When the title of a murder mystery is ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY, you can bet that this family will be anything but happy. That's the first clue in this suspense-filled tale by Jamie Day about the members of a fractured family reuniting because of the death of their patriarch. George Bishop was a terrible father, a horrible husband and a nightmare employer. No one is sorry that he's dead. But it's time for the reading of his will, and his three daughters --- some estranged and some semi-estranged --- show up with their sons and spouses in tow to see what they are due to get from George's rather substantial estate.

Charley Kelley is the main character and the person through whose eyes we see the events unfold. She had a rough childhood; when her drug-addicted mother died, she was raised by her grandmother, who now is suffering from dementia. Charley works as a maid at George's hotel to make money and keep her beloved Nana in her memory care home.

"At one point in the story, we get a definite vibe of Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE as we wonder if the residents of the mansion will be killed one by one."

The Precipice is such a strange place that it almost becomes another character in the story. It is located in Maine on the edge (precipice, get it?) of a cliff. The eight guest rooms have different themes, and the entire mansion is filled with all kinds of estate sale things (much of it worthless) that George has collected over the years. Chairs, paintings, statues, vases and knickknacks of all shapes and sizes occupy the spaces.

On this particular weekend, Hurricane Larry is coming. As the violence of the storm grows, it is matched by the violence that has been unleashed inside the mansion. Charley and her new friend Bree, who is fleeing an abusive boyfriend, are the only outside witnesses to the fraught relationships between sisters Vicki, Faith and Iris. The only other outsider is an attorney, Brenda Black. We find out quickly --- from Rodrigo, the front desk manager --- that Black is an immoral person who will do anything for money. Rodrigo hates her passionately but leaves for the weekend before the hurricane hits, so he is gone when something happens to her. She disappears.

But before she does, Black shares the contents of George's will with the family. The results are shocking to the sisters, and they turn on Vicki's husband, Todd, as they accuse him of manipulating George for his own benefit. There's also the matter of a painting that George told Todd was worth a fortune, which he purchased at an estate sale for a song, but was painted by an American master.

At one point in the story, we get a definite vibe of Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE as we wonder if the residents of the mansion will be killed one by one. There are cryptic poems left claiming dark secrets from the past to which the sisters must confess. No one knows who to trust, and Charley doesn't trust any of them. She only trusts Bree and the absent Rodrigo. As the situations devolve, and Vicki, Faith and Iris fight among themselves, things get truly frightening. The electricity goes off, and one of the sisters has a gun. There's more violence to come, not to mention twists and a revealing of secrets that no one expects.

After the darkness --- literally, from the storm --- and the strife, the conclusion is almost a relief. It's not a happy ending, but it's one with justice for almost all. The secrets from the past are revealed, and those who made it through the maelstrom are in a better position to face the future.