The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

                                                     

Paperback:  431 pages      

Genre: Mystery,Thriller                                             

Publisher: Century, Penguin, Random House 2022

Source: Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: 'Jason Mott?' 'Yes. Here. That's me.' I stare down at the young man who stands below ankle-deep in the mud of the banks of the Thames.

Review Quote: 'A sheer PLEASURE to read' Harriet Tyce: Author

My Opinion: 

I have been wanting to read this much anticipated sequel to ‘The Family Upstairs’ ever since I read it last year. Lisa Jewell is apparently not a fan of sequels so rarely writes them. Thankfully she decided to do so this time as she has produced a cracker of a continuation, tying up all the loose ends surrounding the Lamb family.

A complicated plot with the children from the previous novel now grown up, but living with terrible mental scars from their childhood. Told over several timelines via the viewpoints of the main protagonists, Rachel, Lucy and Henry the story unfolds with an excellent finale.

A stand alone novel because the author provides references back to the prequel throughout. However I personally would recommend you read ‘The Family Upstairs’ first for a more rounded experience of this intense thriller. Highly recommend to fans of the genre.

Links to Previous Reviews:  Then She Was Gone  Watching You  The House We Grew Up In. The Family Upstairs  The Night She Disappeared

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

LONDON. Early morning, June 2019: on the foreshore of the river Thames, a bag of bones is discovered. Human bones.

DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene and quickly sends the bag for forensic examination. The bones are those of a young woman, killed by a blow to the head many years ago.

Also inside the bag is a trail of clues, in particular the seeds of a rare tree which lead DCI Owusu back to a mansion in Chelsea where, nearly thirty years previously, three people lay dead in a kitchen, and a baby waited upstairs for someone to pick her up.

The clues point forward too to a brother and sister in Chicago searching for the only person who can make sense of their pasts.

Four deaths. An unsolved mystery. A family whose secrets can't stay buried for ever ...

Author Profile:

Lisa Jewell is an internationally bestselling author of successful  novels, including, Then She Was Gone, I Found You, The Girls in the Garden, and The House We Grew Up In. Her debut novel in 1998 Ralph’s Party, was an instant bestseller. In total, her novels have sold over 2 million copies across the English speaking world. Her work has also been translated into sixteen languages. Lisa lives in London with her husband and their two daughters.

For more biographical information check out her Goodreads Profile


Photograph, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

Amazon Author Page    Lisa Jewell - Official Facebook Page     Wikipedia - Lisa Jewell

Twitter Profile    Goodreads Author Profile