I picked this book up because it sounded fun. I love a good mystery (we all know this by now) and especially one that also incorporates humor. What made this book extra fun for me was the way that Eleanor talked to us as the reader though footnotes. It gave similar vibes to Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson but with the author talking to us through the footnotes instead of directly. It will either work for you or it won't - but I found it to be fun in both books. I also really liked that the book was set in Italy - I got to pretend for a little bit that I was there as well. I won't say that the mystery was the most surprising but it didn't need to be. For me, I just really enjoyed the ride that the author was taking me on as the reader. It was fun and felt like a breath of fresh air.

Readers who enjoy mysteries and/or cozy mystery readers should pick this book up. It feels like the perfect summer read especially as the book is set during the heat of the summer. And if you enjoyed Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, give this one a try as it gave me similar vibes. Four stars and I plan on continuing with book two whenever it releases.

Loved this witty smart mystery that is filled with lightness and humor and is still so clever. The ending was satisfying but not predictable. Characters are a delight and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

I tried and tried to get into this book.

I the formatting for the copy in the app was hard to read. I wanted to read the book still so I waited for the library copy. I just couldn’t get into the story. Somewhere there was such a disconnect I DNF’d the book after 2 times of renewing my library book too

I think this would have been better as a physical copy because the book itself was hard to follow with the footnotes. It was not a fun book to read.

This was a well written, inventive, fun book! The book falls more on the cozy mystery spectrum and overall is a good murder mystery. The characters are entertaining and the plot is well developed, giving ample suspects for readers to examine. The downside of the book for me was the use of footnotes. Yes, they gave information on the main character’s thought process and gave a little background information, but I found them disruptive to the flow of the story and they take the reader out of the story to read something that may or may not be of interest at that particular point. I enjoyed the mystery itself very much and am interested in reading more by this author.

This book sounded like it would be fun and entertaining but I couldn’t get into it. The footnotes were obnoxious and I felt nothing for the characters. It just took forever to get into and I was ready for the story to be over. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is the perfect mystery for my friends who want a mystery that is similar to a cozy, adding a little more snark, and hold the graphic/murdery bits.
This book was a lot of fun! Eleanor Dash is a bestselling author on a book tour, just trying to kill off her main character in her Vacation Mysteries series, when a real attempt on his life sends us into a tailspin of mystery, murder and who-dunnit between fans, rivals and literary colleagues.
Loved the inside look at publishing and the extra fun having the author FMC speaking right to the reader, which made for a neat twist that we don’t often see.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an Advanced Reader's Copy and the opportunity to share my thoughts in this review.

Eleanor Dash lost her parents at a young age and helped raise her sister. Eleanor has become a famous author, thanks to the amazing support of her sister, Harper. The two sisters are very close. Eleanor sets off on a book promotion tour to Italy with her sister, two of her ex-boyfriends, some book fans, and a couple of other authors as they travel across Italy to see the sights. It sounds like fun, except there is an attempted murder on Connor, and possibly Eleanor, and someone else gets murdered.

The story was humorous and quite entertaining. I was able to figure out one of the plot twists, but most of them took me by surprise. The book included many footnotes that were entertaining and an integral part of the story, acting almost like a second point of view.
I had an electronic ARC, and I found the footnotes didn’t align well in the version I had. I tried adjusting the font size and the device, but I just couldn’t get it to flow better. I believe this issue detracted from my enjoyment of the story, making it take longer for me to get through it. I would rate the book 3.5 out of 5. I think a different point of view would have worked better than the footnotes, as it felt like 40% of the story was actually in the footnotes.

I will definitely read the next book in the series because the theme and the writing were great.

This was a fun catchy book! Eleanor Dash needs to get through her book tour in Italy and then she wants to end her book series. She wants to do this to cut all contact with Conner because the real Conner blackmails her for profits off her books and she wants to end the cycle with him however, When the real Conner has a near-death experience when someone pushes him onto the road. Then Eleanor is pushed and Oliver (Her Ex) saves her, as the book continues there is a murder and then there is an attempt on Eleanor's life. They then work together to try to see who in the group has a motive to murder each other, and while the Italian Police are completing their own investigation as well!
I loved this! It was witty, snarky, and then just fun! I really loved the footnotes, while they wouldn't work with a lot of books they worked amazingly with this book! This was a nice whodunit cozy mystery that was a quick read that has everything the mystery, suspense, drama, romance, with a splash of murder! I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good whodunit mystery!
Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this one!

What a fun story. This is definitely a read for a vacation.

It's unlikely but funny how Eleanor writes an improbable story and becomes a best-selling author. And it's a hoot that the only person she wants out of her series is her ex-boyfriend that she can't seem to kill off.

The story takes you through some delightful cities in Italy as a mystery unfolds during this book tour vacation. At first it didn't seem like there was anything sinister going on. But as they visited a new city, new situations and people entered the story to help it evolve into a great mystery.

I look forward to another book from this author.

This was such a fun book! The perfect book to read at the beach. This was my first Catherine Mack book, and definitely won't be my last!

Thank you to the publisher, author and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this story. Somewhat slow moving, but inventive and quirky. The use of footnotes, especially in the audiobook version, was very weird.

A well written cozy mystery that kept me guessing until the end! I tend to find myself getting bored with cozy mysteries but this one was full of whit, suspense, and the author breaking the fourth wall which I loved. A great debut novel and I can not wait to read more!

I cannot fully express how much I detested this book. Everything about it was ridiculous, from the structure to the conclusion. The constant breaking of the fourth wall wasn’t clever. It was annoying. It felt like both the author and the main character were toying with the reader. The audiobook narrator’s voices for various characters, and her inability to keep them consistent, didn’t help. This is apparently going to be a series. I will not be reading more.

Overall, the book was well written, captured my attention and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance copy!

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur for my honest review.*

Eleanor is a best selling author with a series based on a real man she had a fling with and can't get rid of. So trying to off him on her Italian book tour is the way to go.... Maybe. Until someone starts trying to kill him for realsies.

Fun plot line, funny footnotes, and quirky characters and I can't wait to read more about Eleanor's adventures!

I really enjoyed this book. It was cute and had a little bit of everything...mystery, romance, sisters. It was a really cute book!

This was a really fun beach read! I highly enjoyed the setting in Rome and along the Amalfi coast, made me want a spritz really bad. Our main character, Eleanor, is a best-selling author of murder mystery books. She is on tour for her latest installment in the Vacation Mystery series when all of a sudden her main character, Connor, is the target of a real-life murder! Plot twist (not a spoiler), she is trying to kill him off in the book series as well, so this makes Eleanor suspect no.1 in Connor's attempted murder. Overall, I would give this book a 3.5/5. It kept me engaged and I enjoyed the mix of characters/settings. The ending was also a fun plot twist, which is great for any mystery. The one thing that kept this book from a higher rating was the author's use of footnotes. It was meant to be a character quirk, which it was but became a big distraction for me as a reader. I hope to have more books in the series and look forward to getting to know Eleanor even more.

Thank you @Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

*Song Pairing: Bim Bom by Joao Gilberto

I had to switch to the audio of this book because I found the footnotes really took me out of the story. a unique way to tell a story but they worked much better on audio and I found them distracting in print.

Overall this was just ok for me. I couldn’t get fully invested - I was along for the ride but didn’t really care about the reveal or conclusion.

Thank you so much to Minotaur books and @netgalley for the ARC!

🍋 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🍋
I love books featuring authors as the main character and this cozy murder mystery hits the spot! It is the first book in the Vacation Mysteries series, and I look forward to the next one!

Eleanor Dash is going on an Italian book tour for the 10th anniversary of her first book. She has to deal with Connor Smith, who she got involved with 10 years ago when they solved a crime together… leading her to base her main character off of him. He has been irritating her since then! She also has crazy fans, an ex boyfriend, and other shenanigans happening. In the midst of chaos, there is murder and Eleanor is trying to stay safe and solve it!

I enjoyed the breaking the fourth wall perspective in the book. Eleanor literally called herself an unreliable narrator, which was amusing! Her main character Connor was annoying and comical at the same time. I liked how we were taken in circles as to who could have the motive and means to the murders that happen on this trip. It kept me guessing until the end!

I look forward to reading the next one in this series! I enjoy a cozy mystery with humor blended in!
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𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🍋 Cozy Murder Mysteries
📘 Books featuring Authors
📗 Breaking the Fourth Wall
🍋 Italian Book Tour
📙 Blackmail and Funny Characters