Book Review: Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies | Catherine Mack

Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.

Where do I start? I loved this book! Catherine Mack’s new novel, Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies, is fresh, funny, engaging, and has a unique narrative style that I instantly fell in love with. This is a book for mystery readers, mystery writers, and really anyone who loves books and wants to get inside of an author’s head. You won’t regret adding this to your to-be-read list!

What is Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies about?

Bestselling mystery author Eleanor Dash has arrived in Italy for her latest book tour, and she’s prepared to use this vacation to plot how to kill Connor Smith (in her books).

Not only is Connor Smith the main character in her bestselling Vacation Mysteries series, but he’s also her real-life ex-boyfriend and apparently a conman. Connor spent the last ten years (and last ten books) blackmailing Eleanor for a portion of her book sales.

He’s made the case that she based the character off of him and a real-life bank robbery they solved the last time they were in Italy, so he’s entitled to a portion of her earnings. He also has something he’s holding over Eleanor’s head that makes her continue to pay him. Eleanor is willing to kill off the character of Connor Smith in her own series if it means finally being free of the real-life Connor Smith.

But it turns out that while they are on the book tour in Italy (yes, the publisher brings him, too), it seems someone else is trying to kill him too, but in real life. Did Eleanor manifest this into existence?

There’s a whole crew full of motives along for the ride, including Eleanor’s sister and personal assistant who is not happy Eleanor stole her career, literary competitors who are competing for sales and budget, rabid fans, a stalker, another woman Connor used to be involved with, and another of Eleanor’s exes, Oliver. Can Eleanor figure out who is trying to get away with murder?

What did I think?

I’ll shout it from the rooftops—I loved this book! It’s fun, smart, unique, and completely engrossing. This is one of those books that is definitely funny, but it’s in a clever, well-crafted way rather than over-the-top or silly. There are plenty of humorous comments, but it’s really the overall narrative the reader gets directly from Eleanor that make this book so wonderful.

I’ve seen people compare this book to the Finlay Donovan books and I absolutely understand the comparison, but I personally found them to be quite different in tone. The Finlay books are great, but they are more silly than they are funny. In contrast, ETIGOVSD (let’s abbreviate for space) has a drier sense of humor that appealed to me (think Listen for the Lie in terms of humor style) and was narratively quite different in style and tone.

What is that unique narrative style I keep referencing?

One of my favorite parts of the book was the way it was narrated in the second person to the reader through footnotes. Eleanor is telling the story of what’s happening directly to the reader, and interjects her own story for commentary, context, and to engage the reader in the process of solving the mystery.

After reading this (and particularly doing the audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Evans), I feel confident saying Eleanor and I are close friends. We solved a mystery together! And I’d imagine this is a feeling most readers will have. Eleanor isn’t just telling the story to us, she’s pausing the story to discuss it with us. Sometimes this is done through footnotes to the reader, and other times we get whole chapters.

These second-person narrations tied back to the process of writing and the structure of mystery novels. For instance, Eleanor may pause to talk through the start of act three, and what that should entail. She asks us to be the one to solve the mystery. Sometimes she deep dives the suspect list and why we should or shouldn’t consider someone as a suspect (including her!). She may also fill us in on background information (she finally tells us what the thing is that Connor is holding over her head, for instance).

All of these kept pulling me in, as though I was sitting with Eleanor during a storyboarding exercise (if she did those, which she is very clear she unfortunately is not that type of writer) or chatting over a few lemon spritzes and a delectable bowl of cacio a pepe. Throughout her dialogue with the reader, Eleanor drops in tidbits about her thought process, her inspiration, and other great literary works.

At one point a fellow writer says to her “Goodreads is the worst” to which Eleanor adds the footnote to the reader, “Also known as MeanReads among authors, it’s a site that lets people review books they haven’t even read.” She’s not wrong! I loved these peeks into how authors work, think, and feel about their work and the parasocial relationships readers form with them.

How are the side plots?

There’s so much to love in this book! The sister-relationship between Eleanor and Harper is a wonderful and emotional part of the story. Harper dreamed of being a writer, but Eleanor is the one who nearly accidentally achieved that dream. Harper is now Eleanor’s assistant and there is definitely a lot to work out between these two, despite their close bond.

Connor is a constant, infuriating presence in the story. Like Eleanor, I wanted to roll my eyes at everything he did, but there is something that makes it hard to hate him despite how he treated her. Eleanor seems to agree. For you romance readers, there’s also a romance plot between Eleanor and her ex-boyfriend Oliver. I won’t go into details, but there could be a second chance at love for these two, if they can work through their issues!

What’s different between the physical book and the audiobook?

The audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Evans drops those comments directly in where they are referenced, rather than at the end of the chapter. This made the story read seamlessly from Eleanor’s perspective, rather than as a novel with footnotes. I loved both, but I think the audiobook brings the story to life. Elizabeth Evans captures Eleanor’s personality and tone, and the format made the whole book feel like a conversation between Eleanor and the reader (or listener).

If you’re on the fence, I’d say do the audiobook!

Final Thoughts (TLDR)

I cannot recommend this book enough! In terms of genre, this is probably closest to a cozy mystery, though I could also label it as a literary mystery. The tone is light and the main character is wry and witty in her commentary. Eleanor has a self-awareness that she shares with the reader that makes her infinitely likeable, even when she is doing or has done questionable things.

The mystery is gripping and the reader gets all of the clues to solve it along the way, with Eleanor’s coaching. I loved the romance subplot between Eleanor and her ex, Oliver. I wanted them to make it work! The narrative format is clever and fresh, and the audiobook narration truly brought it to life. An absolute delight!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copies. Opinions are my own.

If you liked Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies, what should you read next?

Is there something familiar about the author, Catherine Mack?

I found out when I was already halfway through that the author Catherine Mack is actually a new pen name for this specific mystery (and mystery series, if we can trust her main character, Eleanor on the two follow up stories she has to tell already) for the incredible, bestselling thriller author, Catherine McKenzie. This is a new style of book from Catherine McKenzie, and I loved seeing that she brought the same intricate plotting and expert writing to explore a light-hearted mystery! With a lot more humor and a different style and tone from her other books, I can see why she published this under a slightly different name. Authors do this regularly so that readers aren’t surprised when they pick up a book and it’s different than what they are used to.

About the Author

Catherine 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.