I can see this book being a great summer read for people. It is a humorous murder mystery and that is what grabbed my attention initially. I did find the book to be a bit silly at times, but I am glad that I read it and still enjoyed it

While I found the author’s style charming and very witty, the use of footnotes didn’t translate into an e-reader. I probably would’ve really enjoyed it in a physical copy, but not being able to keep up with the footnotes on digital pages became not only distracting but very difficult to follow the story and become immersed. She clearly has a lot of talent and I look forward to seeing more from her. Unfortunately, the footnotes distracted me from what otherwise would have been a very funny, creative read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. I felt like I was in Italy with all of the vivid descriptions. There were a lot of characters but that helped keep the plot twisty.

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies
3.5 ⭐
ARC Review: Now Available!

𝚀𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢
Eleanor Dash is a bestselling author on her book tour in Italy, celebrating her tenth book. However, the tour gets thrown into upheaval when an attempt is made on Connor Smith's (the inspiration for her main character) life.
Eleanor was planning on killing off Connor in her books, but she doesn't actually want him dead - or does she? "Contending with literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker―and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly―theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?"

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝
ETIGOVSD was a cozy mystery, that had me constantly changing my theories. There were a plethora of characters with means, and motives, and we had a really engaging narrator/main character. However, I struggled with a few things while reading.

First, I really struggled with the footnotes. The author makes it clear they are optional, but for my ADHD brain - the way they were formatted in the ARC ebook stopped my flow a lot even when I was trying to skip them. They were, however, very funny when I did read them. This didn't impact my rating because I know this is just how my brain works. I have heard though that the audiobook seamlessly integrates the footnotes!!

Second, (and what impacted my rating) was simply my attachment to the characters. I had the most feelings about Connor, he gave me all the feelings I'd expect from his character. However, the others - I truly felt unattached too. Sometimes I even struggled to remember who was who, and their corresponding backstory.

I plan to read the rest of the series in the future and hope I get more attached to any recurring characters (if there are any).

Despite the title, I found this book to be quite fun. Sure, there was murder, but there was also some witthy banter, some beaches, some Italian pasta, and some interesting yet shady characters.

I kind of expected this book to be heavy on the murder and thriller side of death, but honestly, it was more on the lighthearted side. The main character is an author who inadvertently made her ex famous, and now he is taking a portion of her salary for his cut. Ultimately, the author decides the only way to quit paying her ex is to murder him, but only in the book series.... right?

As the story unfolds, I found myself trying to figure out who was behind the murder attempts of several characters. They all had some secret or shady morals that made it easy to believe that any one of them could be behind it. Ultimately, the ending left a lot to be desired for me. I didn't love the ending, the who, the why, or the how. But I guess it did make sense and it wasnt the most terrible ending I've ever read ( and let's be honest, I'm rarely ever satisfied with endings.)

Overall, I gave this book 4 stars. I thought it was fun and it had me guessing the whole time.

This will make a fun beach read for the summer, and it could be the start to a good series, but there are some things I'm hoping will change in the next books...

First, there were far too many footnotes. I loved how clues were revealed this way in Benjamin Stevenson's Ernest Cunningham series, but in this book they were mostly just random thoughts that accomplished nothing beyond distracting the reader from the story. If there had been fewer footnotes concerning silly things like song lyrics, random likes and dislikes, noting how often people talk about death, etc. they would have been more impactful.

Second, a few things felt a bit condescending to the reader. The repeated fourth wall breaking to completely sum everything up again and again and explain how mystery novels work, complete with spoiling various Agatha Christie books just wasn't necessary. Also, why did EVERY character look like a specific celebrity mentioned by name? I can picture a person described to me without being told who should play them in a movie. If it had been one or two characters, it wouldn't have bothered me, but it was almost all of them.

I loved the settings of the different Italian cities and all the food descriptions. I saw that it's being developed into a TV series, and I could see that being successful.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the review copy!

Eleanor is hoping that her book tour in Italy will give her time to write off her main character in her book series. She is trying to make some changes and she feels this is her chance to start in on those changes. Things get turned upside down when the man who her main character is based off of has an attempt made on his life. She feels like she must step in and help figure out who is trying to murder Connor and why. She got mixed up with him over ten hears ago and hasn't been able to shake the man since. Meanwhile she has to deal with over exuberant fans, other authors, her ex Oliver, and a crazy stalker. She soon finds a plethora of reasons and people who have it in for Connor. She just has to put the right puzzle pieces together to find the culprit. This was a wonderfully funny new read that had me hooked the whole way through.

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies is a rollicking international murder mystery. I found the book humorous, if a bit far fetched at times. This will make a great series!

DNF due to clumsy NetGalley formatting. Impossible to read. Will try again when I get my hands either on the physical copy or a completed ebook.

A fun mystery, complete with quippy footnotes and lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed this but don’t think I will be seeking out the next installment in this new series. There just wasn’t enough substance in the mystery for me.

Every time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies by Katherine Mack in the book we meet Eleanor – after a fabulous Italian vacation she wrote a book about it and it has since become a series and a smash with fans. She also made it a mystery and added real life Connor Smith to the story and after almost a dozen books he is getting on her nerves and she desperately wants to kill off his character in the next novel. Because real life Connor and her ex has really made his self a nuisance but while doing research for her next book she is fretting over 86ing the fictional Connor. When he tells her that someone really is trying to kill him she at first doesn’t believe him but after a couple of unexplained incidents she start to think she may not be the only one trying to get rid of a Conner Smith. To make matters worse her sister Rosie is hiding something from Eleanor and Eleanor believes she is ready to have a life away from being her assistant. Will Eleanor live through this vacation and if so will Connor? I read this book a couple of weeks ago and loved it but didn’t know what to write in my review there is so much to the story it is hilarious quirky intelligently done and I thought it was fast paced with an awesome ending. There were some things I didn’t like in the book but they are personal things that I don’t think will effect any other reader and it isn’t enough to mention this really is a great choice if you want a entertaining mystery. I don’t know why but I love when authors characters are also writers Catherine Mac never disappoints and she certainly didn’t with this great read! I want to thank Saint Martin’s press for my free art copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

At one point I was quite sure I had solved Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies. But I totally underestimated the twists the Catherine Mack had included in this novel. Mack explores the not-so-glamorous life of a best selling author., who never reads messages or the itineraries for the book promotion trips she is required to take. Mack's protagonist, Eleanor, is no heroine, and in fact, she seems to be clueless about the world she inhabits. Eleanor is thoughtless and often rude. She uses people without ever thinking of the pain she inflicts, and so of course, it seems reasonable that someone would want to murder her.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies was a fun read, with lots of clever touches and a good deal of humor. The setting is Italy. I have visited every single location described in Mack's novel. So naturally I enjoyed the descriptions, good food, and good wine. Mack makes liberal use of authorial intrusion and happily trips over the fourth wall. There are deliberate clues and information about being a writer and publishing a novel. Reading Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies was fun. The characters are interesting and there are many suspects, as well.

Thank you to Mack, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for me to read and review. This is my honest review. Reading Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies was fun and will make a good summer beach read. Mack's novel didn't drag, and there were many places to laugh. I do recommend Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies.

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies is a GREAT book title. It is also a quirky, humorous murder mystery beach read set in Italy. It's a unique first person style that breaks the fourth wall often, and I probably would have enjoyed the footnotes more if I'd read a hard copy.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the electronic copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 4.5/5
🌶️ 1.5/5 (references to spicy activity, closed door, minimal details)

Thank you to NetGalley and Catherine Mack for proving me with an ARC and allowing me to share my honest thoughts with other readers!

As a huge lover of cozy mysteries and particularly those set on vacation, this is exactly all the vibes I was hoping for. If there is any excuse to mentally be vacationing in Italy in July, I am all about it. The descriptions and setting works was delightfully executed seamlessly taking readers through the intricacies of each city and sight through the advancement of the plot. A special shout out to the delicious drink recipes, THANK YOU! I immediately made an aperol spritz (lemon spritz is next) when I read this to continue reading 🍊🍹

I don’t think the footnotes style is going to be for everyone, but it was for me. I loved how the footnotes brought out the FMC’s distinct personality, fierce sarcasm and inner thoughts. They were also interesting for context and as distractors, serving as a brilliant technique for red herrings. The author becomes a magician as she perform sleight of hand using only words.

There are so many obvious red herrings pointed out which again, is truly a demonstration of the skill of the craft here as they become clues that point to what is happening and to the clues that aren’t - both are beautifully intertwined throughout.

This was a fascinating set of characters that include a complicated dual love triangle… or maybe it’s more of a square? Truly it becomes more of an intertwined food web honestly. It adds a level of authentic drama and legitimacy to the relationships, especially centering around Eleanor but not exclusively so. The hints of romance and the painful memories and moments of longing linger like a fresh wound that still stings and are beautifully written.

As a huge fan of Agatha Christie’s works, I loved the references made throughout to her and her characters. A lovely tribute.

I found myself feeling included and involved in theorizing what was going on long before I was officially invited in the third act. I fell along into each of the carefully constructed traps made in turn accusing each character, which made this such a rollercoaster of a read. There was such an interesting intimacy and rapport the main character builds with the reader by breaking the fourth wall and addressing/directing questions directly. It gave this book a “choose your own adventure” feel that was so unique and nostalgic. Also, the mentions and repetition of the FMC being a liar, introducing the idea of being an unreliable narrator, and then what the reader thinks she did or didn’t do. The reader WANTS to trust the narrator but at the same time is left weary of doing so… but don’t worry there’s a brilliant conclusion at the end!

This is a quirky, light-hearted but heavy handed murder mystery, set on Vacation in Italy that is filled with comedy and sarcasm in spades. For fans of Agatha Christie, you will not be disappointed. 🍋 🔪

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This book sounded like such a fun book. A murder mystery author who finds herself involved in a murder investigation while on vacation. And maybe it would have been if there was more plot, more character development and less gimmicks. The whole conflict in the book could have been avoided if the It seemed to me that this book really wants to become a celebrity studded tv series. Why bother describing what the character looks like when you can mention the celebrity who should play them?

There were 237 nonsensical footnotes in a 304 page novel. Publishers, if your to-be-published work includes things such as murder board diagrams, book blurbs, and endless footnotes, please enure that formatting of the ARC is as you intend for the finished product. You did not do this book any favors by having multiple footnotes placed in the middle of a sentence.

These characters do not deserve a sequel. This should be one and done and let's never speak of it again. And for the love of all things literary, enough with the footnotes!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. I am required by law to disclose this.

I had the pleasure of both reading and listening to this book. I really liked the foot notes and thought the audio did a great job of incorporating the humor into the main story line. It’s a bit cheesy, but it is a great summer mystery that you can fly through quickly! It was also fun to see bookstagrammers as side characters.

I loved the Italian setting, having been to Rome and Naples myself 3 years ago I can easily picture some of the locations. The meta aspect of the story is fun, and I liked the relationship between the two sisters, at least once they cleared the air. I didn't like all the footnotes, which were cute at first and then annoying, and there were too many characters too keep track of.

This one unfortunately wasn’t for me, I DNF at about 25% of the way through. I struggled with the footnotes, and the additional grammar Marks in the arc just made it too hard to get into.

For fans of the fury, you will enjoy this take on a who done It murder mystery set.

Eleanor Dash, best selling author, is invited on a book tour in Italy with her sister, both of her ex boyfriends, her exes ex, her stalker, and a few other people who have grudges against her. What can go wrong?

What’s unique about this story is told with lots of cliff notes and annotations at the bottom of the page. While i was reading, It really threw off the flow of the sentences for me. I did listen via audiobook to some of It and the narrator did a great job making them sound so natural. The overall story itself is just pretty basic. Kind of cheesy. A few parts made me chuckle. Nothing to knock your socks off, but still good!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this reading copy! These opinions are entirely my own.

"Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies" had an interesting concept: a mystery centered around a writer on a book tour in Italy. Unfortunately, the characters and the execution of the humor detracted from the story's potential.

The protagonist, Eleanor, was difficult to root for. The author's portrayal of her relationship with her sister, Harper, fell flat. Eleanor was too dependent on her sister and Connor wasn’t that great either.

The author's attempt at humor through footnotes felt forced and disruptive to the
narrative flow. While some readers might enjoy this style, it fell flat for me.

Overall, "Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies" wasn't a satisfying read. The characters were unlikable, and the humor felt out of place. The mystery itself failed to hold my attention." Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC.