The Murder Game by Tom Hindle
Nov. 12th, 2023 12:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
One house. Nine guests. Endless motives for murder …
Guests assemble at Hamlet Hall for a New Year’s Eve party to remember.
They are to take part in a murder mystery game with a 1920s twist, and everyone has their own part to play.
But the evening has barely begun when one guest is found dead - killed by an injury to the head.
Someone is playing by their own rules.
And in a close-knit community, old rivalries run deep …
It’s New Year’s Eve at Hamlet Hall, a hotel in the small town of Hamlet Wick, on the Devon coast.
Hamlet Hall is owned by Ian Davies and business has not been great. Although his chef, Carl Hooper, has a good reputation, money has always been tight and with less than stellar guest reviews during the 6 month tourist season and little to no business from the locals during the off-season, he’s in danger of going under. So when his employee, Will Hooper, suggests hosting a murder mystery game on New Year’s Eve, Ian decides to go all-in to feed and entertain the nine people who agree to attend and stay the night.
Will has put the story together and engaged Jack Marshall (a former bit part player on the London stage turned drama teacher at Hamlet Wick’s school and erstwhile ladies man), Theo Bloom (a 19-year-old actor who went to school in Hamlet Wick but whose dreams of a role in a national production were dashed by a poor review) and Claire Foley (a 40-something woman who responded to a Facebook post from Will and Ian having dabbled with am-dram in her youth) to perform the acting parts in the game. He’s also left clues around the hotel for the guests to find.
The guests themselves are mainly Hamlet Wick locals but all have influence within the town. Edward and Martha Finn run Hamlet Wick’s only store and are stalwarts of the local community who have led local opposition to the redevelopment of the local lighthouse (where their son died in a tragic accident) by local-boy-turned-rich-property-developer, Damien White. Justin Fletcher is an ambitious 19-year-old reporter who went to school with Theo Bloom and has been tasked with reviewing the New Year’s Eve event but who really dreams of swapping the Hamlet Herald for the national newspapers. Gwen Holloway is the head of the local tourist board and she and her husband, Hugh, stood with Edward and Martha Finn in opposing Damien White’s redevelopment of the lighthouse, not least because Gwen had submitted her own plans for the lighthouse, which were rejected when Damien White brought his own proposal and considerable funds to bear. Nigel Cobb runs the construction company that’s managing the refurbishment of the lighthouse for Damien White and while and his wife Sylvia initially enjoyed the money that the work brought in, local opposition has made the job increasingly difficult, forcing him to bring in outside workers. The last two guests are from outside Hamlet Wick - accounting student Lily who is attending with her father.
Will Hooper knows how much is riding on the success of his murder game, not just for Ian Davies, but also for Will himself because when he was 7-years-old, he found something dreadful on the beach at Hamlet Wick and has never gotten over it. What no one else knows is that he’s drawn on that experience to shape the murder story he wants to tell.
As the night progresses secrets are revealed, old rivalries and jealousies emerge and it isn’t long before one of the guests is found dead, killed by a vicious blow to the head. With the hotel’s remote location, it’s clear that the killer must be one of the people present for the evening. With the police on their way, guests, staff and actors turn on each other and it becomes clear that answers lie in events that happened 20 years earlier at the lighthouse that’s currently being redeveloped …
The ambition of Tom Hindle’s second crime novel exceeds its grasp, its characters too thinly drawn (with the younger characters being particularly unconvincing) and the mystery element too telegraphed for it to work effectively. It did hold my attention and I enjoyed the tensions between the local community members, especially as the secrets start to come out, but as a whole I think it’s flawed although I’d still check out Hindle’s next book.
I picked this up having been very impressed with Hindle’s debut novel A FATAL CROSSING, which was tightly written and had some great twists.
Whereas A FATAL CROSSING had a small cast of characters, Hindle is working with a larger cast here and for me, it’s one of the big weaknesses of the book. On the plus side the way Hindle switches between the cast members gives the story momentum and pace. However the characters themselves are thinly drawn with Hindle doing a lot of telling to lever in the backstory relevant to the main plot and to be honest, I didn’t see the point of some of the characters - notably Hugh Holloway and Nigel and Sylvia Cobb who come across as filler for much of the story.
More serious though is the fact that the four youngest characters - Will, Theo, Justin and Lily - simply don’t convince as 19 and 20-somethings at the start of their lives. Their dialogue is slightly off and their actions unconvincing, particularly in terms of how they relate to each other. Justin in particular never comes across as someone serious about a career in journalism and the way he pursues the murder story veers into cliche.
Unfortunately the older characters aren’t much better drawn with Gwen and Edward probably having the most depth in terms of how their backstories develop (although again, Gwen’s political ambitions to be mayor don’t really ring true and nor does her loss of the lighthouse to Damien White).
The mystery itself is a bit confusing at times in terms of locations of various characters and the respective timings. This is a deliberate choice by Hindle for reasons that become clear in the final quarter but by then it’s already been sign posted how this is going to affect the plot, which removes a lot of the surprise.
I did enjoy the way the backstory as to what happens in the lighthouse gets drawn into the current events, even though it is a little heavy handed at times and some of the twists are guessable. I also enjoyed the revelation of the killer, even though I had guessed it and found the motive somewhat contrived.
If this all sounds like I’m down on the book then I want to stress that it did keep my turning the pages and there are some good ideas in there, it’s just that it suffers in comparison with A FATAL CROSSING as it isn’t as well done. That said, I enjoy Hindle’s writing style and while this book didn’t come together for me I would definitely check out Hindle’s next book.
The Verdict:
The ambition of Tom Hindle’s second crime novel exceeds its grasp, its characters too thinly drawn (with the younger characters being particularly unconvincing) and the mystery element too telegraphed for it to work effectively. It did hold my attention and I enjoyed the tensions between the local community members, especially as the secrets start to come out, but as a whole I think it’s flawed although I’d still check out Hindle’s next book.
Guests assemble at Hamlet Hall for a New Year’s Eve party to remember.
They are to take part in a murder mystery game with a 1920s twist, and everyone has their own part to play.
But the evening has barely begun when one guest is found dead - killed by an injury to the head.
And in a close-knit community, old rivalries run deep …
It’s New Year’s Eve at Hamlet Hall, a hotel in the small town of Hamlet Wick, on the Devon coast.
Hamlet Hall is owned by Ian Davies and business has not been great. Although his chef, Carl Hooper, has a good reputation, money has always been tight and with less than stellar guest reviews during the 6 month tourist season and little to no business from the locals during the off-season, he’s in danger of going under. So when his employee, Will Hooper, suggests hosting a murder mystery game on New Year’s Eve, Ian decides to go all-in to feed and entertain the nine people who agree to attend and stay the night.
Will has put the story together and engaged Jack Marshall (a former bit part player on the London stage turned drama teacher at Hamlet Wick’s school and erstwhile ladies man), Theo Bloom (a 19-year-old actor who went to school in Hamlet Wick but whose dreams of a role in a national production were dashed by a poor review) and Claire Foley (a 40-something woman who responded to a Facebook post from Will and Ian having dabbled with am-dram in her youth) to perform the acting parts in the game. He’s also left clues around the hotel for the guests to find.
The guests themselves are mainly Hamlet Wick locals but all have influence within the town. Edward and Martha Finn run Hamlet Wick’s only store and are stalwarts of the local community who have led local opposition to the redevelopment of the local lighthouse (where their son died in a tragic accident) by local-boy-turned-rich-property-developer, Damien White. Justin Fletcher is an ambitious 19-year-old reporter who went to school with Theo Bloom and has been tasked with reviewing the New Year’s Eve event but who really dreams of swapping the Hamlet Herald for the national newspapers. Gwen Holloway is the head of the local tourist board and she and her husband, Hugh, stood with Edward and Martha Finn in opposing Damien White’s redevelopment of the lighthouse, not least because Gwen had submitted her own plans for the lighthouse, which were rejected when Damien White brought his own proposal and considerable funds to bear. Nigel Cobb runs the construction company that’s managing the refurbishment of the lighthouse for Damien White and while and his wife Sylvia initially enjoyed the money that the work brought in, local opposition has made the job increasingly difficult, forcing him to bring in outside workers. The last two guests are from outside Hamlet Wick - accounting student Lily who is attending with her father.
Will Hooper knows how much is riding on the success of his murder game, not just for Ian Davies, but also for Will himself because when he was 7-years-old, he found something dreadful on the beach at Hamlet Wick and has never gotten over it. What no one else knows is that he’s drawn on that experience to shape the murder story he wants to tell.
As the night progresses secrets are revealed, old rivalries and jealousies emerge and it isn’t long before one of the guests is found dead, killed by a vicious blow to the head. With the hotel’s remote location, it’s clear that the killer must be one of the people present for the evening. With the police on their way, guests, staff and actors turn on each other and it becomes clear that answers lie in events that happened 20 years earlier at the lighthouse that’s currently being redeveloped …
The ambition of Tom Hindle’s second crime novel exceeds its grasp, its characters too thinly drawn (with the younger characters being particularly unconvincing) and the mystery element too telegraphed for it to work effectively. It did hold my attention and I enjoyed the tensions between the local community members, especially as the secrets start to come out, but as a whole I think it’s flawed although I’d still check out Hindle’s next book.
I picked this up having been very impressed with Hindle’s debut novel A FATAL CROSSING, which was tightly written and had some great twists.
Whereas A FATAL CROSSING had a small cast of characters, Hindle is working with a larger cast here and for me, it’s one of the big weaknesses of the book. On the plus side the way Hindle switches between the cast members gives the story momentum and pace. However the characters themselves are thinly drawn with Hindle doing a lot of telling to lever in the backstory relevant to the main plot and to be honest, I didn’t see the point of some of the characters - notably Hugh Holloway and Nigel and Sylvia Cobb who come across as filler for much of the story.
More serious though is the fact that the four youngest characters - Will, Theo, Justin and Lily - simply don’t convince as 19 and 20-somethings at the start of their lives. Their dialogue is slightly off and their actions unconvincing, particularly in terms of how they relate to each other. Justin in particular never comes across as someone serious about a career in journalism and the way he pursues the murder story veers into cliche.
Unfortunately the older characters aren’t much better drawn with Gwen and Edward probably having the most depth in terms of how their backstories develop (although again, Gwen’s political ambitions to be mayor don’t really ring true and nor does her loss of the lighthouse to Damien White).
The mystery itself is a bit confusing at times in terms of locations of various characters and the respective timings. This is a deliberate choice by Hindle for reasons that become clear in the final quarter but by then it’s already been sign posted how this is going to affect the plot, which removes a lot of the surprise.
I did enjoy the way the backstory as to what happens in the lighthouse gets drawn into the current events, even though it is a little heavy handed at times and some of the twists are guessable. I also enjoyed the revelation of the killer, even though I had guessed it and found the motive somewhat contrived.
If this all sounds like I’m down on the book then I want to stress that it did keep my turning the pages and there are some good ideas in there, it’s just that it suffers in comparison with A FATAL CROSSING as it isn’t as well done. That said, I enjoy Hindle’s writing style and while this book didn’t come together for me I would definitely check out Hindle’s next book.
The Verdict:
The ambition of Tom Hindle’s second crime novel exceeds its grasp, its characters too thinly drawn (with the younger characters being particularly unconvincing) and the mystery element too telegraphed for it to work effectively. It did hold my attention and I enjoyed the tensions between the local community members, especially as the secrets start to come out, but as a whole I think it’s flawed although I’d still check out Hindle’s next book.
