In the British winter, Tom Hindle’s latest novel, Murder On Lake Garda, is the perfect pick-me-up.
Following his incredible first novel, A Fatal Crossing and his slightly disappointingly unbelieve second book The Murder Game I wasn’t sure what to expect from the third installment from Hindle.
His debut novel was so amazing that it was hard to follow, but Murder On Lake Garda is a great novel. While it doesn’t have the nail-biting tension and completely unguessable ending, this third book is a gripping read.
Like the first and second, it’s a standalone novel, and like the second novel this is also set in the present day. It depicts a wedding between a wealthy, obnoxious private financier and an Italian social media influencer, both living in London.
Being hosted on a private island castle in the middle of Lake Garda, the wedding is getting an editorial feature in London Living magazine, and the guest list includes a photographer and the infulencer’s agent, as well as the family and bridal party.
On the day, unexpected guests attend and secrets come out. Switching between the perspectives of the wedding planner and several of the guests, namely Robyn, the girlfriend of the groom’s distant brother, the novel keeps the reader guessing as we see things from different points of view.
Eva, the bride, is a typical bridezilla- I remember that vividly from an old friend’s wedding- and is utterly insufferable, especially when a mysterious note is slipping into her handbag the night before the ceremony. On the big day, she goes missing, only to be discovered with a ceremonial dagger plunged into her chest.
There’s no shortage of suspects. She fought with her father before the service, stole the idea for the wedding from her sister and put a stop to her nuptials, pushed Robyn into the lake the day before, and has a mysterious hold over the groomsmen.
Even her long suffering agent has fallen victim to Eva’s demanding behaviour, with the influencer causing a scandal by posting ridiculous health advice in the past, which has tanked her career in the wellness market. Expecting her agent to make the problem go away, she is disappointed and takes it out on her.
Once the body is found, the story moves quickly. The wedding planner is forced to delay calling the police but keep the fact from the guests, leaving her scrambling to restore calm anong the guest while Robyn and her boyfriend Toby scurry around trying to look for clues.
Hindle has a history of using unreliable narrators as devices, so you find the novel is a great test of the reader’s deductive abilities. You’ll soon notice yourself trying to work out who did it, especially when another body turns up in the castle’s museum, using an identical knife to the one-of-a-kind piece currently buried in the bride’s chest.
With yet another mystery to solve, the novel is gripping and intellectually stimulating. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably find yourself flying through the novel- I’d tell myself I would only read a few pages, only to spend half the night reading!
The setting is very luxurious, and the characters are as exquisite as the cruise ship in A Fatal Crossing. Having been on press trips for a luxury lifestyle magazine I used to work for, I’ve met a lot of exceptionally wealthy people- or at least, people who tell me they’re wealthy! As a result, I recognise a lot of the obnoxious behaviour and temper tantrums, and I think Hindle has done a terrific job of capturing the sneering contempt some people have for others.
So, if you want a great winter warmer, then why not escape to Italy with Tom Hindle? Like a classic murder mystery, the novel is truly unforgettable and well crafted.
