Every Time I go On Vacation, Someone Dies is a great beach read. I got some Only Murders in the Building vibes which is great because I’ve been wanting to read a book with that vibe for a while now! Also glad the footnotes “made the cut”!
There’s a variety of characters and all of them have issues- except maybe Oliver. Big maybe though. The humor is spot on and it is still a whodunnit type.
I did piece together a little of the big reveal and I was close to getting more (it was riiiiight there) but I didn’t quite guess it altogether. Definitely would recommend.

A murder mystery with a lot of humor! The idea of going on vacation with all the people that would be suspects if you died is pretty hysterical. There were a lot of potential suspects. The interactions between all of the characters were intriguing, planting a lot of clues. I did laugh out loud multiple times and was kept in the story trying to figure it out. I would definitely read more from this author. The only negative was the volume of footnotes. I liked the humor of them, but there were too many and they ended up taking me out of the story when reading as an e-book. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is a fun, lighthearted mystery that everyone needs in their lives.

The humor in this book is the highlight and driving plot. Eleanor Dash is our main character who has a sharp sense of humor that really gives this book a personality. While some of this book was not entirely believable, it's easy to suspend your belief due to the nature of the book. It was funny, witty, and wove a murder-mystery with romance into it without being too overbearing and frustrating.

I loved all of the characters. The plot of Eleanor being on a book tour with other authors while being in slump gets mixed with Connor, another author, believing someone is after him. The book proceeds to spice up from there, and it's just genuinely enjoyable.

If you're looking for a fun, cozy mystery where you can suspend your beliefs and be taken along for the ride, this is for you.

4.5 ⭐

The book was a delightful who done it, very similar to a murder mystery dinner vibe, with a comedic sidebar. The cast travels around often but have to stick together so it reads like a closed proximity mystery. The side stories kept me very entertained throughout regardless of what was happening with they mystery. I thought it was witty and fun. The main character in this story is a novelist, making this a book about books. I thought the characters had depth and were interesting without being overwhelming. I for sure had my opinions throughout. I especially liked Eleanor's honesty to herself and therefore the reader, and I love to hate Connor. I definitely recommend this lighthearted mystery read.

I would consider this book a cozy mystery with funny moments sprinkled within. The writing style was interesting, the MC was speaking directly to the reader, rather than us following her story from the outside. The story reads as though you were sitting next to you, telling you her thoughts. There were a lot of footnotes which were completely distracting, and made it difficult for me to follow along. They took me away from the story, and I ended up skipping them as I went along (so it was easier for me to read). Aside from the footnotes issue, the book moves fairly quick. I found it predictable, but there were a few things that did surprise me.

To sum up the plot, Eleanor is the best selling author of the “Vacation Mystery” series. She’s on a book tour in Italy, working on an idea to write the main male character, out of her books. There’s one small problem. Connor is a real person, he’s Eleanor’s ex and he is on the book tour with her. He is also convinced someone is trying to kill him. She has also brought along her sister, Harper, with whom Eleanor is overly reliant on. As the group of 3 adventure around Italy, it becomes clear that there is foul play occurring, and Eleanor is determined to figure out what is going on.

This is a great little cozy mystery! It’s also hilarious! If you liked the Finlay Donovan series, I think you’ll enjoy this as well. The chapters either end on a cliffhanger or just in a way that makes you want to keep reading, and it was a very quick read. It’s also the perfect summer read, with lots of descriptions of sunny Italy and gelato! I did figure out the twist, but hadn’t figured out all the details or the whys.

The only issue I had were the footnotes. I was reading on kindle, so for me it was just too annoying to flip back and forth between the part I was reading and the end of the chapter where the footnotes were. After reading the first couple chapters’ worth, I ended up skipping them based on my own (and other’s!) intuition that it wouldn’t mess up the story to do so. And I don’t think I missed anything super important; based on a quick scan they seemed to be mostly funny anecdotes and asides from the FMC. It also would probably have been easier to read in a physical copy, since they were at the bottom of each page instead of the end of the chapter. But other than that, I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read before pub day! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION, SOMEONE DIES is out now!

I totally enjoyed EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION, SOMEONE DIES. From the first moments of this story with its unforgettable title, I was captivated by Eleanor Dash and her fantastic observations about life, writing, reading, murder, destinations, and hunky inspiration woven throughout the book. I would love to read her actual books -- as long a they were written so tight, so wonderfully plotted, with characters and complications that puzzled and delighted me, especially when the main character who has been her bread and butter for ten years needs to be put down. Fun and funny, a really diverting read! I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

Where do I start? I loved this book! Catherine Mack’s new novel, Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies, is fresh, funny, engaging, and has a unique narrative style that I instantly fell in love with. This is a book for mystery readers, mystery writers, and really anyone who loves books and wants to get inside of an author’s head. You won’t regret adding this to your to-be-read list!

What is Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies about?

Bestselling mystery author Eleanor Dash has arrived in Italy for her latest book tour, and she’s prepared to use this vacation to plot how to kill Connor Smith (in her books).

Not only is Connor Smith the main character in her bestselling Vacation Mysteries series, but he’s also her real-life ex-boyfriend and apparently a conman. Connor spent the last ten years (and last ten books) blackmailing Eleanor for a portion of her book sales.

He’s made the case that she based the character off of him and a real-life bank robbery they solved the last time they were in Italy, so he’s entitled to a portion of her earnings. He also has something he’s holding over Eleanor’s head that makes her continue to pay him. Eleanor is willing to kill off the character of Connor Smith in her own series if it means finally being free of the real-life Connor Smith.

But it turns out that while they are on the book tour in Italy (yes, the publisher brings him, too), it seems someone else is trying to kill him too, but in real life. Did Eleanor manifest this into existence?

There’s a whole crew full of motives along for the ride, including Eleanor’s sister and personal assistant who is not happy Eleanor stole her career, literary competitors who are competing for sales and budget, rabid fans, a stalker, another woman Connor used to be involved with, and another of Eleanor’s exes, Oliver. Can Eleanor figure out who is trying to get away with murder?

What did I think?

I’ll shout it from the rooftops—I loved this book! It’s fun, smart, unique, and completely engrossing. This is one of those books that is definitely funny, but it’s in a clever, well-crafted way rather than over-the-top or silly. There are plenty of humorous comments, but it’s really the overall narrative the reader gets directly from Eleanor that make this book so wonderful.

I’ve seen people compare this book to the Finlay Donovan books and I absolutely understand the comparison, but I personally found them to be quite different in tone. The Finlay books are great, but they are more silly than they are funny. In contrast, ETIGOVSD (let’s abbreviate for space) has a drier sense of humor that appealed to me (think Listen for the Lie in terms of humor style) and was narratively quite different in style and tone.

What is that unique narrative style I keep referencing?

One of my favorite parts of the book was the way it was narrated in the second person to the reader through footnotes. Eleanor is telling the story of what’s happening directly to the reader, and interjects her own story for commentary, context, and to engage the reader in the process of solving the mystery.

After reading this (and particularly doing the audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Evans), I feel confident saying Eleanor and I are close friends. We solved a mystery together! And I’d imagine this is a feeling most readers will have. Eleanor isn’t just telling the story to us, she’s pausing the story to discuss it with us. Sometimes this is done through footnotes to the reader, and other times we get whole chapters.

These second-person narrations tied back to the process of writing and the structure of mystery novels. For instance, Eleanor may pause to talk through the start of act three, and what that should entail. She asks us to be the one to solve the mystery. Sometimes she deep dives the suspect list and why we should or shouldn’t consider someone as a suspect (including her!). She may also fill us in on background information (she finally tells us what the thing is that Connor is holding over her head, for instance).

All of these kept pulling me in, as though I was sitting with Eleanor during a storyboarding exercise (if she did those, which she is very clear she unfortunately is not that type of writer) or chatting over a few lemon spritzes and a delectable bowl of cacio a pepe. Throughout her dialogue with the reader, Eleanor drops in tidbits about her thought process, her inspiration, and other great literary works.

At one point a fellow writer says to her “Goodreads is the worst” to which Eleanor adds the footnote to the reader, “Also known as MeanReads among authors, it’s a site that lets people review books they haven’t even read.” She’s not wrong! I loved these peeks into how authors work, think, and feel about their work and the parasocial relationships readers form with them.
How are the side plots?

There’s so much to love in this book! The sister-relationship between Eleanor and Harper I barely touched on in this review, but it’s actually a wonderful part of the story. Harper dreamed of being a writer, but Eleanor is the one who nearly accidentally achieved that dream. Harper is now Eleanor’s assistant and there is definitely a lot to work out between these two, though they have a great bond.

Connor is a constant, infuriating presence in the story. Like Eleanor, I wanted to roll my eyes at everything he did, but there is something that makes it hard to hate him despite how he treated her. Eleanor seems to agree. For you romance readers, there’s also a romance plot between Eleanor and her ex-boyfriend Oliver. I won’t go into details, but there could be a second chance at love for these two, if they can work through their issues!

Final Thoughts (TLDR)

I cannot recommend this book enough! In terms of genre, this is probably closest to a cozy mystery, though I could also label it as a literary mystery. The tone is light and the main character is wry and witty in her commentary. Eleanor has a self-awareness that she shares with the reader that makes her infinitely likeable, even when she is doing or has done questionable things.

The mystery is gripping and the reader gets all of the clues to solve it along the way, with Eleanor’s coaching. I loved the romance subplot between Eleanor and her ex, Oliver. I wanted them to make it work! The narrative format is clever and fresh, and the audiobook narration truly brought it to life. An absolute delight!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copies. Opinions are my own.

Eleanor is the best selling author of the Vacation Mystery series. She’s on a book tour in Italy, working on an idea to write the main character, Connor Smith, out of her books. There’s just one small problem. Connor is a real person, Eleanor’s ex, is on the book tour with her, and is currently convinced someone is trying to kill him. As the group adventures around Italy, it becomes clear that there is foul play occurring, and Eleanor is determined to figure out what is going on.

This book is a cozy mystery with funny moments sprinkled throughout. The writing was interesting, because Eleanor was speaking directly to the reader. There were also a lot of footnotes which were difficult to manage while reading. They definitely took me in and out of the story and were distracting.

The book moves really quickly and while it was fairly predictable, I didn’t figure everything out. I didn’t find Eleanor to be a super likable character. She’s really dependent on other people to manage her life, specifically her sister, Harper. It was a fun read, but I never felt fully invested in the mystery or in any of the characters. I'll still probably pick up the next one in the series, because it was an easy read and I'm interested in what happens next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for the ARC.

This was a very cute, very breezy, easy summer read. I flew through it in two sittings. Other reviewers have said that the footnotes were annoying, but I actually found them easy to read on my Kindle (you just click on them) and funny. I thought they added a lot to the story. I could see this being a perfect book to pick up for a plane ride or a beach day, and would recommend it as such. Nothing ground-breaking here, but it was fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the ARC!

I really liked the format of this one! A writer writing about being a writer and the footnotes were a great addition. This book was funny with a murder mystery built in. The main character Elanor is a famous writer who is on tour in Italy; I loved her character! She is stuck with Connor because he is the main character in her novels but she cannot stand him and wants her series to end but killing his character off. But Connor comes to her while they are in Italy and says someone on the tour is trying to murder him. Will Elanor be able to finally be rid of Connor both fictionally and real life?

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC!

I had so much fun reading this book! The storytelling was cleverly executed - a mystery within a mystery and a deeper look into the narrators inner monologue through the use of footnotes. This was a truly unique reading experience. I enjoyed every minute of it. Information was given to the reader through the text and the footnotes - it was like being included in the story (I felt like I was accompanying the narrator on her journey). I had an inkling of who the murder/attempted murder was, but not the whole story and nor did I suspect is was as complex as it turned out to be - the simplest answer was not the solution.
In short, I would absolutely read the next book the author puts out, especially since it does (spoiler) end on a cliffhanger. There is so much more story to tell.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a digital review copy of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Thank you Netgalley, Catherine Mack, and St. Martin's Press for this fun and quirky ebook! The writing style was so unique and although we were figuring out who was a murder wanna be and why it was also funny and interactive!

“if everyone didn’t make a bunch of stupid decisions this book would be over by now”. That’s the freaking truth. This wanted to be. Gilmore Girls episode mixed with Clue and it ended up just being a mess.

This book just annoyed me and really wasn't enjoyable at all.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is the first book in the new cozy The Vacation Mysteries series.

Eleanor Dash, a best selling author, wants to end the book series that made her famous to get ride of the male main character, Connor Smith she unfortunately modeled after a real person who has been making Eleanor miserable. As she contemplates killing him off in the book, someone is exactly trying to kill him in real life, maybe.

With plenty of twists and turns and quirky characters this was a fun cozy mystery.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies
This is not my usual review style, but my experience with this book was highly unusual. If you want to know what the book is about, please read one of the many reviews that summarize the plot. Despite the snarky comment about Goodreads, I read the ARC and my opinions are not fabrications.
I rated this book 2 stars because by the time I had suffered through reading the first nine chapters I was more than ready to DNF. Yet there were things I liked about the plot, so I continued. Going from the pits up to 2 stars says something far more positive than the number implies.
Things that were positive:
⁃ a very catchy and intriguing title
⁃ an engaging motivation behind the plot - I was totally on board with the fictional author’s plan to kill off her ex in her next book. He was a blackmailing scumbag of many year’s duration. I would have been equally happy if she had not only killed him on the page, but also in the flesh.
⁃ the setting in Italy - It’s hard to ignore the positive contribution a gorgeous and historic setting makes.
⁃ an original story idea, although the writing told it in a very scattered disjointed way
⁃ things came together to a fairly satisfying conclusion, although a bit contrived.
Unfortunately there were many negatives starting with the premise of a multi author/reader fan book tour which was completely unrealistic.
I was 25% of the way through before becoming anything other than annoyed with the characters, with the disjointed writing style which was all over the place and with the strong sense that the rest of the book would be going nowhere also. Way too long to leave a reader in limbo. Fortunately the plot did move foreword but the writing remained messy throughout.
Finally, I can’t not comment on the ‘footnotes’. Apparently this was Ms. Mack’s cutesy wsy of communicating to the reader. Some had value, most were just annoying, dumb and pointless attempts at being amusing. Not a good way to treat readers. Their formatting was a total bomb in the digital version. They were not visable in immediate relation to the text they referenced and they consistently popped up later right in the middle of a sentence in subsequent text. Was anyone at the publisher paying attention to how this would fly in the real world????
I asked myself whether I would read anything else written by Catherine Mack/Catherine McKenzie. When the answer wasn’t an immediate ‘yes’, it’s a bad sign. But I’m curious about her books before she decided, according to her Acknowledgements, that her writing life needed a change. I’m not rushing to read her backlist, but have requested a prior title from the library.
I think Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies will make a better limited tv series than a book. I expect in that environment the characterizations will be clearer, the humor that was a flop in the book may also either come across better or be left out entirely, and the author’s inability to focus will not be an issue.
Thank you to the author, the publisher St. Martin’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

This cover is amazing, the title is intriguing, and I love books set in Italy. I had really high hopes for this book after seeing it compared to the Finlay Donovan series. Unfortunately I struggled a bit with this book. There were quite a few characters on the book tour and at times I had trouble keeping up with who was who. The constant interjecting by the narrator was too much for me. It reminded me of The Fury in that she's kind of taunting the reader for not figuring out the murderer yet. I don't mind footnotes, it was just too many. I also think I just didn't jive with the narrator's style. I feel like she used too much slang trying to make herself sound young/cool. Of course I didn't write down an example so now I can't think of one. I also really didn't like how she treated her sister as an employee. Maybe they can have a better relationship in future books.
There were a couple things I liked about the book. The biggest being that I didn't guess who was trying to kill Connor and Eleanor! I also liked Eleanor's dilemma with trying to kill off Connor in her books. That was like a fun little side story within the main story. I did like the ending and that it ended on a cliffhanger. I would give the second book a try!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

I loved everything about this book. The mystery was mystifying but there is comedy and tears too. I just thoroughly enjoyed the story and the twists and turns that we go on was just a joy. I can’t wait to read more of this universe and from this author.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is Catherine Mack’s latest comedic mystery. It is a riveting story narrated by mystery author Eleanor Dash while she is on a research trip to Italy. It’s written in first person point of view and contains footnotes at the end of each chapter.

35-year-old bestselling author Eleanor Dash is on a combination book tour and research trip in Italy with her younger sister and personal assistant, Harper. Ten years earlier Eleanor met a con man in Rome who she became romantically involved with. When she returned home, she wrote a book about their adventures, When in Rome, and became an overnight success. Readers loved the mysterious private investigator, Connor Smith, so Eleanor wrote the Vacation Mystery series featuring him. Unfortunately, the real Connor Smith demanded 10% of the book proceeds, which he then increased to 20% over time. So now Eleanor is trying to figure out how to kill off the beloved character in her tenth book so she can get the real Connor Smith out of her life for good.

Then Connor shows up in Rome and confronts Eleanor, begging her to help him figure out who is trying to kill him in real life. Connor admits that someone is blackmailing him because he involved this person in a shady financial scheme, but he refuses to tell Eleanor who his blackmailer is. Eleanor doesn’t care about Connor’s problems, but then Harper’s purse is stolen by a brazen thief and Eleanor is afraid it’s related to Connor’s situation. Eleanor is unhappy to learn that her publisher had a contest and awarded 20 superfans, the BookFace Ladies, a free trip to Rome to accompany Eleanor on her research trip. One of the winners is Crazy Cathy, a stalker who Eleanor got a restraining order against. Unfortunately, the restraining order isn’t enforceable in Italy. There’s a terrible tour guide, Sylvie, who is spouting incorrect information, which drives Eleanor crazy.

Then Eleanor learns that her publisher is hosting a whole entourage of authors on the book tour who all have a beef with Connor Smith. Allison Rogers Smith is Connor’s ex-wife who doesn’t blame Eleanor for his illicit affair with her during their marriage. Then there’s Guy Charles, Connor’s former business partner. Connor’s notoriety caused their PI firm to go out of business. Oliver Forrest writes literary mysteries and helped Eleanor get over her heartbreak from Connor. However he ended the relationship with Eleanor three years ago, although she still loves him. Abishek “Shek” Botha is an aging mystery author whose last two books tanked. Emily Ma is a writer who has stolen Eleanor’s plots but is successful with younger readers because she promotes her books on TikTok. Isabella Joseph is a 25-year-old beautiful redheaded Canadian who struck up a conversation with Connor on the airplane; now they are lovers.

Eleanor’s sister, Harper, is trying unsuccessfully to resign as Eleanor’s assistant so she can pursue her own writing career. However Eleanor cannot manager her own affairs because her head is in the clouds, and she relies on Harper to manage her day-to-day life. Harper is keeping secrets from Eleanor. She knows that Harper hates Connor but doesn’t have details.

When all of the writers, Connor, Harper, and Isabella are at the dinner table, Connor announces that he has slept with all of the ladies present. There’s no mention of when Harper and Connor were intimate. It’s also suspicious that Connor insists upon inviting Isabella along when they just met. Crazy Cathy approaches their table and demands to be seated, but Eleanor gets her seated elsewhere and then tries to figure out why her publisher would have allowed her on the trip. Then Eleanor chokes on a bone in her fish filet and Oliver saves her. It looks like this event may rekindle their romance.

There are multiple attempts on the real Connor’s life while Eleanor ponders the ending of her book series and travels all over Italy. She tries to resurrect her romance with Oliver while simultaneously disentangling herself from Connor. Meanwhile she’s trying to figure out who’s trying to kill Connor and what’s going on with her sister. At the end of the story, everything is explained and tied up neatly in a bow.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is a funny mystery with some romance. Eleanor’s character reveals the realities of being a successful writer with a lot of humor. The plot was interesting and moved at a good pace, but I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. The footnotes at the end of each chapter added to the humor and made me feel more engaged with Eleanor, but they were hard to relate to on my Kindle. Additionally the story contained many typographical errors that should have been corrected earlier. Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies would make an excellent movie that appeals to a wide audience; I believe seeing the characters would make it easier to keep them straight.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Eleanor Dash has written an extremely successful murder mystery series. The only caveat is she based the main character on her ex-boyfriend and he now gets a part of her earnings, so Eleanor would like him to just go away once and for all. On her book tour in Italy Connor tells her he thinks someone is trying to kill him. Eleanor thinks Connor’s accusations are ridiculous and gets sidetracked by her other ex Oliver showing up. When a near death experience happens to Eleanor and others on the tour she decides Connor might be right and starts looking into possible suspects on the book tour. Will Eleanor find the culprit before any other mysterious instances happen on this eventful book tour?

With the beautiful backdrop of Italy that you can easily picture as it is so richly described and the lure of a who-done-it this book has everything you could want: location, murder mystery and romance all wrapped up into one spectacular story.