Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
By Catherine Mack
“Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies one trip to die for. 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? “
This was a faced paced listen. Some scenes didn’t play out completely to me but it was still easy to keep up with. The narrator was extremely entertaining giving the footnotes and weaving in details the listen may need to know or be reminded of. There were some funny moments. If you’re a Swiftie you will definitely found some cuteness in this story. I was shocked by who did it. Was not who I thought it would be.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacmillanAudio for the opportunity to listen and give my honest unbiased opinion of this book.

If you're looking for a fun, who-dunit mystery, then Catherine Mack's "Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies" is the book that needs to be on your TBR list! This book had me hooked in the very first minutes of the story, and it didn't let up until the end.

Successful author Eleanor Dash finds herself on a book tour for the 10th anniversary of her bestselling mystery series featuring her real-life ex Connor Smith. Eleanor is ready to be done with Connor in her life, and plans to kill his main character off in the next, and final, installment of her Vacation Mysteries series, but things become a bit more complicated when Connor confesses to Eleanor that someone is out to kill him. Eleanor decides to put on her own detective hat and find out what is going on before it is too late - everyone is a suspect and no one is safe!

Featuring plenty of suspects, hairpin turns, witty dialogue, and a great narrator, this book is one I will be recommending at my library for a long time! I was lucky to receive an audio ARC from MacMillian Audio and NetGalley. While I have no doubt the physical book is just as great, the narrator for this audiobook was fantastic and made the dialogue even more entertaining. I will be eagerly awaiting the second book in this series for more escapades with Eleanor and friends! Thank you MacMillian Audio and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Every time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies is a cozy mystery set in Italy. This story is clever and unique told from the point of view of the main character, Eleanor Dash, a writer, who is on a book tour of sorts. I loved listening (literally though, listened to this one on audio) to Eleanors inner thoughts aka “footnotes” throughout this story.
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This one has it all. This one has mystery, romance and suspense. I found myself laughing throughout a lot of this one. There are so many likable characters and plenty of unlikable characters making this for an interesting read. It did start off a smidge slow - setting the scene and all (which I thoroughly enjoyed) - takes a little for the murder to occur, but once it does it is full steam ahead and you won’t want to put this down.
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There were little interludes that kind of gave like a “recap” of sorts to try to help the reader figure out exactly “whodunit”. First, I absolutely loved these recaps. Second, I still didn’t figure it out, literally didn’t even see it coming. Once the big reveal happens everything came full circle, made complete sense and I loved it! My favorite part - Eleanor eludes to this becoming a series and I cannot wait to see where she and the other characters end up next!
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I listened to this one via audiobook and Elizabeth Evans was awesome. I loved how she narrated this one. Definitely recommending the audiobook, though also think a physical copy would be great as well for the little interludes and such.
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Everytime I Go On Vacation Someone Dies will release on 4/30. Make sure to check this one out! This is going to be the perfect summer beach read!! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Mack and MacMillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan audio for the arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Eleanor gets swept away to scenic Italy for her book tour. Along in tow in the tour are her two exes, one of their ex wives, her jealous sister, a stalker book fan and many other fun characters. Oh and a murderer in the mix. This book will keep you fully enlisted on who done it. As the narrator reads you the story while seemingly having conversations with you throughout to keep you engaged moreso. I loved the narrator in this audiobook. The scenic views of an Italy tour, the fun characters and a great narrator, this book is a summer must read!

Absolutely loved this “showbiz” mystery. An author is being blackmailed to keep writing a series—and then a real murder is suddenly brought on the scene! We love to see it. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me this opportunity.

If you like: a quiet retreat

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
This book was the perfect escape novel for me right now. Not only did I find the authors writing style super easy to read and follow, but I found her sense of humor hillarious!

Our main character (and POV narrator) Eleanor was perfect for this story in my opinion. Since the character is an author, it makes perfect sense that her ability to narrate the story was very easy going, and done in almost a story-telling tone. Some people may not be a fan of this, but the addition of her footnotes throughout the chapters was perfect! It really gave more backstory or details about certain things, without having to veer away from the storyline (it was made clear that the footnotes were optional, but you should definitely read them!).

As for the plot, I found it pretty fascinating! The concept was great, and it was fun to be able to play detective to this quirky cast of characters. I’m excited that this is the first book in a series, because I will definitely be picking up the next one once it’s released.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good cozy mystery with multiple character storylines, and who also loves just reading books taking place in beautiful Italian cities annd towns.

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆:
- 😹 A narrator with a sense of humor
- 🇮🇹 Picturesque Italian scenes
- 🧐 An entertaining ‘Who dunnit’

𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: The only correct answer for this is an Aperol Spritz (iykyk)🍹

Thx Macmillan Audio for the early audiobook.

This was such an entertaining read. I loved the way the story was told - with the narrator, Eleanor, explaining the case and giving some foot notes to explain the other character’s history. The story moved pretty quick. And as the mystery unfolds, you think the end will be one thing. But there is a bit of a twist (though I had an inkling about it). Definitely recommend picking this one up.

📚 Review: Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies 🏖️
This book was so FUN!! I loved it!! I have to actually thank @marykubica for posting her 5 star review for this. I immediately added it to my tbr. Then I saw the audio on @netgalley and requested it right away. I was so happy to be approved. And after reading it, I’m still so happy I was approved. It was so fun. This is your perfect who dun it mystery. Reminded me so much of an Agatha Christie novel. And I love them so much. It had a cast of characters, a murder where everyone had motive and is a suspect. And our MC Eleanor, was the best. She narrates the story and is so funny. Always referencing pop culture about music, movies and tv shows and I really loved that. (Great job to the author with adding such current ones too👍🏻 I was impressed and someone’s a Swiftie 😉) Loved it. I also love when the MC talks to us, the reader. When they involve us like this. I love it. Again, this book was so fun. I really enjoyed it. I’m so glad I got to listen to the audio for this one too. It was narrated by Elizabeth Evans and she did a fantastic job. She did a different voice for every character. So great! 👏🏻👏🏻
So bottom line is, this was a fun book. I think you’ll love it if you read it or listen to it. This was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 stars for me!!
I recommend this book to everyone especially to those who love an Agatha Christie style story. Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: April 30, 2024. Just two more weeks. Be sure to check this one out. 🫶🏻

Thank you Macmillan audio for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a wild fun ride! I love Elizabeth Evans’ narration, but it is hard for me to separate her from Bryce Quinlan in the Crescent City series.

Eleanor Dash is on a book tour in Italy. She wants to kill her main character who happens to be a former ex who is blackmailing her. There are lots of close calls for both Eleanor and Connor. I loved all of the wild antics and misdirects. I thought I had an idea who the killer is, but I didn’t get it all. This was so much fun to listen to and it made me not want to stop listening. After the ending, I can’t wait for the second book in the series!

A cute cozy mystery with a surprise twist at the end. I kept changing my prediction throughout the story and still never saw the ending coming. I also love the little bits if rom-com thrown in throughout the story. My first Catherine Mack book and I cannot wait to try another!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Every TIme I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is a fun fluff read--beach read meets Agatha Christie. I enjoyed the story, and the narrator (I listened to the audiobook) was engaging.

Comedy, mystery, drama, Europe, a bunch of people who don’t like each other… that’s bound to produce a fun story!! This was a really fun listen. If you like ‘Knifes Out’, you may really love this one!

I read Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies while on vacation which added a little fun to the experience. This is my first book by Catherine Mack and I found her tongue-in-cheek, self deprecating writing style to be very engaging. While the footnotes were a bit hard to follow at first, I developed a system for processing them and think they added quite a bit of snark and comic relief. The footnotes gave insight into the author’s thoughts and made the reading experience feel more intimate. Breaking the Fourth Wall and speaking directly to the reader worked well with this book.

This is a highly entertaining, quirky mystery laden with humor and intrigue. There’s no shortage of potential victims or criminals which kept the pace moving. There were plenty of red herrings, plot twists, and unexpected reveals along the way.

Elizabeth Evans does a fantastic job with the narration of the audiobook. She masters the accents of different characters making it easy to follow their antics. I laughed out loud more than once. This was truly a case of the narrator enhancing the author’s work.

Overall, this is a fun, easy read which will have the reader laughing while trying to solve the mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to listen to this advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

I did not care for this. I just couldn't get into it. Sometimes the narrator/main character is likeable/funny and sometimes they are insufferable. Sometimes it was serious but most times it was silly. I didn't really like any of the characters.

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

Bestselling author Eleanor Dash is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the first novel in her Vacation Mysteries series with a book tour in Italy. Accompanying her on the book tour are fellow authors, excited fans, a stalker, and her ex, Connor, who inspired the main character of her series. Eleanor is ready to end the series by killing off her main character, but when an attempt is made on the real Connor's life, Eleanor is enlisted to help solve the case. As Eleanor's Italian book tour turns into a real-life murder mystery, rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed.

"Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies" is a hilarious and action-packed murder mystery that I could not put down. If you are a fan of "Knives Out" or the Finlay Donovan series, then you will love this series debut from Catherine Mack. With its picturesque setting, charming characters, and fun plot, this book will be the perfect beach read this summer. From its captivating title to its witty footnotes, this book is razor-sharp and laugh-out-loud funny. Eleanor is a fantastic main character, and her breaking of the fourth wall was just so much fun. I am beyond excited to see that two sequels are already planned and that this book has even been picked up for a TV series. I cannot recommend this book enough!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Evans. She was a fantastic narrator and did a great job voicing so many characters of various ages and genders. She used unique voices and accents, so it was easy to tell them all apart. I loved how she brought the story to life and made it such a fun listen with her comedic timing and really bringing out the wit and humor. I hope she will narrate the rest of the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this was so fun. An author going on a vacation/book tour that ends up also being a murder mystery. It felt very Finlay Donovan-esque. The witty ramblings of an author explaining the ins and outs of publishing while also dealing with crime. It had many relevant pop culture references which added modern charm. The unique writing style was entertaining as the main character broke the 4th wall constantly bringing the reader into the story. My only yuck to this books yum was that, about 1/3 through, I had to double check that this wasn’t the 2nd book in a series. There was a lot of important history with the main characters that felt like it was written as a reminder to something we should have already read in the past. Otherwise, this was a cozy, entertaining, and witty start to what looks to be a great series!

I was given an audio version to this book and the narrator, Elizabeth Evans, did a fantastic job… per usual! I’m hot off the heels of my whirlwind romance with the Throne of Glass series (which she brilliantly narrated). So her voice felt comforting 🥹. I’ve read reviews that state the physical book gets a little *complicated* because the author adds footnotes. With the audio, it is read seamlessly so I didn’t even know that could be an issue.

This was so much fun! It's a different take on the cozy mystery, allowing the reader to be a part of the investigation in a way and I loved it! The writing was witty and humorous, the plot was clever, and the characters were fantastic. I loved everything about this!

So when does Book 2 come out??
I binged this audio in a single day! It was so addicting. Would’ve been a page turner had a read the physical book!
I absolutely loved how the book was written. How it seemed like we were in the authors brain as she was planning out how she was going to write her story. How humor, mystery, and romance were all intertwined to give us a great story line.
I for sure thought I knew who did it, but I would’ve never imagine it was them! Eleanor and Connor are the perfect protagonists. The plot twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end.
This is a must read book & I will be first in line for book 2!

This was a fun listen! I kept changing my mind about the culprit and can honestly say that I did not see that coming!

Eleanor Dash is a best-selling author who is on a book tour. Eleanor is joined by her annoying ex, Connor and her sister. Eleanor never reads the itineraries that her sister provides and is surprised when another ex, Oliver, arrives and well as two other authors.

Connor is convinced that someone is out to get him, and Eleanor thinks he is just being paranoid until things start happening to her. Eleanor is trying to figure out who is to blame - Oliver? Her sister? Connor?

There are a lot of characters to keep track of and just when you think you have it figured out, you will be surprised to learn that it could be someone else.

Elizabeth Evans does an excellent job narrating each character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio listen in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

So fun, clever and entertaining!

I adored how Eleanor repeatedly broke through the fourth wall to give us a sneak peek into the story behind the story, letting us know that she may or may not be dropping a clue here, that we’re about to enter the third act of the book where the exposition happens and we’ll find out if somebody’s trying to kill her — ok, you look worried so I’ll spoil it, I didn’t die!, etc. She wonders aloud if she’s an unreliable narrator, invites us to play along on solving the mystery — there is a book inside a book (inside a book?) going on here, and I was very much here for all of it.

You might think you’re here to find out who’s trying to kill con man Connor, who has been profiting off of Eleanor’s book series for years and is trying to prevent her from killing off his character in that series so his money well doesn’t dry up. But you’ll soon find out that you are actually here for the fun descriptions of lemon spritzes and to-die-for pizza and pasta in Italia, the myriad pop culture references and the eventual surprise twist(s). It has a Knives Out murder mystery vibe but is infinitely more snarky, self-aware and fun. I smiled so often listening to this and think you will, too!

This is an April 30 release. Thank you #NetGalley #MacmillanAudio #MinotaurBooks #CatherineMack for the early listen!! #ARC