The Family Remains: A Novel
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“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 #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell weaves a “simply masterful” (Samantha Downing, internationally bestselling author) thriller about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this stand-alone sequel to The Family Upstairs.
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.
Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.
After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.
As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.
In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller The Family Upstairs, “Lisa Jewell is a superb writer at the top of her game” (Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author) with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth.
“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 #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell weaves a “simply masterful” (Samantha Downing, internationally bestselling author) thriller about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this stand-alone sequel to The Family Upstairs.
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.
Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.
After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.
As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.
In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller The Family Upstairs, “Lisa Jewell is a superb writer at the top of her game” (Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author) with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth.
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What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Family Remains* is best appreciated after reading *The Family Upstairs* for context. They agree it's more a family drama with suspens...
I have never ever been disappointed by a Lisa Jewell book, but I wasn't sure a sequel could be as good. I am here to tell you it as good! Although you don't have to read book one (The Family Upstairs) before reading this one, it would definitely give you more insight into what happened with the Lamb children and Phineas Thomsen from 16 Cheyne Walk. I had forgotten some details, but they quickly came back when referenced.
The children, now 25 years later, are still messed up and trying to forget their awful secrets that they had hoped were buried in the house. This story has 3 storyline's that eventually all merge together.
Story #1 begins with a dead body found in the Thames River and the detective assigned to the case. This is where a lot of the backstory is revealed as he tries to uncover who the dead person is and why was she killed. In another part of the city and a few years before present day, Rachel meets a charismatic man and quickly falls in love. He seems too good to be true. What is his mysterious past? I really enjoyed reading Rachel's story. The book begins with a small glimpse of Rachel's story (the conclusion) and is told through her backstory. How is Rachel's story tied to storyline #3? -Lucy and her brother Henry Lamb. I forgot how much Lucy suffered in book 1 and how strange Henry was/is. He is still quite a character. He is quirky, fascinating, and twisted. His story is told in 1st person and kept the story fresh.
The writing is great, the pacing is fast; I wanted to keep reading and get back to the other storylines. Great suspenseful storytelling.
The children, now 25 years later, are still messed up and trying to forget their awful secrets that they had hoped were buried in the house. This story has 3 storyline's that eventually all merge together.
Story #1 begins with a dead body found in the Thames River and the detective assigned to the case. This is where a lot of the backstory is revealed as he tries to uncover who the dead person is and why was she killed. In another part of the city and a few years before present day, Rachel meets a charismatic man and quickly falls in love. He seems too good to be true. What is his mysterious past? I really enjoyed reading Rachel's story. The book begins with a small glimpse of Rachel's story (the conclusion) and is told through her backstory. How is Rachel's story tied to storyline #3? -Lucy and her brother Henry Lamb. I forgot how much Lucy suffered in book 1 and how strange Henry was/is. He is still quite a character. He is quirky, fascinating, and twisted. His story is told in 1st person and kept the story fresh.
The writing is great, the pacing is fast; I wanted to keep reading and get back to the other storylines. Great suspenseful storytelling.
Wowza...what a twisty read. This book could be read by itself but reading The Family Upstairs is helpful. I didn't see the end coming. What a twist.
I feel like this book wasn’t needed and that the first book could’ve stood on its own. It didn’t add much to the story afterward, and it left me a bit disappointed.
I enjoyed this sequal, but a little disappointed with the “happy ending”
Part of me thought Henry killed Phil and it was another murder that would be looked into in the future. And I kind of wanted him to get caught for something! Either birdie, or his parents got pinned on him?
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