I went into this read with fairly low expectations and mostly blind - and was so pleasantly surprised! I loved the background of the characters being in the literary world. This book felt self-aware, and didn’t take itself too seriously. The tone reminded me a little of Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, which I also loved.

This was a very quick and funny read, with some extremely ridiculous situations. Despite that, the characters had intriguing back stories, and I can see myself reading sequels and enjoying learning more about them!

I would recommend this as a fun and quick cozy mystery, perfect for summertime!

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝙽𝚎𝚝𝙶𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚊𝚌𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘 𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠.

𝙏𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨, 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨, 𝙨𝙞𝙭 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙛𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 . . . 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧.

I want to preface this by saying that if you’ve ever watched an episode of Only Murders In The Building, go read this right now. Bonus: if you’re a fan of Selena Gomez, Elizabeth Evans could totally pass as her and knocked the narration for this book out of the park. The audio version of this was by far one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to.

Eleanor Dash is a bestselling author who embarks on a book tour in Italy. Her plan is to get through the tour and kill off main character Connor, but then that all comes to a halt when a murder attempt is made on the real Connor’s life (who has joined the tour also). Suddenly, Eleanor’s fictional life turns real and she has to help solve the case of who is out to get them (how fitting!) all while dealing with past flame Oliver who bounces back into her life too.

I loved Eleanor’s character and she was one of my favourite female protagonists I’ve ever read. Eleanor is witty and talks to you (the reader) directly, as she narrates her own story or her murdery book tour. You almost feel like you’re engrossed in a first-person true crime podcast. The book has her own footnotes too which completely adds to the sassiness of her character.

If you read this - what were your initial thoughts of who the killer was? Did it take you by surprise too?

Catherine Mack, I love that this is going to be a series because I need more! Cannot wait for The Vacation Mysteries #2 😩

Definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a light and airy suspenseful read that is full of humour, and will keep you guessing until the end (my Goodreads updates are proof) ✅

You guys. This book. So very much fun. It’s like if Finlay Donovan/Stephanie Plum and Ferris Bueller/The Spellmans (Lisa Lutz) had a baby.

It’s the perfect beach read and I think everyone will be talking about this one. It’s has humor, and a mystery, and a little romance, and Italy!!!

It’s set in the publishing world. Eleanor Dash is a writer on a book tour and she wants to kill the real life inspiration for her book. Well not really but she does. Then someone really is trying to kill him.

She talks to the reader both in the book and in footnotes. It gave it a fresh feeling.

There’s a lot of banter between the characters, in Eleanor’s mind and with the third wall musings with the audience.

This was pure fun. It’s entertaining and kept me wanting to never stop reading.

Elizabeth Evans narrates the audiobook and was a perfect choice. She nailed the whimsy and perfectly fit my thoughts for Eleanor. And the footnotes I mentioned, wasn’t an issue listening. They flowed seamlessly in the narrative.

I can’t believe I have to wait a year to see what happens next.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies, is the first book in a wonderful new cozy mystery series by Catherine Mack. While I’ll admit the beginning had me a bit puzzled, in that the way it was being told had me doubled checking to make sure I hadn’t missed a previous book (I hadn’t. This is in fact book 1 of the The Vacation Mystery series but Mack is clever in how she weaves the story and had me thinking how much I’d love to read about the main character’s previous adventures), I absolutely loved everything about this one. You see Eleanor, the main character, is an author, currently on the tenth anniversary tour of her first book. And when you learn about how she came up with the idea for her first book I’ve no doubt you’ll be wishing that was a separate book as well. While on this tour she begins to believe that someone is trying to kill Connor Smith (a recurring character from her books who is based on a very real person who she has a complicated history with.) And then she begins to suspect someone might actually be trying to her as well! Suspects? Oh, there are a ton of them, and they all have their reasons to want Connor dead…and perhaps Eleanor as well. I loved the style of the writing, Eleanor is constantly breaking the 4th wall, talking directly to her readers (or in my case listener). It’s a wonderfully fun, twisting, and clever plot and the epilogue actually teases us with Eleanor’s next adventure. Elizabeth Evans absolutely nails the narration and I hope they’ll keep her on as the voice of the series. And I for one can’t wait to see the trouble she gets into next. I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audio version of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1JGVOZSC2186G/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This book is very much impressed with itself. I was not as impressed with it. It tried to hard to be quirky and cute. I just found it annoying. I’m a nerd. I love footnotes. Here they were unnecessary and distracting.

This book was gifted by Netgalley & The Publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun time! We are following Eleanor, who is the famous author of a mystery series.

She is on a trip with some of her closest friends, enemies, and fans. She is also plotting a book whilst in paradise.

We get snippets into what is actually happening and also in Eleanor's mind.

I think that this book would be perfect for Fans of Finlay Donavan and it looks like this one will be a series too!

If you enjoyed 'Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone,' you're going to enjoy this one too. The main character is a mystery novel writer, and she often breaks the third wall to interact with the reader. She hints at clues, things we should notice, and explains how mystery novels are meant to work. The plot of the story is both a mystery and a romance, and it's everything I love in a book. The humor is cheesy, just like the romance. This is the beginning of a series, and I cannot wait for more.
The only thing I didn't like was just how disparaging the main character was about herself. I understand that it can be difficult to make sure a first person character shows their flaws, but she was basically just shouting hers out all the time. I hope the second book dials that down a bit.
The narrator of the audiobook version did a great job. It was easy to keep track of different character, and she brought life to the story.

Ten years ago, Eleanor Dash wrote the first book in her vacation mystery series. What many don't realize is she based the plot on her own adventures on an Italian vacation. Of course changing the names to protect the less than innocent except for main character, Connor Smith. The real Connor Smith turns out to be quite the cad who ends up wriggling his way into receiving part of El's royalties for making him a character (of course there's more to it, but that would be spoilery). Fortunately, or unfortunately, for Eleanor, the series is a huge success, but with each success she becomes more and more indebted to Connor.

Now, she's on a tour for the anniversary of the first book while late on her deadline for the 10th (and possibly final?) book. It's time, she's decided, to do away with Connor - the character, not the person - once and for all. Eleanor is ready to start fresh maybe write a new series, maybe take the vacation mysteries in a new direction. Regardless, she's finally ready to be out of his reach and grasp. However, it seems like Eleanor is not the only one with a grudge against Connor - the person, not the character. Connor has become increasingly convinced that someone is trying to murder him. . Looking at every one on the tour they all have a motive for potentially wanting Connor dead including but not limited to Eleanor herself. But then Eleanor, too, has a near deadly experience and one thing becomes abundantly clear: it's time for her to solve another mystery. Honestly, though, it's a lot more difficult in real life than fiction.

Listening to the audiobook was maybe the best way to go into this this story. Told from Eleanor's point of view, she's kind of chaotic and all over the place with her not-so-inner dialogue and I think it's easiest to get the full effect in audio format. However, there are quite a few footnotes in the story and I love a good footnote. I think it's interesting when authors include them, but it was difficult to tell in the audio narration when we were getting a footnote and when it was part of the main story. For that aspect, reading, as opposed to listening, was the best format.

I liked the twists and turns the story takes and how as a reader you feel like you're solving the mystery side by side with Eleanor. Mainly because at various points she is talking directly to readers giving hints or even going so far as to highlight things we should keep in mind. It's also a good indication that Eleanor has a certain knowledge about how everything is going to play out, if you catch my meaning. This is her reiteration of events that have already passed.

I liked the combination of side characters and their tie to either Eleanor and/or Connor. They have all somehow benefitted from or been influenced by the vacation series whether they readily admit so or not. Which also means that each of them is a plausible suspect and Catherine Mack toggles between each of these plausibilities with ease.

Where the story does slightly falter is that I found Eleanor to be a bit too much at times. A little irritatingly scattered to the point where her sister - also her assistant - has to get Eleanor up in the morning and packs for her and tells her where she needs to be/go. She kept making jokes at her expense about how reliant she is on her sister, Harper, but to me that doesn't suffice. It made her come across as a little self-absorbed at times.

Also, I understand the idea of a mystery is to keep the readers guessing until the big reveal but, for me, there were a few too many feints. We'd end the chapter on a cliffhanger with a character's life seemingly hanging in the balance, only to turn the page and it's not what was expected at all. This is fine to keep the suspense, but started to edge toward too much until we finally got some true forward momentum in the story.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. I liked the quirky approach to the storytelling. There's already a clear sign that we'll be getting another book, and I look forward to seeing how the mysteries continue to follow Eleanor around.

This is a murder mystery that will keep you guessing, set in scenic Italy with visits to important historical sites, the main character Eleanor along with her sister Harper travel on an 10 year anniversary tour with other authors all secretly competing with each other and the stakes are high. All seems to be going well until people start dying, and then it’s a race to find the killer and the motive before it’s too late.

I will say that I did like this book, and my rating is more so because the style of writing just wasn’t my thing and the narration from the Author took me out of the story every time I was about to get into it, but that is more of a personal preference thing, someone else may like it a lot!

I gotta say the mystery of the murders was really hard to follow. I feel like I had to be told what was happening because there was no way I could guess it. It felt like the plot had to be slowly explained to me for it to work, and there were still a lot of things that I still don’t see how they connected and lead to who the killer was. I like murder mysteries that keep you guessing but not ones that leave you confused.

Thank you Catherine Mack, the Narrator Elizabeth Evans, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my free audiobook advance review copy of “Every time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies”. 3/5⭐️

I received an advance copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was so much fun, fresh, and unique! It came onto my radar as a May 2024 Indie Next pick and candidly I was drawn to its vibrant cover. I was grateful to receive an advance audiobook copy for review via NetGalley. The narration is great. The main character Eleanor is an author who finds herself in Italy on a book tour with superfans of her mysteries as well as her ex-husband, sister/assistant and a host of other colorful characters. I found this book very entertaining especially because the narrator constantly breaks the fourth wall and infuses witty lighthearted humor throughout this wild European ride. While I don’t think it will stand the test of time given the numerous hilarious pop culture references, this makes a great cozy mystery beach read for this summer. Great for fans of Finlay Donovan and Only Murders in the Building.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
By: Catherine Mack
Narrator: Elizabeth Evans
Pages: 352
Length: 9h34m

The first in a witty series following the bestselling author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate her fictional world.Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies, one bestseller.

I started this book on digital and was then gifted the audio version.  For me, audio was the way to go.  Mainly due to the footnotes (there are a lot of them --over 200 I believe).  On digital, you need to tap the icon to see the footnote and that became annoying.  So, listening and having the footnotes be seamless was much more enjoyable (I'm sure it is more seamless in the print version too).

This book was a fun read.  The main character of Eleanor could have easily become annoying, but instead she was delightful - chaotic, scattered, funny and charming.  The side characters were a good support system to the story.  I enjoyed how Eleanor "talked" directly to the reader. 

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Minotaur Books for my digital and audio version of this book.

Such a fun book! This a fast paced book and the author really kept me on my toes. She also had me second guessing who I thought the murderer was which I always love in thriller/mysteries.

This book does have footnotes which I thought were fun; however, I don’t know if I would have felt the same way if I read this on my kindle. I really loved the “breaking the fourth wall” moment towards the end - I’ve never experienced that in a book before.

If you love the Finlay Donovan series definitely check this out - similar vibes ✌🏻

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.
I thought it was a fun read with the depth in the storyline. I think one thing that could pull you out of your reading experience when physically reading this is the footnotes that were mentioned to be in here.
The MC Eleanor was quirky and I really liked seeing her life.
The love life though, I genuinely didn’t feel a connection.
I think I’ll still read from this author

Super snarky mystery novel. This one shines as an audiobook because the footnotes on the page (which are tedious to navigate in an ebook) are inserted as asides throughout the narration, keeping the flow moving smoothly. I'm a huge fan of both breaking the fourth wall and of footnotes, so that elevated this book in my eyes.

This is a book, told to us by an author, Eleanor Dash. She is in Italy on a book tour, but she wants this upcoming installment in her mystery series to be the last. The reason? Connor Smith, both her main character and her ex, has been blackmailing her for part of her royalties every since the first book came out. Joining their group are a bevy of "Bookface" fans chosen from Bookstagram, Eleanor's sister and assistant Harper, some other authors and a few others. When it seems as if someone is trying to kill Connor, and then Eleanor--who can be trusted? And why are they targets?

I was entertained from start to finish with this novel. It's not a particularly complex mystery to figure out, but that's definitely not the point. The humor, the banter, the interplay between the characters--that's what keeps the story moving and engaging.

As I mentioned above, this is a novel you either want to read as a printed copy or listen to the audiobook. I hate footnotes in an ebook because it requires too much effort and you constantly lose the flow. The narration of the audiobook hits the proper snarky notes meant to be conveyed in the book.

I will definitely read another installment in the series because it's set up to continue with a cliffhanger at the end.

This audiobook is narrated by Elizabeth Evans, who narrates many of Sarah J Maas' books, so that felt very comforting and pleasing to the ear 🤣🤩

This book seems like it'll be the first in a series and I wasn't surprised to see that Elle Cosimano blurbed the book because I can see major comparisons to the concept behind the Finlay Donovan books here. However, this book breaks the fourth wall a bit (I know people either love or hate that as a technique - I thought it worked well here but it did take me out of the story once or twice). A murder writer, Eleanor, finds herself smack dab in the middle of a murder mystery while on a book tour with friends and fans. It took me a few chapters to get a grasp on all the characters but that's likely my attention span and by the end I had it all sorted (the characters, not the mystery).

This one falls much more into a cozy type of mystery read than a thriller but it was fast-paced and took place over a short number of days with a bit of a locked room component that made it intriguing and allowed the reader to question everyone at one point or another. There's a sweet sister relationship and a bit of a romance storyline though I wasn't as invested in that as I'd have liked to be. There was one amazing reference to one of my favourite YA novels and several Taylor Swift references thrown in though, so a star for those for sure!

Overall I'll probably continue this series if it continues and I'd recommend this one for a fun vacation read.

A murder mystery with lots of fun and banter, ridiculously hilarious characters, the perfect Italian setting, drama, plus a beautifully illustrated cover.. What is there not to love about this book?! Catherine Mack nailed this one!

Eleanor Dash practically became a writer by accident. Some 10 years ago she went through a crazy experience with her then-boyfriend, Connor Smith, and felt it was so unbelievable she just had to write it down. She had no intention of publishing it, however fate thought otherwise. She ended up publishing her first book, and then another, and another. Her series became a best seller, however there's just one issue. Everyone loves the character Connor Smith (yes, she used her ex's real name!) Real Connor, of course, used this as the perfect opportunity to get his share out of it, asking for 10% first then increasing to 20%, with a little bit of blackmail. Ten years later and Eleanor is tired of Connor's ways and is determined to kill him off! His character, that is.
She is now on her book tour in Italy and needs to find a way to put an end to Connor's character in her newest book, however, she just doesn't know how. She needs some inspiration and just when she starts brainstorming, Connor shows up, claiming someone is trying to kill him! What are the odds?! Of course, Eleanor does not believe him, until someone tries to kill her! And then an actual murder happens that has everyone trying to figure out who did it? Who is the murderer and what is their motive?
I absolutely loved this read! I enjoyed it from start to finish. I really loved how the author included little "side chapters", like little side notes where she was actually talking to the reader. That took it up a notch for me! The humor is this book is perfect and kept me laughing the entire time, and the twists were definitely there! I did have an idea of the killer, but not of the motive. This book was wonderfully entertaining, and I'm anticipating the next book of this series!
Thank you NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Catherine Mack for this 5 star read!

This was a travel murder mystery with a beautiful cover and a witty main character. There were times that I laughed out loud. It reminded me a little of the Finlay Donovan series, only in a more exotic location. The author also breaks down the fourth wall and directly address the reader, which I normally don't like but it worked here.
There is no shortage of suspects on this book tour, and the main character is one of the authors. The best thing about this book is not so much the mystery itself but the voice of the characters and some of the other characters on this tour.
I had both the audio and the ebook and read along but I think it is easier on the audiobook. The author uses footnotes which were hard to follow in the ebook but fine in the audio.
The narrator was good and covered a multitude of accents and voices. I was engaged throughout.
I look forward to the next book in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for the book and the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I am very happy that I was given the chance to read and review this book. I really enjoyed the idea of an author of mysteries being involved in a mystery herself. Also, the title is so catching! I am hoping this continues into a series of multiple vacations and more deaths (in the least psychotic way possible, of course!).

I received an advance audio copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was such a fun, gripping, unique story that I had the privilege to both read and listen to.

The book breaks the fourth wall and I absolutely loved it; knowing the narrators thoughts and feelings while the story is being revealed was so fun! I actually went on a deep dive of other books told in that format.

This was just released so I definitely recommend you run out and grab it!

Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies is the first book in Catherine Mack’s Vacation Mystery series. Eleanor Dash fell into her best selling author gig when she wrote about her Roman adventures and her liaison with private investigator/con man Connor Smith. Eleanor didn’t set out to be an author, that was her sister’s dream, but when she was just trying to make sense of the experiences of her post college summer travel she wrote about it.

Now, on the tenth anniversary of the series, Eleanor’s publisher has put together a special trip to Rome that includes a cast of characters almost right out of that first book, including her sister and special assistant Harper, Conner and his ex wife and assorted paramours, and a few fellow authors, including her former love Oliver Forrest. Also on the trip are a select group of top fans called the Book Face Ladies.

Early on in the stifling summer heat, Connor asks for help in figuring out who is making attempts on his life. But is Connor the only target? And why are people in this group being targeted? This is a humorous mystery with many clues, red herrings, and enough footnotes to cover all possible scenarios. I very much enjoyed this book and do recommend it!