Charley has lived life in the eye of a storm, but now a real hurricane is bearing down on her. As she prepares The Precipice with the other hotel staff, she also contends with the impending arrival of the three sisters who have the power to change her circumstances, for good or ill. Add in the wildcard of a woman in dire straits who request's her help, and everything ratchets up another notch. This will appeal to fans of cozy mystery or psychological suspense who are willing to suspend their disbelief.

This is a locked-room (hotel) thriller about a dysfunctional family coming together for a will reading at their family's hotel, and the maid who works for them. While a hurricane brews outside trapping them all together, secrets and betrayals are revealed inside. Charley, the maid and FMC is barely scraping by taking care of her Nana and needs this job so she agrees to subject herself to the craziness that ensues. This book gave me Knives Out vibes with lots of untrustworthy characters and plot twists. I am only giving this a 3.5-star rating, however, because while this book was a fun read, it was very predictable. I figured out almost every single plot point from the beginning. I was not surprised by anything that happened, but I did still root for the main character and read it pretty quickly. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a popcorn thriller, or a locked-room mystery. Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to @netgalley and @StMartinsPress for this ARC. Charley lives and works at a hotel in Maine called The Precipice. The owner has just passed away and she is awaiting the arrival of the three daughters (Vicki, Iris and Faith) that were raised on property. After all arrive, the will is read and it is full of surprises. Full of anger, everyone goes to bed but Vicki's husband that is soon found dead in the hallway. Charley is stuck in the middle of the drama of the inheritance and now a murder. Each family member has a secret of their own but who wanted Vicki's husband dead? I figured it out but still a good read! #OneBigHappyFamily #JamieDay #StMartinsPress #July2024

I LOVED the Block Party by Jamie and was so excited to see a new novel come out. I liked the premise of One Big Happy Family, but it fell flat for me a bit for me. I loved the location- a seaside hotel in Maine and there definitely were parts that had me turning pages to see what was going to happen, but it wasn't my favorite.

I love Jamie Day's writing. So awesome and i will read anything this author writes.

It did start off slow but it held my interest and about 35% through it picked up.

This follows Charley who works as a maid at a hotel and not making enough to get by. When the own of the hotel passes away she gets very nervous as to what that means for her job.

When the daughters of the owner come to stay at the hotel and hear the will, Charley knows that these girls are nothing but trouble. She doesn't know who to trust or who to believe.

Story has suspense, mystery and just a well written book.
Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

A family with secrets, a will with surprises, a hurricane on the way and people are disappearing and dying. One Big Happy Family is had me turning pages as fast as I could to find out just what was really going on at The Precipice!

I felt like there was a little bit of a slow start, but by about halfway through it held my interest.
Charley is a maid in the Precipice Hotel. She lives on site and is barely making it. When the owner of the hotel dies, she begins to worry what that means for her. The three daughters of the owners are scheduled to come stay at the hotel for the funeral and the reading of the will. Vicki, Faith, and Iris do not have a good reputation in town, Charley knows they are going to bring trouble, but doesn't know the extent. With a hurricane on the way and then a murder, Charley doesn't know who to protect herself from.

The setting of 'One Big Happy Family' is a unique luxury hotel on the shores of Maine, a place that immediately brought to mind the iconic Burgh Island Hotel off the coasts of Devon - the setting of Agatha Christie's renowned novels. "The Precipice" is family-owned, with themed rooms where the Bishop's three sisters spend their childhood. Now, they returned because their father died in suspicious circumstances, and his will is to be read. The hotel has no guests, chased away by the upcoming hurricane. Only the 19-year-old maid,  the hotel manager Rodrigo, and the cook Olga remain, preparing the hotel for the hurricane.  The last two also fleet, so now we have the Bishop family – the sisters, one of the sister's husband, and another sister's wife, plus a precocious son and the older son. There is also one unexpected guest, Bree, hiding from her abusive boyfriend. The novel exudes a palpable sense of suspense from the 'locked room mystery' setting and the intense confrontational dialogues. The occasional appearance of a drawn gun and the revelation of old secrets add to the tension. The past is unveiled through chapters that read slightly like reports.

I did like the book, although (perhaps because I have read so many psychological thrillers) the twists didn't surprise me. Somehow, I couldn't really get immersed in the characters. I also could not escape comparing the protagonist Charley to another maid, Molly, featured in different mystery novels. It's a solid thriller, and after reading two of Jamie Day's mysteries, I'm curious about what she'll write next.

I was a huge fan of The Block Party so when I saw this one available I signed up immediately and was thrilled to get the ARC.

The synopsis of the book had me hopeful; locked room mystery, high stakes, dead bodies, family secrets, a hurricane, and a maid of a coastal hotel. I mean, who wouldn't get excited?

While the storyline was well described, I just didn't find this one as intriguing as I had hoped. It felt a bit predictable and Charley (the maid) didn't garner a lot of sympathetic feelings from me. Maybe that's the issue I had of not feeling connected to any of the characters, except Rodrigo, and his character wasn't involved as much as I wanted him to be. I also felt like the ending took a bit long to start wrapping up yet it still ended abruptly. The book wasn't strictly a thriller, it was more family drama. The family secrets are many and feel like a confetti popper when they start being revealed, entertaining, yes, believable, not so much. Some scenes were downright hilarious, lime green track suit is all I'm going to say. With that said, this is one of those rare instances where I think a movie version might be better. Truly, a movie could captivate the scenery, the storm, and the characters and give them so much life. I would still recommend this book, even though my rating would more likely be a 3.5 star. I would definitely see the movie if that were to be done and I will continue reading books by Jamie Day.

May thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Jamie Day, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book so that I could read and enjoy it before the July 16th publication date!

I think Jamie Day's humor and writing style work just a bit better for suburban drama, like in The Block Party, but I appreciate the locked-room setting -- a Maine hotel during a massive storm, what an eerie setting.

Jamie Day combines family drama, a north eastern hurricane and a large hotel atop a cliff in Maine to create an interesting murder mystery in “ One Big Happy Family”. This story has quite a few twists and turns and was quite enjoyable.

I was so excited to receive this book and had such high hopes! Great setting, love the cover and seaside Maine with a hurricane on the way?!? What's not to love? I was also enamored with Charley, the main character. So much potential! But alas as the story unfolded it just didn't hold my interest. It seemed to drag in some parts and the characters were very one dimensional. I'm giving this 2..5 stars rounded up to 3. I've seen lots of glowing reviews so maybe it's me!

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. My first from this author. I did enjoy the writing, recommend for a fast, fun read.

Family secrets and murder in a clifftop hotel in the middle of a hurricane. The description of this book really drew me in. Three sisters are called to the hotel their father owns after his unexpected passing and they all want what is rightfully theirs. Charley, the chambermaid, gets a front row seat to the family secrets and has no idea what she’s in for. I enjoyed the plot and the fleshed out characters and the last hour and a half of reading time on my kindle was spent binging on my couch. It was a sort of predictable thriller though as I guess a good portion of the plot not too far into the book but despite that, it was still an enjoyable read. Thank you to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of this ebook.

This book started off with a bang but then seemed to drag on and on. I knew that the one character who no-one knew was going to be behind whatever was going to happen. Too many unbelievable things happening and the ending wrapped up way too quickly.

A reading of their father's will at the Bishop family’s luxurious hotel brings everyone together.

They really do not like each other, have secrets, and haven’t seen each other for a while.

Most likely it will be a stormy reading along with the hurricane that is predicted to arrive in a few days.

As the family waits for the attorney to arrive they can hear the wind howling and the waves crashing outside.

There is also a lot of noise inside with the feuding siblings and a maid who is hiding a guest that happened to appear out of the blue and says she needs a place to hide from her abusive boyfriend.

When the will is read, there is a huge outburst because of the distribution.

How will it all turn out? Or should we say: Who will win out - the storm, the siblings, or neither one?

Things get crazier as the family gets crazier, and a few of the group won’t be leaving.

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY was a little slow at first, and I lost interest when the book gave background information on the characters, but the current-day storyline is intense and good. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I found the author’s debut novel, The Block Party, entertaining so I requested this one on Net Galley. I kind of feel the same way about this one. It was not the best suspense novel, but kept me entertained. I’m thinking that in both books, I didn’t feel a good connection to any of the characters, in fact I disliked most of them. Charley is the exception although I didn’t love her.
Charley is a maid in a hotel on the coast of Maine. The owner dies bringing his three daughters to the hotel. A hurricane hits so everyone is stuck at the hotel. Madness ensues including a couple of murders. It got pretty exciting as the story peaked bringing surprises and an excellent wrap up.

DNF (Did Not Finish): I granted it 1 star because NetGalley requires a rating, but on other platforms, I gave it no rating.

United States Publication: July 16, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

A family-run hotel off the coast of Maine is the location for this mystery. And 19-year-old chambermaid Charley Kelley is at the center of the drama. Until recently, her boss was the patriarch of the Bishop family, the owners of this hotel, but he's passed away, and now his three daughters and various family members are descending on the hotel for the reading of the will and to settle the estate. Charley is a ball of nerves because she's unsure of what her future is at The Precipice, she needs this job in order to take care of her Grandma. But when an abused woman on the run ends up needing sanctuary, and Charley offers her a room, for free, at the hotel, and then a Bishop family member ends up dead, and a hurricane is bearing down on them, things start to get really dicey.

I got 61% in and gave up. In truth, I should have given up on the book well before then. By 50% I was bored and irritated with it. This read was very clunky to me; the characters were more than annoying - even Charley, whom I suspect the reader is supposed to be sympathetic to. By the time I gave up on the story, several family secrets had been revealed, and Charley's role in things was murky. I flat-out wasn't enjoying the story or characters and didn't care who had done what, when, and why. This one wasn't for me.

Rating: 3.75 ⭐️s

I felt like this book had a very slow beginning. It took awhile for me to be fully invested in the story and the plot. You feel sorry for the FMC who works day in and day out to make sure her nana is taken care of in the nursing home. She does things that make her a bit shady, but she has a good heart.

This book is one where everyone involved has a motive. The family are all together for the first time since childhood for the reading of their late father, who owned the hotel. None of the girls had a great relationship with their father. He was a crappy father and they grew up seeing and hearing him cheat on their mother.

After the will is read, more anger ensues and eventually, there is a murder. Things go down hill from there.

I felt like that was the point the chips begin to fall. You get to know the history of the sisters, Charlie and eventually, her friend Bree. Everyone has secrets and they would kill to keep them.

I love a locked door thriller. It always makes me excited to see how it ends. This one was no different. The pacing wasn’t the best, but I still enjoyed the read and I liked the ending.

There was a bit of a romance within the plot, not to the point where it took away from the story, but it was a sweet part of the storyline nonetheless.

I think everyone should give this book a try! It comes out July 16th, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley for the early access to read and review the book. The review is my own thoughts about the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for trusting me with One Big Happy Family. While Jamie Day is a new author for me, I was drawn to this book since it is about families, specifically relationships between sisters.

This books takes place at a hotel in Maine. We are first introduced to the main character, Charley. She is a maid at the hotel and is struggling to have enough money to take care of her grandmother. The owners of the hotel has recently died and his three daughters are coming to the hotel for the reading of the will just as Hurricane Larry is headed their way. Just before the daughters arrive, Charley is approached by a stranger, Bree, who is running from her abusive boyfriend. Bree asks Charley if she can hide at the hotel in exchange for money. The three daughters, spouses, children and lawyer arrive just as the weather (and the family situation) deteriorates and secrets are revealed.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Families are like onions, there are a lot of layers and it takes time to peel back those layers.