Morderstwo nad jeziorem Garda

by Tom Hindle, Barbara Łukomska (Translator)

Jedna szczęśliwa para. Dwie podzielone rodziny. Przyjęcie weselne, za które warto umrzeć.

Na prywatnej wyspie Castello Fiore, otoczonej lśniącymi wodami jeziora Garda, uznana rodzina Heywoodów gromadzi się na ślub swojego syna Laurence'a z włoską influencerką Evą Bianchi.

Jednak gdy ceremonia się rozpoczyna, przeraźliwy krzyk przerywa wszystko, wstrząsając całym wydarzeniem.

Goście weselni zostają uwięzieni, czekając na przyjazd policji, w międzyczasie dawne sekrety wychodzą na jaw, grożąc, że rodzinne rywalizacje wybuchną na nowo.

Wszyscy są zdesperowani, by się dowiedzieć... Kto jest mordercą? I czy uda się go schwytać, zanim zaatakuje ponownie?

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Murder Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Book Club

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 18, 2024

Reviews

[Karen Chong · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 / 5

Hated this book, hated the characters and found it hard to click. Just found the book very clunky and very strange. Didn’t have that cohesiveness as a book would normally have, it felt like it was jumping places. The plot could have been tuned more. But I couldn’t stand with one character Abigail the most, this book does give a good portrail of how snobby people can get once you’re made of money. But it’s not a great book- not even worth putting effort to write what happens. Not worth the time investment.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed it but couldn’t get past the fact the photographer was called Cam

[Ellie Williamson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a murder mystery as much as the next person but this one was just full of unlikeable characters who all seemed to be caricatures of themselves. Also if someone was actually murdered during a wedding you wouldn’t spend the next 2 hours playing detective and running around finding clues - you would lock yourself in a room shaking in fear and call the police x

[Hari Conner]

Tried to enjoy this and just have fun, but found the prose uninspiring, writing style overexplained, and kept noticing weird things I’d have thought an editor ought to catch (“after growing up somewhere as landlocked as Lancashire”??) What happened got repeated a lot, but I also never really truly knew the characters or their motivations.

Not a terrible book - the actual murder plot was decent - but personally I really couldn’t get on board with the execution and found it unexciting.

[Alessia Russo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never pick up a mystery book with “heir to Christie” written on the cover. Tom Hindle wrote a good mystery but to call him heir to Agatha Christie there is a long way to go. The plot was overall well structured but some things were pretty obvious and some parts felt repetitive. I loved the scenario, the beautiful lake Garda, and the landscape descriptions. Overall, a nice book for a lazy summer day on the beach.

[Johann (jobis89) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Validates why I don’t enjoy murder mysteries.

[Andy Still · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute trash. Daily mails quote of ‘heir to Christie’. The poor woman would be rolling in her grave.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found out about this book shortly before leaving for 3 weeks of vacation at Lake Garda. A vacation with almost my entire family. You know those families on TV or in books that bicker and fight until the shit really hits the fan and then they all band together? Yeah, not us. So fantasizing about a murder on Lake Garda sounded promising. Sadly, the book didn't quite live up to its promises.

Eva and Laurence are about to get married at Malcesine's castle at Lake Garda. Lake Garda is actually the lake, not the name of a town there (something the author wasn't very clear about in some instances). And FYI: Malcesine does indeed have a wonderful castle, Scaligero Castle, but it's not on an island (there is another of the same designation in Sirmione so maybe the author got confused?). Goethe made it famous. As far as I know, there is no Castello Fiore, which is where this takes place.
Anyway, we start with the groom standing at the altar waiting for his bride when a scream rings out.
So yes, one of the wedding party dies in the first sentence. We don't know who until about the halfway point though!
Instead, the book goes into detail about who has done what, who is what kind of asshole and why. Apparently, half of them is in league with one organized crime family or another and the others are just natural bitches (that goes for the women AND the men).

Some ironic twists of fate (like Eva's dad being the one providing the murder weapon and the victim actually being her) but nothing too noteworthy regarding who the culprit was. The whole "locked-room" set-up also didn't work since I know the castle and, like I said, it's not an island, let alone a private one. There is L'Isola del Garda, which is private property and allows weddings, but it's somewhere else entirely and while there are the remnants of a monastery that have been turned into a villa, it's not a castle. There is the island Isola del Sogno, which is close to Malcesine but it's so close to shore, you can almost always walk there (which doesn't work with the boat rides and other things mentioned in the book). L'Isola dell'OLivo is also near Malcesine but it's nature only and only used as a reference point at the Lake Garda regatta (my uncle and I swam there once). There are two others but neither is remotely like the one described. Sorry to be so detailed about this and always returning to this point but there is nothing worse than the location / worldbuilding not working.

Equally, I know dysfunctional families, believe me, but this? It was a bit OTT, especially considering what some people did and with whom while not even their spouses noticed anything? Some things just aren't possible in real life.

Likewise, some of the "story" felt like completely unnecessary filler material. In the beginning, I had hoped it would all come together Agatha-Christie-style, but nope. *sighs*

And no, there was no sympathetic amateur sleuth or detective we could have followed either. By the time we FINALLY got to who killed whom and why, I just didn't care anymore.

Bummer!

[Ana Alonso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite sure why this book has low ratings…although the fact that the book had so many characters to keep up with was a little annoying and I had to keep referring to the name guide, you quickly got to know them all! I was constantly shocked and surprised at new revelations and was completely hooked! I also loved how the chapters a super short! Finally, I really want to go to Lake Garda, sounds and looks amaaazing!

[Kath B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cosy but dramatic murder mystery set in a stunning Lake Garda backdrop during a semi celebrity wedding. There are some wealthy but arrogant wedding guests who feel a cut above the rest, disillusioned staff tired of being taken for granted and warring families with secrets - and that's before the murder takes place - so numerous potential perpetrators who are holding grudges against the victim. Added to the mix are some dodgy looking 'guests' who don't really look like guests and the whole party is isolated on a tiny island within the Lake without any opportunity to escape. What's not to like?

Told mainly from the viewpoint of one of the guests, Robyn, who uses her journalistic and investigative skills to try to identify the murderer, the story moves backwards and forwards from the day of the wedding/murder to just a few days before so that the reader can make their own minds up about their favourite for the crime.

Although the story moves forward quite rapidly, it does get bogged down in some detail and there is more than a little repetition as Robyn tries to assimilate information about everyone's whereabouts. It's not the best crime story ever written, but it is an engaging tale - a good holiday read - with a quite surprising twist and outcome. A nice rather than an excellent read.

[Esther Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did guess the murderer within the first 30 pages and I’ve watched BBC Sherlock too many times to not recognise the twist but I still had a great time reading

[summer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was hoping for an easy read but not that easy. I guessed the killer and the motive in the first 150 pages.

This book had a fun premise but the execution was poor. The story took place on a beautiful lake in Italy where we have our main characters introduced. Immediately you can eliminate half of them as the suspect due to how little they are involved in the story. We learn there’s a wedding between two very snobbish people who have a dark side. It takes forever for anything new to come out about this dark side and the author makes it hard for me to like any of the characters.

The mystery has two storylines with the second story line really not going anywhere or doing anything other than helping stall for the main character to solve the mystery. I found myself skipping whole chapters (granted the chapters where only a page or two) to help myself not get bogged down with details.

The main mystery was all based on dialogue and had no physical clues. It either took place in the thoughts of the main character or in convos with the other characters. Even then it took the main character forever to put the easiest clues together!

I think this would’ve been a fun story if the author cut the fluff. For example, the main character is terrified of water and has a whole back story about why but this doesn’t really have an effect on the story. It seems like something that would be a chekhov's gun but ends up being a dud.

I love a murder mystery and a cheesy one at that, but this book was 100 pages too long.

[Drew Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone saying they saw the twist a mile off but I had no idea!

[Shona · Rating 4 out of 5]

My next read is another 2024 read (next year is already shaping up to be a VERY good year of books!) and this one takes us to Italy in “Murder On Lake Garda” by Tom Hindle, Century books.

One happy couple. Two divided families. A wedding party to die for. The private island of Castle Fiore is in the perfect location on Lake Garda, where better to hold an Italian influencer’s upcoming nuptials? However when a blood-curdling scream abruptly brings proceedings to a halt, it becomes clear that there is a murderer amongst them. Trapped on the island whilst they await the police, suspicions run riot amongst the group and the race is on to uncover them. Can they do it before they kill again though…?

After having read Tom’s previous title “The Murder Game” I knew I enjoyed this authors writing style and this is something that has grown even stronger in this new book. The likening to an Agatha Christie murder mystery is true, you are drawn in from the very first sentence and you just know you’ll be turning the pages all the way through!

There is a wide range of characters in the book and I liked the way the focus split between the two but with a main connection with one character in particular, in this instance Robyn. Whilst great to have the different view points, Robyn’s point of view as the ‘outsider’ to the situation was a really unique way of telling the story, drawing you in and allowing you to see everything from the wider perspective.

The clues are cleverly planted throughout so you can try to figure out ‘whodunnit’ as you go along, red herrings leading you in various directions before it all clicks into place - no spoilers here though! It’s a title that will have you turning the pages to find out more, the right amount of suspense taking you on the journey to the big reveal at the end. Another great read from Tom - still have “A Fatal Crossing” on my TBR list so need to rectify this asap!

[Karen Salem · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely dreadful. I finished it because I’m I’m on holiday and ran out of books, but I resented every second. It’s unbelievably bad - full of terrible cliches, like all of Agatha Christie’s books had been put through a word scrambler and churned out a parody of all murder mysteries. The plot is chock full of holes. It’s repetitive and the dialogue is abysmal. And the characters?? How are they all so one dimensional?!

This has single handedly reminded me of why I hate murder mysteries.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder on Lake Garda is an engrossing mystery with plenty of nefarious characters and unexpected twists, set during a destination wedding in the stunning Italian Lakes.

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a locked room but a locked island mystery. Better than I'd anticipated based on the authors previous books. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't guess the murderer, but then, I never do!

[Joana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuando decidimos ir a Italia con toda la familia por Semana Santa, tuve clarísimo que tenía que llevarme este libro conmigo para leerlo durante el viaje: era idealísimo. Aunque no es mi género predilecto, siempre me han gustado mucho los cozy mysteries con vibras de Jessica Fletcher. En este caso, aunque la historia se desarrolla en un entorno idílico, no la terminaría de considerar cozy ya que todos los personajes son bastante despreciables y no hay ninguno que puedas calificar de cuqui.

Pero ya sabéis que otra cosa que me fascina son los trapos sucios, y más si son de gente rica y famosa: y esto lo tenemos a punta pala, en Asesinato en el lago de Garda. He disfrutado mucho viendo caer todas las piezas que conforman la vida aparentemente ideal y perfecta de todos los asistentes a la boda, cómo las máscaras se van quitando hasta revelar el verdadero rostro de todos ellos.

Lo que no me ha convencido tanto es el uso de tantos POVs en el libro; aunque principalmente está narrado desde el punto de vista de Robyn —una de las pocas asistentes a la ceremonia que es externa, la +1 de uno de los invitados—, también hay unos cuantos capítulos narrados desde la perspectiva de otros personajes y, de manera inevitable, todos ellos quedan descartados como posibles sospechosos del asesinato, de modo que la lista de potenciales asesinos queda muy reducida y hace mucho más sencillo adivinar quién puede haber sido el culpable.

De todos modos, es un libro super ágil de leer y perfecto por si queréis desconectar un rato!

¡Mil gracias a Ático de los Libros por el encuentro con el autor y el ejemplar!💛

[nahla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen, I will not write an elaborate and thoughtful review. It was enjoyable, I liked it. Is the mystery a bit obvious and predictable? Yes, so if you are looking for shock and twists, this book is not for you. But I personally do not care and am simply here for the vibes and cosy murder mystery. And Tom Hindle delivered exactly what I wanted. 3.5 stars.

I do notice a pattern in his novels: It is always the worst person who is murdered. And this could be considered as the ultimate retribution for their actions, but I personally prefer a good confrontation and prolonged suffering. (That might just be me, though)

[Victoria Ashton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ as I guessed the ending, but still really enjoyed

[Jola (czytanienaplatanie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Czy wyobrażacie sobie wesele na prywatnej wyspie na jeziorze Garda? Ceremonia wśród bajecznych widoków, wśród ludzi ubranych w najdroższe kreacje, z kieliszkiem szampana w dłoni i… trupem w tle?

„Morderstwo nad jeziorem Garda” to klasyczny kryminał w angielskim stylu i z włoskim klimatem, czyli połączenie, któremu nie mogłam się oprzeć. Do tego z zamkniętą grupą podejrzanych i atmosferą, w której pod uśmiechami kipią dawno skrywane urazy. To uczta dla miłośników Agathy Christie we współczesnej odsłonie i dlatego właśnie czytało mi się tę opowieść tak dobrze.
Stephen, drużba i przyjaciel pana młodego, razem z nim czeka na pannę młodą. Ceremonia się opóźnia. Goście są coraz bardziej zniecierpliwieni. Aż nagle słychać przeraźliwy krzyk. I wszystko zmienia się nieodwracalnie.

Zanim jednak dowiemy się, co wydarzyło się na wyspie, cofamy się o dwa dni. I tu Autor robi coś, co bardzo cenię, pozwala nam wejść głęboko w psychologię postaci. Rodzinne konflikty, nierówności społeczne, układy podszyte fałszywą wdzięcznością, uprzywilejowanie, przemoc emocjonalna i wpływ pieniędzy, to wszystko stopniowo odsłania się przed czytelnikiem.

Robyn, dziewczyna brata pana młodego, to postać, z którą można się utożsamić. Stojąca z boku. Uważna. Z reporterskim zacięciem. Widzimy przez jej oczy, słyszymy to, czego inni nie słyszą. A potem to właśnie ona, zanim pojawi się policja, zaczyna zadawać pytania, dociekać i analizować. I to nie tylko po to, by znaleźć zabójcę, ale też by zrozumieć, co naprawdę kryje się w tym małżeństwie, tych relacjach, tej rodzinie i w jej własnym związku.

Nie znajdziecie tu spektakularnych zwrotów akcji co kilka stron, bo Autor gra klasycznie, precyzyjnie i elegancko. Każdy gest, każde słowo ma znaczenie, a siłą tej opowieści jest dedukcja i logiczne myślenie. Łączenie pozornie oderwanych faktów i nawlekanie ich precyzyjnie na linię czasu. A gdy już pojawia się trup, nie chodzi o szok, a o to, co ten mord odsłania. Bo okazuje się, że tu każdy ma coś do ukrycia i każdy miał motyw, by dopuścić się zbrodni.

Jeśli kochacie klasyczne, misternie utkane intrygi i niepokojącą atmosferę, gdzie wszyscy są podejrzani, ta książka będzie dla Was idealna. A jeśli macie zaproszenie na wesele w najbliższym czasie… może warto sprawdzić, kto jeszcze został zaproszony.

[Raquel San Martín · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una pareja feliz. Dos familias divididas. Una fiesta de bodas para morirse. La isla privada de Castle Fiore se encuentra en la ubicación perfecta en el lago de Garda, ¿dónde mejor para celebrar las próximas nupcias de una influencer italiana? Sin embargo, cuando un grito espeluznante detiene abruptamente los procedimientos, queda claro que hay un asesino entre ellos. Atrapados en la isla mientras esperan a la policía, las sospechas se descontrolan entre el grupo y la carrera para descubrirlos comienza. ¿Podrán hacerlo antes de volver a matar...?

El asesinato en el lago de Garda se cuenta desde varios puntos de vista. Los principales son Stephen Dalton, padrino, Harper Bale, asistente de Eva, Vito Bianchi, el padre, Sofia, la gerente del lugar de la boda, y la narradora principal , Robyn Whitford, la novia del hermano menor de Laurence, el novio que se va a casar.

Muchos personajes, saltos  hacía delante y detrás en el tiempo antes de la boda, y varios puntos de vista...parece un caos pero consigue un orden y una trama muy entretenida. Debe ser que yo he leído muchos libros del estilo pero descubrí el pastel bastante pronto.

En conclusión, un libro para unas tardes entretenidas intentando averiguar quien de todos los sospechosos es el culpable.

[Angus Healy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is very cookie cutter murder mystery, good for an easy, don’t think too much about it, have your hand held through pretty much the entire thing, but ultimately if you want a murder mystery that will twist you, shock you and leave you guessing at every turn, this is not one of them.
I will give the author some credit that unlike one of his previous novels “The Murder Game”, he kept the POVs down quite a lot, to only 4 in total (which is still too many for a murder mystery in my opinion but hey), so there was an actual question of “whodunnit” instead of “Well from their POVs it’s clearly not these 8 people so it’s now down to like 3 people.”
However the twists were a little too obvious, the killer could be worked out very early on, and if you do read this book at one point you’ll go “Well Ockham’s Razor suggests it’s this person for this reason.” You’re probably right if that’s where your mind goes.

Either way, it wasn’t the worst read I’ve ever had, but also I found the whole thing a bit boring. If I DNF’d books, I probably would have with this one, not because it’s bad, just a bit dull. Also it took far far too long to get to the murder.

Rating: 2.5/5

[Debbie Robson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several times a year I get restless, particularly in January and need a quick easy read that will pull me along. Often it is a Robert Goddard or a novel set in Cornwall. This year I discovered Tom Hindle and how wonderful to read a murder mystery set on Lake Garda! The location is marvellous. You have an Italian influencer – Eva, the bride, marrying into a very wealthy family – the Heywoods, You have Lake Garda, a castle - the venue of the wedding, a luxury yacht and several mysteries as it turns out.

Murder on Lake Garda is told in several points of view. The main ones are Stephen Dalton – best man, Harper Bale – Eva’s assistant, Vito Bianchi – the father of the bridge, Sofia – the manager of the wedding venue. And the main narrator who I really enjoyed spending time with – Robyn Whitford – the girlfriend of Toby Heywood, the groom Laurence’s younger brother.

In this book we actually don’t find out the identity of the victim and the location of their death until page 157. So that in itself drags you along. To begin with we meet the first three narrators (or characters who we see from their point of view) as they wait for the wedding to start – Stephen, Harper and Vito. We then go back to two days before the wedding and meet Robyn and Toby and then arrive with them on Lake Garda. And then it’s One Day Before the Wedding, The Day of the Wedding. Fifteen Minutes Before the Wedding. One o’clock. Two o’clock. Three o’clock. And One Week Later.

As you can imagine after page 157 I positively raced through this book and really enjoyed seeing how Robyn puts all the pieces together. I did guess the identity of the killer about half way through and also found Abigail, Stephen’s wife, over the top in her accusations but otherwise a great read. Will definitely be reading his other books soon. Highly recommended.

[Esme Merrily · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/10 pretty basic and predictable. Would also benefit immensely from an editor and a proofreader. This or the author thinks that his readers are not able to retain informations and therefore are required to hear about the same thing again and again.

[Izzy Major · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good book but not as good as his book a fatal crossing

[Melanie Bunseedhun · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cosy murder read. Twisty and easy to read.

[Dora Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro perfeito para os amantes de Agatha Cristie, uma escrita cativante e um desfecho que nos deixa boaquiabertos.
O único ponto negativo nesta história é a quantidade de personagens.
A leitura flui a um ritmo espetacular.
Recomendo!!!

[Della · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom does cost crime very well, this story is well written with beautiful scenes set around Lake Garda. The killers motive is obvious from half way through but the identity of the killer is revealed later. Well worth a read if you like your crime soft and Christie-like.

[Linsey Esplin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfect holiday read - summery, easy to read and exciting ⭐️