The Murders on Three Bridges

In need of a change of scenery, Detective Inspector Ricardo Arriaga boards Stella Australis for a trip around Tierra del Fuego. Before the ship reaches Cape Horn, the officer alone on the bridge is shot dead while sailing the ship a short distance across a bay. When other officers come rushing to enter the bridge, they found all doors leading to it locked from the inside. With most passengers and crew ashore on an excursion to a glacier and the runaway ship headed for shipwreck on the rocky coast, the captain is faced with overwhelming challenges.

The detective inspector eventually deduces that the death of the officer must be murder. By meticulously going through the evidence and interrogating the crew and passengers still onboard, he narrows down the suspects to nine – but who among them is the killer? The American CIA agent on a secret mission or his talented wife? The Lebanese profiteer or his Turkish mistress? The ship’s hostess and its assistant engineer getting rid of her bothersome ex-lover? The aloof British photographer affected by too many wars? The disabled Frenchman suffering from food poisoning? The ship’s doctor about to retire after having spent half a lifetime in the Middle East? And then there’s the most confounding question of all: how was the murderer able to escape with the doors locked from the inside?

There comes a moment when the detective inspector finds himself challenged by the explanations for the murders that have taken place on not only one but three different bridges, and one of these concerns his two fathers – the one he has never met and the one he is litigating.

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“The Murders on Three Bridges is a locked-room murder mystery by Kim Ekemar. Ricardo Rivas is a detective inspector with the Buenos Aires police department. After his mother dies, Ricardo learns that he was adopted as a baby. Getting his DNA tested, he meets his biological grandmother, Angelina Arriaga. Police charge his adoptive father, Fernando Rivas, with falsifying Ricardo’s birth certificate. After this stressful time in his life, Ricardo’s ex-girlfriend, Carolina, suggests he relax on a cruise around Cape Horn on the Stella Australis. However, on the third day of the cruise, a gunshot rings out on the bridge, a man dies from a bullet to the head, and Ricardo is thrust back into his job as a detective again. With multiple suspects, no witnesses, and the bridge doors all locked from the inside, Ricardo must work out who did it, and how…

“I enjoyed the character development for Ricardo in the first chapter, which covered his family background, setting him up for his cruise on the Stella Australis. The other characters were also rich and varied, with enough background information to show them as real people leading real lives. The writing itself was also excellent; Ekemar’s style is easy and conversational, making his prose a pleasure to read. His character descriptions were neat, picking out only a few major characteristics for each person, allowing the reader to picture them easily before moving on with the story.

“The Murders on Three Bridges is a genuine mystery. All of Ricardo’s nine suspects has some motive for the murder. Ekemar also includes plenty of red herrings to keep things interesting. Though I did correctly suspect the killer at one point, I did not yet know their motive or means, and my suspicions later moved on to others. My last guess at the murderer was ultimately incorrect.

“In summary, The Murders on Three Bridges is a great locked-room murder mystery, rich in interesting characters, presenting a genuine puzzle for readers to solve. I thoroughly enjoyed it!”

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