i received a copy of the family remains from penguin nz in exchange for an honest review.
star rating
the family remains review
i really enjoyed the family upstairs. and while i normally don’t like it when authors revisit a world based on popular demand, i still really, i enjoyed the family remains. surprisingly, more than the family upstairs!
as with the family upstairs, we’re subject to more than one pov. my favourite of these was rachel, the second wife of michael (lucy lamb’s ex husband). compared to the other pov’s, rachel added more thriller aspects to it. the others were focused on family drama and secrets (which is only so interesting).
the one thing that let me down was how unsatisfying the ending was. it felt like the stakes weren’t particularly high, nor were the repercussions. multiple characters (literally) got away with murder and covering up a scene.
which leads me to my next point: henry jr. aka phin thomsen, and kris doll, and a few other pseudonym’s for good measure.
to put it simply, henry was very creepy.
this could potentially be a spoiler, view at your own discretion
he had many stalker-ish tendencies, he’s murdered 4 people (possibly more, who knows?), and he loves to impersonate other people. throughout all of this, he never once got what he deserved. no prison sentence, no slap on the wrist. i was silently wishing the police would catch him out.despite the few issues i had with the family remains, i found the writing style enjoyable and it was a quick read. lisa jewell definitely has a way with words that makes you start reading and forget the world entirely.
2 Comments
I”m so glad you enjoyed this. It’s too bad the ending wasn’t as good as expected.
thanks wendy. i wish there was more to it. have you read this one?