When Mrs. Blossom finds a winning lottery ticket in a parking lot, she decides to see the world and embarks on a Parisian cruise. She meets Allan on her flight to France, and finds herself interested in someone for the first time in years. Twenty-four hours later, Allan is found dead, and Mrs. Blossom learns Allan wasn't even suppose to be in Paris. Next, Mrs. Blossom meets Danny, and he seems interested in her, as well. Mrs. Blossom hasn't had this much attention in a very long time and she doesn't know who to trust. She makes some friends on the cruise, and she tries to solve the mystery of who killed Allan. What ensues involves art, stolen jewels and a few twists that Mrs. Blossom did not see coming. I have never been a huge Lippman fan, but I really enjoyed this! The narrator did a great job, but hearing Mrs. Blossom over and over did get a little old. I really enjoyed the setting, and the characters, and I thought the twist with the gummies was fun. I will be recommending and purchasing this audio for our library.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance audio copy of this title. A widow, and former private investigator books a river cruise in Europe. Along the way she gets entangled with a stolen jewel mystery. Although there is murder, there are also humorous moments in the story. I love that an aging, imperfect woman is the heroine in this story. A good read!

As a woman of a" certain age", I really enjoyed meeting Mrs. Blossom, also a woman of a "certain age". Mrs. Blossom, a widower finds a lottery ticket and soon has all the funds she needs to take a great vacation. She decides on a cruise with her best friend. Before the cruise even starts Mrs. Blossom is approached by a lovely man who seems to enjoy her company. He ends up dead and that starts a chain of events that continues onto the cruise ship. Mrs. Blossom is astute enough to put two and two together to figure out part of the mystery and manages not to get killed herself. The narration was very good.

I love an older protagonist (Killers of a Certain Age, Thursday Murder Club, Mrs Plansky...). This one didn't do it for me. The MC is so naive and much more helpless than she should've been. She talks about her weight quite a lot, though she isn't bothered by it, but she's constantly ready to be offended about it. She's far too gullible.

Thank you for the ARC. I wouldn't read others with this character.

I received a copy of this audiobook from netGalley for a honest review.

This is my first Laura Lippman book and it won't be my last. I loved the characters and the plotline of this book. There was so much to unearth and learn about Mrs. Blossom and who was a good person since everyone had ulterior motives. I was surprised by who actually did what in this book since the murder was just one of the many mysteries that needed to be solved. An enjoyable summer read!

In Murder Takes a Vacation, Laura Lippman gives Muriel Blossom—formerly a supporting character in her earlier mysteries—a solo turn in a cozy whodunit set on a French river cruise. In her author’s note, Lippman addresses how past portrayals of Muriel included dismissive comments about her weight. This novel aims to reframe Muriel with empathy and depth, presenting her as a confident, self-aware woman. Now a recently widowed grandmother, Muriel is facing the prospect of loneliness as her family prepares to move overseas. The river cruise becomes both an escape and a journey of self-discovery. The plot includes familiar cozy elements—a murder, a jewel thief, a love interest, and a rogue detective with nothing to lose—but occasionally veers into a jumble of genres. What stands out most is the novel’s embrace of body positivity. Muriel, who unapologetically describes herself as fat, is rendered with nuance, agency, and quiet strength. Her emotional arc—from grief and uncertainty to self-acceptance and adventure—is the heart of the story. All in all a very light mystery but it works as an entertaining summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced audio of Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman.

This was a completely different ballgame for Laura Lippman, but it was fun. I'm used to Laura's books being fairly gritty, so this was a surprise. I knew by the cover and the title that it would be more of a classic locked room mystery with some charm.

Laura Lippman is one of my comfort authors. Her writing is consistently captivating, and her love for Baltimore shines through, even when the story takes place across the pond. In Murder Takes A Vacation, Mrs. Blossom, a minor character from the Tess Monaghan series, takes center stage as the protagonist. She’s surrounded by a wonderfully eccentric cast, and the riverboat setting gave me strong Death on the Nile vibes, in the best way. Fans of Lippman’s work will likely enjoy this title!

This was a little slow and scooby doo for my taste, but I'm glad I gave it a whirl and will definitely recommend it to people looking for a cozy, easy listen.

I have very much been enjoying the abundance of second chance mysteries starring older amateur sleuths. This book certainly fits the bill. I chose to DNF this shortly after starting it. A look at other reviews confirmed that the main character continues to obsess about being old and fat throughout the book, and I’m not interested in that type of character. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to the book.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a well written whodunit plot that kept you guessing throughout. I also liked how it all wrapped up at the end and I hope this isn't the last of these characters.

I had great hopes for this book because I was looking for something that was a lighter read but it was hard for me to get into the character of Mrs. Blossom. She comes off as being much older and naive than she should be especially since it is mentioned several times that she worked surveillance for her boss Tess Monaghan who is a main character in many of the author's books.

The pacing of the story was slow and I kept waiting for it to pick up. There wasn't enough action for me in this books.

The narrator was very good.

Thank you NetGalley for an ALC of this book.

From the very beginning I found the main character to be unbelievable and grating. She isn’t that old, yet she is so out of touch it was as if she’d never seen technology and was too feeble to take care of herself. The author write her as if she was a 65 year old woman in the 50’s, not in 2025. I stopped listening to this book and did not finish.

Fans of Miss Marple will enjoy Muriel Blossom's story in this offering by Laura Lippman. Her daughter's family is moving to Japan and it's been made clear that there isn't room for Mrs. Blossom to accompany them.

Widowed and wealthy, thanks to a found lottery ticket, Mrs. Blossom books a trip to Paris and then a boat tour with her good friend. She's decided it's time to explore the world on her own. First she plans a week in Paris solo, then the trip down the Seine with her friend of 60 years. Muriel is even flirting with a man on the plane to London. She ends up spending the evening with the man, Alan, and postpones her trip to Paris until the next day. On the Chunnel train, she thinks she recognizes a different man on the train as having been on her plane and ends up talking with him. Danny claims to be a stylist and takes Muriel shopping, encouraging her to step out of her comfort zone with her wardrobe. Stunned to be visited by the Paris police with news of Alan's death, Danny is there to offer a shoulder to lean on. But then when Danny appears on the river boat as well, Muriel is suspicious. Danny claims to be working for the FBI, on the hunt for a missing Pakistani artifact worth millions. An artifact that he says Alan was brokering.

Strange things, centering on Muriel Blossom, continue to happen. Readers will want to read or listen to this one straight through to solve the mystery. Kimberly Farr, winner of a Golden Voice award, successfully gives each of the characters a distinctive sound and voice.

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman is a sharp, witty, and thoroughly engaging mystery that blends suspense with character-driven drama. Lippman's signature prose brings the seaside setting to vivid life, while the cleverly plotted murder investigation keeps readers guessing until the final page. It's a refreshing, smartly paced read that showcases her talent for blending intrigue with emotional depth.
This novel features Mrs. Muriel Blossom, former assistant to P.I. Tess Monaghan, one of Lippman's most beloved characters.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this digital audio e-arc.*

Sixty-something Muriel Blossom is taking her first trip to Europe, spending time solo in Paris and then a planned river cruise with her best friend. She meets a man traveling who seems very interested in her who winds up dead. Did he use her as a mule for a stolen piece of art? All things will unfold in this fun vacation read. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy for an honest review.

After Mrs. Blossom wins the lottery, she decides to embark on the trip of a lifetime to France for a Cruise. However things soon go awry when a man she had met turns up dead. Mrs. Blossom finds herself embroiled in the mystery of what happened to him and more importantly what he was hiding.
This was a fun cozy mystery. Mrs. Blossom was a great main character that always kept the reader on their toes. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing the characters in the book to life.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman.
Murder Takes a Vacation is a cozy mystery featuring an older widowed woman on an excursion to France. Mrs. Blossom unknowingly becomes an accomplice in an art theft. A mystery that keeps you guessing without making your heart race. A fun story, especially for someone who grew up in Baltimore.

Overall pretty goofy but it was an interesting version of a murder mystery and the characters were all completely untrustworthy in a fun way, sometimes it felt like Clue in the way all the characters had something suspicious about them.

Mrs. Blossom is a nice person; she believes in the best in people and takes care not to bother anyone. So much so that she shrugs off an obvious searching of her room, tracking devices and unsettling occurrences around her.
Mrs. Blossom is delightful, but no one is that naive - and that is my biggest problem with this story. I appreciate that Laura Lippman takes on ageism and fat shaming in making her heroine old, fat and sharp - but why then try to convince us that she would be totally cool with the things going on around her?
Still, Ms. Blossom is a delightful character, the writing is good, the mystery well thought out, and I was very well entertained till the end.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.