I'm a big fan of Lisa Jewell and was excited to see a sequel to the Family Upstairs.
This is another great book by Lisa, with a real sinister undercurrent throughout. We are back with Lucy and Henry, now living together in London.
At the same time, remains are discovered which lead a detective back into the case of the old house and disappearance of Birdie.
I really enjoyed this.

I'm a big fan of Lisa Jewell but the prequel to this, The Family Upstairs isn't one of my favourites. I don't think you need to have read the first book to follow this sequel but it just wasn't for me. The narrative flits between different characters which is a bit confusing and I found that the story just didn't grip me which wasn't ideal for a thriller.

The story’s main line is the discovery of bones at the river Thames. It was clearly a murder a long time ago but why have the bones only appeared now. They are indeed the ‘Family Remains’ as in the title. The detective team trace where the body came from and the uncover details about a fractured family. There are many characters in the book and their relationship is complicated. At times, the story can be confusing as a result. The dysfunctional nature of the family is hard to believe but the story is well told. The ending is fairly predictable. This would not be high on my reading list.

This book is a sequel to The Family Upstairs and, although it could be read as a standalone, I’d recommend reading it first.

DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the banks of the Thames when a mud-larker discovers a bag containing human remains. With them are clues which lead back to the house in Chelsea where so much happened thirty years ago. The children who lived there at the time are now adults and moving on with their lives, especially now that the house has finally been sold.

A brilliant plot and an utterly gripping book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, and Cornerstone for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Love this author and this novel is as good as the rest! Loved as it’s as sequel to The Family Upstairs. Really enjoyed the read and the characters.

I had read the book before this one and in my opinion you do need to read them in order. This one is just as good as the first one and totally gripping. Some bits did make me cringe and want to read through closed eyes at the sheer tension but equally that’s what also makes it a great book. From start to finish its un put downable!

I was invited to read this and accepted the invitation thinking I had already read the Family Upstairs but I have not, so found this book quite confusing in places, particularly the relationship between Phinn and Henry.
That said it has some intriguing characters (mostly awful and hate-filled!) and touches on some lovely places.
I would not recommend reading unless you have already read the Family Upstairs as it really does rely on your having knowledge of the family and their relationships from the first book..

The Family Upstairs is the book I have been hotly anticipating ever since Lisa Jewell’s newsletter told me it was on its way. My only disappointment is that I read it in two big greedy gulps over two days and now I have to wait ages for her next one. That’s the only slightly bad thing I have to say about this book.

I won’t repeat the story, but it does work a lot better if you read The Family Upstairs. It’s much easier to figure out the family relationships. There’s a new character in this book, Rachael, the wife of Lucy’s ex, aka “the worst person in the world.” Some of Rachel’s scenes are harrowing and her story does feature heavily in the book. I did wonder, however, where Clemency had got to as she was referred to but not mentioned, so unless I forgot some detail from The Family Upstairs, I did find her absence a bit odd.

The book has several narrators, and this works well. Henry Lamb is the main voice and is a very complex character, not always likable by any means. There’s a game of cat and mouse from start to finish and the suspense is strung out masterfully, making it very hard to put down.

Once again, Lisa Jewell is at the top of her game. After forcing myself to finish or persevere at so many books, it’s a breath of fresh air to find one that I simply couldn’t turn away from until I knew the ending. Sheer bliss!

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 Random House UK for my advanced copy of this book to read

5 stars to Lisa Jewell for this much awaited sequel. Rachel Rimmer is called during the night by the French police to notify her husband, Michael has been found murdered. But Rachel already knows this and who the killer is.
The story also focuses on Lucy Lamb and her 2 children, who need to find her brother, Henry after he disappears, desperate to find Phin from their childhood. Their unusual childhood is brought back as police find bones in the Thames which they believe were linked to the house at Cheyne Walk.
It would definitely be advised to read The Family Upstairs for this sequel to have the most benefit,
A true masterpiece, full of anticipation and intrigue.

As per usual, another absolute delight to read. I couldn't remember much of the previous novel but it soon came back once I started the new book. I love the writing style and the multiple timeliness and overlapping stories. It's all very well narrated and paced. It also all ties together at the end in a timely manner without feeling rushed or forced, it's all quite organic. I love the characters and they're all distinct and unique. Absolutely perfection as one would expect from Lisa Jewell

I love Lisa Jewell and this does not disappoint. It ties up all of the loose ends from The Family Upstairs.
If you have enjoyed Lisa's previous books you will love this one.

I decided to reread The Family Upstairs before reading The Family Remains, which turned out to be a good decision as I didn't remember a single thing about it. While the latter can, I dare say, be read as a stand-alone, it's certainly enhanced by a knowledge of what's gone before, and that knowledge helps to make sense of stuff like a dramatis personae section at the beginning which includes "Henry Lamb also known as Phineas Thomson" and "Phineas Thomsen also known as Finn Thomsen". I think I would have been quite confused at points had the previous book not been fresh in my mind.

Anyway, The Family Remains picks up the story of Libby, Lucy, Henry etc and also introduces a new character in Rachel - mentioned only in passing in the first book - who is the second wife of Lucy's ex-husband Michael. Another new character is DI Samuel (not Sam!) Owusu, a detective investigating the discovery of bones washed up from the Thames.

It's an interesting setup, since as readers we know what has happened and don't especially want Samuel to uncover the truth. (Unfortunately he's both determined and good at his job.) Then there's the ever ambiguous character of Henry, newly surrounded by family but remaining obsessed with the boy who got away, Phin.

As always from Lisa Jewell, this was a great read. I'd have liked a bit more of Libby's boyfriend Miller, a character I loved from the first book who barely features here, but I guess there's not much of a role for him, or for that matter for Libby herself. It's really Lucy, Henry and Rachel's story. I liked Rachel's character - she's confident and proactive and while she can still fall prey to an abusive man, she's not about to stay that way. I liked Samuel too.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.

It is the sequel we all asked for and the closure we all needed!

There are a few timelines & stories running though this book and I enjoyed every single one.. Human bones found at the bottom of The Thames, an investigation which takes us back to the events that unfolded at Cheyne Walk, the unnerving & unstable mind of Henry Lamb & the lovely Rachel Gold and her brush with the evil Michael Rimmer…

I wish I had skimmed The Family Upstairs as a quick reminder before starting this, however it didn’t take long for it all to come back to me as I was turning the pages.

Not as gripping as the previous book however I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan & thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover to cover. I feel privileged to have had to opportunity to read & review prior to release.

Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone & NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book! .

4/5 ✨! Human remains have been found by a determined and intelligent detective. The bones date back to the years our characters spent trapped in a living hell; in a mansion infiltrated by a cult, their parents having been embezzled by their leader. I found the detective very likeable and enjoyed being with him while he pieces history together.
But I THOROUGHLY enjoyed being back inside the mind of Henry Lamb! Our complicated, dark, messed up yet somehow sweet and thoughtful little lost Lamb. We follow him as he obsesses over finding Phin, who has fled a planned family reunion to finally meet his grown daughter and her teenage kids. I loved his narrative and found it fascinating, his dry and often detached perspective of the world around him was at a juxtaposition with him craving connection and fulfilment. His meticulous cleanliness and indulgence in a lavish lifestyle, I like to believe he has a good heart hidden underneath an unpredictable and troubled traumatised mind, but he definitely makes you wonder how you feel about him! There was a side plot connected to Lucy that gave us more of an insight into what she has gone through since leaving the hell house, I enjoyed the conclusion of that! At first the book was a little confusing with all of the different points of view but it soon falls into place and becomes typically Lisa Jewell level addictive and readable! Thankyou @lisajewelluk for giving us closure! Thankyou to @netgalley and the publishers for allowing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I should start by saying I am a massive Lisa Jewell fan so I was delighted I was accepted to review this book by NetGalley. This book is the sequel to the Family Upstairs which follows the goings on in a dysfunctional mansion in London and a scary tale of child abuse. I have read the original book but would say you could read this as a stand alone book as we are given recaps of the first book. This book was fast paced from the beginning and I could not put it down finishing it in less than one day. I love Jewells style of writing and a lot of the loose ends were tied up from the first book. As always karma and justice win through in the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A huge thank you to Netgalley and Lisa Jewell for the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated books of the year early!

The long awaited sequel to The Family Upstairs.

I did have to skim through the first book before reading The Family Remains as it has been so long since I read it. So highly recommend you do or if you haven't read it yet, read it just before publication date so its fresh in your mind.

Once I rejogged my memory a bit I flew through this book, and really enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as the family upstairs but I enjoyed finding out more about what happened to the siblings after. Each storyline from each POV was really good, there wasn't really one that I didn't like following and it was enough to keep me turning the pages to find out more as I went along.

Really recommend this preorder if you want to find out what happens next or if you're a fan of Lisa Jewell's books. There is more mystery uncovered as we follow each of the siblings. I liked that things were finally wrapped up in the end mostly for them but still with a little hmmm to make you wonder at the end.

I am so glad that fans of The Family Upstairs have finally got the sequel they've been waiting for

Here at last the sequel to Lisa Jewell's the family upstairs!

The family upstairs was one of those reads that you want to know what happens next and Lisa has answered the call and satisfied the urge!

I would strongly recommend that this requires you to read book one before you read book two (book one is just as riveting) as it needs the background to fully appreciate it's brilliance!

I don't give spoiler in my reviews but suffice to say It scratched the itch & reached a satisfying conclusion.

Would love to see this made into a TV drama!

A bag of human bones is discovered on the foreshore of the river Thames. Inside the bag are clues that lead the police to murders in the past and to sister and brother and a person they are looking for in Chicago and who might answer some questions.

Their shared history is so big that it’s sometimes as if mere words cannot contain it and that it exists only in the pauses and the silences and the unfinished sentences.

Twenty-six years is long enough for memories to become abstract. People start to doubt their memories, to wonder if maybe things really did happen the way they think they happened. And in the house of horrors that Lucy, Henry, Clemency, and Phin were brought up in, the truth was constantly warped and distorted through the filters of their parents, the people who were supposed to care for them and protect them, and the people who instead allowed them to suffer abuse and depravity.

A dark and gripping, complex network of relationships, begins to unravel. For me was just a bit slow and at times too dark. But I think it just depends on the mood when I read the book.

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.