This Weekend Doesn't End Well For Anyone

This latest book in the Vacation Mystery series finds Eleanor Dash in the Bahamas as one of the speakers at a Mystery writer conference. But murder continues to follow our main character when she and her boyfriend, Oliver arrive at their room and find a dead body. As the body count rises, the cast of mystery writers, ardent fans and people from Eleanor's past provide potential culprits for Eleanor to suss out. 

This series has a unique way of telling a mystery with Eleanor speaking to the reader as if they were mystery writer wannabes. It has a locked room vibe and is a clear extension of the previous books with several characters and storylines reappearing. [I strongly recommend reading these books in order!]

I liked this book but feel like the story was more complicated than it had to be. There were a lot of characters and previous storylines to keep track of and Eleanor's inner monologue and copious her footnotes kept popping me out of the mystery. The strengths of this book are in the tension (sibling and friend), lots of red herrings and fun pop culture references where the author can let her Swiftie side shine. Eleanor continues to be a flawed character with a snarky side, but it was Oliver, her cinnamon roll of a boyfriend, who stole the show for me.

This has been a cute series so far (and I adore the cover art and quirky titles). It's an intricately plotted mystery that gives a hearty nod to the bookish community and mad respect to famed mystery writers like Dame Agatha Christie. This irreverent cozy mystery series is a good pick for fans of Elle Cosimano's Finlay Donovan series and lovers of old school mysteries. 

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Minotaur Books for the complimentary digital copy of this book which was given in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Catherine Mack

Genre: Mystery, Canadian

Series: Vacation Mysteries 3

Publisher: Minotaur Books (St Martin's Press)

First Published: April 28, 2026

Read: April 1-6, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: 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.