This book picks up right where the first one left off, plunging us into a whirlwind investigation of a murder at the narrator's best friend's wedding. We get the same footnotes we got in the last book that really add to the enjoyment of this book series!

And just when you think it's over, there's a tantalizing hint of a third book on the horizon! If you enjoyed the first installment, brace yourself for another exhilarating ride. I can't wait for the third installment!

Happy reading, and get ready to be captivated!

This book picks up where the first leaves off, taking the reader along with the narrator as she investigates a murder at her best friend's wedding. The footnotes we all grew to love in the first book are back and snarky and informative and enjoyable! The twists are unpredictable, the ending fantastic, and the tease of a third book was tempting! If you enjoyed the first in this series, get ready for another heckuva ride!!

I was so excited to get to read No One Was Supposed to Die at this Wedding by Catherine Mack. This was a great book!

“No One was Supposed to Die at this Wedding” by Catherine Mack
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🤓🤓🤓🤓

Hello again to my new favorite series!! I LOVE these books so much. The characters, the footnotes, the humor, the twists and turns: it’s just all SO good! This one comes out in May of 2025 and I can’t wait for you all to read it! (There will be one more book after this too! Thank you, @catherinemckenzieauthor for bringing these stories to life!)

I love this series! The banter, Eleanor’s inner monologue, the chapter titles and footnotes, the reader as a passive participant in the story, all the twists and misdirections, and of course, the characters! This is such a brilliantly plotted story - it reads like Agatha Christie, but with a fresh and wholly original voice. These stories are so much fun, and I cannot wait to get my hands on book three!

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in Catherine Mack's "The Vacation Mysteries." It can be read as a standalone (which I read it as) but it may help to read the first one just to get some context, background info, and insight into a few of the characters.

First, I want to say that this was a such a unique book! While reading, there are various footnotes to refer to that provide extra information or comments. This was super interesting and it may be a personal preference thing but I didn't know how to feel about them. As an early copy, there were also a few grammatical mistakes such as 'desert' instead of 'dessert,' but I didn't mind or notice them too much!

It's a super fast read and keeps you guessing throughout. If you are a fan of mysteries and more of a light-hearted murder mystery then this book will appeal to you.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding
4 Stars
Pub Date: May 13, 2025

Ms. Eleanor Dash (and her fun footnotes) are back! This can be read as a standalone but I'd recommend going back and reading the first book: Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies. This book isn't a sequel but the prior book does give context and information that comes up in this one.

After filming for When in Rome wraps, the stars of the film are off to Catalina Island for their *surprise* wedding wit the cast. Threats received by the bride leading up to the wedding, leave her on edge and Ms. Dash is asked (and we know she cannot resist) to investigate.

There isn't a lack of twists and chaos to keep you on your toes and truly wondering "whodunit". Of course, this is all accompanied by some laugh out loud moments and Eleanor thinking out loud which tends to get her in trouble.

Thank you to Catherine Mack, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eleanor Dash, writer of “The Vacation Mysteries” and queen of the optional footnote (actually, don’t skip them), is back in “No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding.” Eleanor’s bestseller, “When in Rome,” has finally been adapted into a film and the co-stars, Fred and Emma, actually fell in love. They chose Catalina Island for their venue and, of course, a hurricane is headed their way.

I don’t think it’s necessary to read the first book, but it would help. Especially for the weird relationship between Connor and Eleanor (played by Fred and Emma and named in the movie as Connor and Cecilia — yes, Eleanor named Connor as Connor in her book). There’s also a stand-in Connor named Ken.

Anyway, Emma, the bride, has been getting unsettling messages like “someone will die at the wedding” as well as a bunch of passive aggressive tweets. Since they will be all stuck on Catalina, courtesy of Hurricane Isabella (the name of the previous book’s villain), you wonder if an “And Then There Were None” setup is coming. Eleanor, always wry and sarcastic, is great at creating mysteries on paper, but less efficient at deconstructing them. The inner dialogue and banter with others is terrifically funny — the delightful and whimsical plot does its necessary twists, turns and surprises, but it’s totally Eleanor that’s the star. I hope more “Vacation Mysteries” are being planned.*

The footnotes: I listened to author Mack’s “Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies” and, honestly, I wasn’t always aware while listening that Eleanor’s sarcastic explanations were footnotes. And Eleanor’s insights are what makes the novel so funny. Here, in an ebook version, the footnotes really are at the end of the chapter (the author warns us that the format might change and perhaps the print version notes will be on the physical page where they occur), so you have to choose to keep going forward if you want the comment explained immediately, or wait. Hmmm. I waited to read them since moving back and forth in an ebook is time-consuming. So, maybe you’d prefer a print version and a physical bookmark. And I do love the fun chapter titles of rhetorical questions. Any one of them is a prospective title!

5 stars!

*Maybe a third book called “This Weekend Isn’t Going to End Well for Anyone.”

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Shawna has pale green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): YES Peonies and poppies (summer and spring flowers) in October are a rare sight. Plus, no way an October bride gets tulips in her bouquet.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

4.5
Am I in love with the characters? No, reader, I am not.
But.
I could live in this narrative style for the rest of my life. I love the forth wall issue. I adore the fictional footnotes. I'm having a great time feeling like...like I'm, if not there with them, then helping somehow.

4.25 stars out of 5.

Wow, what a fun ride! I thought this book was a lot better than the first book in the series. It had me guessing the entire way, even into the ending. Just when I thought I knew what was happening, another twist was thrown in. There was a lot of well timed humor in the book and all the characters were well developed. I think this book can be read as a standalone but you will get a better picture of the characters if the first book is read before this one. Overall, a solid thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

In No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding, Eleanor's best friend Emma is getting married to her co-star Fred. Emma and Fred are filming "When in Rome", the first book that Eleanor wrote. After filming is over, everyone heads to Catalina Island for their wedding. It turns out a storm is going to hit the island and people were urged to evacuate. But the wedding must go on. In the itinerary given to guest, someone has edited it to reveal someone will die. Of course Eleanor is trying to figure everything out. Will she be in time to stop the murder?

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Great characters trapped together on an island during a storm at a wedding where everyone has secrets.
Lots of red herrings and motives so this book keeps you guessing until the last chapter and even a bit of the epilogue.
Really enjoyed the first book and this one was a wild ride as well.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I am so behind on books I’m currently reading & those I need to read but when I got this arc I dropped everything & spent the afternoon reading this.

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies is my comfort book (which I realize sounds very strange), it’s the book I immediately jump to when someone asks for a recommendation. So this book had a lot to live up to, & I’m happy to say it was just as good as the first book!

It was funny with a good mystery that kept me invested until the very end. I love that the foot notes were in this book too, although I feel like there weren’t as many as before & these were more “just the facts ma’am” than the last book.

I cannot wait for this book to come out in May so I can start recommending this book too!

This book was such a fun mystery/thriller with well-timed comedy sprinkled in. I love how we have the inner thoughts and dialogue of the main character, Eleanor Dash, and I also enjoyed the footnotes. I would say that this book was actually even a bit better than the first. I felt like it was nice to have the same main characters from the first book and then add supporting characters to bolster the story. I didn't quite figure out the ending completely and always enjoy when an author keeps you guessing! Some parts were a bit cheesy, but I felt like Catherine Mack toed the line well. Overall, I would recommend this book and look forward to the next one in the series!

I read the first book in this series a few months ago and this was a great follow-up. A bunch of the characters from the original return, in addition to some new additions. I loved the setting of Catalina Island and also the use of one of my favorite mystery tropes of everyone being trapped together somewhere they can’t leave because of a storm. Footnotes aren’t for everyone, and this series uses them liberally (as a way to add humor, not as a source of information), but I enjoy them, although I think this would make the book more enjoyable as a physical read, as opposed to an e-read (I lost my place a bunch flipping from the page I was on to the page of footnotes back to the page I was on). Overall, this was a fun, light mystery that kept my attention, if not one I’ll be thinking about down the line.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this digital ARC.

This entry in the Vacation Mysteries series (book two) has us catching up with author Eleanor Dash. She is on set of the movie production of When in Rome, the first book in Eleanor's bestselling series. A trip to nearby Catalina Island for a wedding, the threat of a major storm hitting the island, and oh yeah, a note indicating someone is to die at the wedding... has Eleanor, Oliver, and all of the rest of the crew suspecting everyone. Is there a murderer on the island with them?

Great fun! I also highly recommend the first book in the series, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies.

Downloaded this one not too long ago and had to dive in IMMEDIATELY. I read Catherine's first book, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies earlier this year and could NOT have loved it more. When I saw there was a sequel coming out, I honestly was thrilled to be approved for an early copy! I loved this one just as much if not more than the first! These novels are so over the top and outrageous, but so so good. This series is already so special to me and I can't wait to see where the rest of the series goes!

So happy that the 2nd in this series is out there. It was so much fun to read and revisit with these characters again. I love Eleanor and Connor too (shhh don't tell Oliver!)

Another fun ride with Eleanor and the gang! Fast-paced, fun and keeps you guessing! I really enjoyed this installment and can't wait to see what the gang gets into next!

No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding
By: Catherine Mack
Pub Day: May 13, 2025
Publisher: Minotaur Books

5💍💍💍💍💍
This is the 2nd in The Vacation Mysteries series.
Murder, mayhem, wedding drama and a witty plot made this one a delight to read.
This one involves Elanor Dash, the author of the Vacation Mysteries series while she attends her best friend’s wedding.
The characters are a fun mixture and the novel is a fun read. Thank you Minotaur books for the advanced gifted copy.
I highly recommend the first in the series "Every time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies".

Didn't know this one was a series, however you are able to jump in as a stand alone! I really enjoyed this book - the main character was enjoyable and I love a good whodunnit. The side characters are fun and the plot draws you in. Can't wait to read more from this author!