I read this novel courtesy of St. Martin’s Press, the author, and also Netgalley. I really did like the premise of this book however I found it fairly uneventful. This novel focuses on a hotel that is fairly vacant due to a pending hurricane. Three sisters plan to arrive to the hotel either way due to the reading of an inheritance.

This novel was more drama than thrill, which I was hoping was opposite but I did like the story line. I would recommend for those who like a story that is drama filled with a touch of thrill.

This was a fun read by Jaime Day. I also really enjoyed The Block Party so I was excited to get this ARC.
The family drama in this book is MESSY. But I loved the action and how wild it got. Just when I thought the family couldn’t get any messier.. I was wrong. Although I really liked all the drama, the story telling between the past and the present got a little confusing at parts but that could’ve been just me.
I highly suggest reading this book during a rainy weekend to add to the ambiance - you’ll understand once you start reading.
One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day hits the shelves on July 16, 2024. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great listen. I read and listened to this one. It really kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who murdered who. This was a pretty fast paced book. The narrator did a great job. I was able to listen to it at 2x the speed easily. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this one.

Nineteen year old Charley is a maid at the Precipice, a hotel that sits on a cliff in Maine (hence the name). She uses her salary to pay for grandmother's care and sometimes gets sticky fingers around the guests. When the owner of the hotel passes away, his three daughters arrive to sort out their inheritance just as a hurricane hits. Worried about her future, Charley is waiting to hear about the fate of the hotel. Meanwhile, the sisters and their families have their own baggage to sort out. Long-buried secrets start to bubble to the surface when everyone gets stuck in the isolated hotel during the storm. With so much so gain or lose, the stakes turn deadly.

I am a big fan of locked room thrillers and this was definitely a fun one. Other than the protagonist Charley, who I was rooting for, I didn't really like any other characters but I think that's what the author was aiming for. Families are brutal, and this family was no exception. There were lots of twists and turns and the hits just kept coming. An entertaining summer read. Thanks NetGalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book. I felt like it has such a slow start and it just wasn’t grabbing my attention.

I hope others love this one but it was a DNF for me.

Predictable family drama set in an almost deserted hotel during a hurricane.

Charley Kelley, age 19, works as the only maid at the Precipice, a hotel in Maine, set at the edge of a cliff. The old man owner dies, and his 3 daughters, Vicki, Iris, and Faith come to hear the reading of the will. The weekend turns dangerous as all the guests depart, Hurricane Larry bears down on them, and secrets the Bishop sisters are keeping might just be the deadliest of all.

I had a difficult time buying into this story and the whole plot was so unsurprising that I find it hard to believe that any reader could say there are any unexpected twists. Each chapter brought more anticipated revelations and it all played out to a conclusion that you can see a mile coming. The characters were mostly unlikeable and even though we are supposed to like Charley, I really didn't find her believable either. Halfway through it, I just wanted to be done with the book. Overall, this didn't deliver the promised suspense or thrills.

I listened to the audiobook while following along in the e-book (both provided by the publishers) but that combination didn't bring me the expected enjoyment as it usually does. The narrator's voice was OK, however there was little differentiation in tone or cadence to allow the listener to be able to identify which character was speaking. This type of novel with so many different people would have benefited from a larger speaking cast.

Jamie Day is one of my new fav authors. I fell in love with her writing with Block Party and this one was no different. The mystery, the secrets it had it all. Loved the vibes of most of it taking place at one location. Like clue or Agatha Christie. During a hurricane no less. It kept me sucked in, it kept me wanting more and to find out what was gonna happen. I didn’t guess the twists. Can’t wait for more from this author.

I love a reclusive location for thrillers & murder mysteries, especially when a storm prevents them from leaving. The seclusion always amps up the tension. And this unusual family that the main character Charley gets stuck with, they are already full of tension. They’ve all got enough secrets to keep readers very interested. It has that modern-Gothic vibe going for it, the locale, the family secrets, the storm. It even has a little bit of a Christie aura to it as the numbers start to lessen. Overall it’s a fairly satisfying book but I do feel that I enjoyed Day’s other book The Block Party better.

🏨

Read if you like:
* The Off Season by Amber Cowie
* The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Overall, the book had a pretty slow pace until about the last quarter of the book. I really wanted to stick out until the end though because once it picked up, it held my interest to the end.

I'd check out other books of this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for a copy of this book.

A great read! I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a good, summer read! Not light and airy but keeps you invested until the end!

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book.

One Big Happy Family is set at The Precipice Hotel, where the owner, George Bishop, has recently passed. His three daughters come back to the hotel to settle their father’s estate and hear the reading of his will. The story is focused on Charley, a maid at the hotel who works to pay for her Nana’s care in assisted living. She struggles to make ends meet and her future seems dismal. She gets caught in the middle of the drama with the Bishop sisters.

Sisters Vicki, Faith, and Iris converge on the hotel at the same time as Hurricane Larry. The sisters’ arrival and the storm both stir up old memories and wreak havoc on The Precipice. The story uncovers secrets and unknown connections between all the characters, and the will raises questions about how the estate is to be divided.

The novel is broken into sections with flashbacks to provide context for each character. While the loose ends are connected at the end of the story, there are parts in the middle that feel slow. I didn’t care for it as much as The Block Party.

There is supposedly a phenomenon where your mind reads a word correctly, even if it was spelled wrong. This happened to me and although it wasn't a misspelling I accidentally gave away the twist to myself...

This is one of those classic locked room mysteries, except it's a hotel on the off beaten path in a tiny town besieged by a hurricane. Some of the guests are checking out....permanently.

This is most definitely one of the most dysfunctional fictional families I have ever had the pleasure to stumble across. It certainly kept the pages turning as I had to race toward whodunit. And I was not at all disappointed.

My first Jamie Day book but definitely not my last.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day is a highly recommended locked-room mystery featuring an assortment of disagreeable characters.

Nineteen-year-old Charley Kelley lives rent free and works as a chambermaid at The Precipice, a legendary, family-owned hotel on the coast of Maine. All of Charley's money goes toward providing for her grandmother who is in a care home with dementia. At least she has one friend at The Precipice, Rodrigo, the front desk manager. After the owner George Bishop dies, his daughters, Vicki, Iris, and Faith, are set to arrive at the hotel for the reading of his will even though Hurricane Larry is predicted to make landfall during their stay. Before the sisters arrive, Charley agrees to hide a young woman, Bree, in an empty room to keep her safe from her abusive boyfriend. In return Bree has promised to pay Charley to help her take care of her grandmother.

Once Vicki arrives with her husband Todd, it becomes clear that the weekend may be tougher and even more demanding than expected. Faith arrives with her partner Hope, and their son Oliver, a fourteen-year-old who speaks in rhymes. Finally sister and ex-con Iris arrives with Vicki's son, Quinn. The tension-filled and secret-keeping group awaits the arrival of the lawyer, Brenda Black, and the reading of the will, which releases all manner of mayhem - and murder.

The narrative is broken down into four parts. The pace in the first two parts moves rather slowly as the plot is set up and background information is provided, however things really take off in the last two parts. The short chapters help the drama and revelations move along. Many of the secrets the sisters are keeping end up being revealed. The hurricane plays a major role in the narrative as everyone is trapped in the hotel while the electricity keep flickering on and off and cell reception is down.

Charley is a sympathetic character and you will want her to survive her encounter with the sisters. All the sisters are, predictably, disagreeable characters. You know from the backstory the big secret they are hiding and can easily surmise some others. The other characters are a mixed bag.

While most of the secrets are not shocking because you can guess what is going to happen, the animosity and vitriol that accompanies them will keep you reading and immersed in the action. I was entertained throughout. If you enjoy locked-room mysteries, One Big Happy Family is a good choice. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

I read the debut book by Jamie Day at the beginning of this year, which I loved and was so excited to receive an advanced copy of her new novel. One Big Happy Family did not disappoint at all.

This book was the perfect summer mystery set at a hotel in Maine during a hurricane. This book follows a dysfunctional family, as they gather at the family hotel for the reading of their father’s will. This twisty murder mystery kept me guessing until the final chapters. The secrets just kept coming out, even ones you never could have guessed were secrets! I couldn’t put this one down once I started reading! I look forward to more novels from Jamie Day!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Jamie Day for my digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The irony is not lost on me that I read a book taking place during a hurricane while we prep for the first hurricane of the season headed for the gulf coast. I throughly enjoy locked room style mysteries and One Big Happy Family follows a dysfunctional family as they all meet together at the family hotel for the reading of the will of their recently deceased father. The main character of the book is resident maid, Charley, and once the family descends on the hotel she realizes she’s in for a tense weekend even without the storm looming and the added stowaway hidden in one of the rooms.

This book read rather quickly and all the characters are a little shady so you don’t know who to trust completely making it an even more enjoyable read. Maybe just don’t read it during a hurricane if they already stress you out.


Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

A storm and a locked room murder? Sign me up! This is a twisty, murder mystery leaving you wondering who can be trusted. Some may find this predictable as I did. It kind of dragged once we had insight into why the Bishops are the way they are. I mean once you know the why how long can it take to wrap things up? Well it can take a while because there are so many secrets! And then it all makes sense in the end. These books are always tied up in a pretty little bow aren’t they?

Hurricane Larry is barreling toward the rugged coast of Maine, and the usually busy Precipice Hotel is dead, most guest having cancelled their stays. Yet, Vicki, Iris, and Faith are determined to arrive despite the impending storm. They have a will to read and an inheritance to claim, making their visit all the more intriguing.

As the storm looms, the front desk manager, Rodrigo, and the hotel's young and spirited chambermaid, Charley, frantically prepare for both the Bishop Sisters' arrival and the hurricane. To complicate matters further, they must find a way to hide Bree, a woman on the run from an abusive boyfriend.

Unfortunately, the story struggles to maintain its momentum. Part One drags, with an implausible plot point where the Bishop Sisters, despite wanting to stay in the room, never check the one hiding Bree—even though Vicki is in the adjacent room! Part Two further slows the pace with extensive backstories and secrets that explain the sisters' animosity but stall the action.

The pace finally picks up in Parts Three and Four, but by then, the revelations in Part Two have made the plot predictable. The twists, though dramatic, are somewhat over-the-top.

The epilogue, unfortunately, falls flat, leaving a sense of disbelief rather than satisfaction. Not a big fan of this one, but will try Day again in the future. 2.5 stars.

A new thriller from Jamie Day!

The Precipice Hotel is located on the rocky coast of Maine in a small town. Charley has been the cleaner at the hotel for a handful of years in order to pay her Nana's housing. She is stuck between a rock and a hard place and unable to leave the job that she hates. When the owner dies, his three daughters rush back to read the will. Iris, Vicki and Faith and their families flood the hotel.

The will provides surprises and a hurricane bears down. Suddenly Charley is stuck in the hotel with the sisters and at least one of them is out for blood. Can Charley survive the weekend? Can she keep her job?
Who is the most dangerous? What do they really want?

I enjoyed the novel, it was interesting and different. I felt the ending was rushed but it didn't completely detract from the story. If you like a stormy night thriller, this is a book for you!
#stmartin #jamieday #onebighappyfamily

Enjoyable thriller about three sisters and a hidden secret from the past. Yet, the “who dunnit” was from outside the family. Would have enjoyed more of the mystery part being woven in with one of the sister.s. Three stars.

The three Bishop sisters gather at the family owned resort after the death of their father. They all bring a troubled history and secrets with them. They gather for the reading of the will with a hurricane making waves, too. Add in the mysteries from the resort staff, a stowaway hiding from her boyfriend, and the lawyer to read the will. Lots of intrigue and stormy weather causes havoc at the resort.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.