A tale about jealousy and,, love,, and loss, and, secrets, and lies, and, murder,, and ,mystery, and intent.
A quick, and entertaining read, full of twists, turns, and misdirection. A book about following your dreams, and running away from your problems.. This story will have you questioning your connections,, and, the motives of those around you. It will have you second guessing love or self preservation

The Murder Game is so much fun and I definitely recommend it. You can see the influences of authors such as Agatha Christie and it is a really well plotted murder mystery.

I was making guesses throughout, some I started to get right, others I did not. It is not disappointing in the least and I can’t wait for more from Tom Hindle.

Tom Hindle has done it again with his second novel. He's crafted a really clever and original crime thriller story.

The Murder Game. I loved the concept of a murder mystery party playing out with a real-life murder mystery. The seemingly quiet (and definitely remote) village of Hamlet Wick provides the perfect small and claustrophobic melting pot of its residents who each carry their fair share of secrets which have been kept for varying lengths of time.

At the heart of everyone's hatred is Damien White, whose decision to buy and renovate the local lighthouse is having a mixture of negative consequences for those he grew up with.

Cue Damien's sudden and unexpected death, and his daughter Lily, is gutsy and determined to uncover the truth.

Tom Hindle does really well to layer up the characters' motives and at times, complex relationships - you do have to pay close attention so that you can decently follow everyone's whereabouts and explanations for when Damien was murdered. And that doesn't lighten up when the second body appears.

There are a handful of really nice reveals too. I did guess the murderer (I usually don't) but not quite in how they fully executed the plan (pun intended).

For fans of A Fatal Crossing, Tom's debut remains my favourite of the two - nonetheless I highly recommend The Murder Game.

Hamlet Hall, in all it’s faded grandeur, sits in Hampton Wick, the harbour for the Devon town of Hamlet. Although little in the way of entertainment and social life, nevertheless Hamlet Wick has been the setting for not one, but two suspicious deaths, one a definite murder, still unsolved, and the other unexplained. When the new owner of Hampton Hall, along with his trusty sidekick, decide to host a murder mystery night on New Years Eve what can possibly go wrong?

Full of dubious characters, twists and turns, and dark, deadly secrets, this book promised to be a good read. Sadly, due to the convoluted plots, shifting points of view and a fairly ludicrous denouement, it fell very short.

A story that could have been told in half the time, with much better results. However, I can see that it will appeal to those readers that favour “cosy” books, and they will really enjoy it, just not one for me.

2.5* upped to 3*.

Thank you NetGalley.

Set in a hotel on a dark and stormy night this is an entertaining mystery in the style of Agatha Christie.

The hotel hasn't been doing well so one of the staff comes up with the idea for a murder mystery event. He has his own agenda in doing this, one which almost gets him into a lot of trouble. Several couples come along, including someone who is loathed by everyone else. So when the person is murdered in his hotel room, there is no shortage of suspects. This current murder is supplemented by two others in the past.

This is light and entertaining and I would recommend it to anyone who likes Christie or any of the recent books which have been given the subgenre of 'locked room' mysteries.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

A fast paced very well plotted cosy crime mystery to solve, where nine guests assemble for a New Year's Eve murder mystery dinner party at an old hotel in a sleepy seaside village in North Devon. No phone signal and a real murder most foul takes place before dessert.

There are three couples from the village, one couple own the local shop (Edward & Martha), one couple own the local building company (Nigel & Sylvia), renovating the lighthouse, and the third couple own a produce supply company (Hugh & Gwen) as well as the wife being the Mayor. There are three other guests, Lily and her property developer dad, Damien, are visiting from London to check out their lighthouse project. And finally, Justin, a young journalist from the local newspaper looking for a story to get away from Hamlet Wick.

There are three members of staff, Ian the owner, Carl the chef and Will the architect of the murder mystery dinner party event. There are three actors hired for the evening, Theo, Claire and Jack.

There was an unsolved murder on the beach some years ago and a terrible accident at the lighthouse.

Most readers will probably solve the recent murder but there are a lot of interconnections and twists and turns to keep it interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley UK, the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed the premise of using a murder mystery to solve a real life murder mystery however I did guess most of the outcome. Still an enjoyable read

Raise your hands if you love a locked-house murder mystery, layered with a New Year’s Eve actual game of discovering the culprit. For some residents of Hamlet Wick, this is the most exciting their seaside town will get – welcoming the new year with the owner of Hamlet Hall, who’s invited them to a 1920s style murder mystery. Everyone has their part to play… whether they know it or not. But the game has barely begun when one invitee – let’s just say, someone who probably shouldn’t have turned up – is found dead. Brutally so. And of course, given the location, there’s no phone signal, no decent Wifi and, well, no easy way to flee from a murderer. Couple this with the residents each having secrets they’d prefer not to reveal, and this is every bit as enjoyable as I hope I’m making out. It may be a close knit community, but there’s a few residents who would do anything – we do mean, anything – to keep their secrets buried deep.

It's New Year's Eve and a murder mystery evening is about to take place at a hotel.

The event is just about to start when up pops the most hated man in Hamlet Wick, Damian Wick, a local man made good who wants to develop the Lighthouse which he swooped in and bought when locals were trying to fundraise to purchase and preserve.

The Murder Game is a solid read, although I'm not sure the characters were that likeable which made it harder to empathise with many of them.

A little plodding in parts and you did have to stretch your imagination.

A superb fast paced thriller. I absolutely loved the story and couldn’t stop reading it. It’s perfect for all readers, especially thriller lovers.

Thoroughly enjoyable. Characters are well considered; plot is excellent and very well written throughout. Hooked from page 1 to the very end! Should possibly come with a warning as got me into trouble reading in a single sitting & ignoring the other half!

A twisty tale that kept me engrossed throughout. Good characterization. Drip feed of the original body on the beach that Will found and the mystery about the lighthouse. I did guess a couple of things before the eventual reveal but this did not spoil my enjoyment.

Sadly I wasn't a big fan of this book. I just think that it missed something and found it all a little bit not very exciting. Sorry. In sure others will like it

I did not particularly enjoy this book. It was very well-plotted but it was difficult to empathise with the characters due to the shifting viewpoints and claustrophobic setting. A very English murder mystery, just not for me.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

For me this started with a lot of promise but was muddied in the telling with the many vague hints about what had happened in the past that needed to be resolved but nothing to really get your teeth into as the armchair detective.
The setting was very good- evocative of period murder mysteries by the likes of Christie but the plot was almost too complex for the genre and left me dissatisfied when the reveals were made towards the end.

The Murder Game is a murder mystery party set in a grand, old house on New Year's Eve. The guests have overlapping and secret pasts which slowly unfurl during the book helping the reader gain an understanding of the context of the gathering. I've identified two yays and two hmmms to sum up my opinion.

Yay!!!
- I enjoyed the premise of the isolated guests and the murder to solve.
- I didn't foresee the twist so the unexpected ending was satisfying.

Hmmm.
- I read The Murder Game after reading A Fatal Crossing. They have similar covers so it took my a while to realise that they weren't connected and that The Murder Game is not set in the past.
- I found that I became more and more frustrated with the police officer which reduced the lack of engagement for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found this a bit dull. The final chapters are more interesting as they promise to provide a twist or two but in fact, they just tidy up loose ends that a reader may have been wondering about. One of the characters even asks the final questions for his own book idea.
It seems one dimensional to me, all in one place with a small number of characters leaving me reluctant to pick the book up again. I am disappointed.

I don’t think this would be enjoyable as it was. Set in a small seaside town, a murder mystery night is hosted where the actual murder takes place. Loved the characters and the twist turns! Perfect for guns who loved murder mysteries.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written. A lovely murder mystery that will keep you guessing right to the end.

This book kinda reminded me of Cluedo. It's full of suspens. You can try to guess the plot-twists but they're good, original and smart. The ambiance is on point! And I really liked all of the characters.