4.5 stars!

This was the perfect sequel for The Family Upstairs. I read this in one sitting. I loved how everything tied together, with the new investigation, tracking down Phin, everything that happened in France. The multiple POVs worked so well and love that in this book, Henry's POV was in first person, while most of the others were not, as it was in The Family Upstairs. Everything tied together so so well. And that ending was SO unexpected but really perfect!

Huge thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for an advance copy in exchange for

If you enjoyed The Family Upstairs, you will love this sequel! Filled with all the answers you craved from the first one, this book ties up loose ends and reveals new levels of insight for each of the characters. I particularly like how much time we as readers get to spend with the adult characters in this story, after learning so much about their traumatic childhoods in the first book. The storylines line up well in this, and propel the narrative forward. I don’t recommend reading this as a stand-alone—I think it would be way too confusing, and you’d miss too much. But that’s great news if you were planning on it, because now you can add not one but TWO great reads to your TBR!

** Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. **

In the anticipated sequel to The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell brings us back to the world of the Lamb's and their twisted history.

I absolutely LOVED The Family Upstairs. Jewell kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, making me question every thing I thought was happening. So, when she announced that she was writing a sequel I was beyond thrilled. However, as is usually the case when it comes to sequels, The Family Remains did not live up to its predecessor.

I found it extremely hard to follow as we switched between the past and present, numerous POVs (some in first person and some in third), and so many plot points that I needed a police murder board to keep track of everything.

It wasn't until the last third of the book that all the threads started coming together, but I still couldn't find myself caring about what happened.

Jewell is a talented writer and I love everything that she writes. The Family Remains was a decent book, but it did not live up to her previous works.

It is simply brilliant, full of suspense, twisty and an absolutely engaging thriller. The readers will get to follow three different sub-plots that are actually connected and at the end, they all explode into one twisty ending. It is both a standalone and satisfying sequel to know more about the edgy characters from the previous gothic book. I enjoyed this one, but not quite as much as the first as it does slow down a bit in the middle but there are twists galore at the ending.

The Family Remains is a stand alone sequel to Jewell's novel The Family Upstairs. Set in London and France,
this book has three protagonists. The detective, Samuel, who is charged with solving the murder of bones found from many years prior - in what was a cold case.

Rachel is the wife whose husbands dead body is found in their French home and must follow a trail - including a forced visit to the police . When it is revealed that her husband was murdered she is forced to delve into the secrets that belonged to her husband.

A third person., Lucy, returns to England 30 years after the city was bombed. She is about to buy a house when her brother decided to seek out someone from their past that is impacting their present.

This web of mysteries keep one reading - as Jewell's book always do

Well, let me start by saying that I love Lisa Jewell's novels. They are always tautly written, suspenseful, surprising, and twisty. The Family Remains, while well written and intriguing, was also confusing to me. Even though it is described as a standalone sequel and that it is not necessary to have read the first one to follow the storyline, I think that I will need to circle back to that one in this case. The central issue for me was that most of the characters seemed to have more than one name so that I was always needing to refresh my memory as to whom I was reading about. The other puzzling part was the back and forth among the summer months of 2016, 2018, 2019 as well as 30 years ago in 1994. I'm afraid I lost the thread(s) along the way. And the many references to all that occurred in the house all those many years ago made me think that I really needed to read the previous title. I give it 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this advance copy.

I have read all of Lisa Jewells novels and normally enjoy them greatly. The family remains was a miss for me, the whole story line of Rachel didn’t seem to connect to the plot at all, and I had a hard time keeping up with the storyline. I appreciate the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

A British detective is called to where a body has been found. The person has been deceased for some time, but the body has been moved only recently. The deceased is none other than Birdie who is connected to a cold case from many years ago. He will try his best to crack that case wide open, but as he notes several times throughout the book, that isn't likely with cases of this age. A jump away in France, Rachel Rimmer has received news that her deplorable husband, Michael was murdered in his home -- likely the victim of an intruder...or was there some other motive? The core of the book, however, deals with Lucy Lamb and her brother, Henry, who is obsessed with Phin -- or is it Finn now? Phin has eluded Henry for years now, but is that about to come to an end? If Henry does find Phin, what is he doing to do? These mysteries and questions will be unraveled in the followup to The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell.

I really enjoyed this book and found myself racing through it to get to the answers behind the twisted characters in this sequel. I do find it a bit odd that it's being marketed as a standalone novel when my whole reason for reading it was to build off of the first book. I think readers will WANT to know what happened to Lucy and Henry and Phin. Can they ever be a normal family? (Doubtful!) A fun, quick read for those wanting to pickup where we left off in The Family UpStairs.

I found this a satisfying sequel to The Family Upstairs. I would recommend to readers who love multiple POV stories and dark and twisty storylines. This a compulsively readable thriller that I finished in one sitting.

Lisa Jewell does it again. Loved the intensity and emotion of the story. So many relationships tested and so much intrigue and drama. I had a hard time putting this down. Every page pushed me deeper into the lives woven through various character narrative and I needed to know the outcome. The ending was a chef kiss …a sure bestseller.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

THE FAMILY REMAINS is the sequel to Lisa Jewell’s beloved THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS. Admittedly, I thought The Family Upstairs was fine but I wasn’t as entertained as other readers seemed to be. Based on where the original story left off, I was expecting a riveting search for a missing man in a lush safari setting. Unfortunately, there was no safari backdrop to get immersed in.

While there are multiple mysteries to solve, I kept waiting for a big twist that didn’t come. Rather, this is a slow burn mystery and an in-depth character study that explores the motivations behind many of the original characters. I’m not a publisher/marketer but I personally would not classify The Family Remains as a thriller. I didn’t feel the suspense or narrative drive that a propulsive thriller has.

In Jewell’s author note she mentioned that she doesn’t typically write sequels but her readers kept begging for one and she was happy to be back in Henry Lamb’s mind. In my opinion, this sequel may offer readers some closure but I don’t feel like it was a necessary addition. The story felt too lengthy and slow-paced for a breezy summer read.

Readers who loved THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS will likely welcome this sequel with anticipation and be more invested than I was. I’ll continue to read whatever Jewell writes, but this one wasn’t a personal favorite.

RATING: 3/5
PUB DATE: August 9, 2022

A big thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review. Review will be posted to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks in advance of publication date

I have read Lisa Jewell’s books in the past. And this is exactly what I was looking for. I was entranced in the book, the mystery and slowly putting things together. I was excited and exhausted throughout but I couldn’t have asked for anything better! 5/5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, and Lisa Jewell for the advanced copy of The Family Remains in exchange for my honest review!

Lisa Jewell has done it again, my friends. I flew through this one, always needing to know what was happening next and how all these storylines were going to weave themselves together.

I read The Family Upstairs in January of 2020, so I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to remember enough details to read the sequel (and let's be real who has the time to re-read books!?) I googled and found a couple different reviews with spoilers to refresh my memory, and I did feel that was sufficient. Jewell does a great job of referencing the first book without being too obvious, so I personally was never left wondering what was happening.

I loved the character developments, the pacing, and the alternating point of view chapters. Based on that ending I can't help but wonder if she's got book three in the works?! I could certainly seeing it go either way.

The Family Remains will be on bookshelves in the US August 9!

The Family Remains is an unexpected sequel to The Family Upstairs. I say unexpected because I believe the author has said no to sequels before. In this sequel, three children who were abused and locked in a house with a psychopath for 5 years grow up and become reunited with a baby that was left behind. They attempt to seek out another child who was also kept with them. Many interesting aspects and answers to some things lingering from the first book are answered when a body is discovered and linked to that house. Once again Lisa Jewell has it it out of the ball park with an edge of your seat thriller.

This might turn into an unpopular opinion, but I was not a huge fan of this one. Loved the first book! I found the alternating POV to be a little confusing at first. I love this author’s writing, but there weren’t any twists or surprises in this one. I was left with a “that’s it?…” feeling.

I’m definitely a mood reader, and maybe I wasn’t in the right mood to pick this one up. The storytelling and writing was great, I just think this one wasn’t for me. I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan, and can’t wait to see what she releases next!

I loved this one. I liked it better than the first. I love following up with characters and storylines, so this one was perfect for me. It has been a few years since the first one, and I didn’t go back and read it, but I don’t think that took away from this one. I was wondering the whole time where it was going and could not put this one down.

I love a good psychological thriller, and this one... wow!
It might not be quite a 5, but it is easily a 4+

I won't tell you about the story, you can read that on the book description, or in like every other review out there. That gets to be redundant. But I will say this story had me, hook like and sinker, and I could hardly put it down.
The author did a good job at weaving the different elements together and building the suspense.
I came away at the end with a good "book high" from the energy.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A follow-up to The Family Upstairs, I enjoyed this, but not quite as much as the first. I was super excited to see what became of all these interesting characters. Though the ending wasn’t nearly as satisfying, it was still an enjoyable and quick read.

If you know me at all, you know I’m a big Lisa Jewell fan. As such, I have been super excited to read her latest. It did not disappoint.

This is the sequel to The Family Upstairs, and I felt it did an excellent job revisiting the first book and addressing some unfinished business.

You’ll read the story from many different characters’ perspectives, and the narrative spans several years. You’ll also catch up with the old characters and meet some new ones.

It was a bit of a slow start for me because it’s been a while since I read the first book. But once my memory was refreshed, it picked right up.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the second book in her series about a family destroyed by abuse , neglect and murder. The author has a talent for winding the different character's stories together to a shocking conclusion. Many of the charcters here from the first book she delves deeper into what happened in their family home for the reader and we learn what type of twisted people they truly are. Some abuse scenes were very upsetting so I skipped pages. The author brings this interesting twisted story home in a way expected from her mysterious first book. Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley. My review opinion is my own.