After not being a huge fan of her last novel (The Block Party), I am glad I gave the author a second chance! I loved a locked room mystery. The story centers around a young maid and three sisters who are new owners of the hotel after their father passed. Each member has their own drama and secrets. It was more of family drama than suspense but was a quick read that I couldn't put down.

I really enjoyed this author's novel, The Block Party, and looked forward to this twisted suspense story. Everyone was a suspect, and I wondered how each character would come through the family drama. Charley, the teenage "chambermaid", is stuck in the middle of the dysfunctional family hoping to keep her job... and her secrets.
With a large cast of characters, the author gave them each something to fight for in the story and tied things up at the end. Another fun who-is-the-guilty-party story! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my early copy of this book.

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY - Jamie Day

Suspenseful - 3.5 stars

Plot - 4 stars - The Precipice is a legendary, family-owned hotel in coastal Maine. With the recent passing of their father, the Bishop sisters have come to claim it. But with a hurricane looming and each of the Bishop sisters harboring dangerous secrets, there's murder in the air—and not everyone who checks into the Precipice will be checking out. Each sister wants what is rightfully hers, and in the mix is the Precipe's nineteen-year-old chambermaid Charley Kelley: smart, resilient, older than her years, and in desperate straits.

Writing - 3 stars - I'll admit that the first part of the book was a bit slow for me. I was initially interested in hearing the story from the point of view of the maid, but then her problems seemed uninteresting in comparison to the stories of the other characters--the actual family members. By Part 2, about the Bishop Sisters, I was hooked and had no problem with seeing through the eyes of the maid for the rest of the book.

Characters - 3.5 stars - I guess I'd say that they are equally unlikeable. Charley is fairly nice, but she is a thief, no matter how she tries to justify it because of her straitened circumstances and her need to take care of her Nana. The three sisters are all horrible. Vicki is on a power trip, Faith is a model hiding behind her facade, and Iris is an ex-con with a persecution complex. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy reading about them. They are all relatively evil, with few morals, and they were each very interesting in their own nasty way. Quinn (Vicki's son) is too good-looking to be true, but he turned out to have more of a moral compass than pretty much anyone else. Oliver (Faith's son) seems a little off--smothered by his mothers and speaking mostly in rhyme. Bree (the stowaway) seems nice enough, but we don't really get to know her until the end. Backup characters of Rodrigo (hotel manager), Hope (Faith's wife), and Ms. Black (attorney reading the will) add more depth to the story.

Title - 4 stars - This is definitely a sarcastic title since this is far from a happy family. The backup characters (who are not part of the Bishop family) served the purpose of adding more possible suspects to the list, but are they important to the plot or are they simply there as narrators or foils?

Cover - 3 stars - I don't quite understand the cover since it doesn't really mesh with the plot. We are in the midst of a hurricane (which explains the dark sky), but the Adirondack chairs seem inappropriate and don't add appropriately to the mood.

Overall - 3.5 stars - This is a new-to-me author, and I mostly enjoyed reading this book. The mystery was intriguing, although the suspense factor wound down a bit here and there for me when I would have preferred to remain on the edge of my seat. The setting was excellent--very gothic--and I particularly liked that it was set in Maine since I've visited there many times and could recognize the rocky coastline and stormy environment. None of the characters was particularly appealing, but that didn't bother me since the entire plot was centered on an evil plan, so that made pretty much everyone a possible (and believable) suspect, which kept things interesting. I'll admit that I got confused a couple of times because of the large number of main characters (it took me a while to sort them out). I also felt that the many possible outcomes seemed unnecessarily complicated and got the plot into tangles that would have been more smooth with fewer red herrings. The ending certainly ended up tying things up with a bow, but it was satisfying nonetheless, and I will look for more from this author.

This book had so much potential however none of the characters were like able to me so I had super difficult time getting into this one. The plot just felt very predictable and left me wanting more depth.

A great murder mystery with lots of family drama. It was a fast paced read with lots of twists and turns. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a really fun murder mystery thriller. Plus who doesn’t love some family drama. Perfect fast paced & easy to read.

Thank you to St Martins Press & Netgalley for the opportunity to read & review this ARC.

It's been a while since I've read a murder mystery novel where I cared so little about who killed whom or why.
The characters were two-dimensional, the storylines were unoriginal and predictable, and at times, the writing was just...not great. After two books with two star reviews, I'm done with this author.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this #arc of #onebighappyfamily in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC of One Big Happy Family! All opinions in this review are my own.

I have been trying to read a thriller with the perfect setting and so much tension that I can't put it down for the past few months and I finally found it! Jamie Day's sophomore novel was so good I'm recommending it to anyone who likes thrillers. Not only is the setting fantastic, a family-owned hotel set on a remote cliff in Maine with a hurricane heading directly for it, but this thriller is also filled with family secrets just waiting to be revealed! I am already looking forward to Day's next thriller!

This family is insane! There were several choked laughter moments, from how dysfunctional they were.

Charley is the current maid at the Precipice hotel. It doesn't pay much, but gives her a place to live, and mostly covers the cost of her grandmother's assisted living. When it doesn't, Charley tends to skim a little from the guest's belongings.

When the owner of the Precipice dies, his 3 daughters come home for the first time in years. Their family dynamic is... odd, to say the least. With tension springing up at the worst moments, Charley just hopes to survive the weekend with her job intact. The will is read, and two of the sisters have their inheritance stolen from them - by Todd, Vicki's husband and an all around unliked guy it seems.

When Todd is found dead the next morning, and they're trapped inside by a hurricane, things go from bad to worse. Pointed poems start showing up, claiming that one of the sisters will die if an old secret isn't revealed. They're held at gunpoint by an unhinged Vicki, sure that someone is trying to frame her for Todd's murder.

All around, this hit a little more on the comedic side than a true thriller. It had all the trappings of one - locked in, budding tension, everyone unable to trust each other. Not that this book was laugh out loud at any point, but there was a lighter side to it. The sense of danger and stakes was never fully there for me. Still, this was an enjoyable read, and I'll definitely try some more Jamie Day books in the future!

Family drama, secrets, lies, and revenge yes please!!! This was one screwed up family but man did I enjoy this book. This is a locked room who dunnit that had me suspecting everyone. Loved the twist and the ending touched my heart. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5 rounded down. I think this was a good story, I personally found it to be predictable but I everything wrapped up nicely at the end.

I've read Jamie Day before and was both impressed and entertained, so I just knew I had to dive into this one. I love stories that feature family inheritance. In this case, it's a hotel on the Maine coast that the daughters of the deceased have set forth to stake their claim. What comes of the hotel is looming on the horizon, along with a hurricane, that will force everyone into close quarters and enact secrets to come alight. An entertaining read through and through.

Charley, a live-in chambermaid at The Precipice Hotel, wants nothing more than to do her job, live a quiet life, and care for her elderly grandmother who suffers from dementia. When the hotels patriarch and owner passed away, his daughter descend in the cliffside hotel during a hurricane for the reading of the will. Charley becomes embroiled in the family's drama as they feud over the contents of the will. When people begin to die and disappear at the hotel over that weekend, Charley must figure out who she can trust and how to keep herself safe. This is twisty turny novel filled with family drama and secrets. It is definitely worth a read!

Family Drama at Coastal Hotel

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day revolves around Precipice, a swanky hotel on the rocky coast of Maine, where a dysfunctional family reunion takes place amidst a brewing hurricane. Charley, a nineteen-year-old chambermaid, is at the center of the story. She is trying to make ends meet while hiding a woman on the run in the hotel. The plot thickens with the arrival of the Bishop sisters—Vicki, Iris, and Faith—who come together for the reading of their late father's will. Each sister has her agenda and secrets, which are gradually exposed as the hurricane traps them inside the hotel, turning it into a locked-room thriller.

Strengths of the book include its well-developed characters, engaging plot, and the effective use of a hurricane as a narrative device. The locked-room mystery aspect adds an element of suspense that keeps readers hooked. However, some readers might find the numerous secrets and twists a bit overwhelming. Despite this, the book's fast pace and witty dialogue make it a worthwhile read for fans of domestic thrillers and family dramas.

In conclusion, One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day is a captivating domestic thriller that masterfully combines humour, suspense, and family drama. It is a recommended read for those who enjoy intricate plots and complex characters.

Have you ever wanted a book to end so much, but it kept going and going and going and going?! Well, that’s what happened with this book. I’m all for family dysfunction, rich people problems, a great atmosphere and lies, but I seriously couldn’t wait until this book was done.

Most of these characters were absolutely unlikeable and unbearable. Charley, the FMC, was a great character and I actually enjoyed Bree’s character as well, but it did not make up for the other insufferable characters. The story was all over the place and things just did not make sense.

This is my 2nd book by this author and I don’t think he is for me. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of One Big Happy Family.

Don't let the title fool you. They're not. The three Bishop sisters arrive at the famous family hotel--- in a hurricane--- for the reading of their father's will. It's a trio with no love for each other, who are all hoping for control of the hotel.
Charley is the housemaid who needs every dime to pay for her grandma's nursing home costs. The thought of loosing her job because of the change of ownership is overwhelming. Her kind nature allows a random stranger a place to hide because her boyfriend is abusing her and she has nowhere to go.Who is this mystery person that just "appears"?
There are several families involved in the narrative and their relationships are polar opposites: the backstabbing sisters compared with responsible Charley and her nana.
The wind is howling, the lights go out, no one can be trusted and there's murder. The reader is swept into the moment. An exciting read.

Located on the coast of Maine, the Precipice is a family-owned hotel that, due to the death of its owner, is now the location of a family reunion of sorts. The Bishop sisters have each returned to the Precipice in an attempt to stake their claim to the hotel, but they have also returned along with some secrets, secrets that some will do anything, including murder, to keep hidden. To make matters worse Charley, a chambermaid, has some secrets of her own, including the girl that she has hidden away inside the hotel, a girl that is now stuck there courtesy of the arrival of a hurricane.

One Big Happy Family was a bit of an up and down novel for me. One thing that I liked was the use of multiple narrators to tell the story; I almost always enjoy when I get to see the events through the eyes of many of the characters, giving me a better understanding of their actions, motivations and emotions. I did find the novel rather predictable however, and many of the twists bordered on the absurd. For a majority of the narrative I was hooked, but there were other parts that seemed to drag, taking me out of the story.

I did enjoy Maarleveld’s narration of the story. Each character was given their own unique voice and individual personality. I did have to speed up the pace a little, but once I did that the pacing and inflection were, in my opinion, spot on, except for those parts of the narrative that dragged. Overall the audiobook often added to my enjoyment of the novel.

Moving her focus from suburbia, Day chooses an aptly named hotel, The Precipice. It seems that every character is on the edge of calamity.

Our amateur sleuth, Charley, is a 19-year-old hotel maid. She is squeezed between her need to support her Nana, who is lapsing into dementia, and to protect a woman fleeing from abuse while catering to the needs of the Three Sisters—those who really control her fate. While Charley has been stuck in neutral as she works for the hotel, the sisters fled the Precipice. Their father's behavior, to put it kindly, stank. Now he is dead, and this triad returns to the hotel, along with a major hurricane.

The mystery morphs into a locked-room trope with no escape from the hurricane, while bodies begin to pile up. The plot could have used some pruning, but in the end, the characters who moved beyond stereotypes made it a worthwhile read.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC from netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for sending me this Arc, in exchange for an honest review.

I was super excited to read this book since I absolutely loved the block party. It had some twist and turns that I didn't see coming. All the characters where a hot mess and I was here for it. Some I liked more than others. One thing I didn't like was Charley falling into a instant love scenario with one of the sisters sons within a couple days of knowing each other.
It was a little hard to keep track at times of each sisters information, but I figured it out in the end. I do like The Block Party a little better than this book, but it was still a fun read. Can't wait to read your next book.

Charley works at a fancy hotel in Maine to care for her Nana who is in a home. When the old (and handsy) owner dies, his three daughters come to the hotel for the reading of the will. At the same time a hurricane is coming. Once the will is read and shocks abound, one family member ends up dead. Now the hurricane is upon them and the rest are left to wait out the storm with a killer on the loose.

There was enough family drama to keep my interest but not go over the top.an enjoyable locked room mystery thriller.