A maid, the Bishop sisters, and lots of secrets......

The Precipice is a family-owned hotel located on the coast of Maine. The owner has passed away and his three daughters have come for the weekend to make their claim. Charley, who is a nineteen-year-old maid at the hotel worries about her job, them learning of her sticky fingers, the future of the hotel, and the woman she is hiding in one of the rooms.

Secrets and tension rule the day as the dysfunctional sisters and staff hunker down for a looming hurricane. All the characters have things going on, hidden motivations, big secrets, resentments, etc. This book was full of drama. This book also had atmosphere, tension and the trapped feeling that I enjoy in books. Having said that, this book felt slow in parts, drawn out in others and felt long, long, long.

What did work for me was how Jamie Day captured the trapped feeling, ,the toxicity of the sisters, and the tension in the book.

While I enjoyed The Block Party I was hoping to enjoy One Big Happy family just as much but I'm felt like this one didn't resonate or hold my undivided attention for me. It read a bit like an Agatha Christie novel which never seem to hold my attention either. This one just isn't my favorite by the author.
However I think Agatha Christie fans will be enjoying this one long past the summer time.

Charley works as a chambermaid at the Precipice Hotel in Maine, trying to stay afloat and pay her Nana's bills. But the owner, George, dies, and his three daughters, Vicki, Iris, and Faith, come to hear the reading of the will. When a major Hurricane cuts them off, and bodies start turning up, long-held secrets begin to come to light.

I really liked Charley's character, and the story itself was entertaining. However, some of the plot points were beyond believable, and the epilogue was too happy-ever-after for my taste. All in all, it was a solid thriller.

An isolated, quirky hotel in Maine as a terrible hurricane is barreling in. A dysfunctional, wealthy family coming for a reading of the will. Lots and lots of family secrets and the live-in maid just trying to make ends meet. And don't forget the secretive attorney for the dead man. Hmm. What do you think will happen? You're probably right.

Secrets being forced out, disappearing people, people getting injured, lights going out as the storm intensifies and traps the characters. You may think of the game Clue, or an old movie. You may be right.

This is a book that will keep you guessing until the end.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator was great.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook and reader copy of One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day in exchange for an honest review. Wow, families are so messed up and secrets don't help. This was a very exciting book with intrigue, murder and secrets. I really enjoyed listening to it.

I loved The Block Party and was excited for another book from Jamie Day. However, this book wasn’t as good for me. I appreciated the short chapters, but the overall book felt too long. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Charley is a broke cleaner in a hotel in Maine. Her grandmother is in a nursing home that she struggles every month to pay for. When the owner of the hotel dies, his 3 daughters and their families arrive at the hotel for the reading of the will. At the same time, a huge storm is brewing and Charley has been asked by Bree, a new friend, to hide her in the hotel because she is on the run from an abusive boyfriend. Once the sisters begin arriving the chaos starts and inevitably people end up dead.

3.5 stars.

I am not always a huge fan of the locked room mysteries because we meet all of the characters at once and I struggle to keep them straight. But I thought the intro was done well here, with the family arriving in staggered intervals. I was interested in what would happen and what secrets were being kept, but I didn't like that the secrets were shared with us through a flashback and then we watched as the family members learned the secrets. I think it would have been more impactful if we didn't know the secrets ahead of time. I also thought the overnight period in the hotel after the first death got long and a little over the top. So in a nutshell, I liked how this one started and then it got too long, which dropped my rating but I would consider reading more from this author.

As soon as I saw Jamie Day had her second book coming out I knew I had to read it. I loved her debut "Block Party". One Big Happy Family unfortunately did not have the same vibe.
The struggle buggle began early, I was not "hooked" in the first few chapters. Mysteries and thrillers need to suck you in so that you mind is consumed with curiosity/intrigue. However I was bogged down by detail, a main character that was incredibly vague and a cast of characters I could care less about. Day did not develop the three sisters enough initially for me to distinguish between them. Once the plot finally started to pick up momentum Day cast us back to 20 years or so to shine light onto the sisters background. The past time line dragged , I could not keep my attention let alone my interest.
She then tried to throw in a romance, which failed miserably in my opinion. There was no chemistry and the only descriptions we got of Quinn was pure "eye candy" descriptions.
The final blow I will give was: Jamie Day have you met Captain Obvious? Because the I immediately identified what was going on. That particular character's presence was so las vegas apparent even the 3 blind mice could see the "twist" coming. That character was just stuck into the story and felt like the big elephant in the room. Sorry, not good writing.

I would be remiss if I did not comment on the absolute ridiculous ending and Oliver's "secrets" , at that point you can imagine the amount of eye rolling that was happening I would make any teen girl proud.

I will give Jamie Day another chance because like I said her debut was quite good so I know she can produce good work. We will just chalk this one up to her Sophmore Slump.

Thank you net galley for allowing me to read and review "One Big Happy Family" in exchange for my honest opinions and thoughts.

3.5 stars rounded up. This is a locked door murder mystery, with a lot of family drama. I found a good portion of the story and twists to be predictable but that didn't affect my enjoyment. There were still some twists I didn't see coming. I did find this to be a bit slow compared to what I prefer from a thriller/mystery and it also felt longer than needed. I did find myself wanting to skim through some portions just because I felt like it could already be over. The book does get very messy and there are a lot of characters and stories to keep up with and the inclusion of the small romance side plot just felt unnecessary to me. So pretty much, I liked it, didn't love it but I will definitely be on the look out for Jamie Day's next book.

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

🌪️ T W I S T E D T H U R S D A Y 🌪️ featuring “One Big Happy Family” by Jamie Day!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

The Bishop sisters and their families arrive at their family owned hotel called The Precipice on the coast of Maine. Their father has recently passed and they are meeting at the hotel for his will reading.

The family dynamic is dark, twisted and full of age old secrets and each sister is out for themselves when it comes to their inheritance. As the staff of the hotel are frantically trying to weather proof the hotel in preparation for the looming Hurricane Harry, they get mixed into the savage family affairs! After the dramatic will reading, one of the guests winds up dead and everyone left inside the hotel is now a suspect 👀!

How far will these sisters go to mark their territory and claim what’s theirs?? When threatening riddles show up around the hotel, the spotlight is directly on the sisters to uncover their secrets once and for all!

I really enjoyed this summertime suspense filled with PIPING hot tea about a family that holds onto more secrets than can fit inside their hotel! The SNEAKY twists and turns, the SINISTER brewing hurricane and the SHADY characters make this book a bingeable page turner!

Thank you kindly to Jamie Day @stmartinspress @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on July 16, 2024!

With a gorgeous cover and a remote setting in Maine, this one was set up to be a great summer thriller. The focal point is a hotel filled with eclectic antiques, The Precipice. The hotel owner has died, and the reading of his will brings his family to town. Hot on the heels of his daughters is an incoming hurricane.

There’s also the maid, Charley, in the thick of things. She’s an endearing character who works to keep her grandmother in memory care and wonders how to get ahead.

And Bree, fleeing an abusive boyfriend, seeks refuge at the hotel in the storm. The Bishop sisters bring their two sons and a husband as well. So it’s a full cast of characters at the hotel. They all have secrets and pasts they would prefer to keep hidden.

After the will is read, there’s a dramatic murder, and everyone is trapped in the hotel because of the storm.

Doesn’t this sound like a great premise? I’m not sure where it all fell apart for me. It was a slow read, which is not good with a thriller. There were too many characters with backstories to try and keep straight. After a slow start, it seemed like too many things were happening simultaneously, with uneven pacing.

I liked a few things about the ending, but it didn’t seem like all the characters could be redeemed overnight. I definitely liked the author’s first book much better than this one. I hope she returns to the form of that earlier one with her next book.

One Big Happy Family is the story of the Bishop family – the owners of the Precipice, a hotel on the coast of Maine. The father, George, has passed away. The sisters (Iris, Vicki and Faith) are coming home to meet with the family lawyer and read their father’s will. A hurricane is fast approaching the area so all of the guests have cancelled their plans. The only people left at the hotel are the three staff members. Rodrigo (front desk) and Olga (cook) abandon the hotel before the storm arrives. Charley (housekeeping) has no where else to go so she stays. Charley has secrets. She pilfers from the guests to have enough money to keep her grandmother in a home. She also is hiding a woman who has a tale of an abusive boyfriend. As the sisters arrive with their families, the reader discovers all is not happy in the Bishop family. Each sister has secrets they don’t want to share. There is also a secret from their childhood they are trying to keep quiet. As deaths occur and the storm intensifies, everything comes out in the open. I didn’t find any of the characters likeable. I’m glad that I finished it. It does have a surprise ending that I didn’t predict.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the book #OneBigHappyFamily by #JamieDay. I found this roller coaster ride of a book just fantastic. Charley is a 19 year old who is working and living in a big hotel to help support her grandmother who is in an Alzheimer’s home. When her boss passes away and his family shows up for the reading of the will, things quickly get out of control. Secrets come out, some people are murdered and the twist ending is spectacular.

Story: 4⭐️
Narration: 5⭐️
Overall: 4.25⭐️

I did a tandem audio/ebook read of this book, and what a ride it was.

Starting with the narration performance part of the review, Saskia Maarleveld was fantastic. She had a very concise and natural cadence to her delivery. I was consistently impressed with the subtle yet distinct tone and pitch she shifted between to differentiate the multiple female characters she needed to portray. She also had a pleasant delivery on the male characters that didn’t make her sound like she was trying too hard to be overtly masculine with her tone. Her transitions between characters were smooth and offered easy clarity. She did a great job bringing the story to life.

The twists and turns this book took were abundant. There were a lot of surprises that I didn’t see coming, and I was really impressed with the build up to everything. It kept me riveted and anxious for what was going to be revealed next. Some of the twists were somewhat predictable, but still enjoyable parts of the overall plot regardless. Essentially, the entire family was infected with various demons and was entirely dysfunctional. It made for an entertaining mess that needed to be cleaned up. Some of the motivations and end games behind some the actions maybe didn’t quite seem worth the effort to me though. There was A LOT going on in this family and outside of it, almost too much at times, but overall Jamie Day executed the delivery of it all really well.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the ALC/eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The setting and the premise of this novel are most enticing, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. It couldn’t hold my attention for more than a few pages at a time. Hopefully others will enjoy it.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

🎧Song Pairing: Father of Mine - Everclear

💭What I thought would happen:

Drama. With big families comes thirsty drama😈

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

Do you like family drama? Like not a little I’m talking backstabbing, hateful shiiiiit. Then this is the book for you 😂

I really enjoyed Block Party! So fun and the ending was wild so I expected the same. But was a bit of a flop. Like a flaccid little peen 🍤

Read if:
🤦🏼‍♀️You have sisters
😈Wish ill on your BIL/SIL
⛈️Love hurricanes
💜Have worked for hateful people

Can a family as dysfunctional as the Bishop’s truly be happy? They might think so. Wonderfully woven together, Jamie Day has given us another page turning thriller. This took me one day to get through because I just couldn’t get enough.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the free book!

This one was a WILD and CRAZY family drama/thriller that I read start to finish in a day! If you read Jamie Day's debut book THE BLOCK PARTY and enjoyed it, you'll definitely enjoy this one! They followed a very similar pattern and both had some INSANE endings. The last roughly 10% of both of her books were off-the-wall crazy and my favorite part of both of the books.

I knew from the cover alone that this family wouldn't be NORMAL, but I didn't expect them to be as INSANE as they were. The book begins with 3 sisters meeting up at their family hotel after the passing of their father. All of the sisters are crazy (what more could we want?) and full of secrets and the drama is REAL!

Some of the plot was definitely unbelievable and over the top, but I was thoroughly entertained, so it didn't bother me!

The audiobook was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld and as always, she did an excellent job!

This will be available for purchase on July 16th!

3.5 stars rounded up for GR

3.5 stars

Lock the door and prepare for a creepy, sinister mystery that will leave you wondering if anyone should get to remain at the end of this wild affair!

Charley, the m.c., is 19 and a maid at an eclectic, family run hotel in Maine. Though she is young, it's very easy to forget that. She has weathered some storms (yep. Intended!), and she continues to struggle. In addition to losing her mother, Charley is also financially responsible for herself and for her grandmother, who lives in a nearby facility. This - on her salary and with her limited support system - is all particularly challenging.

Though readers get to know Charley early on, the arrival of her now deceased boss's children and grandchildren - along with a surprise guest - completely upends her world. The three children, sisters, are all arriving with both kinds of baggage, and they are prepared to spill every drop of tea while a storm traps them in their family's most unusual asset. People start dying, secrets get revealed, and the past becomes present.

I was excited to read this one because I really enjoyed Day's _The Block Party_. While I also liked this one overall, the pacing was much slower for me. I listened to the audio and at times found myself tuning out and having to back track a bit, which was not an experience I had with the previous book. This is a good beach read as it's entertaining enough but does not require the focus that this genre often does.

I really enjoyed the first book by this author and was really looking forward to reading it.

Charley (pet peeve- can't we use female names for females please?) is working hard at the Precipice Hotel to pay for her grandmother's care. The owner of the hotel dies and his three daughters are arriving along with the father's attorney for a will reading. What could possibly go wrong you say? How about a hurricane is approaching and they will be trapped in the hotel for the duration.

Throw in a few deaths, a séance-like card reading by a nephew and a concierge who has issues with the attorney and you have a pretty effective locked room murder situation.

The first part kept my interest, second started to drag. I skipped a bit of part 3 and part 4 answered most of the questions in a satisfactory way.

Than you NetGalley for an advance reader copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.