A review by isotope_s
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

It was pretty compelling and kept me on the seat of my chair. Though I was surprised Libby's paternity doesn't come up at all as a factor of this story. Rachel maybe was my favorite part of this book. Her inner thoughts were most interesting to me.

I'm pretty disappointed with the ending. I don't think it's realistic Henry wouldn't have done something to Phinn; just because Henry learned Phinn was just as insecure as he was and that Phinn hadn't been running from him all these years but Lucy and Libby--I don't think it's very realistic to say that he would have had an immediate change of heart. 

The fact that he's looking for someone else to imitate is somewhat compelling to me, but it wasn't as nearly as good as the twist at the end of the book. In the end it just felt like the ending was inappropriate for the tone of the book like: "and everyone lived happily ever after" or something like that.
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