Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Family Remains cover art

The Family Remains

By: Lisa Jewell
Narrated by: Eleanor Tomlinson,Dominic Thorburn,Bea Holland,Hugh Quarshie,Josh Dylan,Thomas Judd
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £9.99

Buy Now for £9.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Last Thing She Told Me cover art
When You Find Me cover art
The Woman Downstairs cover art
The Sisters cover art
The Housemaid cover art
And Then She Vanished cover art
The Shape of Us cover art
Missing Molly cover art
The Man She Married cover art
The Perfect Life cover art
The New Couple cover art
The Florist cover art
The Deep, Deep Snow cover art
My Sister’s Child cover art
Single Mother cover art

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

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 30 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....

Prepare to be hooked.

The sequel to million-copy best-seller The Family Upstairs.

©2021 Lisa Jewell (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Enthralling." (Ruth Ware)

"Gripping." (Olivia Colman)

"Twisty." (Clare Mackintosh)

What listeners say about The Family Remains

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,703
  • 4 Stars
    445
  • 3 Stars
    101
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    17
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,720
  • 4 Stars
    292
  • 3 Stars
    49
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,510
  • 4 Stars
    409
  • 3 Stars
    109
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    20

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Waiting for something to happen

Overly complicated and also quite an anticlimax.
It was pretty hard work keeping on top of all the plot strands, characters and timelines, especially as you also had to remember what had happened in The Family Upstairs.
A notepad and pen might have been useful to pin down all the dates flying around, as events were slotted into gaps in the master storyline- for this is not a standalone book.
But most disappointing is that, unlike the first instalment, this is not a psychological thriller or even a mystery; it’s a domestic drama.
For despite a growing sense of jeopardy in the first half, it petered out as all the loose ends were tidied up.
Thank goodness everyone was fabulously wealthy and could use their cash to cushion their traumatic pasts.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Disliked book 1 ... loved book 2!

I gave up on book one as I found it depressing and distressing and just a queasy read, but as a big fan of Lisa Jewel's recent work, when I saw it as the daily deal I gave it a whirl and was delighted to have taken a chance on it as it was light, funny in parts, clever and very entertaining.
Some reviews have said this is a domestic drama not a thriller. I avoid domestic dramas and so I am glad to report I did not agree with this as although about a fractured family it was far from the usual litany of packed lunches, school runs and endless porridge stirring.
I loved Henry's bits, he was so fabulous and laughed out loud at the drunken text he sent - genius. I also loved the Michael Rimmer romance story, also so very clever and gripping.

All in all i would give it a 4.5 - not my favourite Lisa Jewel, but a really entertaining and intriguing read which gave me hours of top entertainment.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A bit long winded

I didn't like the narration but the story was quite good. overall not bad.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Bit of a let down

I really enjoyed The Family Upstairs and looked forward to following the story further in this sequel. It was gripping at first but as the book progressed it began to feel a bit contrived and lost depth. Some of the storylines could have taken greater development and the ending was something of an anticlimax. It’s worth a listen but don’t expect it to be in the same league as the first part.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Yes And No

On one hand, it’s a good read but on the other.. it gets too complicated with all the names and the final chapters are a bit anti climax and rushed!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Follow Up!

I absolutely loved the first book and have really enjoyed this follow up, I especially liked the character ‘Rebecca’ and finding out more about Lucy’s ex husband. Helped to answer questions left by the first book. Would definitely recommend!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Brilliant sequel to 'The family upstairs'. Absolutely perfect in every way....if, like myself, you were left wanting more at the end of the previous book then you absolutely need to read this. Loved it !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous

Really enjoyed this, excellent sequel!!
I don’t want to give too much away, but as always with Lisa’s books… expect the unexpected.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent thriller

I couldn’t put this down…for sure this second book in the series requires knowledge of the first for it to fully make sense but I literally walked around with my headphones on listening to this at every opportunity and binged it in just 3 days. Enjoyed every minute.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, gripping, intelligent and moving👏

Well written and narrated, sometimes too good had to fast forward through some parts referring to abuse. Thoroughly moving.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful