This book screams summer reading and fun, but unfortunately its execution is its downfall. I haven’t read a cozy mystery where it takes roughly 60% into the book for the mystery to kick in. There’s a lot of talking about writing, publishing, and countless pop culture references. The book can’t seem to decide if it wants to do and ultimately breaks the fourth wall which is a bit jarring. The main character is not likable, catty, and not funny. It was hard to care for the story. I don’t think I will be continuing this series.

This was a fun and fast listen! I love a good book about an author working on their next book, and this one delivered. The narration was fantastic and I would recommend the audio version for anyone looking to pick up this title! I will be reading the next in the series!

“Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, and three bodies.”

This book was fun.

I loved the Italian setting, the backdrop of the publishing world, and bookish media.

I really liked the flawed nature of the main character, as it gave her real depth.

I didn’t love how shallow the secondary characters were, the also-ran nature of the romance, and how many plot points were just glossed over. We’re to believe that Connor has the brains to mastermind multiple, modern-day bank heists, but given zero indicators to back it up.

I also don’t think it helped that the book gave me serious “Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone” vibes, a book I really enjoyed, but wasn’t as well executed.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin, and Macmillan Audio for this romp of an ARC.

This book is so fun! Mack bobs and weaves a tale so funny, so mysterious that it will keep you glued to the page until the bitter end. Every Time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies is a book lovers dream. Our main character is a mystery author on a book tour in Italy. While she struggles to plot out her next murder on the page, it seems someone is trying to make one happen in real life. With twists and turns and laugh-out-loud moments around every bend, Mack delights in this Emily Henry turned murder mystery. I loved every single character in this book and cannot wait for the next one in this series. Seriously, so good. The mystery book of the summer!

Some people might say they chose this book despite the title. Mystery lover that I am - I chose it because of the title. I wasn't familiar with Catherine Mack, but the title intrigued me, and the publisher's description intrigued me even more. I love authors writing about authors, and (when it's well-done) especially love when they break that fourth wall and speak directly to the reader. And Mack handled it very well indeed with this book about an author who's accidentally fallen into writing a best-selling mystery series that was initially based on an incident from her life. But now she's struggling to write book #10 in the series, where her plan is to write out (more accurately kill off) the male lead in the books so that she can get the real-life guy out of her life. On an authors' tour in Italy with other mystery writers, she and Connor (the real life former lover and current thorn in her side) find themselves in some dicey situations and bodies begin to drop. It's all fun, and the narration by Elizabeth Evans just adds to the experience - she does a great job with different accents and with giving characters their own voices. It was an entertaining read/listen - and it made me want to go back to Italy, both for the scenery and for the food. I started out reading this one, but ended up mostly listening to the audiobook. I'm looking forward to the next book in this planned series.
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing copies for an unbiased review.

The author of a bestselling crime-solving series goes on a trip to locations in her stories, alongside members of her team (including her sister and an ex or two) and fans. While on the trip, suspicious things begin to happen and she is thrust into the role of detective herself. This book was so fun! The narrator broke the 3rd wall and left funny footnotes to the reader, which actually came across in audio form, which is rare for me to find. I enjoyed the narrator and the story was entertaining throughout. I could see cozy mystery readers as well as those who enjoy thrillers liking this book!

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Elizabeth Evans. The narration was light, fun, easy to listen to and the voices were great of the different characters were perfect!

This was different that any other audiobook I've ever listened to. The main character, Eleanor Dash is an author and she actually addresses the reader (example--"You've already figured that out, haven't you?"). Eleanor is on a book tour. Her ex shows up and says someone is trying to kill him. The rest of the story is the mishaps, near misses and not so near misses that befall this group of authors and fans that are in the group as they all band together to try to solve the mystery of what is really going on.

There is certainly never a dull moment in this book!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

I absolutely loved this. Eleanor’s trip to Italy was a disaster in the most entertaining way possible.

I absolutely adored the premise of an unintentional writer who makes her way to literary fame through solving a series of bank robberies and writing a fictional book about them…and then keeps it going. The blackmail, the terrible ex who screws everyone over and is barnacle-esque in his holding tight to the mouths that feed him, the references to failed duolingo classes, the love-hate relationship with the other authors on the trip, the murder attempts…all of it made for a completely entertaining read.

The narrator was PERFECT for this book. When I say perfect, I mean it. Eleanor’s wit, her sarcasm, her footnotes, her commentary—they all came through like I was sitting in the room with her, watching this story play out. Perfection!

Such an original concept for a book! Initially, I was obsessed and loving it! While I still very much enjoyed it, the characters were all terrible and it seemed to really drag for a lot of it. I think the audiobook is the way to go for this one, as I think some of the footnotes and such that are included would have been difficult to read through.

The cover definitely through me off, even though I knew it wasn't a cozy happy book, the cover got me. It's definitely more of a cozy, fun mystery than a thriller by any means. I did laugh a lot through the book, at the silly characters, and I was caught off guard a few times, so I did enjoy it and will definitely continue with it if it's a series (which I think it is), but it just wasn't my absolute favourite.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is such a quirky and fun murder mystery with a touch of romance. I read the ebook of this book as well as listened to the audiobook. First of all, the plot and characters were superb. The ebook format was a bit challenging to read because the narrator makes multiple footnotes throughout the text and the footnotes are all listed at the end of each chapter. This is much less awkward (and much more fun!) in the audiobook version. I think the audiobook was my favorite. The narration was excellent and so entertaining. I loved this book and truly hope there is a sequel. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Giving this a 3.5/5 STAR!

Finished the audiobook and enjoyed it! I wouldn’t say it was surprising (since it was obviously who the bad guys were from the beginning), but I enjoyed the banter and funny moments for sure.

The narrator was enjoyable too and I felt she did well…especially with the footnotes portion of the storyline.

It was cute, witty and entertaining!

I absolutely LOVED this book and the audio narration by Elizabeth Evans was the cherry on top. This book was my favourite read this month. I have never read anything in this style before (Glass Onion, Knives Out) but I SO enjoyed it. It was clever, witty, engaging and full of twists. Normally I gravitate towards darker mystery/thrillers but this was nice and light, yet still kept me on the edge of my seat! I enjoyed the line up of different characters. They were described in a way that was easy to follow/not mix up and each person was unique enough without it being over the top and unbelievable. I have added Catherine Mack to my "instant buy" author list.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and Catherine Mack for sending this ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Eleanor's writing career has been a success with just one mistake. A long ago experience was tweaked in a writing frenzy to later become a best seller with the exception of one character. Connor, to this day, relentlessly claims part of the fame for his role and use of his name. On a publishing tour together with others in the business, something is off and a dead body or three has everyone second guessing who is behind the not-so-coincidental events.
I enjoyed this book despite the fact that I was hoping for a little more death on this particular vacation. Most of the supporting cast was unlikeable and I was convinced at any given moment that any of them could be the culprit. I'm very curious how Catherine will continue the intrigue into book two. The footnotes especially shine as an unexpected highlight for me.
I've only heard narration with Elizabeth Evans with SJM books so not going to lie - my muscle memory kept expecting a wyvern or fae to make an appearance at any given moment. That being said, her accents are fabulous and I love that every character was given larger than life personality through her range and verbal cues.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the alc. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a fun cozy mystery in a beautiful setting. Lots of suspects in this murder mystery to keep you guessing. With the footnotes and aside comments it would have been easier to understand as a physical book. I think the narrator did a great job with the characters. This does not meet the criteria for our high school library but I will recommend it to staff, family, and friends that read cozy mysteries.

AHHHHHHHHHH I loved this audiobook. It had me hooked from the beginning. What a great story from the beginning and I cannot wait to see what my patrons will think of this one!

This is a near perfect example of what i think of as a truly good beach read. Fun, charming, and snappily paced, but still truly clever and well structured.

Book within a book doesn’t always sit well with me as a whole remorse for a novel, but this is a slightly different spin on that and it worked really well. The plot is clever and compelling, and it’s funny without being too madcap or slapstick for some readers’ tastes.

The mystery itself isn’t anything terribly sophisticated, but it doesn’t need to be, because the fun of this one is in the getting there, and the solve is a logical one that (while not exactly shocking) doesn’t detract from the quality of the book.

It’s a great cast of characters and structured around the solidly plotted and entertaining dynamics between them, and in Eleanor we have a funny and lovable heroine who is more than worthy of a continued series.

This book was so fun on audio! Great narration and all the footnotes were effortlessly woven in, which were a little distracting in the physical book. I loved how she broke through the 3rd wall and spoke right to us.

Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies is the debut cozy mystery by Catherine Mack full of humour and interesting characters. Set in Italy, a group of mystery fans are on a tour with their favourite mystery writer, Eleanor Dash and her ex-lover, Connor Smith, who is the real-life model for a beloved (by fans, not so much Eleanor anymore) character in her books who she really wants to kill off in her books against her publishers’ advice. Only now, it seems, or at least Connor insists, someone is trying to kill him in real life and he wants her help. Eleanor has her doubts about it until she finds herself the target of a determined killer and now she has no choice but to investigate even if it means also helping Connor.

This is a fast, fun, and funny cozy mystery with plenty of twists and turns, interesting characters, and multiple suspects to keep the reader engaged. The story is told in the first person by Eleanor and, in her telling, she adds footnotes. I had both the ebook and audiobook and sort of split my time between the two. With the ebook, this added to the humour. However, I found it tended to break the flow of the audiobook. Still, overall, I quite enjoyed this book in both formats. The audiobook is narrated by Elizabeth Evans who does a great job.

Thanks to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read/listen to this book in exchange for an honest review

This book took me all over Italy on a murder mystery tour and left me wanting Gelato.

This was a fun little fair play mystery that had me thinking everyone was the killer at some point. I will say the clues were small to guest the true culprit but a keen ear might pick up on the small breadcrumbs that are dropped throughout.

I enjoyed all of the banter and the omniscient narrator style of the mystery writer. She was quite witty in her observations.

All of the characters were equally parts frustrating, annoying and funny which made this book entertaining.

This was my first time reading this author but I will be sure to add her books to my future tbr pile

I really enjoyed this read! Finley Donovan vibes, which I loved, but it's definitely unique. Funny, twisty, and propulsive. I'll be continuing the series for sure.