A hurricane is headed to the shores of Jonesport, Maine bringing the Bishop family together at their family's hotel, The Precipice, to read the will of their late father.
Unknowingly, the live-in maid, Charley, will be drawn into the family's web of lies and deception. Betrayal, murder, and devulging of family secrets are all in store as The Precipice endures another storm raging inside its walls.

I have been provided with a review copy of this title from NetGalley for an impartial review. I just really enjoyed this story and I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

I enjoyed Jamie Day's debut novel so I was looking forward to her new release.

This book had some of my favorite elements that make a story great for me. It takes place on coastal Maine (love stories that depict ocean settings), involves a major storm, murder, and family secrets.

The main character is Charley, a nineteen year old chamber maid among many other colorful characters including a stow away guest.
The story begins slowly but picks up speed and kept me on edge wanting to read "just one more page".
I look forward to the next Jamie Day book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy

Here's the setup: Charley is the struggling maid at the precipice hotel, where the proprietor has just passed away. His three daughters (and their families) return for the reading of the will during the biggest storm of the season. Rounding out the cast of characters are the lawyer called on for the reading of the will and a woman seeking refuge from her abusive boyfriend. In this locked door mystery, two end up dead and we must figure out what happens. At times predictable and others twisty, this book has way too many plot lines. It was an enjoyable read, although repetitive at times. The author does a nice job of tying up all the loose ends.

This was such an irritating read. The characters were one dimensional, unlikeable and unbelievable, the plot was predictable, verging on ridiculous, veering between boring and laughable.

There were so many inconsistences and outright 'huh?!' moments. Just hours after his father is found murdered at his Mom's deceased fathers hotel, Quinn has a make-out session with the maid, Charley, our narrator. His mother, (one of the nutty sisters there to find out what their inheritance is), veers between sobbing sadly about her husband's demise and being furious that Charley hasn't cleared away the dinner dishes. The police, after coming to take away the body, leave them all there without bringing any of them in for questioning, or even putting up crime scene tape. With a damaging hurricane coming, they just bid the family ta-ta, wish them good luck and take off. There is another murder, of course, after the police leave. Then one sister gets out her gun and threatens, well, everyone. Then a girl Charley met once and invited to stay at the hotel (hidden away, of course), gets the gun away from the nutty sister and holds it on, well, everyone. Then they have dinner again. Then they all sit by the fire, drinking, in the alcove. Which, by the authors description, is a large room with sofas and a fireplace. Then they hold a tarot card reading, cause evidently one son has psychic abilities. Then we have several flashbacks of the three sisters younger days. Then creepy poems threatening the sisters start showing up. And we find out that this all took place over a 24 hour period.

I also didn't like the juvenile writing style. We have Charley, who is 19, sounding like she is 30. Then we have the sisters, who are in their 40's, talking like they are 19. I did get quite a chuckle out of some of the phrasing and vocabulary. But not enough to make me like this novel.

One Big Happy Family is a twisty ride you won't want to get off. Set on the coast of Maine this hotel is filled with antique and estate sale finds, comfy beds, beautiful views, and dark secrets. Mr.Bishop the hotel's owner has passed and his daughters will need to come for the reading of the will. Chambermaid Charley Kelley lives on property and has overseen the hotel since we was sixteen and the passing of Mr.Bishop won't cause her to shed any tears. He was creepy and put his hands places they didn't belong. The only downside to having Mr.Bishop gone is that his daughters will be in charge and they might not honor the deal Charley has for living on site and earning a paycheck. She needs every cent she makes to pay for the care home her Granny is in.
Well things start to change immediately when the sisters arrive...plans to redecorate,renovate, re-staff, and cover up past crimes. As Charley suspects her livelihood will be threatened and even her life. Everyone has something to hide including Charley who is keeping a stowaway hidden in one of the rooms. Greed can turn people against each other and cause families to collapse. Can they get past the secrets at the hotel and be "One Big Happy Family" again?

Thank you NetGalley and publisher St. Martin's Press for the early Kindle edition of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Ah... where to start. I have enjoyed Jamie Day's work in the past and had high hopes for One Big Happy Family. I will start with the positives.

Charley was my absolute favorite character and I absolutely loved her journey, rooting for her, and how she developed throughout the novel to become very strong and independent. I also enjoyed this novel's tension and mystery, it was clear Day put a lot of thought into how the plot would build and she did not leave any character unscathed by the end.

I struggled a bit with the three sisters, but enjoyed their unreliability and antics for the most part. The way their stories were weaved together was phenomenal, the twists truly did not stop til the end.

My biggest gripe is the ARC/eBook's formatting. This is something I have never come across with a NetGalley copy, but I had to really mess with the settings on my Kindle to read this comfortably,. Something about the spacing was off and it was difficult for me to get used to it. I do feel like it took away from my ability to enjoy the story.

I would recommend this to fans of Lisa Jewell and Riley Sager. It took me a bit longer than usual to read, but overall I enjoyed it and sincerely appreciate the chance to read it.

This reviewer enjoyed reading Jamie Day's novel The Block Party and looked forward to reviewing One Big Happy Family. The story is set in a grand but decaying Maine hotel on the coast. The hotel owner has died, and his family arrives for a reading of the will while a hurricane looms.

Setting is particularly important in this novel, since atmosphere is key to the plot. The protagonist is the hotel maid. The dysfunctional family of heirs are characters as offbeat as the cast of Knives Out or an Agatha Christie novel. The Wills and Trusts attorney appears corrupt. There's a murder, of course, of someone unlikable. The hurricane strikes and a tarot card reading in the semi-darkness follows. The book is well-written, and the pacing inside the decrepit hotel is just right. One Big Happy Family is like a big bowl of mystery stories stirred with an invisible spoon, forming a new story that will delight readers of cozy mysteries and whodunnits.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for providing an advance copy of this book to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

Complex family dynamics are my favorite. Add in some mystery and a thriller and I am all in: this is the trifecta! Throw in some bad, spooky weather... and I'm curling right up on my couch under a blanket and devouring this in a single sitting. Although I did NOT devour it in a single sitting it was still absolutely fantastic. I loved it. I loved the characters. And I can't wait to read more by Jamie. This was a fantastic read.

This novel by Jamie Day will thrill fans of mystery and those interested in complex family dynamics! The book sweeps readers off to the coast of Maine and plunges them into the saga of three sisters who must navigate a dangerous environment in the middle of a storm! This is the perfect summer beach read! I enjoyed it!

4.5 star rating!

This book definitely took me for a ride! Chapter 1 gave me "The Shining" vibes and they continued until the very end. The twists and turns of the book was intense. At times the book was a bit slow, kind of around the middle, but the end made up for it all. I laughed, I cried, I felt angry. I felt relatable to practically all the characters: the hard working Charley, to the Bishops sister's hatred and love of family, to even the lost Bree.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

One Bug Happy Family by Jamie Day is a must read!!! It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time reading! Read this in one sitting!

Ooooooo...I love a great locked room (or in this case locked hotel) mystery where the ominous weather is its own character. There are so many people not to like in this story and they all pretty much have the potential to be the bad dude(s) of the story. Oh, I figured out most of what was going on pretty easily, but that's because I read lots of thrillers/mysteries and I can now pinpoint why a character has been included. It was definitely fun to see it all play out anyway.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author. Unfortunately this is a DNF for me. Part of it was the plot and characters while the other part was how the ebook came. Very messy with odd chapters headings and random markings throughout. It did not appeal for a smooth well read.

Wow! So, so good! I officially love the author Jamie Day. I cannot wait for the next book! Such a good read.

When I started reading this book, I thought it was going to be a quirky read about a family owned coastal hotel and what happens when the father dies. What I actual got was a fast paced mystery told in several view points, that kept me guessing the whole time.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC. #Netgalley #Onebighappyfamily
Pub. Date: July 16, 2024

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for One Big Happy Family
Auther: Jamie Day
Release date: July 16, 2024

This book tells the story of Charley, who is a maid at an out of the way hotel. The hotel owner has died and his daughters, the bishop sisters, are coming in for the will reading. Right before they get there a girl Charley meets in town, Bree, asks for Charley to hide her from her abusive boyfriend. With a hurricane barring down on them, creepy poems, and a dead body discovered in the hallway: who is guilty? Who has sins to confess? Who is going to make it until morning? And who else is going to die?

With a diverse cast of characters, a quick moving plot, and multiple twists, Jamie Day has weaved a web that will keep you entangle until the very last page.

While I did guess one of the pretty big twists pretty early on, there were plenty of other twists that I didn’t guess until they were happening. This story had me guessing and changing my mind as the chapters flew by. This is definitely going to be a top read for this summer!

#Netgalley #EveryBookIsANewAdventure #Mystery #Thriller #MysteryThriller #LockedRoomThriller #WhoDunnit #GirlsWhoRead #Bibliophile

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY was a rich, atmospheric novel set on the Maine coastline - and Jamie Day does an amazing job integrating the setting and weather into the suspenseful, quick-moving plot. The multiple characters were easy to follow and the timeline jumps made sense and added to the layered intricacies of the story. Really enjoyed this one and looking forward to whatever Jamie Day writes next!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY.

A very solid 3.75 stars for this suspenseful whodunit. This book did a very good job of creating suspense at every turn. We follow Charley, a young maid at an eclectic hotel in Maine, owned by George Bishop before his death. She is trying to take care of her Nana and herself, and is hardly scraping by. The Bishop sisters arrive at the hotel, in the wake of their father's death for an impromptu family reunion, to discover their inheritance. Charley is immediately thrown in the middle of their dysfunctional relationships, and must deal with the consequences of being locked in the hotel, during a hurricane, with the Bishop Family. There are so many moments within this story, where you truly are on the edge of your seat, anticipating who is next in normal "whodunit" fashion. The author does a great job of developing the personalities of each character in this story, allowing the reader to really flesh out their feelings towards each. The interesting format of this story also informs the reader of important events from the characters' pasts before our main character, Charley learns of them, which left me wondering how and when all would be revealed. The plot of the story and the resolution were also very satisfying and I applaud the author for giving the characters I resonated with the most some very poetic endings. This story was also chock full of emotional moments! Between Charley's interactions with members of the Bishops, her Nana, and others, you really know her heart by the end of the story. I did not expect to read of so much tragedy along with the suspense, but I think it had merit and made for a well rounded story. I could not give this book five stars for a couple frivolous reasons. First, the twist at about the 75% mark was a bit predictable. Maybe if I had never read a thriller or mystery before, I would have been unable to deduce it, but I have read numerous and the twist was one I had seen before. The twist was telegraphed a bit throughout the story and I ended up just trying to read quickly to get to the twist and confirm what I already had guessed, so some of the mystery was lost on me. Secondly, I found the introductions of the Bishops to be not as concise as I think it needed to be, so for a while I kept misplacing the names of the other family members and forgetting how each was related to another specifically. I loved the inclusion of Rodrigo's character and Quinn's character, and overall found this to be a fun, thrilling read. As a former Maine resident, it was also a very good depiction of the environment and culture of the area in my opinion. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone needing a thriller that delivers what it says it will.

Jamie Day's One Big Happy Family earns only 2 stars from me. I adored Day's first novel, The Block Party; however, One Big Happy Family did not live up to my expectations (although it, like The Block Party, has a gorgeous cover!!).

One Big Happy Family just dragged and dragged, and not in a good, slow-burn way. Main Character Charley is stuck in an old hotel with the three sisters who have inherited it, and there is a hurricane bearing down on them, preventing anyone from leaving. Others stuck at the hotel include some of the sisters' immediate family, the family lawyer, and a woman trying to escape her abusive boyfriend. Someone dies, everyone panicks, and people start turning on each other. The clever reader might have their suspicions about what is actually going on. This book is a bit of a twist on the locked-room mystery trope, but I can't explain why without giving away spoilers.

I will say that there are some nice connections made between the past and the present, tying characters together in unexpected ways. There are a couple of very likable characters, including Charley's Nana, who is in a care home and is part of a very touching scene after the hurricane passes.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and give my honest review.