I wanted to love this because The Block Party was one of my favorite books of 2023 but I just didn’t connect with any of the characters.

Where do I begin…. This book has so many twists and turns I was NOT expecting them.

Charley is a maid at the Prescipise Hotel in Maine. Trying to better her life and move on from being a maid, she agrees to help Bree, who is a young woman claiming to be running away from her abusive boyfriend. Harboring Bree was the first mistake Charley makes. One murder after another and the Bishop sisters have a secret they need to share… but will they?

Review: I did enjoy this book and give it 4 stars. However, there are a few things I didn’t particularly like. For one, I just so happen to be reading The Maid at the same time and there are some similarities between the two books. The maid, a murder(s) in the hotel, an unexpected killer. I also thought the book was a little drawn out. LOVED the beginning, as I was hooked right away and the ending was a good plot twist. But I think the middle of the book could have been shortened a little and not drawn out as much.

Overall, would recommend and I enjoyed!

Where do I start? There are so many secrets in this story that I can't keep them straight. When Charley, the 19-year-old chambermaid, decides to help out a stranded stranger, she has no idea what else the storm will bring. When the Bishop sisters (and Todd) were first introduced, I couldn't help but find them all highly unlikeable. I honestly didn't know how I was going to be able to get through the book. But as this family's secrets started to unfold, I found myself drawn in, wanting to know what was next. Even though I "called" some of the twists early on, I still enjoyed reading to see if something would throw me off. Although I wasn't completely sold on how things ended for the Bishop sisters, it wasn't enough to sour me on the rest of the book.

A families twisted secrets come to light during a powerful storm and no one has a place to hide away from each other because they are sheltering in place for safety.
The way it all comes together at the end is genius ✨
I did find the main character to be very naive, but I guess it all came with her helpful personality which worked out for her after all.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s press for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback

An edge of your seat "locked room" thriller that had me guessing until the very end. Charley worked as a maid at The Precipice Hotel, which was owned by George, a lecherous old man, who made Charley's life miserable. She needed the job badly since she also lived at the hotel and was paying for her grandmothers assisted living care. George dies. leaving Charley's fate up in the air. His family comes to the hotel to hear the reading of George's will. Charley is terrified she will lose her job when his family takes over the hotel. George's dysfunctional family arrives during the start of a raging hurricane and the will is read by George's lawyer. There were many surprises uncovered in the will, that to some members of the family were not good surprises. Pandemonium ensues and the hurricane adds to the mayhem. Secrets come out and family members are pitted against each other, and no one knows who they can trust. Add in the raging hurricane which doesn't allow anyone to leave and also makes the old hotel creak and moan and the lights keep going out. All ingredients for a good creepy thriller. I loved every minute of it! #JamieDay #StMartinsPress

I was really excited to read this book when I first heard about it. The first few chapters I was hooked, l was enjoying the idea of the old hotel, the hurricane coming and the main character. But then once all the other characters started popping in and we focused more on them I started to lose all my attention. I didn’t like any of the characters, their stories or how they fell apart and came back together. It just felt like a lot was thrown into it and it made it confusing, not entertaining and it felt like it dragged on.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this pre release copy.

'One Big Happy Family' is not so happy, after the siblings all arrive at the Precipice Hotel for the reading of their fathers' will. The hotel has been in the family for years, inhabited by the young chambermaid, Charley, who has some secrets of her own, one perhaps bigger than all the sisters' combined.
I had misgivings going into this book as it sounded like so many similar books I've read; people trapped in a hotel with an upcoming storm on the way; but I liked this better than I expected. The entire book is told from Charleys' point of view, which is unique. You feel for her, despite her thieving ways, since all her income from this job goes towards her rent, and her grandmother's, who is in a nursing home. The 4 sisters are so different; a money hungry business woman, a model, a vegetarian yogi, and a former drug addict that has found faith. All 4 are well developed and good suspects when a murder occurs. No one can leave, and there is now a killer among them, what else could go wrong? The author does a good job with the pacing of the story, and racks up the suspense as the plot unfolds. We soon learn Charley's real motives, as well as the sisters'. There's also some potential romance here with Charley and Vicki's son. The middle part of the book could have been tightened up a bit, as overall the book clocks in at 368 pages. I was kept on the edge of my seat, and surprised with several twists towards the end, always a good thing.

This book was full of drama, plot twists, scandal, and a touch of romance. One Big Happy Family really had something for everyone. The setting takes place on the East Coast in a hotel owned by a wealthy man who is one of the protagonists of this book. If you’re looking for a good summer thriller, One Big Happy Family is it!
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy of this book. It will available for purchase on July 16th, 2024. Go preorder it, totally worth reading.

Books with family dynamics pull you in. Yes it could be a little show moving and involved but don't we all like to see what makes families tick. Throw in murder and now it's game on. Twists and turns make this very interesting, albeit a little too long.

Although this book synopsis sounded interesting I just found it overall very slow. There was a lot of details given that I felt like were not needed and I just was never pulled in by any of the characters. I really enjoyed Jamie Day's debut novel " The Block Party" so will definitely read her next novel as well.

This is the second book I have read by Jamie Day. Her first book I read, Block Party, was so good so I was very excited to read this one.
I didn’t like it as much as her other book I read, but I still enjoyed it! The one thing I had trouble with was it is a bit slow and there are times when there are a lot more information given then I think was needed.
Other than that I would recommend it. Lots of twist and turns and kept me guessing on what was really going on.

The story centers around what I believe to be an amazing hotel. Located in Maine, the author did a wonderful job with imagery and the property sounds to be out of this world. While the Precipice sounds like a place I want to visit the owners are people I want to avoid.

When Mr. Bishop dies, his daughters all fly in for the reading of his will, and a hurricane. This delightful cast of. characters; the maid, the sisters, the manager all combine to make a funny, suspenseful but lengthy story.

With more twists, turns, and murders that I can count, One Big Happy Family is not all that it seems. This will be a popular summer read!

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY
BY: JAMIE DAY

About 4.5 Stars happily rounded up!

I tried this author who is new to me and thought overall that it is a good locked room mystery-thriller combination. It is written by Jamie Day and the title chosen is a perfect fit called, "One Big Happy Family." I'm being facetious because if you looked up the phrase 'dysfunctional family' in the dictionary you would view a portrait of this unhappy group. Add in a hurricane where there is no cell phone service, deliberately destroyed WiFi, and a murderer on the loose and things start getting creepy. Charlie Kelly is a maid who is nineteen years old and she depends on her wages, tips and her beloved Nana's Social Security check to be able to keep her small apartment. Charley would do anything for her Nana who is suffering from dementia because they have always been close. Charlie never met her father and her mother died of a drug overdose leaving her Nana to take care of Charlie and love her. Now it's Charlie's turn to keep her Nana safe in an assisted living type of set up. The owner of the Precipice Hotel where she has worked for two years has just died. Charlie lives there in a small room off the kitchen that used to be a utility closet and is rent free with meals included.

In this atmospheric suspense driven thriller there isn't much activity to the small town in Northern Maine that overlooks a cliff drop where the ocean is choppy. The Precipice Hotel sits right on the property facing the ocean bordering a rocky cliff side. George Bishop died suddenly of a heart attack and his three adult daughters are here to meet with their father's attorney named Brenda Black for a reading of the will. Charley doesn't know if she's going to lose her job and home. It's clear that the three Bishop sisters have an ax to grind with one another.

Rodrigo was the hotel manager and he has old business to settle with Attorney Brenda Black. Charley has agreed to allow Bree to hide in one of the Precipice Hotel rooms since she's fleeing from an abusive boyfriend and doesn't have the money to pay. The three Bishop sisters Victoria, Faith and Iris have just arrived and Victoria and her husband Todd want to stay in the Library room where Bree is hiding out. Faith and her wife Hope are there with their son Oliver. Iris is driven up last with Victoria and Todd's son Quinn because Iris doesn't have a drivers license. Things do not go well at dinner and when the will is read things go from bad to worse.

George Bishop's estate with the Precipice Hotel is worth six million dollars. He wrote Faith out of the will leaving her nothing. He left Iris's money with Vicki's husband Todd as the conservator giving Victoria and Todd two thirds. Before the night is out someone will be dead.

I was impressed with the layers slowly peeling away new discoveries of why the Bishop sisters had so much animosity between them. Those discoveries take place in part two of this lengthy novel. It flashes backwards in time at which I was initially disappointed because I was so invested and couldn't turn the pages fast enough once the murders began. I never knew who would be next since everyone there had done something horrible to someone else except Charley. I soon learned how integral all of the sisters pasts where relevant to drive the present part of the plot forward making it clear that everyone except Charley had motives for murder. The character development was superb and the plot was electrifying.

I thought that this was a little longer than it needed to be. After the first murder their is a second one with nobody knowing who the murderer is including the reader makes this a clever and highly addictive reading experience. At about 20% the pacing improves and with everybody not trusting anybody the plot becomes suspense driven. There are twists after twists after twists making this a roller coaster ride that I didn't want to put down. There was an over abundance of revelations that I didn't see coming and I really liked this mystery-thriller novel very much overall. The final piece of the puzzle was mind blowing and elevates this to a 4.5 star rating which I highly recommend to mystery and thriller fans.

Publication Date: July 16, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Jamie Day and St Martin's Press for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#OneBigHappyFamily #JamieDay #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

I don’t often say this but I felt like this book was a little bit long. Maybe drawn out in the middle? I kept falling asleep while reading in bed at night so it took me a long time to finish this. It wasn’t as suspenseful as I thought it would be. And there is one twist that I was not happy with because it didn’t seem believable. But all in all it was a good read.

Thank you to St. Martins publishing group and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I liked way the story was broken up and it definitely kept me guessing until the end. It was a fun and suspenseful read.

2.5 Stars

I received an advanced copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

"Restraining orders don’t help when someone is determined to kill you.”

At the legendary Precipice Hotel in coastal Maine, the Bishop sisters - Iris, Vicki, and Faith - gather after their father's recent passing to claim their inheritance. However, a looming hurricane and the sisters' concealed secrets set the stage for murder. As each sister contends for what's rightfully hers, the fate of the hotel's chambermaid, Charley Kelley, hangs in the balance. Charley, a resourceful nineteen-year-old with her own challenges, faces potential exposure of her secrets as the Bishop sisters' arrival threatens to unravel the delicate threads holding the precarious equilibrium.

This book had an intriguing premise, but I found the pacing to be rather slow, and the plot setup struck me as somewhat weird. The story's attempt to weave between the present and the past with the Bishop sisters' stories didn't quite resonate with me, and I felt a sense of disconnect to the overall story, drawing me out of it. There was an anticipation of something more substantial, but unfortunately, it didn't fully materialize. Despite the promising beginning, the overall experience left me with a sense of unfulfilled potential.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC by Jamie Day. I think plenty of people will enjoy this thriller, unfortunately it wasn’t my favorite. I appreciate the story and the characters, just wasn’t my cup of tea. I do recommend this one for who enjoy a slow burning mystery.

A dark and twisty locked room thriller that was just up my alley. Set in a remote area of Maine, a housekeeper of a famous old hotel finds herself in a precarious position. Her boss recently passed away and his children, whom she has never met, are all coming to read the will and discuss ownership of the new hotel. All in the wake of a vicious storm, threatening to cut off power and access to the rest of the world. Then, someone is found dead. Everything unfolds quickly and chaotically after that. Definitely a solid thriller I enjoyed!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

This was my first book by this author. I had a few issues with the novel like the way Charley discovered the family secret. It seemed far-fetched the way she was able to put the pieces together. There were other things that were outlandish, but it was enjoyable enough that it kept me turning the pages to see how things would unfold. None of the characters were remotely likable, and I didn’t really find myself connecting with any. Overall it was a fine read.

“One Big Happy Family” was SO good! I was mad at my work schedule because I just wanted to finish this book in one sitting. This mystery/thriller has many unexpected twists and turns, with great pacing – it wasn’t too much or crazy over the top. While the book primarily follows Charley, the young maid, there’s enough detail and backstory on the Bishop sisters provided to give readers the big picture on the family dynamics and secrets. I recommend this book for those who love a good mystery/thriller! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.