I really enjoyed this sequel to The Family Upstairs. I would definitely recommend reading book one before reading this book because there’s a lot you need to know that happened in the first book. The story moves between three different storylines happening at three different times. There is Rachel whose husband Michael has been found dead, and the story moves back in time to explain how they met and how their relationship fell apart. There is Detective Samuel Owusu who is investigating bones that were found in the Thames River, and somehow that relates to a different story line with the Lamb family. Henry Lamb is one of the more twisted characters that I’ve read in a book in a while. He’s interesting, fascinating and compelling- think shades of the talented Mr. Ripley. He is compelling and even at the end of book 2 I closed it wishing I could read more about Henry. He is disturbing but fascinating! I really liked this book. Read the Family Upstairs first and then read this. I really enjoyed it.

The Family Remains is the sequel to The Family Upstairs. It answers some of those questions readers may have had when they finished the first book. It is important that you read these books in order, or you probably won't enjoy this one. The Lamb siblings are a bit of a dysfunctional family, but based on their past, it is to be expected. Lucy and her two children from her ex-husband Michael, are living with her brother Henry. There is also Libby, Lucy's first child that she birthed as a teenager who thought Lucy and Henry were her siblings. When she decides she wants to meet her biological father, Phin, they plan a visit to Botswana where he is living. He finds out they are coming to meet him and he disappears. Then we have the bones of "Birdie" one of the adults that lived in the family home years before, wash up in the Thames River and found by mudlarkers. The story follows the police investigation as well as the hunt for Phin, and the story of why Henry is so obsessed to find him. There was also an alternate storyline of Rachel Rimmer, Lucy's ex-husband's second wife. This story seemed to be separate, but it all comes together in the end.

I enjoyed this story as it gave me closure on the Lamb family as well as finding out exactly what happened to everyone from the first book. The story is told from the points of view of several different characters, and fortunately we get a list of who is who and their relationship to one another. Some of the characters have an alias, so this is very helpful. There is also two timelines, but most of the story is set in the present. The characters were very well developed, and it was easy to develop feelings about them. I really didn't like Henry all that much, he was a bit creepy and obsessed with Phin. We find out more about his reasons, but it was still a bit off to me. I think Libby is my favourite as she is trying to protect everyone, and do her best to keep the family safe. Rachel was easy to sympathize with and DCI Owusu, was very intriguing with his investigation and crime solving skills. I was pulled into this story by the well developed characters and interesting plot. There were some twists that had me wondering where this story was going, but it kept me listening to find out. As DCI Samuel Owusu closed in on what happened in the house so many years earlier and who was responsible for Birdie's death, I was on the edge of my seat to see what was going to happen. The way Henry and then Lucy and Libby tracked down Phin showed what can be done with social media and tracking phones and emails (a bit scary too). Overall, I enjoyed getting closure to all the questions I had after The Family Upstairs. The audiobook was so well done. I loved the ensemble cast, that brought each character to life. Their expression and tone fit the characters perfectly and allowed me to picture them easily. I definitely recommend this audiobook to anyone who enjoys that format.

It was entertaining in the way that it fills in holes for the first book, that being said, it reads like a really drawn out epilogue. I also feel like it doesn't go the way you think it would... not meaning it is twisty, but meaning that the satisfactory twist or suspense I was looking for just didn't hit the mark.

I love Lisa Jewell books so much. When im in a reading funk, I always turn to her books. She gets me hooked right away and I always know im in for a great read. This book was awesome! I loved reading more about the characters, and filling in more about the family/characters. Always recommending her books to friends

This was a great thriller and sequel The Family Upstairs.

Summary
Rachel receives news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in his house in France.

After 30 years of being away, Lucy Lamb returns "home" to her brother Henry in England with her children.

Henry becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to his first love and goes to the extremes.

How is this all connected to Michael?

Thoughts
This is a strong sequel that kept my interest. I found the sections about Rachel the least interesting and the sections about Henry the most interesting. I will definitely recommend it to those who read the first in the series. I definitely think you need to read the first book to understand.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC!

Lisa Jewell is becoming my all time favorite author. I loved the many layers to this story. The story had brilliant flow, enjoyed every minute!

A really fun and intriguing follow up to the family upstairs. I was hesitant to read this one as I couldn’t see how the story could continue in a believable way, but Jewell found a way to tell a fresh story to builds nicely on the last.

⭐⭐⭐

𝘼𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨, 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙-𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙐𝙥𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙨.

📍 Read if you like:
• Twisted Marriages
• Little Suspense
• Vivid Characters
• Lisa Jewell (ofc)

I consider myself a Lisa Jewell fan as I have enjoyed the books I’ve read from here, but honestly, I had to go look up the ending to 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐔𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 as I just couldn’t remember anything about that book. This is labeled as a standalone, but I do recommend reading the first one before picking this one up - the characters will make more sense.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I wouldn’t consider it too much of a mystery but more of a wrap-up to the characters from the first book. I get why this book was written. I really enjoyed reading about Henry, his pov was the most interesting IMO.

I do believe this is going to be a book I forget about here in a few months, but for the most part, it was interesting. I went into it with a different expectation and expected to get something different. Also, the pacing was a bit slow at times. It took a while for the story itself to pick up. It’s more focused on the characters and wrapping up the first book.

Overall, if you enjoyed the first book then I would definitely suggest picking this one up - especially if you had questions after the ending. It was a middle-of-the-road book for me, but for the most part, the story was interesting. I love Lisa Jewell and her writing style so I will definitely pick up more of her books.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review, all thoughts are my own!

Lisa Jewell always manages to entertain me, however this was not the prequel I wanted. It left me with more questions about its companion book than I had before reading this one.

This sequel to The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewel was a tough read for me. I had read the first book in the series so I was already familiar with the characters, however even with this knowledge, the story seemed to really take on a life of its own, however there was so much going on, the book was difficult to follow. With multiple storylines, there was a lot to follow and at times it was a little confusing. If you were a fan of the The Family Upstairs, don't miss this one.

As much as I loved the first one, and Lisa Jewell, this book just didn’t hit the mark for me. Sometimes sequels just can’t do justice to the original.

The Family Remains is a very strong continuation of The Family Upstairs. The author, Lisa Jewell, says in the afterword that the character of Henry Lamb stuck with her as readers wrote to her, asking, what happened next? While she is generally not inclined to write sequels, she continued the story.
I appreciated the way the plot intertwined with that of the previous book, with dual timelines; I also liked the way that the reader sees some of the events in that book through different perspectives and in a different light, once the complete story is revealed. Henry is still a mysterious, indecipherable character at the end, though, and Jewell leaves us with a small twist that makes the reader wonder whether she will continue his story. To me, he is eerily reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith's Mr. Ripley - a chameleon with no strong underlying personality of his own, due to unspoken trauma, which makes him so adaptable that he readily assumes other people's personalities and lives at will.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital arc copy of The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell.

The setting was pleasant and at atmospheric. I enjoyed the character engagement and how the story wrapped up in the end. Definitely worth the read.

Not as good as the first in my opinion. This is the sequels to The Family Upstairs. It’s more a 3.5. I think you need to read the first book to understand this one. Thank you #netgalley for the ARC. It was purchased for or library.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

I think you definitely need to read the first book before you read this. I don't think it works well as a stand alone. It has been awhile since I ready the previous novel, so I had forgotten a lot of details. I did get confused quite a bit as I tried to remember what had happened previously. Otherwise, I think it ties in nicely to the other book. I think if you read the first one, this puts a nice ending on the story.

This standalone sequel to Lisa Jewel’s The Family Remains was twisted…then it all untwisted very nicely by the end. While revisiting the characters lives from the first book was interesting, I thought it focused too much on some big mystery only to have everything revealed as we went. So as I approached the end, I was left with no questions to answer, which is just not what I want out of my Lisa Jewell books. Quick read though that held my attention but ultimately fell a bit flat

A sequel to the Family Upstairs, I should have refreshed my memory on that before reading this. Thick with character development and details, this title did not drive forward the way I was expecting it to. Without reminders of the characters and the story from The Family Upstairs, it was harder to keep up with who was who. Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, human bones are discovered. At the same time, a man named Michael is found murdered in his home. A woman named Lucy Lamb is buying a house for her 2 children. These three stories are all connected and being told simultaneously in Lisa Jewel’s The Family Remains. This is a sequel but I liked it better than the first one! I loved how Jewell connected all the pieces and how the stories overlapped! Thank you, NetGalley!

I found this book very hard to follow. There were so many characters and different timelines. I loved the first one but this one.. not so much. Maybe it was too long ago that I read the first one? I don’t know.