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finajevans5 's review for:
Murder on Lake Garda
by Tom Hindle
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this up for a book club so felt obligated to finished it - if it weren't for this I definitely would have DNF'd very early on. The characters felt like stereotypes where an attempt to add depth had occurred but just not clicked, and honestly I just was not invested. All the ingredients were there for something modern yet with a classic Christie locked room mystery at the centre, but they just didn't blend.
I think I felt like nothing new or different was occuring here, so whilst technically the elements were there for something enjoyable, it felt a bit like a box ticking exercise. This is my second Hindle book now and I've felt with both that he doesn't always know who the murderer is going to be until much later into the writing process - not even in a 'everyone's a suspect way', but in the sense that I don't think it would have mattered who committed the crime, which really makes the revela fall flat.
It also really infuriated me that all the characters almost came with a catchphrase that they kept repeating, even in conversations with the same people, as if this made them more human and drove home their motives. In reality, especially as I was listening on audio, this was irritating and just seemed like a lazy attempt to flesh out the narrative.
I think I felt like nothing new or different was occuring here, so whilst technically the elements were there for something enjoyable, it felt a bit like a box ticking exercise. This is my second Hindle book now and I've felt with both that he doesn't always know who the murderer is going to be until much later into the writing process - not even in a 'everyone's a suspect way', but in the sense that I don't think it would have mattered who committed the crime, which really makes the revela fall flat.
It also really infuriated me that all the characters almost came with a catchphrase that they kept repeating, even in conversations with the same people, as if this made them more human and drove home their motives. In reality, especially as I was listening on audio, this was irritating and just seemed like a lazy attempt to flesh out the narrative.