I loved this book! Gave some Agatha Christie vibes. I do think the ending was a little confusing, but I definitely didn't see it coming.

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

Eleanor Dash is the bestselling author of the Vacation Mysteries series, and all she wants to do is get through the Italian book tour celebrating the tenth anniversary of her debut novel, When in Rome. With one more book left on her contract, she has decided it is time to kill off Connor, the main character based on the real life conman she got mixed up with on her first trip to Italy, years ago. But when attempts are made on the real Connor's life, Eleanor gets roped in to solve the mystery and clear her own name from suspicion.

This was a fun mystery with many layers and suspects that unfolded throughout the story to really keep you guessing. With first person narration from Eleanor, there are some fourth wall breaks and winks to the reader as she tries to solve the mystery. While I did have some suspicions at various points, I didn't end up fully solving the mystery before it was revealed. Looking back, you could see where the solution was foreshadowed, which I have found often gives the ending away in mysteries, but that was not the case here. Overall, I found this to be a clever and very funny mystery, and I look forward to picking up future titles in this series.

I had the opportunity to listen to an audio ARC through NetGalley, and while I did still enjoy it, I think the format of the story lends itself best to the print format. There are numerous footnotes and the inclusion of Eleanor's notes and outlines interspersed throughout, which made it a bit tricky to follow in places due to the audio format. I did think that the fourth wall breaks worked particularly well in the audio, however.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC to review!

I love a book with an amazing cast of characters! This crew was funny and the story was fun to read. I love a cozy mystery!

Twenty rabid-fan “Bookface Ladies,” a ten day Italian book tour, three dead bodies, and one stalker…what could possibly go wrong?

Wanna hear a funny? As I was listening to this book I kept thinking it would be great for fans of the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano, Later I saw that Elle was the first reviewer on the publisher’s website, so there ya go! 🤣

Eleanor Dash wrote a bestselling book (by accident!) that catapulted her to fame — and into a book contract for the Vacation Mystery series. But she made one mistake. She didn’t change the name of her main character: her ex-boyfriend Connor Smith, who turned out to be married, a con-artist, and now he’s blackmailing her for a take of her fame and fortune.

Now Eleanor is on a 10th anniversary book tour with Connor, his ex-wife, Eleanor’s more recent ex Oliver, and a host of rather competitive authors and crazy fans — all of whom become suspect when people start dying! ☠️

This is a fun, hilarious romp through Italy. Despite the fact that people are dropping like flies and no one can be trusted, you’ll find very little suspenseful angst in this mystery. But you will be entertained — Catherine Mack’s writing style in this book is very engaging, with frequent breaks in the story where the narrator speaks directly to reader.👌

I listened to the audiobook and can’t heap enough praise on Elizabeth Evans! She knocked the narration out of the park, and this may well be a book that is even better on audio!

I would point out, however, that the book opens in a church with Eleanor confessing to a priest for obviously the first time in her life. Fictional characters often treat religion with disdain, but this one felt flippant and mocking, which didn’t sit well with me. Keep that in mind if it’s something that affects your reading choices.

If you want a laugh out loud audiobook experience and an escapist read that doesn’t require a heavy dose of mental commitment, grab your earphones and download 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘎𝘰 𝘖𝘯 𝘝𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘦𝘴. It published on April 30th, so you don’t even have to wait for it!

Thank you to Catherine Mack, Netgalley and Macmillan.audio for the complimentary advance copy! It was my pleasure to write this candid review.

This is the type of cozy mystery that I always enjoy. It was witty, had great dialogue and a nice cast of characters. There were a couple of things that annoyed me, but not enough to keep me from enjoying this delightful audiobook.

Elizabeth Evans did a very nice job with making Eleanor and the other characters come to life. She did a great job with all of the emotions and especially the witty sarcasms and dialogue that this book was full of. She was a little bit weak on distinctive voices for some of the characters, especially the men, which made it hard at times to understand who was speaking, but otherwise she was a delight to listen to.

Eleanor was such a fun character to spend time with. I loved her humor and her commentary on what it was like to be a well known author. I especially loved her relationship with her sister Harper, who is also her assistant. There were some very nice and tender scenes between these two and you could really feel the love between them Speaking of love, I liked the soft and light romance between Eleanor and Oliver. It was nice and didn’t overtake the story which I really appreciated. Connor was a piece of work, but I did enjoy his banter with Eleanor and the other characters. I unfortunately had a harder time keeping track of the backstories of the other suspects, and often forgot who they were and how they fitted into the overall plot of the story.

The plot of the story was pretty well done. I was pretty sure who was behind the murder attempts and the actual murder pretty early on, but I hadn’t figured out the motive until quite late in the story. Always a good sign in a mystery book, especially of the cozy variety. The writing was pretty solid, although as I mentioned above I had a hard time keeping track of all of the more minor characters and how they related to Eleanor and the overall plot. This had a little bit to do with it being an audiobook, as it is sometimes harder to keep track of characters when I am listening to a story. The author also did a great job with the pacing and the setting. I totally felt like they were in Italy.

So this all sounds good, but I did mention that there were a couple of things that annoyed me. The big thing was that whenever a new character was introduced, Eleanor would describe them by comparing them to someone who was supposedly famous, and I say supposedly because most of these people I had never heard of. I am a reader, not someone who watches a whole lot of TV or movies or keeps track of who is hot right now. If I had been reading the book I might have looked these people up, but I probably wouldn’t have bothered. I just found the assumption that everyone knows who these people are irritating.

The other thing was how the footnotes were handled. I don’t mind footnotes in fiction books, in fact I often find them amusing or even helpful. But they don’t often translate well to audiobooks. In the case of this book, it seemed like most of the footnotes weren’t necessary, because they fit so seamlessly into the narrative. I wasn’t sure sometimes if it was a footnote or not. Again this wasn’t anything so horrible that I didn’t find the book enjoyable, but it was annoying at times.

Overall I do recommend this book, I think it would make a great beach read. It is light and funny, and the mystery was well done. I look forward to picking up the next book in this series and checking out some of this author’s other works under her real name Catherine MacKenzie. Her other books look like more serious mysteries, which I think would be something that I would enjoy more.

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

3STARS

This unique mystery was a fun, quick read. The narration was good and I enjoyed the storyline.

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, and the narrator did a phenomenal job of weaving them in, so that 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 audiobook a try!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy to listen to.

Quirky interactive cozy mystery from the perspective of an author to the readers. This audiobook was good. The narrator did an excellent job. There were lots of bookish references which I loved. The main character in this story travels abroad with a group of other authors so there were foreign language in the audiobook which was great. During the trip someone was murdered so the main character was investigating on who the killer was.. readers are encouraged to join in. The narrator read this book but sounds like having a conversation with readers. Normally one point of view bored me but this one didn't.

The story is of the author, Eleanor, 35. She had an awesome experience abroad in her 20s and decided to write a book about it. She changed everyone's names except the guy she was swooned by. The book became an unexpected success. She was excited and told the guy but instead of being excited for her, he chose something else and it made her mad... but because her story was a success, she made it into a series of 9 books. Now she wanted to kill him in her 10th book! She has been thinking about it but then, the guy came to her asking for her help because he believed his life is in danger!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook!

Hijinks, hilarity, mystery, murder; blackmail, and a stalker. All while on a holiday book tour in Italy. I meant to listen to this audiobook while I was on holiday ( a cruise, not to Italy), but my vacation was busier than expected. I did listen to parts while flying to and from which really helped the time go faster. Character reactions to their situations did seem a bit far fetched at times, but isn't that the point of fiction? But if you've watched any true crime then you know people can make the less obvious and not so wise choices. This was a fun book that had so many twists and turns and many characters who may or may not be guilty. The ending gave me Agatha Christie vibes and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Title: Vacation Mysteries Series, Book 1

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Summary: Bestselling author Eleanor Dash’s book tour in Italy turns into a real-life mystery mirroring her novels. The inspiration for her character, con man Connor Smith, survives an assassination attempt, leading Eleanor to untangle a mystery involving rival authors, fans, and her ex-lover, Oliver.

What I liked about the book:
Breaking the fourth wall, engaging the reader directly.
Appetizing descriptions of Italian food.
Hearing about the travels
Intriguing mystery plot.

What I disliked in the book:
Mentions of how good the mc ex was in bed. We didn't need to know about that.
Heavy language ( f bombs, s*** etc)

I look forward to reading the second book in this series!

Thank you to St. Martins Press, the author and NetGalley for letting me listen to the audiobook for an honest review.

DNF at 30%
Very childish characters and plot. One sister is a writer and now the other can't be? Dumb. A man has been blackmailing you for 10 years and you're just like, okay, oopsie, oh well? Dumb. Your stalker is on your European tour. No problem.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the advanced copy of this book. Unfortunately, it is not for me and I did not enjoy it.

A Fun Escape with a Murderous Twist: My Thoughts on "Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies"

This was my first foray into Catherine Mack's world, and let me tell you, it was a trip! I dove into "Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies" expecting a classic whodunit with a dark edge, based on the title alone. But this book took a hilarious left turn, transforming into a lighthearted romp through an Italian murder mystery.

Eleanor Dash, the protagonist and a bestselling author of "Vacation Mystery" novels, is a hoot. Here she is, on a glamorous book tour through Italy, when her fictional murder victim (and ex-boyfriend) comes face-to-face with a very real assassination attempt. Talk about blurring the lines between fiction and reality!

The plot itself is a whirlwind. It throws Eleanor into a hilarious mix of suspects - jealous authors, obsessed fans, and a surprise blast from the past. Forget dusty fingerprints and magnifying glasses; Eleanor solves this case with her sharp wit and a keen eye for the dramatics of the author circuit.

While I give it a solid 3.5 stars, I will admit the title threw me off a bit. It had me expecting something more along the lines of a dark and suspenseful thriller. This one leans heavily into the comedic side of things. But hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing! The Italian setting was divine, the characters were quirky and entertaining, and the whole thing was just a blast to read.

If you're looking for a lighthearted whodunit with a side of laugh-out-loud moments and a dash of romance, then "Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies" definitely delivers. Just be prepared for a slightly different tone than the title suggests. Still, with it being the first book in a series, I have a feeling there might be some darker mysteries lurking around the corner for Eleanor to tackle in the future. And honestly, I can't wait to see what she gets herself into next!

Sadly this book was a DNF for me. At 60% in I was hoping everyone would die and the book would end. I disliked the characters, especially the narrator Eleanor. Eleanor comes off as self-centered and annoying. I also don’t like when the narrator speaks directly to the reader. I found Eleanor’s running commentary to be exhausting and it’s what ultimately made me stop reading. I’m sure there will be plenty of people who enjoy this book but the characters and the writing style wasn’t for me.

Side note- several times while reading this book the author mocks readers and book reviewers. She refers to Goodreads as meanreads. It doesn’t come off as funny or quip, it’s just plain mean spirited.

Sarah's Rating: 4.25⭐️

Summary: Eleanor Dash literally fell into becoming an author ten years ago after a whirlwind, crime-solving-filled trip to Italy. Now, she wants nothing more than to get through her book anniversary tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith (in the books, not for real!!), who also happens to be her real-life ex-boyfriend. When it becomes apparent that someone truly is trying to kill Connor, Eleanor is forced into solving the case before bodies start dropping dead.

My Thoughts: A quirky, cheeky mystery that keeps you on your toes. This book honestly killed me. It felt like, as the story went on, every character gained a motive in the case while the opportunities to commit the crime grew. All the moving pieces and tidbits of clues were so fun to follow and try to pick them apart to find the truth. I loved the relationship between Eleanor and her sister, Harper, and how it evolves during the book making it feel so genuine. Do not sleep on this cozy, quirky mystery that takes you on a murderous tour of Italy. Elizabeth Evans absolutely killed it. Her narration was upbeat and witty, which gave life to every one of the characters. Her incorporation of the footnotes flowed perfectly into the story. I would highly suggest the audiobook. Can you figure out the culprit before the end?

Read if you love:
🕵️‍♀️Cozy Mysteries
😂Quirky Banter
✈️Traveling
📚Books about Books
❤️The Finlay Donovan Series

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the #gifted copy of the ALC!

If you need an easy to follow, funny, “who did it” book, then this book is for you! The characters in this book are so relatable, you almost feel as though you’re going through the book with them! I really enjoyed this book, and I highly recommended.

This was one of my favourite reads of the year. Excellent cast of characters, humorous and fresh voice, compelling plot. I enjoyed it thoroughly and have recommended it multiple times already.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. This is a light hearted who done it, with a lot of twists and turns along the way. Likeable characters and literally everyone was a suspect. I liked how the ending lends itself to a sequel. which I believe is in the works? I haven't read any Catherine Mack before this, and I will most definitely pick up another one of hers in the future.

Attracted by the title, I jump blind into into this audio with no regrets at the end, for the time I gave to it. I truly disliked the main character, because she came across as a HUGE ignorant. But the murder mystery on its own, was fun and I found myself curious how the story would go. The thing that got me though, was this constant breaking of 4th wall. It was way to many instances where, I was thrown of with main characters snarky comments to me. It supposed to be quirky and witty but it was just simply annoying.

Eleanor, bestselling author of “When in Rome”, is on a book tour set up by her publisher to celebrate 10 years of her vacation mystery series. All Eleanor wants to do is get through the tour, write her next book, and hopefully kill off her main character – so she can be rid of his real-life counterpart, Connor, he’s based on. But when an attempt is actually made on Connor’s life, Eleanor realizes her murder mysteries may be starting to play out in real life.

What an *outstanding* debut novel! This is such a great comedic murder mystery novel that captivates you right from the beginning. Catherine Mack manages to write a full cast of characters that are hilarious & witty but could all definitely be suspects in a murder scheme. Mack also makes the characters easy to tell apart, and I didn’t find myself confusing any of them throughout the story.

The setting of the novel truly becomes a character in the story, which I love. Get ready to armchair travel to Italy and be prepared to crave some pasta! Eleanor is the perfect witty narrator, and I found myself laughing out loud while listening. I adore the way she breaks the fourth wall.

The audio narration is fantastic, I felt drawn into the story; it came to life! Elizabeth Evans did a great job with the large cast of characters. I only wish the footnotes had been noted in some way; though I also liked the way they flowed with the story.

This is absolutely a 5-star novel for me, and a debut at that! I cannot wait for the next in the series!!

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Catherine Mack for this advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review!