Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Catherine Mack

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series―is that too much to ask?

Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life―the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can't get out of her life―Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case.

Contending with literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker―and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly―theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?

My Thoughts: This is the first book in The Vacation Mysteries series. Eleanor is in Italy trying to get her tenth book in the series written, where she plans to kill off character Connor Smith. The Conor character was inspired by her friend, Connor. He thinks someone is trying to kill him in real life. Then someone from the traveling literary group ends up dead. She goes in detective mode to try and figure out who the killer is and the list of suspects is large. Elenor has to contend with literary rivals, a stalker, and trying to find out who is the murderer, and finishing her tenth novel. This follows the tropes of cozy mystery.

Elenor relies a tremendous amount on her younger sister, Harper, whom is her assistant. Her character seems a little lack luster in the staying on track. However, I love Elenor’s humor, she was snarky, sarcastic, and witty. I love the inside look at the publisher world in a light, funny way. The story is narrated in the first person in present time. Set in Italy, the author does an amazing job with descriptive details, setting the tone and scene, the smells, the beautiful scenery, you really felt like you were there in Italy. The characters were well developed with depth, wittiness, mystery, and intriguing. The supporting characters were fabulous, eccentric, and really elevated the story. The author’s writing style was unique, funny, twisty, cozy, and creative. I love the author’s unique approach in the plot line.

I had the pleasure of having the digital and audio versions of the ARC. The book has footnotes in the chapters, which can be confusing. In the audiobook, the footnotes are woven into the story seamlessly. The audio was easier for me to follow along. I love thrillers and murder mysteries, along with romance novels. I am not a fan of cozy mysteries. This was a fun, lighthearted read. I would recommend picking up the audio.

I'm not a cozy mystery type, so not the target audience for this book - and the reading of this book didn't change my opinion on that, unfortunately.
I picked this up thinking it would be a fun, easy read, but it took me a while to get through it.
I enjoyed parts of this book and there were definitely some funny parts, but others that took away from my enjoyment of the book. The sister relationship was grating, I found Eleanor to be immature and really trying too hard to be funny. The footnotes were something different I don't see often, so I thought they would be fun - but on the Kindle version they weren't placed anywhere near where they should have been so it took me out of the story often and slowed down my pace to flip back and forth.


Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for the ARC.

The premise of the book was very promising; however, I quickly became annoyed with the MC. My irritation with her was compacted with the formatting of the digital copy. I understand it’s not the final format, but it was very hard to read. The MC’s “asides” became interspersed into the document at random times. While reading, I would come across a numerical superscript, but the footnote would appear a page or two later in the middle of a paragraph. It became very disorienting and I could not finish. I look forward to reading the final printed version.

Review to come.

Love the cover✔️
Interesting description ✔️
New Author to me ✔️

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC ❤️

I absolutely devoured this book! I cannot say enough good things about this book and the way the author brought this story to life. Bueno!!!

Such a fun read!!! The wittiness and jokes kept me laughing. I loved the breaking of the fourth wall and I definitely fell for the red herring. Loved the twist and didn’t guess all of it for sure. I will be reading the next book!!

I love the cover of this book and the title is catchy! But…it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. It’s very meta – the book is in first person and the main character is also an author of a bestselling vacation mystery series (This is The Vacation Mysteries #1). The protagonist is named Eleanor Dash so I did like the nod to Jane Austen!

The author breaks the fourth wall to talk to the reader in the footnotes which was done in a fun and quirky way. There are T Swift references too which I loved! The novel is billed as a debut, but it’s the first book under a pseudonym of a previously published author (Catherine McKenzie) so that was confusing to me when looking it up online and a bit misleading in my opinion.

While the title is very catchy, I don’t feel it truly captured what the book is about. The main characters are authors on a book tour – working, not vacationing. There is mention of some people on the book tour as vacationing tourists, but they don't factor in the story in any meaningful way. I wish the title had been more reflective of the book's plot. It definitely would have been rated higher for me if it was.

I think this is likely a great book for those who enjoy the Finlay Donovan series or who want a summer mystery where hijinks ensue!

"Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies" by Catherine McKenzie is a delightful entry in a new cozy mystery series that offers a fresh and enjoyable twist to the genre. Protagonist Eleanor Dash, a writer of the Vacation Mysteries series, decides to shake up her writing by killing off her main character, Connor Smith, who happens to be a real person from her past. As Eleanor embarks on a book tour in Italy for inspiration, chaos ensues when a threat is made on the real Connor's life, leading to a mix of suspense and humor within the tour group.

Comparable to series like Finlay Donovan and Ernest Cunningham, the book features a direct narrative style that includes meta moments about the book world and publishing. While the story is light-hearted, entertaining, and filled with quirky characters, it also presents a solid mystery with numerous suspects and twists.

Thank you to NetGalley!

Eleanor is a mystery author whose ex-slash-main-character is blackmailing her into keeping him flush with cash and won't go away, no matter how hard she tries. She decides to kill his character off in the last installment of her series, just to get him off her case. But on their latest book tour, when he tells her someone is actually trying to kill him for real, she can't believe him, OR the horrible timing of it all. She figures she might as well help Connor stop his killer before they finish the job, but winds up in the cross hairs too.

This book has footnotes. Hilarious, 4th wall breaking footnotes. I loved the whole dang thing.

I didn't see the killer coming. I didn't see the extra deaths coming. The whole thing was just a pile of twisty madness and it was so much fun. And it's not often in fully stumped on a cozy. This one had me guessing the whole time. It was so much fun. I loved it.

Side note: The only reason it took me forever to get through was the formatting of the NetGalley file, because the text was TINY and couldn't get increased because of the footnote situation. It was NOT at all because of the text itself, because the book was great.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Unfortunately this wasn't for me. I am not usually a huge cozy mystery fan, but the cover was GORGEOUS so I was all in on this one. But the footnotes killed me. If it wasn't for them, I think this would've been better.

Fun but super-cheesy. If you're someone who tolerates constant fourth-wall breaking, this cosy and contemporary murder mystery set in Italy is for you. The footnotes, which are integral to the narrative, are equal parts fun and annoying. This book would be best enjoyed in audio format.

[Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

What an absolute fun cozy mystery Had me guessing the whole time and that ending
I had the most fun reading this while on vacation at the lake I am looking forward to next in this series.

If you need a summer read this ones for you.


My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars!!

This was a unique cozy murder mystery! A plot I have not read before.

I didn’t necessarily connect with the main character, but I did really enjoy all the banter and humor. There were so many suspects and I honestly was not for sure who it was the whole time. I did guess the person at one point, but then kept switching to others.

This one did take me awhile to get into it, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The footnotes were a bit distracting, but I think that is mainly with the early digital copy I had being in a weird format and the footnotes cutting off random sections, but if reading a physical copy with them being at the bottom of the pages then probably would be fine.

Overall an entertaining read and perfect for the summer!🩵

I am obsessed with this book and I need at least 50 more in the series asap!! Also, this cover is to die for!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishing company and or the author for giving me the chance to read Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies.

I have tried to finish this book on multiple times since I got it and each time I could not finish it, so I DNFed it.

I did like the characters a lot and the author's writing style but I couldn't get past the plot. Hopefully sometime in the future I can pick up this book again and finish it.

3.5 stars
The main character is an author who writes mysteries. While on tour, she is involved in a real life mystery where she has to determine who the villain is and who the actual target is. The book was fun; I enjoyed the setting and the main character's snark. The footnotes were overdone--too many of them and mostly unnecessary.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

I read this, though wish I would have listened to it as I have read that it is better in audio form. The footnotes were a bit hard to follow. The mystery/murder was great though. I thought I knew the outcome, but was surprised!

DNF at 20%. I loved the premise of this book and was especially really enjoying the beginning when the MC was describing her different books and their locations. After a while it just became cheesy and tedious and I didn't have any interest in continuing to read. Thanks anyway for the ARC - I think I need to stop requesting/reading cozy mysteries because they just aren't for me.

The premise is cute and fun but I found the footnotes to be extremely distracting. I think the author could have written those sentiments into the story organically, but having to read through the footnotes (often times in the middle of sentences) really took me out of the story.

Oh my gosh, I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did! The author has written great suspense thrillers for years so I was surprised, for some reason, to find her doing an even better job writing humor and wit. I loved Eleanor Dash's take on things, her sense of humor and honesty, her stumbling through imposter syndrome, and her perseverance to make things right with her sister.
There were so many suspects as to who was trying to kill off Eleanor, and possibly Connor (the character in Eleanor's book she wants to kill off based on a real person in the story who rubs everyone the wrong way,). I kept changing my guesses which is where the stellar mystery writing from this author comes in.
But my favorite part was the footnotes. So witty, clever, and unique. I can't wait to read the next in this series. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this entertaining read!