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The Vacation Mysteries #1
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
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?
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the irresistible and hilarious series debut from Catherine Mack, introducing bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate the world in her books.
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?
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the irresistible and hilarious series debut from Catherine Mack, introducing bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate the world in her books.
342 pages, Hardcover
First published April 30, 2024
About the author
Catherine Mack
2 books449 followersCatherine Mack (she/her) is the pseudonym for Catherine McKenzie, the USA Today and Globe & Mail bestselling author of over a dozen novels. Her books are approaching two million copies sold worldwide and have been translated into multiple languages including French, German, Portuguese, and Polish. Television rights to Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies and its forthcoming sequels sold in a major auction to Fox TV for development into a series, with Mack writing the pilot script. A dual Canadian and US citizen, she splits her time between Canada and various warmer locations in the US.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,431 reviews
May 8, 2024
3.5⭐
Genre ~ cozy mystery
Series ~ The Vacation Mysteries, #1
Setting ~ Italy
Publication date ~ April 30, 2024
Page Count ~ 344 (29 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 34 minutes
Narrator ~ Elizabeth Evans
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ author, blackmail, murder
Eleanor is an author on tour in Italy, with a whole bunch of people, planning out her 10th book in a very popular series, which stars her 'friend', Connor. She's ready to kill him off in the series and he just so happens to think there's someone that actually wants him dead in real life, too.
Eleanor speaks directly to the reader (which was interesting) as we're along on the ride trying to figure out who the murderer is. With a cast of unlikable characters/suspects we are thrown for a few loops, but ultimately it's not super hard to figure out.
I can't remember exactly Eleanor's age, but I think she's in her 30's. I don't know if immature is the right word for her, but I just wish she had her act together more. She relies way too heavily on her younger sister, Harper, who is her assistant, for every little thing. The whole blackmail Connor bit was a meh, too.
Overall, cozy is not my go to for murder mysteries, but the humorous and fun moments kept me entertained, even if it took me an unusually long time (5 days) to get through it. So while I didn't hate it I'm not sure this is the right series for me.
*There are quite a bit of footnotes, which are not bothersome in the audio, and actually make listening quite fun, but I gather from those that read it that they cannot be read seamlessly. So take that into consideration if you choose to read this one*
Narration notes:
Elizabeth did an outstanding job giving each character a distinct voice.
Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
Genre ~ cozy mystery
Series ~ The Vacation Mysteries, #1
Setting ~ Italy
Publication date ~ April 30, 2024
Page Count ~ 344 (29 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 34 minutes
Narrator ~ Elizabeth Evans
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ author, blackmail, murder
Eleanor is an author on tour in Italy, with a whole bunch of people, planning out her 10th book in a very popular series, which stars her 'friend', Connor. She's ready to kill him off in the series and he just so happens to think there's someone that actually wants him dead in real life, too.
Eleanor speaks directly to the reader (which was interesting) as we're along on the ride trying to figure out who the murderer is. With a cast of unlikable characters/suspects we are thrown for a few loops, but ultimately it's not super hard to figure out.
I can't remember exactly Eleanor's age, but I think she's in her 30's. I don't know if immature is the right word for her, but I just wish she had her act together more. She relies way too heavily on her younger sister, Harper, who is her assistant, for every little thing. The whole blackmail Connor bit was a meh, too.
Overall, cozy is not my go to for murder mysteries, but the humorous and fun moments kept me entertained, even if it took me an unusually long time (5 days) to get through it. So while I didn't hate it I'm not sure this is the right series for me.
*There are quite a bit of footnotes, which are not bothersome in the audio, and actually make listening quite fun, but I gather from those that read it that they cannot be read seamlessly. So take that into consideration if you choose to read this one*
Narration notes:
Elizabeth did an outstanding job giving each character a distinct voice.
Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
October 6, 2023
Fresh, clever, and laugh out loud funny! Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is written by an author about an author being an author. Mack smashes through the fourth wall, giving you an inside look at the complex and hilarious world of publishing, while making you feel like you're a part of the story. It's wildly fun, completely addictive, and an absolute must read!
April 15, 2024
3.5 stars, rounded down
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies, is a fun, light mystery. It breaks the fourth wall with Eleanor Dash, the main character, speaking directly to the reader. Eleanor is the author of 9 successful murder mysteries. She’s currently plotting out the tenth and what she intends to be the final book in the series. Her publisher has sent her, her “consultant”, her sister/assistant, 20 of her ardent fans (including one stalker) and several other successful authors on a ten day tour of Italy. Put aside your qualms that no publisher would send rival authors on a fan fest for another’s work. The implausible reason serves to get enough possible murder suspects in one place. And there will be a murder, even if it takes ages before it occurs. Connor, the “consultant”/inspiration/blackmailer/prior love interest of Eleanor’s, is convinced someone is trying to kill him. And he doesn’t mean Eleanor’s plan to kill off his character in the upcoming book.
There’s lots of humor in this book. I appreciated Eleanor’s snarky sense of humor. For example, she has a blast pointing out how many violent expressions there are in the English language.
The book moves at a brisk pace. I did find that several key scenes never seemed to play out so that I could envision them. Also, a few plot points were implausible. But it was entertaining, nonetheless. And I only partially guessed how this would play out and who was behind things.
I chose to listen to this, which other reviewers had recommended. This is a novel that contains footnotes. In the audiobook, they’re seamlessly woven into the story, relieving the reader of trying to figure out how, when or if to read them. Elizabeth Evans did a great job as the narrator for Eleanor but her male voices never sounded like men.
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies, is a fun, light mystery. It breaks the fourth wall with Eleanor Dash, the main character, speaking directly to the reader. Eleanor is the author of 9 successful murder mysteries. She’s currently plotting out the tenth and what she intends to be the final book in the series. Her publisher has sent her, her “consultant”, her sister/assistant, 20 of her ardent fans (including one stalker) and several other successful authors on a ten day tour of Italy. Put aside your qualms that no publisher would send rival authors on a fan fest for another’s work. The implausible reason serves to get enough possible murder suspects in one place. And there will be a murder, even if it takes ages before it occurs. Connor, the “consultant”/inspiration/blackmailer/prior love interest of Eleanor’s, is convinced someone is trying to kill him. And he doesn’t mean Eleanor’s plan to kill off his character in the upcoming book.
There’s lots of humor in this book. I appreciated Eleanor’s snarky sense of humor. For example, she has a blast pointing out how many violent expressions there are in the English language.
The book moves at a brisk pace. I did find that several key scenes never seemed to play out so that I could envision them. Also, a few plot points were implausible. But it was entertaining, nonetheless. And I only partially guessed how this would play out and who was behind things.
I chose to listen to this, which other reviewers had recommended. This is a novel that contains footnotes. In the audiobook, they’re seamlessly woven into the story, relieving the reader of trying to figure out how, when or if to read them. Elizabeth Evans did a great job as the narrator for Eleanor but her male voices never sounded like men.
May 31, 2024
After becoming a bestselling author seemingly by accident a decade ago, Eleanor Dash is finally back among the sunny vistas of Italy where the adventure began for her tenth anniversary book tour. This time, however, Eleanor has every intention of finding a way of killing off her main character, the debonair hero, Connor Smith. With a likeness borrowed from a real life Connor, the only means she has of getting away from the actual man is to write him out of her award winning Vacation Mystery series. Hardly cut from the same cloth as her fictional character, Eleanor is eager to be done with Connor once and for all.
Naturally, it shocks Eleanor to her core when Connor begs her for help. It seems someone is out to kill him—for real. Is it life imitating art? Pure coincidence? Or is Connor’s narcissism showing? Regardless of Eleanor’s doubts, when one of their party turns up dead, she must try her hand at solving the mystery before others end up meeting a nasty end. Along the way, Eleanor must contend with a rash of suspects, her stalker and even a literary rival. But is she cut out to be a real life detective? After all, this isn’t a work of fiction and more lives could be at stake if she’s not careful. Who could be the murderer? And what else do they have planned?
Oh. My. God. What a work of utter perfection. With giggle-worthy banter, a narrator to die for (pun most definitely intended) and a plot I could read again and again, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies was beyond a hole in one. Given that Catherine Mack (aka Catherine McKenzie) is also a gifted writer of thrillers, I was overjoyed to find that she’s equally talented at crafting dynamite mysteries. Funny, easy to read and complete with eccentric characters, I’m over the moon that this was just the first in a series.
Perfect for fans of Everyone in My Family Is a Murderer or Knives Out, the first-person narration and metafiction feel created an engaging storyline the sucked me in right from the start. Packed with plenty of suspects and more than enough red herrings to distract even the best armchair sleuth, there wasn’t a chance that I’d figure out the plot before the timely reveal. Then there were entirely original footnotes. Adding a witty sarcasm to the plot, they kept a smile firmly planted on my face from the first page until the perfectly staged last scene. And boy did that epilogue make me yearn for the sequel. After all, with a title like No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding, it will surely be brilliant.
With a fast pace, lighthearted plot and unputdownable premise, this well-written tale grabbed me and didn’t let go. Unbelievably clever and quirky, it was the perfect kind of book to slip in between some harder hitting thrillers. That’s not to say it wasn’t one hundred percent perfect (yes, I know I’m overusing this word… so sue me) no matter what you read before or after. So if you’re looking for a good time, grab this book as soon as you can. After all, Ms. Mack/McKenzie has done the unthinkable and shown her virtuoso-like skill at crafting books in not just one genre—but two. Rating of 5+ stars.
Thank you to Catherine McKenzie, Minotaur Books and HTP Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: April 30, 2024
Trigger warning: NONE
Naturally, it shocks Eleanor to her core when Connor begs her for help. It seems someone is out to kill him—for real. Is it life imitating art? Pure coincidence? Or is Connor’s narcissism showing? Regardless of Eleanor’s doubts, when one of their party turns up dead, she must try her hand at solving the mystery before others end up meeting a nasty end. Along the way, Eleanor must contend with a rash of suspects, her stalker and even a literary rival. But is she cut out to be a real life detective? After all, this isn’t a work of fiction and more lives could be at stake if she’s not careful. Who could be the murderer? And what else do they have planned?
Oh. My. God. What a work of utter perfection. With giggle-worthy banter, a narrator to die for (pun most definitely intended) and a plot I could read again and again, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies was beyond a hole in one. Given that Catherine Mack (aka Catherine McKenzie) is also a gifted writer of thrillers, I was overjoyed to find that she’s equally talented at crafting dynamite mysteries. Funny, easy to read and complete with eccentric characters, I’m over the moon that this was just the first in a series.
Perfect for fans of Everyone in My Family Is a Murderer or Knives Out, the first-person narration and metafiction feel created an engaging storyline the sucked me in right from the start. Packed with plenty of suspects and more than enough red herrings to distract even the best armchair sleuth, there wasn’t a chance that I’d figure out the plot before the timely reveal. Then there were entirely original footnotes. Adding a witty sarcasm to the plot, they kept a smile firmly planted on my face from the first page until the perfectly staged last scene. And boy did that epilogue make me yearn for the sequel. After all, with a title like No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding, it will surely be brilliant.
With a fast pace, lighthearted plot and unputdownable premise, this well-written tale grabbed me and didn’t let go. Unbelievably clever and quirky, it was the perfect kind of book to slip in between some harder hitting thrillers. That’s not to say it wasn’t one hundred percent perfect (yes, I know I’m overusing this word… so sue me) no matter what you read before or after. So if you’re looking for a good time, grab this book as soon as you can. After all, Ms. Mack/McKenzie has done the unthinkable and shown her virtuoso-like skill at crafting books in not just one genre—but two. Rating of 5+ stars.
Thank you to Catherine McKenzie, Minotaur Books and HTP Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: April 30, 2024
Trigger warning: NONE
April 7, 2024
I am in the minority here but this book was not for me which is odd as I do enjoy a good cozy mystery. It was very hard to get into and I just couldn’t connect or care about the main character (or any of the characters really). The use of footnotes was very distracting and overdone and the author tried too hard for the main character to be funny. This one felt like a long slog and it took way too long before anything interesting started to happen. I was really anticipating this one but it just didn’t work for me. Others have enjoyed it so please just take my opinion as just one of many.
Thanks to the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Thanks to the publisher. All opinions are my own.
October 29, 2023
This book is really, really fun. I was expecting a light, airy read (which it is), but it's also so much more than that. There's humor and murder and attempted murder and romance and a fabulous setting, and it's all really well written. There's even some fourth-wall breaking, which is one of my favorite tropes in all of literature (and cinema).
Eleanor is a famous writer on tour in Italy, which, I mean, sounds pretty good to me. But she's contractually obligated to be there with her unscrupulous ex-boyfriend/blackmailer, Connor. And her stalker. And a fellow author who is stealing all of her plotlines. And another ex that she still has feelings for. Oh, and someone's trying to kill her (and Connor, although she's not too concerned about that). So maybe it's not such a perfect trip after all? And who could possibly want her dead?
Eleanor is a fantastic main character. She's hilarious and snarky, and this combined with her total distain for Connor really makes the book. She repeatedly breaks the fourth wall in the funniest of ways, at one point reassuring her worried readers that she doesn't “die in this chapter” (like in that scene from The Princess Bride). I adored her relationship with her sister/assistant, Harper, and the oh-so-dreamy Oliver.
And, yeah, there's some romance. But it's not particularly annoying or sappy, and I say this as someone who despises romance in books.
I wasn't the biggest fan of all the footnotes, but you can mostly skip them if you want to. After the first several chapters, I just skimmed them and don't feel as if I missed much.
The murder (and attempted murder) mystery itself is perfect. I thought I knew who the culprit was at around the 50% mark, and I was right … but only kind of. Most of it I did not see coming at all. Pretty much everyone is a suspect, including Eleanor. Is she an unreliable narrator? Or is someone else out for revenge?
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is one of the highlights of my 2023 reads. It's really, really fun (have I already said this?) and you should definitely read it. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.
Eleanor is a famous writer on tour in Italy, which, I mean, sounds pretty good to me. But she's contractually obligated to be there with her unscrupulous ex-boyfriend/blackmailer, Connor. And her stalker. And a fellow author who is stealing all of her plotlines. And another ex that she still has feelings for. Oh, and someone's trying to kill her (and Connor, although she's not too concerned about that). So maybe it's not such a perfect trip after all? And who could possibly want her dead?
Eleanor is a fantastic main character. She's hilarious and snarky, and this combined with her total distain for Connor really makes the book. She repeatedly breaks the fourth wall in the funniest of ways, at one point reassuring her worried readers that she doesn't “die in this chapter” (like in that scene from The Princess Bride). I adored her relationship with her sister/assistant, Harper, and the oh-so-dreamy Oliver.
And, yeah, there's some romance. But it's not particularly annoying or sappy, and I say this as someone who despises romance in books.
I wasn't the biggest fan of all the footnotes, but you can mostly skip them if you want to. After the first several chapters, I just skimmed them and don't feel as if I missed much.
The murder (and attempted murder) mystery itself is perfect. I thought I knew who the culprit was at around the 50% mark, and I was right … but only kind of. Most of it I did not see coming at all. Pretty much everyone is a suspect, including Eleanor. Is she an unreliable narrator? Or is someone else out for revenge?
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is one of the highlights of my 2023 reads. It's really, really fun (have I already said this?) and you should definitely read it. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.
May 26, 2024
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack. This was her debut novel and I thought it was well written, clever and laugh out loud funny at times. The audiobook was narrated by Elizabeth Evans and I felt that she did an outstanding job at distinguishing between the characters. It was set in Italy where bestselling novelist, Eleanor Dash, was celebrating her tenth anniversary as the author of a popular series of books, with a tour of Italy. Eleanor had been accompanied to Italy by her sister who was also her devoted and very capable assistant along with a group of devoted fans. The tour details had all been arranged ahead of time. Eleanor planned to use this time to strategize how she could kill off and eliminate the main character from the rest of her books. The main character had been modeled after her ex-boyfriend, Conner Smith and Eleanor was ready to completely erase him from any future books. She just had to figure out how to do it and how to get approval from her publisher to proceed with future books that did not include Conner.
Unbeknownst to Eleanor, Connor, ended up on her anniversary book tour. Early on the tour, Connor confided to Eleanor that someone in real life was really trying to kill him. He told her that he didn’t know who was trying to kill him but Eleanor suspected that Connor knew more than he was willing to share. As much as Eleanor wanted to eliminate Connor from her book, this was not how she wanted it to occur. Eleanor did not wish Connor any harm in real life. Then actual threats to Connor were actually attempted. Even though Connor was the intended target, others were killed instead. The realization of the murders were quite jarring. Who could want to really kill Connor?
The Italian police were finally called in when someone was found murdered in the hotel that all the people on the tour were staying at. One of the Italian police officers that was assigned to the case was no other than the police officer that had helped Eleanor and Connor solve a crime almost ten years ago when they were in Italy as boyfriend and girlfriend. Back then, Eleanor and Connor were able to solve a crime that involved members of the Mafia. Now here they were again right in the middle of another murder investigation. Will they be able to identify the murderer before anything else happens?
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies was full of twists and turns. It was fast paced with a very satisfying yet unexpected conclusion. The characters were a little quirky and each had their own unique qualities. Catherine Mack brought a very distinctive writing style to this book. It was told almost exclusively by Eleanor Dash who also included a multitude of informative footnotes, which were intended for the reader’s benefit. I enjoyed this cozy mystery. It was chock filled with intriguing details and funny moments. There were so many suspects who could have committed the murders that I found it hard to guess who the real murderer was. Every Time I Go on Vacation was the first book in The Vacation Mysteries series. I look forward to reading the other books in this series and I highly recommend this one.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unbeknownst to Eleanor, Connor, ended up on her anniversary book tour. Early on the tour, Connor confided to Eleanor that someone in real life was really trying to kill him. He told her that he didn’t know who was trying to kill him but Eleanor suspected that Connor knew more than he was willing to share. As much as Eleanor wanted to eliminate Connor from her book, this was not how she wanted it to occur. Eleanor did not wish Connor any harm in real life. Then actual threats to Connor were actually attempted. Even though Connor was the intended target, others were killed instead. The realization of the murders were quite jarring. Who could want to really kill Connor?
The Italian police were finally called in when someone was found murdered in the hotel that all the people on the tour were staying at. One of the Italian police officers that was assigned to the case was no other than the police officer that had helped Eleanor and Connor solve a crime almost ten years ago when they were in Italy as boyfriend and girlfriend. Back then, Eleanor and Connor were able to solve a crime that involved members of the Mafia. Now here they were again right in the middle of another murder investigation. Will they be able to identify the murderer before anything else happens?
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies was full of twists and turns. It was fast paced with a very satisfying yet unexpected conclusion. The characters were a little quirky and each had their own unique qualities. Catherine Mack brought a very distinctive writing style to this book. It was told almost exclusively by Eleanor Dash who also included a multitude of informative footnotes, which were intended for the reader’s benefit. I enjoyed this cozy mystery. It was chock filled with intriguing details and funny moments. There were so many suspects who could have committed the murders that I found it hard to guess who the real murderer was. Every Time I Go on Vacation was the first book in The Vacation Mysteries series. I look forward to reading the other books in this series and I highly recommend this one.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 14, 2024
*This is a review of the audiobook of this novel. The narrator did a good job with all of the male and female voices!
This was an easy listen, entertaining and light hearted. This is the first in what is to be a series of “Vacation Mystery” books.
As you know from the blurb “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?” Apparently it is!!
Eleanor is a well known author and is on a book tour in Italy with several other authors. She is in a writing funk and wants to end her best selling series.
Connor has shared that he knows that someone is trying to kill him. None of the others believe him until things start to heat up.
This was a fun mix of characters, lots of different personalities.
*Connor Smith, the ever philandering dashing man, once a love interest with Eleanor. He is also the main protagonist in Eleanor’s books. She plans to kill him off in her next book!
*Harper, Eleanor’s sister and personal assistant
*Oliver, an author who also had involvement with Eleanor. Does he still love her? Does she still love him?
*The “BookFace ladies” who are excited to be with their favorite authors. They won a contest to be included in this tour.
The group visits six cities which are well described. By the end of the tour there will be three bodies!
Who killed who? What is the motive behind the murders and what do they have to gain?
I went into this one wanting a fun escape from some of the thrillers that I’ve read. There was a lot of humor and lots of descriptions of wonderful food and drink! Count me in for the next book tour!
I received an audiobook from the publisher and MacMillan audio through NetGalley.
This was an easy listen, entertaining and light hearted. This is the first in what is to be a series of “Vacation Mystery” books.
As you know from the blurb “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?” Apparently it is!!
Eleanor is a well known author and is on a book tour in Italy with several other authors. She is in a writing funk and wants to end her best selling series.
Connor has shared that he knows that someone is trying to kill him. None of the others believe him until things start to heat up.
This was a fun mix of characters, lots of different personalities.
*Connor Smith, the ever philandering dashing man, once a love interest with Eleanor. He is also the main protagonist in Eleanor’s books. She plans to kill him off in her next book!
*Harper, Eleanor’s sister and personal assistant
*Oliver, an author who also had involvement with Eleanor. Does he still love her? Does she still love him?
*The “BookFace ladies” who are excited to be with their favorite authors. They won a contest to be included in this tour.
The group visits six cities which are well described. By the end of the tour there will be three bodies!
Who killed who? What is the motive behind the murders and what do they have to gain?
I went into this one wanting a fun escape from some of the thrillers that I’ve read. There was a lot of humor and lots of descriptions of wonderful food and drink! Count me in for the next book tour!
I received an audiobook from the publisher and MacMillan audio through NetGalley.
June 18, 2024
With humor, conversational banter and footnotes, bestselling author, Eleanor Nash explains to us readers why she is ready to get rid of hanger-on, Conner Smith, her character, who also happens to be the real person who has made money off of her success.
The more we read, the more we learn about just who Conner Smith is, and why she would want to murder him. Well, his character anyway.
So, as she saunters around Europe on her latest tour promoting her latest book, with her sister, Harper who is her assistant, it appears that someone else also wants Conner dead. But doesn’t Eleanor just want the character dead? Who really wants the person, Conner dead?
And while we are at it, can Eleanor handle her stalker, Cathy on this tour, and her once lover, Oliver, also an author on this tour? And people dying along the way? Does this mean she has to be an amateur sleuth, too? How is she going to manage this tour with all these distractions?
This captivating, funny debut mystery will keep readers engaged from the very beginning page. And, as far as the footnotes go, readers will either like them or be annoyed by them. I leave that determination to each reader.
The more we read, the more we learn about just who Conner Smith is, and why she would want to murder him. Well, his character anyway.
So, as she saunters around Europe on her latest tour promoting her latest book, with her sister, Harper who is her assistant, it appears that someone else also wants Conner dead. But doesn’t Eleanor just want the character dead? Who really wants the person, Conner dead?
And while we are at it, can Eleanor handle her stalker, Cathy on this tour, and her once lover, Oliver, also an author on this tour? And people dying along the way? Does this mean she has to be an amateur sleuth, too? How is she going to manage this tour with all these distractions?
This captivating, funny debut mystery will keep readers engaged from the very beginning page. And, as far as the footnotes go, readers will either like them or be annoyed by them. I leave that determination to each reader.
April 22, 2024
Many thanks to NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read the first book, 'Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies,' in The Vacation Mysteries written by Catherine Mack, which I only learned this week is a pseudonym for suspense novelist, Catherine Mackenzie. I enjoyed two of her books and had high hopes for this one. A writer goes on tour in Europe but her publisher sends several other writers, and the inspiration for her main character, who is a ruthless man that blackmailed the author on a few things. For plots, A+... as I loved the depth and detail. I liked some of the characters and the setting, but I wasn't pulled into the book as much as was needed. Part of it is due to the style in which the book is written. Mack tells the story through scenes and various commentary which is often footnoted. The footnotes contain references to her books and past events between her and the real-life guy they were based on. It was too jarring for me as I lost pace a lot. Sometimes it worked, but sometimes I also felt it was too much. Also, do not read this as an ebook. The formatting is such that the footnotes regularly appear page later, so you are swiping left and right so much, it was a chore! Had the formatting and overall style been more to my preferences, I would have given this a 4, but it was not an easy read. Sorry!
April 24, 2024
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is the first book in the new cozy The Vacation Mysteries series. I can’t say totally for sure yet but with the mystery in this first book being solved by the end I expect this series to be one you could read as a standalone or in any order with new mysteries in each book.
Eleanor Dash is a best selling author who desperately wants to end the book series that made her famous. Eleanor’s mistake was basing her main character on Connor Smith, a man she desperately wants out of her life. Since the success of the series Connor has been profiting off his likeness and making Eleanor miserable in the process.
Now as Eleanor plots the demise of the literature version of Connor it seems someone else may be plotting Connor’s real life demise. Eleanor and Connor have been on a press tour around Italy when someone takes a shot at killing him but their motley group of traveling companions is full of suspects and does Eleanor really want to stop Connor’s demise?
Picking up Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is one for not only cozy mystery lovers but with the main character being an author you could say for book lovers but this first book is also for the travel lovers with the setting being around Italy. The character do have that slight tough of quirkiness you’d find in a lot of cozies and there were plenty of twists along the way in the story. With a lot going on in the this first book I felt I could have gotten to know the characters a bit better but when finished I rated this at three and half stars and would return to the series.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Eleanor Dash is a best selling author who desperately wants to end the book series that made her famous. Eleanor’s mistake was basing her main character on Connor Smith, a man she desperately wants out of her life. Since the success of the series Connor has been profiting off his likeness and making Eleanor miserable in the process.
Now as Eleanor plots the demise of the literature version of Connor it seems someone else may be plotting Connor’s real life demise. Eleanor and Connor have been on a press tour around Italy when someone takes a shot at killing him but their motley group of traveling companions is full of suspects and does Eleanor really want to stop Connor’s demise?
Picking up Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is one for not only cozy mystery lovers but with the main character being an author you could say for book lovers but this first book is also for the travel lovers with the setting being around Italy. The character do have that slight tough of quirkiness you’d find in a lot of cozies and there were plenty of twists along the way in the story. With a lot going on in the this first book I felt I could have gotten to know the characters a bit better but when finished I rated this at three and half stars and would return to the series.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
November 29, 2023
A very cute modern cozy. Eleanor is kind of a lot to take at times and I can't say I ever felt sorry for her travails but she won me over anyway. She knows she's been messy and needs to do better so that went a long way. Both her former love interests were pretty well done. I liked sister, Hayley and wished she had more characterization. The remaining cast was well done and worked really well.
The mystery was good and red herrings abound which made for a fun puzzle to solve. The reader couldn't deduce all of the How because that information isn't fully offered until the big reveal but the Who and broadly Why are there (both the Who and Why is multifaceted). There was enough to satisfy the puzzle-solver in me. I figured out some of what was going on but I read a lot of mysteries. Always take note of what isn't getting attention but is odd. What's said and uncommented upon and what isn't being acknowledged at all. That's where the answers are in the blizzard of everything else happening around the characters.
More thoughts:
Eleanor and Hayley had a Party of Five (show from the 90s) origin story that I literally had to read twice. That gave me a giggle (the orphaned by a drunk driver part notwithstanding) and made me feel old.
There are some funny jibes at Goodreads from authors' perspectives. Calling it "MeanReads" made me laugh and there was a musing on how Agatha Christie would contend with one-star reviewers of her works.
The footnotes... there are many and do work on some level. I don't know that I enjoy flipping back and forth so much as the flow of story is a bit broken but a lot of it was genuinely witty.
Characters being described like someone did a Dream Cast board is not my thing when I read but others may love that.
In the arc i received the title of Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was misspelled. I'm sure this will be corrected by pub date.
A few too many "of the moment" references for me but they were the sort that either you know and agree so adorbs or you understand, don't care and can move on quickly enough (I'm of the latter category).
I'm not usually one for an epilogue but here it worked, especially for a next book set up. I don't know if the book the main character teases is really going to be the next book here but I would absolutely read No One Was Supposed to Doie at this Wedding.
Recommended. It was fun and a neat addition to the landscape of cozy mysteries.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the Adavance Reader's Copy.
The mystery was good and red herrings abound which made for a fun puzzle to solve. The reader couldn't deduce all of the How because that information isn't fully offered until the big reveal but the Who and broadly Why are there (both the Who and Why is multifaceted). There was enough to satisfy the puzzle-solver in me. I figured out some of what was going on but I read a lot of mysteries. Always take note of what isn't getting attention but is odd. What's said and uncommented upon and what isn't being acknowledged at all. That's where the answers are in the blizzard of everything else happening around the characters.
More thoughts:
Eleanor and Hayley had a Party of Five (show from the 90s) origin story that I literally had to read twice. That gave me a giggle (the orphaned by a drunk driver part notwithstanding) and made me feel old.
There are some funny jibes at Goodreads from authors' perspectives. Calling it "MeanReads" made me laugh and there was a musing on how Agatha Christie would contend with one-star reviewers of her works.
The footnotes... there are many and do work on some level. I don't know that I enjoy flipping back and forth so much as the flow of story is a bit broken but a lot of it was genuinely witty.
Characters being described like someone did a Dream Cast board is not my thing when I read but others may love that.
In the arc i received the title of Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was misspelled. I'm sure this will be corrected by pub date.
A few too many "of the moment" references for me but they were the sort that either you know and agree so adorbs or you understand, don't care and can move on quickly enough (I'm of the latter category).
I'm not usually one for an epilogue but here it worked, especially for a next book set up. I don't know if the book the main character teases is really going to be the next book here but I would absolutely read No One Was Supposed to Doie at this Wedding.
Recommended. It was fun and a neat addition to the landscape of cozy mysteries.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the Adavance Reader's Copy.
April 22, 2024
This is a well-written, entertaining, fast paced, lighthearted mystery novel. It has humor, a touch of romance, vividly described settings, murder, intrigue, twists and turns, and a satisfying conclusion. I especially enjoyed the quirky footnotes! Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Ms. Catherine Mack, from whom I received an ARC of this delightful novel. This is my honest opinion.
April 22, 2024
Sadly this book was not for me and I DNFed at the 50% mark.
It was just so hard to get into the story and never once connected or even really cared about the main character. It felt like she was trying to make the her funny and quirky, but to me, she came across as impersonal. I also really didn’t find the whole cast characters entertaining (it was also a huge cast that I could not keep straight for some odd reason).
The pace was slow and I only slogged through 50% in a whole week.
The use of footnotes was very overdone, and since I had an ebook arc they were randomly thrown in at times and even in the middle of sentences.
Others have really enjoyed it so please just take my review with a grain of salt.
It was just so hard to get into the story and never once connected or even really cared about the main character. It felt like she was trying to make the her funny and quirky, but to me, she came across as impersonal. I also really didn’t find the whole cast characters entertaining (it was also a huge cast that I could not keep straight for some odd reason).
The pace was slow and I only slogged through 50% in a whole week.
The use of footnotes was very overdone, and since I had an ebook arc they were randomly thrown in at times and even in the middle of sentences.
Others have really enjoyed it so please just take my review with a grain of salt.
April 18, 2024
This was probably about a 2½ star read for me. There were a lot of footnotes which didn't work well in the ebook. It was a hassle to flip back and forth. In the audio, the footnotes sounded more like asides from the narrator which helped, but they were too repetitive which made them annoying enough at times to elicit eye rolling.
Keep in mind that every time the narrator adds a footnote, which is multiple times in each chapter, it is directed at the reader as if she is talking to you and telling you a story. She does refer to the footnotes and her editor, so you are made aware of the fact that you are reading her story written to you.
I will say that I flopped back and forth a bit as to who the 'bad guy' was. I was not fooled by the author's attempts to lead the reader astray though and had a decent idea of who it was and wasn't a little over halfway through. I can't say what was right or wrong because I don't want to give anything away for future readers.
I think the book needed a more likable main character to really give you someone to root for. This is one of those books where there are no great characters. So, if you need to love your characters give it a pass.
The audio version was narrated by Elizabeth Evans and I think that is partly why I'm rounding this one up. She did a really good job.
My other reason for rounding up is that I think if you skip the footnotes, which the author suggests you can do at one point, the story may read better. I would recommend reading without the footnotes if you give this one a try. They aren't necessary to the story and actually take away from it.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with complimentary electronic copies of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Keep in mind that every time the narrator adds a footnote, which is multiple times in each chapter, it is directed at the reader as if she is talking to you and telling you a story. She does refer to the footnotes and her editor, so you are made aware of the fact that you are reading her story written to you.
I will say that I flopped back and forth a bit as to who the 'bad guy' was. I was not fooled by the author's attempts to lead the reader astray though and had a decent idea of who it was and wasn't a little over halfway through. I can't say what was right or wrong because I don't want to give anything away for future readers.
I think the book needed a more likable main character to really give you someone to root for. This is one of those books where there are no great characters. So, if you need to love your characters give it a pass.
The audio version was narrated by Elizabeth Evans and I think that is partly why I'm rounding this one up. She did a really good job.
My other reason for rounding up is that I think if you skip the footnotes, which the author suggests you can do at one point, the story may read better. I would recommend reading without the footnotes if you give this one a try. They aren't necessary to the story and actually take away from it.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with complimentary electronic copies of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
April 13, 2024
I honestly don’t know what to say about this book. It started out as entertaining, but then it was so repetitive and annoying. At first, I thought I enjoyed the style of book but the more I got into it the more I realized I did not. It was very cheesy, and I did not like the way the author talked to me like I was in her mind. It was really weird. There were also a few too many Taylor Swift references. I have learned this is not my type of book.
May 1, 2024
An absolutely delightful read! If you are looking for a light, fun, laugh out loud murder mystery with a twist, RUN and get this book on April 30, 2024!!
Catherine Mack may very well be my new favorite author! Her unique writing style captured me from the first page. The premise of "Every Time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies", is an Author, writing about an author on a book tour in Italy who desperately wants to kill her main character, who is also on the book tour. Only for this fictional author, things get messy when there's a murder on the tour. Think "Murder in the Building" meets "Murder Mystery", (you know, that movie with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler), mixed with a little Ferris Bueller's Day off (breaking the 4th wall << if you haven't heard this before, don't feel bad, neither had I. It's when the main character speaks directly to the audience) ONLY SO MUCH BETTER!! And I loved it so much!
This book has an ex love, a struggling sibling relationship, a trip to Italy, secrets, an author stalker, a variety of characters and murder with a twist! What more could you ask for? It's quick, witty, mysterious, funny, and all the things I look for in a book. I could NOT put it down because I needed to know what was going to happen next!
I cannot wait to read more from this author and hope that this won't be the last we read about Eleanor Dash.
Thank you @Netgalley and St. Martin's publisher's for allowing me to read this ARC. This one is extra special to me because it's my very first ARC review for Netgalley. I hope I did ok. :)
Catherine Mack may very well be my new favorite author! Her unique writing style captured me from the first page. The premise of "Every Time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies", is an Author, writing about an author on a book tour in Italy who desperately wants to kill her main character, who is also on the book tour. Only for this fictional author, things get messy when there's a murder on the tour. Think "Murder in the Building" meets "Murder Mystery", (you know, that movie with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler), mixed with a little Ferris Bueller's Day off (breaking the 4th wall << if you haven't heard this before, don't feel bad, neither had I. It's when the main character speaks directly to the audience) ONLY SO MUCH BETTER!! And I loved it so much!
This book has an ex love, a struggling sibling relationship, a trip to Italy, secrets, an author stalker, a variety of characters and murder with a twist! What more could you ask for? It's quick, witty, mysterious, funny, and all the things I look for in a book. I could NOT put it down because I needed to know what was going to happen next!
I cannot wait to read more from this author and hope that this won't be the last we read about Eleanor Dash.
Thank you @Netgalley and St. Martin's publisher's for allowing me to read this ARC. This one is extra special to me because it's my very first ARC review for Netgalley. I hope I did ok. :)
May 1, 2024
Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.
Connor Smith is conniving. Not only did he sweep Eleanor Dash off her feet ten years ago while she was on vacation, but he’s also not trustworthy, has a secret past and is now blackmailing Eleanor. The thing is, someone is trying to kill him and readers need to figure out if it’s a case of life imitating art … or not! You see, this con-man-ex-lover is also a character in Eleanor’s book and she just wants to write him off - literally and figuratively. When things start to surface giving Eleanor pause, she turns to her readers to help. Is this a case of a booktour gone wrong? Or is someone really out to ‘write off’ Connor Smith?
Things I loved:
❤️ Italian setting
❤️ following clues to solve a murder mystery
❤️ great cast of characters
❤️ great cover
❤️ book featuring authors, books, fans, and a booktour
❤️ heaps of secrets and blackmail
❤️ single POV; uncommon these days
❤️ humour/wit
The only thing I struggled with was the formatting - I couldn’t enjoy the footnotes (an integral part of this book) on the Kindle edition. This in no way reflects on this book nor the author.
I think this will be a successful series! I saw that it’s been optioned for a TV series, too. I wish the author luck.
I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
December 31, 2023
*Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.*
This is what I get when I take reviews at face value: disappointment.
I’ll only touch briefly on the mystery itself. I did not guess who did it, mostly because I never actively try to solve mysteries (that’s just how I read mysteries), and because I wanted everyone to die, so what’s the point in guessing when I know I’ll be further disappointed? The reveal would be a bit more convincing if I could see these people interacting with each other and if they had personalities, because as it is, finding out that Generic Flesh-sack No. 5 did it is underwhelming on all fronts. Woo-hoo, I guess?
If I was supposed to like the MC, I did not get the memo. She is helpless, annoying, bitchy, self-centered and a little…well, clueless. She also says that she’s a liar, which is strange because she still comes across as incompetent. If you lie, why would you portray yourself as hopeless? And if you’re such a liar, why are you seemingly determined to not come across as likable? And why is she so exquisitely clumsy that she legit falls to the floor when she trips on her own shoe? It takes skill to be that uncoordinated, I’ll give her that.
The difficulties she has with her sister Harper could maybe have been interesting. But I do not get the logic of, “I want to be an author, but because my sister got to it first, now I can’t publish a book.” Like, why? If you’ve got a book to write, write it and to hell with what your sibling is doing. Their relationship is (I’m pretty sure) supposed to be solid. But they can’t communicate on basic levels and Harper is a slave to the MC’s whims. And they live together, so how did their troubles remain hidden for so long? Also, GROW UP.
As for the other characters, I have never come across an ensemble cast that is so forgettable. But they’re not just forgettable, I had trouble separating them while I was reading. Isabella and Allison are so bland, it took me a really long time to tell them apart, and I was only able to by their names. I challenge anyone reading this book to give me strong descriptions of those two, and throw in Emily while you’re at it. Just for the fun of it, add Harper too. I can define them by their association/job, but their personalities are unavailable.
And the guys! Normally it’s easy to find at least one guy in a large cast that I like. Not so here. There’s Connor, whom Eleanor (that’s the MC’s name, in case you forgot, like I did) describes as a handsome asshole, and who is actually an asshole. I thought it might be a Mr. Darcy situation. But no. He’s an asshole. My reaction to someone trying to kill him is, “Get on with it already.”
Oliver is the other main guy and he could also die, for all I care. And let’s not forget Guy, who is just a guy, from what I gathered. One of the footnotes actually draws attention to the fact that Guy hasn’t been given a backstory.* I suspect it’s because the author couldn’t be bothered to write one.
Seriously, all these characters are either blank slates or unlikable. It’s actually kind of impressive.
The location of Italy is entirely wasted. I’ve never been there, but the descriptions provided here do not make me feel like I’m in a foreign country. Change the names and it could pass for California.
The writing itself is readable, mostly. I know this is an ARC, but I could’ve used more dialogue tags because it’s kinda hard to tell who’s talking when no one has a distinct voice. And some of the back-and-forth bits go on for just too long, so I had to backtrack to check who’s talking.
I read this whole book at night just before I went to sleep and maybe it’s because my brain was winding down, but I don’t think I genuinely smiled once. (When I’m reading with no one around, I never laugh out loud.** For a book that’s being promoted as “funny,” I imagine that’s a bit of a problem. It’s especially bad since I’m not that hard to amuse.***
One major problem that may not be a problem, depending on how you read the book, are the footnotes. Now, one of the first footnotes says that they are optional.**** But being a bit of a completionist, (and I’d have to pass them anyway on my Kindle), I read them. This is where Eleanor really comes across as annoying, pitiful, resentful and plain unlikable. It also dates the book to a distracting degree. I mean, it references the third Ant-Man movie, which isn’t even a year old and it’s already been forgotten. The notes (and the book proper) also mention Bridgerton, The White Lotus, Only Murders in the Building, BookTok, and actors who may not be a thing in a couple years. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t want contemporary books to be quite so easily carbon-dated.
To summarize, if this hadn’t been an ARC, I would not have finished it.
* I’m fairly sure this is true, but I couldn’t find the spot in the book, so maybe I imagined the whole thing.
** Unless it’s Terry Pratchett, P. G. Wodehouse or just some absolutely brilliant bit of dialogue.
*** Which is not the case with the other reviewers, who all seemed to die of laughter while reading this book.
**** Much like mine are.
This is what I get when I take reviews at face value: disappointment.
I’ll only touch briefly on the mystery itself. I did not guess who did it, mostly because I never actively try to solve mysteries (that’s just how I read mysteries), and because I wanted everyone to die, so what’s the point in guessing when I know I’ll be further disappointed? The reveal would be a bit more convincing if I could see these people interacting with each other and if they had personalities, because as it is, finding out that Generic Flesh-sack No. 5 did it is underwhelming on all fronts. Woo-hoo, I guess?
If I was supposed to like the MC, I did not get the memo. She is helpless, annoying, bitchy, self-centered and a little…well, clueless. She also says that she’s a liar, which is strange because she still comes across as incompetent. If you lie, why would you portray yourself as hopeless? And if you’re such a liar, why are you seemingly determined to not come across as likable? And why is she so exquisitely clumsy that she legit falls to the floor when she trips on her own shoe? It takes skill to be that uncoordinated, I’ll give her that.
The difficulties she has with her sister Harper could maybe have been interesting. But I do not get the logic of, “I want to be an author, but because my sister got to it first, now I can’t publish a book.” Like, why? If you’ve got a book to write, write it and to hell with what your sibling is doing. Their relationship is (I’m pretty sure) supposed to be solid. But they can’t communicate on basic levels and Harper is a slave to the MC’s whims. And they live together, so how did their troubles remain hidden for so long? Also, GROW UP.
As for the other characters, I have never come across an ensemble cast that is so forgettable. But they’re not just forgettable, I had trouble separating them while I was reading. Isabella and Allison are so bland, it took me a really long time to tell them apart, and I was only able to by their names. I challenge anyone reading this book to give me strong descriptions of those two, and throw in Emily while you’re at it. Just for the fun of it, add Harper too. I can define them by their association/job, but their personalities are unavailable.
And the guys! Normally it’s easy to find at least one guy in a large cast that I like. Not so here. There’s Connor, whom Eleanor (that’s the MC’s name, in case you forgot, like I did) describes as a handsome asshole, and who is actually an asshole. I thought it might be a Mr. Darcy situation. But no. He’s an asshole. My reaction to someone trying to kill him is, “Get on with it already.”
Oliver is the other main guy and he could also die, for all I care. And let’s not forget Guy, who is just a guy, from what I gathered. One of the footnotes actually draws attention to the fact that Guy hasn’t been given a backstory.* I suspect it’s because the author couldn’t be bothered to write one.
Seriously, all these characters are either blank slates or unlikable. It’s actually kind of impressive.
The location of Italy is entirely wasted. I’ve never been there, but the descriptions provided here do not make me feel like I’m in a foreign country. Change the names and it could pass for California.
The writing itself is readable, mostly. I know this is an ARC, but I could’ve used more dialogue tags because it’s kinda hard to tell who’s talking when no one has a distinct voice. And some of the back-and-forth bits go on for just too long, so I had to backtrack to check who’s talking.
I read this whole book at night just before I went to sleep and maybe it’s because my brain was winding down, but I don’t think I genuinely smiled once. (When I’m reading with no one around, I never laugh out loud.** For a book that’s being promoted as “funny,” I imagine that’s a bit of a problem. It’s especially bad since I’m not that hard to amuse.***
One major problem that may not be a problem, depending on how you read the book, are the footnotes. Now, one of the first footnotes says that they are optional.**** But being a bit of a completionist, (and I’d have to pass them anyway on my Kindle), I read them. This is where Eleanor really comes across as annoying, pitiful, resentful and plain unlikable. It also dates the book to a distracting degree. I mean, it references the third Ant-Man movie, which isn’t even a year old and it’s already been forgotten. The notes (and the book proper) also mention Bridgerton, The White Lotus, Only Murders in the Building, BookTok, and actors who may not be a thing in a couple years. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t want contemporary books to be quite so easily carbon-dated.
To summarize, if this hadn’t been an ARC, I would not have finished it.
* I’m fairly sure this is true, but I couldn’t find the spot in the book, so maybe I imagined the whole thing.
** Unless it’s Terry Pratchett, P. G. Wodehouse or just some absolutely brilliant bit of dialogue.
*** Which is not the case with the other reviewers, who all seemed to die of laughter while reading this book.
**** Much like mine are.
May 28, 2024
DNF at 30% Update: got the physical book, skimmed to the end, it didn't get better.
Very childish characters and plot, so one sister is a writer and now the other can't be? Dumb. A man has been blackmailing you for 10 years and you're just like, okay, oopsie, oh well? Dumb. Your stalker is on your European tour. No problem. Don't even get me started on the annoying footnotes. What even is this book?
Very childish characters and plot, so one sister is a writer and now the other can't be? Dumb. A man has been blackmailing you for 10 years and you're just like, okay, oopsie, oh well? Dumb. Your stalker is on your European tour. No problem. Don't even get me started on the annoying footnotes. What even is this book?
April 23, 2024
This was just a really solid good time! Reminds me of HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER and EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE. You follow an author on a vacation in Italy with other authors & some fans, she's trying to (fictionally) kill off the main guy in her series, but he says someone is really trying to kill him, and then bodies really start dropping.
This is a quirky/gimmicky story interspersed with nearly 300 footnotes throughout the text where the author breaks the fourth wall. I kind of wish the footnotes would've just been embedded in the text normally (because I love mysteries where the narrator breaks the fourth wall!), but I guess it was a smart move because some people don't like that quirk and it allows you to skip it for the most part (except there are a couple chapters in the end speaking straight to the reader).
I didn't think the reveal was too terrible surprising, but I had so much fun with the story that I didn't really mind not being blown away by a twist/reveal. What I did really like was that the threat was current, everyone looked suspicious, and you didn't have to understand something overly complicated for the reveal to make sense. Looking forward to the next book in the series!
Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.
This is a quirky/gimmicky story interspersed with nearly 300 footnotes throughout the text where the author breaks the fourth wall. I kind of wish the footnotes would've just been embedded in the text normally (because I love mysteries where the narrator breaks the fourth wall!), but I guess it was a smart move because some people don't like that quirk and it allows you to skip it for the most part (except there are a couple chapters in the end speaking straight to the reader).
I didn't think the reveal was too terrible surprising, but I had so much fun with the story that I didn't really mind not being blown away by a twist/reveal. What I did really like was that the threat was current, everyone looked suspicious, and you didn't have to understand something overly complicated for the reveal to make sense. Looking forward to the next book in the series!
Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.
June 18, 2024
I really enjoyed this especially the mystery aspect although it was so painfully obvious.
I did hate the fact that the book tried so hard to be funny, which come off a bit cringey and annoying most times.
Other than that, I did enjoy the flow of the story and the characters.
Story: 3.5 stars
Narration: 3.5 stars
I did hate the fact that the book tried so hard to be funny, which come off a bit cringey and annoying most times.
Other than that, I did enjoy the flow of the story and the characters.
Story: 3.5 stars
Narration: 3.5 stars
April 4, 2024
This was so much fun!! I loved how self aware the book was. The footnotes were my favorite (which is impressive cause I usually hate footnotes in books). All the characters were great, the plot was just so entertaining. The audiobook was great! loved the narrator!! A great, fun, silly cozy mystery!
Now for the very very long wait till book #2!
thank you so much to Netgalley for the audio arc and to the publishers for the physical arc in exchange for an honest review!
Now for the very very long wait till book #2!
thank you so much to Netgalley for the audio arc and to the publishers for the physical arc in exchange for an honest review!
March 1, 2024
leanor Dash is a bestselling author of mysteries. Her first book was a loosely masked fictional account about a real crime/mystery she and her then lover, Connor, were involved with. Her publisher and the public loved Connor and thus she was locked into including him in all the subsequent installments of her vacation mysteries series. But, she has had it with him and wants to kill him off in the next book. On a tour of Italy with Connor, her able assistant/sister, some other authors, her former lover whom she lost when she got involved with Connor, a group of fans, and an outrageous tour guide, it becomes apparent that someone is trying to really kill Connor and her as well. Some people do die and, as the blurb boasts, “eight suspects, three bodies”…..
It took me a while to realize I really liked this book. It was a fun romp through Rome and the Amalfi Coast and, despite the murders, amusing and lighthearted. Eleanor is quite funny and sarcastic; I loved that she often broke the fourth wall. The setting, especially along the Coast, is stunning and some of my favorite things about Italy (gelato, Aperol spritzes) are included. Her digs at Goodreads reviews will resonate with a lot of readers and authors! There is even some romance thrown into the mix.
Mack includes a number of foot notes…kind of asides that Eleanor made to further explain or emphasize something. They were clever and entertaining, but distracting and interrupted the flow of reading. Genre bending, this is a mystery/cozymystery/romcom/travelogue/comedy.
Thanks to @NetGalley and @stmartinspress @minotaur_books for the DRC.
It took me a while to realize I really liked this book. It was a fun romp through Rome and the Amalfi Coast and, despite the murders, amusing and lighthearted. Eleanor is quite funny and sarcastic; I loved that she often broke the fourth wall. The setting, especially along the Coast, is stunning and some of my favorite things about Italy (gelato, Aperol spritzes) are included. Her digs at Goodreads reviews will resonate with a lot of readers and authors! There is even some romance thrown into the mix.
Mack includes a number of foot notes…kind of asides that Eleanor made to further explain or emphasize something. They were clever and entertaining, but distracting and interrupted the flow of reading. Genre bending, this is a mystery/cozymystery/romcom/travelogue/comedy.
Thanks to @NetGalley and @stmartinspress @minotaur_books for the DRC.
May 6, 2024
****5/5/24**** Congrats to Catherine Mack on her 4/30 pub day!! I just finished this NetGalley 'cozy mystery' / romance novel. I liked the mystery component and was actually totally in the dark as to who did it! Kudos to the author! But that may have been due to me being massively distracted by the footnote-heavy writing style of the book. Not only could I only see the whole page if I read it on my laptop (formatting on my kindle was a big mess, and my iphone was readable only in landscape mode, a few lines at a time), I found it so hard to see the footnotes in the text, then my eye had to jump (and my fingers scroll) to the footnote at the bottom to read it, then go back to what I was reading in the body of the text. There are hundreds of footnotes so this was annoying and exhausting by the end. And then there are a few chapters where the author speaks to the reader directly. What I STRONGLY SUGGEST to Catherine Mack's editors is that they indent and italicize all the footnote comments within the body of the novel so the reader can just read right on through like normal, but still get the vibe of the footnotes. And I respectfully request that publishers make kindle editions readable before release to ARC programs like NetGalley! I would read another Vacation Mystery by Mack, but only if the footnotes go away in future books. I also found the number of characters to be quite high, more than were needed for plot purposes. 3-stars because of footnotes. 4-stars for plot and writing.
****4/3/24**** Am 13% into reading this ARC on my kindle, and have to abandon it due to very poor formatting. Because the book includes a lot of footnotes as part of its style, the formatting issues make reading this version untenable. I have downloaded the Adobe .acsm format onto my laptop and the formatting there looks good (although I dislike reading books on my laptop!). I wish publishers would specify if a particular format is not read for prime time in the ARC notes on NetGalley. Will report back as I make my way through this!
****3/31/24**** Just got approved for a NetGalley ARC for this funny mystery with great reviews and a 4/30/24 release date! Hoping it lives up to the hype, and we can have a new great mystery series to dig into going forward.
****4/3/24**** Am 13% into reading this ARC on my kindle, and have to abandon it due to very poor formatting. Because the book includes a lot of footnotes as part of its style, the formatting issues make reading this version untenable. I have downloaded the Adobe .acsm format onto my laptop and the formatting there looks good (although I dislike reading books on my laptop!). I wish publishers would specify if a particular format is not read for prime time in the ARC notes on NetGalley. Will report back as I make my way through this!
****3/31/24**** Just got approved for a NetGalley ARC for this funny mystery with great reviews and a 4/30/24 release date! Hoping it lives up to the hype, and we can have a new great mystery series to dig into going forward.
July 4, 2024
Okay. I'll admit it. The cover got me. And the title too. Yeah, I am that shallow. The book is a light and humorous cozy murder mystery. There is a slightly dark, sarcastic sense of humor including a rather nasty, snide comment about Goodreads reviewers and their reviews. But on the whole, this an entertaining book. The narration by Elizabeth Evans was wonderful. Her character portrayals were spot on for the cast.
Eleanor Dash is the author of a bestselling Vacation Mysteries series. She is a slightly introverted and awkward personality which makes her perfect for an author who occasionally acts as an amateur sleuth. Her hero in her books is Connor, a Private Investigator until Eleanor outs him. Now he lives off his 20% share of her advances and royalties. They have a "history" and Eleanor just wants to be done with him, personally and literarily. She is planning to kill off his character.
Connor Smith has crashed Eleanor's Italy book tour. He is a narcistic freeloader who believes someone is trying to kill him. And, no, it isn't in the literary sense, but in the literal sense. He wants Eleanor's help to find out who it is. There is not a lack of potential suspects: Connor has hacked off a lot of people over the years and several of them are on the book tour. Also on the tour is Oliver, the one that got away. He's an author and he and Eleanore were hot and heavy until Eleanor got cold feet and did something really, really stupid. Eleanore has her deductive work cut out for her and just as she is narrowing in of Connor's possible murderer, someone else dies and an attempt is made on Eleanor. Just who is the target here? 3 1/2-Stars
Eleanor Dash is the author of a bestselling Vacation Mysteries series. She is a slightly introverted and awkward personality which makes her perfect for an author who occasionally acts as an amateur sleuth. Her hero in her books is Connor, a Private Investigator until Eleanor outs him. Now he lives off his 20% share of her advances and royalties. They have a "history" and Eleanor just wants to be done with him, personally and literarily. She is planning to kill off his character.
Connor Smith has crashed Eleanor's Italy book tour. He is a narcistic freeloader who believes someone is trying to kill him. And, no, it isn't in the literary sense, but in the literal sense. He wants Eleanor's help to find out who it is. There is not a lack of potential suspects: Connor has hacked off a lot of people over the years and several of them are on the book tour. Also on the tour is Oliver, the one that got away. He's an author and he and Eleanore were hot and heavy until Eleanor got cold feet and did something really, really stupid. Eleanore has her deductive work cut out for her and just as she is narrowing in of Connor's possible murderer, someone else dies and an attempt is made on Eleanor. Just who is the target here? 3 1/2-Stars
April 30, 2024
**Happy Publication Day!**
3.5 stars rounded up. The story is narrated by Eleanor Dash, the author of the best-selling Vacation Mystery series. She and her sister Harper are in Italy for a book event with several other authors and a group of fans. Eleanor's ex-lover, Connor Smith, is also on the trip. She based her main character in the series on him and the real-life case they were involved in. Eleanor has a dirty secret that Connor holds over her head for which she pays him a percentage of her earnings for his silence. Now Connor swears someone is trying to kill him--first in America and then in Rome. Who would want him dead and why? When someone does end up dead, all the authors gather together to try to figure this case out.
This is a fresh and fun cozy mystery with lots of humor, plenty of suspects and a nice twist to the ending. I look forward to reading the further adventures of Eleanor and friends as hinted in the ending. I have to say though, I became annoyed by the use of footnotes to add more information and humorous comments to the story. I felt it disrupted the flow of the plot. I hope they lose that in future books.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new mystery novel via NetGalley and for introducing me to a new author. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
3.5 stars rounded up. The story is narrated by Eleanor Dash, the author of the best-selling Vacation Mystery series. She and her sister Harper are in Italy for a book event with several other authors and a group of fans. Eleanor's ex-lover, Connor Smith, is also on the trip. She based her main character in the series on him and the real-life case they were involved in. Eleanor has a dirty secret that Connor holds over her head for which she pays him a percentage of her earnings for his silence. Now Connor swears someone is trying to kill him--first in America and then in Rome. Who would want him dead and why? When someone does end up dead, all the authors gather together to try to figure this case out.
This is a fresh and fun cozy mystery with lots of humor, plenty of suspects and a nice twist to the ending. I look forward to reading the further adventures of Eleanor and friends as hinted in the ending. I have to say though, I became annoyed by the use of footnotes to add more information and humorous comments to the story. I felt it disrupted the flow of the plot. I hope they lose that in future books.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new mystery novel via NetGalley and for introducing me to a new author. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
June 23, 2024
I’m going to start off by saying I listened to this audiobook; apparently the book is full of footnotes, and so I’m not sure if the experience of reading it might differ to listening. But more on that later.
Eleanor Dash is a best-selling author of a vacation mystery series, and one of her characters is based on real-life Connor Smith. Eleanor finds herself on a book tour with her sister/assistant Harper, her nemesis Connor, as well as several other authors. One happens to be an ex, Oliver. Connor begins to believe he is being targeted for murder, then Eleanor has some close calls, as other deaths occur around them. There are many suspects… the author and character Eleanor spends a lot of time suspecting everybody…
I’m a bit of an outlier from many reviewers who enjoyed this fun, fast paced book. I just found it a little overdone, the characters a bit stereotyped, but mostly I found Eleanor’s comments/footnotes to get irritating. She keeps making comments to the reader about “explaining more later”, “a character in my next book”, and even a chapter to remind what’s happened so far. This writing style tried to come off cute and endearing maybe, but I found it annoying. I actually skipped a couple chapters and increased the speed, because I was past the point to DNF, but I just wanted it to end.
Again, many readers rated this book highly, so if it sounds interesting I’d say give it a try. We all like different things, but I won’t be reading the next in this series.
Eleanor Dash is a best-selling author of a vacation mystery series, and one of her characters is based on real-life Connor Smith. Eleanor finds herself on a book tour with her sister/assistant Harper, her nemesis Connor, as well as several other authors. One happens to be an ex, Oliver. Connor begins to believe he is being targeted for murder, then Eleanor has some close calls, as other deaths occur around them. There are many suspects… the author and character Eleanor spends a lot of time suspecting everybody…
I’m a bit of an outlier from many reviewers who enjoyed this fun, fast paced book. I just found it a little overdone, the characters a bit stereotyped, but mostly I found Eleanor’s comments/footnotes to get irritating. She keeps making comments to the reader about “explaining more later”, “a character in my next book”, and even a chapter to remind what’s happened so far. This writing style tried to come off cute and endearing maybe, but I found it annoying. I actually skipped a couple chapters and increased the speed, because I was past the point to DNF, but I just wanted it to end.
Again, many readers rated this book highly, so if it sounds interesting I’d say give it a try. We all like different things, but I won’t be reading the next in this series.
May 12, 2024
At one point the MC, Eleanor, scribbled a note about creating a murder game. With all the footnotes* and meta folderol stuffed into every chapter, this did feel more like a game than a murder mystery.
While I often felt a pinch of stress from the pending hammer of doom, and muddy motivations had me tilting my head more often than a dog deciphering his two-legged friend’s mutterings, it was a fun, humorous read with a touch of romance thrown into the mix.
*For optimum enjoyment the audiobook might be a better choice. There were 1-3 footnotes per page in the eBook which meant a lot of tapping. In my copy the alternative was to check the end of the book where they were all lumped together. I compromised by picking and choosing which ones to read.
While I often felt a pinch of stress from the pending hammer of doom, and muddy motivations had me tilting my head more often than a dog deciphering his two-legged friend’s mutterings, it was a fun, humorous read with a touch of romance thrown into the mix.
*For optimum enjoyment the audiobook might be a better choice. There were 1-3 footnotes per page in the eBook which meant a lot of tapping. In my copy the alternative was to check the end of the book where they were all lumped together. I compromised by picking and choosing which ones to read.
October 31, 2023
What an original format, I’ve never read anything quite like this murder plot. There are meaningful chapter titles, footnotes, loads of clues and suspects, many motives, blackmail, jealousy, greed and revenge. Everything you could wish for in a quirky case. All of this on a trip with bunch of authors attending planned events at enviable tourist spots in Italy, drinking lots of wine and eating authentic regional cuisine. I didn’t much care who killed who, I was just there for the scenery and food!
Eleanor and her sister/Assistant, Harper, have traits in common yet, one is overlooked and one is famous. I felt like Harper has more to share and hopefully will grow more in the series. Connor is an X-lover and a disreputable taker, not a giver. This story is easy to follow with characters who are individually distinct. The protagonist is there hidden, easily identifiable, in the author’s annotations, depending on how invested you are in ferreting them out and if she isn’t lying. I surprised myself by not getting all hung up on figuring out who-dun-it and instead read for pure enjoyment, highly out of character for me. It was just fun to read! Can’t wait to see what comes next from this new author and for these crazy characters.
“Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies” (VACATION MYSTERY #1) by Catherine Mack is expected to be published April 30, 2024, by Minotaur Books. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.
Eleanor and her sister/Assistant, Harper, have traits in common yet, one is overlooked and one is famous. I felt like Harper has more to share and hopefully will grow more in the series. Connor is an X-lover and a disreputable taker, not a giver. This story is easy to follow with characters who are individually distinct. The protagonist is there hidden, easily identifiable, in the author’s annotations, depending on how invested you are in ferreting them out and if she isn’t lying. I surprised myself by not getting all hung up on figuring out who-dun-it and instead read for pure enjoyment, highly out of character for me. It was just fun to read! Can’t wait to see what comes next from this new author and for these crazy characters.
“Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies” (VACATION MYSTERY #1) by Catherine Mack is expected to be published April 30, 2024, by Minotaur Books. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.
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