Hurricane Larry is bearing down on the Precipice Hotel, perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean in Maine, at the same time the previously-estranged Bishop sisters (Vicky, Ivy and Faith) are converging for the reading of their father George’s will. What could go wrong?

This locked room, domestic thriller, told from the maid, Charley Kelley’s point of view, is truly a page-turner. Family secrets fester beneath the surface of everything. And Charley has some secrets, and some troubles, of her own. Forced to resort to stealing items from hotel guests to pay the ever-increasing costs of her grandmother’s dementia care, and now risking even more by hiding a woman on the run from domestic violence in the hotel, she is a compelling narrator.

Filled with twists and gripping action, ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY makes for a fantastic beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

What a big dysfunctional family! The action and twists did not let up in this book and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Charley is a maid in Precipice Hotel working for a lecherous man when he suddenly passes away. His 3 estranged daughters come to the hotel to prepare for his funeral and each of them is hiding a pretty big secret. As a storm closes in, which secrets will be revealed and how many bodies will be found (both literally and figuratively)?

Loved the closed room aspect of being stuck with no phone service in a huge storm. It definitely added to the creepy factor. Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! The twists and turns of this book are plentiful. Talk about dysfunctional, but this is one dysfunctional family. Everyone comes together because of the death of their father and are then stranded because of a hurricane and chaos ensues. Totally didn’t expect the way that everything turned out! I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had heard so much about Jamie Day's first book, Block Party...which I have yet to read. (But totally need to!) So when I got my hands on a copy of her newest novel I was so excited!

I give this a 3.7 stars. This was a longgggg book but because of the short chapters didn't feel as long. However, I do think some of the fluff and (overkill) detail could have been omitted. It felt a tad repetitive at times.

The book is broken into parts which I always enjoy. I love reading the backstory of characters to set the stage of the character they are today. I thought this was executed really well!

I loved the setting. A coastal town. A hurricane is brewing in and the whole moody vibe was totally vibing. I could picture the hustle and bustle of people in frantic as the stormy weather is making landfall. The hotel craze of people canceling reservations and then the eerie feel of this big hotel with no one there except for the employees.

Let's meet the characters!
Charley is a maid at The Precipice Hotel, a boutique hotel with 14 themed rooms. Charley is trying to make ends meet and take care of her nana who lives in a nursing home. She lives at the hotel as part of her pay. She is an extremely likable and relatable character. (Even with her little sneaky side!) As the story begins, you meet Bree. Bree is running from her abusive boyfriend and asks Charley to hide her out in the hotel for a bit. Bree's entire character felt forced and I had a feeling she was up to something.

Charley has Rodrigo, her friend at the hotel who looks after her in a way.

Then you have George Bishop, the owner of the hotel. George is a creep who hits on Charley any chance he gets. When George dies suddenly, his three daughters are to arrive at the hotel to claim their fortunes.

We've got ringleader, Vicki who seems to call the shots. We have Iris who has a history of drugs and prison. Then Faith, the former model with some person secrets.

These sisters were a serious trip! They came in to the hotel fast and furious! So much going on with them and their history. They hold a special bond of their past that is untouchable but quickly they begin to turn on one another.

I loved how the scene was set and it felt like I was watching everything unravel. (That's always a success in my opinion)

There was SO MUCH going on at all times that my head did feel a little spinny. While it did all get tied up at the end it felt rushed to me. And maybe a tad unbelievable? However, I did appreciate the happy-ish ending.

This was a fun, mysterious thriller that had me wanting to find out all the CRAZY that was going on. As I neared the finish line I couldn't stop because I needed to wrap it all up. I will say while I was suspicious of different things I did not predict the ending. And I did like the way it came together.

*Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC* Release date is July 16, 2024...and I think it'll make for a fun, mysterious summer read!

This book felt like the Housemaid meets the movie Knives Out. The premise is a bit ridiculous but kept me guessing who the true villian was. I found the ending a bit rushed and then everything just ended too cleanly. It will be a good quick summer read.

I was a big fan of The Block Party, but this one fell flat for me. First of all they're were way to !any characters and it was hard to keep them all straight, some had cast offs that felt lazy and unexplained. The main character was just along for the ride in this family drama of lies and deception. This book left me with more questions than answers.. I'll be on the lookout for Jamie Day's next book.

An eclectic old hotel situated on a cliff, a storm approaching, the reading of a will, secrets and more secrets and unlikeable characters make up Day’s novel One Big Happy Family.

I enjoyed The Block Party so was hopeful in getting the chance to read this selection. It was entertaining and I enjoyed the back stories of the characters and like most locked room mysteries, everyone has a motive to kill. It offered a vivid atmosphere and characters. Unfortunately it also felt discombobulated and confusing in the who now holds the gun when the lights come back on type of way. This was repeated too many times drawing out the story longer than it needed to be. Also, the ending seemed too tidy.

If you enjoy whodunits and locked room mysteries then this one might be for you. It just missed the mark for me. It offers escape and implausible storylines and motivations that some won’t mind.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. One Big Happy Family publishes July 16, 2024.

This read was a new to me author and so good, did not disappoint with all the twists and turns. I did wonder based on the title of it would read like a similar book name or the same but completely new idea!

I was one of the readers who felt Jamie Day’s “The Block Party” was a strong debut. Therefore, I was excited to get approved for an early copy of his new novel “One Big Happy Family.”

Like some of the reviews I saw online, I found this one to be good, but not as good as “The Block Party.” When the book begins, the reader is introduced to Charley and the hotel is dealing with the hurricane. As the novel progresses, the reader learns about the Bishop sisters’ secrets teased about in the synopsis overview. A couple of the twists were not much of a surprise to me, but others were.

Overall, I recommend this book and enjoyed how the ending was written. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

In this novel, Charley Kelley is a young chambermaid at the Precipice Hotel, who valiantly struggles to keep her and her grandmother’s heads above the rising waters of debt. The recent death of Mr. Bishop, the hotel’s owner, sends a tall wave of uncertainty heading for them, as the remaining heirs gather at the Precipice for the lawyer's reading of his will. While the Bishop family is concerned about who gets what . . . poor Charley is desperate and just hoping to keep her job. There's a volatile storm brewing in the distance and it is headed straight for the hotel in more ways than one.
There is a point in the middle of the book where I felt it was a bit slow and predictable, but then a few details come along to refresh the story and move it along again. This novel is twisty, sprinkled in humor, and lands a solid ending . . . an overall good read.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of One Big Happy Family for my unbiased evaluation.  4 stars

What a fun read with a cast of dysfunctional characters. An old home place that’s a resort. A maid who is caught up with a stray wanting to hide from an abusive boyfriend and a crazy bunch of sisters and two of their offspring and one husband. A lot of twists from the past cause friction. A murder happens and we’re off to who done it. I did have a feeling of who was behind things and turned out I was right! Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

A story filled with chaos, grudges, secrets and many family issues. Storytelling was great and I was hooked from the start.

One Big Happy Family is just bad. And I don't mean the family referenced in the title, though they are. The book itself was not written well. The protagonist is a nineteen year old high school dropout, and the book kind of feels like it was written by one. I'm all about authors getting in the minds of their characters, but writing like one isn't necessary. In this story Charley is a chambermaid at a boutique, family owned hotel. Hired by the owner because he has a thing for young women that Charley fits the profile for, she takes the job and fends off his advances to be able to pay for care for her grandmother. When he dies, his three daughters come to town to hear the reading of the will. And even though it's Maine, which never experiences hurricanes, of course there's a hurricane that turns the hotel into a locked room situation. But Charley and the sisters aren't the only ones there. The lawyer is there, two spouses, two sons - one undeniably creepy and rhyming in everything he says, and Bree, a woman that Charley's crossed paths with is there too. And Charley's friend Rodrigo, who has a grudge against the lawyer may or may not be hanging around as well. No one should be surprised that Bree is not what she seems. The story isn't written well enough for her to just be a woman fleeing her abusive boyfriend. Again, not surprisingly, people start dying and the sisters start sniping at one another with attitudes and allegiances changing regularly. The dialogue is banal. Then Charley has to develop a crush on Quinn, one of the sons, because apparently there needs to be a romance that doesn't make any sense in the middle of a thriller. Then there are several parts that go back to rehash the three Bishop sisters' past and that of Bree's in ways that seem entirely unnecessary. Then there's the abrupt chapter at the end of the book that's told from Bree's point of view instead of Charley's. Basically, I was just trying to make it through this book. It didn't take me long to not care who died, why somebody killed them, or if Charley and Quinn would or wouldn't have a happily ever after. Save your time and skip this book for one that's much better written. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This family is def. one I don't want to be apart of. Having said that, the way they interact, the secrets and emotions the author writes through, the book had a sound plot. Even though I didn't find any of the family members memorable, that's okay. The book stands on its own merit.

First of all I’d like to thanks NetGalley for the advanced ARC copy. This was my first time with this author and sadly it fell short for me as a thriller. With the thriller category in my head it just didn’t match up to the hype I was expecting. However, I did enjoy the book being separated into four parts and shorter chapters is always a bonus especially with a longer drawn out book.

One Big Happy Family has a strong yet somewhat convoluted premise: locked door mystery at an isolated hotel during a hurricane featuring a family reunion that’s full of secrets and the results of a will that will surely tear the family apart. Add in a desperate maid who befriends a stranger, staff that have their own axes to grind, and a lawyer who somehow dabbles in immigration and estate law. Whew!

With all of those aspects, one would expect the tension to be taut and the pace to be fast. What unfurls is a fairly predictable story where the author tells us the story instead of showing us. Characters make decisions that are 180 degrees from what we’ve seen and some are just incredibly stupid. I also thought that putting the occurrences of the past in the middle of the book instead of at the climax wasn’t ideal.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoy a locked-room mystery and this one had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath.

The setting is The Precipice Hotel in Main. Hurricane Larry is approaching and George Bishop (owner) has died. His daughters and lawyer are coming for the funeral and to read the will.

Charley Kelley (age 19) is a maid at The Precipice and lives at the hotel as well. She also has responsibility for her Nana who lives at Guiding Way. Charley does whatever she has to to take care of her Nana so she's nervous about her future at the hotel The more we get to know this great cast of characters, the more their personalities reveal who they really are and their secrets are exposed. What could possibly go wrong while they're trapped in the hotel as the storm rages outside and tempers are flaring inside? You've got to go on this journey with Charley to get to the ending that I was thrilled with!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. I highly recommend "One Big Happy Family"!

Another great book to take on a beach trip, in my opinion. I always love thrillers that take place at the beach. This one was a quick and easy read.

4 ⭐️- at first i didn’t think i would like this book but WOW! it had A LOT going on, so many secrets, and the twists did not disappoint!

I was very excited when I saw that Jamie Day was publishing a new book. I had read her debut novel, Block Party, and liked it. I couldn’t wait to jump right in and read it. After reading it, I liked the book but was disappointed by it.

My disappointment was with how flat this book felt to me. I was expecting a more fleshed-out book that had layers to it. Don’t get me wrong, this book had layers. But unraveling one layer and going to the next became exhausting to read.

Other than Charley, the other characters in the book weren’t as fleshed out as they should have been. The dynamic between the sisters seemed forced and a little over the top at times. They were also flat. The author attempted to give them depth (and of the three, Faith had the most depth, in my eyes), but it wasn’t enough. Even Oliver, who was on the spectrum or neurodivergent and spoke in rhymes, was flat.

Don’t get me wrong—the book wasn’t that bad, and I will discuss the good parts after this paragraph. However, the lack of depth in the storyline and characters did bring it down in my eyes. Also, remember that this is her second book, and I haven’t met an author yet whose second book does as well as their debut novels.

So, with that said, let’s move on to the good.

I enjoyed the storyline and the secondary storylines that supported it. I felt they were well written, and some details gave additional insight into how the Bishop sisters’ relationship evolved. Significant trauma in their home life influenced how they turned out as adults. I’m not making excuses for them, but I didn’t see anyone walking away from their home life and being an emotionally healthy, stable adult.

Charley’s backstory was awful. She lived through so much in her life. She was devoted to her Nana and worked herself to the bone to cover the nursing home’s rent. The scenes with Nana broke my heart. Dementia is not an easy thing to happen to your loved one, and the author did hit the nail on the head. There is a twist to her storyline that made me so upset and so angry for her. All I have to say is thank goodness for Bree. If Bree hadn’t done what she did (to repay Charley’s kindness), what was happening would still be going on, with Charley none the wiser.

The mystery angle of the book was terrific. The author had me all twisted in knots trying to figure out who killed Todd and Ms. Black. The author brings in a paranormal angle to the mystery with Holly and Oliver. But I found that a bit distracting. The author also layered the mysteries. It also added to the overall suspense and tension of the situation (stuck at the hotel due to a hurricane). Believe me when I say that all the secrets are revealed. I was surprised at the twist with Todd’s murder, but, at the same time, it made sense (considering what was revealed later on). But the biggest reveal happens at the end of the book. Not only did the author reveal who Ms. Black’s killer was, but she also revealed another colossal surprise that, honestly, I should have seen coming.

The end of One Big Happy Family was anticlimactic. I can’t tell you what happened (spoilers), but everything made me a little let down.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Jamie Day for allowing me to read and review this ARC of One Big Happy Family. All opinions stated in this review are mine.