I liked way the story was broken up and it definitely kept me guessing until the end. It was a fun and suspenseful read.

2.5 Stars

I received an advanced copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

"Restraining orders don’t help when someone is determined to kill you.”

At the legendary Precipice Hotel in coastal Maine, the Bishop sisters - Iris, Vicki, and Faith - gather after their father's recent passing to claim their inheritance. However, a looming hurricane and the sisters' concealed secrets set the stage for murder. As each sister contends for what's rightfully hers, the fate of the hotel's chambermaid, Charley Kelley, hangs in the balance. Charley, a resourceful nineteen-year-old with her own challenges, faces potential exposure of her secrets as the Bishop sisters' arrival threatens to unravel the delicate threads holding the precarious equilibrium.

This book had an intriguing premise, but I found the pacing to be rather slow, and the plot setup struck me as somewhat weird. The story's attempt to weave between the present and the past with the Bishop sisters' stories didn't quite resonate with me, and I felt a sense of disconnect to the overall story, drawing me out of it. There was an anticipation of something more substantial, but unfortunately, it didn't fully materialize. Despite the promising beginning, the overall experience left me with a sense of unfulfilled potential.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC by Jamie Day. I think plenty of people will enjoy this thriller, unfortunately it wasn’t my favorite. I appreciate the story and the characters, just wasn’t my cup of tea. I do recommend this one for who enjoy a slow burning mystery.

A dark and twisty locked room thriller that was just up my alley. Set in a remote area of Maine, a housekeeper of a famous old hotel finds herself in a precarious position. Her boss recently passed away and his children, whom she has never met, are all coming to read the will and discuss ownership of the new hotel. All in the wake of a vicious storm, threatening to cut off power and access to the rest of the world. Then, someone is found dead. Everything unfolds quickly and chaotically after that. Definitely a solid thriller I enjoyed!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

This was my first book by this author. I had a few issues with the novel like the way Charley discovered the family secret. It seemed far-fetched the way she was able to put the pieces together. There were other things that were outlandish, but it was enjoyable enough that it kept me turning the pages to see how things would unfold. None of the characters were remotely likable, and I didn’t really find myself connecting with any. Overall it was a fine read.

“One Big Happy Family” was SO good! I was mad at my work schedule because I just wanted to finish this book in one sitting. This mystery/thriller has many unexpected twists and turns, with great pacing – it wasn’t too much or crazy over the top. While the book primarily follows Charley, the young maid, there’s enough detail and backstory on the Bishop sisters provided to give readers the big picture on the family dynamics and secrets. I recommend this book for those who love a good mystery/thriller! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

The Precipice Hotel is the family owned hotel where Charley is a chambermaid, working hard to support her grandmother. With the death of the hotel’s owner George Bishop , Charley’s job now depends on whether or not George’s daughters will keep her employed.

The Bishop family’s visit to the hotel is of extreme importance, but when someone in the hotel ends up murdered, Charley finds everything in her world spinning out of control. Add in a hurricane and you have the makings of a solid mystery.

While some parts of the book deliver, the plot is a bit clunky. There are several twists and turns, but they are often over explained. This takes the reader out of the story, and one twist at the very end left this reader scratching her head.

The setting of the book is perfect for classic mystery fans, with the old hotel and a hurricane brewing outside. With the decent plot, this would made a solid beach read, but nothing sets this book apart to make it special.

Thank you to NetGalley and St, Martin’s press for the ARC opportunity.
This was my first novel by Jamie Day and most likely sadly my last. I found the book very slow moving with too much going on that wasn’t pulling me in. Charley’s nana needs her help paying for rent, her mother was a drug addict who passed away, George is the owner of the hotel and was a total creep, George dies and his daughters are coming for his funeral arrangements, Charley meets a woman at a coffee shop who suddenly shows up at the hotel and needs to hide out there, Rodrigo puts in his two cents on the situation and seems to want to make matters worse. Just too much going on IMO, without caring about any of it.
Thanks for the opportunity but this wasn’t for me- DNF

Great suspense novel. The secrets, the lies and the twists all kept me on my toes. This is my first book by this author and I'm looking forward to future books.

Unputdownable! I devoured this book. The characters got a bit sappy about two thirds of the way through, but overall the book was exciting and full of thrills and mystery. Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

This was one of the most enjoyable books that I’ve read in a while. There were some decent twists and the characters, although some unlikeable, were not annoying like many other books lately. This is a very solid, quick read!

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

⭐️⭐️
In The Eye Of The Storm ⛈️🏩 🖼️
I really wanted to like this one, but in the end, it just wasn’t for me. It took so long for me to get into it, and even then, I wasn’t invested in the characters. And the details - so many unnecessary details that only seemed to make for an unnecessarily long story. It just seemed like it was taking you in so many different directions, that it was hard to really get into.
I’m sure it’s someone’s cup of tea, though!
Charley is a broke, down on her luck maid for the Precipice Hotel. With her grandma’s nursing home fees on the rise she’s desperate to keep her job. In the wake of her smarmy boss’ passing her nerves are shot when his three daughters come into town for the funeral right as hurricane Larry is set to make landfall. Little does she know the storm of drama the Bishop sisters will bring to her doorstep, without any assistance from the hurricane.
Thanks so much to @netgalley for this ARC.
Check for this one out, July 16th!

I read The Block Party by this author and absolutely loved it. This book was good but not as great as that book. I still enjoyed this one and think it would be good to read during the summer time. I enjoy thrillers and felt this one went in too many directions and at times made it hard to keep up with what was happening. While this wasn’t my favorite I will continue to read any other books released in the future. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!

One Big Happy Family by Jaime Day tells the story of Charley a maid at an ocean side hotel in Maine. The owner of the hotel passes away and his 3 daughters are set to inherit it. But a Hurricane Larry is due to hit Maine in the midst of the chaos of the 3 sisters reuniting, 2 murders, romance from in the past and present. The story was interesting. The characters were developed. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. It’s a believable story. Thanks to NetGallery and St Martins for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a bingeable and entertaining locked room murder mystery. The tone was creepy, secluded and in the middle of an expected hurricane at an eclectic, coastal hotel. I read 60% of this in one sitting. I definitely recommend for fans of locked room mysteries. I had an inkling of who the culprit was, but I didn’t guess HOW or WHY. If a mystery keeps me guessing, that’s a win. As I read an ARC, I did notice in chapter 57 toward the end, the writing switched from 1st person POV to 3rd person POV, then back to 1st person in chapter 58. There were also some punctuation mistakes throughout. I’m sure this will all be fixed by publication!

"My name is Todd...And I'm going to be the best thing that ever happened to you." If you think Todd sounds bad, just wait until you read this book and get to know him. But is he the worst character? That's for you to find out because reviews should not ruin a reader's fun with spoilers.

Wow, author Jamie Day planned an intricately woven cast of characters, and I enjoyed not being able to predict all of the ins and outs and dysfunctional-family backstories. There are plenty of characters going through the daily routines of normal life with despicable behavior bubbling beneath the surface for quite a few.. The Maine boutique resort with 14 themed rooms spread out over 3 floors is an intriguing setting and the plot line immediately drew me in. Readers will understand main character Charley's gratitude that part of her pay as the housekeeper is a room to sleep in and food to eat at this hotel. Afterall, Charley must support not only herself but also support her beloved grandmother who needs to live in an assisted-living home. As Charley says, hers is life on the bottom rung, and she's used to it.

Fortunately, Charley has Rodrigo, a gay guy pal who also works at the Precipice Hotel. He supports Charley in every way he can and has had enough hardships in his life that makes him a good judge of character.

The book begins with the present day and kept my attention. When the focus shifted to the backstory of the characters, I was disappointed at first; however, the backstory is essential and quickly becomes equally as interesting as the contemporary timeline. I wish there were half stars available because this was an entertaining 4.5 book for me. The reason I did not round it up to a 5 was that I would have preferred some tightening and condensing of the chaotic actions when the novel returns to the contemporary timeline.

I will definitely be interested in reading books from author Jamie Day in the future! Many thanks to #NetGalley for this copy. I am voluntarily leaving this review with my honest opinions.

3.5 stars, rounded down. Having enjoyed last year's "The Block Party", I wanted to check out author Jamie Day's sophomore release, "One Big Happy Family" and the characters are most sincerely not happy at all! They're really nasty, privileged rich people, who are stuck together in a Maine hotel during a hurricane after the death of their crappy patriarch with some interesting other characters - mostly focusing on a young hotel maid, Charley. While I do love a good locked room mystery, this one just felt too long & there was just way too much back-story on the MC's. I did like the hotel, tho. So a mixed bag for me. My sincere thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the free DRC, my pleasure to review it.

I found this to be an enjoyable cozy mystery with enough twists and turns to keep the pages turning. The setting in Maine was interesting and the family aspect of this was a character in itself. Charley and Quinn were my favorite characters and I would read another book featuring them, for sure! Thanks to #netgalley and @stmartinspress for this really of #onebighappyfamily to read and review ahead of publication. All opinions are my own.

Set on the coast of Maine. Moody, atmospheric and of course a death kicks us off.
The owner of The Precipice has died, and the Bishop sisters are blowing in with a hurricane. All with secrets.

Each sister wants a piece of the pie, including chambermaid Charley.
Charley has a lot of secrets too.

For me this started promising and quickly devolved into predictable.


NetGalley/St. Martin’s Press July 06, 2024

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this advance copy. I read Jamie Day’s previous book, The Block Party, and loved it, so I was happy to get the chance to read this one as well, and it did not disappoint. I think the characters were really well developed, and the imagery of the mansion and the storm made it so easy for me to really see it in my mind. I love mysteries with twists that keep me guessing, and trying to figure out, and that’s exactly what I got with this. When I thought I knew what was going to happen next, I was surprised. I definitely recommend this book for anyone that likes a book that keep you guessing!