Set in 1924 over a week long crossing from Southampton to New York, Tim Birch, the Ship’s Officer, finds himself assisting a Scotland Yard Detective in investigating the death of an elderly man on board. It’s generally believed to be an accident, but the detective thinks otherwise. They have four days to complete their investigations. Overall it’s a good read and it was an entertaining few hours but it just didn’t have the depth and complexity I was hoping for. So, you see, THAT plottwist alone is a good enough reason to read this book already. It's really good, you'll enjoy it. And again: take a look at that cover. Isn't it gorgeous?

I was looking forward to reading The Murder game after reading the authors first novel The fatal crossing and enjoyed it. There’s a lot of repetition of the same interactions between the main two protagonists – I guess in an attempt to build up to the climax where everything is revealed but it’s done in a fairly lazy way where no new information is slowly revealed. My main reason for DNFing is because the premise is inaccurate, although my knowledge of this only comes from my career. Essentially, there's upset in a Devon village when the lighthouse is to be developed by a local developer who left for London as a teen and has returned; he is hugely unpopular because he 'stole' the planning permission for development from a popular local who also runs the tourist information. I'm a Town Planner and it's impossible to steal a planning permission, it belongs the building, not to a person. My other issue, that the local council is believed to have been bribed by the developer to give him the planning permission, comes across as lazy plotting that bashes 'corrupt' councils. Anyone can apply for planning permission, for any building, but only the person who owns it can implement that permission, if approved, and undertake the development. Even though Fatal Crossing took me a while to get into I did end up enjoying it and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next book. I’m hoping it will be translated into English one day.alter ego της συγγραφέως, στο επαγγελματικό κομμάτι τουλάχιστον. Έχοντας εργαστεί και η ίδια ως ανταποκρίτρια εφημερίδας, η Theils προικίζει την ηρωίδα της με το δημοσιογραφικό δαιμόνιο και τον τρόπο ανάπτυξης της έρευνας που πιθανότατα βοήθησε και την ίδια στην καριέρα της. We also meet a whole range of people – who between them have a whole host of secrets! Not many of them were very nice people, but that’s fine as I was convinced that each of them in turn was the killer. I honestly suspected everyone – except there’s no way I’d have predicted the ending of the novel. Of course, the inevitable happens, and one of the guests ends up dead, and it seems impossible for anyone to have left the hotel. So the murderer is among them, and it’s left to the guests, along with local PC Natalie Fay, to get to the bottom of the group’s hidden secrets and possible motives, and uncover the killer. Lone Theils. Ένα χορταστικό, από κάθε άποψη, θρίλερ με μια συναρπαστική και περίπλοκη ιστορία που κερδίζει τις εντυπώσεις.

SPOILER ALERT* the protagonist’s daughter has gone missing, which is an underlying theme within the story. For something which apparently drives the protagonist and is the reason for his journey, there is no information given on HOW she goes missing. It’s his fault? But HOW? He was on a ship when it happened - where was her mother?! It just makes no sense. I liked the police at Scotland Yard, and I hope that the follow-up books will include Nora involved with them in more cases! The whole story takes place over a four day period in November 1924 as the cruise liner Endeavour approaches New York from Southampton with two thousand passengers and crew on board. When an elderly man is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the ship’s captain assumes – and hopes – that it’s an accident. However, James Temple, a Scotland Yard inspector, happens to be one of the passengers on the voyage and, after examining the body, he is convinced that the old man has been murdered. The captain gives Temple permission to investigate the crime, but only if he agrees to be accompanied by one of the ship’s officers, Timothy Birch. This was a great follow-up to A Fatal Crossing, which might have been the better of the two, but The Murder Game is a strong story that sweeps you right up. It’s November 1924, when the ship Endeavour sets sail from Southampton for New York, with a total of 2000 passengers and crew.

Retailers:

I requested this ARC from NetGalley last year, it was what prompted me to read the author's debut, A Fatal Crossing, which I DNF'd two thirds in. I thought it only fair to give The Murder Game a fair shot, but as 20% in, have decided to also DNF. I loved how the game was constructed and how everything went down hill when a murder happened during the murder mystery party. I have rated it 3 stars for several reasons, the first being that the characters are all unlikable. Birch is so utterly annoying with his constant ribbon playing that I nearly put the book down. Temple is also deeply unlikable, he’s constantly aggravated and highly strung and there isn’t one good quality about him. The rest of characters are bland and that’s being polite. Lone Theils, όπως και η ηρωίδα της, εργάστηκε ως ανταποκρίτρια δανέζικων εφημερίδων στον Λονδίνο για περίπου 16 χρόνια οπότε είναι λογικό να γνωρίζει αρκετά καλά τις συνήθειες των Άγγλων αλλά και το πως να κινείται στη χώρα. Και αυτό διαφαίνεται μέσα από την αφήγηση της ιστορίας της καθώς διαβάζουμε το βιβλίο της. Τα ταξίδια αστραπή της Νόρα Σαν μεταξύ Δανίας και Αγγλίας δίνουν τη δυνατότητα στους αναγνώστες να ταξιδέψουν νοερά και στις δύο χώρες ανακαλύπτοντας τες μέσα από τις περιγραφές της συγγραφέως. Πέρα από αυτό είναι ένα ξεχωριστό ανάγνωσμα που ίσως κυλάει λίγο νωχελικά καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια του για να σπιντάρει κυριολεκτικά στα τελευταία κεφάλαια μετατρέποντας το σε ένα θρίλερ με έντονη δράση και αγωνία για την κατάληξη του. Το τέλος του αφήνει ξέπνοους τους αναγνώστες που παρακολουθούν εμβρόντητοι το κουβάρι της αφήγησης να φτάνει στην άκρη του νήματος με ένα αίσθημα φρίκης που πραγματικά δεν περίμεναν ότι θα συνέβαινε όσο το διάβαζαν. Two Danish girls disappeared without a trace on a ferry to England in 1985. Then, many years later a photo of them is found in an old suitcase in a second-hand shop in the small English seaside town Brine.

That said, I’d whole-heartedly recommend this lively and entertaining mystery. The twists are suitably twisty and the denouement genuinely surprising. The setting is vivid and the characters are well-drawn, even if you do love to hate them at times! As a furious squall swept down Lake Michigan on June 23, 1950, a DC-4 with 58 souls on board flew from New York toward Minnesota. Minutes after midnight Captain Robert Lind requested a lower altitude as he began crossing the lake, but Air Traffic Control could not comply. That was the last communication with Northwest Airlines Flight 2501. For the above reasons, whilst I genuinely did enjoy the story and wanted to know how it ended, I do not think I would have persevered to the end had I not felt obliged to leave an informed review. There were some incredible twists to the plot, none more than the final twist. I would never have seen that coming and I really didn't sense any foreshadowing even on reflection. Raymond maybe had me wondering at something but I wasn't sure what. Lone Theils δημιουργεί ένα σκοτεινό περιβάλλον που μυρίζει ιδρώτα, ούρα και απελπισία. Παράλληλα, η συγγραφέας διαγράφει τη φθονερή φιγούρα ενός εγκληματία που αρέσκεται στο να εμπαίζει τους συγγενείς των θυμάτων και που δείχνει ότι απόλαυσε την κάθε απελπισμένη στιγμή που έζησαν τα θύματα του με το φόβο στην ψυχή.

It’s New years eve and a murder mystery party is being held at Hamlet Hall hotel. A hotel that has seen better days. In a secluded area of North Devon and there is no phone signal. There are eight guests, all with secrets of their own. Which had something to do with a body that is found on a beach over twenty years ago. This is your standard murder-at-the-party format that includes many twists and turns that accompany the complex narrative. There are deep lies and discoveries that intertwine between past and present and Hindle has really set a stride with this one. There are layers to these characters motives that are expressive but brutal. As before, we've had to pay attention to close details to follow everyone's steps and motives. This was an engaging read, but it did fall short on its surprises. The writing is innovative and can be deemed as a step up from A Fatal Crossing but the characters weren't as interesting. This could be more since A Fatal Crossing was one of my favourite reads of the year.