Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
This was a fun quick read. The main character seems to get herself a bit trouble without looking for it. When the book tour was put together, the group of characters could have made anyone a suspect!!
Great beach read, definitely recommend!

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is a cozy mystery, I guess. It is about a mystery author who is on her tenth anniversary tour in Italy as that is where the first book took place. On it with her is her sister/personal assistant; a man who had been her boyfriend for the first book and she had named him by name so he was now a permanent fixture; his girlfriend, a couple of other authors, and the man she truly was in love with but had goofed it up. Connor, the original boyfriend, insisted that someone was trying to kill him. No one ever saw anything, and well, he is kind of a drama king. His girlfriend, Isabella, is so young her brain hasn’t formed enough to have many thoughts, so she gets a lot of eye rolls. Harper, her assistant, is making sounds about leaving her job. Oliver, the man she loves, is making it seem possible he still loves her. There is a lot going on. Then someone really does try to kill Eleanor, the protagonist.

I have multiple feelings about this book. She breaks the third wall constantly. I don’t like it as a technique. It plays better in the audio version than it does in the text version. She also uses footnotes which work better in the text version, but are really not a fiction technique and mostly pointless. The book also proves that mystery writers are not necessarily mystery solvers. Eleanor is not the only author present failing miserably at solving the crime(s). The book has no depth. Even the feuds in the story have no real teeth. The original crime, as it turns out, had way more to it than is revealed. The Italian police detective has been transferred because he made such a mess of the first investigation so now he’s investigating again in another city? I guess I just like a more serious book, even if it is a cozy.

Elizabeth Evans is the narrator and I am still trying to decide which I like better, the text or the audio. Evans did a more than adequate job and did well with multiple characters. She made it almost make sense, which the text did not.

I was invited to read Every Time I go On Vacation, Someone Dies by St Martins Press and to listen by MacMillan Audio. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #MacMillanAudio #CatherineMack #ElizabethEvans #EveryTimeIGoOnVacationSomeoneDies

I enjoyed the storyline of this book, I think the idea was fun and interesting. The style of the book didn't really work for me - that zany, quirky, breaking-the-fourth-wall narration isn't my favorite and I did a lot of skimming in the middle. I did get to the end because I wanted to see how it turned out and who was behind it all, and I'm glad that I did. A more straightforward writing style would be more enjoyable for me, though. Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the advance digital copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

This was such a fun and unique way of storytelling! I truly loved every minute! The way the author broke the fourth wall between the reader and the characters was such an entertaining way to tell this story and also develop our main character. And THE ANNOTATIONS! These were so cleverly used and added such personality to the already character-driven story.

I enjoyed how this mystery was very Agatha Christie-coded. Everyone was a potential suspect and the twist at the end surprised me! Of course, I’m not an aficionado of the mystery/thriller genre, so they usually get me every time!

I have seen such mixed reviews about this book, but I truly think it is a unique take on this genre. I really encourage you to pick this one up!

Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun read! I did not know what to expect when I started reading this, and once in I could not put it down. The main character, Eleanor, is speaking directly to us - the reader, and she’s hilarious! I loved the pop culture references. In this funny thriller, the author really makes you connect with Eleanor and keeps you guessing who the killer is, tries to throw you off at every turn. If you want an easy fun cozy mystery, definitely pick this up! Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this advance copy!

I desperately wanted to like this book but I got 18% in and it wasn't doing it for me. I know others have loved it but the characters weren't intriguing to me. Frankly, they annoyed me. A lot. And that's just not what I'm looking for in a fun, entertaining mystery novel.

Rounded up from like a 3.5. Didn’t hate it but I found the style (and protagonist) a little bit too much. The breaking of the fourth wall works sometimes but it felt a little like it was trying too hard to be quirky with all the footnotes drive me insane. I know they’re optional but I can’t not read them if they’re there and they just drive me insane. They really weren’t necessary and I felt like it too much away from the story.

The story itself, I put together. But I think for a cozy mystery it worked. I feel like it would have been stronger if it left out the footnotes. Or maybe that’s just my hate for footnotes talking.

This book is about Eleanor. A well- known author who takes a trip to Italy for a book tour, along with her sister/assistant, her ex-boyfriend turned enemy, his ex wife, her other ex-boyfriend turned awkward encounter, and a few other authors. Eleanor writes thrillers, and suddenly, she becomes a part of one.

I absolutely loved the character building in this book. There are a lot of characters in this book, but I didn't find myself getting confused about who's who.

The mystery kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Along with the witty humor, I was enthralled. There's so many details that keep you guessing. And just when you think you've figured it out, something else comes out that changes your view completely.

The only thing I didn't like was the "footnotes" on the Kindle version. I felt like they were too far away and by the time I got to them, I had already forgotten what they were referencing.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that loves a good cozy mystery that's filled with humor.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Catherine Mack for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I DNF'ed this book. I found the footnotes distracting.

🗣 Thank you to netgalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

Interesting premise for any book lover.
Eleanor Dash has been authoring a very successful vacation mystery series for several years and decides now is the time to kill off a main character and end it Taking a very mixed up book tour through Italy, she founders while dealing with an ex boyfriend who has been blackmailing her for years and enough comic mayhem to make what could have been a real classic vacation thriller, more of a story in disarray.
Too many "side bar" stories and footnotes that pop up continuously, completely disrupting any resemblance to smooth plot flow.
Just could not jump into the vacation.

This book is an automatic 5 star read for me! I enjoy everything about this book from the characters like Eleanor and Harper to the setting of Italy to the author adding footnotes every couple of pages!

This entire book was funny and exciting! I didn’t see the twist coming!

If you enjoy funny mysteries, characters breaking the fourth wall, and books about books, you’ll enjoy this book!

Eleanor Dash is on a book tour for her mystery book and finds herself involved in real life mysteries. This book has you captured from start to finish. The mysteries are clever and the banter is first class. I love how Eleanor‘s past relationships are somehow managing to affect her life in this weird odd way. This book keeps you from start to finish. It is so entertaining and for fans of movies such as knives out this is the perfect book for you.

The story is humorous, sassy, and has a good mystery. A fantastic arm chair travel read. I loved the author’s footnote commentary throughout the story, you literally felt like the character was speaking to you during the story. I also had a chance to see the uncorrected e-book proof of the book, and I can understand why some people found the format a little messy with all the footnotes. But as someone who reads a lot of informational books with footnotes, they don’t bother me. I would love to see how the footnotes look in the printed copy.

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies is a cozy mystery with no graphic on-page sex or violence, but it has a bit more edge to it. If you like very comforting cozies with no swearing, this book is not for you. But if you want a mystery that won’t keep you up at night, give you a thrill, make you laugh, and allow you to enjoy a good escape without minding some swearing, then give this book a try!

Definitely a fun and quirky read. I saw this on NetGalley and figured I’d give it a try cause it looked different and fun. I liked the story and all the pop culture references, and the mystery definitely kept me guessing. I could’ve done without the cussing but I have come to expect that in mainstream books and this one at least the cussing didn’t seem excessive. Liked this one.

The knives out comparison is on point. Really fun characters and an engaging mystery plot. Take this one to the beach or on a trip. Share with your friends. Enjoy!

This was truly just delicious fun. The KNIVES OUT comp is no word of a lie. I cannot wait for the next in the series!!!

I wasn’t able to finish this book and it makes me really sad. The story itself was fun and immediately gripping, but the formatting made it nearly impossible to read on my kindle. I will absolutely be purchasing a physical copy and read the entire book that way. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

This book is as chaotic as the title suggests. In a good way, though, I think. The cast of characters seems ridiculous and the protagonist is not super likable, but it somehow all works. I had sort of guessed at the solution but didn’t have it quite all worked out. One note - the author keeps making funny asides about footnotes, but there are a million of them and they can be a little hard to manage on Kindle. I was glad I just upgraded mine so I have a bigger screen and it works faster.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While this book is out of my genre comfort zone, I found myself fully engaged and delighted while reading it!

I’m not a big fan of murder mysteries, even the cozy ones, but it felt like the style of having the author breaking the third wall elevated the story-telling to a whole new level. I would almost call it a new genre! The author/narrator is witty and hilarious in addressing the reader and imploring them to solve the mystery itself.

The characters were well-enough developed to make me care and the story line was fun, but it really was the broken 4th wall that pulled me all the way through this book. I just loved it and would read more mysteries if they were written just like this!

Highly recommended to readers with playful spirits who maybe liked campy movies like The Glass Onion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack tells the story of author Eleanor Dash who goes on a book tour to in Italy and has decided to kill off her main character in her bestselling book. When the man who this character is based on starts starts claiming that someone wants to kill him, Eleanor decides to help figuring out this real life mystery.

Let me just say that I absolutely loved this book, it had comedy and murder, what else can a girl ask for. This book made me laugh several times and I loved the pop culture references it had, as a Swiftie, I loved when one of her songs was mentioned.

I loved the footnotes, I know the author said these were not mandatory to read but they were so much fun to read, so I highly recommend everyone to read them.

Another thing I loved about this book was when Eleanor broke the fourth wall and was asking us if we had figured out who was behind all the murders, I love murder mysteries and found it super fun to have the author break down the suspects and possible motives. Also, I can say I did figure out partially who had done it.

This book to me is 5 solid stars and the first one on the series. I cannot wait to see where this series takes us, I am for sure gonna read the next one that comes out.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC, the above thoughts are my own.