CBTB’S MUST-READ SUMMER 2022 CRIME BOOKS — Crime by the Book

THE FAMILY REMAINS by Lisa Jewell Available August 9, 2022Recommended For Fans Of: Domestic suspense novels; suspense stories with multiple POVs and timelines; Lisa Jewell’s previous novel The Family UpstairsWhy I Loved It: Domestic suspense queen Lisa Jewell returns this summer with THE FAMILY REMAINS, an irresistible follow-up to her beloved novel THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS! I will preface this little paragraph by saying: while I do think you could read this book on its own if you wish to do so, I would highly recommend going back and reading THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS first. You will appreciate this story best if you have that backstory on its central characters—plus, THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS was a great read, so why not enjoy that one too?! In true Lisa Jewell fashion, THE FAMILY REMAINS begins with a seemingly disconnected array of plot threads that will ultimately be tied effortlessly together. Police are called to a gruesome discovery on the shores of the Thames; a woman receives a phone call that her husband has been found dead in his home in France; a woman and her children return home to London, only to discover that her brother has fled in pursuit of a person from their past. Lisa Jewell is, in my mind, the undisputed master of the one-sitting suspense novel; THE FAMILY REMAINS draws readers instantly into its intricate web of secrets, and will keep you hooked from the first page to the very last. 4/5 stars. About the Book:From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to the “brilliantly chilling” (Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author) The Family Upstairs.Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago.Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first-ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller, The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell proves she is writing at the height of her powers with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth.