Thanks, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for the arc/ALC! #MacAudio2025

The second book in THE VACATION MYSTERIES is just as entertaining as the first. Catherine Mack had me laughing so hard during NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE AT THIS WEDDING with all the antics that author Eleanor Dash goes on to solve a murder while on vacation again.

I read a bit of the arc, but I immediately listened as soon as I had access to the ALC! Elizabeth Evans narrated. She narrated the first one, and I loved her narrations just as much in this one!

This book was a big ode to Agaith Christie. It’s a wedding party that ends up storm-trapped on Catalina Island - so very much the feels of Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. Only because Eleanor is not a detective, there are way more laughable moments that happen during the mystery than what would happen in a Christie novel.

I liked the island and character descriptions. Each character had shady moments that made you suspect them, but since I’m not the best guesser, I was surprised by the ending! I think I was enjoying the read so much that I didn’t try too hard lol.

I 100% recommend this series. You can read them separately, but they will be way more fun if you read them together. And this is a time I definitely recommend audiobooks over physical books!

This is shaping up to be a rather interesting series. This installment overall is well written, but I am not sure I am committed to continuing to reading this series.

First-person POV
Single Narrative Perspective
Linear, Real-time narrative

I really enjoy The Vacation Mysteries series by Catherine Mack! In this sharp and hilarious mystery, bestselling mystery author Eleanor Dash finds herself attending a lavish wedding weekend at a remote location on Catalina Island, only for a real-life murder to turn the event into something out of one of her novels. Eleanor uses her storytelling instincts to unravel the mystery, all while navigating complicated relationships, professional insecurities, and her own anxious inner monologue.

Like the first book, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies (though you don’t have to read it to enjoy this one), the narrative style is fresh and engaging. Eleanor is such a fun and refreshing protagonist, witty, self-aware, and often breaking the fourth wall with clever footnotes that poke fun at the movie industry and the tropes of mystery writing. Her commentary adds a smart, meta layer to the story that sets this series apart. The mystery itself is full of clever twists with several moments that genuinely caught me off guard. It’s tightly plotted, well-written, and a total page-turner.

If you’re a fan of comedic or meta-mysteries, especially ones of Benjamin Stevenson, this one is definitely worth picking up!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If this book was even a little bit less awful than “Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies”, I swear I’d have tried harder.

But I will learn from my mistakes, and I advise Eleanor (and the woman behind her) to try doing the same.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

During the filming of her book, Eleanor and her friends travel to Catalina Island for a surprise wedding. Then there are deaths. ARC from NetGalley

Another wild and crazy adventure as the storyline continues with many of the same characters in the first book. My favorite part is the use of footnotes. Filming of the movie is done, but the group stays on the island for a wedding. There’s a storm and then the bodies start stacking up.

Thanks to St Martin's press for an advanced copy of this book.

I adored book 1 of this series. We pick up as a movie adaptation is being made of Eleanor Dash's Vacation Mysteries series. In the midst of filming the adaptation, her best friend Emma is secretly also planning to get married to her costar Fred Winters, who is playing Connor Smith. The whole cast/crew head to Catalina to film the final sequences, including Fred and Emma's very real secretly planned wedding, and people start suddenly dying. It's up to Eleanor again to try to solve the mystery of who the murderer is.

The book overall was still fun but I found the largest cast of characters a little harder to keep track of and overall found this story less compelling than the first. Still a good time.

The author did a great job in providing enough details that kept me immersed in all aspects with the staging for a murder with suspects who can’t leave the island, secrets that could lead to motives, and the search among their associates to find the person responsible. In between, there are witty dialogues from Eleanor herself and with those she encountered. I especially love the footnotes which feel like Eleanor is talking to me. Overall, this was a delightfully entertaining read and I look forward to more exciting adventures with Eleanor and her friends.

OKAY. THIS BOOK? SO MUCH FUN!!! Eleanor Dash is a murder-magnet mystery author who just wanted to vibe at her bestie’s wedding. Instead? Body in the broom closet. Cue chaos, cocktails, and footnotes that had me cackling. It’s like if Knives Out and The White Lotus had a very sassy baby with a martini in hand.

The drama. The Hollywood nonsense. The absurdly attractive men. The SATIRE?! 10/10 would attend this murder again.

Don’t read this at your wedding, though. Unless your in-laws are dramatic and you need tips.

Very cute, very quick read. I love a good murder mystery, and as a millennial woman I feel like the humor in this series is just meant for me. Eleanor Dash writes mystery novels, and has found herself a part of not one but two murder mysteries! Does her career as a writer qualify her to try to solve the crimes? Absolutely not, but that won't stop her! The reader gets to follow along in Eleanor's head as she unwinds the mystery, discovers that everyone has a secret, and (maybe) drinks a little too much given there's a murderer on the loose. I really enjoyed the first book and this one. The first book is a bit sillier and I liked the little bit of romance in that one more, but this one had fewer distracting footnotes and I thought the mystery/reveal was a bit more surprising. This series is perfect for fans of "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone" - similar vibes but with a female protagonist.

Having enjoyed the first book in this series, I was delighted to get a sneak peek at the second installment. Many of the elements that I enjoyed in the first book were present in this one - the protagonist speaking directly to the reader, the witty asides in the footnotes, and a fabulous vacation destination. This time, best-selling author Eleanor Dash finds herself on Catalina Island for a destination wedding. A storm is brewing off the coast and tensions are high as the wedding is set to coincide with the filming of a movie that will bring Eleanor's last book to the big screen. The reader is treated to scripts from the movie interspersed throughout the story. The wedding guests' relationships are the heart of the story and integral to the unraveling of the murder mystery.

While I did enjoy this fast-paced read, I found it harder to keep track of all of the characters for some reason, though many had appeared in the first book. Maybe a little more detail about the characters or a list with the cast of characters would have helped me stay focused on who everyone was and how they were connected to one another. I also found Eleanor's relationships with Oliver and Connor bogged the story down at times. For the record, I sided with Oliver the whole time and think he might be my favorite recurring character. The final reveal was not what I was expecting and I was a little disappointed to find out whodunnit because of who it was. The author played fair, so it was more me wanting it to be someone else. But maybe the ending of this story will end up being an interesting set-up for book number three in the series? All I know is I will be sure to seek it out to find out what happens next to Eleanor on her ill-fated vacations!

Many thanks to Minotaur Books for the NetGalley copy!

The gang is back together again in the second installment of the Vacation Mystery series. It felt like meeting up with old friends following El, Oli and Harper on their new adventure going to their best friend’s wedding. These are characters that we grew to love and so excited to be back with them again.

Just like the first book, this one is full of witty banter, Elenor’s hysterical footnotes, and pop culture references. (Luckily I recently read “And Then There Were None”!) The humor had me giggling so many times reading this book.

Mack’s way of bringing the first book into this new adventure was so well done, even when we didn’t see it coming. You should read the first book to enjoy this new story but important names and plots from the first are explained again in this story.

For someone that is a fan of comedy thrillers, this one is for you! I had so much fun reading this new story from Mack. If you’re a fan of audio, this is a great audiobook as well.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advanced copy.

The whole gang is back… plus some… in the next installment of the vacation mystery series. It’s not a book tour this time, but a wedding.

Eleanor’s book is being made into a movie with her best friend playing the lead role. All the cast and crew is invited to wedding for the two main leads of the movie out on Catalina island. But a storm is brewing- as in turmoil for our cast as well as in a hurricane off the coast. El, Harper, and Oliver are in the thick of it again with dangers and murderers afoot.

I for one came back for the footnotes- my favorite part of these books- but as always, stayed for the mayhem, laughs, twists, turns, and didn’t see that coming’s. @catherinemckenzieauthor I can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment- already teased in the last pages. I’m pretty sure there were some Easter eggs left in this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress and @minotaur_books for this #advancedreaderscopy - it’s out now!!!!

#2025bookchallengebook41of100
#noonewassupposedtodieatthiswedding
#didntseethatcoming

After the first book in this series, I was excited to read the rest. I love books about book people (the protagonist, Eleanor, writes mystery novels), the idea of a book within a book and zany adventures.

At first I thought the footnotes are a lot harder to follow in an ebook than they were in print and I found them annoying pretty much immediately but they when I learned they actually link back to your place in the book, I was much less annoyed.

This one didn’t draw me in super quickly - the dead body in the prologue was intriguing - but if that hadn’t been an incentive to keep reading, the first few chapters might have lost me. It felt jumbled with the fake movie shoot actual wedding but everyone knew it was a wedding bit? And why are they going through with this wedding during a hurricane evacuation order and it’s not even the bride and grooms close friends and family it’s their coworkers????

I was left wondering why things were happening or why characters had certain reactions or were saying certain things a lot in the first half and not really in a “oh I’m sure this will make sense later ” way and more in a “this doesn’t feel like a normal human reaction” way specifically Eleanor thinking Oliver is going to break up with her the entire book…but it got better as we got more into the story and actually makes sense looking back on it!

The ending was very unpredictable (and a little farfetched) but I love that I wasn’t able to fully guess how it was going to end.

Thank you St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This books gave a little bit of And Then There Were None or Clue vibes, and I really dig it. Well written and overall a good read.

Eleanor’s first novel, When in Rome, is being made into a movie and she is spending a lot of time on set. To make it even better, her best friend, Emma, is playing the lead role. After filming wraps, the cast and crew head to Catalina Island for Emma’s wedding to her co-star. And then we find out that Emma’s been receiving threats and that someone is going to be killed at the wedding.

My problem is I don’t like Eleanor and she’s the one telling us the story – in the first-person with tons of her internal thoughts, asides, and footnotes. Maybe it was too much? Funny and clever are good, but not when they become the whole point. Maybe it was just trying too hard. She’s self-centered and

We have lots of characters, all of whom are suspects, but there’s more theorizing about motives than actually investigating. And more worrying about whether her boyfriend loves her than the hurricane that’s on its way to the island. There’s a cop on the island, but she’s young and new and of course pretty useless. We end up with three dead bodies and having to work our way through each and every suspect until we get to the whodunnits. There were several twists and turns, including a big one at the end that wasn’t the surprise it should have been.

The funny thing is I’ll probably still read the next one when it comes out.

One of my favorite books of all time is And Then There We’re None. This book absolutely has that vibe with a touch of Clue the movie. It’s gallows humor at its finest. Definitely witty, full of red herrings and a whole lot of over the top acting. It’s fun, funny, incredibly well written and I loved every bit of it. The Hollywood scene that breeds frenemies more than friends. A movie based on a book, loosely based on real life of the in the book author with all the players of those events tossed together on an isolated island during a storm. You couldn’t plan it any better. I was hooked from page one and couldn’t put it down until I read the end.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Date: 5/13
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Happy Pub Day to the second installment to the second instalment of The Vacation Mysteries series.
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This is a continuation of the first book so if you haven't read Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies then I recommend that you put this book down and pick up the first. There is a lot that happened in the first that I didn't necessarily remember everything about it, but, Mack does a fantastic job of giving a little recap as to what happened.
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This is told in the inner monologue of the man character Eleanor. I absolutely love her. I think that she is so quick witted and hilarious that I found myself chuckling numerous times. There are characters you will love and characters you will love to hate. The story itself is super fun and quick read, I loved that Mack preluded to a third book. The mystery will have your head spinning at the resolution but everything makes sense in the end. I didn't see this one coming but loved where it went!
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I listened to this via audiobook while reading my ebook. I really enjoyed Elizabeth Evans narration of this one. I think she is the perfect Eleanor. If you are a big fan of coxy mysteries then I highly suggest picking this one up and listening to it!
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Huge win for me, cannot wait for the third. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Mack, St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Quip filled, 4th wall breaking, murder mystery that does not take itself seriously.
The author doubled down on all the unbelievable antics from the first book, making this one even more ridiculous.
It started off as a fun read but unfortunately, after a while the over the top coincidences didn't land for me. I'm sure this someone's favorite style of book but didn't stick the landing for me.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

This book was so fun to read. It is a delightfully sharp and twisty thriller that brings murder to the most glamorous of venues: a destination wedding weekend. Catherine Mack delivers a smart, character-driven mystery packed with secrets, betrayals, and biting social commentary — all wrapped in a juicy, page-turning package.

Catherine Mack delivers another wildly entertaining mystery in her Vacation Mysteries series. In No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding, author-turned-reluctant sleuth Eleanor Dash is back, attending her best friend Emma’s surprise wedding on storm-swept Catalina Island. But celebrations quickly unravel as threatening messages surface, a hurricane closes in, and Eleanor is again caught in a tangled web of secrets, lies, and deadly twists.

I love Eleanor's snarky, fourth-wall-breaking narration, which adds a unique charm and keeps the tone light even amidst the murder and mayhem.
I cannot wait to read more of Catherine Mack's work.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.