It may have been that this book needs read instead of listened to, but I had a hard time catching on in the beginning and I was a good bit in before I realized some characters were cast names vs the people playing them so I was struggling for the first bit. The second half was really good though and I likely would’ve loved it had I clicked into it from the start! I loved the main characters humor throughout. Thanks NetGalley for having me as an arc reader.

I didn’t enjoy this second in the series as much as the first. Initially I was sucked right back in by the quick wit and inner monologue of El, but by the end I was turned upside down by unbelievable twists and red herrings. I just think the mystery went completely off the rails and, instead of keeping me in my toes, it left me scratching my head in confusion. I’d read another one because the dialogue is hilarious and I know from the first book that these have excellent potential, but most of these characters acted so childish and the relationships were all too fragile and unsure for me that I didn’t find confidence in the sleuthing at all.
The audiobook narration is well-done and I’d recommend it for the insertion of the footnotes more smoothly. I fee like the narrators seems maybe a big aged-up, but overall the energy fits well.

I really enjoyed the prologue, but I recommend reading the first book in the series beforehand. This series falls into the category of playful mysteries, with a wide range of quirky to serious characters. It’s fun, entertaining, and the twist at the end was well done.

The audiobook is especially well done, with the narrator seamlessly including the footnotes, which might be easy to miss in a physical copy. While I love Eleanor’s sarcastic, witty inner monologue, the plot in this book didn’t completely hook me. Still, I highly recommend the audiobook for a smoother experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

Another event, another murder, another fun and unorthodox mystery. Book two in The Vacation Mysteries captures all the charm the first book did and brings another fun read. 

This is the second book, and while I did read the first one, I think minus a few character development points, you may be treating this as a standalone, but why would you? The first book, Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies, is great, and you should read it first. 

Author Eleanor Dash finds herself in the middle of yet another murder mystery during the filming of her movie adaptation of her first book, When in Rome. I appreciate the writing style and the way the story is told. Eleanor frequently breaks the fourth wall and talks to us. I love it! Even when she asks us, the reader, did you figure it out yet? And I did not….

This is not a criticism, even if it sounds like one, I promise. What I love most about this book is its simplicity. It charmingly tells a good story and doesn’t try to do any more. That’s all I can ask from a book. 

The Vacation Mysteries is a wonderful series that I highly recommend. Start at the beginning, and you will not be disappointed.

⭐4/5 Rating

OUT ON: MAY 13, 2025

Review: I had a hoot of a time with her first book so I was super excited to receive this book and to read it early (thank you so much @minotaur_books | @netgalley | @raincoastbooks | @macmillanaudio for the advanced physical and audio copies 🤍🥹)

This book was a perfect follow up to “Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies” and I had just as much fun of a time with this one as I did with that one! The footnotes that are scattered throughout the book were hilarious and really allowed you to have a deeper insight into our main character Eleanor and her slightly unhinged thoughts.

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to be COMPLETELY WRONG about who I thought did it. The twists and turns definitely kept me on my toes and when I say my jaw dropped at the end of the book – it hit the freakin floor. My compliments to the chef (author).

Overall, this was a quick read that was the perfect palate cleanser book and I will definitely be reading any more books that are released in this series!

Last year I listened to Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies and it became my favorite audiobook last year! I had the best time listening to the amazing story and Elizabeth Evans was a PHENOMENAL narrator. So when I was so excited when I found out there was going to be another book. Let me tell you this was as good as the first book! I was pulled in right away and I didn't want it to end. The story and characters were well written.

Elizabeth Evans once again narrated this audiobook and she was PHENOMENAL!! She will keep you entertained and hold your attention through the whole book. She makes theses characters feel like their in the room with you. I just loved how personal and emotional she gets as these characters.

Eleanor Dash visiting Catalina Island to celebrate the wedding of her best friend, Emma Wood, who also plays Eleanor in the movie adaptation of the said writer's first novel. As is the case with every vacation that Eleanor goes to, there's a dead body amidst this celebration too, and she has to solve the case before someone else turns up dead as well! You will get more of her and Oliver but unfortunately we will also see her ex again too. If you get sea sick take some motion sickness pills because you in for one rocky ride on this ship!

Catherine Mack will once again take you on an adventure! I love how you will get equal amounts of suspense and humor. You minute your trying to figure out who did it and the next your laughing. It keeps you entertained and on your feet. There are twists and turns and when you think you know who did it you are wrong!

I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read or listen to the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this ALC for my honest opinion.

The @learfield_ book club got me into this series when they picked book one last year. I really enjoyed reading book one, and therefore, I jumped on the chance to read and review book two!

Once again, Eleanor, is a hilarious, quirky and unorganized main character and very self-centered. Yet, I love her! Overall, the book is funny and witty, and no one in it should be taken too seriously which makes this so enjoyable!

I have been in a cozy mystery mood, and this book fits the bill. In fact, the writing makes you feel like you are an active participant in solving the murders. Yes, spoiler there is more than one. I love trying to figure out how people fit together before the end is revealed.

Several characters are back from book one, and most are not lovable so it made for several good suspects. Be sure to read book one in this series before starting this one. Also, there are a lot of characters. Highly recommend a cheat sheet to keep them all straight.

Additionally, I like a secluded setting with a weather event. I thought that part could have been further developed and explored for me.

Lastly, the footnotes are not my fav, but if you do the audio, they are incorporated into the narration seamlessly. I highly recommend the narration by Elizabeth Evans.

This is a laugh out loud mystery, and I challenge you to figure it out before the end. I know I didn’t!

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress, @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for the eARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5

I’d categorize this series as a playful mystery. The story has a variety of characters on a scale from serious to ridiculous but it’s fun and entertaining and the final twist was actually quite good. I read the first of the series and came back for more so clearly there’s something to this unusual style I enjoy.

The narration was done well and I think it’s probably better to listen than read because all the footnotes are read for you so you don’t accidentally skip something important.

Thanks to Macmillan audio for the alc via Netgalley.

Out tomorrow!

Catherine Mack is back with the second book in the vacation mysteries series. Our intrepid writer, Eleanor Dash is off to her best friend Emma’s wedding on Catalina island, just after filming wrapped on When In Rome, (the movie based on Eleanor’s book). The bride is worried though, she’s received threats and is worried something will happen at the wedding. Will Eleanor look into it. Of course she will!
There are a lot of names to keep straight, but, if you read the first book you’ll know quite a few of the characters. I found it easy to make sense of.
The mystery itself didn’t really impress me until the end. Really enjoyed how it all came together. Before that it felt like they were just throwing gum at the wall to see what sticks.
This could have used a little more zaniness for me. It was funny, but not laugh out loud funny. I did enjoy the footnotes.
I’m giving this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I really love this author and look forward to her next book.
If you love funny, cozy mysteries with quirky characters, this book is for you!
I received this from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this as an audiobook. The narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life!

I reviewed the first novel in this cozy mystery series for NetGalley last year. It remains one of my top 5 cozy mystery reads. I just loved the set up and humor. This second installment follows the same pattern established in the first novel as far as storytelling style and interspersed piercing of the fourth wall. All of the charm of the first novel is on display in this novel as well. In fact, this picks up right from the final chapter of the first novel and ends with the set up of what will, I presume, be the third novel in this series. It's smoothly and entertainingly played.

This time Eleanor is at her best friend, actress Emma Wood's, wedding. Emma and her fiancé fellow actor Fred Winters, starred in a movie adaptation of Eleanor's first novel, When In Rome. On the set of the movie, the actors fell in love and the wedding is somewhat of a wrap party for the film. It's a destination wedding set on Catalina Island. This is a fun, dynamic and light cozy novel. I like that's it's a cozy mystery about an author of a famous cozy mystery series being turned into a movie. The story basis is clever and the author is able to make it work. This features some of the cast from the first book. There's Eleanor's sister, her love interest, her blackmailing ex, her blackmailing ex's ex-wife and a surprise appearance I won't spoil. I did not guess the reveal and I enjoyed the mystery. However, this felt a bit off on pacing towards the end. Still, I quite enjoyed this and am looking forward to Eleanor's next adventure. I love that each book ends with the setup and title of the next novel in the series. This was a delightful cozy. I just loved it.

This audiobook is narrated by Elizabeth Evans who also narrated the first novel in this series. Elizabeth is a wonderful narrator. She truly brings Eleanor to life and I adore how she handles the narration when she speaks directly to the reader. What a charming and talented narrator.

Thank you to Catherine Mack, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

Catherine Mack continues her series of contemporary mysteries with a wink with No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding. Our mystery writer main character in now on set of the movie of her book which is about a murder attempt of her own life in Rome. The plotting is very self referential of the first in the series, Every Time I go on Vacation Someone Dies, so don't attempt this book without listening to the first. The Narrator, Elizabeth Evans is terrific and brings the sass and the fun to life in this audiobook.

Just like book one of this series, Eleanor Dash’s comical banter was hilarious and wildly entertaining. I switched back and forth between book and audio for this one and while both are great, I highly recommend the audio - the narrator brings an extra level of fun to this books. This is a series I will definitely continue to read.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for this book.

Fast, fun, and funny — this second in the series is a must read for fans who love when an author breaks the fourth wall. I’m one of them!

This time, author Eleanor Dash and her sister, Harper, are involved on set during the filming of her previous blockbuster, When In Rome. Her best friend, Emma, has the lead role, and the two sisters couldn’t be more excited because Emma is going to marry her costar,Fred Winter, after the wrap. They’ll all go to Catalina Island for an intimate ceremony with some close friends, including Eleanor’s new main man, Oliver Forrest. There are a couple of problems right off, however. First of all, Hurricane Isabella is going to make landfall in Southern California that weekend and secondly, on the hand pressed wedding schedule, the last line says, “A midnight murder will be served.” Now that’s some kind of invitation for amateur sleuth Eleanor who obviously has some skills since this kind of thing is her writing forte. Except the guests get a lot more than they bargained for.

At times hilarious and laugh out loud funny, this is also an expertly plotted murder mystery with lots of red herrings and a group of possible suspects along with the requisite storm locking them all on the island. I have really enjoyed both of these books and can’t wait for another. I love the writing style, the main characters, and especially Eleanor who is self-deprecatingly wry and clever as she tries to figure out the whodunit. This has the feel of an atmospheric cozy. Some irritating things but I just glossed over.

I was lucky to receive both the audio book and the e-book ARC provided by the publisher so I could read along while listening. The narrator is Elizabeth Evans and she does an excellent job of voicing all the characters and giving them different accents and such to provide dramatic effect. It was a good production and it definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

Bestselling author Eleanor becomes embroiled in another murder mystery when a death threat arrives at her best friend’s star-studded wedding on Catalina Island. With Eleanor’s boyfriend and her ex as co-stars, she uncover the killer before it’s too late.

This is a fun and witty cozy thriller. (Like the previous book in the series, it’s not really a mystery—no crime happens until well into the novel, and the initial focus is on the threat of murder and how to prevent it). There’s a wide cast of characters, and I had trouble keeping track of them and their potential motives. If you enjoy thrillers and over-the-top humor, this book is for you. The audiobook narration is entertaining and well suited to the text.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

*Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for early copy for review*

This was okay. It had a decent mystery with familiar faces that we got to know from the first book. The new faces, however, did not make as much of an impact. When establishing new characters I need more emotional impact otherwise I don't really care if they die or what happens to them.

The second book in Canadian mystery writer Catherine Mack's Vacation mystery series sees bestselling author Eleanor Dash playing a cameo role on the filmset adaptation of one of her books and attending the destination wedding of one of her friends. When threatening notes appear, Dash is determined to figure out who is behind the death threats as the bodies start to pile up. This was a great second chance romance full of suspense and fun breaking the fourth wall moments. It was also good on audio narrated by Elizabeth Evans and perfect for fans of the Miranda Ferguson series by Ian Ferguson. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I thoroughly enjoyed the breaking of the fourth wall and how the book never tries to take itself too seriously. The amount of times I caught myself laughing out loud is something I need more of in books. i can't wait for the next installment.

When mystery author Eleanor Dash attends a glamorous island wedding, a chilling threat turns the celebration into a locked-room whodunit. With sharp humor, clever twists, and stormy suspense, Catherine Mack’s latest is a breezy, bingeable delight for cozy mystery fans.

The Vacation Mysteries Series by Catherine Mack is my new must read when traveling. I read her first book, EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION SOMEONE DIES while beachside in Mexico last year and loved it. Fast forward to 2025 and I’m AGAIN in Mexico reading her newest release. Catherine, I’ll make a deal with you. You keep writing sharp, hilarious mysteries and I’ll keep reading them in Mexico. We good?

NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE AT THIS WEDDING is exactly the kind of tongue in cheek, witty mystery I crave. Funny, whip smart, super twisty and full of distinct, unforgettable characters; this book is pure entertainment. Mack’s use of footnotes to break the Fourth Wall works so well - more so in the audio version, if you can believe it. It adds a level of cheekiness to the story while foreshadowing things to come.

Back are our friend, mystery writer Eleanor Dash, and her troupe of relatives, friends, lovers, and stalkers. Her best seller is being made into a film and the co-stars are staging a wedding. At least that’s the plan until threatening messages start arriving and bodies start dropping. Ms. Dash once again turns amateur detective and it’s pure folly.

I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Evans. I laughed out loud and smiled through the entire book. (And got ridiculously excited at the end! IYKYK)

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books) for the advance copies. All opinions are my own.

Eleanor is back - this time to celebrate her best friend Emma who is getting married! But in true Eleanor style, this wedding will not go off without everything, and I mean everything, that can do wrong, going wrong.

Once again we find ourselves with a colorful cast of characters - but we've met a few of them before while we were on vacation with Eleanor and the crew in Italy. Emma is getting married - to her co-star, as they film the movie adaption of Eleanor's book When In Rome, which became popular after she almost dies on a book tour (if you haven't read book 1 in this series, stop and go do that before your proceed). As a reader, I immediately found myself right back in the swing of things with Eleanor, and I truly dread the day this series ends because I adore the particular brand of chaos she brings.

Set on an island in a hurricane, Eleanor must solve a series of murders and might have been murders, while trying to get a wedding off without a hitch. I promise you tenured mystery readers, you won't even guess where this book is heading - and that's what makes it so much fun. If you love a mystery that also makes you laugh out loud, you're going to love this series. And the way it ends, well, I am eager for book 3.

This series is exceptional as an audio book as well - and the voice actor who does the narration is becoming one of my favorites. No matter what speed you are set at - you will hear every sarcastic tone and inflection of her line delivery, and she makes every single character in the cast distinct to listen to on 2.0 speed. I love a good narrator who I can speed up when the plot thickens - and this series is an example of how it should be done. She helps bring Eleanor and co to life and I honestly should just make this series an exclusive audio only series for myself going foward.