One Big Happy Family
Jamie Day
Pub: 7/16/24
4☆

The Precipice is a legendary, family-owned hotel on the rocky coast of Maine. With the recent passing of their father, the Bishop sisters--Iris, Vicki, and Faith--have come for the weekend to claim it. But with a hurricane looming and each of the Bishop sisters harboring dangerous secrets, there's murder in the air-- and not everyone who checks into the Precipice will be checking out.

My Thoughts:
Jamie Day has a way with drama filled, twisty stories and this was no different.

One Big Happy Family was an entertaining and twisty whodunnit. I love some messy family drama, and this dysfunctional family… had plenty to go around. I kept hearing Toxic by Britney Spears in my head. 😆

The story unfolds in four parts with alternating timelines and multiple points of view. So while there is a lot going on, Day does a great job of developing each character and bringing everything together. I was entertained and intrigued throughout. Mostly trying to figure out who did it, but also trying to decide which sister was the worst! 😆

What I enjoyed;
✨ Locked Room Mystery
✨ Domestic Suspense
✨ Twisty Thriller
✨ Family Dramaaaa

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the advanced ditigial and physical copies in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Jamie Day for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for One Big Happy Family coming out July 16, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own. .

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I love psychological thrillers. It felt a little like the movie Knives Out. The family was definitely dysfunctional. I think Charley was the most interesting character and it was fun to see her reaction to how the different family members acted. There was definitely a lot going on. Of course a few of the characters weren’t likable at all. I think the second half got a little crazy. But I loved the ending.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves family dramas!

This book was a book that you just couldn't put down. If you did you would be anxiously waiting to see what happen ed next.

It is very well written and it has a little humor to it.

Great job and loved this book

This book wasn't for me.

I really liked the setting of this book - the isolation came through and the hurricane started off as a character (though that fell by the wayside). However, the rest of the book wasn't great. The characters were inadequately developed, but I appreciate that they weren't all introduced at the exact same time. The way they talked to each other felt cartoonishly cruel and unrealistic. The answer was entirely too obvious from early on in the book, which made it much harder to get through the rest of the story. The pacing was very slow.

Ultimately, not my favorite.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the arc of Jamie Day’s One Big Happy Family. This was a fun read for sure. A family stuck in an eclectic hotel in Maine during a hurricane. With this book anything they could possibly go wrong sure does. Some parts were slow which took away a little bit from the storyline and also lots of characters to get to know, but overall a fun read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I loved the Block Party and was so excited to get my hands on Jamie Day's new book. This is a family drama set in a family-owned hotel. The Bishop sisters return home to hear their father's will, with a murderer on the loose. I felt like it was lacking some of the thriller aspect.

Definitely the twisty turny book I was looking for.

At first, the characters were hard to keep straight (lots of girl characters right away) but once the story got going, I had no problems differentiating. I will say I figured out the ending about half way through but it didn’t make the book any less enjoyable.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press ad Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of Jamie Day's new book One Big Happy Family. This was a joy tread to from the very beginning until the end. No spoilers here, but the book captures everything good in a thriller mystery with a few twists that seem straight out of a game of clue. The story is about the Bishop sisters who have arrived at the Precipice Hotel for the reading of their father's will, but told through the lens of Charlie, the 19 year old "chamnbe rmaid" at a Maine hotel in the midst of a hurricane. The three Bishop sisters stories are intermixed and provide the basis for much of the mystery. We have murders, intrigue, kidnapping, and a romp of a good time. The book came to a conclusion that wasn't rushed, and throws more than one major twists at the reader.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

WOW this one was crazy! Could you imagine being trapped in a hotel on the coast of Maine during a major hurricane and being stranded with family that you don't like and all have secrets? Then to survive you have to uncover the truth. Let me tell you those truths were some twists and turns I didn't see coming!!! This was such a crazy ride. There were some slow moments for me but I feel like that happens with most thrillers. But once things start picking up, you are on a ride. There are a lot of characters and I did get confused sometimes but they were well written. I felt like you got to know them well. I would definitely recommend this book. If you want some family drama, then this is the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

Decent thriller/suspense liked the setting of the book in Maine. There were a lot of characters to keep track of at first which took some time but did start to become easier. While not all the twists were a surprise was still an entertaining story and would recommend. I want to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5⭐️ rounded up

The Precipice is ann old, eclectic hotel on the coast of Maine. All of the guests have canceled their reservations due an incoming hurricane, but the three Bishop sisters, their families, and their lawyer arrive to read the will of their father. Things go from bad to worse and Charlie, the hotel’s ’chamber maid, quickly realizes she is in over her head.

I loved the setting and love a good ‘locked door’ thriller. Charley was a fun character, and I was rooting for her in spite of her flaws and sticky fingers.

This turned into more of a family drama than a thriller. Some parts were suspenseful but there was mostly a lot of strife between the sisters. I also normally enjoy backstories but the part of the book about the sister’s growing up was a little too long for me.

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

Charley lives at the Precipice Hotel in Maine and she’s totally getting ripped of to support her grandmother who has dementia and lives in a care home. The hotel staff is a supportive band of misfits and they’re hunkering down for a storm at the same time the family of the deceased hotel owner will be arriving to read the will. And this random girl running from her boyfriend needs a place to stay.
Can you see the writing on the wall? Cause I could.
This book was eye-rolling obvious, I couldn’t even get into the kindle version at all (once I switched to audio it was easier to listen to, but still so obvious). The twists were predictable and the main character was a naive idiot. This “rich” family is horrible and makes lots of gross decisions.
I dunno, I didn’t even think the end end (like the final page) was satisfying at all. I just wanted to scream at everyone.
Atmospherically, though, the huge backdrop was excellent and the storm very moody and scary.

Charley Kelley is the young live-in maid at the Precipice Hotel on the coast of Maine. When the hotel’s owner dies, his three daughters, Vicki, Iris and Faith, return to bury him and read his will. There’s a storm brewing, literally and figuratively, as a hurricane bears down on the hotel as the sisters arrive. And what does their visit to the Precipice mean for Charley? Will they sell the hotel causing her to lose her home? Or learn about her habit of stealing from guests and fire her? Or discover that she’s allowing a woman to hide out in the hotel?

It turns out the Bishop sisters have a lot to hide and are even keeping secrets from each other. When someone dies during their first night together at the hotel, everyone is a suspect. Will their secrets stay buried? And will Charley even make it out alive?

I was excited about this one after reading Jamie Day’s debut novel, but this one didn’t measure up to The Block Party in my opinion. I didn’t necessarily see the many twists and turns coming, but it also wasn’t a standout thriller for me, maybe it was because the drama overshadowed the suspense. If you like locked room mysteries, you should absolutely pick this one up. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The story does start slow and it took me a couple of chapters to get into it, but once it picks up this is a good mystery. I did find a lot of it predictable, but it was still an enjoyable read. Our characters are trapped in a Maine hotel during a hurricane and secrets are revealed as deaths and strange things keep happening.

Overall, a good mystery and good read. Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This thriller had all the makings of a gripping tale: intriguing ettings, well-developed characters, and the promise of a suspenseful plot. The author adeptly created immersive environments that pulled me into the story from the start, vividly describing each scene with enough detail to make them feel real. The characters were also compelling, with their own unique personalities and backstories that added depth to the narrative.

However, despite these initial strengths, I found myself unable to fully connect with the plot. The storyline lacked the necessary twists and turns to keep me engaged, and what suspense it did build up often fell flat due to predictable outcomes. I kept waiting for the narrative to take an unexpected turn or delve deeper into the characters' motivations, but it never quite reached that level of intrigue.

The ending, in particular, left much to be desired. After investing time in following the characters' journeys and anticipating a satisfying resolution, I was disappointed by how hastily everything seemed to wrap up. It felt rushed and failed to tie up loose ends in a meaningful way, leaving me with a sense of dissatisfaction.

In summary, while the thriller showed promise with its well-crafted settings and characters, the storyline ultimately lacked the suspense and depth I had hoped for. The predictable plot twists and underwhelming conclusion detracted from what could have been a more engaging read. It's a novel that had potential, but unfortunately, it didn't quite deliver the thrilling experience I was looking for.

Enjoyed this one! I’ve never read anything by this author, but now I want to check out other books. Good locked room mystery. Some twists regarding the family members— some I saw coming and others not so much. Good summer read!

The consequences of our actions, no matter how long ago, can have such long lasting and far reaching effects. With a family that puts the ‘dis’ in dysfunctional, a sizable inheritance and a plethora of secrets, what could possibly go wrong during a hurricane over a single weekend? A whole lot, to be sure!
Day’s plot is deep and detailed and the characters are definitely a bit complicated as well as completely human. This was one twisted mystery that had me pausing at many turns.

This book did not really do it for me. The story did not draw me in. I disliked all the characters. It was not believable. It just felt very blah and flat and I struggled to pick it up.

Absolutely loved this book. Fast paced and full of twists. I blew through it in just three days! Entertaining, well-written and full of surprises. I was guessing until the very end. My favorite book in a while! Highly recommend. I believe Jamie Day has one other book, which I definitely plan to check out.

4.4 rounded down to 4.