This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone

The Vacation Mysteries #3

By Catherine Mack     

Author’s Website: catherinemackauthor.com

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

The third in the witty and captivating series following bestselling author Eleanor Dash, who once again has to swap her sun hat for her detective hat, when a body is found at a murder mystery writing conference in the Bahamas.
Eleanor Dash can never catch a break. Not only has she had to solve two real-life murder plots in the past year, but both times it was when she was meant to be on vacation. Now she’s finally got a ticket to a relaxing weekend—an all-inclusive resort at the Bahamas where she’s speaking at a conference for murder mystery writers—but she arrives to find a body on the floor of her hotel room. Because of course she does.

With plenty of familiar faces at the resort, any one of them could have been the intended target or the culprit behind it all. Was it Oliver Forrest, Eleanor’s dashing boyfriend who’s in danger of getting dropped by his publisher because his sales are dwindling? Or Connor Smith, Eleanor’s infuriating ex-lover-turned-bestselling-rom-com-author with a sordid past of his own? Or her sister Harper, whose own stilted writing career has been a sore point for years as Eleanor’s has soared? Perhaps it’s one of the other writers also in attendance, as friends, frenemies and foes from Eleanor’s past all seem to be invited to the island.

Surrounded by mystery writers who know all too well the many ways to craft the perfect crime, Eleanor is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and do whatever it takes to get out of this weekend alive. (Goodreads)

Review:

What can I say… This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone truly a good read which kept me engaged throughout – trying to figure out ‘whodunit’ as well as some wonderfully chuckle worthy moments. So what I can say is Thank you Catherine Mack (aka Catherine McKenzie) for penning such a delightful book! She is quickly becoming one of my top five Canadian cozy mystery writers.

Eleanor Dash is finally embarking on a vacation, of sorts. Eleanor has a ticket to an all-inclusive resort in the Bahamas where she’s speaking at a conference. But before and after – pure vacation. And she does deserve it after all, seeing as she recently solved not one but two murders in the last year! Knowing Eleanor’s luck though – what does she discover as she is shown to her hotel room – but a dead body! Oh my…

There is no shortage of possible suspects as the conference is filled with MANY people that Eleanor knows and have the wherewithal and knowledge about various ways to murder someone and get away with it. After all – they are mystery writers! The conference centres around learning to write a murder mystery. The book actually does walk the reader through how to structure a murder novel and the craft of writing. Very cool, actually.

I could get into more detail about who did what, why, and how that makes them a suspect or not – but I think each reader should discover all of this on their own. Suffice it to say that the path to the killer is fraught with curves and roadblocks. But never fear – Eleanor does figure it out in the end – in true cozy mystery fashion.

There is no shortage of footnotes (same for books one and two of the series), which add so much to the story – do NOT skip them if you can help it! They add valuable insight into Eleanor’s thought process, etc.

I loved the cover art. Reminds me of a few vacations and swim-up bars from my past 🙂

Not to sound like a broken record, but if you enjoy:

• trying to figure out ‘whodunit’;
• beach locations, vacation vibes; and
• a funny (or replace with quirky 🙂 ) main character;

then pick up a copy of This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone by Catherine Mack and get reading!

In fact – reading all three books in Catherine Mack’s Vacation Mysteries series is a definite must, in my opinion (backstory is helpful to know all the characters – though not 100% necessary), preferably on a beach with your favourite beach beverage of choice (FYI – mine is a lime margarita) and not in the company of mystery writers!