Jamie Day has quickly become a favorite author for me. I adored her debut, and wasn't at all disappointment by her sophomore novel. It was one of the first books I read in 2024, and I was completely enthralled by the setting, plot, and characters. Set over the course of a long weekend, during a hurricane in an old inn - this one was giving Agatha Christie meets Liane Moriarty. Grateful for the advance copy and can't wait for the next book from this author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5/5)
Add this book to your TBR list if you like intense, family drama, beachside thrillers. I had the honor of reading Jamie Days newest novel that comes out July 16. I loved her book Block Party (another great book to add to your TBR). She has such a great way with writing that keeps you hanging on until the end trying to figure out who did it. Each time I think I know, she creates a few crazy plot twists, and I’m left blindsided. A sweet chambermaid with a sad story that your heart goes out to, working at the beachside hotel trying to make it in this world. And boy oh boy is she caught in a storm of this family. The death of the hotel owner, brings his three daughters to read the will. But with that a hurricane rolls in…..literally and figuratively. Secret messages, a hidden painting, no service, lights out, poison berries, jealousy, a gun, a hostage situation, and everyone is for themself. More and more secrets come to the table of their pasts that intertwine in shocking ways, and more lives are lost because of them. I was in such suspense until the end! My husband knew to not bother me towards the end, because I was so engulfed by the story. Excited for you all to read this book! Thank you @jamieday for allowing me to read and review your new novel #onebighappyfamily. #netgalley

Big thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this new book, “One Big Happy Family.”
For me, the story had a great storyline, but was not written in a flow that kept me engaged. Because of this, I put it to the side and read other books, and then went back to this.
The story is about a young woman who is a maid at a hotel where after a death, the family members come and take over.
The story just doesn’t have the twists and turns written in a way that I hoped it would, but it does have a lot of twist and turns.
So for me, this is 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed “The Block Party” by this author and had high hopes for this book. It did not disappoint. It was juicy and thrilling. Definitely recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great mix of suspense and women’s fiction for me. I also loved the setting of a boutique hotel on a cliff in coastal Maine. I honestly thought this ran a little long, but it was still enjoyable. The one piece of advice I have is that this is not the book for you if you are not able to go along with plot lines and characters that might not seem completely realistic. However, if you are down for a mini saga full of characters and suspenseful situations bordering on soap opera territory, then don’t hesitate because you will sink in and have fun with this one.

I had such high hopes for this one because of the blurb. High thrills stakes, a dead body, family secrets and a hurricane bearing down on an out of the way coastal hotel. Sign me up!

I liked the atmosphere and the location as they were described well but the actual story wasn't as thrilling as I expected. It had more than a few things that were, to me, predictable and this just went on longer than it needed to. In the end, this felt less psychological thriller and more family secrets saga (and some of the sisters' stuff was eye-rollingly petty). Not bad but not exactly what I was looking for. This is the first I've read by Day and I would definitely read another.

Thank you for Netgalley for the approval. Thoroughly enjoyed the story, short chapters, and each one kept you wanting more. The storyline flowed well, it could have been shorter, but overall I appreciated how the author tied the story together at the end.

This book will keep your attention from the beginning to the end. I thought I had it figured out and then found out I was totally wrong. Shows what I know! Lol. Jamie Day did a very good job with this one and I enjoyed reading it. I fell in love with Charley and was always worried about something happening to her,.

Charley is a young lady that has been a maid at the Precipice for years since George offered her a place to stay and a job all in one. When George passes away though, his daughters are left to deal with the Precipice and what to do with it. The Bishop sisters, Iris, Vickie and Faith have the job of deciding what to do with the Precipice and deal with their father's affairs. The Bishop sisters have come in for the weekend to have their father's funeral and wouldn't you know it a hurricane is headed for the area.

When attorney Black comes to read the will of George Bishop, things begin to get interesting at the Precipice. Secrets come out and claws do too. On top of everything else that is going on, Charley and her big heart has taken in a stranger that says she is on the run from her boyfriend and needs a place to stay. If there is anything that I have learned from this story is that you can trust no one. Always keep your guard up even when you think there is no reason to.

I know you will enjoy reading about the Bishop sisters and Charley as I did. This one was well thought out and flowed very well. I fell in love with Charley and was rooting for her the whole time.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book. I enjoyed it.

I read Jamie Day's debut novel, The Block Party. It was a tale of suburban secrets. This novel felt completely different. Because I was expecting a similar style, I was unfortunately disappointed, This was a really dark, convoluted tale with many characters I found hard to follow. I would be happy to give her next work a try but this one fell short of the mark.

There are both literal and metaphorical storm clouds gathering in Jamie Day’s One Big Happy Family as the Bishop sisters return to their coastal main town to settle their un-mourned father’s affairs at the Precipice, the hotel he owned. While the sisters have secrets they’re desperate to hide, they’re trying to uncover their fathers’. Charley Kelly, a young chambermaid at the Precipice with secrets of her own, bears witness to the events of the next few days, which include a contested will, a mysterious guest and a suspicious death…and that’s before a massive hurricane makes landfall. Charley narrates the majority of the book, with help from the Bishop sisters. No matter who’s narrating, Day keeps up the plot pacing and keeps the readers guessing. While the locked room mystery of One Big Happy Family stimulates the reader’s brain, its exploration of the relationships that make us who we are hook the reader’s heart. One Big Happy Family will be released on July 16 and it’s an ideal book to take with you on your summer family vacation…just be sure toc heck the weather forecast first.

I wanted to love this book like I did The Block Party, but had a hard time getting into it. I picked up several times to read and just keep putting it down over and over. I was finally able to get through, but found it rather boring.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy of One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day. This book is about family secrets, a hurricane, and an old hotel. The story sucked me in with detailed writing and I could imagine the beautiful Maine setting. It’s a great psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.

This is a locked room mystery located in an isolated hotel in Maine. Our protagonist is a nineteen-year-old female maid. The not-nice male owner dies, and his three evil daughters show up. Once they arrive, the murders begin. Sometimes the story reads a bit too much like a Nancy Drew novel, which is because a teenager is narrating. Still, it was fun trying to guess who is the craziest sister with some crazy twists.

After the death of their father, the three Bishop sisters return home during an impending hurricane to claim their inheritence, the hotel Precipice. Each sister harbors a secret. Charlie, the young hotel chamber maid, is afraid the sisters might close the hotel and she desperately needs the income to support her grandmother. She's also hiding an abused woman in one of the rooms. This had a good plot and started off at a fast pace, but then it just dragged in the middle, The pace picked up during the last part of the book but the characters were just so unlikeable that by the end of the book I just didn't care whodunit.

{⭐️⭐️💫- ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY - Jamie Day}

I feel bad saying it, but this book was just not good. I was interested in the beginning where you got to know the main character and the history of the hotel but as each additional character got brought in the story just drastically went downhill for me. It was a murder mystery where quite honestly I was happy the characters who got murdered died anyway, and the writing was on the wall for every supposed “twist” the story took. Its not very suspenseful when the characters are dropping easter eggs left and right in their conversations 😒. There was a horrible attempt at a romance angle between the main character and the son of one of the sisters that was super forced and added nothing to the story. The strained relationship between the spoiled rich sisters was generic and boring. Everytime a character spoke I wanted to roll my eyes, the dialogue was so rudimentary and predictable. I really wanted to read Jamie Day’s other book “The Block Party”, but halfway through this one I deleted it from my TBR. The only reason this was not a DNF was because I felt too guilty that NetGalley approved me for an ARC.

Jamie Day's newest thriller is a closed room mystery that will keep you guessing. All the characters are vibrant and unique. Day did an amazing job developing all the characters and I felt like I was stuck in the Precipice Hotel with them. Each character has their own secrets and it keeps you wondering which characters are lying and who is telling the truth!
One Big Happy Family is released July 16th and you don't want to miss it! Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Jamie Day and Netgalley for this ARC.

Overall the story was fast paced but the character development left something to be desired. I didn’t quite care what happened to anyone in the story and the flash back to tell the history of the cast didn’t do enough to endear me to any of them. I also guessed the “twist” early on. Overall if you’re looking for an easy low stakes read this is it.

I enjoyed this book until about halfway through when it started feeling monotonous. The characters were so unlikeable - every last one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The description for this book made me really want to read it. Creepy hotel during a hurricane with a murderer on the loose what's not to like. About a quarter of the way through however I really had to push myself to keep reading. I am not sure what the reason was, but I lost interest. I am thankful though that I did keep reading as the last third of the book was very good. The twists and turns kept me guessing almost until the end.

The Block Party was in my top 5 books from 2023 and turned me into a Jamie Day fan! Her newest book One Big Happy Family is the perfect suspenseful book with unpredictable characters that hooked me by the end of chapter one!

I enjoyed this murder mystery setting of Maine during a wild storm in the Precipice Hotel, it was easy to imagine being right there in the storyline. The Bishop sisters, while vindictive and selfish in character were easy to connect with. Upon the reading of their fathers will, we find out this is truly not one big happy family!

The storyline was believable with drama and angst amongst sisters in this story of family and friendship. By the end of the book it was making me want to start planning for the next storm whether it be amongst family or Mother Nature.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.