Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for ARC.

Eleanor Dash, best selling novelist, is on a heavily hyped promotional tour in Italy, hoping to get inspiration for her next novel in a series in which her real life ex is a main character that her readers adore. He begins to believe his life is in danger, and strange things keep happening on the tour. The stakes get higher, there's a suspicious death and more.
It's very hard to keep this kind of light arch rom-com tone going over a whole novel. Mack does it admirably. While this is not my kind of book, I admire the skill that's gone into it and it fairly rollocks along. I'm not surprised that it's been optioned for TV, and if well handled it could be a must-watch. I can also imagine it being a great airplane/beach read for a wide audience.

I'm sorry to say that this book never arrived , despite asking for re send. Never mind. I should not give it stars as it was not read, but have to put something.

Amalfi coast, attempted murders and successful ones ... What's not to love? I can completely see this as a film or series in the vein of "Death and other details'. It's a fun, tongue in cheek poke at the publishing industry and the popularity of cozy murder books - the protagonist being a cozy murder series author, whose books are set in various beautiful locations in Europe. I liked the range of characters, although a couple of them felt a bit superfluous, but I guess you always have to have a few extra to make sure that you get misdirected every now and again. The author is telling a story, while dissecting the way a murder mystery is written, so it's quite meta in that sense, hence the wealth of footnotes (which are mostly just random thought from the main character, Eleanor, who is the author of the murder series, but not the author of this book ... Meta! But overall, I really enjoyed it. Kept me metaphorically turning the page and made me feel like I was on the Amalfi coast. Would recommend for a summer beach read.

A great read, funny light laugh out loud mystery. Really enjoyed it and found it hard to put down once I started.

A tour around Italy especially on the Amalfi coast must be worth dying for..........Eleanor and other authors along with book club fans start on a trip of a lifetime. It soon becomes apparent that Connor is being targeted as a victim and insists that someone is trying to kill him. Attempts are then made on Eleanor, can they both be victims although they do have history between them. Shek. another author is then murdered on a boat trip to Capri, was he the intended victim? Soon accusations are flying and everyone seems suspect it is everyone for themselves. Who and why is the intended victim/s able still alive? Eleanor put to use her skills as an author of mystery/murder books and soon all is revealed, many clues along the way from the start along with a few red herrings make for an interesting read for anyone who likes a good mystery.

Bestselling author Eleanor Dash is desperate to end the book series that made her famous. After basing her protagonist on Connor Smith, he's cashed in on her books ever since. Now she wants him out of her life - and her books - for good.

Intent on killing off Connor's literary counterpart, Eleanor, her sister, Connor, and an eccentric group of companions (including fellow authors, Eleanor's stalker, and an ex-boyfriend) depart on a book tour along the Amalfi coast. While on this tour, Eleanor discovers someone is trying to bump off the real-life Connor Smith. But does she really want to prevent his death when it would solve so many of her problems?

EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION SOMEONE DIES was a light, funny, enjoyable read, perfect for fans of cosy mysteries. I am a HUGE fan of book/writer/author themed books and this one ticked a lot of my boxes. Eleanor's narration is quippy and fun and there's lots to follow and keep track of as per cosy mystery tradition.

One of my favourite features of this book was the mixed media sections, including notes left by Eleanor to herself on her plans for her next - and final - book and an innumerable number of footnotes which gave us more of a window into Eleanor's head. These did sometimes overstay their welcome and became a bit tricky to keep track of, personally, at times but overall they were a fun addition that I'd love to see utilised more! I'm a big fan of meta, fourth-wall breaks so it was great, but maybe a little more balanced would have suited me better.

I did find the pacing sagged a little bit towards the middle and for me, I wanted a bit more propulsion and there were sections where not much was really happening. The mystery itself kept me hooked and guessing and I enjoyed the twists and turns and eventual reveal.

On the whole, EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION SOMEONE DIES is a fun and entertaining read that I'm glad I sat down with and enjoyed. I would definitely be interested in coming back for the next one and seeing what the characters do next.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance e-reader copy!

I've just finished reading this book and I really am not sure what to think about it.
It was not bad, but I really don't know what it actually was.
I mean, it was fun, really. But the more I read, the more was I, what the actual is it? Speaking to the reader has confused me immensely, I think it's not a thing I enjoy in my books, or maybe I do, but not in this one? I simply feel overwhelmed with everything in this book, it was too much.
The footnotes in a kindle read are, sadly, not such a good idea, you have to flip right and left all the time.

There were a lot of characters but the author has given each of them a very distinctive voice, although I am still not sure who Emily was. What kept me reading, I think, is that I wanted to see who did it and all the unexpectedly funny moments and dialogues. Because altogether, the story dragged on and felt repetitive and there is something that I can't put my finger on that didn't let me get completely into this story, to like it.

It was not bad, but it was not for me.

I quite enjoyed this read! Easy to end, funny, a good plot and not too taxing. Set in Italy which is always pleasant. The footnotes were very difficult to read on. Kindle in time with the book - hopefully this would make more sense in paperback?

When Eleanor's publishers send her and some of her peers on a 10th anniversary trip to Italy with some lucky fans, it becomes clear that there is a killer amongst the group, but can she suss out who it is, before she is the next victim?

What a brilliant book, I was hooked instantly by the protagonist's witty charm and yeah I'm writing the review on Goodreads about it. I couldn't put the book down, I was so immersed in the story that I wanted to add the books Eleanor had written to my TBR list haha. If I could I would have.

The story moves at a great pace, with just the right amount of characters to be able to keep track of.

I cannot wait for another book in this series, this wonderful dark comedy was an absolute joy to read.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is the first book in the new cozy The Vacation Mysteries series. 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 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.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is a great fun,

The story is entertaining, the characters are really well developed and lifelike. The main characters are likeable. smart, funny and fun to read about.
It is a sort of a locked room mystery with very colorful characters. While there are a lot of them they are so distinct that I had no problem following along.

I loved the setting of a beautiful Italy and the breathtaking scenes mentioned in the book. I would love to go there and visit the places mentioned. I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of going on a book tour. It is an absolute thrill.

I also enjoyed a bit of romance which didn't deter from the story but added to the flair of it.

I had issues with the layout and footnotes and how inconveniently they were presented. I had real trouble remembering what they refered to and going back to look them up was anoying.
I also enjoyed first person narrative and breaking the fourth wall, it was well done and refreshing.

I higly recommend it.

This book was a slightly slow start then it clicked and I couldn’t get enough of it, it’s fun, it’s about an author and there is lots of name dropping and behind the scenes of writing and if that isn’t enough it’s set in Italy and so there is amazing settings, food and drinks, I now to try a lemon spritz 🍋. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. ( the footnotes annoyed me to start until I realised that they are all part of the story, maybe easier to read in book form than my kindle edition)

This is what I'd describe as an easy 'beach read'. It's not too taxing and us very entertaining. The one thing I didn't enjoy was all the footnotes. The author chose this style to impart extra bits of info but I began to find it slightly annoying. As I was reading the e-book I was constantly having to page forward and back to read the notes at appropriate points which got a bit wearing after a while. Good story and an easy read. It wasn't a book I found particularly memorable though.

I recently delved into this cosy summer mystery. While I found aspects of it enjoyable, it ultimately reminded me why this genre doesn't quite align with my personal preferences. The storyline felt somewhat predictable to me, although I can certainly understand how devoted fans of the genre would appreciate its appeal.

The pacing was a bit sluggish for my liking. However, I was drawn to the central theme of the main character being an author, which added an interesting layer to the narrative. Each character within the story possessed a unique quality, and I relished the opportunity to become acquainted with them. There seems to be ample potential for further exploration of the characters in subsequent series instalments.

Overall, I wouldn't categorise this as a poor read by any means, and I'm confident that many readers will discover it to be a fantastic literary experience. For me personally, it fell into the realm of being just an okay read.

An easy and quite entertaining read. I liked the characters and the plot kept me reading to the end but ultimately it is not a book I would rave about or particularly recommend.
There were a number of typos/spelling mistakes in the ebook, which, whilst being distracting, were not as annoying or distracting as the constant footnotes, I appreciate that this was a deliberate choice/writing style for the author but I did not like it and feel most of the footnotes could have been incorporated into the narrative or omitted because they were simply unnecessary.
If you want a light, easy read to take on holiday this book will do the job but it’s not one that will remain with you for long after.

I had a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed this light mystery. Well plotted, solid mystery and likeable characters
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I enjoyed this book, the story was an easy read, which made me laugh out loud a few times.
The characters were likeable & the location and description of the places was good. I felt like I was there. I've been to most of the towns so it was good to be able to picture it.
The footnotes made it slightly more difficult to read, stopped it flowing.
But all in all, a good summer read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun cosy crime mystery that has a cast of unlikeable authors on a book tour in Italy. Resentments, rivalries and betrayal abound when this group are thrown together on a sight seeing tour along with a group of readers that have won a competition. This was a fun read, perfect for sitting by the pool in the sun. I could visualise this as a TV drama as the narrator often speaks to the reader with asides on the characters and her thoughts on the suspects. A nice easy book to enjoy.

I really enjoyed this, a nice easy to read cosy mystery that is perfect for packing ion your case and taking on holiday.

I enjoyed that the core group of characters is quite small, so not lots of information to retain. I like that this book is different and the author breaks the fourth wall to talk to the audience throughout the book, it wasn't jarring at all, it seemed to really fit the casual vibe of book.

Really pleased that this will be a series

I liked Eleanor. Punchy and feisty, she initially seems quite comfortable being a best-selling crime novelist. I found it endearing that she didn’t take herself, or her profession, too seriously. But as the story unfolds, we learn her apparently offhand attitude to the world is a veneer stapled on to hide some major emotional wounds. She and her sister unexpectedly lost their parents when teenagers – and they both had to grow up fast in order to survive. Eleanor also had a particularly traumatic love affair, where she was badly betrayed by someone who she’d trusted and cared deeply about. Worse, the man in question is still in her life – in fact, he’s inextricably caught up in her success, whether she wants him around or not.

She’s now celebrating ten years of having been published and is working on the tenth book of the series. And the Publicity Department at her publishing house has pulled out all the stops and put together a book tour in Italy. She is being accompanied by several other crime authors and a selection of some of her most committed fans, who won a competition to be able to also take part in the tour. But almost from the first, things start going badly wrong…

We have a satisfying pool of suspects alongside Eleanor, as first another member of the group is convinced he’s being targeted. But Eleanor gradually comes to believe she is the actual victim as various members of the group come under attack.

What sets this one apart, is Mack’s willingness to strip away the fourth wall and talk directly to her readers about the mechanics of how a successful crime novel works. As an author, I didn’t find the details revealed particularly jarring as I’m aware of the ploys being used to keep the pages turning. It was a refreshing spin – I particularly appreciated Mack’s discussion of Agatha Christie’s books.

I got to the denouement at the same time that Eleanor realises who the culprit is and found I was thoroughly rooting for her. All in all, this is an enjoyable, well-executed murder mystery with lots of charm – though I’d recommend the audiobook as apparently the footnotes are far more successful in that format. While I obtained an arc of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10