Light funny mystery with a fun premise. What could go wrong while plotting your 10th novel with twenty fan readers and a stalker in the mix. Fast paced with plenty of or drama and laugh out loud moments.

Elizabeth Evans does a great job giving this story life.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this audiobook production.

I love a good book about books and authors and this cozy-ish mystery fits the bill! ETIGOVSD is a fantastically fun series opener.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, quirky mystery that takes a lot of twists and turns along the way, you might enjoy Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies.

For the first third of this book, I was enjoying it. I really liked the travel aspect, and there were even some funny moments. It was easy to flip through the pages and the pacing always felt right.

What began to bother me was the writing style. It’s very simplistic and bare bones, and it often felt a bit too quirky for my taste. It’s not very descriptive which left me frustrated as this was set in Europe and I wanted to feel more grounded in the setting. There were also A LOT of characters in this book. Unfortunately, since the book is so short, it meant that many of these character weren’t as well developed and fell flat.

But you might enjoy a more over-the-top, crazy, action-paced mystery.It’s a very fast read and is, for the most part, entertaining.

I did go back and forth between reading the ebook and listening to the audio. I’d highly recommend the audio, as I had a more enjoyable time listening to this story than I did reading it. The narrator did a great job at bringing the main character to life!

I do have the sequel for review, so I will continue on in the series. I just hope the writing style doesn’t get in my way of enjoying the rest of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the digital and audio arcs. All opinions are my own.

I feel like I just read this book? A hugely successful yet totally insecure author travels and gets embroiled in romance and mystery? Why so insecure? The main character’s first person narrative is just awful. I really hated it. Good for the cozy myster/Bridget Jones crowd I guess.

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies by Catherine Mack was the most entertaining audiobook I’ve listened to. The narrator, Elizabeth Evans, is fabulous and when I listened at a speed of 1.8x like I normally do, the accent made me think of the actress in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which added to the humor that is already tenfold in this book. The twists and turns are fabulous and I wasn’t able to predict the ending. This is a fast paced read and fabulously amusing.

I have posted this review on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Storygraph

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/b2e94c18-9b2e-4787-a5de-5a284a88658c

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6493494758

And Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJm7witpMXo/?igsh=MTRubHZ5Z25yMm8zMQ==

Bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash is witty & absolute fun! She gives Finlay Donovan vibes! I love her writing a book within the book with her footnotes throughout! This “irresistible and hilarious series debut”

I flew through this book that brought a fun, new type of read from an author I love, #CatherineMack, aka #Catherinemckenzie!

The audiobook narration by Elizabeth Evans is absolutely amazing!

3.75//This thriller was a lot of fun and I love the creative takes the author had, including regularly breaking the fourth wall between the MC and the reader. It was an original experience and had some twists and turns I did not see coming. Somehow though, the author made the first book in this series feel as if it was a sequel? With the consistent mentioning of her history with Connor, the implied information about the mob etc, it left me feeling like I was missing a first book that provided this context. Overall, I enjoyed the book but don't know how memorable it will be for me,

"Everytime I Go on Vacation Someone Dies" by Catherine Mack is a cozy mystery novel that, while well-written and humorous, ultimately didn't capture my attention enough to finish. The author's skill in weaving humor into the story is evident, and the writing style itself is engaging. However, as someone who realized they might not be a fan of cozy mysteries, I found it challenging to stay invested in the plot. The book's premise of mysteries happening during vacations is intriguing, but it didn't hold my interest throughout. For readers who enjoy cozy mysteries and appreciate humor in their storytelling, this book could be a delightful choice. However, for me personally, it was a soft DNF as I struggled to stay engaged despite its evident qualities.

What a fun book! I loved the writing style, as if you are actually part of the story. I enjoyed the character driven plot and the dynamics of the cast. The setting was described beautifully.

The Mystery of the book was simple yet complex and the author/narrator tries to keep you guessing until the very end.

The story had a very Knives Out/Clue vibe and had me laughing at times.

I highly recommend the audio version of this book. The narrator does a fantastic job, and it works so well as the story is actually being narrated by the protagonist. Moving on to book 2 now which releases on 5/13/25.

Found the book to be comical but it wasn’t enough to keep my interest. The footnotes was a bit distracting. It was an easy read.

This book was pretty fun. It's one of those books where you're just trying to chill, but stuff keeps getting weird? This is that.

I enjoyed the main character and her antics, along with all the side characters we got to meet and the places they are traveling to. Some of them are definitely bucket list places for me!

Yeah, it's a bit over the top at times. But the jokes are good, and it's a solid, easy read. Four stars, because it kept me hooked, even if I rolled my eyes a few times. Good for a lazy afternoon, or, you know, a vacation where hopefully no one dies.

This was a really fun reading experience! The narrator was fantastic and was probably the best part about the book. The mystery was kind of interesting and had a few fun little twists that were refreshing. I'm not sure I care enough to read the rest of the series but this was overall a really good cozy mystery read.

Sadly I DNFed this book. I tried to finish it but it just wasn't for me. Rating it a 3 star because while it didn't work for me it might be the perfect book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan Audio for the ALC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Cozy vacation mystery that gives Benjamin Stevenson/ Ernest Cunningham series vibes. Enjoyable enough, just not one to stick with you long after. Good summer beach read.

I had to DNF this. It was the first book but I felt like I somehow missed the book before this one. Also wasn’t a fan of the “fourth wall break” at all.

Thank you Netgalley. I enjoyed this book a lot. I listened to It on audio so I didn't see some of the other problems that a few other reviewers had. I thought this book was fun and entertaining. It keeps you interested from beginning to end.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for a free audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Catherine Mack's debut novel, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies, is a clever and laugh-out-loud funny cozy mystery. Narrator Elizabeth Evans does a fantastic job bringing the characters to life in the audiobook. Bestselling novelist Eleanor Dash is in Italy celebrating the tenth anniversary of her popular book series with a fan tour. She's also planning how to kill off her main character, Conner Smith (based on her ex-boyfriend), but her plans are complicated when Conner unexpectedly shows up on the tour and reveals that someone is trying to kill him. Eleanor wants Conner out of her books, not actually dead, but soon, attempts are made on his life, and others are killed in the process.

When a murder occurs at their hotel, the Italian police are called in, including an officer who helped Eleanor and Conner solve a Mafia-related crime in Italy years ago when they were a couple. Now, they're embroiled in another murder investigation. Can they catch the killer before it's too late?

Full of twists and turns, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is a fast-paced read with a satisfyingly unexpected conclusion. The quirky characters are well-developed, and Mack's unique writing style, including Eleanor's helpful footnotes, adds to the charm. With a multitude of suspects, the mystery kept me guessing until the very end. This first book in The Vacation Mysteries series is highly recommended, and I'm looking forward to more from Catherine Mack.

4 Stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #macmillanaudio #everytimeigoonvacationsomeonedies #catherinemack

I was really excited to dive into Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies based on the intriguing premise, but unfortunately, I ended up DNF'ing it. I made multiple attempts to listen to this audiobook since its release, but I just couldn't connect. While the story had potential and the author’s writing style was solid, I struggled to engage with the characters, and the plot didn’t pull me in as much as I had hoped.

Despite the great premise, I found myself losing interest after a certain point. That said, I can see how others might enjoy it more than I did, but it just wasn’t the right fit for me at this time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is a delightful and fast-paced mystery that perfectly combines humor, suspense, and a splash of romance. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Italy, the book follows Eleanor Dash, a bestselling author on her book tour, who finds herself embroiled in a real-life murder mystery after an attempt is made on the life of the character she’s written into her popular Vacation Mysteries series—Connor Smith. What was meant to be a routine book promotion quickly turns into a thrilling investigation, with Eleanor caught up in a web of rivals, fans, and unexpected twists.

The novel is filled with witty banter, intriguing suspects, and plenty of suspense as Eleanor juggles personal conflicts, professional jealousy, and the chaos of a mystery that mirrors the plots of her own novels. With a quirky cast of characters, including literary rivals, an ex, and a charming but frustrating former lover, Mack’s writing is sharp and full of surprises. The interactions between Eleanor and her entourage make for a delightful read, while the mystery itself keeps readers guessing until the very end.

With its engaging mix of mystery, humor, and a hint of romance, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is a perfect choice for fans of Knives Out and other witty, character-driven mysteries. The debut in this series is a charming, lighthearted adventure that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a really fun read lol i love mysteries like this and this was such a hard book to put down! would recommend