One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day Book Review

About the Book:

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 Review:

This is a bit of a locked room mystery as people are all in a hotel cut off from the outside world by a hurricane. Murder happens. The suspects are many. As time passes during the storm, family secrets come out. And there are many of them.

The plot is a bit typical. I was not surprised at all at the truth of the automobile accident and had figured that out earlier. There was a good twist regarding identity near the end. Other than that, a relatively predictable plot.

I had difficulty finding any of the characters engaging. Even the heroine Charlie was a flawed character I found hard to like. Perhaps the most interesting one was Oliver, speaking in rhyme.

This is a good mystery that is entertaining but not as engaging as I would have liked.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Jamie Day lives in one of those picture-perfect, coastal New England towns you see in the movies. And just like the movies, Jamie has two children and an adorable dog to fawn over. When not writing or reading, Jamie enjoys yoga, the ocean, cooking, and long walks on the beach with the dog, or the kids, or sometimes both.

St Martin's Press, 368 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)