Family Drama at Coastal Hotel

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day revolves around Precipice, a swanky hotel on the rocky coast of Maine, where a dysfunctional family reunion takes place amidst a brewing hurricane. Charley, a nineteen-year-old chambermaid, is at the center of the story. She is trying to make ends meet while hiding a woman on the run in the hotel. The plot thickens with the arrival of the Bishop sisters—Vicki, Iris, and Faith—who come together for the reading of their late father's will. Each sister has her agenda and secrets, which are gradually exposed as the hurricane traps them inside the hotel, turning it into a locked-room thriller.

Strengths of the book include its well-developed characters, engaging plot, and the effective use of a hurricane as a narrative device. The locked-room mystery aspect adds an element of suspense that keeps readers hooked. However, some readers might find the numerous secrets and twists a bit overwhelming. Despite this, the book's fast pace and witty dialogue make it a worthwhile read for fans of domestic thrillers and family dramas.

In conclusion, One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day is a captivating domestic thriller that masterfully combines humour, suspense, and family drama. It is a recommended read for those who enjoy intricate plots and complex characters.

Have you ever wanted a book to end so much, but it kept going and going and going and going?! Well, that’s what happened with this book. I’m all for family dysfunction, rich people problems, a great atmosphere and lies, but I seriously couldn’t wait until this book was done.

Most of these characters were absolutely unlikeable and unbearable. Charley, the FMC, was a great character and I actually enjoyed Bree’s character as well, but it did not make up for the other insufferable characters. The story was all over the place and things just did not make sense.

This is my 2nd book by this author and I don’t think he is for me. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of One Big Happy Family.

Don't let the title fool you. They're not. The three Bishop sisters arrive at the famous family hotel--- in a hurricane--- for the reading of their father's will. It's a trio with no love for each other, who are all hoping for control of the hotel.
Charley is the housemaid who needs every dime to pay for her grandma's nursing home costs. The thought of loosing her job because of the change of ownership is overwhelming. Her kind nature allows a random stranger a place to hide because her boyfriend is abusing her and she has nowhere to go.Who is this mystery person that just "appears"?
There are several families involved in the narrative and their relationships are polar opposites: the backstabbing sisters compared with responsible Charley and her nana.
The wind is howling, the lights go out, no one can be trusted and there's murder. The reader is swept into the moment. An exciting read.

Located on the coast of Maine, the Precipice is a family-owned hotel that, due to the death of its owner, is now the location of a family reunion of sorts. The Bishop sisters have each returned to the Precipice in an attempt to stake their claim to the hotel, but they have also returned along with some secrets, secrets that some will do anything, including murder, to keep hidden. To make matters worse Charley, a chambermaid, has some secrets of her own, including the girl that she has hidden away inside the hotel, a girl that is now stuck there courtesy of the arrival of a hurricane.

One Big Happy Family was a bit of an up and down novel for me. One thing that I liked was the use of multiple narrators to tell the story; I almost always enjoy when I get to see the events through the eyes of many of the characters, giving me a better understanding of their actions, motivations and emotions. I did find the novel rather predictable however, and many of the twists bordered on the absurd. For a majority of the narrative I was hooked, but there were other parts that seemed to drag, taking me out of the story.

I did enjoy Maarleveld’s narration of the story. Each character was given their own unique voice and individual personality. I did have to speed up the pace a little, but once I did that the pacing and inflection were, in my opinion, spot on, except for those parts of the narrative that dragged. Overall the audiobook often added to my enjoyment of the novel.

Moving her focus from suburbia, Day chooses an aptly named hotel, The Precipice. It seems that every character is on the edge of calamity.

Our amateur sleuth, Charley, is a 19-year-old hotel maid. She is squeezed between her need to support her Nana, who is lapsing into dementia, and to protect a woman fleeing from abuse while catering to the needs of the Three Sisters—those who really control her fate. While Charley has been stuck in neutral as she works for the hotel, the sisters fled the Precipice. Their father's behavior, to put it kindly, stank. Now he is dead, and this triad returns to the hotel, along with a major hurricane.

The mystery morphs into a locked-room trope with no escape from the hurricane, while bodies begin to pile up. The plot could have used some pruning, but in the end, the characters who moved beyond stereotypes made it a worthwhile read.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC from netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for sending me this Arc, in exchange for an honest review.

I was super excited to read this book since I absolutely loved the block party. It had some twist and turns that I didn't see coming. All the characters where a hot mess and I was here for it. Some I liked more than others. One thing I didn't like was Charley falling into a instant love scenario with one of the sisters sons within a couple days of knowing each other.
It was a little hard to keep track at times of each sisters information, but I figured it out in the end. I do like The Block Party a little better than this book, but it was still a fun read. Can't wait to read your next book.

Charley works at a fancy hotel in Maine to care for her Nana who is in a home. When the old (and handsy) owner dies, his three daughters come to the hotel for the reading of the will. At the same time a hurricane is coming. Once the will is read and shocks abound, one family member ends up dead. Now the hurricane is upon them and the rest are left to wait out the storm with a killer on the loose.

There was enough family drama to keep my interest but not go over the top.an enjoyable locked room mystery thriller.

When the patriarch of the family passes away, his three daughters return to the family owned hotel for the reading of the will. While the current employees are trying to save the hotel and their jobs, they don't know who will be the new owner will be. While everyone is gathered, a major hurricane hits and bodies start dropping. This is a suspenseful read that keeps you guessing on who is the murderer. Great and interesting characters with a great plot.

Thank you to NetGalley, along with the author and publisher for an ARC of the book before it was available.

This wasn't for me. I wasn't really engaged from the start, and it unfortunately never picked up for me. I haven't read anything else by this author, and I'm not sure that I will. I was left bored.

A locked room mystery where everyone has a secret. There was a lot of subplots going on, but I feel like everything came together nicely and nothing was left hanging. Several of the twists were easily guessed early on, but the story was still enjoyable.

This was my first time reading Jamie Day and it probably won't be my last. I have mixed feelings with this story. While I loved how fast paced and atmospheric the story was, but I did find it a bit predictable. Although I will say I was throughout enjoying myself while I kept flipping the page. The writing style of this author is a funny and entertaining. I will say I loved how the author was able to immerse me into this setting. I also did not appreciate the romance--it was completely unnecessary in my humble opinion.

Overall it was a good read, but not really anything I haven't read before. A pretty basic domestic thriller.

I figured out part of the plot, but I didn't care because of the writing. Reading how the characters reached the same conclusion kept me turning pages. This was very different from the author's first book, The Block Party, and demonstrates her ability to write a riveting mystery.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little backlogged with my ARC’s but working diligently to get caught up. This book was a little different than I initially thought it was going to be. It was very complex with multiple narrators, storylines, and timelines that are explored. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns but had some trouble keeping track of who was who at the beginning. Overall it was a good read and if you like psychological thrillers and mysteries surrounding family drama, try this book out!

3.5 ⭐️


I absolutely loved The Block Party, so I was excited to read Jamie’s newest book.


George Bishop owns Precipice Hotel, well he did until he passed away. Precipice Hotel is unique, filled with antiques and it’s secluded. A hurricane is set to hit very soon, and George’s daughters are arriving along with their families to claim the hotel.

Nineteen year old Charley, is the chambermaid for the hotel. Her life depends on this job. Will they close the hotel on her? Charley has secrets too.

With murder, secrets and family drama- it’s a recipe for disaster.

I wanted to love this one so bad, but it just fell flat for me. It started off so good. But I felt it dragged on with the characters and their back stories, it was a little predictable and more drama than suspense.

However, this didn’t deter me. I will definitely keep my eyes out for more books from Jamie in the future!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a DRC. One Big Happy Family is available now.

I didn’t love it but didn’t hate it. There was more drama than I’d like - when reading a thriller I want all the thrill and less soap opera feeling. This was my first book by this author so I might try again - but this one just didn’t seem to fit the description and wasn’t all I’d hoped it to be.

One Big Happy Family is a family drama and mystery. I think the title and blurb are a bit misleading, but I enjoyed the story anyway. It had quite a few twists and unexpected events, but I didn’t really like or relate to any of the characters.

I could not finish this book. The characters were very unlikable. I was not interested in the story at all after many chapters.

I thought this one was just ok. I enjoyed the multiple characters and the diverse family dynamics, but I felt the pacing was off at times making if difficulty for me to keep my interest. I also didn’t find it suspenseful and the ending left me wanting more.

This locked-room thriller was full of family drama and suspenseful moments. I liked that the drama and creepiness were escalated by Hurricane Harry raging outside during the turn of events. The characters' quirky personalities also added intrigue to the story. The reader never knew what would happen next, what family secret would be revealed, or who had murdered George Bishop because everyone had a motive. I had my suspicions about Bree from the beginning, but the reveal twist at the end was a surprise. The one thing I didn't like about this story was the sisters' backstory chapters. I thought it gave away too much information before the reader needed it revealed. I would have preferred to find out the family secrets at the same time as Charley because it would have added more mystery and shock to the story. Although this wasn't my favorite book by the author, I would still recommend it to readers who love a good thriller!
The audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld was enjoyable to listen to. It was read with lots of animation and expression that added to the suspense of the story. I also liked that each character was given a different voice. It made it easier to determine who was speaking.
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

I read Jamie Day's last book and loved it, so jumped at the chance to read One Big Happy Family. Charley, a 19 y/o maid, works at a hotel in Maine. The owner has passed, and as family floods in, so does a hurricane. This turns into a not so happy family gathering as the murders begin. Another great thriller!