Locked Room Mystery Twist..
In another twist on a classic locked room mystery, the reader travels to the frozen arctic on a luxury airship alongside travel writer Chloe Campbell - who is firmly under the impression that she has been bestowed the opportunity of her lifetime. Once aboard, however, it is not too long before death rears its unwelcome head. An accident or something more sinister? With a small group of passengers and therefore suspects, on this airship there is nowhere to hide and certainly nowhere to run. Is there a killer lurking in the sky? Wholly enjoyable whodunit with a cast of well drawn characters, a nicely crafted plot and a rather unique setting.

Not enough murder haha. This had so many good points, the setting was superb, so different. The characters were all well written and the back story was juicy. I just felt the death element took too long to get going.

I would absolutely read more from this author as he definitely has mystery writing skills

Death in the Arctic Tom Hindle

4 stars

An interesting plot set in the Frozen North.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book, a unique situation based on airships being the new mode of travel over far-flung places.

Many years before, two friends, Howard Barnes and Isaac Day, whilst exploring in the Arctic had come up with the concept of setting up a company to run trips from the air, not in an aeroplane but a giant airship propelled by helium.

When Isaac had died tragically on the trip, his son Ezra made it his ambition in life to fulfil his father's dream and finally in 2025 joined Howard on the maiden voyage a 2 day trip to the North Pole.

There are 8 passengers and 8 crew members on the trip. All of whom have their own histories and reasons for being on this trip. Chloe Campbell has spent 3 years trying to make a living out of her travel writing and when she is drafted in as a late replacement she is desperate to write a brilliant piece that will lead to further jobs.

However things start to go wrong very quickly not only with problems with the ship itself but when a body is found asphyxiated by a helium leak,something that should not be possible, she soon realises that her dream is not going to be fulfilled. All that will happen is a lot of bad publicity. Then another person dies of an allergy and Chloe realises that these events are being deliberately orchestrated but by who?

Chloe becomes an amateur detective and manages to piece together what has happened and more importantly why and how it is linked to the past.

I must admit that I did suspect the killer and the motive long before the end but it was an enjoyable read. One criticism that I would make however was that I found the characters were not very rounded, I had to keep checking who was who amongst both the staff and the passengers from time to time.

I would recommend this book as an interesting read in particular because I thought the plot was an interesting concept.



Karen Deborah
NetGalley

Death in the Arctic is a 'locked room' style murder mystery and is a fun and very entertaining read.

The setting is the maiden voyage (or rather test flight) of the helium airship "Osprey" to the North Pole with a small group of selected guests including a travel writer, photographer and an eco-blogger. Things begin to go wrong almost immediately, seemingly a result of some serious and dangerous teething problems - but are they deliberate sabotage? A death during the first night causes the crew and passengers to become fearful and wary of each other. Was it an accident, suicide or murder?

A big clue is given on the front cover - revenge is a dish best served cold - so it's not too difficult to work out who is causing all the problems, but I didn't get the 'why' until the reveal near the end.

The story was well-crafted and the cast of 9 passengers, including the 2 company owners plus 8 crew (or 6 if you discount the 2 pilots who play almost no part) are just right to keep track of, and there is also a handy list at the beginning of the book with all the names. The hero is Chloe - aspiring journalist and amateur detective, who is observant, feisty and clever. She and photographer Ben were my favourite characters. The descriptions of the airship, arctic scenery and the ship itself were excellent. My only minor criticism of the writing is a slight tendency to over-explain on occasion, but this did not spoil my enjoyment of the book.

I would definitely recommend this book.

“Isolated Group” and “Locked Room” are two varieties of whodunnit. The first can contain the second but the second can’t contain the first. On the maiden test flight of a new airship, supported by a Helium filled canopy, eight guests have been invited by the owners, Ezra and Howard. The idea for a recreational travel company using an airship apparently came to Howard and Issac – Ezra’s father, and Howard’s old friend, and constant travel companion – during a trip to the Arctic. Issac died during the trip, but Howard started developing the idea and Ezra joined the company after he graduated. Some of the guests are old school friends of Ezra, the rest are there to provide publicity material. One is a ‘Green’ influencer, one is a photographer for a travel magazine and one is a young blogger, Chloe, drafted in as replacement for the actual magazine reporter, who has had a family emergency. There are also eight crew. Although we see events from various viewpoints, Chloe is the main character and will become the main sleuth when one of the others dies, apparently in a locked room.
The overall structure is good and the writing is fine, albeit a bit stilted and far too repetitive. However, good structure doesn’t mean great plot. It is not at all difficult to spot the killer and the motive. Nor is it difficult to see past the various little subplots, designed to distract. The various characters are thinly drawn (the crew are virtual ciphers), all have, mostly secret, problems, none are very likeable, or relatable. However, my main problem with the story is that the author clearly knows nothing about Helium, because if he did he would not have devised this plot, because it is impossible. I can’t explain why here, of course. Overall its not a bad book but, with these issues I can’t give it more than 2.5, which will round to 3.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Delightful (cozy) crime, perfect for the winter! The setting was breathtaking, I loved the idea of zeppelins becoming re-introduced in our quest for climate friendly travel (while also hinting at the real problem behind it: reach people playing with more money they could ever spent). The murder victim was pretty clear from the beginning, also who it was - it was more a question of how they'd done it than anything else. I do think there might have been a hint of a continuation of the main two people as sleuths-against-their-will. And the cover design is beautiful! I wish German cover designers would let themselves be inspired by their UK counterparts a bit more.

A great locked room mystery in a different setting - an environmentally friendly, luxury airship off to the North Pole, with a pre selected, interesting group of travellers.
Then, things start to go wrong and a passenger is found dead.....or murdered. Characters are all different and well described and this made the book a page turner to find out who is the murderer and why.
Beautiful descriptions of the landscape make this book even better.
Many thanks to Cornerstone and NetGalley for an ARC.

This is my first book by Tom Hindle and it won’t be my last! I’m also glad I couldn’t sleep last night so I could read this! I had such a good time with it!

This definitely fits well for the winter/Christmas season. This felt very cosy and I loved it. The setting of this was unique too. The authors writing style was just fantastic, I got on really well with is writing style and it just had me wanting to continue.

I would definitely reread this book and his others. I will definitely be buying a copy of this!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for my copy of this book!

A reworking of a traditional locked room murder mystery with the setting of an airship on its inaugural flight to the Arctic. There are 8 passengers and 8 crew and the bring their own stories and motivations. It’s snappily written and an enjoyable read.

A group of people are travelling to the North Pole on a newly built airship as the first journey that will launch a new line of luxury holidays. But not far into the journey, a passenger is found dead. And then another. A tragic accident? Or something more sinister?

This book is fast paced and well written, although the twists weren't the best and were fairly easy to guess. Not Hindle's best work, but still a thoroughly enjoyable mystery!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Fronted adverbials are the order of the day here and I guessed the culprit, victim and motive from the beginning, long before the crime was committed. However, full marks to the author for coming up with an unusual setting: a luxury airship over the Arctic. This was well described, as was the embarkation point, the real Norwegian town of Longyearbyen.
Ideal for fans of traditional mystery.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
Upon publication, I will post my review on my blog and GoodReads.

This is a story set a few months into the future, with a company looking into airship travel as more environmentally friendly than airlines. It is a fairly fast moving thriller much in the style of an Agatha Christie. As events unfold and the characters become increasingly aware of the dangers, they debrief and explain their conclusions.
I found it interesting to read about the remote areas of Norway and its snowy landscapes, particularly as i have plans to visit Tromso in February 25!
I enjoyed the book, was keen to pick it up again and was satisfied with the ending.
Recommended

I really enjoyed this cost murder mystery. I first for me when it comes to where and how and I really enjoyed reading through the story and learning about each of the crew members and travellers. It was a quick read for me which I liked as I couldn’t put it down.

A murder mystery with a difference - in ‘Death in the Arctic’, the action takes place on board an airship on its maiden voyage to the North Pole. Tom Hindle brings the passengers and crew to life with effective characterisation and we see them as individual suspects with a variety of possible motives for sabotaging the flight. The setting is suitably oppressive and the plot moves briskly to a satisfying conclusion.

I just didn't warm to this book.
This is a reworking of one used many times by many authors, a mixed group of people in an isolated environment, and a death occurs. The location, however, is very different, a Helium filled airship over the Arctic.
I found it difficult to get to grips with the characters and found them difficult to engage with. There are some interesting plots twists here, though some are a little hard to believe. The fact that I took longer than I normally would with a book of this length shows perhaps how difficult I found it to get involved.
I accept that this is a very personal reaction to a book that is very well written in a very redble style, but I just couldn't generate any enthusiasm for it.

I enjoyed this cosy murder story - 8 guests and 8 crew members aboard the airship on a weekend trip over the arctic.

All starts well - luxury, scenery, good food and company until an arctic storm hits and two deaths follow. Accidental or deliberate?

Chloe, onboard to write about the trip, instead finds herself investigating the circumstances alongside Ben, the photographer.

Everyone has a potential motive but who is the murderer and why?

This is a very enjoyable ‘whodunit’ full of red herrings, unexpected developments and twists.

This was a new author for me which I always love. The scene is set around the maiden voyage of an airship over the Arctic. There are 2 deaths, a bit of bitching, old rivalry, sabotage and much more. The descriptions of people places and environment made it easy to picture the location and characters. The ending was a good twist.

I have heard a lot of praise for Tom Hindle and his style of The Golden Age of Crime Writing so I wanted to see for myself- and I wasn't disappointed. In fact I'm now hooked! If you're a fan of traditional locked room murder mysteries with interesting characters with unusual back stories, then this is for you.
Set in and around the North Pole and Norwayl, this makes for a super winter read, with astonishing arctic landscapes, glaciers, polar bears and reindeer. The novel is set on board a state of the art 21st century helium filled airship where guests are on a ground breaking luxury polar mini break. It's quite a claustrophobic atmosphere, which ramps up the tension and gets you wondering who is going to die. It's quite refreshing to have this kind of modern book without sex or swearing, and I really liked that. There were some obvious ' villains' and also some not do obvious ones. Great character development but I felt Niamh was under developed and could have contributed a lot more to the book- I liked her.
Overall a fantastic wintry whodunnit, it's whet my appetite for Tom's other books too.

I’ve enjoyed all the Tom Hindle books I’ve read and this another great story. A modern locked room novel which features the launch of a luxury airship for exclusive holidays. Along with investors and developers, Influencers and journalists are invited aboard to experience and publicise the new venture. When things start to go wrong the apparently damaged airship attempts to outrun an Arctic storm. A tense and claustrophobic atmosphere develops against the twists and turns of the story unfold. Highly recommended.

This was my first time reading anything by Tom Hindle, and boy, what an introduction to him it was! To say that I enjoyed it would be a fair assessment. It really was a delightful read.
In Death in the Arctic, Hindle has taken the locked room, cosy mystery of the Christie era, and given it a modern spin. Not for him the isolated country mansion. Oh no, the locked room in this case is on an airship, and said airship is flying over the Arctic. Brrrr!!! ❄
As with every locked room mystery, one needs suspects, and there are no shortage of them here, with 8 guests and 8 crew aboard the airship. There is also the obligatory amateur sleuth, and red herrings aplenty.
The characters were likeable, even the killer. What I loved the most though, was the setting (Tromsø in Norway, and Longyearbyen, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago), and the whole concept of the airship.
All in all, Death in the Arctic was a very entertaining, exceedingly enjoyable read. ❄
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.