Mack is back—and just as entertaining as ever!

I thoroughly enjoyed the sharp, sarcastic first-person narration, especially the playful breaking of the fourth wall. The wit carries seamlessly throughout, and continues to extend into the clever footnotes.

Set against a vivid, immersive backdrop, this locked-room murder mystery delivers delightfully amateur sleuthing and a steady stream of red herrings to keep you guessing. Mack handles murder and mayhem with unmatched charm, and I can’t wait to continue the Vacation Mystery Series.

Eleanor is attending the wedding of her best friend, Emma, on Catalina Island. And as usual, murder and mayhem have followed along for the ride. Emma shows Eleanor the threatening notes she's received and then several "accidents" occur, which sends Eleanor on a mission to solve the mystery so Emma gets the wedding she's always wanted.

This is book two in the Vacation Mysteries series. I love the way these books are written and the narrator is top notch! She brings the characters to life in a way that you don't see often. Eleanor is a great character  even though she gets it wrong 90% of the time. I just love being along for her journey. The mystery had a lot of parallels to the first book so it was easy to follow. I had a hunch from the beginning which turned out right but there was so much more going on than I realised!

Thank you to @macmillan.audio #macaudio2025, Catherine Mack and @Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I thought this book was so fascinating and hilarious from start to finish. I got Stephanie Plum vibes from this story and was not disappointed. I didn't read the first book in this series but the author did a great job of recapping what happened in the first book so I wasn't confused. While I do wish I had read the first book I don't think it's necessary to get the enjoyment out of the book.

While I did have an inkling of what was happening and who did it, I was kept guessing the whole time. I love Oliver and was constantly laughing out loud at the shenanigans that Eleanor and her cohorts got into while trying to solve the murders.

Narration: Elizabeth Evans was fabulous as always. She is one of my favorite narrators and did an excellent job of doing different voices so I wasn't confused with who was talking.

I received this book on both audiobook and paper, I thought the book started a bit slow, but then picked up once the scene was set. If you liked Only Murders in the Building, you will like this book. It’s action packed and kept me on my toes. The entire time I thought I had the plot figured out but I was wrong every time. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a book that is suspenseful and engaging.

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.

A delightful follow up to humorous series! This installment was no less twisty and fun as its predecessor. I was guessing up to the final page!

It’s official, I really love Catherine Mack’s Vacation Mysteries series.

For me, No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding was unquestionably better than the first book. I was actually pretty surprised to see that the author had a way to continue the series with a pretty big chunk of the characters from the previous novel. And while I definitely had fun with the first one, I think the mystery here was far more engaging and interesting. Not only that, but how everything came together felt far cooler than before. For that alone, I have to give this series a lot of credit.

It’s unfortunately difficult to talk about the aspects of this book that I really appreciated without getting into spoilers, so I suppose I will just leave it with the fact that I had so much fun reading this book, finding out the twists and turns of the plot, and getting to know the characters. A strong suit, truly, is the personality of the main character and all her little asides as you get further along in the story. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next installment!

I’m also a huge fan of the narrator. She really does such an excellent job of bringing this character to life, to the point that I’m almost unsure of my own ability to hear her voice and think of any other character.

If you’re a fan of the Finlay Donovan series, you’ll love this one! Eleanor Dash is just as fun and quirky as Finlay. It’s a story of exciting antics with the mystery of deaths to solve written among the novels of Eleanor, with her fascinating footnotes!

Elizabeth Evans shows amazing depth with her fabulous narration!

Here’s a review you can use or customize:

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Audiobook Review: No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Kathleen Kilgore, narrated by Elizabeth Evans

This series continues to be an absolute blast! I adored the first book, so I was thrilled to get an early listen to No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding—and it did not disappoint. The mix of mystery, humor, and quirky charm makes it such a fun and bingeable listen.

Elizabeth Evans once again delivers a fantastic performance. Her narration brings Eleanor Dash and the whole cast to life with energy and nuance. She’s especially good at giving each character a distinct voice, and her timing adds an extra layer of wit and suspense to the story. Her talent really shines in scenes packed with both tension and comedy—of which there are plenty!

The plot has just the right balance of suspense and playfulness. Between the glamorous (and slightly chaotic) wedding setting, the stormy island backdrop, and a murder mystery that hits a little too close to home, the story kept me hooked from start to finish. The characters are colorful and compelling, and Eleanor makes for a wonderfully sharp and relatable amateur sleuth.

The ending leaves you hanging a bit, but in a good way—it perfectly sets the stage for the next installment, and I can’t wait to see what Eleanor gets pulled into next.

If you’re a fan of lighthearted mysteries with clever twists, lovable characters, and top-notch narration, this one’s a must-listen!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advance audiobook copy of No One Was Supposed To Die At This Wedding by Catherine Mack in exchange for my honest review. This was released on May 13, 2025 and I'm a little behind because I was finishing up the first book in this series and I'm so glad I did!

Catherine Mack is an absolutely hilarious writer that will have you laughing out loud while you're trying to solve a mystery. I absolutely love the perspective she has with this book as she is telling YOU the story. She will drop you hints and give you some behind the scenes perspectives so it feels like she's with you, telling you this story personally. Does it make it easier to solve the mystery? Ha...good luck!

This book follows behind Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies and picks up where it left off. Could this be read as a standalone? Absolutely. I do feel like you'll enjoy it more if you read the first one in the Vacation Series because you'll already have all the background on the characters and situation. She does give you brief backgrounds in case you didn't read it, but I think this would be even that much more enjoyable paired with it (or maybe you wouldn't even miss it and I just know what I would have since I read the first one).

Eleanor is attending her best friend's wedding and everything is great until a note is discovered that says someone will die at the wedding. Eleanor and her gang of friends go into detective mode to try and figure out who is a potential murderer and who the target is.

We also have a love story in the mix with Emma (Eleanor's best friend) and her movie star fiance Fred Winters, as well as Eleanor with her own love life drama being around her ex-boyfriend Connor while with her new (yet also previous) beau Oliver. Oh the drama with that as well!

4 stars. This will have you constantly chuckling while also playing detective. I failed at guessing who the murderer was in the first book and I failed miserably this time as well. If you read it, let me know if you figured it out because...HOW?!

No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding sets up a juicy, high-stakes premise — a destination wedding turned deadly — but doesn’t quite deliver on the tension. The characters felt more like caricatures, and the pacing lagged in spots where it should’ve been electric. While there were some fun twists and a few sharp lines, the plot ended up more chaotic than clever. It’s not without entertainment value, but it didn’t fully stick the landing for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
Rated PG-13 for language, some suggestive content, and light thriller-style violence.

Total rating: 4.5/5 stars.

This series is just so much fun! It is not perfect but it's a hilariously over the top cozy mystery with high stakes (like several people die) and lots of humor. How is it cozy and high stakes? Who really knows, it just is.

I love the way these stories are told. Eleanor is an almost unreliable narrator full of sarcasm and badly timed jokes. The footnotes can be a lot but that is 100% how my brain works. I recommend the audiobook for a seamless read. The narrator does a fantastic job at including the footnotes without it distracting from the story.

I did not see some of the final twists coming but one of them was a little too far out of left field for me (which took my rating down a .5 star). Overall, I had a really fun time with the story.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Minotaur books for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great cozy mystery with just the right blend of humor and suspense. Eleanor Dash is a charming, witty protagonist, and the wedding weekend turned murder mystery setup was a fun ride from start to finish. The humor really kept me engaged, and the pacing moved things along without dragging. I especially enjoyed the playful nods to Eleanor’s own fictional series within the story as it added an extra layer of fun. I’ll definitely be picking up more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

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.

I enjoyed this sequel but it missed some of the charm of the first book. I liked revisiting the characters and feel like a lot more can be done with them. 3.5 stars rounded down.

This, just like Catherine Mack's "Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies", was such a FUN and engaging book! I read the first one, hard copy and listened to audio of this one. The audio was so enjoyable! She incorporated the footnotes ("Yes, there are footnotes.") right into the reading - it was so easy to follow.

While this is the second book in a series and the characters and storylines carry over, there's enough background provided that it would still be enjoyable as a stand-alone. But honestly, read the first book too (super good).

Overall, this book is a home run. I highly recommend putting it on your TBR. It would make an awesome summer beach read!

Book two of the vacation mystery series did not disappoint. I love the humor (footnotes are the best and may be better in audio, as I read a digital copy of book one). Lots of twists and some very unexpected things happened. Looking forward to book three next year. Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for a chance to listen to this one in exchange for an honest review.

Another fast paced mystery from Catherine Mack that kept me on my toes the whole time. If you’re a fan of “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone,” you’ll enjoy this book as well. The narrator was fantastic.

No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack is the second installment in the Vacation Mysteries series, following the debut Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies. This novel continues the adventures of Eleanor Dash, a bestselling mystery author whose vacations are anything but relaxing. This story centers on Eleanor attending her best friend Emma Wood's wedding. Emma, who stars in the film adaptation of Eleanor's novel When in Rome, is marrying her co-star Fred Winter. The idyllic setting takes a dark turn when an anonymous note warns, "Someone is going to die at the wedding." As the ceremony approaches, tensions rise, and Eleanor finds herself once again entangled in a real-life mystery.

This book was more enjoyable than the first, but it was still a bit too "summer beach read" and not enough "solid thriller" for my tastes.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.