Entertaining, humour filled murder mystery filled with bookish people!

I loved the premise of this book even though it'd never happen in real-life! Our FMC/narrator is an author with an axe to grind against the inspiration for her best-selling books - hence why she wants to kill him off (in literature only!) She regularly breaks that fourth wall and talks directly to the reader. There are footnotes that give further information/descriptions too.

Eleanor is essentially trapped with said muse, a busload of fans and rival authors and a serious stalker! Add to the mix an ex she actually likes and this woman has a lot to contend with. But when the bodies start to drop, Eleanor is perfectly placed to find the killer.

Eleanor is cranky, frustrated, funny and determined. She holds Connor in some serious contempt and can't wait to bump him off like Arthur Conan Doyle did with Sherlock Holmes. Harper is great as her put upon assistant and sister. Oliver, dreamboat ex and possible renewed love. But there is no real romance, the murder mystery takes centre stage.

I can completely see why this series has been snapped up for TV as it would totally work as a mystery tv show and I'd definitely watch it!

American authoress Eleanor and her younger sister Harper, both in their thirties, and her ex-partner-turned-her-blackmailer Connor are on a guided book promotion tour to Italy, together with a few rival authors. Tempers run high while they explore the city and meet their fan readers‘ groups on daytrips in the region of Rome.

Written by self-declared best-selling American authoress Catherine Mack, the book attempts to be humorous, mostly by encorporating 237(!) meant-to-be-funny numbered footnotes, a rather annoying ‚gag’ that hems following the flow of this erratic story massively.

A perfect vacation read for me! I picked this up for the title and synopsis and the book does absolute justice!

I loved the style of writing and narration method. It is also extremely witty and gave me an insight immediately into the main character and the key protagonists in a fun manner. The book in a book story was extremely enjoyable to read. I especially loved the setting and the romcom element while being a thriller. The book also manages to be funny while we try to figure out what's happening. An amazing combination! Absolutely looking forward to more books in the series!

Thank you Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies really appealed to me from the cover as well as the title and blurb. I'm always enthusiastic about books about books/authors. The Italian setting also really appealed to me as I spent my semester abroad there. But unfortunately the book just wasn't for me. I somehow couldn't get excited about the characters at all. The protagonist is an author and constantly breaks through the 4th wall, which could work really well in itself, but it's somehow so exhausting to read here. There are also soooo many footnotes and I find that so awful. The constant reading, jumping to the footnote and then reading on threw me out of the story every time. It really made me lose interest in the story. The footnotes, the protagonist and the story are just a bit too ‘quirky’ for me. But I think this book will definitely find fans. Anyone looking for a fun, quirky summer read will definitely be delighted here.

If you are looking for a quick, entertaining and humorous read, then look no further! Eleanor Dash, a successful author, is on tour along with Connor, her partner in crime )and the main character in her books), her sister and other authors from the same publishers. Eleanor fancies a change and as they travel across Italy, she plots how to kill off Connor in her next book however, someone is plotting to kill him in real life ...
At the same time as sharing the story, Catherine Mack gives a clever insight into the writer's craft which adds an extra level to the plot. In addition, to the story, there are also additional footnotes - I found these quite entertaining to start with however after a while gave up on them, without affecting the telling of the plot.

Loved it ! Funny and quick, and glamorous- this is a perfect summer read !

The characters are witty and charming- nothing not to enjoy!

🌞 🔪 Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies - Catherine Mack 🩸 🏝️

For fans of The White Lotus, Knives Out/Glass Onion and good old Agatha…

A murder mystery - a classic genre but with a difference. The protagonist is an author - Eleanor who has written ten incredibly successful books is on a book tour she’s really not that arsed about being on. Her stalker’s there, so are two of her exes, her sister, and some other awkward and…. challenging characters from her past.

Her ridiculous ex is convinced someone’s trying to kill him and won’t shut up about it. Everyone’s dismissive at first, but then people start meeting their demise and nobody can figure out why…. Until they do.

This is a refreshing and funny take on the standard whodunnit format. Eleanor is real and likeable and talks directly to the reader throughout the book in an interesting format (there are lots of coded messages throughout). Another thing that was great is that we get recaps of what happened already which I’ve never seen done before in such a simple and refreshing way.

The twist was a great one too!

Read this before the TV adaptation is released, it’s a great one… especially if you’re taking a trip to Italy any time soon and have any big fat secrets you’re hiding!


Reading method: Kindle -ARC. Provided in exchange for an honest review.
Perspective: 1st Person
Genre: Crime, Mystery
Length: 406 pages
Would I read again?: Yes
Recommended?: Yep!

✨RATING 4/5✨

#cozyreaders #cosyreaders #bookworm #booksnug #booktok
#ukbookstagram #tbr #murdermystery #catherinemack #funreads #mysterybooks #nellereadsthings

To be upfront I DNF at 7%. I was enticed by the front cover and the comment that it had 'knives out' vibes. I see from Good Reads that there is another cover (US version?) and if it had that cover I wouldn't have tried the book and it gives away more of the rom-com flavour that isn't for me. I like a cosy mystery but this didn't hit the mark. I also really disliked all the footnotes as I felt alienated as an e-reader user as they weren't displayed on the same page and by the time I got to them I forgot what they were referring to. I've seen from other reviews that this isn't an issue with the audiobook.

This story is so unique in the way it’s written. Catherine, the author, leaves footnotes the reader to get a better insight into how Eleanor, the author in the story, really thinks. I did find the footnotes a little confusing at first but soon got used to them and enjoyed how they helped tell the story. I will say the group of characters aren’t the most likeable but I believe that’s intentional. There are lots of humorous moments within what I would describe as a cosy crime book. I didn’t find myself desperately wanting to reach for this book but in all it was an easy read. I’m not sure I’d reach for the next instalment as I enjoy a much faster paced book. However if you are looking for a slower paced, easy read then I’d say this is a great book for that.

In this fun and fast-paced novel, we follow murder-mystery author Eleanor Dash as she heads off on a planning trip to Italy for her next novel. As this is tenth in the series, her publisher has made it into more of an event and she has 20 of her biggest fans (including possibly a stalker and Eleanors muse/ex-lover) along for the trip. Along with her assistant, who also happens to be her sister, it isn't long before suspicions are abound that someone is plotting something, and not necessarily fictional.

This was a easy read with the main character talking directly to the reader making it interesting!

Does making a real person into a character make them love you or want you dead? Or make you want them dead? Does it depend on their payment? Ten years ago, in Rome, Eleanor (El) helped her lover Connor, a private detective, solve a series of bank robberies. I the flush of excitement following this, and completely to her own surprise, she wrote a book about it all, fictionalising everyone except Connor; her hero. The book became a runaway best seller, and she was contracted to write nine more (one per year) featuring Connor, because that’s what the readership wants – in fact to them he is more famous than she is. She has an agreement whereby he receives a percentage of her royalties, but this is not a publisher’s requirement, it’s more a subtle blackmail payment. To celebrate the upcoming tenth book (which El has not written, or even plotted, or even outlined) the publisher has sent her back to Italy on a nine-day tour. To get the most publicity out of this event, her sister (and PA), Harper, a few other authors, Connor, and ten members of her (or should that be his) fan-club are included in the ‘package’. El hates Connor by this stage, and is intending to kill him (the character that is) in book ten, once she’s worked out how to do that. But her thoughts are pre-empted when he tells her that he’s in deep trouble, under threat of death, and that he has been saved from one attempt already. And then evidence suggests that she is also a target.
This is a fairly standard murder-mystery, in that we have a target, a raft of suspects, and a restricted environment (well fairly restricted in that they all have to continue on the trip when, logically, they should hightail it back to the USA). It isn’t that difficult to work out the plot. The style is light-hearted (some might call it “cosy” but it doesn’t fit my definition of that genre). The cast of characters are all quite well differentiated and the general language and descriptive sections are well written. There are, however, a number of features making this a work of metafiction: the author inserts over 200 footnotes ‘explaining’ the writing process and other expansions, and on occasion talks directly to the reader, even challenging them on how they are progressing. The former device is interesting in that it reveals a lot about the main characters and their background , the latter I liked for what it added to the character of El. Overall, it’s hard to judge where we are here, as a basic murder-mystery it’s around 3.5; as an entertainment it’s probably around 4 and a bit. I make that a 4 overall.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

This was a fun, light read with bubbly plot twists. I can’t imagine what it’s like to think you have found your soulmate, only to end up being blackmailed by him, but, this is what our heroine faces, that, and looming book dilemmas with a dash of murder thrown in.
I enjoyed this, I liked the setting and the premise however, personally, found the footnotes a little too much and I couldn’t quite believe how long the MC spent being extorted by Connor.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the chance to read this ARC, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The title of this book drew me in. A quick read and interesting idea a sort of book within a book. Interesting ending but I have to agree with other reviewers the footnotes don't work on ereaders and just distract. Interesting how a trip to Italy inspired the book and for me bought back memories of holidays long ago. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

This one wasn't a favourite unfortunately. From the synopsis, it is something I'd usually love, but I found myself disliking the main character from pretty much the get go. I also thought that the writing was a bit cringy for the subject matter. I just didn't like th way the characters communicated. It also took a while to get to the point IMO.

10 days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies……… one trip to die for…

In this book we follow Eleanor Dash, best selling author of a series of Vacation Mysteries. She is on the 10th @anniversary tour of her 1st book. The 1st book was based on her trip to Italy where she got involved with handsome Connor Smith and together they investigated a series of bank robberies and helped the police catch the criminals. Eleanor used this to write her 1st Vacation mystery and since then has written 9 more books with the same lead character. However she has now had enough and has decided to kill of the main man. But suddenly real life throws a curve ball as it seems someone really is trying to kill off Connor. Who and why? This is what Eleanor and the rest of the group on their tour begin to investigate together. Things take a turn when one of them ends up dead and the police become involved.
Can Eleanor find the perpetrators before it’s too late?

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The humour, the style of writing and the narrative all worked well together.
I am seriously looking forward to reading more (I do hope the series really comes out)

I have to admit I was drawn to the title - what an excellent book to be reading on the beach. But I stayed for the story. Eleanor is an accidental author who feels as though she's stolen her sister's lifelong dream by becoming published and famous. She's currently on the 10th book of her contract for a series of books including the hero Connor Smith - but the real-life Connor Smith is someone she is desperate to get away from and during this Italian book tour Eleanor is trying to find a way to write him out of her story. Then Connor tells her someone is trying to kill him - should she believe him? A series of misfortunes unfold around the book tour group - a group of authors who are all linked to Eleanor's original story - including the one who has copied her plots and the man who she regrets hurting in the past - and all have reasons to want Connor and/or Eleanor dead. Can Eleanor (and the reader) solve the mystery before someone ends up dead? (Spoiler: someone ends up dead - but who did it?)

With thanks to #PanMcMillan and #netgalley for early access to this book in return for an honest reveiw.

I enjoyed this book. It has lots of humours parts, and was a very easy read.
The main character shares her dialogue direct with the reader, which I enjoyed, and made me feel more involved in the story.
The murder aspect added another dimension to the story, and made me more intrigued and wanted to find out the end of the story.
The main aspect of the story is a writer being sent on a tour of Italy along with some other Authors. There were lots of light hearted moments, and I wanted to know more of the background story of some of the characters, which I felt could be explored more.

This book was very light to read, but it just didn't really grab me in the way I thought it would do, and I wasn't particularly in a rush to finish it. That being said, I did really like the main character, and there was fun, murder, and romance, but it wasn't OTT or to the detriment of the storyline!
Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced reader copy

I really struggled with this book. The footnotes were really distracting and I didn't like the writing style stall which made it incredibly difficult to get into the story.

Oh dear!
I wanted to like this but I couldn't.
The story is probably a 3 out of 5.
The footnotes drag that down to 1 out of 5.

What was the editor thinking to let this writer do something so awful?

Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies is an OK mystery that's thoroughly spoiled by the extreme affectation of hundreds of footnotes.
In a paperback format they'd probably be easier to ignore but on Kindle, they are annoying, distracting, and I had to really force myself to keep going.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers but please, don't let her do this again with the footnotes. Sometimes a writer needs to be saved from themself.