I enjoyed this audio. The narrator was good and kept my interest though I wasn't really enjoying the premise of the story.
A group of siblings who inherit a hotel and are stranded together during a hurricane. Sounds better than it is in my opinion. I had a hard time liking most of the characters.
The back stories were great though still not for me.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC.

I have mixed feelings after finishing this book. The premise sounded so promising! A bunch of wealthy family members locked in together at an old hotel during a hurricane on the coast of Maine. But sadly, the pacing was really off for me. Part one started out so slow, that I started to lose interest almost immediately. Part two covered some back story for the family, but again it just felt like filler. The action picks up in parts three and four, which was good, but by then I just wanted the story to be over. I never felt a connection to any of the characters, which I think was an issue for me. I did however, really enjoy the setting of the old hotel on the rocky coast of Maine! The perfect location for a creepy locked in murder mystery.

Sadly, this book just didn’t work for me. The slow burn really killed the story for me. If slow burn mysteries are your thing, then I’d give this one a chance.

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this free copy of One Big Happy Family. This whodunit thriller is the perfect stormy weather read! So much family drama with so many secrets. After their father passes away, the Bishop sisters and their families reunite for an interesting and intense will reading at their family hotel while a hurricane is looming. People start dying, more and more secrets come out, and the ending definitely surprised me!

I really enjoyed Day’s debut novel The Block Party so I knew I had to add One Big Happy Family to my TBR list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy and to Saskia Maarleveld for the amazing narration!

Short Synopsis:
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.

Thoughts:

I haven’t read a thriller in a few weeks so I was all for the change of pace and really enjoyed this one.

I love books about sisters because as the oldest of three girls I know how dramatic sister dynamics can be. The Bishop sisters did not disappoint!

There is a lot of backstory in this thriller but I didn’t mind it. I enjoyed getting to know each Bishop sister which made for more complex characters.

There is a lot going on with this thriller and I didn’t predict the ending until more than halfway through which is always a win.

Overall, I would recommend One Big Happy Family as a quick, enjoyable summer read.

I was excited to start this one as I really liked the authors last book. Unfortunately this one fell flat for me. No likeable characters and the twists weren’t wowing me. Looking forward to seeing what the authors come out with next.

Thanks to netgalley for my advanced audio copy

SO MUCH DRAMA.
I understand some people may enjoy this, but the fact that the drama outweighs the suspense was a real bummer for me.
Family secrets with a mixture of murder and not to mention a hurricane lurking by was exciting! Perhaps my hopes were too high on this one. The characters are interesting and all oh so different. The "thrills" were predictable and just drug out.
Overall, it felt less thrilling and more dramatic than anything. It was like watching a soap opera slowly unfold. Not terrible but again, really lacked any thrill or suspense.

The narration however was top notch. I enjoyed the delivery of the story by Saskia Maarleveld.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio, Jamie Day, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a suspenseful, atmospheric read set on the coast of Maine. A family reunites after the death of their father. Differing personalities and the aftermath of past events cause tension and descension. I loved the setting and stormy atmosphere. Lots of twists cap this off. The narrator dies an excellent job of keeping pace and creating suspense.

This was an incredibly atmospheric locked-room mystery! I loved the ominous feeling and the brooding sense of being stranded and trapped by a hurricane.

Though it was quite slow-paced, it was packed with entertaining and tense family drama, secrets, and lies!

While I enjoyed Day’s debut, The Block Party a bit more than this one, I’m still curious to see what he does next!

I was hoping this would be a lot more suspenseful than it ended up being. It seemed to drag on, be improbable and none of the characters were particularly likeable. I would give it 2.5 stars but rounded up to 3.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC. After Jamie Day’s last book, I was really excited for this. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. It was kind of slow, and the big reveal was literally just someone explaining how they had done everything and why. Which felt very unrealistic and cheap. Not great.

Family drama? Check!
Isolated location? Check!
Inability to leave because of bad weather? Check!

So many things I love it a thriller!

Jamie Day is back at it with another drama filled, easy to binge thrill ride! I listened to this one on audio and it was the perfect companion to my work commute. I was entertained from start to finish as I tried to guess the secrets each character is clearly hiding. There’s tension for days as secrets come to light and I was 100% there for the drama!

If you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced read for the beach or poolside this summer, this is definitely one I would recommend!

I was excited to read another Jamie Day book after reading The Block Party. This book took a lot of turns that I was not expecting. I enjoyed reading about all the characters and their complicated relationships with each other. When the next Jamie Day book comes out, I will definitely read it!

I’m always down for a thriller to break up my romance/fantasy reads and I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, this one just fell a little short for me.

The build up was slower than anticipated and the characters’ actions were just a little too predictable for me.

It was a good premise, hence me requesting this, and I love a story about sisters in any capacity, so there were definite parts and the setting was *chefs kiss*. I really liked how the weather was almost like a character in it’s own right, foreshadowing a lot of the events.

It really had all the makings of a knockout, I just wish I couldn’t have predicted a few of the twists.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

This started out strong, mysteries slowing unraveling, multitude of storylines merging. But about half way through I lost interest in the story.

An eccentric, wealthy family gathers at their father's hotel to hear the reading of his will following his demise, only to find more death waiting for them. With a hurricane knocking at the hotel door, who will survive? What family secrets will be revealed as the maid and a stowaway guest look on?

This book had real potential. I thought it was a fun mix of Agatha Christie and family drama. But it was too all over the place for me with a lot of sections that dragged on too long. Not terrible, but definitely not my favorite. I lost interest and had trouble keeping up by about 80% through the audiobook. The narration was OK, nothing special.

This title fell a little short of her book "The Block Party." It was still a worthwhile read. Maybe I'm just a little tired of the Hotel/Maid trope which I wasn't expecting to be such a big part of this book.

I spent a lot of time trying to immerse myself in the world of this book. I expected family intrigue. And there was some. It was interrupted by a lot of ridiculousness. Gee, I think there is somewhere here killing people. But look how cute that guy is! Is my uniform making me look like a maid?
The main character worried about a lot of ridiculous things, which was weird when you consider the real problems she had to worry about. The three sisters at the center of it all had some backstory told but not enough to have gotten themselves into the position they are all in now. I found them all to be unlikeable and boring.

"One Big Happy Family" is a sarcastic title for this family drama and thriller novel by Jamie Day.

The Precipice is a quirky old hotel on the coast of Maine. The patriarch of the Bishop family has recently passed away, and his estranged adult daughters are coming together there for the reading of his will. At the same time, Hurricane Larry is bearing down upon them. The sisters all have secrets they would rather not discuss.

The main character is Charley, a young woman who has been the maid at the hotel for several years. She is mentally mature far beyond her years. I liked this character.

The plot was complicated, and the book seemed very slow to me. There is a death (or is it a murder?) not too long into the visit of the sisters and their families. Then, the hurricane strands them all at the hotel. The suspense increases.

Characters - 4/5
Writing - 3/5
Plot - 3/5
Pacing - 2/5
Unputdownability - 1/5
Enjoyment - 2/5
Narration - 3/5 by Saski Maarleveld
Cover - 3/5
Overall - 21/8 = 2 5/8, rounded up to 3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, MacMillan Audio, and Jamie Day for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I struggled to think where I wanted to rate this one. On one hand it is twisty and kept my attention (mostly), on the other hand sometimes I just found myself shaking my head so hard. Who would do or say these things? BUT that said, it is fiction and if you can suspend your disbelief it could be really enjoyable!

The characters are mostly so unlikable. Even our narrator, Charley, has her faults. This is all about each character's secrets and there are definitely enough secrets to go around! So many twists! Some were easier to figure out early on than others. A couple times my jaw dropped.

Overall, this was a quick and entertaining read.

I thought the narrator did a good job. The voice and inflections were great.

Entertaining but overall not as gripping as The Block party. I really appreciate the author’s talent as weaving the narrative, building suspense, and landing the plane. Overall this novel wasn’t surprising or really standout to me, just because I loved their previous book I was a bit nonplussed. I’m eager for the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.