Author: Catherine Mack

Genre: Mystery/Humorous Fiction

Publication Date: April 30, 2024 

Rating: ⭐⭐ (2/5)

Eleanor is a famous mystery writer. Her main character, Connor, is based on a real man she met on a trip several years before the book begins. He has blackmailed her into giving him part of her pay for the series, because his real name and likeness is used, and he is not cast in the best light (which suits his horrible personality). Eleanor never set out to be a writer, it just sort of happened for her. Eleanor’s sister always wanted to be a writer, but is not stuck as her sister’s assistant. A trip to Italy seems as though it might be Harper’s last hurrah before she quits working for Eleanor, and Eleanor is plotting to kill off Connor’s character in her next book and be done with him, and possibly with writing all together. 

I really struggled getting into this book. I thought as I continued reading, I would get more immersed in the plot, but it unfortunately never happened. It felt like I had been dropped into the middle of the story when the book opened. I actually went back and checked to see if there were earlier books in the series because it felt like there was a lot of backstory being casually mentioned without enough explanation and exploration. I found the footnotes throughout the story to be a distraction. They were funny, but as I was already struggling to focus on the storyline, I found them to be another thing that kept me from being able to fully engage in the plot.Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the author’s first book in what is supposed to be a new series. She has published several novels before this one under a different last name. If you are looking for a cozy mystery with quick chapters, this might be a book you would enjoy, but I found the lack of backstory too distracting to give this book a better rating.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.