Every single person I know needs to read this book immediately. It’s just the sort of refreshing and light - but not light weight - entertainment we need these days. There’s certainly a lot of Agatha Christie influences, but there’s also a subtle Patricia Highsmith vibe coursing underneath it. Imagine The Maltese Falcon starring Miss Marple and Tom Ripley. It reminded me of the best of Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr books, which is the highest praise I can offer. It’s also all Laura Lippman though. So go. Order. Now!

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippmann ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

William Morrow
Pub Date: 6-17-25

Thank you @netgalley, @williammorrowbooks, and @lauramlippman for this eARC.

My first book by Laura Lippman was an adventure, taking me on a river cruise along the Seine with Mrs. Blossom (Muriel) who finds herself swept up in one strange event after another.

A mysterious death, a missing jeweled statue, friendship, and even a hint of romance - this French vacation has it all.

"Mrs. Blossom was resolute. Her dream trip was not going to be spoiled by these odd occurrences, which really were not that sinister, except for the part about Allan being dead."

#murdertakesavacation #lauralippman#williammorrow #netgalley

I love a fun, cozy, vacation mystery and this absolutely hit the spot.

Muriel Blossom, a 68 year old former PI's assistant from Baltimore, has won the lottery and is taking her first dream vacation of her life with her best friend Elinor. Mrs. Blossom (as she refers to herself through much of the book) considers herself relatively boring having been married for almost 40 years, widowed a decade ago, and then living near her daughter's family in Arizona until they decided to transfer to Tokyo and made it very clear they didn't want her to come along. Winning the lottery and going on vacation on a cruise up the Seine is Mrs. Blossom's opportunity to re-connect with herself and have a great girl's trip with her best friend until a nice man she meets by chance on the flight over ends up dead.

Mrs. Blossom is charmed (and partially persuaded against her will) into spending a romantic day in London on the way to Paris by Allan, a smooth talking man who is one of the first to pique her interest since her husband Harold's death despite some of his untoward behavior. She expects him to remain in London yet 24 hours later she learns he has died under suspicious circumstances in Paris and in addition to that, has a strange yet curiously friendly and helpful man Danny following her around, not just around Paris, but on her cruise as well. More strange adventures ensue and it becomes clear that the cruise passengers are not random and all of this links back to her chance encounter with Allan.

Mrs. Blossom is a very fun and well rounded character who is not a stereotypical sleuth, in fact she makes it clear she was mostly an office assistant to a PI, not a PI herself, although she has learned tactics that come in handy. This book was also very interesting because in addition to the mystery it also addresses topics such as fatphobia and how women tend to be regarded as invisible once they are over 40. The struggles of being in a long term marriage when married very young are also addressed as Mrs. Blossom reluctantly admits to herself that not everything was perfect with Harold. She is also very envious of her friend Elinor who attracts a lot of male attention even though Elinor feels the same about Mrs. Blossom having the marriage she was never able to have.

Even the woman who ends up being a villain in this book is sympathetic as Mrs. Blossom is able to view her through the lens of her own life experience as a woman and considering how women can be manipulated and taken advantage of by men and through unfair societal expectations.

This was also a great mystery in that I absolutely did not see the resolution coming at all. The character of Danny was a little over the top silly when he finally explained truthfully who he was, I also felt like I had missed part of the reasoning for his actions earlier in the book, however for a silly, cozy mystery like this, suspension of disbelief is obviously needed.

I also appreciated the author's note explaining why she chose Mrs. Blossom as her character and apologizing for fatphobia and ageism in prior books.

After reading this I would definitely read prior books by Laura Lippman.

Many thanks to William Morrow and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This review is my honest opinion.

Murder Takes a Vacation follows the character Mrs. Blossom, a widow, who one day finds a lottery ticket that changes her life. Mrs. Blossom decides to see the world after the passing of her husband, who was more of a homebody. They did not travel much, and thus Mrs. Blossom books a cruise to France and meets a handsome man name Allan on her transatlantic flight. The two seem to hit off and it is the first time that Mrs. Blossom has felt that spark since the passing of her beloved husband.

I think the characters were well developed and easy for me to picture. I pictured Mrs. Blossom looking like the actress Laura Dern and Allan, the handsome gentleman on the plane, I picture resembling Richard Gere. It was nice to have visuals in my mind of what I thought or how I felt these characters looked. It made it easy to jump into the story and follow these characters on their journey. I was definitely invested in Mrs. Blossom and Allan's relationship, and just in the character of Mrs. Blossom herself. I can see facets of Mrs. Blossom in many people I know and even facets within myself, so she was easy to relate to, but some of the things Mrs. Blossom did, I thought "okay girl, let's take a moment to think about this." I guess that is why she is relatable because I think we have all been in a situation where we just did, without thinking, and sometimes it turns out okay, sometimes it turns out wonderful, and sometimes it can have devastating consequences, and become a painful lesson.

I really loved that Mrs. Blossom put herself out there and wasn't scared to go all in. The only thing I would have liked to see more of, is her enjoying her fortune. Mrs. Blossom seemed to be very thrifty and continued to live as if times were hard. I would like to see her splurge on something without thinking of money or feeling guilty for wanting it or buying it. A vacation is for spoiling oneself while you are on it, if you have the means to. Mrs. Blossom more than have the means to splurge while on vacation.

I really enjoyed this one because I liked the characters and would love to read more about Mrs. Blossom and her adventures. This was a really fun, cozy mystery and entertaining read.

Cute cozy mystery exploring a story of a side character in Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series. Mrs. Blossom, after receiving a windfall in the form of a found lotto ticket, takes the trip of a lifetime to Paris and cruises the Seine.

During her time, she keeps meeting men who seem to flirt with her, she has her room searched numerous times and isn’t sure who is good or who wants to use her for their own advancement. Muriel has to put her own detective skills to use in order to keep her and her best friend safe from the fiends that are out to get her.

Muriel Blossom is in her sixties, used to be a PI, now a widow and about to set sail for Paris!


After finding a winning lotto ticket, she is ready to finally see the world. Boarding the airplane, she is assisted by a lovely man named Allan. There is a bit of a spark there. Until 24 hours later he is dead.


Now Muriel has a mystery to solve. On the cruise ship she feels as if she is being followed. And who is this Danny who keeps popping up whenever there is trouble?


Oh what fun to be still solving mysteries in your sixties. I don’t have to imagine that one!




Lovely and looking forward to the next one.


NetGalley/ William Morrow June 17, 2025

I just love Laura Lippman. Her latest book, Murder Takes a Vacation was such an amazing experience. I didn’t want it to end.

Loved this one! I have been a fan of Laura Lippman for years, starting with the Tess Monoghan series. This latest is "Tess Adjacent". The story follows a former member of Tess's surveillance team of elderly ladies. Muriel Blossom is a newly wealthy (lottery ticket) widow enjoying a holiday in France, who somehow becomes embroiled in an international art theft/scam/sting. The plot is kinda complicated, but it does all hang together and everything is resolved in the end. I really enjoyed spending time with Muriel, she has a distinctive and surprising voice, and she is highly entertaining. Ms. Lippman has proved herself a master of neo-noir, particularly in more recent work, this is much sunnier. It is so refreshing to see an elderly woman portrayed as a complex, nuanced, character-instead of a caricature. The supporting characters are also well-drawn, plenty of nuance and they feel like real people. The only character I did not entirely buy was the villain. This is the only thing I did not love about the story, I could not understand why this guy had such a hold over the women surrounding him. This is a minor criticism, I do not think we were not meant to like or understand him. In summary, this is an extremely enjoyable outing, I found myself hoping it was the start of a new series. I really want to spend more time with Muriel. Highly recommend.

Hooray for another 2025 cozy mystery! I love a senior citizen solving crimes, Ted Danson's Netflix series Man on the Inside and the Kathy Bates CBS drama Matlock both take advantage of a trope about how after a certain age, women become invisible. Mrs. Muriel Blossom is a delight, honestly. She is a Baltimorean assistant to a PI who finds a lottery ticket in the parking lot of a gas station. She goes on a holiday to Paris, makes a brief romantic connection with a man named Allan who is found dead the next day. She is to cruise with her friend Elinor, who is more beautiful but a wonderful friend.

The mystery here was definitely a cozy one, yes someone is murdered, but we didn't know him well and we aren't sure we trust him anyway. This is more about the luxury world of art and jewel heists.

In the author's notes, Laura talks about how she was challenged by readers to include less fat phobia and a more body positive message. And she took that criticism to heart and educated herself by following the work of body positive authors and content creators. I have to say, I really respect this. Mrs. Muriel Blossom is not at all a caricature of a plus sized 68 year old woman, of course she has insecurities due to the diet culture we are all a part of, but she is so much more than what her body looks like. I really love when someone grows and appreciates feedback, and the research was well worth it. Although her age and stature are a big part of her character, this is presented in the most endearing and respectful way. Bravo.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published June 17, 2025.

This was my first book by Laura Lippman, and I'm sure it won't be my last. It was a fun, cozy mystery with a great setting in Paris and on a river boat. I appreciated that the heroine of the story, Mrs. Blossom, is an older, plus sized woman, and the author does a great job showing the prejudice and insensitivity often shown to people like Mrs. B. She is a very likeable character who is about to have many changes in her life. It was very hard to tell who were the "good guys" and who were the "bad guys", so that added to the mystery and to the reader's ability to relate to Mrs. Blossom and her relationships with the other characters. I hope that this will be the beginning of a new series featuring Mrs. Blossom's exciting future travels and maybe romances.

This is the first book I’ve had the pleasure of reading by Laura Lippman, and I am genuinely thrilled that I seized the opportunity to delve into this captivating story.

This cozy mystery not only presents an exciting plot but also explores deep emotional themes. It poignantly addresses Mrs. Blossom's struggles as she copes with her daughter's decision to move to Japan, the grief of losing her husband, and her search for belonging in this new phase of her life. I appreciate the book's steady pace and the skillful way Lippman weaves together suspense and character development.

Moreover, I particularly admire the representation of the main character as a mature woman who is also plus-size, which brings a unique perspective to the narrative. It adds authenticity to her journey and challenges societal norms regarding age and body image, making the story even more relatable and engaging. Overall, I found this book to be a wonderful blend of adventure, mystery, and profound insights into life’s complexities.

Thank you to NetGalley and WIlliam Morrow for this ARC.
#MurderTakesaVacation #NetGalley

This was an unusual tale for Laura Lippmann but one I enjoyed (she covers the backstory in the afterword). A theft and a murder on a Parisian vacation and cruise, with an unlikely heroine, Mrs. Blossom. Hope she will be back!

Fairly predictable but an enjoyable read.. Well written, great characters and well told. hanks for the opportunity to read this and much luck on publication.

Muriel Blossom deserves a vacation. After a decade as a widow and even more as a mother and grandmother, she's tired and she's earned time off. So when she finds an unclaimed winning lottery ticket in the gas station parking lot, going on a dream vacation to France, by way of London, seems like the right move. The only problem? Murder has also booked passage on the luxury cruise liner and it's not a pleasant boatmate.

On her international flight from Baltimore to Heathrow, Muriel meets a charming lawyer, Allan, who is unnaturally committed to her trip being a complete success. He flirts, he carries he bags, he even intentionally delays Muriel's travel plans to spend more time with him in London. By the time she arrives in Paris via the Chunnel, Muriel is greeted by friendly police at her luxe hotel who inform her of one snag: Allan, who she had plans with to rendezvous in Baltimore after her vacation, is dead.

The rest of her vacation, a picturesque cruise down the Seine with stops at all of Muriel's favorite artists' haunts, goes mostly to plan. But, much like the guests on Agatha Christie's Orient Express, the other passengers aboard her shape, save Muriel's best friend Elinor, are as charming as they are suspicious.

Murder Takes a Vacation felt a lot like watching my parents solve a crime on vacation and I loved it. Muriel Blossom is fun, flirty, and interesting and, while Lippman maybe spends a little too much time focusing on her weight, age, and desirability (which she says in the author's note was the point but felt to me a bit heavy-handed), where she is in life is what makes this novel work. It's well-researched and will appeal to anyone who has taken a river cruise (hi, Mom) and maybe wished there was intrigue other than seasickness. Five stars!

A truly charming and thrilling story of Mrs. Blossom!
In Death Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman invites readers to follow Muriel, a quiet and unassuming woman who is stepping out of her comfort zone for the first time in decades.

Fans of Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series may remember Muriel as Tess’s reliable assistant. Now in her mid 60s, Muriel has lived a life defined by routine and self-doubt, especially in the ten years since her husband’s death. But with her daughter moving abroad, and coming into a windfall, Muriel decides it’s time to shake things up. First, a week alone in Paris, and then a cruise with her best friend—both a chance to rediscover herself and explore the world.

Paris is magical, but not without complications. Muriel, a fat woman who’s long felt invisible, meets Allan—a charming man who seems too good to be true. While she’s flattered by his attention, her natural naivety and inexperience leave her questioning his intentions. And then there’s Danny, a mysterious man she can’t quite figure out—friend, foe, or something else entirely?

What sets this story apart is its protagonist. Muriel’s meekness and vulnerability make her an unconventional but deeply compelling heroine. She is hesitant, unsure of herself, and quietly navigating a world that often overlooks women like her. Yet it’s this very journey of discovery, self-reflection, and unexpected danger that makes Death Takes a Vacation such an engrossing read.

Laura Lippman once again proves her mastery of storytelling with this charming and thrilling novel. It’s a cozy mystery that will keep you turning the pages until the shocking final twist.

#LauraLippman #MurderTakesAVacation #CozyMystery #williammorrow

This was a delightful read, almost the closest thing one could call a "cozy" coming from Lippman. It follows Muriel Blossom (called "Mrs. Blossom" by nearly everyone, herself included), a widow who's come into money and is traveling to France for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. She meets a nice man, and thanks to a minor travel glitch, ends up spending the day in London with him before traveling to Paris. A day later, she learns that he's dead, and that he died in Paris, not London.

Things begin to get more complicated as she meets another mysterious man who may be a personal stylist or may be something more and learns of an art theft that her late friend might be involved in. When she boards her river cruise, the cast (and thus number of suspicious characters) continues to grow.

This has a Hitchcockian feel -- the travel, the intrigue, even the fact that all of the deaths happen away from the main plot of the novel, instead focusing on the theft. But it's also a great novel about a character coming into her own. Mrs. Blossom was a minor character in the Tess Monaghan, but here, she's center stage, and so much more interesting. She's literally just trying to enjoy a vacation in her widowhood, but is drawn into the intrigue even when she probably could have stepped back. And Lippman takes great pains to write an overweight character interestingly, both avoiding lazy cliches and noting when others treat Mrs. Blossom as if she were a stereotype.

Really fun work, and a very quick read.

This book was....interesting. I did love Mrs. Blossom, and her friend Elinor, The plot was unique and there was a good amount of humor, but I also felt like there was too much going on and sometimes parts felt totally random and unrelated. I still think it was fun and quirky though and it was a nice quick read.

Definitely a different vibe than the author's earlier books.
I enjoyed the story and characters well enough.
However, it was interesting to read the Author's Note at the book's conclusion where she references deliberately including element of anti-ageist/anti-fat in the story. While reading, the focus on body size became such an almost dominant theme it actually made me uncomfortable and excessive--tho I appreciate that a sensitivity reader was also utilized.
The plot was entertaining but also bordered at times on convoluted and lost my interest.

With thanks to NetGalley and WIlliam Morrow for this e-ARC.

Whenever I see that Lippman has written a book, I know I want to read it. She's a fantastic writer and I'm always entertained when reading her stories. This latest title was no exception. The action is there; the characters were well developed, and the mystery was enjoyable! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman
Publishing date - 06/17/25
Rating (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Laura Lippman is my favorite author!! I was so excited to get the opportunity to read her upcoming novel. I have been a fan of hers since the late 2000s and have read every one of her books.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman. A fun, cozy mystery! I really enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing until the end. Highly recommend it when it releases.