What do you get when you mix a little Dame Agatha Christie sleuthing with the "edge of your seat" who dunnit vibe of "Knives Out," and just for good measure add a healthy dash of *unreliable narrator* smashing down the fourth wall between artist and audience as in hysterical TV show "The Office?"

"EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION, SOMEONE DIES," of course!!

This was an enjoyable hoot of a murder mystery wrapped up in an Italian island vacation pretending to be a book tour! Plenty of red herrings! Plenty of suspects! Lots of fine dining and excellent wine! And there you have it. Enjoyable, escapist, and exciting! As much fun as a rousingly good game of CLUE!

Many thanks to author, publisher, and NetGalley for offering me a advanced *READ NOW* galley copy and the opportunity to meet a new author in what I hope will be the first book in their new series! Well played!

#everytimeigoonvacationsomeonedies
#catherinemack
#netgalley
#homagetodameagatha
#homagetoknivesout
#Italianvacationswithasideofmurder

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies is a fully original new cozy murder by Catherine Mack. I was pleased to receive an ARC of the book, which is scheduled to come out in April of 2024.
The best part of the book is that it takes place in Italy and there are wonderful descriptions of everything, including the food, which made me want to go back immediately. The story is a cozy mystery that is one of my favorite formats – a group of people are traveling together when they start being targeted for murder one at a time. The main character, Eleanor Dash, has written a series of cozy mysteries centered around vacations in Italy, and in this story they are celebrating the series by taking a group of fans and other writers to different Italian locations where her books took place.
There are many suspects, clues, and motives but the best part of the story is that the author is speaking directly to you and it is genuinely funny. I was in it for the scenery and the food, and the actual mystery was more of a side quest. If you’re looking for a light, funny mystery, put this one on your list. This would be a great vacation read.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

The premise of the book sounds intriguing - the classic “whodunit” mystery. The first half of the book starts off very slow, but it does pick up in the later half. While the mystery is interesting, the execution falls a bit flat. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters in a way that made me feel like I had to keep reading without putting the book down.

This book was written in such a unique and fun format! Very different from anything I have read before! This is the first book in the series and I can't wait for the next one!! This book had Eleanor and Harper- sisters with different but intertwining lives, Connor- the Ex, Oliver- the other Ex and a many others along the way. Clearly drama would be inevitable!

This book made me feel like I was there in the moment as everything happened. I loved the inner monologue and commentary throughout. I really liked the footnote aspect which injected some additional humor and explanations along the way. The downside was that I found it hard to keep track of what the footnotes were referring too since they were defined at the end of each chapter. I wanted to scroll back and search for each one- and I did at first- but that became tedious. It might have been better to have the footnotes at the bottom of each page when referenced.

As I mentioned, this book really made me feel like I was experiencing the events with the rest of the group and that came with a lot of dialogue. There were times that I couldn’t tell who was talking, especially when the group is all together and they are trying to figure things out. This didn't necessarily ruin the experience for me but I definitely felt confused as I tried to keep track of everything going on.

This book was so fun and different!! Grab a Spritz and enjoy the ride!

"Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies" by Catherine Mack is a mystery and thriller novel that follows bestselling author Eleanor Dash. All Eleanor wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next installment of her Vacation Mysteries series.

However, things take an unexpected turn when an attempt is made on the real Connor's life. Connor is the handsome but infuriating con man with whom Eleanor got mixed up ten years ago, and now he's back in her life. Eleanor is enlisted to help solve the case, and amidst literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker, and even her ex, Oliver, who shows up unexpectedly, Eleanor finds herself entangled in a real-life murder mystery.

The novel promises an irresistible and hilarious series debut, as Eleanor Dash's Italian book tour transforms into a gripping murder mystery, with the lines between fiction and reality blurring. The story unfolds with theories, rivalries, and unexpected revelations, keeping readers engaged in the intriguing plot.

With a title like that it’s sure to peak the reader’s imagination. A publisher takes several of their famous authors on a promotional book tour throughout Italy. Protagonist Eleanor wants to kill Connor who is her former lover and the real life main character in her best selling series of mystery novels. Connor has been blackmailing Eleanor for years and she wants him out of her life or more accurately out of her literary life. By killing him off in her next book she believes she will finally be free of him and his demands. While Eleanor’s wish to kill off Connor is only in the context of her book series, it seems that there is someone else that wants him dead in real life. This is a quirky murder mystery loaded with clues and plenty of hints provided through footnotes where everyone has a motive and everyone is a suspect. This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this a delightful, fast paced read with mostly likeable characters (other than the one we're supposed to hate) and an intriguing mystery. I also love that it took place in Italy, where I've never been, so I got to visit it through the characters' eyes, which was a nice side benefit. Maybe more eagle-eyed readers would have seen it coming, but I was surprised by the twists. I knew early on that *name redacted* had to have something to do with it, but for the complete wrong reasons.

"Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies" is a mystery novel by Catherine Mack. The book is entertaining and flows with great ease, with several plot twists that move the story forward. Unfortunately, there are quite a few pauses along the way, unnecessary ruminations on the writing process or explanations on how the book came to be. These interruptions feel a bit self-indulgent and, ultimately, slow the momentum of the book. Nonetheless, her great sense of humor compensates amply for the delays.

The book is part of a planned Vacation Mysteries series, I look forward to reading more books in this series, especially if they focus more on the stories and less on gratuitous reflections.

Eleanor has been extremely lucky. The first book she wrote was a success, something that irks some of her fellow authors. Her publisher has arranged a book tour in Italy for her, several other authors, and some lucky book lovers, who won a spot on this tour.
But Eleanor is tired of her most loved character, Connor. She foolishly used her boyfriend’s real name in the book. Since we all know that love is blind, he’s been blackmailing her for years and she has had enough. She decides to kill him off in her next book. Easy, right? Well, not exactly. It seems someone wants him dead in real life, and oh Eleanor too.
Can she figure out what is going on and survive this trip? Or will Connor remain a thorn in her side until she dies?
This was a fun cozy mystery. Plenty of suspects, and the author for the most part (except when she’s dodging a killer) is hilarious. She adds footnotes at the end of each chapter that provide some additional information. The only thing is that I think they will be much more enjoyable in a physical copy then they were on my Kindle.
Overall, it was a really fun read, and if this is going to become a series, I’ll look forward to another adventure.

The premise for this one started out good. A famous author wants to kill off the main character of her series, Connor. But the real life Connor thinks someone is REALLY out to kill him. I thought it would give Finley Donovan vibes, but unfortunately did not. I had a hard time connecting with the storyline and characters, and ultimately, this fell flat for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Enjoyed the book and story. The only issue I had was with the footnotes of the story. In the e version, the footnotes are at the end of the chapter and by that time you have to go back and read that part of the story again each time. It was a little frustrating and took me out of the story.

Holy heck, this was fabulously fun! From the very start I was invested in the characters and I enjoyed every minute of it. Buy.this.book! I’m hoping there will be others in the future as hinted at the end of this one. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This story was too slow for my liking. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters and their relationships. This was a did not finish for me.

"Too many suspects. Too many motives. Just don't judge, okay? Maybe this many people want to kill you, too." Is everyone on Eleanor's Italian Book Tour out to kill her? It certainly seems that way. This book was a fun read and Eleanor is an excellent choice of character to narrate the twists and turns.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this E-arc for my honest review.
A laugh out loud mystery book that feels like you’re reading while playing the game Clue. The footnotes and whiteboard were difficult to follow in an ebook which is unfortunate since the footnotes were humorous and put a different spin on the book.
Would definitely recommend but only in paper format.

I was drawn to this title initially, and the storyline is quirky and entertaining. I liked the plot line of Eleanor wanting to kill off her character, Connor, while the real Connor claims someone is trying to kill him. In general, the plot seemed to drag a bit, though, and I couldn't really get into the story as much as I wanted. I think if you enjoy Finlay Donovan-style mysteries, you'd like this one!

This was a very fun, unique read -- I'm a sucker for a provocative title. It's very meta and tongue in cheek complete with footnotes. It reminded me a lot of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone -- a high compliment. It's also chock full of pop culture references which I appreciated and inside baseball commentary about publishing and the book world which I got a kick out of.

This is the first in a series and and sets up the next book at the end which I'll definitely be reading too.

I almost never give a book five stars, but this one deserves it. It was fresh, cute, original and just lot of fun to read . I was engaged from the start and throughout the whole book. The way the author talks to you through the book and tells you how she feels about her main character is very interesting. I also enjoyed the footnotes...with one exception. I was reading this on my Kindle and found that I had to increase the font size to be able to read them, and then adjust again to go back to the story. That was distracting. Maybe make them bigger next time? The book was great, and I am certainly looking forward to reading any sequels to it. Thanks, Netgalley and Minotaur for the chance to read it.

This book was SO MUCH FUN. The use of footnotes was really unique - I'm not sure how it would have played out in print but on Kindle, was very easy to follow. I loved the cast of characters and trying to solve the case alongside El. I really didn't guess the ending, which made it all that more fun. I can't wait for other people to get joy from this book.

Smart, well plotted, and laugh out loud funny, this gave me inspired-by Romancing the Stone, the Knives Out films, and a little bit of Ferris Bueller (solely due to the broken fourth wall moments) vibes, plus an original style, and this mystery was a really fun read.

The footnotes made this even better. Speaking of the footnotes, I read this on kindle and enjoyed the ease and convenience that provided instead of having to read them the original way..

I enjoyed reading this one quite a bit, and will definitely read more of this series.



Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the DRC