Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Family Remains

I liked The Family Remains even better than The Family Upstairs. I was absolutely hooked by all of the different characters and their storylines - DCI Samuel Owusu, Rachel, Henry, and Lucy. I wasn't sure who I was rooting for and how I wanted it to end, but I loved the journey and the ending.

The book reminded me of all the best books by Liane Moriarty where things are pieced together out of order. There were also parts that reminded me of Caroline Kepnes' You, where you're in the head of someone who definitely isn't stable, and you don't know if you like them or not. I absolutely couldn't put the book down.

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ksmo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really enjoyed listening to most of this audiobook, but I was so unsatisfied with the ending. It seems as though the author's message is

that it's fine if you kill people, as long as you only kill bad people, because the police are too stupid to figure that out. And even if you're pretty sure they have figured it out, they'll still take some weird pity on you and just let you live happily ever after. There was so much energy and anticipation built up for when Henry finally found Finn, and then they just had a chat? This drunk, narcissistic man who's been obsessed with this person for over 20 years finally tracks down the object of his obsession, while frantically saying he 'wanted to kill someone', and then he pushes him onto a sofa but is otherwise lucid and chill enough to just talk??

I was also just very surprised at the complete lack of accountability. I thought the same at the end of the first book, and thought that surely things would come to a head in this sequel, but everyone just got away with everything and went and had a family garden party. And Henry's adoption of other people's entire identities is treated as an 'Oh what is he like' character quirk, rather than completely insane.

I was quite invested in Rachel as a character,

but again that all got nicely tied off with a bow of 'Yeah he's dead and my dad got his money back, so everything's sunshine and roses'.

All of the endings and resolutions just feel rushed and too easy to me, so I finished both books kind of annoyed and disappointed.

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jaydub0221's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Since this sequel serves a purpose of tying up loose ends & filling in the blanks, it wasn’t as thrilling or nail-biting as “The Family Upstairs”. BUT that being said, I still enjoyed it for what it was and I was happy to delve back into the lives of the Lambs. I appreciated the additional storylines and characters that tacked onto the original story, and although the loose ends were tied up just a liiiiiittle too neatly for my liking, I would still recommend this to anyone that has read the first (and if you haven’t read the first, you absolutely should).

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paperpetal's review

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I read The Family Upstairs in 2020, and I recalled enjoying it. This was a less a mystery and more of a tame thriller, but I still enjoyed it. A little slow in the beginning, but picks up quickly. I haven’t picked up a mystery/thriller in a while, but this put me in the mood to start reading more of that genre again.

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