Three sisters and their families gather at the hotel their family has owned for years for their father's funeral. Complicating matters is the hurricane coming that is predicted to be the worst the state of Maine has seen in years. What else these family members bring with them are lies, cheating, swindlers, affairs and thievery. Once one of the family members is murdered and the storm stops anyone leaving or coming to their aid, it is up to the hotel help to save themselves and the innocent family members, if their are any. Before the storm passes and help can arrive too many secrets are reveled and more lives may be lost.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy of One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day. This book started out great and I loved Charley and her huge heart. I totally lost interest when we went back to the past to learn more about the characters because it felt clunky and then the important events were recounted again later. If you love a stormy locked room cozy thriller, this might be the perfect book for you! For me the writing didn’t keep me engaged, even with all of the reveals.

One Big Happy Family with loads of secrets. The Bishop sisters will do anything to keep the secrets safe. Follow the family turn on each other to get to the truth. Fun read with loads of twists and turns right to the end.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for my advanced copy.

They say every family has their secrets. I know mine does but nothing compared to this family! I kind of felt like I was participating in a mystery dinner theater while reading this - anyone could be the victim and any one could be the bad guy. There were lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. It seemed like it took a long time to read it and sometimes felt like I was never going to get to the end which had me question whether or not I really liked it, but yes, I did like it. I liked the story, I liked the characters (well, some of them), I liked the "oh gosh" moments, I liked the surprises along the way so yes, I did like it even thought it seemed to be a bit of a slow burn. It was slow but it wasn't slow (if that makes any sense?).

Overall I'm a little torn between a 3 and 4 so I'm going with 3.5 rounded to 4 because it is good!

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.

Each sister wants what is rightfully hers, and in the mix is the Precipe’s nineteen-year-old chambermaid Charley Kelley: smart, resilient, older than her years, and in desperate straits.

The arrival of the Bishop sisters could spell disaster for Charley. Will they close the hotel? Fire her? Discover her habit of pilfering from guests? Or even worse, learn that she’s using a guest room to hide a woman on the run.

With razor-sharp wit, heart, thrills, and twists, Jamie Day’s ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY delivers a unique brand of summertime suspense.



My Thoughts:

I was immediately caught up in One Happy Family, especially as we meet the characters owning and residing at the Precipice Hotel.

What more wil happen to those residing there when a big storm sweeps in? Each character, including those owning the hotel, will struggle against the storm, while also learning the outcome of the Bishop will?

Charley, the maid, is a primary character who is facing a drastic change in her life as the new owners take over. Bree, a recent friend of Charley’s, moves into the hotel secretly to escape her own situation.

As the Bishop sisters begin to show their own secrets and issues, we soon realize that so much more is at stake. Who will survive the events as the storm lashes the hotel?

A brilliant story with unexpected conclusions. 5 stars.

***

The Precipice Hotel is the scene of a locked room mystery when the Bishop sisters come to claim their inheritance just as Hurricane Larry has the hotel in its sights.

Chambermaid Charley Kelley has worked at the hotel since she was seventeen and left school in order to earn money to keep her grandmother who suffers from dementia in her nursing home. She was willing to put up with a handsy boss if that was what it took. But she doesn't know what changes will happen now that the sisters are in charge.

Each sister has her own secrets. Vickie is the oldest. She comes with her husband Todd and is later joined by her son Quinn. Next comes her sister Faith and her wife Hope and their son Oliver. Finally comes Iris. They are quickly followed by Brenda Black, the attorney who is set to read the Will.

Charley has taken in a new acquaintance with a sob story: abusive boyfriend and a need to hide out until she can get out of town. Bree offers Charley enough money to pay for her grandmother's care for a while which is the main reason she agrees to let her stay in the hotel.

When Todd is murdered, almost all of the new residents have a reason to want him dead. And then Brenda Black disappears and is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. By this time the storm has hit, suspicions are raised, and secrets are starting to come out.

This was an incredibly twisty story. Todd's relationships with all three sisters certainly give all of them reason to want him dead. And his influence on George Bishop which led to a very unfair Last Will didn't endear him to any of the Bishop sisters.

Mostly told by Charley, the story also includes flashbacks to some of the secrets the Bishop sisters are keeping. Charley is an interesting character with a hard life. I liked her and was wishing her well as the story went on.

This was an interesting story. I did feel that the ending was a little too rosy considering the personalities of the sisters.

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress #partner for the gifted eARc!

Weeeeee! What a fun locked room summer thriller! An intense storm is headed straight for this family owned hotel which has recently been bequeathed to the sisters after their father passed away. Each sister races to claim what they feel is rightfully theirs. They are shocked to learn there was a recent change to the will and they want to know who is trying to pull the rug out from underneath them. 👀 Each sister woke up and had their coo-coo-for cocopuffs in the morning which bleeds through in their personalities! (YES! They are all crazy!) These sisters are dubious, evil, ruthless and relentless! Sign me up for the crazy train! 🤣What else can one ask in a summer thriller?! Oh yes…that’s right…a murder. 😳 Once that happens, these sisters try and hide their dark past because lord knows they have some deeds from their past they don’t want people knowing. 🤯

This was such a fun setting packed full of crazy characters, long hidden secrets, majorly toxic family relationships and straight up mayhem! It is an easily bingeable book and how amazing is that cover?! Honestly I have loved both of her covers they give the ultimate summer thrillers 🥰 Get yer popcorn ready, sit back and watch the cat fight begin!

This book was a surprise, as I was expecting a neighborhood thriller like the author’s debut. What I got Was a locked-room thriller that, while it kept me reading, was like many other locked-door psychological thrillers I have read (like Daisy Darker and The Death of Mrs. Westaway). The character development was good, but the plot was a bit unimaginative. I did enjoy the book, so I have rounded my 3 1/2 star rating to 4. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars! A family trapped in a hotel during a storm, lots of secrets, murder - this makes for a good summer thriller. I thought the atmosphere and location definitely helped add to the story but it felt a bit too long overall. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review - pub day is 7/16/24!

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day is a riveting summer suspense novel set in the legendary Precipice Hotel on the rocky coast of Maine. As the Bishop sisters gather to claim their inheritance after their father's death, tensions escalate amidst a looming hurricane and a murder mystery. The story revolves around Charley, the young chambermaid, who finds herself caught in the crossfire of the sisters' dangerous secrets. With razor-sharp wit and heart-pounding suspense, Day weaves a tale of betrayal, deceit, and family drama that will keep readers guessing until the very end. With its compelling characters and Christiean vibes, One Big Happy Family is a must-read for fans of summer mysteries.

Charley has lived life in the eye of a storm, but now a real hurricane is bearing down on her. As she prepares The Precipice with the other hotel staff, she also contends with the impending arrival of the three sisters who have the power to change her circumstances, for good or ill. Add in the wildcard of a woman in dire straits who request's her help, and everything ratchets up another notch. This will appeal to fans of cozy mystery or psychological suspense who are willing to suspend their disbelief.

This is a locked-room (hotel) thriller about a dysfunctional family coming together for a will reading at their family's hotel, and the maid who works for them. While a hurricane brews outside trapping them all together, secrets and betrayals are revealed inside. Charley, the maid and FMC is barely scraping by taking care of her Nana and needs this job so she agrees to subject herself to the craziness that ensues. This book gave me Knives Out vibes with lots of untrustworthy characters and plot twists. I am only giving this a 3.5-star rating, however, because while this book was a fun read, it was very predictable. I figured out almost every single plot point from the beginning. I was not surprised by anything that happened, but I did still root for the main character and read it pretty quickly. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a popcorn thriller, or a locked-room mystery. Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to @netgalley and @StMartinsPress for this ARC. Charley lives and works at a hotel in Maine called The Precipice. The owner has just passed away and she is awaiting the arrival of the three daughters (Vicki, Iris and Faith) that were raised on property. After all arrive, the will is read and it is full of surprises. Full of anger, everyone goes to bed but Vicki's husband that is soon found dead in the hallway. Charley is stuck in the middle of the drama of the inheritance and now a murder. Each family member has a secret of their own but who wanted Vicki's husband dead? I figured it out but still a good read! #OneBigHappyFamily #JamieDay #StMartinsPress #July2024

I LOVED the Block Party by Jamie and was so excited to see a new novel come out. I liked the premise of One Big Happy Family, but it fell flat for me a bit for me. I loved the location- a seaside hotel in Maine and there definitely were parts that had me turning pages to see what was going to happen, but it wasn't my favorite.

I love Jamie Day's writing. So awesome and i will read anything this author writes.

It did start off slow but it held my interest and about 35% through it picked up.

This follows Charley who works as a maid at a hotel and not making enough to get by. When the own of the hotel passes away she gets very nervous as to what that means for her job.

When the daughters of the owner come to stay at the hotel and hear the will, Charley knows that these girls are nothing but trouble. She doesn't know who to trust or who to believe.

Story has suspense, mystery and just a well written book.
Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

A family with secrets, a will with surprises, a hurricane on the way and people are disappearing and dying. One Big Happy Family is had me turning pages as fast as I could to find out just what was really going on at The Precipice!

I felt like there was a little bit of a slow start, but by about halfway through it held my interest.
Charley is a maid in the Precipice Hotel. She lives on site and is barely making it. When the owner of the hotel dies, she begins to worry what that means for her. The three daughters of the owners are scheduled to come stay at the hotel for the funeral and the reading of the will. Vicki, Faith, and Iris do not have a good reputation in town, Charley knows they are going to bring trouble, but doesn't know the extent. With a hurricane on the way and then a murder, Charley doesn't know who to protect herself from.

The setting of 'One Big Happy Family' is a unique luxury hotel on the shores of Maine, a place that immediately brought to mind the iconic Burgh Island Hotel off the coasts of Devon - the setting of Agatha Christie's renowned novels. "The Precipice" is family-owned, with themed rooms where the Bishop's three sisters spend their childhood. Now, they returned because their father died in suspicious circumstances, and his will is to be read. The hotel has no guests, chased away by the upcoming hurricane. Only the 19-year-old maid,  the hotel manager Rodrigo, and the cook Olga remain, preparing the hotel for the hurricane.  The last two also fleet, so now we have the Bishop family – the sisters, one of the sister's husband, and another sister's wife, plus a precocious son and the older son. There is also one unexpected guest, Bree, hiding from her abusive boyfriend. The novel exudes a palpable sense of suspense from the 'locked room mystery' setting and the intense confrontational dialogues. The occasional appearance of a drawn gun and the revelation of old secrets add to the tension. The past is unveiled through chapters that read slightly like reports.

I did like the book, although (perhaps because I have read so many psychological thrillers) the twists didn't surprise me. Somehow, I couldn't really get immersed in the characters. I also could not escape comparing the protagonist Charley to another maid, Molly, featured in different mystery novels. It's a solid thriller, and after reading two of Jamie Day's mysteries, I'm curious about what she'll write next.

I was a huge fan of The Block Party so when I saw this one available I signed up immediately and was thrilled to get the ARC.

The synopsis of the book had me hopeful; locked room mystery, high stakes, dead bodies, family secrets, a hurricane, and a maid of a coastal hotel. I mean, who wouldn't get excited?

While the storyline was well described, I just didn't find this one as intriguing as I had hoped. It felt a bit predictable and Charley (the maid) didn't garner a lot of sympathetic feelings from me. Maybe that's the issue I had of not feeling connected to any of the characters, except Rodrigo, and his character wasn't involved as much as I wanted him to be. I also felt like the ending took a bit long to start wrapping up yet it still ended abruptly. The book wasn't strictly a thriller, it was more family drama. The family secrets are many and feel like a confetti popper when they start being revealed, entertaining, yes, believable, not so much. Some scenes were downright hilarious, lime green track suit is all I'm going to say. With that said, this is one of those rare instances where I think a movie version might be better. Truly, a movie could captivate the scenery, the storm, and the characters and give them so much life. I would still recommend this book, even though my rating would more likely be a 3.5 star. I would definitely see the movie if that were to be done and I will continue reading books by Jamie Day.

May thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Jamie Day, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book so that I could read and enjoy it before the July 16th publication date!

I think Jamie Day's humor and writing style work just a bit better for suburban drama, like in The Block Party, but I appreciate the locked-room setting -- a Maine hotel during a massive storm, what an eerie setting.