Elenaor is a famous murder mystery author whose first book was written about an even that happened in her life. The book moves pretty quickly and Elenaor’s humor is funny and snarky. She never is a damasle in distress. The book does a great job at showing us what writers go through when coming up with a book and the process that leads to publishing. I enjoyed the 4th wall effect where Elenaor is talking to the reader. The footnotes were fun but sometimes confusing (maybe the Kindle edition doesn’t place them properly and would work better in a physical copy). Overall fun read. Looking forward to the next one!

Fresh, clever, and laugh out loud funny! Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is written by an author about an author being an author. Mack smashes through the fourth wall, giving you an inside look at the complex and hilarious world of publishing, while making you feel like you're a part of the story. It's wildly fun, completely addictive, and an absolute must read!

An entertaining read with interesting characters, a great location and a captivating storyline. Although at times I had mixed feelings, I liked the author’s writing style. It’s a quirky, humorous mystery. Catherine Mack is hilarious especially in the footnotes. Although I found them a little distracting I actually enjoyed reading them . She states they may not be included when the book is published but some of them would make for great content within the story.

This book was an absolute delight. The combo or mystery and romance and humour was so fun. I loved Eleanor and her footnotes and I cannot wait to read more.

Loved the Italian setting and the hip, quirky dialogue. Hated the footnotes which were disruptive and mostly irrelevant. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against footnotes and, in general, always read them when they're on the same page and even when they are listed at the end of a book. These footnotes, however, were more than annoying, sometimes occurring in the middle of a sentence or referring to something that happened pages ago. I'm neutral on breaking the fourth wall and mostly enjoyed the author's direct-to-the-reader comments. I appreciated the neatly wrapped up ending and look forward to more books in the series.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an Advanced Reader's Copy and the opportunity to share my thoughts in this review.

Eleanor Dash lost her parents at a young age and helped raise her sister. Eleanor has become a famous author, thanks to the amazing support of her sister, Harper. The two sisters are very close. Eleanor sets off on a book promotion tour to Italy with her sister, two of her ex-boyfriends, some book fans, and a couple of other authors as they travel across Italy to see the sights. It sounds like fun, except there is an attempted murder on Connor, and possibly Eleanor, and someone else gets murdered.

The story was humorous and quite entertaining. I was able to figure out one of the plot twists, but most of them took me by surprise. The book included many footnotes that were entertaining and an integral part of the story, acting almost like a second point of view.
I had an electronic ARC, and I found the footnotes didn’t align well in the version I had. I tried adjusting the font size and the device, but I just couldn’t get it to flow better. I believe this issue detracted from my enjoyment of the story, making it take longer for me to get through it. I would rate the book 3.5 out of 5. I think a different point of view would have worked better than the footnotes, as it felt like 40% of the story was actually in the footnotes.

I will definitely read the next book in the series because the theme and the writing were great.

Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is a different type of murder mystery book. The author is the narrator in the novel and she is (as she reports) an unreliable narrator. The story follows a multi day tour of Italy with a group of authors. The tour was designed to highlight the next book in the series by the narrator.

There were all sorts of characters in the book. All having some connection to the narrator which were slowly shared thru asides and various conversations (usually accusations). The author also added various footnotes (a LOT of them) to the novel, mostly consisting of explanations or snarky comments. The footnotes almost become a story within a story.

I liked the characters. I liked the story line. I wasn’t thrilled with the footnotes, but I am thinking that in a final traditionally printed book, their placement would add and not detract from the story. I am glad I tried a new author, Catherine Mack and her newest book Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies.

It took me a while to get through this one, it was pretty slow paced. I did not enjoy the extra footnotes, they became annoying at times. I loved the narrator chapters, they were hysterical! I thought the ending was perfect and I really enjoyed it.

DNFing at 22%

I wanted to love this book, a fun summer thriller with a cozy vibe.

But the constant footnotes were distracting and honestly hard to read on my kindle. It took me so far out of the story that I ended up skipping the footnotes for a while but then I wasn’t getting the full story.

22% in and none of the characters really gripped me either. I don’t think I’ll buy this in print to try. This book just ended up not being a good fit for me.

EARC provided by St. Martians Press.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
What a fun quick read! I absolutely loved tnis book. It was cute and funny and a cozy mystery tnat put me in vacation mode based on its location and activities in the story. The characters were likeable and not based on what they portrayed in the book. I was easily able to finish this one in 2 days and am definitely eager to read more by this author!! I loved the scenery and the settings. I enjoyed the little quirky comments of the protagonist that made me laugh. This book is for sure also a great vacation read!

Quick Take:
This was fun! It was very entertaining with a cast of quirky characters and a main character who talks directly to the reader - including footnotes to give details, clues, and witty one liners. This book reminded me a bit of a less literary, beachy version of Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson which was one of my absolute favorites last year.

This would make a great movie or miniseries and it looks like this is going to be a 3 book (at least) series which I am here for. If you are looking for just a fun, entertaining, easy read - this is it!

For Fans Of:
Cozy Murder Mysteries
Agatha Christie Novels
Knives Out & Clue
Beach Read Vibes
Quirky Characters

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
This was a fun quick read. The main character seems to get herself a bit trouble without looking for it. When the book tour was put together, the group of characters could have made anyone a suspect!!
Great beach read, definitely recommend!

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is a cozy mystery, I guess. It is about a mystery author who is on her tenth anniversary tour in Italy as that is where the first book took place. On it with her is her sister/personal assistant; a man who had been her boyfriend for the first book and she had named him by name so he was now a permanent fixture; his girlfriend, a couple of other authors, and the man she truly was in love with but had goofed it up. Connor, the original boyfriend, insisted that someone was trying to kill him. No one ever saw anything, and well, he is kind of a drama king. His girlfriend, Isabella, is so young her brain hasn’t formed enough to have many thoughts, so she gets a lot of eye rolls. Harper, her assistant, is making sounds about leaving her job. Oliver, the man she loves, is making it seem possible he still loves her. There is a lot going on. Then someone really does try to kill Eleanor, the protagonist.

I have multiple feelings about this book. She breaks the third wall constantly. I don’t like it as a technique. It plays better in the audio version than it does in the text version. She also uses footnotes which work better in the text version, but are really not a fiction technique and mostly pointless. The book also proves that mystery writers are not necessarily mystery solvers. Eleanor is not the only author present failing miserably at solving the crime(s). The book has no depth. Even the feuds in the story have no real teeth. The original crime, as it turns out, had way more to it than is revealed. The Italian police detective has been transferred because he made such a mess of the first investigation so now he’s investigating again in another city? I guess I just like a more serious book, even if it is a cozy.

Elizabeth Evans is the narrator and I am still trying to decide which I like better, the text or the audio. Evans did a more than adequate job and did well with multiple characters. She made it almost make sense, which the text did not.

I was invited to read Every Time I go On Vacation, Someone Dies by St Martins Press and to listen by MacMillan Audio. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #MacMillanAudio #CatherineMack #ElizabethEvans #EveryTimeIGoOnVacationSomeoneDies

I enjoyed the storyline of this book, I think the idea was fun and interesting. The style of the book didn't really work for me - that zany, quirky, breaking-the-fourth-wall narration isn't my favorite and I did a lot of skimming in the middle. I did get to the end because I wanted to see how it turned out and who was behind it all, and I'm glad that I did. A more straightforward writing style would be more enjoyable for me, though. Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the advance digital copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

This was such a fun and unique way of storytelling! I truly loved every minute! The way the author broke the fourth wall between the reader and the characters was such an entertaining way to tell this story and also develop our main character. And THE ANNOTATIONS! These were so cleverly used and added such personality to the already character-driven story.

I enjoyed how this mystery was very Agatha Christie-coded. Everyone was a potential suspect and the twist at the end surprised me! Of course, I’m not an aficionado of the mystery/thriller genre, so they usually get me every time!

I have seen such mixed reviews about this book, but I truly think it is a unique take on this genre. I really encourage you to pick this one up!

Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun read! I did not know what to expect when I started reading this, and once in I could not put it down. The main character, Eleanor, is speaking directly to us - the reader, and she’s hilarious! I loved the pop culture references. In this funny thriller, the author really makes you connect with Eleanor and keeps you guessing who the killer is, tries to throw you off at every turn. If you want an easy fun cozy mystery, definitely pick this up! Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this advance copy!

I desperately wanted to like this book but I got 18% in and it wasn't doing it for me. I know others have loved it but the characters weren't intriguing to me. Frankly, they annoyed me. A lot. And that's just not what I'm looking for in a fun, entertaining mystery novel.

Rounded up from like a 3.5. Didn’t hate it but I found the style (and protagonist) a little bit too much. The breaking of the fourth wall works sometimes but it felt a little like it was trying too hard to be quirky with all the footnotes drive me insane. I know they’re optional but I can’t not read them if they’re there and they just drive me insane. They really weren’t necessary and I felt like it too much away from the story.

The story itself, I put together. But I think for a cozy mystery it worked. I feel like it would have been stronger if it left out the footnotes. Or maybe that’s just my hate for footnotes talking.

I DNF'ed this book. I found the footnotes distracting.

🗣 Thank you to netgalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

Interesting premise for any book lover.
Eleanor Dash has been authoring a very successful vacation mystery series for several years and decides now is the time to kill off a main character and end it Taking a very mixed up book tour through Italy, she founders while dealing with an ex boyfriend who has been blackmailing her for years and enough comic mayhem to make what could have been a real classic vacation thriller, more of a story in disarray.
Too many "side bar" stories and footnotes that pop up continuously, completely disrupting any resemblance to smooth plot flow.
Just could not jump into the vacation.