Thanks to #NetGalley for an ARC of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies!
This is the first in what I hope will be a long-lasting mystery series. Eleanor is a mystery writer on a promotional book tour in Italy which includes her sister, fellow writers, a crazy stalker fan, and not 1 but 2 exes. All while she's contemplating killing off her main character who is based off of ex #1. To complicate matters, attempts are made to kill her and possibly ex #1. Everyone's hiding secrets and rivalries keep coming to the surface. There was bound to be a murder.

Catherine Mack frequently interrupts her story with comments directed to the reader as well as a multitude of footnotes. The story moves quickly and there's a lot of humor which helps give the action a sense of realism despite the over-the-top plot twists. There are also a few subtle (and not so subtle) shouts out for classic mysteries. For example, about 2/3 of the way, she has a chapter asking the reader directly if we've solved the mystery yet à la the 70s Ellery Queen TV show. Loved that.

So the ARC I read via Kindle did have a lot of problems with the footnote placement. But I'm hopeful that those problems will be handled for the final edit. This is a silly somewhat cozy mystery that I enjoyed immensely. I'm looking forward to her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Not for me. I was annoyed throughout and kept skipping to see if it would get better. The best part was the title, which is why I requested it. I didn't like a single character. Eleanor is a liar (by her own admittance), immature, and selfish. Right off the bat, I couldn't stand her, and that's not a good place to be with a main character. The footnotes didn't work well with a Kindle; maybe they'll be better in print, but they were useless in my opinion. In fact, Eleanor tells you it's ok to skip them. Well, alrighty then! I couldn't get back to the page I was on previously, so I tried reading them at the end of the chapters, and it was just too confusing so I gave up. I also couldn't figure out which character was speaking half the time. Great title, great premise, cute cover, disappointing.

I liked this but it was not a huge favorite. What is unique is its narrative voice. The upfront, sarcastic style - the narrator breaks the 4th wall - reminds of of Benjamin Stevenson's new series and book 1, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but I kept feeling as if I was entering the story midway through based on the characters backstory and ultimately it was a bit jarring. I'd give another book a try to see what book 2 is like.

Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.

Connor Smith is conniving. Not only did he sweep Eleanor Dash off her feet ten years ago while she was on vacation, but he’s also not trustworthy, has a secret past, and is now blackmailing Eleanor. The thing is, someone is trying to kill him and readers need to figure out if it’s a case of life imitating art … or not! You see, this con-man-ex-lover is also a character in Eleanor’s book and she just wants to write him off - literally and figuratively. When things start to surface giving Eleanor pause, she turns to her readers to help. Is this a case of a book tour gone wrong? Or is someone really out to ‘write off’ Connor Smith?

Things I loved:
❤️ Italian setting
❤️ following clues to solve a murder mystery
❤️ great cast of characters
❤️ great cover
❤️ book featuring authors, books, fans, and a book tour
❤️ heaps of secrets and blackmail
❤️ single POV; uncommon these days
❤️ humour/wit

The only thing I struggled with was the formatting - I couldn’t enjoy the footnotes (an integral part of this book) on the Kindle edition. This in no way reflects on this book or the author.

I think this will be a successful series! I saw that it’s been optioned for a TV series, too. I wish the author luck.

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

5 stars!

I read this book on vacation and it was literally perfect. I love the niche of mystery writers solving mysteries that they find themselves in (similarly to Anthony Horowitz and Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone) and so I was excited for this novel from the beginning and it did not disappoint.

I loved the main character and getting to meet everyone on the tour and see how they were connected to each other. I loved the Italian setting and the inclusion of sightseeing real Italian places (I really felt like I was there). I liked how there were enough clues that I did figure out the solution to the mystery but I was still along for the ride. A great start to a fun new cozy mystery series and I will be reading the sequel (because that ending???)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun read! I love cozy books and this was a great addition to the genre. The characters were great and the setting was lovely. I’ll definitely read the next in the series.

Thank you so much for the opportunity!

I saw this and wanted to read it asap:
“ Five authors on a ten day tour of six cities.
However there are three bodies and eight suspects! ”
Tell me you are not interested in it! I mean come on now..
It was quite fun and entertaining. I loved the little footnotes, they were quite insightful and well needed honestly.

First, I love the footnotes! They’re like what we ask the book while we’re reading it; little insights into the author’s mind! Eleanor Dash has gotten herself into quite the predicament during this book tour; murder and mayhem abound. The cast of characters are just that, characters. So many twists and turns to the plot that keep your attention; you must keep reading. It’s captivating and suspenseful with just the right amount of humor. A side of romance tossed in for Eleanor was a nice balance. Dive right in to this book for a tour of Italy (scenery descriptions really have you believing you’re there), mystery and suspense as Eleanor Dash and company solve a quirky who done it! I admit I did figure it out but it never stopped me from wondering what else Eleanor and gang would get into next and how exactly Eleanor would wrap it up.
Thank you to NetGallery for ARC!

Book Title: Every time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies
Author: Catherine Mack
Series: The Vacation Mysteries #1
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press-Minotaur Books
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pub Date: April 30, 2024
My Rating: 3.4 Stars!
Pages 304

Five authors on a ten day tour of six cities.
However there are three bodies and eight suspects!
Everyone seems to have motives to kill other people – will anyone be left?

I am always drawn to a good cover and this one got my attention but
~ I wish blurbs would not describe a story as ‘hilarious’~ I looked it up
Adjective - extremely amusing very funny, hysterically funny, uproarious
I am sure it is me and my sense of humor but the story IMO never fit this definition. My hope is that this story will be somewhat humorous; in this case it was a fun vacation mystery.
Plus I was not a fan of the the footnotes. ~ I love reading via Kindle as it is so easy to search anything questionable. In this case I skipped the pages listing the footnotes.

One thing I never skip is the Author’s Notes and/or Acknowledgments. I love knowing the inside scoop on the motivation for the story.
In her Acknowledgements, Catherine Mack not only thanks those who helped and supported her, she tells us that when she and her husband were on vacation on a hot tour of Pompeii this title came to her. She mentioned perhaps being surrounded by death. (Pompeii is a gravesite ~ tourists are attracted to see the bodies that were solidified into stone when the city was destroyed. Now more than 100 bodies have been preserved in plaster casts).

Want to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press- Minotaur Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 30, 2024.

Eleanor Dash from Venice Beach, CA wrote a successful series of murders that took place during a vacation in Italy. All the names were changed except one: Connor. She met him there, fell in love and returned writing books about robberies on the trip that ended up as murders.

Ten years later, her relationship with Connor was long gone except this con man was getting a percentage of her earnings because she used his name. She wanted to end the series with him being murdered. She returned to Italy with a book group. That’s where suspicious acts of murder were possibly aimed at her. Who of the seven possible suspects was trying to kill her?

It's a quick read with lots of dialogues and footnotes which seemed out of place in a fiction book like this. I wish there was more about the different sites they visited. I didn’t care for most of the personalities of the characters especially Eleanor and Connor. However, the ending was a nice surprise. I loved the design of the cover. It’s colorful and definitely sends a fun vibe for summer reading.

My thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this advanced book with an expected release date of April 30, 2024.

This was a fun & fast read! I snagged it from the “read now” section on NetGalley, and it did not disappoint! I couldn’t put it down. This is a perfect story for the summer.

While on a book tour for her murder mystery series, Eleanor is living out her own plot. She’s trying to figure out how to kill off a fan favorite character that’s based on her terrible ex. Meanwhile, her ex is convinced someone is actually trying to kill him. The book tour they’re on has a cast of characters involved, murder attempts, blackmail, and a semi-unreliable narrator (a self proclaimed lier).

The writing flows seamlessly, chapters end on cliffhangers, and i flew through it without realizing how much I was reading in one sitting. It’s single POV, and every chapter ends with funny footnotes that act as commentary from the narrator.

Thank you to the author, publisher, & NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

Author Eleanor Dash is on a book tour in Italy and she just wants to get through the tour and find the best way to kill off her main character in her series. The main character of her books also happens to be a real person, Connor Smith, who has been blackmailing her for part of her royalties. They also have a romantic past together which complicates things. Then, Connor believes someone is trying to kill him. And then someone really dies.

This book was a lot of fun. It's a light cozy mystery read packed full of comedy. The author's sense of humor really shines through. I enjoyed all the footnotes that were a part of each chapter. I've read one book previously with a similar style of explaining the crime and encouraging the reader to participate in solving it and didn't care for that one, but in my opinion this one was masterfully done. The tour around Italy was enjoyable. Cozy mysteries aren't usually my go to, but I really enjoyed this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I did not like the main character from the beginning. How can an author not appreciate her readers when she is on a author tour with them? I did not like the idea of having to read footnotes. I found them very annoying.

Fun, quick, cozy mystery. Enjoyed the “trip” to Italy and the perspective of the narrator/author. The footnotes were distracting and hard to read in the kindle. I’m not sure they were needed but overall this was a good read.

This was a fun read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

cozy-fiction, contemporary, book-within-a-book, chick-lit, verbal-humor, situational-humor, farce, whodunit, blackmail, better-in-print, twisty, sisters, writers, new-series, first-in-series, Italy, threats, laugh-riot****

Cute, fun, light read! Not to be read in a place where you wouldn't feel comfortable snickering or downright laughing out loud. She wrote the first mystery and it was incredibly popular. But. She gave the "hero" the name of the guy she was with and he rewarded her by blackmailing her out of some major profits. And. Her (better looking/more put together) sister goes everywhere with her. Then the creep catches up with her claiming that some mob or other has threatened his life. Tough, because she has enough murderous intent, herself! The action and laughs never cease or even slow down. There are footnotes which pretty much equal asides, but were something of a distraction for me. Enjoyable.
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley.

DNF.
The main character was shallow & forgettable.
More cringe than comedy.
The footnotes… more annoying than endearing


Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is light and fun despite the bodies that accumulate over bestselling author Eleanor Dash’s 10-day-trip to Italy. She’s with her ex, the good-looking Conner, who she wrote about in her first novel and can’t seem to get rid of, though she’s determined to kill him off—in her tenth novel. But then it seems that he’s had a few real threats to his life. Then, it seems, that Eleanor is at risk, too.

Also on the trip are other authors. One who steals plots directly from Eleanor but does so in a more literary fashion, thus getting better reviews from critics. Another author isn’t doing so well and envies the marketing budget Eleanor’s books get. Another person on the trip is a rabid fan Eleanor has a restraining order against. But who in the crowd has a reason to kill both Eleanor and Conner?

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 30, 2024.

I loved this book!
I thought it was so witty , with a gorgeous setting, and an interesting plot, I couldn't get enough of it. As a reader you felt like a part of the story instead of an outsider looking in with the footnotes and the check in chapters. If you love a witty mystery, this book is for you!

This is one of those quirky reads where the heroine is a bit of a hot mess and doesn't apologize for it. Eleanor Dash is a best selling author, profiting off of fiction inspired by real events. However, her main character, Connor Smith, is actually someone in her life who is nowhere as dashing and charming as in the books. After her series continues to succeed and Connor has no remorse for exploiting the proceeds, Eleanor's only solution to end his parasitic hold is to kill off his character. Easier said than done. Because then art imitates life. From there, this book goes on a literal tour where Eleanor and her entourage of fellow authors, friends, colleagues, fans or what have you travel from place to place in Europe and now Eleanor is living in a true to life version of the game of Clue. One of those whodunnits where everyone is a suspect or has a motive. I like a good mystery like anyone else, but Eleanor was characterized as rather flighty and nonchalant, so it was hard to take her seriously when she was having actual brainstorming sessions using any intelligible information. The author tried to keep the tone of the book light and somewhat of a satire, and when the truth comes out, I'll admit that was a surprising twist. I understand trying to make Eleanor relatable, but her scatterbrained personality was not endearing to me, making it more difficult to root for her.