Perfect Ice Tea And Sunshine Thriller
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Could this reunion be the death of them?
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.
With razor-sharp wit, heart, thrills, and twists, Jamie Day’s ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY delivers a unique brand of summertime suspense.
- Publisher : St. Martin’s Press
- Publication date : July 16, 2024
- Pages : 358
My Thoughts
This setting, the coast of Maine, and an old family-owned hotel are perfect for a hurricane lurking around the corner and a building full of questionable characters.
While there are a few characters to keep track of The Precipice Hotel is where the action takes place. It is here that the characters who have helped run the hotel are and three grown sisters and their families meet to have the attorney read the will. The old fellow who owned The Precipice had quite a past, so it would make sense that those who have gathered are harboring lots of emotions.
Thus we have a hurricane in the wings keeping the Precipice Hotel somewhat separate from the rest of the world, and emotions roiling around in an antiqued-filled, 14-room hotel.
It’s a locked-in hotel where mysteries and surprises lurk around every corner.
The Story Is Told
Charley the maid at the Precipice Hotel is a young girl who worked for the former owner and father of three girls. As people begin to gather for the reading of the will, Charley relates the happenings and the secrets that make themselves known, including a woman who Charley is hiding in the hotel.
As the book proceeds we learn through the eyes of the sisters.
The Cast of Characters
Don’t let the fairly large cast of characters discourage you. I say this only because I tend to throw my hands up and want to close the book when there are too many names. It didn’t take me long to figure out who was who and who belonged with what person. If you have this same tendency, hang in there.
The winds and rain pound down and the characters are locked in the Precipice Hotel by Hurricane Larry. . . . and then someone is murdered.
My Concerns
This one had me returning to the book and the pages turning. It was pretty wild and it’s important to go with the flow and suspend disbelief to enjoy it.
Maybe I was ready to have it end since I finished the book in the wee hours of the morning, but the ending felt drug out and a relationship more imagined than real.
Lastly, though the book was fun, with lots of wit and interesting characters, the mystery wasn’t all that hard to solve.
Final Thoughts
The writing is fun and full of wit and humor where it naturally fits. I’d classify this as a fun, page-turning, cozy mystery.
My thanks to St. Martin’s Press for a #gifted copy.
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.
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