A review by amateur_bookworm
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My summary: Ten years ago Eleanor met Connor, a dashing private investigator who turned out to be a con man, in Rome. They had a whirlwind romance and solved a high profile bank robbery case and a murder. Eleanor went on to write a novel based on the events and changed everyone’s name except for Connor’s—which led to Connor demanding (blackmailing? extorting?) a percentage of her advances and royalties. Now ten years later and writing her tenth book, Eleanor decides she’s going to kill off Connor—figuratively, of course—and finally be free of him. She just has to survive one last book tour trip with Connor in Italy. The only problem? It seems that someone else is already after him. 

My thoughts: This is likely the most lighthearted murder mystery you will ever read. I 100% picked it based on the title and cover and I was not disappointed at all. 

Written as first person narration, it feels like the author is telling you this story over a spritz. It is overall really fun and entertaining. It’s a fast read and the pages flew right by. I literally laughed out loud at times. It is the quintessential vacation read. 

I was super amused by all of the writer and book industry jokes. I have no idea how accurate it all is, but I’m going to say it is all completely true and there’s nothing you can say to convince me otherwise at this point. 

These footnotes. Absolutely hilarious and completely made the book for me. They are quirky and endearing and funny—but also made me want to chuck my e-reader across the room at first. (My copy was an unformatted ARC edition, so never fear, I’m sure they’ll be perfect once published.) But the footnotes grew on me quickly and soon became my favorite part. Dear Editor—please let her keep them! (If they’re really on the chopping block, I have no idea what is real or not real here.) (See, all of these parentheses could have been footnotes.)

I did receive an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions expressed here are my own. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings