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A review by orianaisreading
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
WHOLE LOT OF TRIGGER WARNINGS
I didn’t realise when I bought this book that it was a sequel so I’d have to buy the first one as well.
However, at times, what a hot mess. It was hard to follow all the characters and storylines that were all happening all at once. And there were unanswered questions.
1. Does Lucy know that it wasn’t a suicide pact manipulated by David but that all three of them were killed by Henry?
2. The police officer knows Henry also killed Birdie but the book just ends with no mention of it. Does he just realise he can’t get him and drops the case? He didn’t seem like the type to just drop it.
3. The police officer says there’s no one who cares about who killed Birdie but also says her brother messaged him every day?
Also, it felt like the officer being black was a bit of a fake attempt at diversity. If he was just black and that was that it wouldn’t be mentioned so many times but also it only scraps the surface to what a black officer would face in London. So it didn’t do a good job of saying he’s black and that’s just that and characters can be black without it being everything about them and it failed to do so by the sheer amount of times it was mentioned but it also didn’t do a good job of dealing with the nuances of it.
Contrary to other comments the last line of the epilogue made complete sense to me. The emptiness in Henry would not have been filled by a family reunion, not matter that he loves them. He is not psychopathic, he feels empathy for others, but he’s deeply troubled and will continue to be so.
The book was kind of dragged 150 pages more than it should have (but so is this review). Rant over.
I didn’t realise when I bought this book that it was a sequel so I’d have to buy the first one as well.
However, at times, what a hot mess. It was hard to follow all the characters and storylines that were all happening all at once. And there were unanswered questions.
1. Does Lucy know that it wasn’t a suicide pact manipulated by David but that all three of them were killed by Henry?
2. The police officer knows Henry also killed Birdie but the book just ends with no mention of it. Does he just realise he can’t get him and drops the case? He didn’t seem like the type to just drop it.
3. The police officer says there’s no one who cares about who killed Birdie but also says her brother messaged him every day?
Also, it felt like the officer being black was a bit of a fake attempt at diversity. If he was just black and that was that it wouldn’t be mentioned so many times but also it only scraps the surface to what a black officer would face in London. So it didn’t do a good job of saying he’s black and that’s just that and characters can be black without it being everything about them and it failed to do so by the sheer amount of times it was mentioned but it also didn’t do a good job of dealing with the nuances of it.
Contrary to other comments the last line of the epilogue made complete sense to me. The emptiness in Henry would not have been filled by a family reunion, not matter that he loves them. He is not psychopathic, he feels empathy for others, but he’s deeply troubled and will continue to be so.
The book was kind of dragged 150 pages more than it should have (but so is this review). Rant over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and Abandonment