Lots to keep the reader puzzling all the way through this book. I did identify the killer but only right at the very end after all the clues had been revealed. There were a number of suspects to choose from and various other side stories that were related to those attending the wedding but not directly impacting on the murder.
Plenty to get your teeth into.

This was such a fun, totally engrossing read that I struggled to put it down for long and raced my way through it in a day! I just had to know who had done something, who to, how and why!
It turned out there were many people who had motives but the one that mattered most in this story was understandable from everything we had learned along the way to finding it out.
This was a rich story of family secrets coming to life and the grievances that they can cause especially when two families full of secrets come together.
An underlying theme to this story is how the super rich seem to be able to buy their way out of trouble, it’s more who they know rather than what they did at times.
In conclusion, this was quite a fast paced book with a great setting and a lot of interesting characters who kept the story moving along. As this is my first book by this author, I will be checking out their other works in the hope of finding another very entertaining read.

I loved this book as much as the first. The golden age of mystery but now it’s modern.

A hell of a read and like me you’ll want the next instalment soon!

The wedding of a lifestyle influencer and a rich hedge fund manager in a castle on Lake Garda is a glamorous event. For both families, however, there are secrets that are about to be revealed. Robyn is an outsider and not welcomed by her boyfriend's family but when two murders happen she believes that she can use logic to get to the truth.

I do like Hindle's books, they are true to their antecedents as modernised 'Golden Age' detective novels but with a modern twist. Here it is the 'locked room' plot, guests on an isolated island, with the variety of backstories and hence motives. It seems odd to say but this is a light novel that skips along very happily. Bizarrely it is a fun read!

Robyn has travelled to lake Garda with Toby her boyfriend. This is going to be the first time she will meet his family and she is dreading it. His family are pressuring him to abandon his dream of running a bar and take his place in the family business. Something he has no interest in at all.
Robyn falls foul of the bride and when something happens to the bride she seems to be the first person people suspect.
In a strange country and surrounded by unfriendly people Robyn slowly works out what is going on. But will it be too late?
I really enjoyed reading this. I didn't guess until late in the book who the murderer was, which makes it even more enjoyable..

A really well written Murder mystery with plenty of unlikeable characters and a beautiful setting on the lake. I’m not sure why I haven’t read any of Tom Hindle’s books before as I have have both on the shelf - having read Murder on Lake Garda in a little over a day, I’ll definitely be bringing the others closer to the top of the pile. Pulling on those Christie vibes, this builds the suspense nicely and the suspicions are there from the beginning with each character having reasons to be suspected. With family tensions, secrets from the past and grudges held, this is a clever whodunnit. A locked room type story held on an island in the Lake, the descriptions of setting are beautiful and it was so easy to imagine the view from the castle across the water.

Murder on Lake Garda is a wonderful Christie-esque murder mystery with enough twists, turns and plotlines to keep you guessing till the very end. At this stage, Tom Hindle’s books have become essential reading for me as soon as they release - for three years running now, I’ve set aside an entire day in which to enjoy his brand of good old-fashioned murder mystery!

This new story takes place during a wedding at a picture-perfect Italian castle venue, on an isolated island in the middle of Lake Garda. When tragedy strikes, the guests are trapped together until the police arrive, all too aware that the killer is still among them. The ‘trapped’ feeling feels very naturally created in a similar way to A Fatal Crossing, and Hindle’s rich descriptions of the island really bring the scene to life. A new dynamic for Lake Garda is the division between the families of the bride and groom, with each side naturally suspecting relatives of the other family rather than one of their own.

As with his previous two books, Lake Garda opens with a series of prologues from a variety of different character’s perspectives; in this instance, we join several wedding guests in the moments just before the discovery of the body. I relish these prologues, as it feels like the reader is being taunted with a myriad of clues, hints and entire shoals of red herrings, before we’ve gained enough context to start putting the clues together.

Lacking any kind of detective ability myself, I enjoyed just watching events unfold over the course of the book, seeing the pool of potential suspects remaining wide open until the final chapters. Of particular note, the ‘too obvious for it to be them’ trope is well avoided by Hindle, as characters will reference it directly within the book, drawing their suspicions to the other suspects hiding in the shadows, and making things harder for the amateur sleuths at home to spot the true killer. I had my theories as usual, but was once again proved incorrect when the curtain was raised at the end, and all the clues and clever setup clicked into place. I didn’t spot any red herrings that remained untied come the end of the book, which is impressive given how the novel opened!

The Italian setting for this tale is a good choice and the suspects to a murder are revealed one by one as the story unfolds. I did not give the book five stars as I believe there is room for improvement. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to ARC pre publication.

“Fatal Crossing” was a great book, a locked room mystery set on a ship and “Murder on Lake Garda” continues in this vein. The murder takes place on an Italian island, during a wedding and of course, all the guests are suspects. In fact there were so many suspects and reasons that people might want to kill the victim that I really couldn’t work it out until quite near the end despite being an avid crime fiction reader.
I liked the characters and the way the story was told from the point of view of Robyn, the girlfriend of the groom’s younger brother. Robyn works at a restaurant but has trained as a journalist and uses all her skills to try and work out who the culprit might be.
Her boyfriend, Toby, and his brother, Laurence , really do not get on. The family comes across as very rich and entitled. Toby wants nothing to do with them nor the family hedge fund which they want him to join. The Italian bride, Eva , seems like an extremely nasty character and her father seems to be even more unpleasant and involved with some nefarious people.
Since this is a murder mystery I don’t want to reveal too much about the plot for fear of spoiling it but suffice it to say that it is a totally engrossing and enjoyable read. I loved being transported to the beautiful Lake Garda and I had great fun trying to work out who the murderer was and what their motivation might be.
A great mystery in the style of Agatha Christie and I certainly look forward to reading more books by this excellent author.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

I think this third book was the best yet. A faster pace than the previous two and was full of twists. I found the characters. a little shallow but, it added to the mystery. I hope his next book is just as good. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one, Tom Hindle just gets better.

A wedding on Lake Garda should be perfect, the bride and groom are young, rich and beautiful. But a murder soon turns this dream into a nightmare and everyone is a suspect.

This is mainly set over the course of the wedding day and considering we are following a very small window of time, we learn an awful lot about both the characters and the secrets they keep. It didn’t feel rushed or thin on plot.

I loved the structure, it’s fast paced and everyone that could be a suspect is believable. It wasn’t an ending I guessed and I really enjoyed it. There were really strong Agatha Christie vibes, without ever feeling like copy. If you like a classic whodunnit and descriptions of beautiful Italy, this is a book for you and I could see this as a great TV adaptation. Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy, it’s really very good.

Murder on Lake Garda by Tom HIndle
Having read and enjoyed both of Tom Hindle’s previous novels, The Fatal Crossing and The Murder Game I was looking forward to reading his latest offering. I particularly enjoyed this novel having holidayed on Lake Garda earlier in the year and he created the divine Italian location beautifully. It is almost in the category of a ‘cosy murder’ in the vein of Agatha Christie and the author has created some thoroughly detestable people and some rather chilling endings for them.
The premise is that there is to be a swanky wedding on an exclusive island, accessible only by boat. We see most of the events through the eyes of Robyn, the girlfriend of the groom’s brother. Robyn is not moneyed and Toby is trying to make it on his own without handouts from his rich family. There are many dark secrets waiting to be uncovered and it turns out that Robyn has a degree in journalism and is interested to delve into the mysteries of the families.
You don’t tend to feel sympathy for the victims of the crime due to the unpleasant nature of their characters but you are intrigued to see how the author inserts a number of red herrings before you finally arrive to the motive.
I will be recommending this book to my book groups – an interesting novel – a light but entertaining read. Many thanks to the author, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

The setting is an island on Lake Garda, just before a society wedding involving a wealthy business-man and a diva-like social media influencer. With a cast of unlikeable and suspicious guests and relatives, all with their own theories and suspicions as to whodunnit, and a long wait for the police to arrive to investigate, there is plenty of mystery and intrigue, but sadly very little depth and complexity.

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

A wonderful physical setting and a group of disparate and disparate people brought together for a wedding in Lake Garda. All set for a wedding but a scream just as the guests are arriving spells the end of a dream and start of a nightmare. Lots of hidden agendas, motives ,and dark secrets bring you through a series of wrong turnings in the quest to find who is guilty and why.
Thoroughly enjoyable

My second Tom Hindle book - and they just keep getting better!

The Heywood family consider themselves a bit of a dynasty; they are desperate to get Toby into the family business but he has other plans. Eldest brother Laurence is getting wed to influencer Eva on an exclusive Italian island and it's compulsory to attend. However, as the family arrive on the island before the ceremony a bloodcurdling scream rings out. Who was it - and why? Trapped on an island waiting for the police to arrive, they have nothing else to do but wait ... and wonder ...

Oh, I did enjoy this one! A fine cast of characters, each with secrets to discover! I was drawn in quickly and eager to find out what was happening - and there was no shortage of surprises. A well-written, well plotted novel which made an excellent read. If you haven't read this author's work yet, I'm very happy to recommend it and give this one 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Wealthy couple Laurence Heywood and Eva Bianchi are due to get married in a castle on an island in Lake Garda. Unfortunately things don’t go to plan when a killer emerges. Will they be able to work out who it is before they strike again?

Having read the author’s previous book, The Murder Game and enjoying it, I was keen to read his third. The writing style and storyline offers much the same, a cosy locked room crime novel. The story started strongly and I enjoyed getting to know the characters, as unlikeable as some of them are. I also enjoyed trying to pick out the hidden clues to work out who the suspect was. The overall story was atmospheric and I found the setting intriguing. Although the story started out strongly, I found it dipped when it got to the middle and I wasn’t as invested. I also found the pacing slowed quite a lot and I worked out the killer quite early on. However, after reading this, I still hope to read Tom Hindle’s debut, A Fatal Crossing and his future stories. This book is definitely one to pick up if you like the cosy crime genre. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This is the third book from this author. He is making great strides as a crime fiction writer.
This book is set on Lake Garda. Laurence Heywood the eldest son is getting married to Eva Bianchi who is the eldest daughter of Italian parents.
Robyn Whitford is a waitress in a good London restaurant. She lives with Toby who is the youngest son of the Heywoods. He wants to own and run a bar in London. Laurence, his mother and Jeremy a family friend who also works for the family firm, want Toby to join the family business.
Robyn has reservations about going to the wedding. Toby's father is dead but his mother adores Laurence. Robyn has never met the family. She has heard that Eva is hardwork. Spoilt and vindictive.
There is a secret concerning a death which implicates Stephen a pupil at Laurence's public school and two of Laurence's friends who also attended the public school. Stephen also works for the Heywood company.
All the guests meet up and various activities are planned. The weather is very hot.
On the day of the wedding which will take place on a small island on the lake, two mafia guys are on the island - what do they want? There is a piercing scream. There has been a murder. Who has been killed and who and where is the murderer? Very few people are present on such a small island!
Very enjoyable. Recommended. Another exciting book from this author.

A light read set in a beautiful place, but with some very wishy washy characters. I tried hard to enjoy this, but felt that it lacked some stimulus to make me enjoy it.

There were some other odd characters at the wedding but apparently no one seemed to wonder exactly who they were. I found that rather strange

There was a huge element of frustration at the time scale on the island as a murder had happened but due to other problems no police were called and the body count racked up. All a bit silly.

Guests arrive at a castle on an island in Lake Garda for the wedding of a wealthy and powerful English groom and an Italian influencer bride. No expense has been spared for the wedding which is to be featured in a style magazine. Most of the guests are at best, disagreeable, unpleasant and unsympathetic. Some of their behaviours make for numerous suspects when the murders are discovered. A very modern locked room murder story with a wonderful sense of place. I loved it.

This is the 2nd novel I have read by this author and slightly preferred this to The Murder Club. The backdrop is a castle on an island on Lake Garda. You almost feel like you could smell lemons and Italian food, which was a good thing during this stormy end to the festive season.
Most of the characters are pretty awful, but their behaviour and motivations seem reaslistic to me. The storyline is multi-layered and the cast of possible murderers is large.
This all tied up quite neatly in the end. I did guess whodunnit but it didn’t spoil the reading for me. The author clearly has a fine career ahead of him.
Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel. My opinion is in no way influenced by this.