Twists, turns and lots of drama! It was difficult to put down and I was surprised and pleased with the ending.

Charley, a young maid with no family but her dementia-afflicted grandmother is working for minimal pay in a remote, high end Maine hotel on the coast filled with antiques - and secrets. After the owner’s death, the attorney, and his three daughters and their families come for the reading of the will while a hurricane is headed straight for the little town. Charley is worried about impending changes and how they will affect her ability to support her grandmother’s care, and rightfully so. Cryptic messages have everyone on edge after one death and another disappearance.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and author Jamie Day for the Arc Copy!

Twists and turns and family drama. What more could you ask for?! I sped through this book at such a fast pace just to be shocked and pleasantly surprised by the end!

This book had me on the edge of my seat. I was so enthralled with this book the whole time. The family and other characters in this story were so annoying, making me need to see what happened at the end. The ending caught me off guard, which is what I always want in a thriller/mystery book. The book was every bit chaotic and fast paced like a thriller should be. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of this book.

This was quite an interesting book! I had trouble putting it down and easily got drawn into the story. I spent a good amount of time while not reading trying to figure out who the bad guy(s) was. But I hadn’t spent more than a few seconds near the truth before I convinced myself it could work. Boy, was I wrong!

I liked Charley’s voice in this, even if I felt parts of the story could have been in 3rd person for all she actually did in the story. Lots of listening and seeing what other people did while she sat or stood there. I guess, in a way, that’s what happens when you’re a maid—you blend in to the background. So it worked, I guess.

This story was so twisty and turn-y, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for this book to review. This is my first book by Jamie Day, and it might just be that her writing isn’t for me. I found the book to be too wordy. I prefer dialogue and action, and this book had pages and pages of exposition. Description is important for a book, but not to the point where you’re dreading the next thing for the author to describe because it’s going to take a while to get to the point.

There was just so much going on in this, and the characters were all over the place. Some things just weren’t realistic or consistent, and the characters vascular between being unbelievable gullible and naive, to having insightful intuition and character judgement the next moment.

It was also weird the way Quinn who was a college student, was referred to multiple times as a kid by someone younger than him, and Ollie’s character was portrayed as autistic in most scenes and completely neurotypical in others.

It was just odd, wildly dramatic, and not believable to me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

This book takes place in a very cool setting. A family-owned, antique-filled hotel called The Precipe. We are first introduced to a maid named Charley who we follow throughout the story. Although Charley does her best to keep a calmness at the hotel, a storm is brewing outside as well as the drama that is to come. Drama unwinds quickly throughout this book, especially when The Bishop sisters, the daughters of George Bishop, the owner of the hotel, arrive for the reading of George's will.

Filled with drama, family secrets and twists, Jamie Day took me on such a ride with this one. I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this Egalley.
4 stars!

Book comes out July 16th, 2024

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Always fun to read about a story taking place in the elements. Lots of thought provoking pieces to this plot and I like the way it kept my interest and all came together as the story progressed

Just before a huge storm the Bishop sisters travel to the Precious Hotel for the reading of their late father's will. Tensions rise as the storm ramps up and they soon discover there are more secrets between them.

This was a great murder mystery with a twist I did not see coming! I'm usually good at being able to suss out the murderer in a story, but this one kept me guessing. There are layers to this story which makes it stand out against more one dimensional reads.

I like that the story didn't lean on the usual tropes you might see in mysteries in this genre. I think that was a big part of why this was really fun to read. Nothing about this was predictable, so it kept my attention through the entire book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I read The Block Party and liked it. I was excited to learn of this new book.

I liked it - I didn’t love it. It went on a little too long for my taste and there was a lot going on. Overall it was an interesting read with some twists and turns.

I was really excited to read One Big Happy Family as I really enjoyed “The Block Party.”

Unfortunately, I felt that the book was too long and dragged on. I started getting bored after about 20% and I was easily able to predict what was going to happen and how the story was going to end which made it harder for me to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book, which publishes on July 16, 2024.

The Bishop sisters have returned to town after being estranged for several years. Their father has recently passed and his will is being read during a hurricane. Who will inherit his money? Who will inherit his hotel? When everyone is harboring secrets, what could possibly go wrong?

We meet the Bishop sisters and their families, current staff, and learn of secrets of the past. The story, mostly set in current day flows together nicely, though there are some scenes that play out that are a hit over the top. I kept waiting for the protagonist to get her comeuppance. Twists and turns had me guessing throughout, and a surprising ending left me wanting more.

Not sure if it was me that was the problem, or the story, but I couldn’t get into this one. I read about 30% before deciding to DNF, so will not be providing feedback at this time due to not finishing the story. I intend to go back and try again at some point, because other reviews sound really promising! (The two stars rating is only because Netgalley requires you to star the book in order to sent a review. That’s not representative of how I felt about the story since I didn’t get far enough in to really know.)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for a readers copy of this title. My reviews never contain spoilers and are freely given.
Charley works as a maid at The Precipice, a hotel along the sea coast. The owner has died and his dysfunctional family arrives for the reading of the will shortly before a hurricane strikes. Trapped in the hotel, and after the will is read, murder begins.
The book is entertaining and the reader can’t help but feel sympathetic toward Charley. Most of the of the characters are really strange, and some downright unlikeable. The story resolves in a manner that will satisfy most readers.

Jamie Day's Block party (previous book) was so much fun, When One Big Happy Family came out I was thrilled to read it. But darn it this one did gel with me as well as the other one did.
It was still super entertaining with tons of twists and turns, but it all felt a bit much for me. This one needs to be read on vacation where you can walk away jump in the pool and then get back into the book. Its one to read but for me will be forgettable.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

The Precipice Hotel is owned by the Bishop family, whose lies and secrets have been festering for many years. During a hurricane, the sisters and others are trapped inside the hotel, where they are asked to confess their past sins in order to avoid anyone being murdered. I found this book to be interesting, and I gave it 3/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of this to read and review.

Charley is working as a maid at the Precipice Hotel for a boss with too much interest where it doesn't belong, but she has no other good options as she is also taking care of her Nana with Alzheimer's. Then her boss dies and his daughters will be coming in for the reading of the will. Oh and also, there is a terrible hurricane moving in....what could go wrong?? Who will be taking over the hotel, Charley really needs this job... Once the sisters arrive, so do the twists and turns! So many secrets, some new, some very very old...who can Charley trust, and should she? This was a fast-paced read (I have been in a bit of a slump so far in 2024 so everything is taking me a little longer than it should for some reason.) I enjoyed every twist, turn, and big reveal that came flying at me!

Once Big Happy Family by: Jamie Day, expected Publication date July 16, 2024.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and Jamie Day for a chance to read this ARC

I really enjoyed The Block Party, so I was super excited to receive this! This was a solid locked-room thriller! The secrets, twists, and turns kept me intrigued and although somewhat predictable at times it was still very enjoyable. A solid 3 star read!

I really wanted to love this book but it just fell a little too flat for me. The setting of the novel was great and I liked that it was a "locked in" style storyline. However, I feel like more could have happened with the hurricane to make the situation a bit more exciting. The ending was fairly predictable (I knew she couldn't be trusted) and overall I just felt like the book could have been a lot shorter and still accomplished what it did. This is going to have to be a 3.5 stars rounded down for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel.