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. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot.

I found this book to be overall just ok. Although you can piece together the story without reading book one ( The Family Upstairs), it is a better experience if you know (and remember) what happened in that book. I read through a detailed recap online because I barely remembered anything about that book three years later. 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. This is the sequel to The Family Upstairs , but you don’t have to read The Family Upstairs (which I barely remember) to enjoy The Family Remains. MY THOUGHTS: I am so grateful to Lisa Jewell for overcoming her dislike of writing sequels and penning The Family Remains. I admit to being underwhelmed by The Family Upstairs, but The Family Remains has cast it in another light, and I am sorely tempted to reread it to see if I feel any differently about it now. 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.

Customer reviews

Expanding on #4... This was officially one star when Henry and Lucy reentered the UK with their fake passports AFTER Interpol had located them and they were questioned by the police. BRUH. You're telling me that Interpol wouldn't be waiting for you on the tarmac as soon as you landed to confiscate your fake documents and put you in jail? Instead Henry is like well they need us here so duh they still work! No... Just no. Once again, I'd let this slide in the 2 hot 2 handle cozy, but not in a book that's aiming for something more serious. This is just nonsense. You committed a serious crime and you're just in the streets because some small town Detective wants to keep an eye on you?? PLZ SIR!!! Ex 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.

I am always a bit wary when an author writes a sequel in response to demand from fans, especially when the first book was a domestic thriller that wrapped up pretty well. Are they just appeasing their audience or do they really have something else left to say? In this sequel to The Family Upstairs (2019), two siblings continue to deal with the fallout of their traumatic childhoods. Can this domestic suspense thriller be read as a stand-alone? No. I was confused even with a vague memory of what happened previously. Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer team up to exonerate a woman who’s already served five years for killing her ex-husband. Do you think Rachel and Lucy will continue to be friends, or do you think their bond in common is too painful for them to maintain a relationship?Actually : this book is not a mystery or thriller. Of course there’s a crime investigation conducting by DI Samuel Owosu after a mud larking professional found bones of 25 years old ballerina thrown at Thames River. During her police interview, Lucy tells Detective Owusu that she “should have killed [Birdie]. If I had killed her, I would have been proud” (367). Does this change your perception of Lucy as a character? 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. 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.

Lisa Jewell's "The Family Remains" (Atria, 384 pp., ★★★½out of four) does double duty – it's not just a satisfying sequel to the author's bestselling 2019 novel " The Family Upstairs," buta solid stand-alone tale of mystery and suspense. Q: The Lamb family home plays a large role in the first novel, but it’s being sold off in this one and we barely spend any time in it. Why did you decide you wanted to set THE FAMILY REMAINS outside of the home, and what did it allow you to explore by not being as tied to one location?

Lisa Jewell (born 19 July 1968) is a British author of popular fiction. Her books include Ralph's Party, Thirtynothing, After The Party (a sequel to Ralph's Party), [1] and later Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, Invisible Girl and The Night She Disappeared. [2] Her latest book None of This is True was published in July 2023. [3] Life [ edit ] Ok I'm cutting myself off lmao. Anyways. I'm obviously an outlier (what's new) but really this book just fell a part in the last 25% and I couldn't in good conscience give it anything higher than a one. Lisa Jewell is the Great Value Sharon Bolton. Yeah I said it. Whereas Bolton can masterfully craft some quirky characters (think of the gypsy fam from Dead Woman Walking) and slanted dialogue, Jewell is the Olympic diver who belly flops into the pool. She tries, but she just doesn't have the chops. I'm sorry. Q: We don’t hear from Libby as much in this novel as we did in THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS. Why did you decide to use her less in the narrative?

Do you think Phin meeting Libby and potentially returning to the lives of the Lamb family will allow them all to heal? Do you see a brighter future for the Lamb family with the re-emergence of Phin? 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.Well, turns out Jewell had quite a bit left to say about the now-grown occupants of 16 Cheyne Walk. Well, I am afraid to say that this morning the body of your husband, Michael Rimmer, was discovered by his housekeeper in the basement of his house in Antibes.” The book is purposefully convoluted but at times it just felt too disorienting. In the beginning, I debated abandoning this, but wanted to see how Jewel would bring it all together. I was impressed by the ending.