This was an entertaining and quick read. It kept me on my toes and kept me engaged and second guessing. I definitely recommend this for those looking for a fun break from the horrors of real life.

Fun beach read. Easy read to finish in a day or two. Would read more by this author. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a fun, laugh out loud mystery that kept me reading late into the night! I loved Eleanor the novelist and her eclectic gang of frenemies as they toured Italy. And now I want some Gelato and a lemon spritz.

EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION SOMEONE DIES is a fun and unique twist on a mystery by Catherine Mack. I have never read a book like this, and I loved it. The writing is brilliant, and I enjoyed both the footnotes and the author’s interactions with the reader, inviting us to help solve the mystery. I hope this is the beginning of a new series because I can’t wait to see what Mack will come up with next.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.

I’ve never read a “cozy” mystery before but it was truly a unique experience. I enjoyed the humorous and informational footnotes where it felt like the narrator was engaging with the reader and that I was a part of this mystery. This was a slow burn but I enjoyed traveling along with this quirky crew across Italy. The descriptions of the sights, bites and sips had me wanting to book a flight! There was a good twist at the end and I like how Mack wraps it all up.
If you’re looking for a fun mystery, grab a glass of vino and dive in. Salute! 🍷

I received a galley copy of Every time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies from NetGalley in return for a review. The book is a cozy mystery with a solid plot. However, the footnotes that are present throughout, presented a distraction for me, and tended to interrupt the story at critical moments. I don't know if the final edition removed the footnotes; I felt they did not add to the story and might have slowed the pace of the plot. It took me much longer to read than I had anticipated.
The plot of the mystery without the footnotes, was engaging. The main character was believable, quite likeable, and had a dry sense of humor. The other characters supported the plot.
The main character, Eleanor, is a mystery writer, who stumbled upon that profession when she was vacationing in Italy and was involved in solving a real murder. She successfully wrote about the experience in novel form, and it became an immediate hit. The story revolves around a return to the site of her first novel and the unexpected danger that arises for Eleanor and those accompanying her. A romance is woven into the plot, which was enjoyable, as well.
I was unable to guess the murderer, which propelled me to the end--I did want to know "Who did it?', so I was engaged in the characters enough to hope it wasn't any of the characters I cared about. I would like to read other books by the author as a comparison; I see other reviewers have appreciated the author's previous works.

BOOK REVIEW:
EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION SOMEONE DIES🇮🇹🍝🍋

Eleanor Dash, author of The Vacation Mysteries, travels to Italy with a group of authors on a summer book tour. She wants to wrap up her book series by killing off main character Connor, who is based off of irl Connor, a handsome con man she got tangled up with years ago.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was a fun mystery that was fast paced and had lots of moving parts! Fans of Finlay Donovan would enjoy this one! I loved the audio narration, the setting (it def made me want to book a trip to Italy!), and the authors style was fun and engaging! There were a lot of unlikable characters, but I liked Eleanor and her witty commentary throughout.

I loved the way the story engages the reader, especially when it moved into Act 3 and Eleanor broke the 4th wall, encouraging the reader to try and solve the mystery.

Oof. This one was rough. The story is all over the place. The main character is so unlikable and incompetent and inconsistent. I listened to part on audio and the narrator did a great job! I found the footnotes to be funny.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies follows the story of Eleanor as she travels to Italy for the 10th anniversary of her debut novel, When in Rome. Along for the ride is also Connor, the man in the fiction story that is very much real and blackmailing her. He is convinced someone is trying to kill him and she might just agree. When someone else dies, who will be next?

This story was fun and witty from the start. I loved the writing style of breaking the fourth wall by speaking directly to the audience. Not many people can pull this off well but Mack did a great job of making the audience feel like they were listening to a campfire story. The twists and turns kept on coming throughout and, while there are breadcrumbs to help you figure it out, you most likely won't. This story is beautifully paced and just a fun ride from beginning to end. Definitely recommend the audio on this one!!

Book 1 in the Vacation Mysteries set in Italy is a cozy and funny mystery that breaks the fourth wall. Seriously, there are some laugh out loud moments that I loved in this book. While thriller/mystery is not my favorite genre I really enjoyed the light hearted air and fun nature to this. This is a series I would definitely continue and read on a quiet afternoon where I've got the house to myself, or maybe even use it as a beach read for my own vacations.

Thoroughly entertained by this.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

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.