Locked room mystery set in an old hotel in Maine, this had the makings of a good creepy thriller but was bloated with too many secrets. Charley is a 19 year old chambermaid who sleeps in a converted pantry in the hotel. She needs all the money she can get to help keep her Nana in a home for people with dementia. Charley supplements her income by stealing from the guests. Then the owner of the hotel dies and his three daughters arrive for the reading of the will just when a hurricane is reaching the coast of Maine. Each of the sisters has secrets as does their family members and the attorney Brenda Black.

As the storm blows outside, the sisters Vicki, Faith and Iris accuse each other and fight and when someone turns up dead, the group can't escape and there is no cell signal or WiFi to call for help. Vicki brings her greedy husband Todd and her young adult son Quinn who Charley quickly falls for; Iris comes alone and has a long history of addiction, and Faith comes with her girlfriend Hope and son Oliver. Oliver speaks only in rhymes until the end of the book when he suddenly doesn't. There is also a young woman named Bree whom Charley is hiding in the hotel from her abusive husband, and front desk clerk Rodrigo. There are lots of scenes that are almost farce-like as lights go on and off, people move around and accuse each other and secrets and double-crosses are revealed. There is also a long segment of the book which deals with the sisters when they were younger as well as the story of a previous maid that may have been murdered. I thought the book was too long and many of these scenes could have cut. I also wanted more scenes of the weather outside and the powerless feeling of being stuck in the hotel. I didn't guess all of the secrets because there were so many and I didn't find any of the characters likable. Charley seemed more interested in stealing and romance than taking care of her Nana and the sisters were all awful people. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC for review.

One Big Happy Family creates an uneasy and atmospheric setting from the beginning. Charley, the young maid of a grand hotel, is hiding Bree, a young woman hiding from an abusive boyfriend that Charley has agreed to hide in the hotel, resulting in a game of musical rooms to ensure she doesn’t get caught, With the owner of the hotel’s passing, unlikeable family is ushered in. The hurricane brewing adds to the intense atmosphere and isolation, and when desk clerk Rodrigo goes home for the weekend Charley is left alone with the Bishop family and their strange behavior..

Happy Pub Week to Jamie Day and One Big Happy Family! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press @stmartinspress, NetGalley @netgalley, and Jamie Day for allowing me to read an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) for an honest review! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Jamie Day for also allowing me to read an ARC of The Block Party last year for an honest review.

📅 Tuesday, July 16, 2024 was the pub date for One Big Happy Family. Be sure to pick up a copy from your local bookstore or Amazon! It’s definitely worth the read! 📅

I read The Block Party last year with some friends as part of a Buddy Read and was able to read One Big Happy Family together this year with one of those friends! We agreed that both books are great although very different from one another. We ended up enjoying One Big Happy Family a tad better than The Block Party but definitely recommend both to any thriller lovers out there!

Hurricane Larry is about to touch the coast of Maine and the Precepice Hotel. 🏨 The owner of the hotel recently passed away, leaving employees the responsibility of closing up and overseeing the safety of guests. Most guests evacuated. However, the hotel owner’s children and grandchildren gather at the hotel during the hurricane for the reading of the will. The book is filled with lots of surprises, twists, and turns. Not everyone is who they seem and a Clue type guessing game begins. i.e..Who fired the gun in the dining room? I can share that it definitely wasn’t Ms. Scarlet or Colonel Mustard…but that’s all I’m going to reveal!

This book was really difficult to get into, and to finish. This book was honestly super slow, and way longer than it needed to be. A little too many twists and turns that maybe I just missed but made us deter a little too much from the main storyline and made it more confusing than it needed to be. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I don't like giving this review as I really enjoyed the first book by this author, but this was not good at all for me.

I love locked room mysteries, so that and the fact that I really liked her first book drew me to read this book. It was so sloooooooowwwwwww and not really that interesting. I did like the main character, Charley, the chambermaid at the hotel, though. I can even forgive her stealing from guests to help pay provide for her and her nana.

The looming hurricane should have brought more tension to the story, but it just fell flat for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day, this was a new author for me and I have to say it did keep me turning the pages. The story line had so many different twists and turns, I wasn't sure if I was coming or going most of the time. I would have to say it wasn't a all time favorite of mine, but it still deserves a good review. I am thankful that none of these characters are part of my family. I would still recommend to others because I realize not everyone enjoys the same books.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and I am leaving my review voluntarily

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an E-Arc of this book. The following is my honest opinion *

4⭐ out 5

To describe to book, it is like a a mystery/thriller style, whodunit story.
I really enjoyed this book. I love Day's writing style. She has a talent for keeping the reader hooked even when giving exposition. It was true page turner for me. There so many intricacies and I love that the book made me feel like a detective piecing together the puzzle. If you read her debut novel, and enjoyed it, I think this story will be the same.

Would recommend to friends.

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day is a suspense thriller that will test the bonds of what it means to be a family and how fast things unravel when secrets are revealed. With their father's recent death, three Bishop sisters converge on the family's resort to hear the will and make arrangements. With a massive hurricane barreling to them, the resort only houses a few staff members. The main character, Charley, is a 19 year old housekeeper who quickly becomes wrapped up in the Bishop family feuds and drama. With a lot of twists and turns, author Jamie Day, packs a lot of punches into this summer thriller. There were parts I really connected with but I also felt like the middle lulled a bit and I struggled to stay focused. Overall, I enjoyed the story though and would recommend it.

Thank you SMP for the gifted ARC.

I had some trouble getting into this one at first, as part one is really, really slow. We picked up in the third and fourth parts of the book, but it was all a little much for me. By the epilogue the whole thing was just way too over the top for me. I really wanted to like this one after the author's last book, but this just didn't work for me.

Charley Kelley works as the housekeeper at the Precipice hotel on the coast of Maine. She lives there in a tiny room. All of the money she makes goes to care for her grandmother living in a nursing home.

The owner of the uniquely decorated hotel is George Bishop who has recently died. Charley hated the man because he always tried to come on to her. Now, his three daughters, Vicki, Iris and Faith are coming to the hotel for the reading of the will by the man’s attorney. There is no love lost among the sisters and the reunion of sorts is expected to be difficult.

On top of everything, Hurricane Larry is aiming to strike right where they are. Some people believe it will miss them, but as the winds build and the rain pounds, it appears that they will get a direct hit.

This story is full of angst as the sisters air their grievances against one another until things become violent. We learn backgrounds of each of each sister and the anger they have toward each other. Charley is the one trying to keep things together as she is also tasked with cleaning after them and serving their meals. At the same time, she had befriended a young woman named Bree who claims to have been abused by her boyfriend and needs a place to stay until the storm passes. With her usual kind heart, Charley agrees to find a room for her to quietly remain. As secrets emerge, hatred flows and people get hurt.

I’m on the fence as to whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars. I found it tedious at times and felt the book was much too long. Perhaps the author felt that by dragging the story out, readers would become more tense. For me, it just made me roll my eyes in frustration. However, since the plot is rather unique, I will go with 4 stars. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"There’s no better school for learning about human behavior than being a maid. You see it all in this job because nobody notices you’re there."

So states Charley, our main character in Jamie Day's One Big Happy Family. She's employed at The Precipice Hotel on the rugged coast of Maine, battening down the hatches in preparation for The Big Storm and the arrival of the owner's daughters. The owner has died, and the heirs are there to find out what was in the will.

They're not nice people! Along with their assorted spouses and offspring, Charley observes: "This crew makes the Addams Family seem like the Brady Bunch."

There's a lot going on. We have the will, the sisters all have BIG secrets, we have an isolated house cut off from the rest of the town (Big Storm), and people start getting murdered!

This was a page-turner! It was funny. Charley was smart. The plot was wild, with some unexpected revelations. The sisters and their spouses were fun to hate, and last but not least there were some creepy vibes woven throughout.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC.

While I enjoyed reading the premise of One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day, I didn’t find myself sucked in and engaged with the characters. I know this is a personal opinion. I strongly believe there is a right time to read every book, and unfortunately the time I read this wasn’t the right time. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This one was slow going. I enjoyed it enough, but would have liked it more if it was faster paced. The last 80% was action packed and I flew through that part. The characters were mostly unlikeable. Family secrete galore, a couple of murders and a hurricane should have made for a more exciting read than it was.

I was so excited for this one because I really enjoyed The Block Party. Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me because the plot was just so slow. I got to 45% and just couldn’t push on. I think the plot has potential so I will probably try to come back to this one in the future because I did like the character of Charley but the Bishop sisters just weren’t holding my attention. I will try to get to this one again in the future though.

Wow! I feel like I am in the minority with this book but I really loved it! I felt invested in the story, wondering whodunit, and trying to figure out all the twists before they happened.

The author painted a picture of a granddaughter (Charley) who would do anything for her grandmother, and I could feel her pain and heartache losing her nana to Alzheimer’s. And the way she described the Bishop sisters childhood and adolescence brought the book to life. The picture that was painted shows how easy it is for a family to go from happy to dysfunctional because of the actions of one individual.

I was shocked by the twists, and I even cried at the end of the book. Definitely five stars for me. So thankful for NetGalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this book. I like puzzles and reading mystery/suspense is like trying to figure out a puzzle. This book was interesting as it follows hotel maid, Charley and the Bishop family. The family dynamics were just as suspenseful as the story and kept me on my toes. This was one crazy family with lots of secrets. There was a lot going on but in the end I did figure out the big twist but only right before the reveal. There were parts of the reveal/big twist that I didn’t see coming which was nice. I liked that I didn’t figure it all out. All in all I did really enjoy the book and could not put it down. If you like a good locked door mystery (but instead of a locked door, trapped by a hurricane), suspense, and a crazy family, then I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Jamie Day for this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY is a domestic thriller that takes place in a famous family-owned hotel sitting high on a cliff in Maine. With a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic, the three troubled Bishop sisters return to the hotel to claim their inheritance after their father's death. All three are concealing dark secrets and are anxious for the reading of the will for their own sordid reasons. Anxiously watching everything go down is chambermaid Charley Kelley who lives and works at the hotel and is desperate to keep her income to continue caring for her grandmother. Not entirely innocent, Charley has a few secrets of her own that she'd just as soon not become exposed. She may or may not have developed a bad habit of pilfering through the guests' belongings, and it's minutely possible she's hiding a darker, more dangerous secret too. In her defense, she has a good reason for everything she's done, not that the greedy sisters will understand. What will happen to her if she loses her job? Or the hotel closes? She can't allow that to happen.

When the reading of their father's Will doesn't go as expected, nasty accusations are tossed around, and fingers pointed. Someone manipulated their father into changing his Will. Was it one of the sisters or someone else? Maybe the seedy lawyer? If that's not enough, just as the hurricane closes all escape routes and all communication with the outside world is cut off, a body is discovered. Stranded with a murderer walking among them, nerves are frayed, patience is thin. One of them is a murderer. Who is it?

Author Jamie Day expertly manipulates characters and readers through another domestic thriller in ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY. A locked room style mystery, the threat of a killer hidden somewhere within the hotel and the storm raging outside combine to drive a swift pace as the story unfolds. Tension escalates as skeletons are rattled and one by one, secrets start slipping out. While the sisters' greedy behavior is unattractive and highly questionable, a couple of the support characters deserve readers empathy. Although I tuned into the real villain incredibly early on, it didn't diminish my reading pleasure as I kept turning pages just to watch the drama play out.

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY is a highly atmospheric, convoluted domestic thriller in which readers and characters are charged with solving a mystery by identifying a killer. While a bit predictable, I found it to be a well plotted, witty and entertaining mystery. Highly recommended to fans of locked room style mysteries and domestic thrillers.

When the Bishop sisters reunite at their parents’ hotel the Precipice for the reading of the will, the readers quickly learn just how dysfunctional this family is. Their father George has recently passed away, and all 3 sisters assume they each will share equally in his assets and this eclectic Victorian hotel and all its kitschy knickknacks equally. But secrets abound in this family - both collectively and individually. Vicki, the oldest and always controlling is married to Todd, who is quite the shady character. They are there with their college age son Todd. Iris, the middle sister, is a recovering drug addict, who blames Vicki and Todd for her incarceration and for a few other things in her life that have been tough. The youngest sister, Faith is a model and beautiful, and has come to this reunion with her wife Hope and their son Oliver, a teenager who speaks only in rhymes. Add to this mix the maid Charley, who is trying desperately to keep her job to support her grandmother’s nursing home bills. Charley has taken in a girl by the name of Bree, who is fleeing an abusive boyfriend. The only request she makes is that Bree stay out of sight, since she’s letting her stay at no charge. When the family attorney shows up and reads the will, everything breaks loose and sets the stage for what follows.

As hurricane Larry bears down on the hotel, they are all stranded together, and when one of them ends up dead, they begin to all question each other. Secrets are revealed, and Charley must keep her wits about her to survive.

A quick read, I couldn’t get to the end quick enough! A little predictable in places, but a fun read all the same. Charley reminds me a bit of Molly in Molly the maid in The Maid, and Oliver’s rhymes are quite funny. You’ll quickly see that the Bishops are anything but One Happy Family! Out now- grab this one if you like a fun thriller.

One Big Happy Family
by Jamie Day
Pub Date: Jul 16 2024

"One Big Happy Family" is a locked room thriller, about a very toxic family who have gathered together in their father’s hotel for the reading of his will. This is a family drama to say the least, lots of excitement, twists and turns some which are predictable. Overall a decent story. This is the first book I have read by this author and I plan on reading more.

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.

Many thanks to #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #OneBigHappyFamily and author #JamieDay for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

Needing to pay for her grandma's assisted living apartment, Charley has been working and living at the luxurious hotel, The Precipice. The owner dies, and his three children descend upon the inn, along with Hurricane Larry. Unknown to the new owners, Charley has stowed away a girl hiding from her abusive boyfriend, and as Larry traps them all, people start dying.

I'm going to start this review out with--I think if you enjoy books like Frieda McFadden and Kaira Rouda, you'll probably like this book. It's written in that same breakneck, almost breathless, present tense style.

This book started out well, with plenty of secrets and intrigue to keep me reading--Charley, who dropped out of high school in order to make sure her grandma, dealing with dementia, has the care she needs. The job she finds is at a fancy inn, where the owner also offers her room and board in addition to her weekly wages.

Then he dies and his adult children arrive to fight over the will and their inheritances. Vicky and Todd bring their adult son Quinn, estranged daughter Faith brings her girlfriend Hope (yes, it really is that bad) and Hope's teen son Oliver, and Iris brings her sobriety and Jesus. Literally every character is there to fill a trope or an agenda--Todd is a bro who will sleep with apparently just about everyone, Vicky is the bitter older sister, Iris is the wayward youngest that struggles with addition and has been to prison, Faith ran away to New York to be a model, Hope is the obnoxious lesbian vegetarian that dabbles in the occult, and her son Oliver is an absolute literary tragedy. He's literally every single spooky kid from every B grade horror movie out there. He literally speaks in rhyme. And not good rhymes--he speaks in couplets. "All day it will rain, the sound eating his brain" type of rhymes. It's just awful. I don't know if the author was trying to check off boxes with her characters, and Oliver was her neurodivergent one, but if that's true, holy freaking cow how absolutely awful that is.
And when I say the author is checking off boxes...you have an abused character. A lesbian couple. A douchey, adultering husband, A maybe autistic, maybe not kid. A gay immigrant character. A shady lawyer. A hunky son the main character crushes on. Younger sibling with substance issues. A born again Christian. A vegetarian that conveniently cooks.
Speaking of crushes, the "romance" between Quinn and Charley is a joke. Charley spends 2/3 of the book thinking about how cute/hot/sexy Quinn is, but immediately follows that thought up almost every time with "but I'm just a poor! Why would rich hot Quinn go for me?" There was almost...negative chemistry between these two.
The whole book was predictable, it really needed a few more passes with an editor, and overall I was just left unsatisfied with this book. You don't even have to be paying attention to figure out who did it by about 30 pages into the book. Some of the things the characters do just make no sense. Let's tie up a character and threaten her, only to turn around 63 seconds later and let her go. And I have a bad taste in my mouth with the way she portrayed Oliver--it was like she couldn't make up her mind--like one day she was all in on neurodivergent, but then the next she was all in on "influenced by his occult obsessed mom" and then the next day after that she was all in on him just being a normal but a bit weird (like there is an entire chapter where he's just...normal, no rhymes or anything).