Tom Hindle went from a completely unknown name to one of the best crime writers on the market thanks to his incredible debut novel, A Fatal Crossing.
This stunning novel was a roller coaster of a plot with a genuis twist that is literally breathtaking.
Unfortunately, the problem with amazing first novels is that there’s a massive expectation for the next novel. His second outing, The Murder Game didn’t live up to the hype, and was so lame and unrealistic I didn’t even bother to review it.
I was pleasantly surprised by Hindle’s third book, Murder On Lake Garda. Unlike his debut, these two are set in the present, and Murder On Lake Garda did a brilliant job of creating unique characters and a gripping plot.
With such a mixed bag so far, I was excited to see what was in store from Death In The Artic. Set in 2025, the book tells the story of a young budding travel writer who’s given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to review a new luxury airship experience being offered in the artic circle for Conde Naste.
Powered by helium, the ship is being touted as a sustainable travel option, as well as being a one of a kind luxury adventure for the rich and discerning.
Also onboard the illustrious maiden flight of The Osprey are a sustainability blogger, the Conde Naste photographer, the two owners of the business and two friends of the younger owner, who is doing is focused both on making his late father proud and beating a rival company looking to put an airship in the sky first. His friend’s influencer girlfriend and assistant round off the guests, and there are also several staff.
After the airship takes off, tensions start to arise among the group, and after the first night one of their number is dead. His death is made to look like an unfortunate accident, but Chole, the blogger, starts to suspect that something is amiss.
Hindle excels at creating sketchy characters with interesting backstories that could be killers or red herrings. In this novel there are plenty, from the chef who was wrongly blamed for an allergy contamination at his last restaurant to the sustainability blogger who hasn’t been told the truth and could risk another scandal that may tank her blog.
Even Chole herself isn’t immune from suspicion, as the narrative shifts from her perspective to that of other guests and staff members. The story moves at a fast pace, pushed along by the inventive plot and the tantalising scraps of information that help keep the reader guessing.
Until almost the end, this works. The first three-quaters are utterly enthralling, but it goes downhill from there. I won’t spoil the ending, but when you finally find out who did it, the result is disappointingly predictable.
The murderer is exactly who you’re meant to think it is from the start, for the reason that’s hinted at from the beginning. The means of murder is even pretty obvious, although it takes a bit of technical skullduggery that most normal people with no knowledge of airships wouldn’t be familiar with.
Given the sheer volume of red herrings, it’s disappointing that there wasn’t a more devious and clever ending. Up until the end I was expecting a twist, but none came.
Overlooking that, the novel is enjoyable and gripping. Up until the final few chapters, it is a great read, and even the ending is well-written, just underwhelming.
If you’re looking for an engaging and thrilling read, then you can’t go wrong with Death In The Artic. It doesn’t have the memorable twist that A Fatal Crossing delivered, but it’s not a bad read. I’m still waiting for a novel from Tom Hindle that will live up to the phenomenal promise of his debut, but this isn’t the worst of them and it’s definitely worth a read.
