A brilliant whodunit set in the breathtaking scenery of lake Garda.
Robyn and her boyfriend Toby travel to Italy for his brother's wedding. There are rifts in the family and secrets, leading to tragedy on the day of the wedding.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and finished quickly as I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

Rating: 3.2/5

This is my second experience of Tom Hindle's writing, having previously read "The Murder Game". Although the plots and settings of the two books are quite distinct, they do share some very similar traits.

I was originally drawn to Tom Hindle's work by the fact that he cites Agatha Christie and Anthony Horowitz as his two main influences - and they just happen to be two of my favourite authors. As in "The Murder Game" there is clear evidence of the influence of these two aforementioned wordsmiths in "Murder on Lake Garda". Albeit that the time frame is a contemporary one, the backdrop and cast of characters is very much reminiscent of the kind that you might have expected to find in one of Dame Agatha's murder mysteries. Once again, Tom Hindle creates a well thought-out, but nonetheless complex plotline, which is very much a trademark of Anthony Horowitz.

I can definitely say that I enjoyed "Murder on Lake Garda", but another aspect that it shares in common with "The Murder Game" is that the pacing loses its way in the middle of the story. The opening third is quite "Christie-esque" and sets the scene well, while the final third clicks into gear again and provides a very satisfying unravelling and resolution to the mystery, but in the central block things become a touch stymied and overly pedestrian. Nonetheless, the overall impact is a positive one and I dare say I will return for Tom Hindle's next offering too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

A quick moving and easy to read murder mystery. A wedding is about to take place on an Italian island but the bride is late…..

Thee are a lot of rich guests on the island who are unpleasant, to say the least. And there is some kind of secret. And mafiosi.

It quickly becomes dark and dangerous for the main character, Robyn, who is attending with her boyfriend, Toby. Toby is the brother of the groom but is very much the black sheep of the family as he does not want to join the family business, the source of all the wealth. His family are all horrible characters so who would blame him?!

An enjoyable read. I did guess ‘whodunnit’ but not until near the end. I read a copy provided by NetGalley and the publishers but my views are my own.

I loved this author’s previous book, so was looking forward to this and I was not disappointed in any way. Tom Hindle has brought the plotting of the Golden Age up to date with this one being a clever take on a country house mystery, with a limited set of suspects. Plenty of sub plots and red herrings to keep you intrigued. I loved the protagonist and enjoyed the nastiness and self absorption of the other characters.

Tom Hindle's mysteries ( Fatal crossing) follow Agatha Christie's plot structures and are great fun to read. His latest, Murder at Lake Garda, which is coming in January 2024, is just as clever as Fatal crossing was, if not more so.

The Heywood family are celebrating their son's Laurence wedding to Eva, an influencer with a troubled track record and a bitch with an attitude, on island Castello Fiore at Lake Garda . Toby, his estranged brother and his girl friend Robyn get caught on the island with other guests when the wedding ceremony is cut short by a scream. Needless to say someone was murdered. Until the very end I had no idea whodunnit which is rare. Really enjoyed  the chief protagonist Robyn, a perfect escapist mystery.