Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

Laura Lippman's most recent novel, released in June of 2025, focuses on a character from her well loved Tess Monaghan series, which has 12 novels to date. It is a New York Times Best Beach Reads of Summer, Washington Post's Best Mysteries to Read this Summer, and on Chicago Tribune's Summer Books 2025 list. It is also an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense. It deals with body shaming and fatphobia, mentions of disordered eating, grief, murder and death, fire resulting in injury, and injury detail.

Everyone seems to think that Mrs. Blossom is incredibly lucky - she did find a lottery ticket in a parking lot that won her a huge pot. But she doesn't always feel lucky. In fact, she feels like she fades into the background, never noticed as life passes her by. It's why she was so good at doing surveillance for her old private investigator boss. So she is stunned and delighted when she meets a man on her way to Paris that seems interested in her, and he certainly has raised her interest. At the end of the night, they go their separate ways but Mrs. Blossom hopes that they can reconnect once they're both in the US again. Imagine her horror (and disappointment) when the man is found dead twenty-four hours later. She decides to unravel the mystery of what happened to him while enjoying a river cruise along the Seine.

I've not read anything by Laura Lippman before, so I was unfamiliar with Mrs. Blossom as a character. I found this book to be mostly charming. There were a few moments of annoyance as Mrs. Blossom focused overmuch on her weight and how people don't notice her and she did get a bit hostile to others at times, but for the most part she was likeable. The book set a good pace and never felt sluggish. I did feel that the plot was not particularly unique and I was frustrated that the main character took so long to figure out a major point, it did surprise me some at the end.

All in all, this was a fun read but I wouldn't expect too much from it. I'm giving Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman 3.75 out of 5. Cute and not very heavy, there's a reason it is on all those beach read lists.

For more from the author, see her website at https://lauralippman.com/

Pairs well with saffron pistachio blondies and still doing fun stuff when you are older.

My favorite quote: "One could imagine them in an ad for an erectile dysfunction medication."