The Family Upstairs, by Lisa Jewell, ends with a solid resolution and then a dramatic cliffhanger at the very last second. The new sequel, The Family Remains, promises to unravel that cliffhanger ending. 

In The Family Remains, we pick up with the characters from the first book, and see how the cult survivors are adjusting to “normal” life. But with millions of pounds in inheritance, missing people, and now the reappearance of a certain body from the first novel, nothing is really normal in this book.

This is an unusual sequel, because the story revisits the characters (and Henry’s shocking revelation!), but the whole style is so different. I was expecting a modern-gothic horror, like the first one. Instead it’s still suspenseful, but it’s more of a police investigation into old and new secrets. 

Lucy and Henry want to find another survivor who hasn’t been seen since the night they all escaped the house of horrors.  Meanwhile, a body has been found that seems to come from the old mansion on Cheyne Walk, but has clearly been moved, sparking an investigation that leads to questions into all the missing people from the first book.  The feeling is very different from the dark, gothic mystery in the first one. This time I wondered if the survivors would be forced to relive their trauma and re-explain themselves, as the police got closer to the truth. 

In The Family Upstairs, there’s a completely evil cult leader, and then the novel asks dark questions about complicity, as other characters are pushed towards abnormal and then disturbing choices. In the sequel, the evil person is already dead, and can’t possibly be held accountable for what he’s done. But there are still missing people and a new body’s been uncovered, and someone must be held responsible, right? And the way the first novel unfolded was just so complex, there seemed like no way the police could understand the whole story and no way the survivors could get away with all their secrets.

This was a great thriller where I was able to jump into the action almost immediately because I’d already met the characters in the first one. The book’s atmosphere was entirely different from the first, but the author’s also good at investigation thrillers, so while I was surprised to find such a different feel, I still enjoyed it. 

Small note for other American readers: I absolutely bought all of the cult, the house of horrors, the remains found, the reversals, etc., but then a character eats an In-n-Out burger in Chicago? No way. That is false. There is no In-n-Out in Chicago. There is no In-n-Out in Illinois. There is no In-n-Out in the Midwest, or on the East Coast, while we’re at it. Apparently my suspension of disbelief in fiction accepts two ex-wives in the same place on their separate murderous revenge plans, but does not accept a Californian burger in Chicago.  

The Family Remains is written by Lisa Jewell and will be published by Atria Books on August 9, 2022. I received a copy of this book to review, opinions and reactions on my book blog are my own, as always.