I enjoyed the back stories and how they intertwined in this book. I also thought the setting and the twist were fun. Overall, it was good but felt more like a drama than a thriller. I was hoping for more thriller and suspense. Would still recommend!

The narrator on this one was great but even a great narrator can't salvage a mediocre book.

The characters were okay in the beginning, but continually got worse over the duration of the book.
The sisters and the husband with so many secrets between them are there for the reading of the will. These characters obviously have baggage but I didn't realize what an absolute disaster that would be.
The stranger that is staying there under radar and for free and the friends/coworkers. The attorney, and of course Charley and the other employees.

By part two, I knew who had done it and why and was just trying to finish it. The characters by this point were wholly unenjoyable and all at each others throats. The secrets were so over the top and wild that I had a hard time believing it and everyone thought they were right.

Aside from the annoying characters, the plot was decent and the reasoning for them all being there was pretty good.

This was a book I couldn’t put down. I needed to keep listening to know what happened. The twists and turns this book throws at you are absolutely perfect.

There were a lot of twists and turns in this one!

I was on board for the young female protagonist who’s fighting for her job and her nana. I think where some things derailed for me personally was the amount of twists - or supposed ones. At some points I would stop and think…what is going on here?

Lots of lies, a stormy setting (which I love), and family history made this interesting but I may have liked it better had it been more straight forward and the ending more believable.

A well-narrated audiobook though!

I’d recommend to dans of Lucy Foley and those who don’t mind suspending belief. This just didn’t hit well for me but might be a big hit for you!

My rating: 2.8*

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

While the premise of the story was interesting, I had a hard time listening to the audio book because the narrator has a very nasal voice, which distracted me from the story. however, the story itself was pretty good and kept me on my toes. I loved the twists the story took, even if some of them were predictable, they did not detract from the story for me. The book could have done with ~100 less pages as sometimes it seemed a little redundant and the beginning was a bit slow to me, which is why I gave it 3.5 stars. I’m not going to rate the book on the narrator but I will be avoiding this narrator in the future. All in all, I enjoyed the book, especially the second half when the storm traps them and things start picking up and I will definitely be recommending this book.

Thank you to Negalley and the publisher for this ALC. I didn't not get to listen to it in time before it expired. Once I actually read this I'll update my review.

When the three Bishop sisters are trapped in what they all thought would be their own hotel, The Precipice all hell breaks loose. Although the weather had different plans than they did, it will either push them closer together or tear them further apart.

This book definitely has everything a thriller needs. From the power going out to a murderer on the loose with a huge hotel thrown in the mix, this book definitely gets 5 out of 5 stars from me.

A very interesting, locked room, mystery!

I felt like this one was a bit slow paced in the first half, but then it picked up a lot in the second half. I really enjoyed the flashback portions of the story, but still found it a bit hard at times to remember who was who (this one has lots of characters). Overall though it was interesting and kept me wanting to know more. I listened to this one on audio and I flew through it. I wasn't a huge fan of how chaotic the ending was, but overall it was still a good read!

Part of the story dragged for me, but it is a classic rendition of Agatha Christie is you favor those.

Audiobook narration was okay; I had to listen at double the speed I usually do.

One Big Happy Family was a great read by Jamie Day. The Precipice is a family-owned hotel on the coast of Maine. The Bishop Sisters; Iris, Vicki, and Faith; have come for the weekend to claim the hotel after their father’s passing. There’s a hurricane looming and the sisters all are harboring dangerous secrets. Unfortunately, not everyone will be leaving the hotel with murder in the air. Add the nineteen-year-old chambermaid Charley Kelley in the mix. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.

Every now and then I get in the mood for a mystery and One Big Happy Family sounded like a good choice. This was my first book by Jamie Day, but I'll definitely be looking for more by her in the future. I loved the setting in Maine with a storm looming on the horizon. Immediately I felt for Charley and speed through this book as fast as I could to find out what happens to her!

I read/listened to the audio version of this. Saskia Maarleveld is a master narrator and once again does an amazing job!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 16 July 2024

The audio for this book was well done and I enjoyed the narrator. I think she made the book easier to continue. For me, the story sort of lost me in the second half. It seemed like a slow burn but I was enjoying the story and wanted to know where it was going. But the second half slowed way down and had a bit of an info dump and seemed dragged out. The story for me is 3 stars. The narration I’ll give 4

I just wanted to connect more with the characters and for it to have a quicker pace. I also struggled a bit to remember who was who.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I really loved the last book by author Jamie Day that I listened to, but this book was a huge disappointment. I didn't really like any of the characters and, therefore, didn't really care what happened to them.

If you like locked room mysteries and domestic thrillers this story is for you. I loved the setting, all the secrets, lies and family drama, of course the hurricane also added that extra to the story, but it took me a bit to get into the story, it was a bit slow for me. Overall is a good domestic thriller.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this complimentary audiobook.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 released July 16, 2024.

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.

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.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟

One Big Happy Family is about the Bishop sisters coming back to the Precipice, a legendary, family-owned hotel on the rocky coast of Maine, after the passing of their father. They have come back to claim the hotel. But with a hurricane looming and each of the Bishop sisters harboring dangerous secrets, something sinister is brewing and not all will survive.

I loved Day’s previous novel, but this one wasn’t my favorite. I loved the narration, but after many locked room mysteries, this didn’t grab my attention quite as much. Looking forward to her next release!

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Big thanks to NetGalley for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

One Big Happy Family is your typical locked room/inheritance thriller. The owner of a hotel passes and the family comes together for the reading of the will just before a huge hurricane traps them there and people slowly start to die.

The good things about this book...I like that part two gave the back story of the sisters. You get a better idea of them as individuals and the character development was done pretty well. It's hard to have well established behaviors and back stories in thrillers when the reader is expecting and already guessing at what the plot twist will be. Most of the characters stayed consistent with their initial description and those that went through changes were explained properly and realistically.

Unfortunately the bad things about this book outweigh the good. The main character Charlie is just so irritating I couldn't stand it. I just want to read an adult thriller with adult characters that have real adult problems. I felt that Charlie's need to work/steal to support her grandmother was a dead end and useless point in the story. The rhyming nephew, asshole husband, rich privileged daughter, drug addicted daughter, flawless and gorgeous love interest...it is all just too cliché. The back story of the sisters could have been built upon and used in such a better way than it was done in this story.

I think the author had the best of intentions with this book but just went in too many different directions trying to check off all the proper boxes required for the thriller genre.

My biggest complaint that has absolutely nothing to do with the writing or the story is....the audio book narrator. I don't know if they had a cold or were sick but you can hear the congestion in their sinuses and it is really distracting and takes away from the story. This author put a lot of time and effort into this book and as a narrator it is your responsibility to read this story as they would want others to perceive it.

Overall...if you are new to thrillers or really enjoy the locked room trope, pick this one up and read with your own eyes.

Based on all of the elements going into this book I should have loved it, but it never quite became as good as I wanted it to be. I was a little underwhelmed. I liked the premise but the first half of this book dragged. Not much happened and I almost quit listening several times. Certain elements were implausible and it frustrated me. There was a lot of time spent on characters backstories, much of it unnecessary, and it dragged the book down. It did pick up in the second half but even then I wasn’t completely sold. There was a campy element to it that I didn’t love and some of the twists lacked an element of surprise. I’m glad I listened to it on audio because the narration was well done and honestly, it is what got me through it. Not a bad book but there was nothing new or exciting here and a thriller should compel but this book did not. Thank you to @netgalley for an audio arc of this novel.

Another amazing, twisty drama by Jaime Day! I loved the setting in a hotel, the family drama and how the book played out in different parts. I had theories all along but was never able to 100% guess them correctly. Highly recommend!