I love a good murder mystery and The Murder Game doesn't disappoint. It has all the elements of a great Poirot but without the man himself!
The very quaint village of Hamlet sent in the Devon seaside stands the lighthouse and hotel called Hamlet Wick.
Picture perfect, somewhere that everyone wants to live.
Until twelve years ago a seven your old boy called Will discovers a local man Rory murdered on the beach.
The murder has haunted Will ever since especially as the murderer was never caught.

That isn't the end on the tragedy as years before when a thirteen your old boy called Teddy fell to his death from the top of the local lighthouse everyone pointed the finger at Damion White a local that soon left to go to university in London with Rory.
Will and hotel manager Ian decide to host a murder mystery event on New Year's Eve and low and behold a real murder takes place!
But who is holding back on secrets past and who will end up being murdered?

Will Cooper has written a storyline for a murder mystery dinner that is being held at Hamlet House, the hotel where he works.
When the participants gather in the dining room, the last to arrive is Damien White and his daughter Lily. Damien is a former resident of Hamlet, but left a long time ago and is not popular with the locals due to his proposed redevelopment of the local lighthouse. Noses are out of joint at the dinner as some of those people had other plans for the lighthouse. When he is found murdered, everyone is a suspect.
PC Natalie Lay attends and sees the opportunity to try and make a name for herself. It's New Year's Eve and backup with take time. She remembers Will from 12 years previously when, as a small boy, he discovered the body of a man on the beach near the lighthouse. With no clues to who is the killer, she homes in on Will considering him the weakest link and possibly the killer due to similar method of killing in his storyline to what has happened to Damien.
I enjoyed this and loved the Agatha Christie type vibe.

A second fabulous tale from Tom Hindle, really enjoyed it. A New Year's Eve murder mystery party in a small rural town, secrets, lies and old rivalries all come to the surface. The clues are there for the reader to solve and whilst I don't usually work it out before the reveal, I did in this one. If you enjoy a well written murder mystery then I hihgly recommend his first one, A Fatal Crossing, and also this one. Definitely an author to look out for.

I enjoyed what I read of this more than the author's debut, A Fatal Crossing, because it felt more focused and more clearly plotted. There are a lot of characters and perspectives though, which I was struggling to keep on top of, but this may have improved had I continued to read. However I decided not to finish reading (DNF).

My main reason for DNFing is because the premise is inaccurate, although my knowledge of this only comes from my career as a Town Planner. Essentially, there's upset in a Devon village when the lighthouse is to be developed by a local developer who left for London as a teen and has returned; he is hugely unpopular because he 'stole' the planning permission for development from a popular local, head of the tourist information. It's impossible to steal a planning permission, it belongs the building, not to people. My other issue, that the local council is believed to have been bribed by the developer to give him the planning permission, comes across as lazy plotting that bashes 'corrupt' local authorities. Councils can grant two planning permissions for the same building, but ownership of the building would decide who undertook the approved development, not the council.

I appreciate my standpoint as a local authority planner, won't be most readers, but I struggle where the key premise of a novel's plot is impossible. I understand it's fiction, but it has a contemporary setting that otherwise felt realistic and this unbelievable premise, which could have been identified in editing spoilt my enjoyment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, this book has everything a reader could wish for in a murder mystery novel. I will definitely be recommending.

I picked this book as an easy read after some pretty heavy recent reads and it didn’t disappoint.
The storyline was exciting, the characters were likeable and I enjoyed the suspense throughout. It read well and all loose ends were tied. I really enjoyed the writers scene setting and felt like I was watching the story unfold rather than reading. It had me turning pages waaaay longer than I should have and I genuinely couldn’t put it down for wanting to see what happened next.
Fiction isn’t my usual go to but this was an absolute gem and I will definately be looking for future and past books from the author.

New author for me and although the basis of the story is a classic - people all in a remote hotel for New Year and then they begin to be murdered off - I really enjoyed the book. I did guess the who before the end but not the why and so it has a good twist to it. I would certainly read something from this author again.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

Very enjoyable country house murder mystery, in a modern Agatha Christie style. Nice and pacy, and good reveal at the end.

This book is a classic whodunnit.

A selection of guests gather together to play a murder mystery game, but the evening takes a turn when one of the guests is murdered for real.

Plenty of clues scattered throughout and pleasingly solvable for the astute reader.

A perfect puzzle mystery from the golden era, set in the modern day.

This wasa very tense Murder/Mystery, when, to boost the income of a failing hotel they hold a Find The Murderer Evening., with a good meal and plenty of drinks beforehand. Unbeknownst to the participants there is a dangerous current running through the preceedings. Unexplained things both past and present come to life with disastrous results. I really enjoyed reading this and after various twists, there was a satisfying conclusion.

The Murder Game by Tom Hindle
I read the authors first novel, The Fatal Crossing, and enjoyed it. It is a version of the locked room mystery. This new book is a variation on a similar theme. It’s New Year’s Eve and a murder mystery party is being held at Hamlet Hall hotel, an isolated hotel with an owner on need of revenue and guests. It is located in a remote area of North Devon where there is inevitably no phone signal. There are eight guests, all with secrets of their own. These secrets all seem to be linked to the discovery of a body on a beach over 20 years ago.
Then an unexpected guest, Damian White, arrives with his daughter in tow. He is the man who is threatening their livelihoods and their peace through the building of a large housing estate close to their homes. A murder mystery event has been planned and when everyone takes their positions ready to commence the game they find Damian is missing. When they do locate him, he is dead from a blow to his head. Is someone taking revenge for what happened on the beach 20 years previously? I did find it somewhat surprising that Damian’s daughter, a rich and successful young woman had nothing else planned for New Year’s Eve and was able to accompany her father without any prior notice.
Many thanks to the author, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

This crime novel employs a familiar device from the golden age of crime: a country house murder mystery. The guests and staff of a hotel are cut off with no telephone after one of their number is murdered. In keeping with the tradition, everyone present has a motive for killing a late arrival, Damien White, none more than Ian, the organiser of the event who wants closure after finding the body of a murder victim whilst still a child. To further complicate the plot, this is not the only suspicious death that has happened by the sea at Hamlet Wick, an isolated North Devon town, and it soon becomes obvious that all of those present have some connection with these past deaths. After the arrival of a police officer to investigate the killing, the group find themselves cut off with a killer still in their midst. I found the characters a little one-dimensional despite the complex storyline and I had worked out who the killer was very early on. This was an enjoyable read but could have been better with greater characterisation.

This was a brilliant locked room murder mystery very much in the style of Agatha Christie. A party of guests assemble at a local hotel for a murder mystery game together with the three actors who are there to supply clues when needed. Of course, one of the guests shortly ends up dead and the murder game suddenly becomes real.

I loved the collection of characters that were gathered in the hotel. None of them were particularly likeable but that made them more lifelike and believable for me. The murder and the whole idea of the murder game are rooted in past events and these are gradually revealed to the reader and we slowly get to see the whole story.

The setting of the hotel and the coastal was atmospheric and the isolation was a key part of the plot. The tension built up steadily to an exciting climax and although I had worked out the identity of the killer, I was still really invested in how the story all worked out.

I enjoyed this one even more than last year’s The Fatal Crossing and am eagerly looking forward to Tom Hindle’s next book already.
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House UK for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.2/5

I missed out on Tom Hindle's debut offering, " A Fatal Crossing" , but I was keen to read his second novel, "The Murder Game". I was attracted not only by the appealing premise, which has a very definite "Golden Age" locked room murder mystery vibe, but also by the fact that Tom Hindle lists Agatha Christie and Anthony Horowitz as his major influences - two writers whose work I adore.

There is certainly plenty to like about "The Murder Game" and the influence of those aforementioned authors is plainly evident. There is a nice prologue to set the scene and introduce the key protagonists in true "Golden Age" mystery fashion. The setting, too, is very Christie-esque and I liked the way the author made use of a 1920s themed murder mystery game to create a mystery within a mystery. Not only did this allow homage to be paid to that classic era, but it also reminded me of the technique employed by Anthony Horowitz in his "Magpie Murders" and "Moonflower Murders" books. It won't escape fans of Horowitz that there is something of a "Midsomer Murders" feel to this story too.

I could also sense the hand of Anthony Horowitz in Tom Hindle's structure. Horowitz is a master of creating quite complex plotlines that always pull together in a very satisfying manner at the conclusion of the mystery. As one of the characters in this book says, "At first, I couldn't say what it was that affected me so much. But after a while, it struck me. It was a sense of pure closure. Every loose thread was tied up. Every secret was revealed. Everything just made sense." This could be a description of the approach that Horowitz takes in his mysteries and I admire Tom Hindle for attempting to emulate that philosophy. To his credit, he has certainly not shied away from a complex murder mystery plot and he has also ensured that the various threads make sense and are neatly interwoven and explained. However, where the author comes up a little short is in taking this approach while still delivering a narrative that is well paced. Unfortunately, "The Murder Game" is let down by being unnecessarily protracted at times. It is prone to becoming excessively wordy, to the point where it resembles a very descriptive screenplay rather than a novel. I found myself feeling that it could have benefitted from some further editing that would have made it more punchy and impactful.

Nonetheless, this is an enjoyable example of the genre with some admirable innovations. It would certainly encourage me to come back and read more by this author in future.

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

After reading the authors first novel The Fatal Crossing, I was looking forward to reading The Murder Game and I was not disappointed. Nine guests arrive for a New Year's Eve party to remember at Hamlet Hall, for a murder mystery evening where everyone has their own part to play. The night has barely begun when one guest is found dead. Stuck in a secluded area of North Devon with no phone signal and no way out of the house, The others are trapped and there is a killer in their midst. A killer who is playing by their own rules....I would definitely recommend this book.

I will post this review on Instagram and Amazon in the 2 weeks prior to release and on Goodreads shortly.

4.5 stars
An Agatha Christie worthy whodunnit for the Midsomer Murders generation (me then!). Murders and hatred abound but there’s an overall cosy, Sunday night feel. This isn’t about hardened psychopaths, it’s all very middle class

I worked out the main murderer and motive within the first half of the book; it seemed quite obvious and perhaps could have been hidden for a little longer. That’s my only gripe though; this was a really enjoyable read. The characters, each with their backstories and motives, were well drawn out and the story flowed well.

Very small village, larger than life characters. Starts as any murder/mystery evening until local 'bad' boy and his daughter turn up then it becomes real. Who hates him? ..everyone! Old deaths and scores need to be settled and solved and as truths emerge from the past it becomes a race against time before we have another murder. Clues abound but the truth is something hard to guess.

I was looking forward to reading The Murder game after reading the authors first novel The fatal crossing and enjoyed it.
It’s New years eve and a murder mystery party is being held at Hamlet Hall hotel. A hotel that has seen better days. In a secluded area of North Devon and there is no phone signal. There are eight guests, all with secrets of their own. Which had something to do with a body that is found on a beach over twenty years ago.
So, when an uninspected guest Damian white arrives with his daughter in tow. Everyone is shocked to see him. Damian White is not a likable man. So, when the party starts, and everyone takes their positions in the game they find Damian has gone missing. When they do find him, he is dead with a blow to his head. Just like the body found on the beach twenty years. Is someone taking their revenge of what happened all of them years ago?
Thank you, Random House Cornerstone, for a copy of ‘The Murder Game’ I liked the premise of this ‘Agatha Christie’ locked room murder mystery set in a whole hotel with no phone signal, what’s not to love. But it found the characters not very likeable and although I found the story interesting it didn’t grip me like other stories do. 4 stars from me,

When a rich, successful businessman returns unannounced to the small village he grew up in for a New Year's Eve murder mystery party, only to become a real-life murder victim, the stage is set for another interesting whodunnit.

But unfortunately, while it was a nice, easy read, The Murder Game didn't provide any interesting new characters or new twists on the usual old mystery plot. The cast were rather one dimensional, and the attempt to tie together an older mystery with the present day murder didn't provide any real exciting or intrigue.

The Murder Game is a solid, workmanlike mystery story, but nothing more than that.

The Murder Game is a crime novel that takes place during a murder mystery party on New Year's Eve. Suspicion hangs on everyone, and old secrets are revealed.

Having read Hindle's previous novel A Fatal Crossing, I was very excited about The Murder Game. It lives up to my expectation! Hindle is quickly becoming a new master of the whodunnit crime genre. I can't wait to read more.

Many thanks to Tom Hindle, NetGalley, and Random House UK for this copy.