A closed room mystery about a family with lots of secrets who all get together to discuss their father’s will after his death. The three sisters come together at their family’s Precipice Hotel in the hilly shores of main right as a hurricane is hitting. Told from mostly the POV of the 19 year-old maid, we slowly get the unraveling of decades of held family secrets.

While I loved the setting, especially the Maine coast town with the arriving hurricane, I think there were quite a few parts of the plot that just didn’t do it for me. The first half of the book was pretty slow, which was fine for me, but it was the reveal and the unraveling of secrets that didn’t work. It felt really predictable (and I rarely can guess the twists), and the cast of characters didn’t really leave me to care what happened to any of them. The epilogue also really tanked it for me, and I felt like it was the most unrealistic of it all.

Charley is struggling and is grateful for her job as a maid at the Precipice Hotel where she also gets free room and board. The conditions aren’t great but it’s all she can manage to help care for her ailing grandmother. When the wealthy owner dies, his three daughters and their families return to the Precipice fur the reading of the will…. Just as a hurricane is about to hit.

As you can imagine, in this locked room thriller, the sisters have a lot of animosity to each other, there are lots of secrets, backstabbing and of course, a murder. Unfortunately, Charley and a stowaway guest find themselves caught up in this nightmare situation, fearing for their lives as the sisters air their dirty laundry and turn on one another.

This one intrigued me initially and then slowed down a bit before it picked up again. I guessed the twist early on but still wanted to see how it would play out. It was a quick and easy read and Charley was the star of this book, considering how unlikeable everyone else was.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for a digital review copy of this new thriller

This book was fantastic!! I loved the atmosphere of the seaside hotel with a hurricane looming. Set in a small town in Maine at the Precipice Hotel One Big Happy Family is about three sisters coming home. Their father has passed away, and it's time for them to collect their inheritance. After they each arrive is when the secrets start to unravel.

The story is told primarily from the POV of Charley, a young chambermaid working at the hotel. There are a few chapters told from the POV of the sisters.

I was able to guess at some twists, but not all of them. From start to finish, this book was filled with twist after twist that I didn't always see coming. Jamie Day is fast becoming a new favorite author!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Jamie Day is one writer I absolutely love to read. She keeps you intrigued and wanting not to put the book down and this was is no exception. Charley is the housekeeper at a hotel in Maine. She is awaiting the arrival of the three Bishop sisters to see what they inherited from their late father. In the meantime Charley is hiding a young woman that is hiding from an abusive relationship and she can’t pay. Vicki arrives first and she is so demanding. She wants all new repairs done to the inn and she is a bully as well. Charley has a little problem she has sticky fingers with cash because she is trying to keep bills paid for her Nana and herself. Jamie writes so you want to know more about this dysfunctional family and oh the twists and turns are intense to say the least.

I received this ARC for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was really excited for this novel and it began with lots of promise. A hotel with a bunch of interesting characters and a hurricane bearing down on them all. There was a ton of drama and that seemed to overshadow the rest of the story. I felt the story was predictable in places, so I was a bit disappointed but I stayed with the story.


Thank you Net Galley, Jamie Day and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to preview this title and the opinions shared are my own.

Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•
After loving Jamie's debut novel The Block Party last year, I just knew that I had to get my hands on this one. I was super lucky to not only get an eARC but an ALC as well.
•
One Big Happy Family is anything but a happy family. Its drama galore and I sat there and I ate that shit up. I absolutely love a good family drama. Best part - its a locked room mystery with an impending storm on the horizon and murders happening.
•
Day does a phenomenal job at building tension, suspense and suspicion with all of the characters. Majority of the characters are morally grey and/or are unlikable which makes this an interesting read. Rich people behaving badly is just so much fun to read sometimes!
•
One Happy Family is super atmospheric - I loved the feeling of impending doom that I had while reading this. The ending was a smidge predictable, but there were some really awesome twist that I did not see coming and I absolutely enjoyed the ride from start to finish.
•
I listened to this one via audio while reading along with the eARC and it was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. I loved how well this performance was. I felt like I myself was the main character. She made this one suspenseful in all the right places. Highly recommend the audio for this one.
•
Overall, another solid win from Jamie Day. So excited to continue following her writing journey. One Happy Family releases today 7/16. Don’t miss out on this one! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Jamie Day, St. Martins Press and MacMillan Audio for the eARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

One Big Happy Family, the latest mystery by Jamie Day, is a quick and different whodunit packed with action and thrills. Not only chockful with excitement, but this book also has a good storyline and is jam-packed with quirky characters. All of the characters may sometimes leave the reader a bit confused and bewildered, but if you stick with it, it will become easier to follow. Regardless, said family may be big, but happiness is definitely lacking. If you want a change from the beach bag, rom coms of summer, check this one out.

3.75 // A very twisted sister mystery!

One Big Happy Family follows… one big family: the Bishops. We're following Charley, the maid at the Bishops' Precipice hotel in Maine. The Bishop patriarch, George Bishop, has recently died and his three daughters (Vicki, Faith, Iris) are coming to the Precipice for the reading of the will-- dysfunctional family members in tow. Also joining is Hurricane Larry! Chaos (of course) ensues as the sisters' secrets are forced to come to light and Charley begins to unravel the truth of what really happened at the hotel when the Bishop daughters were kids.

The first maybe third of this book was paced a little too slowly for my personal taste. Hiding Bree in the hotel while the Bishops were arriving was an added element of stress that should have felt thriller-y, but ultimately fell flat for me. I expected this to be faster-paced than it was, but it felt like a chick lit fiction novel for the first 25%+. Learning about the Bishop sisters' backstories was interesting but I still found myself yearning for more action and thriller elements. I also felt like learning their backstories preemptively spoiled the entire mystery. Once I got to the 50% mark, the pacing started to pick up, and I felt more immersed in the story. The ending… is a little far-fetched, but I'll admit that it was plot-twisty and surprising, so I can't complain too much.

The main character/narrator would also sometimes just have these one-liners that made me cringeeeee. Not sure if this writing style is unique to this book or the author in general. It didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book, but it did momentarily remove me from being immersed in the story.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Jamie Day's ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY transforms the idyllic coastline of Maine into a treacherous, dangerous, scary place where secrets kill and intrigue abounds. At The Precipice family-owned hotel, three sisters arrive with serious personal baggage to claim their legacy and get what's coming to them. A woman on the run and a chambermaid with deep secrets and terrible habits are added to a potent, explosive situation as a hurricane bears toward them. Told from the maid's point of view, the story is gripping, summer terror at its best. I have never been a 19 year old maid stuck in Nowhere, Maine, but now that I have read this book, I have a feeling for the life I would never want to have -- Day is fantastic at getting you into a character's head, heart, and actions. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

One Big Happy Family is a slow-moving thriller. A father has died bringing his children back together. They are stuck in the family hotel due to a hurricane. Secrets come out, threats are made, and no one is to be trusted.

I usually a follow the path the author sends me on type of reader but with this book I figured out what was going on pretty quickly. There were many clues given early in the book that led me down the right path. I like having that ah-ha moment but feel like this one could have had a bigger ah-ha.

One Big Happy Family is a book that I enjoyed reading but it will not be a book that I remember in the long run. The writing was easy to read and follow. The characters were predictable and not very exciting.

I was blessed to have read an early copy of The Block Party which was a wonderful story.
But after devouring One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day this is my favorite so far!
Every time I tried to stop reading! I was pulled in for more!
The characters were so well developed and interesting. The plot was twisty and turny and did not quit. I was riveted until the very end.
Atmospheric, gripping, and unpredictable.
In other words, the perfect ingredients for a satisfying result.
Another riveting summer suspense from Jamie Day.

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The Precipice is a family-owned hotel in Maine that is well known, but when the current owner does and the reading of his will takes place trouble ensues. His three daughters all expect a part of the estate, but still playing games after he’s gone their father’s will is anything but expected. Each sister wants what is theirs and Charley, the maid who is living at the hotel, gets caught in the middle of it. While a hurricane passes through and the squabbles continue secrets and lies will come out that will change the course of everything.

The synopsis of this book is so intriguing and I am always game for a few good lies and drama. This book was full of it all, but something just didn’t connect for me. I enjoyed the storyline and the locked room mystery feel of this book. The hurricane also added a nice touch of impeding doom to everything. I think my biggest problem was I didn’t connect with a single character in the book, even Charley, and I feel like there was a lot of over the top drama that was unnecessary at times. There is usually at least one character I enjoy and root for in books like these but that wasn’t the case this time. Overall it was an enjoyable and fast paced read that is good if you are looking for a nice mystery with lots of family drama. There were just a few things I didn’t connect with in the end.

Thank you to St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

After loving The Block Party last summer, I was so excited for another novel by Jamie Day. One Big Happy Family was so different from Day’s previous novel in the best way, both are great, but I was expecting more rich people/domestic drama in suburbia and was pleasantly surprised to discover this was a locked-setting whodunnit.

This novel was instantly gripping with a compelling FMC for the reader to relate to. With elements reminiscent of Daisy Darker and Agatha Christie, this kept me engaged and still had plenty of familial drama like Day’s previous novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, dripping with intrigue, betrayal, and threats both internal and external to the setting - I highly recommend One Big Happy Family.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the copies to review!

Hoo boy, let me tell you, One Big Happy Family is something this Bishop family certainly is NOT. But let’s back up. We are gathered together at The Precipice, a family owned hotel off the coast of Maine. The patriarch has recently passed, and the Bishop sisters are there to claim said hotel. A hurricane is on the horizon (literally), and the staff, namely 19 yo chambermaid Charley Kelley, is just trying to make it through another season and save some money.

Does all go as planned? Heck no, but I bet you could have guessed that, and if you love unlikeable characters, murder, family drama, and secrets all in a locked room setting with a storm a-brewing, then this is the perfect summer thriller for you! Our gal Charley even has a few things to keep hidden as well! I loved reading this one via audio, I binged this on a Saturday and could not stop. I loved the trouble everyone found themselves in, as well as the flashbacks to the past where we learned a little more about our characters. It was not a surprise in how it ended, but I still really enjoyed this one overall and definitely recommend it.

There was a little bit of everything that makes a good mystery/whodunnit story. There were a few times I needed to suspend my disbelief to get into the book but I’m so glad I did. Charley is down on her luck trying to keep her grandma’s nursing home paid for. As a maid in a fancy hotel she had been avoiding the advances of her handsy boss and then he passed away. This left Charley to deal with hosting the family for the reading of the will all while expecting a hurricane. Add in Bree allegedly hiding from an abusive boyfriend and Rodrigo who hates the lawyer and this makes for a really fun story.
I really enjoyed the revelations in this story and the uncovering of who was responsible for the mayhem and death. I was so happy for the ending and how things worked out for Charley.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this really fun book,

Thank you to @macmillian.audio for the gifted audiobook and Books/ NetGalley for the ebook ARC. All opinions are my own.

Narrator Saskia Maarleveld did a great job of narrating One Big Happy Family. I listened at 1.75x for the first half of the book and then sped up to 2x to hurry and finish. This is my first book by this narrator.

Bookish Thoughts: This novel resonated with me because as I started the audiobook a hurricane was making landfall in the book and simultaneously in real life Hurricane Beryl made landfall along the Texas coast. The book started off promising and then slowed down in the middle. I started to get a bit bored so I increased the speed to hurry and finish. It didn’t blow me away and left me feeling meh.

#MacAudio2024

Let's talk about that Cover!!! I chose the book because of this colorful beach scene and of course, I loved The Block Party!! The setting is a coastal scene in Maine and a legendary family hotel The Precipice. When the owner dies, his three daughters return to claim part of the dynasty. They are a hoot with their dysfunctional family dynamics. Each one of them is keeping secrets and those bleed into their lies. There is a character that I loved and she is the maid. Sweet and kind Charley makes this book as she pilfers and steals from the guests to provide for her mom who needs around the clock care for dementia. She is also hiding away a stowaway guest, Bree, her best friend running from her abusive boyfriend.
As a hurricane moves closer to shore, a storm is brewing much closer inside. The guests are tucked away and shielded from what is outside, but not everyone will make it alive as a killer is tucked away too.
The only drawback is the climb to get there, but when the bottom falls out of the climax you will love this Agatha Christie style mystery. It is very entertaining and it is a must-read to learn about Charley.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book remind me of clue. Everybody had a different agenda for this hotel in maine. C h a r l e y was the chamber M a I d. She had a very interesting life as well.Her mother died. She never met her father. Grandmother.
Was in the nursing home. Then the person Who owned the hotel died. She is Was afraid she was gonna lose her job. The sister showed up for the will This I Women shows up.She's running away from her Boyfriend. The WIL?
Very interesting because do not Go as S p l a n. P Lan. All the sisters had a very interesting background. And they're all tied into one incident chambermaidnamecatherine,whedied.
Thiswasvreyintreestinghowtheauthortrid1everythingtogather.

Last year, on a whim, I requested the author’s debut, The Block Party and read it in one sitting, it was that engaging. This book is just as engaging, if not more, even as the underlying themes are even darker.

The story is narrated mostly in first person, present tense by nineteen year old Charley, who is at once cynical for her age, and still innocent in many ways; with some sections in third person, present tense, from the point of view of the Bishop sisters. And while the events of the book happen over the course of four or five days in early September 2021, the story covers a twisted family history spanning four decades.

Because the Bishops are a big, dysfunctional, deeply unhappy family indeed.

Beware: drug addiction; alcoholism; domestic abuse; dementia; threat of rape of a minor; long term sexual harassment; copaganda; long term child abuse.

Charley has been working full time as the one live-in maid at the exclusive and expensive Precipice Hotel for over two years; she’s paid a pittance, but room and board are included, so everything she makes–payroll, tips, and whatever she can lift from what rude guests leave laying about in their rooms-goes to paying for her grandmothers’ rent at the local assisted living facility. Until his recent death, she also spent a lot of time and effort avoiding her boss’s sexual advances and suffering his retaliation in the form of unreasonable work expectations.

As she has no other family and her education stalled at a GED, Charley is worried about what will happen to her position once the Bishop sisters take over management of the hotel. The fact they are coming to stay there for the reading of the will just as hurricane Larry is taking aim at Maine is bad enough, but now that her Nana’s rent is going up (again!), Charley has taken an uncharacteristic risk, and agreed to help a woman fleeing an abusive boyfriend hide there without paying–the hotel, that is; Charley hopes for a substantial payout.

Charley’s narration is both snarky, in a way that conveys quiet desperation, and young. A hotel maid is the lowest and most invisible service person there is, and wealthy people are usually the most miserly people to serve; Charley is jaded to the ways of the privileged. At the same time, she can’t stop herself from hoping for a different life, not quite dreaming of it, not quite wishing for it, but nonetheless hoping.

“When the person you love most in the world can’t remember your name, it leaves you feeling adrift. I want so badly to be seen and heard, to feel like my story, small as it is, matters to somebody other than me.” (Chapter 9)

So while she thinks she’s ready for what happens when all members of the Bishop family and their lawyer have to spend a couple of nights in an otherwise empty hotel, she can’t imagine the level of vitriol they’ll unleash on each other, never mind guns, knives, and weirdly rhyming threatening messages.

The Bishop sisters are all very different in personality but equally screwed up; they all ran as far away from their family and each other as they could, only to end up tangled together in a messy, messy knot.

Vicky owns a successful chain of jewelry stores with her husband, a man she both despises and loves; she copes by being super controlling and a conspiracy theorist. It’s worth nothing that no political affiliations are ever mentioned, and politics are never brought up, but since Vicky calls people who check the news for weather forecasts “sheeple”, if you know, you know. Quinn, their college-age son, resents the father who resents him, and tolerates the mother who’s gone off the rails.

Iris is an excon and drug and alcohol addict who has been sober for years; the middle sister, with all the attendant insecurities and a very troubled past, she’s also currently the most stable of the three. Interestingly, while it’s made clear that Iris achieved sobriety through Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous, and has “found Jesus”, she is never preachy. Iris is the strongest and most generous of the sisters.

Meanwhile, Faith is now in a same sex marriage, but it’s clear she’s bisexual; a former model, her self worth is entirely dependent on her appearance and attractiveness, and aging does not agree with her. It doesn’t help matters that her wife Hope’s flights of fancy have encouraged their son to behave more and more bizarrely. At fourteen, Oliver speaks mostly in rhymes and drifts, often unseen, as the adults around him by turns ignore, adore, or resent him–often in the space of a few minutes.

Then there’s the lawyer, who has an unsavory history and spends a lot of time trying to leave; Bree, who claims to be homeless but also has expensive clothes and luggage; and Rodrigo, who holds a grudge, and who should have gone to visit Charley’s Nana on his way home to weather the storm, but is not answering his phone.

I was engrossed in the story even as some moments were a bit too over the top (most of them involving Vicky), and others almost rivaled horror–the things that society allows to happen to vulnerable people, especially children, are never described too graphically, and yet they’re conveyed effectively enough to make my stomach ache. The foster system, the immigration system, elder care, the so-called justice system, are all exposed for how they often encourage abuse in the name of protection.

As the sisters unravel and secrets come slowly to light, the violence of the storm outside mirrors the chaos of the human emotions inside; both leave desolation in their wake, and a lot of rebuilding work for the survivors.

I have two quibbles: first, the direct aftermath of the climactic confrontation felt a bit facile, and the scene immediately after reeks of Deus ex machina. It’s very, very satisfying, but comes entirely out of left field in a way that doesn’t fit the rest of the narrative.

The second is a very petty personal observation: no person for whom forty dollars mean the difference between making rent and eviction, especially the eviction of the person she loves most in the world, will spend money on fancy coffees, or play betting games for any amount. When you literally count the pennies you find on the street as part of your income, you don’t go wasting four or five dollars on a fancy coffee.

One Big Happy Family gets a 9.25 out of 10

If you are looking for a family that is horrible to its very core. Look no further than the Bishop family. The nastiness started with their father George. I won't get into the specifics, but crusty, old man comes to mind. He has passed on and his three daughters and their sons are coming for the reading of the will. Which is occurring right when Hurricane Larry is just hitting the Maine coast. They are sure it will pass them, miles out to sea. If not their beautiful, old, uniquely eclectic inn will stand strong. The townspeople all have strong feelings about the Bishop family. Leaving Charley nervous for their arrival. She has been living in room the size of a broom closet and working as a maid at The Precipice. She is worried that she will not have a job by the end of the weekend. If Charley only knew what she was in for!

This is a fun, locked room mystery that kept my interest. It could have been trimmed a bit here and there. But I love the atmosphere of the wind smashing against the windows, the rain drumming against the siding like a million little fingers, and the waves crashing against the rocks below. The characters are all extremely diverse. Each of their backgrounds making for an interesting turn as more of their stories come through. As the anxiety ramps up with each new death. The question who is killing everyone off and why? Thank you to Jamie Day and St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy.