This was a 'do not finish for me". I loved the idea of the story but found that it was slow. The characters were all unlikeable. I couldn't make myself finish past 60%.

2.75 - the concept was good but i think there was too much info explained for the less important characters and not enough for the main (i would’ve liked more about the sisters and their complex relationships). Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy!

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me the chance to read One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day! I loved that the book was set in Maine and had so many twists and turns all the way up until the end.
This was my first Jamie Day book and I can’t wait to read more!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This thriller opens with the 19 year live-in maid, Charley, at the Precipice Hotel (set on a cliff above Jonesport in coastal Maine) fleeing the murderous intentions of three sister heiresses during Hurricane Larry, knowing that the lone road is blocked by a felled tree. She’s been employed at the hotel for two years, trying to barely make enough to keep her Nana in elder care. George Bishop, the eccentric (and apparently lecherous) oddities collector and owner has just died and his daughters Vicki, Iris, and Faith are here to determine the fate of the hotel — and possibly Charley’s, too.

Jamie Day, whose last novel “The Block Party” was a gossipy, boozy, cat fight among neighbors (where I learned about hiding rotting shrimp in curtain rods) creates another toxic atmosphere where it’s hard to decide who you despise the most. There’s only one other employee, Rodrigo, with Charley, and the sisters have plus ones. Vicki has brought husband Todd and very handsome son, Quinn. Faith’s wife is Hope, an “airy-fairy-kumbaya” type and they have a sullen, speaks-in-rhymes, tarot-reading young teen (who resembles the Damien of “Omen”), Oliver. Iris, the middle sister, is more bedraggled than her siblings (a rumor of drugs) and she’s alone, although Quinn drove her here. Plus Charley and Rodrigo are hiding a “secret” guest — Bree, who fled a nearby AirBnB because of her abusive boyfriend. There’s a lawyer on her way, too, to read the will.

It has a lot of the same vibes as “The Maid” by Nita Prose (Molly the maid) and even Frieda McFadden’s “The Housemaid” (Millie the maid). Charley is equally complex and sympathetic. There’s background on the sisters as children to help us understand them, although a lot of it is sad “nobody notices Iris’ glow no matter how hard she tries to shine.” This is a sisterly cat-fight to the very end with a lot of action and twists. I loved it! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO The closest we get to green are Quinn’s hazel eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): MAYBE I doubt Hope could have kept oleander alive back home in New York (generally a USDA zone 7 while oleander is a 9 or 10). But maybe she had a greenhouse. And poisonous belladonna berries also have a role, which is “such a book-club way to die” according to Vicki.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Perfect summer thriller! Family drama at its finest. An old hotel filled with more family secrets than you can imagine. When a death and a huge storm bring them all together, who will leave alive??

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Publication date July 16, 2024..

New author to me. Thought the narrative was interesting. This isn't a reflection on the book, but I personally couldn't connect to the characters. That's just a me thing though.

Release date: July 16th 2024

One big happy family is a locked room thriller, casting a vastly toxic family who have gathered at their late father’s hotel for the reading of his will. “We put the fun in dysfunctional”.

Our main character Charley works as a live in hotel maid. She gets a front row seat to all the drama whilst unintentionally gets sucked into one big crap storm of a night, (pun intended).

To say people aren’t thrilled about the will is an understatement, and when one of the family members turns up mysteriously dead, along with cryptic threatening poems showing up all over the place, it’s clear that more is going on and some shocking secrets from the past are the catalyst for this night from hell.

Combine that with a tropical storm that causes power outages and no cell service to call for help, the guests are left in quite the predicament and left to play detective all on their own.

I really enjoyed my time reading this one. I found the defective relationship between the three siblings with all the obnoxious bickering quite entertaining. I felt a strong connection with the MC and have high praise for the way things turned out in the end.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of the stormy weather raising hell outside whilst the characters play cat and mouse and the blame game. Lots of laughs for a mysterious thriller.

Thank you to Jamie day, st martins press and NetGalley for an advanced copy!

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day is a locked room mystery. The story is set in a Hotel in Maine, whose owner has just died. Charley, the nineteen year old maid is getting the place ready for the arrival of the owner’s family. The family is coming to the reading of the will but a hurricane bearing down on the coast of Maine is also coming. Everybody is trapped in the hotel till the hurricane passes. It seems everyone is hiding a secret and one person ends up dead and another is missing. This book was fast paced with lots of surprises and I couldn’t put it down. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this arc.

I didn't have high hopes going into this novel since Block Party was not interesting enough for me. However, Day totally caught my attention in One Big Happy Family. It took a bit to "get into," but once I did, I couldn't put it down. Some things were predicable, but then some totally caught me off guard. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the ARC on this book - totally recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.
The first half of this book was great, I loved it. But during the storm when everyone was stuck inside the hotel I got bored at times. Towards the end it got good again and even though I intuited the ending, I was happy with it.
The sisters were awful, their father was a monster, Charley was sweet but very naive, and Bree was, (warts and all) sympathetic but pitiable.
Overall it's a good, suspenseful read.

The title and cover of the book were what made me interested in reading the book. The book started out strong but got a little boring in the middle which made it seem drawn out. I did enjoy the authors style of writing however. I'd definitely recommend the book to someone looking for a good thriller/mystery novel!


Thanks to NetGallery, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an arc of this book

This was a good mystery. I liked Jamie's previous book the Block Party so I was interested in picking this one up. It held my interest and kept me flipping the pages.

This family injects excitement into dysfunctionality. "One Big Happy Family" delivers engaging family drama, making it a compelling read that keeps you hooked until the very end, which is satisfyingly concluded.

Occasionally, I felt slightly inundated by the intensity of particular moments. However, persevering through the discomfort proves worthwhile to reach the conclusion.

I'd suggest this book to those who relish numerous twists, gripping drama, and the intrigue of a captivating mystery where uncovering the culprit keeps you guessing.

Trigger warning: moments of violence and abuse.

I love a good 'stuck with a killer during a storm' book.

The mystery was pretty predictable and I wasn't the biggest fan of Charley, but I still really enjoyed this book. I found myself thinking about it randomly when I wasn't reading it and really looking forward to picking it back up again.

It usually turns me off when I figure out the mystery, but I didn't really mind here. I liked the story of the Bishops and the setting of the hotel. Overall, I think it was a very entertaining read.

A great story that keeps you on the edge of your seat! I'm normally pretty good at figuring out "whodunnits" but the twists and turns in One Big Happy Family had me questioning myself!

Easy read with super interesting characters, and amazing character development.

Loved it!

Thank you Net Galley for an early copy of this book in exchange for my review. This was my first time reading a book from this author, and her other book The Block Party has been on my Kindle for awhile but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Anyway, this premise intrigued me from the start but I had an incredibly hard time finding myself caring about any of the characters, and while the writing style she has is awesome and her storytelling is great, the story didn't grab me as much as I hoped it would. I am very much open to reading more from this author however, despite this one not being all I hoped for. As always, just because it didn't grab my attention doesn't mean someone else won't absolutely love it.

This is the first book I have read from this author! I enjoyed it! The plot is very layered with great depths of deceptions. I couldn't put it down. Charley is a maid at a hotel where the owner passed away. His three daughters visit the hotel to hear what was left for them in their father's will. Everyone has different intentions and secrets that will be shared all during the time of a historical storm.. creating more challenges.

The setting was great. Figured out who did it pretty early on but there were some nice twists in the plot. Characters were all interesting. The later lives of the sisters went in totally different direction. Charley and her grandmother had such a sweet relationship. Some of their scenes were heartbreaking. Good, solid mystery that had plenty of twists.

I was hoping this would be a bang following The Block Party, but it honestly just fell short for me. There are lots of characters and different time periods mentioned. To me, the Bishop sisters were not likeable or even relatable. Everyone has their secrets and someone at The Precipice wants them to pay. Charley was somewhat the most relatable character but was definitely gullible and too trustworthy. I don't feel all of the story was complete when the sisters side was told in the past, the mom was mentioned briefly, but nothing on her passing or when. The ending was a surprise, I feel like it was a good fit for everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jamie Day for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date for One Big Happy Family is July 16,2024

George Bishop, owner of the infamous Precipice hotel, is dead. Now his legacy is left to his 3 daughters: Iris, Faith, and Vicki. They all go there for the weekend to lay stake to their claim, with each woman wanting what she believes she deserves. Unfortunately, they may not each be so lucky.

Between the secrets that they’re all keeping, Charley (the 19-year-old chambermaid that their father employed), and the hurricane working its way toward them, it’s looking like it will be a more intense weekend away than they anticipated.

They may all be checking in, but someone may also be checking out … permanently.