As a huge fan of the Block Party, I was so excited for the new novel. It was short lived. From the start this book was overly descriptive about unimportant things. Scenes that were supposed to be dramatic and thrilling were too long and underwhelming. The end had some weird scenes that switched from first person to third randomly. Just very weird and tied up too perfect at the end.

A family comes together at their family-owned hotel each with a desire to take ownership of the hotel. A looming storm makes things come to a head.

I wanted to like this because the setting was ominous and good. I think it just took too long to get to the crux of the intrigue. It did not really draw me in like a thriller should do.

I loved The Block Party so I was very excited to reas One Big Happy Famiky as an ARC. UNFORTUNATELY, this did not hit the same mark. It was good...just not as good. The characters were hard to relate to, and seemed very shallow.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

While this mystery is interesting and suspenseful, I was easily able to put down for a while. The main reason is that unlike her other book 'The Block party', I didn't really connect with any of the characters including the main character, Charley. They weren't developed that well. It wasn't hard to tell the good from the bad people. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily given review.

This is a family drama and mystery from an author that is new to me. Told from the POV of Charley Kelley, a 19 year old maid, who works at a hotel on the coast of Maine. His three daughters return with spouses and grandson in tow for the reading of the will. Of course this all happens while a hurricane is heading towards them. The reading of the will contains some surprises and more family secrets get exposed as the story progresses. They aren’t a warm cozy type of family. And there is a lot of animosity between siblings. Charley reminds me a little of Molly Gray the housekeeper in The Maid by Nita Prose in the way she is overlooked and a witness to the happenings. I could not have expected all of the twists and turns in the story. It was a good mystery with over the top family drama. I appreciate the epilogue for some extra closure. (3.5 Stars)

I absolutely loved The Block Party by Jamie Day so once I saw that One Big Happy Family was coming out, I couldn't request it fast enough. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with this story. Most of the characters were very immature and it was hard to stay immersed in the story with the varying perspectives. Usually I don't have a problem with multi-character perspective novels but this just didn't work.

Nothing to do with the plot line or Jamie Day, but there were major issues with the formatting of the eARC I received. There were random "1" and "0"'s at the end of many paragraphs. This was very distracting.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a lot of fun with this one. It had And Then There Were None and Knives Out vibes. I was sucked in immediately and it held my attention all the way to the satisfying ending. This book definitely helped me out of my reading slump.

My thanks to Net Galley and St Martin press for allowing me this arc.

A smart maid, a stowaway hotel guest, murders, at dysfunctional family, family secrets,.and a past event of recently deceased hotel owner George Bishop that effects the present makes this a fun read!

My ONLY complaints, the first part of the book about Charley made me feel like I was reading The Maid and it took a bit for the action to kick in., but I liked it

3.5 stars

I loved The Block Party, however, this one didn't live up to my expectations. It was slow paced, predictable and there was too much unnecessary information included.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’m sorry to say that this book wasn’t for me. It was just so slow that I couldn’t get into it at all. I had to DNF midway through Part Two because I was just bored. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters with the exception of Charley, and that made it difficult to continue.

If you like a locked room thriller/mystery you will probably enjoy this one.

I loved Jamie Day’s last book, The Block Party, so I was really hoping I’d like this one just as much.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Macmillan Audio ALC One Big Happy Family is an easily bingeable summer thriller perfect for the poolside reading. At first, I wondered if this would feel too Molly the Maid - but it didn’t. There’s lots of mystery, some shady characters, and a hurricane that felt like its own character. I love a locked room mystery and rich people behaving badly and this book delivered. The author built the suspense so well with different red herrings, and had a short flashback that helped bring it all together.
Saskia Maarleveld always does a fantastic job! Her performances capture each character and make it easy to keep everyone straight.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was a great summer read full of crazy family drama. The story was excellently paced with twists throughout. The characters were well done and some even relatable. Overall a clever easy read.

This was a decent mystery but it wasn't one of my favorites. The family dynamics were interesting but I had my suspicions about some of the characters very early on. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I received a gifted audiobook copy of ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY by Jamie Day from Macmillan Audio!

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY is set at The Precipice, a family owned hotel on the coast of Maine. An approaching hurricane has left the hotel empty of guests, but nothing will stop the Bishop sisters from coming to claim the property after the death of their father. For Charley, the hotel’s young chambermaid, the sisters’ arrival has her on edge. She’s barely been making ends meet to support her grandmother’s specialized housing for dementia, and she needs the work and the opportunity to lift a little extra cash off the guests. In more bad timing, she’s taken in a woman on the run who needs a place to hide and this could all spell disaster.

I’m sure no one will be surprised to learn that the Bishop family is not exactly a happy one! I really enjoyed getting to know the sisters through Charley’s POV initially. She’s in a tough spot, worried for her job and really hoping to learn that the women who will control the hotel’s fate will be good to her. Unfortunately, the women who arrive at the house are not in the best of moods and relationships and there is much to fear for Charley. I did really feel for her and loved seeing her devotion to her grandmother.

I thought the author did a good job of making slow reveals throughout the book and keeping the pacing up as well. I was able to fly through the audiobook within a single day because it kept me wanting to listen! I would recommend this to those who enjoy adults behaving badly and a twisty ride!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the free book in exchange for my honest review.

If you love locked room suspenseful dramas, then you will love this story. In the vein of Clue or Knives out, we have a whole cast of dramatic characters running around the Precipice, an upscale hotel on the Maine coast, trying to figure out who the murderer is.

Charley is a maid at The Precipice who is working a dead end job to take care of her Nana, in a nursing home. The owner has died and his dysfunctional family arrives for the reading of the will shortly before a hurricane strikes. With the three Bishop daughters and their spouses trapped in the hotel on the night the hurricane hits, the will of their departed dad is read and murder begins.

I found the story very entertaining, and the drama to be over the top. Yes, you feel sorry for Charley and hate the snobby family. The mysterious murder reveal is as expected but the story is fun. All in all, a great, fast paced, locked room mystery!

Charley works as a chambermaid in the precipice hotel in Maine. She lives in a closet, rent free but is still living paycheck to paycheck. She takes care of her Nana, her only family. George Bishop the owner of the hotel has recently died and his daughters are coming to town to hear the will. Hurricane Larry is bound to hit Maine and that's the least of their worries.

Wow, what a whirlwind of emotions, Shock and disbelief mostly. This book kept me on the edge of my seat as I read it. I enjoyed it immensely. It kept me guessing and wondering the whole time. A fantastic thriller.

I'm trying to find a proper metaphor for this story and I'm failing. Maybe a simile. It is as twisty as a curly fry, except you can follow that fry from end to end. Same for a corkscrew. This story is as tangled as kudzu. There are so many twists and turns no maze could compare. The main characters are compelling, as are their back stories. Chambermaid Charley finds out the truth of the adage "no good deed goes unpunished."

"One Big Happy Family ... except it's not" pits family members against each other in hopes of gaining the family fortune. An old plot, set in coastal Maine with a 'nor-easter on the way. This book is twice as long as it needs to be, unless considered a beach read, then there is enough review to cover up lag-time reading. I thought the mystery easy to solve, and I liked the gutsy main character, the chambermaid whose room is a closet.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC I just finished.

Readers who enjoy lots of family drama will like this story. Loved the coastal setting on Maine. It was admirable of Charley to take care of her Nana. Lots of characters with backgrounds that tended to drag on a bit. Wasn't excited about this book but know others might view it differently.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! Very entertaining! I didn't want to stop reading! Great characters and story!