Laurence Heywood is getting married to social media influence Eva on an Italian island with lots of publicity planned. Laurence’s younger brother, Toby, is part of the guest list with his girlfriend Robyn. The Heywood family are not very welcoming to Toby and Robyn as he is expected to join the family company but he has plans to own and run a bar alongside Robyn. There is no let up in the pressure being put on Toby and Robyn in the run up to the wedding.

Just as the wedding is due to begin there’s loud scream and someone is found on the beach having been stabbed to death. This then essentially becomes a ‘locked room’ murder mystery as everyone is stuck on the island as there are no boats in the dock.

We learn of plenty of secrets among the guests and many have reason to wish ill on others in the wedding party. It's a well told story that kept me both gripped and guessing to the end. I really enjoyed this book, more so than the previous book by Tom Hindle I read (A Fatal Crossing). Almost 5 stars but I found some of the detail about the castle and paths and sightlines on the island a little too detailed while being hard to visualise.

With thanks to NetGalley and Cornerstone for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this, not only the story but also the style, it starts with the murder and then you go back to the the characters in the events leading up to it.

I've heard great things about Tom Hindle's previous work and really look forward to reading more.

I loved the build up with the prologues It was a great way for the action to start right away and then get character build up. I must've changed my mind a 100 times about the killer and loved that it really kept me hooked to the end.

Well, Tom Hindle has only gone and done it again and wrote a very engaging and satisfying murder mystery. This time we are transported to the height of summer, in the lush surroundings of Lake Garda on what should be the happiest of days. But of course that isn’t to be the case! I absolutely adored ‘A Fatal Crossing’ and Tom became an auto-read for myself and I thoroughly enjoyed his third stand-alone. His books are always perfectly plotted, he creates great characters and I’m sure that this will be loved by many a reader.

Robyn has been invited to Lake Garda to the wedding of her boyfriend’s brother, Laurence. A typical hedge funder he is marrying an Italian social influencer, Eva. Robyn is very nervous as she is not of their class and this is the first time meeting her boyfriend’s family. The wedding is to take place on the private island of Castello Fiore and just as the ceremony starts there is a loud scream and the assembled guests and wedding party find a body. As the guests are trapped on the island, Robyn quickly comes to the realisation that the murderer has to be one of them…

I love how Tom loves to play around with the notion of ‘locked room’ mysteries, well in case this is more of a locked island. It means it has to be one of either the wedding guests or the wedding party being the guilty party. Or does it??? And what a host of selfish and conceited individuals we have to choose from. Laurence and his family are one of those wealthy families that ooze entitlement, think they can get away with anything and are hideous to us mere normal types. The bride and her family aren't much better either. Eva is more concerned with getting the perfect shot than mingling with her guests. If she isn't going to get a ‘like’ for it, it's not worth doing. Then there is poor Robyn completely out of depth and really the only nice person in the whole book. I really loved her sense of right and wrong, her determination to figure out what is happening even though she isn't really integrated into the group per se. She has the element of being slightly detachment and that helps her gather the clues behind the reason for the murder!

Hindle does a great job of putting a golden-age crime premise into the modern age and its packed full of reveals, revelations and red herrings! The juxtaposition of dark events happening in such a beautiful environment is really played upon and done well. I flew through it in one day and I recommend it very easily!

Let me know if you pick this one up!

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.