Colorful Adirondack chairs will always catch my eye so I admit I would have probably selected this book regardless of the premise or author. After loving Jamie Day’s last book, The Block Party, and these pastel beachside chairs (empty because of course that storm is rapidly rolling in) on the cover, I knew I wanted to read One Big Happy Family. A great setting, a locked room format, and a complicated ending make this an engaging read.

The teaser doesn’t fully capture the essence of the book, which to me is the main character, Charley. Everyone else can be messy, horrible, mysterious, or pretentious—but Charley is the driving force of this book. I immediately liked Charley, who works as a maid at the Precipice Hotel. The hotel is old, charming, and legendary. Her job allows Charley to scrape by helping to pay for her grandmother’s care while Charley lives in a converted storage closet at the Precipice. When she was offered room and board by the now-deceased owner George Bishop, she felt lucky. Now she realizes that she is trapped.

Charley’s backstory is heartbreaking—a father who she’s never met and who abused her mother, prompting her to move back home. A mother who wanted to escape life and eventually became addicted to drugs. An overdose. A nana who is in the early stages of alzheimers with no one to care for her costs but Charley—a nineteen year-old chambermaid. You can’t not feel for Charley!

As the book opens, hurricane Larry is bearing down on the hotel, and guests are cancelling right and left. The hotel isn’t empty, though. It’s about to be so full of drama your head will spin. And that drama comes from the children of the late George Bishop, who are gathered to hear the reading of his will. Which of the Bishop sisters is the worst? I’d probably choose Vicki or Faith, but they are all awful. Vicki is the eldest and owns a jewelry story. She’s married to a greedy, pompous man named Todd. Iris is the middle sister and a recovering drug addict and ex-con. She’s now found religion. The youngest, Faith, is a former model who loves being in the spotlight, and her wife Hope is an earth-mother type. Vicki’s adult son Quinn attracts Charley’s attention. Meanwhile Faith’s son Oliver seems withdrawn.

A woman Charley met a week earlier arrives seeking shelter. She’s fleeing an abusive relationship and needs a place to stay where he can’t track her credit card. She offers Charley cash, which she is in desperate need of after her Nana’s rent went up. Charley agrees to hide Bree in one of the rooms, but she knows if Vicki and Todd catch her, she will be out of a job. Surely they’ll be too self-absorbed to notice, right?

As you can guess with a book describing a happy family in a sarcastic tone, the gathering and the will reading do not go as planned. The attorney Brenda Black is slimy and apparently has a troubling past with perpetuating racial bias in the courtroom. Rodrigo refuses to work the weekend, and with the cook Olga quitting, Charley is going to be left with the drama of the Bishop family (and her stowaway Bree). Vicki comes out the best with the will. Iris and Faith are not happy with their father’s last wishes.

It's the beginning of a weekend filled with secrets and murder. Cell reception is spotty, the hurricane has trapped them inside, and someone (or more than one) is out for blood. The number of hidden tidbits from the Bishop’s past had my head spinning. Charley has a front row seat to the meltdown of the sisters. Can she survive the weekend? It seems someone wants to quiet her for good.

I loved the setting and I thought Charley was a fantastic leading character. The Bishop family was so toxic, but well-written. The sisters have their own troubling pasts that make them somewhat sympathetic, despite their current behavior. The short chapters kept the book moving. I didn’t like this as much as The Block Party, but I thought it was solid and it kept me entertained. The second half dragged on a bit, but the ending made up for that.

The audiobook is great and helped with the pacing. I will definitely read whatever Jamie Day writes next!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for my copy. Opinions are my own.

This audiobook was hard for me to get into. It was giving beach read for sure and something that my aunt would very much like but I was not enthralled.

I want to start off by saying I have read Jamie Day's previous book The Block Party so much that I was excited to get my hands on a copy of her second book. I found this one to be a bit less thrilling that her first, however. While I did think the premise for the book had a lot of promise- with the locked door murder mystery of it all, it fell very flat for me. I kept coming back because I wanted to see how it ended, but I felt like the story telling wasn't as suspenseful or entertaining as I wish it would be. There were times in the book I actually rolled my eyes because of the actions of our main protagonist Charley. The pacing felt slightly off, with some of the book dragging on and other parts passing at light speed, and I just left wanting a bit more. That being said, it was an entertaining way to spend the day listening to this book. The narrator did a great job telling the story, and I appreciated all their voice work. Therefore, while it felt a bit mid-tier for me, if you're a reader who enjoys locked door situations and a little bit of whodunnit, this might just be the book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Listened to this book on a long car ride and it was exactly what I was looking for. Started off a bit slow and then picked up. Have to confess it wasn’t overly believable but on a long car ride - I’m just looking for entertainment. While I enjoyed the “Block Party” more - this helped pass the time! An entertaining summer listen! 3.5 stars! I appreciated the opportunity to listen!

I had both the eARC and ALC and I found the audio called to me most.

Charley is a maid, working hard to try to keep her grandmother housed in the adult home for the care she needs. The family that owns the hotel where she works rivals Dynasty or Dallas with the DRAMA.

This one was intense, full of unlikeable characters. Murder. Oh yea, there's also a hurricane looming.

I loved this author's prior book and this one was also a fun twisty drama filled one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for an eARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

One Big Happy Family
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Jamie Day

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: The 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.

My Thoughts: I loved the author’s debut novel, The Block Party, so I knew when I saw this one, I was onboard without too much reading of the blurb. I am not always a fan of locked door mysteries, however, I did enjoy this one. You have a locked door mystery mixed with an element of domestic sister aka evil incarnation sisters. The Precipice is a legendary family hotel on the coast of Maine, on the rocky coast specifically. Three sisters, Iris, Vicki, and Faith, come to visit to stake their claim on the hotel after their father’s passing, and each sister brings secrets that they would rather keep buried. And to make things more exciting, the chambermaid Charley Kelley, has her own secret, she is young, smart, resilient, and loyal to a fault. The arrival of the Bishop Sisters can erupt Charlie’s secret to the top, or will the reading of the will go beyond any misdeed that Charlie has committed? Let’s not forget the hurricane that is on the horizon threatening the hotel and surrounding properties.

The story is a multiple character narration, each providing their own perspective POVs. Our main protagonist Charlie really does still the show and her biggest sin of pilfering from the guests can be forgiven, at least in my eyes. Charley is a young girl who would do anything to take care of her nana, even pilfer a little from the guests. Charley stays onsite and her nana is in a retirement home. When Hurricane Larry threatens the hotel at the same time as the Bishop Sisters hurricane comes through, it is a race against time. The eldest sister, Vicki is married to Todd. Todd is also portrayed as a villain. Vicki is bad-tempered and has a vicious streak, while Todd is a manipulative greedy man who will step on others. Middle sister, Iris, former drug addict and ex-convict, who has a new spiritual life. The youngest sister, Faith, is the model and is married to Hope, a very zen person with a spiritual outlook on life. Quinn, who steals Charlie’s heart almost immediately is the son to Vicki and Todd. Lastly, let’s not forget the attorney who has been called in to do the reading of the will, Brenda Black. Throw all of these characters together in a locked room, we get characters developed with depth, betrayal, secretive, and well-portrayed. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, twisty, suspenseful, and engaging (once you get through Part I).

There were three parts to this story. Part I was really slow but it built up our characters and some of their backstory. Part II really starts to delve into the plot and the sister’s backstories and even some of their harbored secrets. The last two parts (Part III and Part IV) really is where the action occurs with tension, compelling, and just grips you. The last two parts really fires up the plot in twisty layers. While some parts were a little over the top, and some belief suspension was required, I still loved it and it still gripped me, even if some parts were predicable. The plot has twisty suspenseful layers and the ending ties up things nicely, even if a little over the top.

I had both the digital and audio version of the ARC and preferred the audiobook. The narrator, Saskia Maaleveld did an amazing job with voice variation interweaved with character distinction. Her flow and pitch was spot on. I was able to listen to the entire audiobook at 2x with no issues keeping up. This was a well written book that I really enjoyed. It was compelling, gripping, and suspenseful. I highly recommend this to other readers, especially if you enjoyed locked door mysteries.

I was blown away by Day's debut The Block Party so was eager to dive into this one. I didn't love it as much as The Block Party but this still kept me intrigued. The Bishop sisters were fun to read about with their secrets and shameless behavior. I rooted for Charley but it was obvious Bree wasn't who she said she was. The sudden flashback to the sisters' lives and their backstories took me out of the story a bit and it lost some of its momentum. Once we got back to present day, I was eager to get back to Charley and the situation with the hotel, but then it never quite reached the excitement and tension from the beginning. Overall, it was compelling enough with its twists and perhaps fans of locked-room mysteries would enjoy it more than me.

I ALMOST gave up about halfway through and it may be due to the audiobook but some of the dialogue was so hard to get through. But I kept going and it picked up from there. Some parts drug on but then at the half way point the book was quick and suspenseful. I would recommend for a quick read

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillian audio and Jamie Day for the audio Arc of One b ig Happy Family.
Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

I really enjoyed this mystery thriller which surrounds a hotel, a strained family and a maid during a hurricane lockdown. Its interesting to unravel all the family secrets, the lies, twists and turns, As the narrative is set on the past and present timeline, there is plenty of character building and multi POv's This makes a slow burn thriller which picks up pace into the second half of the book.

One big Happy Family is narrated by Saskia Maaleveld who has a great voice which suited the cadence and pace of the book. I did listening to this book on 1.5 x speed but this is just a personal preference of mine.

4 stars

This was a good mystery book. I loved the retelling of things and the big mystery of what was really going on.

At the beginning it was hard for me to get into it but after a few chapters I was all in! This was such a great story. The audiobook was pretty great. Made my work day go by quick.

What I didn't like was how slow it was at first. it almost lost me since it felt repetitive.
The main character was at times pretty annoying but the most likable out of all the characters.

Over all it was a good book. Not great, not amazing but not terrible! I did enjoy it and once it picked up it felt fast paced.

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for my complimentary copies. My thoughts are my own.

This atmospheric novel is set in an old hotel in Maine during a hurricane. The three Bishop sisters return to their childhood home after the death of their father, the hotel’s owner. But the three sisters share an old secret that comes back to haunt them as startling new revelations are revealed. The chambermaid, Charley greets them, but Charley also has secrets, including rifling through guests’ belongings, and even hiding a visitor.

MY THOUGHTS: The hurricane in Maine provides the perfect locked room setting, forcing the sisters and other family members to remain in the hotel. None of the characters are particularly likable, though they are each very interesting. The murder doesn’t happen until 30% in and the build up seems a bit slow. There is a lot of bickering and family drama among the characters, as well as a switch in timelines as some dark family history is revealed. All in all, this is a very satisfactory mystery but with no real surprises.

Read this if you enjoy:
*Locked Room Settings
*Maine Settings
*Hurricane Settings
*A Murderer on the Loose
*Bickering Characters
*Family Drama

I really enjoyed the audio version. Saskia Maarleveld does an excellent job with the voices and drama.

I was unfortunately not a big fan of this book. The family was so unlikable and it just didn’t hold my attention

This is my second read from Jamie Day and I must say, I loved it! I enjoyed the drama, the characters, and the pace of this book. This is a must read!

Jamie Day never disappoints! One Big Happy Family reeled me in from the beginning and I couldn’t put it down. It was a modern tale of who dun-nit or clue. Everyone is stranded in the family owned hotel with a few staff members and an outside guest. People start dying while a hurricane is barreling down on them. No one can leave and no one can get into the hotel either. As bodies start piling up, family members turn on each other and start questioning motives. I always love a good who dun-nit book, and this one did not fail to meet my expectations. I love Jamie’s writing and can’t wait for her next book.

The narrator did a great job on this audio

***Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for an ARC copy in return for an honest review ***

✨book review✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for allowing me to listen to One Big Happy Family in exchange for a review!

This twisted thriller is a murder mystery, almost like one of Agatha Christie’s. With a group of people trapped in a hotel, all who have their own motives for murder, the reader is able to draw upon clues to determine who is really to be trusted and who is out to get others. One big family with big secrets and those who they’ve impacted will all be examined and none are safe until the very end.

The backstories are well written and carried throughout. Some of the elements were quite predictable while others I didn’t guess until the end. The story held attention well enough, but also felt over the top or unnecessarily exaggerated in other moments. All in all, it was fun to listen to once!

I’m a big fan of locked room mysteries and this book did not disappoint and hooked me from the beginning. It pushed me hard to decide which Bishop sister is worse than the others! The narrator did a great job and really brought the characters to life.

The main plot revolves around the new heiresses of Precipice Hotel: a legendary family hotel located on the rocky coast of Maine, the three Bishop Sisters who gather at the family resort to hear the will of their late father George Bishop.

Enter Charley, the chambermaid of the hotel, only 19, living in a closet in the hotel turned into a rent-free room, trapped in her job to pay for her nana’s care house. When a young girl named Bree needs help in exchange for cash that can give her financial relief, Charley accepts to hide her in one of the empty hotel rooms. The poor girl is hiding from her abusive boyfriend, and she has no position to say no to her, even though this secret may threaten her job. The Bishop sisters: Vicki - vicious, bad-tempered, the elder sister, founder of a jewelry store chain, married to charismatic Todd in her 50s, greedy, money-oriented, ruthless - a match made in heaven for her (or the women he’s cheating on her with). Iris - ex-convict, troubled, ex-drug addict, middle sister, in the new religious awakening. Finally, Faith - model, stylish, addicted to the spotlight and to being admired, married to eccentric Hope who is a vegetarian cook, spiritualist, Zen person. Then there is Vicki’s son Quinn, who also steals Charley’s heart at first sight, and young Oliver: the son of Faith & Hope, who I think is on the spectrum and likes to rhyme, acting like an oracle who knows the future are the other people trapped at the hotel during a hurricane The lawyer. Brenda Black, an ex-shady prosecutor, is also acting suspicious, might be involved in a scheming that the sisters wouldn’t like and is also trapped to begin with at the hotel.
But things suddenly change when a murder occurs. All the sisters are bound with sins and dirty secrets related to the crime. A murderer is among them, leaving creepy messages about their doom. None of them can escape from the hotel as Hurricane Larry is out their door, blocking each escape way. As you can imagine, the electric circuit does not work well, just like cell phone reception. They cannot call for help, and they cannot take their eyes off each other. One of them is losing control, and he or she never intends to stop until the secrets come out, and the truth is revealed. Overall, this was a fun whodunnit ! I honestly recommend it! I thought the author did a great job and would definitely read another book by them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this audioarc.

the setup…
Charley Kelley is a nineteen-year old chambermaid at The Precipice Hotel in Jonesport, Maine and she’s really good at her job. She lives there but still struggles to make ends meet as she’s also supporting her grandmother who has dementia and stays at an assisted living facility. The owner of the hotel, George Bishop, just died and his three daughters (Vicki, Faith and Iris) are returning for the reading of the will, coming in the middle of Hurricane Larry. Right before their arrival, Charley agrees to let a woman hiding from her abusive boyfriend secretly stay at the hotel for a week. When the Bishop sisters and their families show up, the real fun…and murders…begin.

the heart of the story…
I was prepared to expect these sisters to bring plenty of baggage for their hotel stay but their behavior and secrets went further over the top than even I could have imagined. Interspersed throughout the present day narrative were the sisters’ backstories, timed to provide insights into what was happening real time. The word dysfunctional is an understatement for this family and when bodies started showing up, everyone was a suspect. Still, I was able to correctly cobble together the likely whodunit despite their truly over-the-top behavior.

the narration…
Saskia Maarleveld is one of my favorite voices and she was perfect for this crazy story. She made me almost believe it.

the bottom line…
This was certainly entertaining though not all that challenging as a mystery, despite the hurricane drama. It was kind of fun trying to guess what the next outrageous reveal might be. Thank goodness for Charley because there weren’t many other characters I could even come close to liking. This was a different kind of locked room mystery that brought more jaw-dropping revelations than thrills. 3.5 stars

Thank you @netgalley @macmillan.audio for the ALC Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld!
Also thank you @stmartinspress for the E-ARC!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a good summer thriller! I loved the Maine setting with the hurricane craziness so much. I will say that the book starts off kind of slow and drags for a bit so I wasn't sure how the ending would land for me. I enjoyed it though! Honestly the family chaos is what sold me. The toxicity between them and all the secrets kept me engaged to see the ending come together. Also enjoyed the shorter chapters! The audio paired with it was ok. Not my favorite, but it kept my attention.

If you like a little dysfunction and a domestic thriller this will be perfect to grab to keep with the theme of summer before it ends!

This is my first book by Jamie Day and I was pleasantly surprised. It does start off a little slower to set the scene, but as more points of view get introduced and the backstory of the sisters comes to play, things start to take so many different turns you might get whiplash.

A family hotel on the coast of Maine is being passed down to the next generation. All the owning family members arrive to the hotel for the will reading.

If that's not dramatic enough, a mysterious guest arrives, a long history with the current maid and to top it all off a storm blows in leaving everyone trapped in the hotel.

I really like the way one reviewer, Jayme, broke it down. 

We start with part one where we are slowly setting the scene. And I mean slowly. I thought I could enjoy myself with the moody, Maine, vintage hotel setting and I was okay with the pace because I felt I would get a great ending that would blow me away. 

Then we go into part two which includes the back stories of the sisters. For me, this came out of nowhere. It was like being whiplashed. This isn't a spoiler alert, but we didn't need to know the long boring backstory of the sisters. It felt as if I was almost starting over. I was already struggling to pay attention and keep up with the snail like pace of the first part of the story. Instead, maybe the author could have sprinkled it in as we were introduced to the sisters. I’m not sure. All I know for sure is I was disappointed and if it could have been possible, even more bored. Can you get slapped with boredom?

And then part three the action starts taking place. It's a bit too late as a reader, I feel lost at this point. Yes, a lot is happening, something is happening, situations are being revealed so that’s great. It's what we've been hoping for. Anything revealed as a shocker in part three I felt already was revealed in part one and two. So the shockers weren’t really shocking at all.

There might have been a part four or five here somewhere, but I'm looping all the 'action' into one part.

When it comes to the epilogue, I believe the author is trying to tie everything up in a nice little bow, yet I was left rolling my eyes. Obviously, I can’t comment in detail, but I wasn’t buying it. It didn’t make sense, the author didn’t give us readers enough to make it believable.

If you’re going to do a locked room mystery you have to make sure you’re doing it really well. Really, really well. Locked room mysteries are hard to pull off. I am not sure I am the one to give advice on how to make a locked-room-mystery successful but a lot of times they let me down as I continue down my reading journey. There are only a handful that are doing it great, cough, Agatha, cough.

Honestly, I feel I’m being generous with three stars. This is a two star book. The narrator did a great job (which is an important note in audiobooks). No complaints there. The story was hard to get through, which is why it took me so long to read this. I didn't care, I was not engaged. I would sadly not recommend this book to my readers.

Amazon Link - One Big Happy Family By: Jamie Day

Stats: 368 pages - First published July 16, 2024

***Thank you to Macmillan, NetGalley and of course, the author Jamie Day, for a  copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Out now!