The Family Remains

A return to the big house on Cheyne Walk

I was hesitant to read a sequel to a solid standalone thriller, but I’m glad I returned to the big house on Cheyne Walk in The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell. I was not as gripped as I was by The Family Upstairs, but I was satisfied with the continuation of the story.

The mystery in The Family Remains is a continuation of the events in The Family Upstairs. A murdered woman’s skeleton is found in the Thames; dumped there recently, even though she has been deceased for over two decades. We follow many of the original characters, but there are new ones added, including the police detective investigating the murder.

Reviewing a sequel is a little tricky because any details on the story would spoil the events in the first book. However, there were some continuing themes that I appreciated. This story features domestic abuse and includes the relationship arc from love-bombing, gaslighting, financial abuse, escalation to physical abuse, and finally retaliation. I have done a lot of non-fiction reading and research about domestic abuse, and this book felt like an accurate reflection of what I know to be common in real abuse situations. Depictions like these are important and this one felt accurate without being voyeuristic. Jewell also wrote the abuse victim as having agency and coping strategies with an escape plan, which I think is missing from some other popular depictions of abuse.

If you would like more information about domestic abuse situations, I would recommend reading No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us by Rachel Louise Snyder.

I am very picky about my thrillers and sometimes find them to be formulaic and melodramatic, but the depth of The Family Upstairs and The Family Remains have made me want to try more Lisa Jewell books.