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!

I found the story and characters to be gripping, entertaining, fast-paced and dramatic. The setting was fantastic as well. especially since I listened to it while vacationing in Maine.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book and was hooked from the start. It kept me guessing. I enjoyed the pace and the plot. If you like "locked room" mysteries/thrillers, give this one a chance.

Thank you to Jamie Day, Macmillan Audio & SMP for the #gifted #ARC & #audiobook of #OneBigHappyFamily.

I really loved The Block Party from last year by #JamieDay, so I was thrilled to receive a copy of her latest #book for #review.

This was such a fabulous #beach #read, especially with the setting & the hurricane. I LOVED it! And the domestic #suspense was perfection!

The Bishop sisters were a HOT MESS in the best possible way. I will just say that they don’t share that sisterly relationship portrayed in #Hallmark movies. They are toxic, crass & crazy & hell. And in this locked room #thriller, that means utter chaos.

Charley was the absolute sweetest, even with her little thieving problem & Quinn was kind to Charley. I loved that little relationship.

Not only was this a captivating quick paced #mystery - - it was also quite humorous with #family drama of the Bishop sisters. It was truly a fun & twisty ride all the way to the finish. Snatch this one up & put it at the top of your #TBR.

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 & Faith—have come for the weekend to claim it. But with a #hurricane looming & 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.”

#2024 #July #NewRelease #MustRead #Bookstagram #Reading #Audio #Fiction

This book started off a little shakey. I wasn't sure it was my cup of tea and then BOOM! I could not stop listening.

After the owner of the hotel dies, his 3 daughters come to fight over the scraps. So much happens in this book it will give you whiplash!

Charley works in the hotel and she is hiding a woman who has fled abuse in one for the rooms and everyone is keeping secrets! It was so dang good!

If you love a good thriller, this audio has to be your next read 4.5 stars

This book had me hooked from the start. I loved the narrator and the multiple POV’s. I think I enjoyed the audio of this book more than I think I would have enjoyed reading it. Even though I had predicted the killer, I was still captured through it’s entirety!

Thank you to #Netgalley and #HarlequinTradePublishing for the ARC. One Big Happy Family is a can not look away book. Three sisters are coming back to their childhood house to read the will of their late father. All three sisters have emotional baggage that has caused them to not be a family for a long time. What happens when they are all back under the same roof will leave someone dead.

One Big Happy Family is a full of twists and turns. There are red herrings and so many things happening that I was guessing whodunit right to the end,

Saskia Maarleveld is a dream narrator. I could listen to her voice forever,