I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 5*
Writing skill : 5*
Plot: 3*
Pace: 5*
Characters: 4*
Setting: 5*

Well, I am very glad the fans hounded the author into writing this, as she's stated for a while it was not coming. But it was needed and it tied everything up perfectly. I still hated Henry, still loved Lucy and Libby, and Rachel was an added bonus! The only negative I had is that not a lot happened in the main story, but Rachael and Michaels kept this at 5 star overall for me. Do not read this without having read book one, you will just be too confused. Ill also suggest refreshing your memory if its been a while since finishing The Family Upstairs. There's a lot of characters and I forgot how they were all linked at the start. Brilliant two-part story. 5*

Earlier this month I picked up and read The Family Upstairs so it only made sense to pick this one up after! If you’ve read my recent review of The Family Upstairs, you'll know it didn't blow me away. The same can be said for this one which I was expecting if I'm honest.

I had the same feeling after finishing this books as I did its predecessor. Overall, it was an enjoyable read but the story wasn't gripping! I was invested because I had read The Family Upstairs such a short time ago but I found myself just trying to get to the end. I found parts of it thrilling and suspenseful but not enough to change my mind. I will say after reading both books, Henry is such a chilling character and I found myself so uncomfortable reading parts of his POV.

Another so-so book, making an enjoyable series but that's about it!

The Family Remains by @lisajewelluk another read for NetGalley. Starting in 2019 when’s bag of bones ate discovered and DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene and in charge of this investigation, his search leads him to a brother and sister. I don’t want to give to much away about this book, as it’s a great read and more so without any spoilers. This is a follow on of sorts from the previous Lisa Jewell book The Family Upstairs but is still a great stand alone book if you are reading this book without reading the other one. We are introduced to some characters from the previous book and the story from the Family Upstairs is entwined in this. At first I found it really hard to keep up, as the chapters flip from one year to another, however as I read on I did get use to this. As I had read The Family Upstairs quite some time ago, I also found myself in parts to remember what happened in the previous book. It is without a doubt one of my favourite thrillers I’ve read this year, it’s fast paced, it has suspense and surprises and at times is quite dark at times. We see old characters return and are introduced to a Rachel who gets entwined in this families secrets, unknowingly and in the worst circumstances. As always the success of this story is down to the author who has cleverly written this, as a reader hearing the story unfold with little connections to the past story but yet opening up this new plot, that unfolds page by pages, pages you don’t want to stop turning and a story that you don’t want to finally have to reach the end. In my opinion The Family Upstairs is the better of the two, however this will still make you go wow, it will still leave you wanting more, it will still make you feel like this book is just one of those you can’t put down and it will leave you undoubtedly with a book hangover. I’ve already recommended this to a friend, it’s that good. I will admit this only the second book I’ve read of the authors but can’t wait to see what’s next from her and also pick up the books by her on my TBR pile! This is definitely a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read.

This is a great follow up to The Family Upstairs, which can also be enjoyed as a standalone. Plenty of secrets and lies abound after a bag with human remains is found washed up on the shores of the Thames. The old bones lead to the unravelling of lies which have been told for decades by a family desperately trying to keep it all together.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

This book had me hooked to find out what had happened. I haven't read the authors previous book the family upstairs so can't comment on the prequel to it.

What a fab author Lisa Jewell is! The Family Remains kept me reading and reading late into the night until the very end, keen to find out the answers. A brilliant plot and an utterly gripping book.

Thriller writers don't get much better than Lisa Jewell and the follow up to The Family Upstairs is as brilliant you'd expect. All is well in the world of siblings Lucy and Henry Lamb until that is a woman's bones are found in the Thames. DI Samuel Owusu is assigned to discover who they belong to and what on earth their connection is with in relation to a certain mansion in Chelsea. His investigation (such a fabulous character btw) serves as a brilliant reminder in flashback in the house on Cheyne Walk. Jewell knows how to craft a plot which races across page after page. The characters - from kids to our protagonist siblings - are silkily crafted, flawed, but absolutely compelling. Loved the chase to find Phin - as ever I didn't see the twist coming. What a read!

After reading and loving The Family Upstairs I was really looking forward to The Family Remains. Would this be as good? yes it was another brilliant read. The story picks up from the previous book, so I really recommend reading this first. Lucy and Libby are such nice characters and then we have Henry who is quite complicated. Loved this book and can thoroughly recommend it.

I could not wait to read this after loving the first book. But sadly it was not as good, enjoyable but not on the same level as the first book. The story took a while to get going and there was a lot of meandering that made it hard to stay completely invested. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Human remains have been found on the banks of the Thames and DI Samuel Owusu finds that the bones are linked to a cold case from 30 years before. Lucy Lamb fled London years ago but now she’s finally back with her children. However, her brother has taken off in search of the boy who was so prevalant in their past. Rachel Rimmer has just heard that her husband Michael has been found dead in his house in France and the police have some questions for her. As these mysteries unravel, it becomes apparent that they share some intricate connections. Following on from The Family Upstairs (yes, you do need to read that one first!), The Family Remains is a complex family drama with a lot of moving parts. There are some fascinating characters embroiled in themes of conspiracy and revenge with a very satisfying ending.

A fast paced sequel to The family upstairs, such a compelling storyline with complex characters. It took me on a long and bumpy ride at times I thought it was never going to stop. I recommend this for lovers of crime and physcological thrillers. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
My rating 🌟🌟🌟4/5

LONDON. Early morning, June 2019: on the foreshore of the river Thames, a bag of bones is discovered. Human bones.

DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene and quickly sends the bag for forensic examination. The bones are those of a young woman, killed by a blow to the head many years ago.

Also inside the bag is a trail of clues, in particular the seeds of a rare tree which lead DCI Owusu back to a mansion in Chelsea where, nearly thirty years previously, three people lay dead in a kitchen, and a baby waited upstairs for someone to pick her up.

The clues point forward too to a brother and sister in Chicago searching for the only person who can make sense of their pasts.

Four deaths. An unsolved mystery. A family whose secrets can't stay buried for ever ...
___________
#netgalley #thefamilyremains #lovereadingarcs

This sequel didn't match the level of its predecessor. The writing was off. The characters were filmsy. The dialogues were so bad. It honestly felt like the only scenes were the author really put work and thought into was the s*xual ass*ult scenes, and I don't know how to feel about that. As a South African, I did not like the South African character as it did not feel accurate at all. Loved the first book though!

The Family Remains is a sequel to The Family Upstairs. Lisa Jewell displays her talent both at moving her story back and forth between now and then and posing plenty of apparently unrelated scenarios which eventually tie up, but better in Part I than in Part II.
The Family Remains has subplots, but a number of them often end in cul-de-sacs and the contrast between now and then is confusing. Henry, who moves into a central role in Part II has been playing out his obsession with Phin for all his life, and its too bizarre to imagine. Ultimately, as Henry almost has his hands on the prize, this fizzles out too.
There are clever little twists here and there but The Family Remains is a little disappointing though still enjoyable reading.

In the past I’ve really enjoyed Lisa Jewell’s books, finding them tightly plotted and suspenseful. However this one didn’t hit the spot for me in that the characters were not particularly likeable and there appeared to be a secondary story with Rachel and her newly wed husband, Michael who was originally married to Lucy one of the original characters from the previous book. This didn’t work for me and felt like it was a filler or should have been developed more and made into a separate book. There were large gaps in the story which irritated but I did finish the book and feel slightly disappointed.

Oh, I so wanted to love this, and I think I may revisit as an audiobook but just couldn't get into it! I loved the first though, which I did on audio so think it mayve just the kind of book I need to listen to!

i LOVED this book!

id read the first book "The Family Upstairs" many years ago on release and id loved it, this was no exception. i felt the story really flowed, carried on from the first book and answered alot of questions.

The book was very well written and made me want to keep reading, i finished it quite quickly

Lisa Jewell books never fail to disappoint. i always find myself going back to them.

A truly captivating read. I was hooked, wanting to delve deeper into the secrets that were arising, and on edge whether the truth would prevail. Great read.

Good story but so many different names, I had to keep thinking who was who but that is probably just me and my jumbled head. Many different locations which worked well with the story. Liked the way all the loose ends were finished off so you had answers for everything.

Loved loved loved loved!! Lisa Jewell can do no wrong in my eyes! Twisty, gripping, couldn't put it down! Although difficult to remember the first book, there were some little helpful hints along the way to refresh your memory! Absolutely brilliant!

Well this was even better than the first book. And I couldn’t believe that was possible! I loved the first book and was thrilled that there was a follow up. It’s unusual and I like it when authors recognise they have more to tell. Read the first book The Family Upstairs first. I’ll re-read the pair again and again. I couldn’t not!