I’d like to thank Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read One Big Happy Family before its release on July 16th. This was an atmospheric, locked room mystery. This book was an easy read and held my interest, but I guessed the main twist pretty early on. On top of that, some of the characters were just downright ridiculous and had me rolling my eyes. This was my first novel by Jamie Day, and I definitely plan on picking up the Block Party at some point. Giving this title 3 stars and would recommend to fans of locked room mysteries.

I loved this one! I like the thrill and mystery of the plot , the characters were written well : can’t wait to read more by this author

This locked room mystery was intriguing. The premise of the book was good and drew me in. Although I figured out who it was, it didn’t take away from the story. Overall, I enjoyed the story.

One Big Happy Family

Suspend belief and you’ll enjoy this ride. I wouldn’t call this a complex read but rather quite complicated family dynamics and a lot of drama. There were at least a couple characters that were good at their core and that helped balance the absolutely crazy ones. I loved the audio because it was Saskia Maarleveld and ended up doing the majority that way and with short chapters and clear character timelines it was a very easy book to follow even with a heap load of characters.

If you enjoy over the top stories with mildly insane characters while also dealing with a hurricane then this will be right up your alley!

3/5⭐️

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the alc and St. Martin’s Press for the arc via Netgalley.

A hurricane on the way at a Maine hotel is the perfect scene for an awkward family reunion as the patriarch passed. You suspect everyone you meet and aren't sure who to believe - the sisters, their spouses, their children, the housekeeper, the hidden guest, the disgruntled hotel administrator - and it's fun to read as the narrative unwinds.

Sprinkle in multiple POVs and timelines, and it keeps you guessing!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC.

I enjoy a locked-room mystery, especially if it is atmospheric, and this one was definitely atmospheric! The small hotel on the rocky coast of Maine, with a hurricane bearing down, power outages, etc., gave the story a feeling of chaotic isolation as the secrets of this dysfunctional group came dripping out. There is a lot of family drama among some pretty shady characters, and it reaches a fever pitch. All the while, they are trapped because of the storm, with a killer among them. The setting was my favorite part of the book, as the intriguing family-owned small hotel was almost a character in itself. And, Day did a good job of making the coming hurricane feel urgent, adding to the story's tension, suspense, and feeling of impending danger. This is told in four parts, and for me, the pacing was kind of slow for the first two parts, and some of the twists were predictable, though not all of them. Overall, I enjoyed this, though perhaps not quite as much as her debut, but I look forward to reading what the author writes next. And I love this cover!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free book!

*3.5 rounded up

Set on a cliff’s edge during a severe storm, with a cast of characters with questionable motivations, sets this story up. I thought I knew what was more than likely going to happen. Other than one small guess, I was wrong with everything else. From the beginning there was nothing but one unexpected twist after another. The characters took me by surprise just as much as the storyline. When I wasn’t reading this, I was thinking about it and angsty to get back into it. This author is quickly making their way onto my favorites list.

What's scarier than a closed room mystery? How about a hotel on a cliffside (aptly named The Precipice), with a hurricane coming, and a murderer on the loose!

Charley is a maid in a desperate situation - she can't afford a place of her own and her Nana's care fees both, so she's lucky she has a free room (well, closet) at the hotel. But the owner has died - will the new owners be as generous? Day has done an excellent job of showing us the characters of each of the three Bishop sisters and their partners who come to stay for their Dad's funeral. And then there's the guest Charley is hiding from an ex-boyfriend. She's protective of Charley, but can they trust her ex not to find her? Everything is precarious, not just the hotel, and it is all leading up to a crazy night of flickering lights, horrendous rain, and (dun dun dun)....murder.

I flew through this book in a day, and now I'm going back to read The Block Party!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy of this thrilling read.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the ARC of 'One Big Happy Family' in exchange for an honest review.
It was a dark and stormy night........
And an especially eventful night at the picturesque Maine hotel, The Precipice. As the name implies, the place sits on a seaside cliff,, overlooking a lethal drop into the crashing waves below. There's more wave crashing than usual tonight in the midst of a raging hurricane that's washed out the roads and left everyone in the hotel stranded there, guests and staff alike.
What a night for a reading of the last will and testament of George Bishop, the odious owner who spent most of his time sexually harassing our narrator, young Charley Kelley, the hotel's sole full time maid. Also in attendance are George's spawn - sisters Vicki, Faith and Iris, a dysfunctional trio from hell, each holding on to backstories chock full of dark secrets, separately and together. Excess baggage includes an imperious woman lawyer to read the will Vicki's repulsive obnoxious husband, Todd, their grown son Quinn and Oliver, the weird little teen son of Faith and her partner Hope. A hidden guest unbeknownst to all of them except Charley, is Bree, a desperate young woman on the run from an abusive boyfriend.. Soft-hearted Charley moves Bree from room to room while the nest of Bishop vipers hurl long simmering contempt for each other.
The storm howls. The lights go and off. Threatening messages start popping up. Could it be that some folks among this group won't make it through the night upright and breathing?
What could possibly go wrong? (Feel free to insert a long evil Bwaa-haa-haa laugh here....)
Author Jamie Day obviously had a terrific time nailing down every single 'locked-room' murder mystery trope. I don't think there's a single one left out and the fun of seeing them all in play once again is contagious. The only thing missing from the apparent endless, regularly scheduled revelations is hearing an orchestra launch into one of those 'Dum-dum Dummmmmmm!' crescendos every time a twist is revealed.
More than once I was thinking that this book piles on so many of these homages that it borders on sly parody. But then again, author Day takes the time to vividly portray each of these characters, bringing all of them to life, both the hateful ones and ones to root for, like Charley. Even when its plot complications start to resemble a 'Saturday Night Live' skit on murder mysteries, 'One Big Happy Family' never seems less than fully committed to its genre.
I had such a good time with this, I didn't even mind the blatant shamelessness of the book's epilogue, tying up every little thing with pretty little bows. If the mission was to give a mystery buff a breezy good time, then mission accomplished.

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com and bookwormishme.com today.

This is definitely not one big happy family. No spoilers, but honestly, this family really puts the fun in dysfunctional. And while the story is about a family, it mostly focuses on one person, Charley.

Charley lives and works in an inn on coastal Maine. The structure is quite amazing with its cliff location and unique decor. Charley was whisked away from her job as a waitress to become the hotel’s chambermaid. Living rent free sounded amazing, until she realized her new home was a former broom closet. Nonetheless, she can’t really be choosy, cause she needs every penny to support her grandmother who lives in a nursing home.

When her employer suddenly dies, Charley and Rodrigo, the hotel manager, are left to deal with the offspring of their employer. From what townies tell them, dealing with these three sisters is going to be anything but easy. Add in an acquaintance of Charley’s who suddenly needs a free place to stay, and it’s going to be one crazy weekend in Maine.

Especially when one of the guests turns up dead.

Funny, heartwarming, and surprising is what makes this novel a good read. Your suspects will change as you turn the pages. Unexpected surprises in every chapter! What a fun novel. I loved Charley and her authentic self. Rodrigo was the best. It’s just a great way to spend a few hours immersed in the nuttiness of Jonesport, Maine.

3.5⭐️ One Big Happy Family … NOT. This is a promising locked room mystery set in coastal Maine with a hurricane bearing down. A wealthy hotel owner has died and his dysfunctional family is gathered at The Precipice for the reading of his last will and testament. Mysterious messages appear as bodies begin to pile up. Hotel chambermaid, Charley, is caught in the middle. Secrets are revealed and relationships shattered.

Sounds great, right? There’s SO MUCH going on here and SO MANY shady characters to keep track of and SO MUCH unnecessary — stuff — that it’s hard to keep everything and everyone straight. Told in four parts: The beginning is S L O W, parts two and three are overloaded with stuff, and the ending seemed chaotic. It was a good read, but it could have been fantastic with some minor tweaking.

I enjoyed Jamie Day’s first book more because it seemed tighter, and I’m definitely interested in what she writes next. She has a true talent for dysfunction that I greatly appreciate.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

After hearing amazing things about Jamie Day’s debut novel, The Block Party, I was incredibly excited to receive this ARC, especially after reading the blurb.

One Big Happy Family has all the makings of an amazing thriller for me. Locked room, isolated by a storm, dysfunctional family, twisty dark secrets, unsuspecting protagonist, and a few wild cards. I loved all of this.
Things started out a little slow as all the characters and dynamics were introduced, and a few things were a bit repetitive, but once things got going it was turn after turn and for a while I couldn’t really guess where things were going or who to suspect. Finally I did guess the actually villain/motive, but it was no less enjoyable having known.
There was more drama than thriller in this book, but that’s okay with me. I did enjoy how everything wrapped up well.

I do have The Block Party sitting on my shelf so I’m even more eager to get to it now, as well as to see what the author does next.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for this ARC.
Publication date 7/16/24

I'm going to keep this short because this book was not good. At all.

So the wealthy owner of a fancy hotel called the Precipice on the coast of Maine has died and his three daughters are coming for the reading of the will. One sister brings her disgusting husband and handsome son, one sister brings her crazy wife and their weirdo son who is 14 and speaks only in rhyme for most of the book, and the third sister is single.

Charley is the absolutely stupid as hell main character who is worried about losing her job, depending on what the sisters choose to do with the hotel. Rodrigo is her only friend and works at the hotel with her. Her elderly grandmother is at a care home that is super expensive, and has dementia, so Charley steals from guests to help pay the bills.

Bree shows up, claiming to be on the run from an abusive boyfriend, so of course Charley will just hide her at the hotel. She just happens to arrive right ahead of the sisters.

Also, a hurricane is coming.

As if there were not enough things to annoy me, they all kept referring to the attorney there to read the will as 'Attorney Black'. Sometimes just by her last name, which made a lot more sense, but usually 'Attorney Black'. I have never once called my attorney 'Attorney Booth'. Are we supposed to refer to our attorneys by their profession and name? DOUBTFUL.

Basically, this is a gigantic mess. Everyone is stupid or crazy or weird or a murderer. Too many convoluted story lines entwined to try and make the obvious twist a little less obvious. Lots of side drama that had zero relevance. Everyone is awful or stupid and I wish they had all died, except Charley's grandma.

Day's second novel kept my interest throughout, but I found the ending very Predictable and with an unnecessary epilogue that wrapped everything up a little too neatly. I did enjoy Day's debut "The Block Party" better than this one, but this was a Fun Drama, similar to The Glass Onion plot.

Read if you like:
Family drama
Rich people behaving poorly
A morally grey protagonist
Dialog heavy writing

I really loved the vibe of this stormy hotel mystery. 10 people are left at the Precipice Hotel during Hurricane Larry and not all will make it out alive. Is the killer one of the mysterious Bishop sisters with their ominous backstories, the hotel maid, the stowaway?

[ The ending felt a little bit predictable because Bri’s character felt pretty random and out of place from the beginning, but there were still a few unexpected twists that had my jaw dropped.

Bri’s backstory felt fine to me. I didn’t think the in depth look into the abuse she faced as a foster child was really necessary, I already understood her motivation without it. It just felt a little out of place, and if she was angry enough to kill her genetic father and half sisters about it, surely she’d have done something to the foster father as well.

Overall, I really did enjoy reading this, the cast of characters were all really interesting and well fleshed out. I was thoroughly engaged and constantly guessing what was coming next.

ARC Review
One Big Happy Family
Jamie Day
Publication Day: July 16

I was excited to read One Big Happy Family as I enjoyed Day’s previous novel The Block Party.
Premise: Charley has been working her entire life as the hotel maid at The Precipice. When George, the owner, dies, his three daughters return to the hotel for the reading of the will. With a storm set to strand everyone at the hotel, anxiety with the will reading, and family secrets waiting to be revealed, danger and murder lurks in the darkness.

At times, the descriptions and points of view were a bit slow, but it was necessary to understand the entire plot and it all came together in the end. I loved the suspense and trying to figure out the killer. I did figure out the killer early on, but there were a few other twists I did not see coming. Overall, I really enjoyed this mystery and I would read another novel by Day!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you a fan locked room mystery and family drama, then this one is for you. Add in an incoming storm and an inheritance and I am in. The story is told by Charley, who is a maid at Precipice Hotel. This weekend, the Bishop family that owns the hotel are all gathered together to hear the will of the owner who recently passed away. There's a murder that happens and everyone is now distrustful of each other and dark family secrets are revealed. The story was a little slow but I enjoyed the atmospheric setting and how the story revealed itself.

Saskia Maarleveld did a great job with all of the voices.

Thank you @macmillan.audio @netgalley @stmartinspress for a copy of this book.

3.5 stars
I really enjoyed the author's prior book, The Block Party, and was excited to read One Big Happy Family. The main character is Charley Kelley, a young woman who works as a housekeeper at an isolated hotel in Maine. When the owner dies, his three daughters come into town for the reading of the will and to possibly make changes in the running of the hotel. Charley fears for her job, especially since she's doing things that the owners would definitely not approve of. Things get worse when a hurricane heads their way and a killer strikes, making it just as dangerous inside the hotel as out.

This book has some entertaining moments, but it suffers from uneven pacing. It's slow to start while you get to know each of the main characters. However, any building momentum is lost when Part 1 of the book ends and Part 2 flashes back to when the Bishop sisters were younger, with chapters dedicated to each sister. This part of the book serves its purpose, but moves slowly. Part 3 then takes a while to gear back up again, but when it does, the tension and drama kept my interest. There are many unlikable characters and even Charley takes a while to get used to. It's hard to know who to trust, but I was able to correctly categorize most of the heroes and villains before the satisfying ending.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day July 16, 2024

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary copy of this novel!
Charley the maid and Rodrigo the front desk manager work at The Precipice Hotel located near the rocky coastline of Maine. The hotel is owned by George Bishop who has a sordid past. Now that he has passed away, his daughters Vicki, Iris and Faith come to the hotel for the reading of the will. Before they arrive; however, Bree, a young woman running from her abusive boyfriend, seeks refuge at the hotel and asks Charley for help. But Charley must keep Bree hidden from the sisters and the rest of the group once they arrive. Besides the sisters, Todd, Vicki’s husband will be there; Oliver and Quinn, Faith’s and Vicki’s sons respectively; and the lawyer.
Unfortunately, it’s not just George Bishop with a sordid past. Almost everyone who has arrived at The Precipice has a shady past and when bodies start to drop and long forgotten secrets are no longer buried, things begin to get a lot more interesting at the hotel. Oh… and one other thing...there’s a hurricane barreling their way too!!! What secrets threaten to be revealed? Can the past truly be forgotten? What a wild ride Jamie Day has written for us!!! Really enjoyed reading this novel and trying to figure out who dun it! AVAILABLE July 16, 2024

I’ve been devouring thrillers & mysteries lately, and One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day delivered a locked room murder mystery at the Precipice family-owned hotel on the rocky coast of Maine during a hurricane. You’ll want to curl up with this suspenseful tale.

The Precipice is a legendary, family-owned hotel situated along the rocky coast of Maine. When the owner dies, his three daughters and their family arrive for the reading of the will and funeral as a hurricane bears down on the area. Iris, Vicki, and Faith; the Bishop sisters have secrets, hold grudges and each want their share.

Meanwhile, nineteen-year-old live-in chambermaid Charley Kelley has her own struggles. She is worried about keeping her job with a change of ownership. She needs the meager paycheck and housing to provide for her grandmother, who is in assisted living. With the hotel almost empty, Charley agrees to come to the aid of a stranger, offering Bree shelter while she hides from an abusive boyfriend. If discovered, the sisters could fire her.

As the storm looms ever closer, the tension at the Precipice builds. When the will is read, death follows. Was it an accident or murder? Cut off from the police and without internet things unravel. The author slowly revealed secrets, shed light on the sister’s childhood and pitted characters against each other as they battled against the rising storm and each other.

One Big Happy Family was an enjoyable summer thriller, with plenty of twists as only a dysfunctional family can deliver. I loved the build up. The story dragged in spots, but towards the end picked up in speed before delivering an epilogue that felt all too neat.

I liked Charley, was cautious of Bree and didn’t trust any of the Bishop sisters or the hotel desk manager. LOL. I solved this one a little quickly, but overall found it entertaining. It’s a fun mystery for a rainy day at the beach.