The Family Remains: the gripping Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller (The Family Upstairs, 2)

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Henry. Oh Henry. What was he supposed to be? A protagonist? An antagonist? An antagonistic hero? He was wilding to the max and then his lil redemption was connecting Finn with his daughter. Okay???? And what about his full-fledged stalking with the initial intent to make luv in da club to him (without consent most likely)? We just gonna blow right past that?? I'm definitely an outlier here, many people have loved this one. I've been a fan of Jewell's for a long time, but her last two books just haven't been all that great for me. Hopefully I'll like the next one better. Lucy moves Henry’s house with her two teenage children, reconnecting with her daughter Libby, looking for her own house with the help of inheritance money her daughter kindly shared with her and uncle Henry. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Groggy with sleep, Rachel peered at the screen of her phone. A French number. The phone slipped from her hand onto the floor and she grabbed it up again, staring at the number with wide eyes, adrenaline charging through her even though it was barely seven in the morning. What was your reaction to Michael’s death being deemed an organized crime murder? Were you expecting Lucy or Rachel to be held responsible for it? The story is told from the points of view of several different characters, and we, the readers, are assisted by the inclusion of a list of the major characters and their relationship to one another. Which is just as well as some of the characters have more than one identity. Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home. I LOVED The Family Upstairs so much when I read it last month… yes I was late to the game… 🤫…I couldn’t wait to see what happened to our little family next… 😳 If you remember how the last book ended.. you will know why I was anxiously awaiting..😏In "The Family Remains," that is exactly what readersget – more. More storylines, more characters and more suspense. Overall: I love the conclusion and I enjoyed to revisit the characters of the book who are middle aged in the new book and I am so happy Michael got what he deserved. Michael Rimmer is a wealthy businessman and owns quite a few properties both in London and France. Rachel doubts taking a decision so fast but doesn’t ponder much over it, thinking that Michael is, after all, crazy about her. She knew that there was some Lucy to whom Michael was married previously but didn’t know much about the details. Michael’s Lucy is Lucy Lamb, Henry’s sister, who had lived in France for several years, and Marco is Lucy and Michael’s son. Lucy had to leave Michael because of the physical violence. Also, Michael actually worked as a middleman in the illegal drug business, which helped him earn a lot of money. All of this was not known to Rachel, and she saw the dark side of Michael on their honeymoon itself when suddenly, for very petty reasons, he refused to touch her any longer and later turned things around when confronted. In a matter of months, Rachel saw Michael turning into someone whom she had not known before marriage, and one night he ended up raping her while she was sleeping, making her walk out of the apartment at the first chance that she got. It’s been a few years since I read the first book, so I skimmed it to help refresh my memory. But, it turns out that was unnecessary because the author seamlessly summarizes it in the first few chapters. As always, Jewell does a fantastic job with characterization. I flew through this book in three days, as I needed to know more about Phin, Lucy, Libby, Rachel, Henry, and Michael.

When Phin goes missing, Lucy reaches out to his sister, Clemency, who brings up Phin and Henry’s complicated relationship. Lucy thinks to herself “Twenty-six years is long enough for memories to grow cobwebby, abstract. Twenty-six years is long enough to doubt your recollection of things, to wonder if maybe things really did happen the way you think they happened” (69). Do you think Lucy’s questioning of her own memories is similar to Henry’s reimagining of the past? What are the similarities and differences in the ways Henry and Lucy Lamb deal with their past traumas? ABOUT 'THE FAMILY REMAINS': Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago. An above average read, which I think fans of The Family Upstairs will appreciate, but I preferred The Family Upstairs. Other authors are at a ten out of ten, for me, and Lisa is a solid hundred.”—Gillian McAllister, The Sunday Times (London) bestselling author of Wrong Place Wrong Time The Family Upstairs left me with some unanswered questions. I had hoped (Lesson Learned: Be careful what you wish for!) that the sequel would answer those questions and redeem the previous book in my eyes. Were my questions answered? Yes! But to be honest, I think living with those questions would have been more satisfying than having to endure The Family Remains. I try not to DNF books out of respect for the author’s hard work, but this book really tried my patience. My buddy read with SabiReads (you can read her review here) was what helped me read through to the end.From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this stand-alone sequel to the “brilliantly chilling” ( Ruth Ware , New York Times bestselling author) The Family Upstairs . Several decades after the three adult bodies were found dead on the kitchen floor of the home at 16 Cheyne Walk, a bag of bones was discovered on the shores on The Thames River. DI Samuel Owusu was alerted about the discovery. He immediately sent the bones, thought to be human, for forensic testing. The examination of these bones led DI Samuel Owusu to reopen a cold case about a missing woman that was last known living at the home on Cheyne Walk. Her family had reported her missing all those years ago but her body or whereabouts were never found. All the new evidence pointed to a connection with the dead bodies found on the kitchen floor all those years ago. There was something else discovered in the bag with the bones that connected that particular house with these bones. DI Samuel Owusu reopened this cold case and was determined to discover what had happened to this person for its bones to be stuffed in a plastic bag and emerge on the bank of The Thames River all these years later. Who had been responsible for committing this crime? Was the bag that contained the bones purposely thrown into the River? DI Samuel Owusu would stop at nothing until he discovered who the murderer was. Henry who is not only using Phineas’ name, but his looks with his bleached hair and reconstructed face, whitened teeth has no intention to give up so easily. We know how obsessed with Phin and his obsession grew throughout the years. But what will he do when he finds him? In the past things got escalated between them. Henry already chained him to the radiator and forced him drink love position that poisoned, didn’t he? And as I told, the bones of a young woman found in Thames and another murder case in France may be linked to the Lamb siblings!

First things first, I did not read book #1. However, I did read a super long spoiler review of it to get a grasp on wassup because I was mad confused at first. My rating does not reflect the fact I didn't read #1... so pls refrain from the "YoU nEeD tO rEaD tHe FiRsT oNe" comments, respectfully. The book wasn't terrible until the last 25% or so. I was going to give it a generous three stars because I was caught up in the drama of it all, but then Lisa Jewell said HOLD MY BEER and this story nosedived into one-star territory at the speed of light.A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.