One Big Happy Family is very cleverly written by Jamie Day. The Bishop sisters, Vicki, Faith and Iris, return to the Maine hotel their family owns for the reading of their father’s will. The Precipice Hotel sits on the top of a rocky hill. The chambermaid, Charley, lives and works there, struggling to pay the bills for her grandmother in assisted living. Charley secretly steals cash from the guests, but she works hard. She befriends and agrees to hide a woman named Bree at the hotel, as Bree shows signs of abuse by her boyfriend. The sisters bring along their immediate families, and the attorney is there as well. Everyone is keeping secrets, the sisters do not get along due to long held grudges, Charley is terrified of losing her job, and a hurricane is about to hit. Very early on someone is found dead. Day has created some vividly drawn unlikeable characters and the twists are creative all the way to the end. I was very glad to receive this ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. My opinions are my own. susanh_bookreviews

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's press for the ARC. This book fell a flat for me. The story was pretty predictable throughout and there was not much suspense. This was more focused on family drama vs the suspense I was hoping for.

The book is about Charley who works as a live-in maid at an eccentric, but beautiful hotel with views to, quite literally, die for. When the owner of the hotel dies, his three daughters come home for the reading of the will. Each daughter has their own adult issues, and they all have a childhood secret that they share together. The arrival of a hurricane, the three sisters with their families and a stranger in need keeps Charley busy right from the beginning of the story. And then the first person dies!
I loved this book! The author tells the story with just the right amount of backstory to not drag it down and bore you to death. I like that the author speaks plainly, not using complicated or unusual words, and then add in how perfectly paced the story is you will be pulled through a fantastic story that is so easy to read. I read it in hours, not days. I could not wait to see how it ended, so much so I never stopped!
My favorite quote was "that's such a book-club way to die" because this is NOT a cozy mystery, it is most definitely a thriller.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for the gifted arc of One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day.

One Big Happy Family
By Jamie Day

I did not enjoy this book. I found the characters both stilted and unlikeable. The story line came across as contrived – and didn't make much sense. There were just too many forced happenings to be believable.

What purported to be a suspenseful murder mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie ends up feeling like a YA graphic novel.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Hurricane Larry is bearing down on Jonesport, Maine where nineteen-year-old Charley Kelley works as a chambermaid at the Precipice Hotel. The Precipice, named for its seemingly perilous location on the edge of Gull Hill, overlooks the ocean.

Hired by the hotel’s owner, George Bishop, Charley has worked [and lived in a tiny closet of a room] here for two years. Her small salary goes to paying for her Nana’s are at Guiding Way, a senior living home.

But everything is about to change.

The rent at Guiding Way is going up and Charley may not even have a job . . . George Bishop has died and his three daughters are on their way to the Precipice.

Charley has no idea what the weekend will bring . . . will the sisters decide to close the hotel? Or will they fire Charley despite her desperate need to care for her Nana?

=========

Anchored by a strong sense of place and a protagonist readers are likely to empathize with, this thriller grabs readers from the outset and keeps those pages turning as fast as possible. Complex, intriguing, and suspenseful, readers are kept guessing as unexpected revelations slowly come to light.

The plot, twisty and unpredictable, touches on family, friendship, and family interactions. The characters are nuanced and believable. Charley’s pilfering from hotel guests is understandable in the context of the story, especially considering her heavy responsibilities and her inexperienced youth; less understandable is the dysfunctional behavior between Vicki, Iris, and Faith.

Told from Charley’s point of view, the unfolding story gains tension from the threatening storm as well as from Charley’s anxiousness. Secrets abound; the hurricane is relentless; the unfolding story unputdownable. Readers who enjoy thrillers will find much to appreciate here.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#OneBigHappyFamily #NetGalley

Jamie Day does it again with another mystery that will have you guessing until the end! I love how clever her plot twists are, and how she really keeps everything up in the air until the last third of the book. I would have loved to see a little bit more character development for some of the family, but it was enough to really understand their motivations throughout the story. The setting and descriptions were wonderful, but considering it’s set in a hotel I would have loved to see the characters in more places than just the main living space. I also wanted more follow up on the characters in the falling action, but that’s just me being greedy!

I have read this author’s books before and liked them very much … this book definitely holds up to this opinion … a very good storyteller.

Not as good as her previous books but This tale keeps you totally interested in reading more. The story twist is a bit weak but a fun read anyway. I knew who did it but how and why keeps you wanting to read more.

I enjoy a good murder mystery novel once in a while, and Jamie Day’s newest book, One Big Happy Family, published by St. Martin’s Press,
is just that. A good murder mystery novel.

This is a story about the Bishop family and their hotel, The Precipice. A big storm named Larry
is coming, and Charley and Rodrigo have to get the hotel ready for the oncoming weather—as well as the storm that is the Bishop sisters—Vicki, Iris, and Faith—and their families. The plot is complex, and keeps you guessing.

I felt as though The Precipice itself was a character in the novel, and I really liked that aspect of the story.

There comes a point at which a character finds a mysterious plant. Upon showing it to other characters, one says (something to the effect of): That's Atropa Belladonna, also known as Belladonna. That kind of sums up what I have to say here.

Oh this is a good one! This book had me from the first page to the last. Twisted read. You do not know u til the last chapter who did it. Leaves you spinning. Wonderful read. Three sisters arrive at the family hotel for the reading of their father’s will. This book has it all, suspense, murder, trials, friendship, romance, heartache and healing of heart. Over all great read. Highly recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this very well written book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

WOW! WHAT A RIDE! Thank you to St. Martin's Press/NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

This book immediately hooked me from beginning to end! I predict this is going to become a popular thriller this summer. I loved the ambience and setting the author was able to portray… think gothic, ornate, boutique hotel on a cliff in Maine during horrible hurricane storms.

I also loved how easily distinguishable the characters were. There were lots of characters but all were extremely different and memorable (even if not for good things!!! ;) ). The Bishop family has many secrets and seeing each secret unfold had my jaw on the floor.

Take a mess of family drama, a storm causing power outages & the inability to leave the property, and pair it with a creepy yet beautiful old hotel and you’re in for a wild time!

I highly recommend this book!

I loved the cover. The story kept me reading and I flew through the book wanting to know what happened. Lots of family dynamics and secrets all around. Lots of twists and turns of who is good and who isn't.

A fun read! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book had held me captive yesterday! The writing was good, the amount of suspense was perfect, and the storyline was entertaining. Although there were quite a few characters, they were easy to keep straight, and the setting, the hotel during the storm, was perfect for the plot and added to the suspense beautifully. Each storyline was intertwined, and the story was fast paced enough to keep things interesting without feeling too rushed. Although I was able to figure out some of the twists, some still showed up as a surprise! I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day from St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

I realized as I sat down to write this Book Report that I have managed to go all year without talking about something being derivative. Admittedly, it is only January 8th……

I had high hopes for The Block Party because I’m a sucker for any sort of story set in a coastal New England hotel, and I really like reading books told from the vantage points of protagonists whose jobs or other roles seemingly cause them to blend into the background (in this case, the main character was a maid).

Alas, everything was, for the most part, wildly predictable. But I put that down to me being Of A Certain Age and having read so many books of this genre over the decades. Maybe it would’ve been a better read had I waited until I was on a beach or by a pool and had a frozen adult beverage in hand?

Or, maybe the fact of the matter is that I’ve been watching so much insanely good television here lately that I’m expecting all writing to come up to the level that has made all of Reservation Dogs and Slow Horses, and Season 5 of Fargo so great. Spoiled, I’m so spoiled…..

DESCRIPTION
The newest, riveting summer suspense by the author of THE BLOCK PARTY, Jamie Day.

Precipice is a legendary, family-owned hotel on the rocky coast of Maine. With the recent passing of their father, the Bishop sisters--Iris, Vicki, and Faith--have come for the weekend 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.

The arrival of the Bishop sisters could spell disaster for Charley. Will they close the hotel? Fire her? Discover her habit of pilfering from guests? Or even worse, learn that she's using a guest room to hide a woman on the run.

With razor-sharp wit, heart, thrills, and twists, Jamie Day delivers a unique brand of SUMMERTIME SUSPENSE.

This was a fun story that was engaging from the start. Charley is a 19-year-old maid at the Precipice, an eccentric hotel on the coast of Maine. The owner has recently passed away and his three daughters, the Bishop sisters, are coming for the funeral (i.e. inheritance), right when the hotel is preparing for a hurricane. Charley’s worried about the status of her job as she both works and lives at the hotel. She needs to save every dollar that she can to pay her grandmother’s care home costs. If she loses her job, she’ll lose her home and her Nana will lose hers, as well. Charley is ready to do anything it takes to please the sisters in the hope that they will keep her employed. But she has no idea how dysfunctional these sisters are and how far they will go to protect their own.

Because of course, this isn’t your typical happy family gathering. The sisters bring their spouses and children, none of whom seem to get along well at all. There are constant references to dark secrets and lies that must be revealed. Even the lawyer who’s come to read the will isn’t the impartial professional that she appears to be. Pretty much no one is what they seem and that’s what makes it so enjoyable! And then the murders begin…

I loved this book – it’s the second that I have read by this author, and I knew it wouldn’t disappoint. You definitely root for Charley, but I did have an issue with her habit of stealing from guests. Sure, they may not notice and she’s desperate to have a roof over her and her Nana’s heads, but that doesn’t make it ok. You want to sympathize with her but it’s hard with her criminal behavior. I flew through the story; it was the definition of a page-turner with characters who’d fit right in with your own quirky family. And the resolution was quite satisfactory for everyone – my favorite kind!

Remote hotel in Maine, hurricane coming and strange family members arriving - yes please. Charley's story in the beginning had me concerned that this was another 'the maid knows every secret' type of book, but once the sisters arrived, the chaos began. There were some parts that I didn't like - Charley and Quinn, Charley and her secret guest, but overall a lot of creep settings and unlike able characters were good!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day due to be released July 16, 2024.
Charley Kelley had a rough life until hotel owner George Bishop gave her a break working as a maid in his hotel – the Precipice – on the coast of Maine.
With George’s passing his three daughters – Vicki (overbearing with her annoying husband, Todd), Iris (the black sheep of the family), and Faith (a former model who brings her partner, Hope) – have come to claim what is theirs at the reading of the will. As one of the sisters says, “This family puts the fun in dysfunctional.” Unfortunately, there is a hurricane looming, dangerous secrets are hidden by the sisters, and murder may be on the horizon. Not to mention the girl on the run that Charley is secretly hiding.
Will everyone who checked in be checking out? Will Charley’s “stowaway” be discovered?
I couldn’t wait to delve into this book – the reading of a will never turns out to be acceptable to everyone – I had a feeling this One Big Happy Family wouldn’t last long!
There were many twists, turns, and secrets to be told between the Bishop sisters and the guests at the Precipice Hotel – you won’t want to miss this one!
#netgalley #JamieDay #st.martinspress #onebighappfamily

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the opportunity to read One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day. Not a happy family and not a happy place, but what a fun read!

This is a murder mystery that will keep you on your toes with one big happy family. Maybe “happy” isn’t quite accurate.

A major hurricane is headed for the coast of Maine and it’s hard to predict where "Larry" will hit. Like all other places in town, workers at the Precipice Hotel are preparing with the necessary food and supplies. The property is beautiful with big cliffs off the coast. The hotel is packed with antiques.

This three-story building has lots of windows which need to be covered with sheets of plywood. A job like this would take some maneuvering with strong men. The desk manager, Rodrigo, is doing his best with the help of Charley, the only full-time maid. Fortunately, just about all of the guests are gone.

It isn’t just the worrisome hurricane in their path. The former owner, George Bishop, was found dead a few days ago and his three daughters are planning to stay at the hotel for a memorial service. Afterwards, his attorney, Brenda Black, will read the will. She tells the sisters that not everyone will be happy. She is right.

The three Bishop daughters -- Vicki, owner of jewelry and gift stores, Iris with a history of taking drugs, and Faith who worked as a model – are expecting to have a share of the $6 million property along with the treasures and art on the walls. Black starts to read their father’s will and testament slowly and Vicki told her to just get to parts they want to hear. That’s when the fun begins.

It's fast paced with some unexpected twists. Most of the characters are vindictive and this is not the happy place to be during a wild storm. With the exception of a few holes in the plot, it’s an entertaining whodunit and it’s cheating to look at the epilogue first. This was gripping, suspenseful and imaginative with layers. I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of July 16, 2024.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC!
I was excited to jump into this book as I read Jamie Day’s book The Block Party a couple months ago and enjoyed that one. With that said, I liked this one even more!
I loved that the main character was relatable in that she wasn’t perfect and had flaws and I enjoyed the setting of being trapped due to a storm.
I did feel the story got a little predictable at times, however, even though I felt like I knew what was going to happen, I wasn’t always correct, and that is always great!
Definitely a solid read and great writing by Jamie Day!