I liked the premise of this whodunnit mystery, and loved the setting in an old hotel in Maine, but it read very young to me. Felt like more of a YA mystery than a domestic thriller for me, so it seemed a bit mis-marketed. 2.5 stars rounding up to 3. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for the digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to get a copy of this author's latest book as I loved her first one. This one, however, just couldn't hold my attention. As I listened to the audio, I kept waiting to engage in rhe plot. I waited and waited and waited... but it lacked an entry point into the story for me. Nothing snagged me or stood out. It was just words and descriptions and noneventful situations. The plot also stalled even more as the three sisters were being introduced. Unfortunately, it was difficult for me to stay invested or care.

There are some other higher reviews, so I would suggest also checking those out. I need something to grab me - interesting characters, a suspenseful situation, big emotions or something else - which this plot didn't have.

Thanks Netgalley for an ARC and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I could not get into this book. The characters didn’t resonate with me and I just couldn’t finish it.

Thank you for the arc for my honest review.

I wanted to enjoy this book, but felt it had too many story lines going at once. I enjoyed some of the short, punchy lines, but left me wanting more overall.

When the owner of the prestigious Precipice Hotel passes away, his three daughters return home for the reading of the will. As live-in maid, Charley prepares the hotel for their arrival, and the incoming hurricane sets the mood for imminent disaster. As things begin to spiral out of control, it is up to Charley to figure out the pieces of this family's shocking past. While filled with twists, turns, and a satisfying ending, Charley's age and naivete played a big part in my rating.

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day is an unusual novel. The novel starts out with some background and then pops right into the present day. The novel goes back and forth in time to highlight different memories of the sisters or of the present occupants. The premise is an old inn in Maine on the cliffs looking out to the sea. The owner has died and asked that the will be read while his children are at the inn. There is a hurricane coming up the coast and is going to hit the inn in a number of hours. However the wind has already done damage and trapped them all at the property with so many large trees blocking the road. To top it off, in a fit of rage, one of the sisters ripped the modem from the wall and shot it so it would no longer function.

The Bishop sisters, Iris, Vicki, and Faith, arrive at the inn with their children and the lawyer who is going to read the will. Meanwhile the cook has taken off as has the front end manager leaving Charley (the maid) as the last worker. On top of that Charley has hidden Bree (an abused girlfriend) at the inn.

Everyone at the inn has hidden secrets and information that they should share. There are betrayals, more betrayals and even some surprises that no one expects. There is a hidden painting worth millions. On top of that there are weapons brandished at a whim, kitchen knives, and lots of alcohol. As the storm rises as does all the tempers and stories, until various people have been killed or tried to be killed or actually were the killers when help eventually arrives. It is a mess that you can not put down!

One Big Happy Family sets readers up to experience the perfect storm (literally) of a family reunion. Following the death of their father, the Bishop sisters come together again to learn what will become of the family hotel where Charley has been working for years. But, with a major storm brewing, unauthorized guest, dark secrets being revealed, and inheritance at risk, things are bound to be messy. I enjoyed the way the author told the story of the Bishop sisters, both in the past and present to learn more about their motives. It kept pointing the blame to each of the people in the hotel, and made this mystery a good one!

I was looking forward to this book because I really enjoyed the author's previous book. Unfortunately this book didn't live up to my expectations. It was slow and didn't hold my interest.

Messy family dynamics, secrets & lies…this book is full of all three!
…and top it all off with being stranded at a hotel in the middle of a nasty hurricane.

This book had its ups and downs- I’m always a sucker for a stranded setting and loads of craziness, but I think it just had a little too much crazy- soooo many characters and storylines, I literally couldn’t keep them straight. I was constantly confusing how everyone was connected and trying to remember their history, to the point where I felt it was overload. I also wasn’t super jazzed about any of the characters.

I felt like it started off strong and I was pretty into the storyline, but things slowed down towards the middle and I had a hard time getting back into it.

I did enjoy the settings & descriptions throughout the book- you get the sense you’re stuck in the middle of the storm with everyone.

I have seen some great reviews for this one, it just wasn’t the most memorable book for me!

The owner of The Precipice Hotel dies and his three adult daughters, Vickie, Iris and Faith, return to bury him and attend the reading of the will. Charlie is the live in maid and when the family arrives she gets drawn into their drama and into a murder mystery.

The setting of a remote hotel on a rocky Maine coast during a hurricane was my favorite part. I love a locked door mystery and this one was quite the wild ride. The Bishop sisters are hiding a secret and they are each unlikeable and crazy in their own way. Who is the murderer and how many people will die? How many secrets are they hiding exactly?

On the downside, this one was a little far fetched and moved slowed in the beginning.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for an arc for review!

Charley's world is about to get turned upside down as her boss has passed away and his daughters are coming for his funeral and to divide the assests including the family hotel which Charley has worked and lived at for the past few years. She has always wondered what the Bishop sisters were like but she got a lot more than she ever thought when they arrived and it was discovered they all had secrets the would kill to keep.

I really enjoyed this book and the twists that it took throughout especially towards the end. Thank you netgalley, the publisher and author for my arc!

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
While I enjoyed the story line, it took me a little while to get into the book. It seemed to start out slow with not much happening in my opinion.
Once the story picked up, it went quick with one thing after another happening. Unfortunately, the story often seemed very far fetched and unrealistic. The characters all seemed unlikeable even tho the author appears ro make the reader feel for and like the protagonist.
While this book didn't give me the wow unput-downable feel, it was a fun quick read.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3.75⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: thriller/ mystery 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
This one was okay, I enjoyed it but all of the drama took away from the suspense/mystery
𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Hotel on coast of Maine setting
Family drama
All the secrets and lies
Looked room murder mystery
The Maid vibes
Flashbacks
Unlikable characters

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The rhyming kid was a good touch

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
More drama than suspense
Super over the top
Starts off slow

One Big Happy Family begins well, The narrator's POV had me hooked early on in setting the creepy vibe of an isolated beachfront hotel on the eve of an incoming hurricane. Sadly, the story itself did not live up to the expectations set in the first part. There is a marked shift in the point of view in part two that is supposed to flashback to help us understand the motivations of the characters and increase the tension in the present. This didn't work well though, as it moved the attention from the locked room to past events, so there was no big reveal when things came out in the present. It felt repetitive and by the time all the characters understand what is happening, the reader has known for a while. For me this undermined the suspense and made an interesting concept a fairly boring experience. The characters are unlikeable and flat, though we are supposed to feel for many of them in their situations. I simply didn't care much by the time we got the resolution. Very little real mystery or suspense and even less sleuthing, I found this was not the book for me.

I really enjoyed this story. It had a lot of keeping you on the edge of your seat drama. There was mystery and suspense, and a hurricane. I would recommend this to anybody who enjoys a story filled with all of these attributes.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC of this book via NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Publishing: July 16, 2024
Pages: 384

So, I have read “Block Party” by Jamie Day and did not think “One Big Happy Family” would not let my reading appetite go to waste. This book excelled my first review by this author, and I truly enjoyed the story. It was fun and had me engaged every minute from the start. “One Big Happy Family” is not the happy family that you might think…three sisters, hubbies and children go to main knowing they all have their own quirks and just do not mix well. There is murder at the hotel that was owned by their wicked father and now has become isolated due to a hurricane and later presents twists, turns and “oh my” more. I could not put this book down as it was entertaining. On another note, I truly enjoyed the maid, Charley who was not only 19 years of age, but was supporting her grandmother. This was one of those stories that you must read. Totally enjoyed and highly recommend.

George Bishop, the owner of the Precipice Hotel, is a difficult man to work for, to say the least. Nineteen year old Charley Kelley can attest to that. She works as a chambermaid and is always fighting off advances from the older man. She’d love to quit, but she desperately needs the money. Her grandmother is living in a nursing home and Charley is responsible for all her expenses. She, also, is fortunate that George lets her live on the premises. When he suddenly dies, Charley wonders what will happen to her.

George’s three daughters are ready to step in and take over, but it isn’t quite that easy. The Bishops aren’t your typical family. They each have their own issues and they don’t really like each other, which adds to the craziness. Not to mention that George's will isn't what any of them expected.

Charley has her own problems and concerns. Besides the money issues, she’s hiding a young woman who is on the run from an abusive boyfriend. Meanwhile a hurricane bears down on the hotel.

This is an addictive suspense that definitely qualifies as edge-of-your-seat reading. The author paints a vivid picture of an isolated hotel in the middle of a raging storm. The hotel is filled with a motley set of characters - none of which can be trusted. Charley has her hands full, but when people start dying, she has no idea who can be trusted.

The explosive ending has so many twists and turns, my head is still spinning long after I finished the book. I do enjoy a good suspense that keeps you guessing. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author but it won’t be my last.






FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A hotel on the coast of Maine is a fantastic setting, but not just that a hurricane is brewing. With the passing of the owner, his three daughters are on the way for their share. Not a friendly set and there's something not quite right with them.

Charley is the 19 year old maid that takes pride in her work and is dependent on the pay to help her Nana with her bills too. As the sisters are soon to arrive, she is fearful of the changes they might make. Charley has her own secrets too. She steals from the guests to help make ends meet and how long can she keep a runaway hidden from them?

I love the suspense here with the looming hurricane. It creates a very dark atmosphere. I enjoyed One Big Happy Family and is great to pack along for summer/holiday reading.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy.

I loveeeee a good thriller, and this book was not a thriller… it was definitely a DRAMA pretending to be a thriller and those are just not for me.

This book had a promising setup: the Bishop sisters return home to hear their father's will, with a murderer on the loose. Sounds thrilling, right? Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. The drama took center stage, overshadowing the suspense. It left me wanting a lot more excitement. So, it's a 2.5 stars from me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for an ARC of this book! My opinions are my own!

After reading and enjoying Jamie Day’s debut novel, The Block Party, I was looking forward to reading One Big Happy Family.

This is a locked room novel, where all of the activity takes place in an old prestigious hotel. The main character is Charley, a maid who works at the hotel. Charley not only works at the hotel, she lives at the hotel. So, when the owner dies and his 3 daughters are heading to the hotel to discuss the inheritance, Charley has a lot to worry about.

Not only that, but a hurricane is heading in.

Lots of family drama and secrets once the three sisters arrive. Plus a murder. With everyone trapped in the hotel, thanks to the hurricane, everyone is turning on each other.

It dragged a bit, and I didn’t feel it was as enjoyable as her first novel. Still, this will work if you’re looking for a lighter summer read.