Lisa Jewell Shares the 7 Books She Inhaled This Year

Editor’s note: Lisa Jewell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. Her latest novel, The Family Remains, is out now. 

One thing I hear a lot from my readers via social media is that they have read my books Very Fast: in one sitting, in one day, late into the night, past their bedtimes, in three hours, fours hours, five hours. This always makes me happy because this is exactly what I want. I want my books to be compelling and tantalizing, to draw the reader into their pages by any means necessary, be that short chapters, cliff-hangers, characters to care about, or the promise of twists and reveals to come if they read just one more page.

The Family Remains is my latest novel. It’s a sequel to my 2019 novel, The Family Upstairs, and is a fast-paced family mystery following various colorful characters on various frantic pursuits around the globe, from Chicago to Nice to Chelsea in London. But a book doesn’t have to be fast-paced in order to be a fast read. Some of the books I’ve read the quickest this year have been gentle to the point of slow-burn. They have been philosophical, contemplative, poetic, controversial, spare. These seven wondrous books have little in common with each other than that they kept me glued to their pages from their first words to their last.