much. I'm so pleased that it was just as good. I loved revisiting these characters to see what had happened since the rollercoaster of the first book.

This one was no less of a rollercoaster and such a wild read I didn't want to put it down. Going back to some of the crimes we see in book 1 and seeing what the possible repercussions are going to be had me feeling anxious for Henry and Lucy all over again.

Such a satisfying read and excellent follow up to one of my favourite books I read last year.

I’m a big fan of Lisa Jewel and really enjoyed this book of hers. I felt I could connect with the characters and it kept me really gripped. Thank you for the ARC

This has got to be one of the most unputdownable books I have read this year... and I've read A LOT!

This is a sequel to The Family Upstairs (which I previously reviewed and rated 5*) and is just as good.

I'll admit I wasn't expecting a sequel as the first book was wrapped up so well but Lisa Jewell has managed to capture something that I don't think anyone of us anticipated.. the lives of the now grown up occupants of 16 Cheyne Walk.

As in the first book I absolutely loved the characters, Lisa is a wonder at bringing characters alive and into full focus, the more complex the better. Personally my favourite character was Henry, a real complex, twisted and interesting person who really stood out for me.

If you love a spine tingling, eerie thriller this is most definitely the book for you! Personally I don't think you have to read the previous book, it can be read as a stand alone (as its marketed) BUT I loved reading it as a follow on as it felt like closure *no spoilers*

Huge thanks to netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for the ARC.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

The Family Remains catches up with the now-adult former residents of 16 Cheyne Walk, who featured in The Family Upstairs.

The Family Upstairs was wrapped up pretty nicely, but due to popular demand, Lisa Jewell has written a sequel. I was worried about this, but it turns out many of the characters have grown up with lots of issues to seek closure for and there is a lot more of the story to tie up.

While it isn’t as dark as its predecessor, The Family Remains is eerie and full of mystery, shock, intrigue, twists and turns, making it a brilliant thriller.

However, it’s not just a thriller; it’s also a crime investigation after skeletal remains are found. But who is responsible? Lots of red herrings (plus my poor memory meaning I forgot parts of the first book!) meant I was kept guessing throughout.

I loved seeing how the characters had grown up, particularly Henry. He is psychologically scarred, messed up and quite twisted, and reading what he was thinking about doing next in a first-person narrative kept me on my toes.

I enjoyed the alternative POVs and timeline and felt these aid the reader go deeper into the characters and their pasts, and help to enable a perfect closure.

The blurb does describe the book as a “standalone sequel”, but I do disagree with that. I was a bit confused at times and, having read the first book three years ago, could not quite remember what had happened at times. However, I fortunately soon found my way along.

Definitely in my top three books 2022!

I was hesitant to read a sequel to a solid standalone thriller, but I’m glad I returned to the big house on Cheyne Walk in *The Family Remains* by Lisa Jewell. I was not as gripped as I was by *The Family Upstairs*, but I was satisfied with the continuation of the story.

The mystery in *The Family Remains* is a continuation of the events in *The Family Upstairs*. A murdered woman’s skeleton is found in the Thames; dumped there recently, even though she has been deceased for over two decades. We follow many of the original characters, but there are new ones added, including the police detective investigating the murder.

Reviewing a sequel is a little tricky because any details on the story would spoil the events in the first book. However, there were some continuing themes that I appreciated. This story features domestic abuse and includes the relationship arc from love-bombing, gaslighting, financial abuse, escalation to physical abuse, and finally retaliation. I have done a lot of non-fiction reading and research about domestic abuse, and this book felt like an accurate reflection of what I know to be common in real abuse situations. Depictions like these are important and this one felt accurate without being voyeuristic. Jewell also wrote the abuse victim as having agency and coping strategies with an escape plan, which I think is missing from some other popular depictions of abuse.

If you would like more information about domestic abuse situations, I would recommend reading *No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us* by Rachel Louise Snyder.

I am very picky about my thrillers and sometimes find them to be formulaic and melodramatic, but the depth of *The Family Upstairs* and *The Family Remains* have made me want to try more Lisa Jewell books.

I absolutely loved this and it was everything I wanted the sequel to be. If you loved The Family Upstairs, the sequel gives us so much more detail and back story to the questions we were left with at the end of the first book. Being back in Henry's brain was done so well, he was even more twisted and obsessive than before and we definitely learnt more and more about his personality. I loved all of the characters and the development we saw for them all, Rachel was definitely one of my favourites and I definitely did not expect her story to play out that way. There is so so
much packed on into this sequel, it had me gripped from the first few pages and I feel so lucky to have read it early. It has to be my most anticipated read of 2022 and it definitely met my expectations!!

Sequels are such hard books to review because I never want to give too much away about the first and The Family Upstairs is definitely full to the brim of twists and turns you dont want to spoil! The Family Upstairs was one of the first books I read heading into lockdown and along with Queenie sparked my love for reading once more, its definitely a book I'll always love and the sequel just makes me love the story and the characters
even more!

I could not put this book down, Lisa Jewell writes such immersive stories. This did not disappoint. Absolutely brilliant!

I really enjoyed this book. We’ll written and a good story and a god follow on to the Familu Upstairs

A sequel to The Family Upstairs. Can be read as a standalone but better if both are read. Lots of twists and turns,very tense at times . A good read.

The Family Remains Lisa Jewell
I love a good sequel, so was delighted to be able to read this book straight after The Family Upstairs.
I loved the characters and storyline. I thought the sequel added so much to the original story, that it was well worth reading.
These books are right up my street

An amazing and suspenseful follow up to the Family Upstairs, with yet another murder mystery afoot. I felt like this one was even better than the original!

Another brilliant book from Lisa Jewell! This author has an excellent way of writing which compels you to read on as quickly as possible!

This book works as a standalone but I’m also glad I had read the original, mainly because that’s also a brilliant book.

I always look forward to reading Lisa’s books and this one did not disappoint!

An entertaining read packed with twists & turns. I enjoyed the sub plot better than the real plot better..

The first 75% far better than the last 25% that ending 🙈 you definitely need to suspend belief for this one.

I just love this Author i can not say i have read a bad book yet...
This is a sequel to The Family Upstairs I really enjoyed the first book and was over joyed lisa has written a sequel to it.
You could read this book as a standalone but its better if you have read the family upstairs first because this will give you the back story plus it was a brilliant book.
Highly recommend to fans of the first book.

While I.dont believe there was a need to this sequel it definitely did its job well! You can go wrong with Lisa Jewell! Excellent writing and well crafted characters