I was provided both an ebook and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I mainly listened to the audiobook version, however it was extremely helpful to have the ebook handy while reading this book as there are a lot of characters to keep track of as this story unfolds. I found myself referring to the print version often to keep track of relationships. The narrator was good for the most part, however he did a very high pitched voice for one of the female characters. It was almost whiny, which I didn't enjoy, the other characters were fine.

As for the plot, I found the first half of the book to be very engaging. We get the first major plot twist around the halfway point, then the remainder of the book seemed to drag after that major reveal. The plot is fairly convoluted as one of the main characters is found murdered, and an investigation ensues to find out what really happened. The investigation takes a round about approach to get to the bottom of what is going on, mainly because the inhabitants of the island can't remember what happened the night before. With only hours left to save everyone on the island before a deadly fog covers the island, Emory and Clara must solve the murder and uncover the secrets of the island itself.

This is a really hard book to review without giving spoilers. The twist in the middle of the book was great, then it went down hill for me from there. The murder investigation itself, was more procedural than suspenseful. If you have read Turton's previous books you will get that same high concept storytelling that takes a complex path to get to the end. The author often wants the reader to stay in the dark until the very end to prevent the reveal of whodunit, however I often found myself losing interest as I wasn't connected to the characters or the world. The concept of this dystopian, science fiction society was really interesting. As I mentioned, I really enjoyed the first half, but the author lost me in the second half as the investigation lacked action and thrilling moments to keep me engaged.

After having a lukewarm experience with The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I wasn't sure if Stuart Turton's books were for me. But when I read the description of The Last Murder at the End of the World, I was immediately intrigued. A post-apocalyptic whodunnit? Sign me alllll the way up!

Last Murder takes place in a future where the world has been swallowed by a toxic fog, all except for one idyllic island where 122 villagers live in a utopic society. But then something shocking happens: Someone is murdered, and the fog starts closing in. If they don't solve the murder in 107 hours, the fog will overtake the island, and everyone on it.

It's a high concept with high stakes, and the book starts off strong. It's got a little sci-fi, a little cli-fi, and a little dystopia thrown into the mix with the whodunnit, which is such an intriguing combination. Turton's world-building is fascinating, and he explores some deep themes not always typically found in a locked-room sort of mystery: what it means to be human; the nature of grief; the danger, and sometimes the necessity, of keeping secrets.

Things fell apart for me in the execution, though. The mystery gets pretty complex, and there are a lot of characters to keep straight who are a bit underdeveloped. I felt off-balance and slightly perplexed throughout the entire book, feeling like I was missing something. Unfortunately, I wasn't engaged enough to ever feel truly invested in the fate of the island and its villagers.

This is definitely a book I appreciated for its originality and concept much more than I enjoyed actually reading it. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the early reading opportunity.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted book!

I was so excited for this one especially after seeing all the fun early marketing!

I really tried to get into it but could not grasp the characters or the setting. I even tried restarting the book at one point to see if that helped if I really focused but ultimately could not find myself invested.

I still hope this is a big hit for the author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this title.

So: I loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and liked The Devil and the Dark Water, and was excited to see where Stuart Turton would go next. If _Devil_'s realism and straight-forward mystery wasn't for you, this is going to be back in the puzzle-y, sci-fi space that his debut was, so jump on in.

There's a lot of ideas here, and I kind of wonder if there's one too many spinning about - the book isn't quite as clever as it thinks it is, and I was able to figure out a few plot twist-y things well ahead of time. That wasn't a problem for me, though, and this was a really fun ride to the end. _Evelyn Hardcastle_ is a really strong debut, and I hope Turton keeps trying to find new ways to be clever instead of trying to live up to that incredibly tricky shadow.

The Last Murder at the End of the World is “1985” x “Catching Fire” (specifically the fog piece of the clock arena) x “The 100”. When a scientist of the village is murdered, it’s up to one of the villagers to solve the murder before a deadly fog that has taken over the entire world invades their village and kills everyone left. This book is best read in a couple sittings without long lapses in reading. There are so many characters involved in the story and only minimal descriptions of their features to distinguish them, only their relation to other people on the island so it made it hard for me to keep track of who’s who sometimes. The plot and story are there, I just think this once wasn’t as enjoyable for be due to having to keep up with all the different villagers and scientists. The few twists in the book were not as shocking as his past books but I still enjoyed the story as a whole. I would recommend this to anyone who loves whodunnits, dystopian societies, and who is capable of keeping track of a large cast of characters. Overall a solid read: 3/5 ⭐️

Wow, what an excellent read this was. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-arc. Masterfully written, storytelling at it's finest, I could not put this book down once picked up.

It is the end of the world, there's no one left on earth except a tiny village, and they are surrounded by deadly fog that wiped out the rest of humanity. But, there's been a murder, the fog is closing in, and there's not much time to solve this murder and save all of humanity from being lost.

This is not usually my type of book because of the sci-fi elements, I would say that sci-fi as a genre is more my husband and son's thing. However, I absolutely adored this book including the sci-fi elements which added so much to the mystery elements of the murder. This is a well crafted book, intricately woven, yet easy to read. I absolutely loved it!

Stuart Turton always has the most interesting premise for his books., he has an incredibly creative mind. That being said, sometimes they can be a little convoluted and confusing to work out what is going on., I do think this is a little intentional so that he can pull the test out of nowhere, but it’s not always for me. I do think MANY people will enjoy this title though, his work is very carefully constructed and thought out and I appreciate that about this author.

This book was definitely not made for me. I am not a huge futurific, science fiction, reader. I struggled to connect with the book and found it to be boring at times. All that said, if you are a big fan of futuristic books, definitely pick this up! The details of this book were incredible. The creativity was honestly hard to imagine at times. It was complex, it was out of the box, it was different. However, if future scenarios, especially those that have to do with science and technology are not your thing, you may want to skip this one. If you love the creativity involved in how the world will look, this is absolutely a book for you!

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for a honest review!

This book has flown by so fast for me, but in all honest I did not love it as much. I feel like there’s no dimensions to the characters and it feels like there’s so many different characters that it got kind of confusing to keep track of. I wish I liked this book more but it just wasn’t my favorite.

Another intricate murder mystery from the mind of Stuart Turton. I enjoyed it even more than the 7 1/2 Deaths and found it better organized and thought through. The world Turton built here is fascinating, and the mystery is delightfully complex. I liked that we got bits and clues pretty much throughout the book, yet the final twists still had enough of a surprise value.
There’s great character development for the main players, and we get a nice reversal of roles and good versus evil judgments about this world’s order and the powers that organized it.
Truly an amazing book that could be a wonderful movie (think about the golden fog engulfing the island!)

Thank you, NetGalley, Stuart Turton, and Sourcebooks Landmark, for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

The book is out tomorrow, May 21.

Mysteries, more specifically murder mysteries are one of my very favorite genres to read. So was really excited going into this one as it sounded super unique. Unfortunately, it was almost TOO unique for me. I'm finding out that any time a book is deemed "high-concept" then it probably is not for me. The premise was interesting and I was intrigued at the beginning but the execution was a miss which caused confusion and my interest the mystery to dwindle. I was confused much of the time that "Abi" was speaking in the character's mind. The ending wrapped up the mystery I guess but it felt a bit messy and had some plot holes. Maybe people who are more into sci-fi would understand and appreciate this one more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I was so blown away by the cleverness and originality of Stuart Turton’s mystery The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle that I eagerly picked up an advanced readers copy of this new one. (I was underwhelmed by his sophomore effort, The Devil and the Dark Water, but hope springs eternal.) And I was not disappointed with The Last Murder at the End of the World.

Sometime in the future, most of the earth has been taken over by some kind of fog that killed everyone. A few survivors gathered on an island where some scientists had been able to create a small barrier against the fog, and now just over a hundred villagers live a simple, peaceful existence. They farm and fish and take care of each other, led by three scientists they respect as “elders.”

Life is good, and the villagers are content. Then one night, the beloved scientist who spends all her time with them is found stabbed to death. Because of a series of fail-safes the woman had put in place, her death has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island that holds off the fog. If someone can’t solve the murder within a few days, the fog will kill everyone.

Complicating matters is that everyone’s memories from that night were wiped, so they must piece together clues about what they forgot to solve the murder.

One villager has always been more curious than the others, and particularly close to the murdered scientist. She takes on the role of investigator.

I can’t say a lot more; in short, the story has a lot more going on than seems apparent at first glance. Each little revelation of important facts had me turning pages even more eagerly. It’s also interesting because the book’s setting on a remote island, its dystopian elements, and bigger-picture puzzle reminded me a lot of Justin Cronin’s recent The Ferryman, which I also really enjoyed. They’re quite different once you get past the initial similarities, however.

The Last Murder at the End of the World is another one of those books I wish I could read again and get to discover with all the satisfaction of the first time, just as I did with 7 ½ Deaths. I may prefer that one a touch more, but all in all, this left me feeling glad Turton had another unusual mystery in him.

This is a convoluted murder mystery set in the future, when a deadly fog has overtaken the world and killed everyone except for a small group on a deserted island. When one of those citizens mysteriously dies, others try to solve the murder before the fog overtakes everything. There are a lot of characters in this story, requiring the reader to pay close attention. I found many typos and writing errors in my ARC that really detracted from my reading. I hope those errors will be fixed before publication. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've been enjoying more murder mysteries lately and this was no exception. While everyone else on the last island in the world is content and accepting of life as it is, Emory thinks outside the box and her questions are often frowned upon. However, when the leader of the scientists and islanders is found dead, and the island barrier begins to go down, it's up to Emory to solve the case and her people. I felt the story did drag a little towards the end and the resolution could've come sooner. Overall it was a nice murder mystery with a little doomsday backdrop.

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

This is an interesting and interestingly spun yarn. I enjoyed my time with the story and thought about it when not reading. A variety of mysteries rolled into one, I was intrigued on several levels and wanted to know what was happening and going to happen next.

Several (nice) developments occurred over the course of the tale that I wasn't expecting.. Even the sections were titled in an interesting fashion that inspired interest.

I enjoyed the world that the author crafted and grew attached to several characters. When the yarn stopped spinning, the story was concluded with a satisfying, if bittersweet, close.

Note: The sole con I experienced wasn't with the story itself, but with the editing - especially towards the end of the book. However, I read the book prior to publication and the errors may have been corrected. As such, this con did not impact the rating.

Overall rating: 4/5 stars

#NetGalley @stuturton @bookmarked #TheLastMurderAtTheEndOfTheWorld

I was a huge fan of Turton's debut novel, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The unique reworking of an English manor house mystery cemented Turton as someone to watch.

The Last Murder at the End of the World was instantly intriguing. Turton is quite skilled at building a world that is recognizable but just a bit offset from our own. Is this the future? Is this now with a few extra butterfly wing beats in the mix? Post apocalypse grimdark has been done to death, but this feels if not new, a bit ... kinder? The hurt and horror are there, but at remove. We have moved past the post apocalypse, but another looms on the horizon.

I'm not going to go much into the plot. Suffice to say it is a murder mystery lovingly crafted in the form of the best detective stories in the genre. The details are best experienced organically. The plot unravels slowly, over several perspectives, and the paths it takes are ones I could never have imagined at the beginning of the tale.

My favorite aspect of Turton's writing is how he is able to craft something that feels timeless and classic and altogether new. This story is a traditional murder mystery to its core, but with new, shining metal bits peeking out from under the hood.

An advance copy of this book was provided for review purposes via NetGalley

At first I wasn’t to sure about this book. There was more science fiction type elements than I expected. And there were a good number of characters to keep track of.

That said, as more of the mystery and backstory was shared the more I was hooked and invested to find out what happened. The action is always moving and new conflicts are arising between characters.

If you enjoy unreliable narrators and questioning everything that is happening, this book is for you.

Thanks to @netgalley and @bookmarked for providing the ARC.

#thelastmurderattheendoftheworld #StuartTurton

On a perfect island in paradise, a grisly murder has occurred. This act of violence has triggered a lowering of the defenses keeping the island, and its inhabitants, safe from the deadly fog that wiped out the rest of civilization. Villager Emory has a limited amount of time to solve the crime before the fog devours the island and everyone on it. There's just one little problem...... The citizens have all had their memories of that night wiped.

I've read and loved Stuart Turton's previous books, and I'm still in awe at how different each one is. This novel has something for crime fiction fans, sci-fi and speculative fiction lovers, and those who enjoy post apocalyptic landscapes. It's a puzzle you'll enjoy solving, piece by shocking piece. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the review copy.

Mysteries are like comfort food for me - familiar, soothing, a pattern that never fails to please. Like with the best comfort food, even slight tweaks on the typical formula can keep the recipes fresh. But every once in a while, you find a recipe writer that does such unexpected, creative things that they force you to reconsider the category.

Stuart Turton is one such mystery writer, fusing sci-fi and fantasy with his mysteries to create something totally new. In The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, he plays with time travel, merging it with a perfect Golden Age mystery. In The Devil and the Dark Water, he takes on historical mystery and adds a bit of demonology. Both stories balance fair-play, intriguing mystery with an intriguing genre twist. And so, when I learned he was taking on a dystopian mystery, The Last Murder at the End of the World , I knew I had to read it.

(Before we get into the mystery itself, can we take a moment to appreciate the beauty of this first edition? I love a good sprayed edge and the publishers outdid themselves on this one. I was provided a review copy by NetGalley and SourceBooks - but was so excited I also purchased a copy for myself.)

The Last Murder at the End of the World takes place in a future dystopian world engulfed by deadly fog. One island village remains, run by three Elder scientists and their artificial intelligence assistant, Abi. The Elders impose strict rules on the villagers, but their lives are peaceful - until the oldest Elder, Niema, is murdered. Enter our protagonist, Emory, who has scant time to solve the case. Murder - with a somehow even more deadly twist.

The last murder… and the first

Turton, as usual, has imagined a murder mystery unlike any I’ve seen recently. The island society in his novel is carefully managed, and murders are unheard of. There are few, if any, mysteries to be had, and the villagers are generally happy and uncurious. In fact, Emory, the main character, is unusually inquisitive - and trained by reading detective fiction from the Old World. And so Turton gets to explore the introduction of murder as a societal concept, above any beyond any specific murder.

It’s a fascinating way to deconstruct what, exactly, makes murder so unsettling. Is it the suddenness of the death? Is it the concept of violence in general? Or the specificity with which it is levied against another being? A sense of uncertainty that permeates the book - because here, murder is truly unthinkable.

It also means that our protagonist has to invent much of her detection and logic from first principles. As far as Emory knows, nobody on this island has ever had to preserve a crime scene, or uncover and retain evidence. The entire island seems to be suffering from memory loss for the night of the murder, making the physical trail and the suspect psychology even more important. Watching Emory re-invent detection is fascinating, and adds a new element of challenge and puzzle to the story.

This is not a path well-traveled. I can’t think of many, if any, stories that center on murder in a society of innocents. The closest analogy I can think of is Speaker for the Dead; at least Ender was aware of murder conceptually. Here, every element of the investigation is novel, and leads to a feeling of discovery and reinvention.

Unreliable sentience

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Stuart Turton novel with just one storytelling trick - so we’ve got an unreliable narrator thrown into the mix. Abi, the island’s artificial intelligence, has eerie omniscience and omnipotence. She can speak mentally to every villager, and can use this ability to act as a village intercom when needed. Perhaps more nefariously, she can influence each villager’s thinking, shifting and molding it to meet the Elders’ needs and plans.

Abi herself narrates much of the story, using her omniscience to highlight the relevant villagers’ movements. Were she simply a reporter, this would be fine - but every once in a while, a line reminds you that she has influence over their thoughts and actions. Not only that, it’s clear that Abi can choose to withhold information - not just from villagers, but from you, the reader - until she deems it appropriate. It’s unsettling and unnerving and perfectly enhances the general atmosphere of unraveling Turton has created.

Turton uses Abi to explore many a theme - the tradeoffs between freedom and safety; surveillance and control; and, perhaps most interestingly, sentience. Abi, of course, manifests in villagers’ minds; she has to act through them, using her influence. Not only that, but she was created by the scientists at Blackheath, rather than organically. And yet, she clearly has a personality, goals, loyalty, opinions. She has control over herself and several aspects of village life, in a way that makes her a valued member of that society. Her relationship with the village - and her impact on it - raises an interesting question (though not many answers) in this age of burgeoning AI.

Atmospheric puzzles

Underneath all this speculative fiction and unreliable narration and philosophizing about sentience and the nature of society, there is, in fact, a murder mystery. And as other Stuart Turton stories, it’s a totally fine puzzle. The clues are there; readers can solve the puzzle. In fact, because it takes place in a hypothetical future, it’s perhaps even more rigorously fair-play; there’s no futzing around with trivia like rose varietals here.

Turton, in fact, writes layers on layers of mysteries, unfeeling as the investigation proceeds. There’s, of course, the major issue at hand - who killed Niema? Then there are more fundamental questions about how the island functions, and Abi’s role in that functioning. There are mysteries about Emory’s past, and that of the Elders’ relationships to each other.

None of these mysteries are, individually, the trickiest to solve. (I solved some just from fictional pattern-matching / metacognitive reading.) But none of the individual components are the actual point. Rather, the interest lies in how Turton puts all the pieces together to create an atmosphere - of mystery, of the world ending. Looking back, it’s easy to say that I guessed many of the puzzles while reading. Yet in the moment, I felt enthralled by the reveals and the explications, because Turton brings the island and its inhabitants to life. The layers of puzzle create a web that suspends disbelief just long enough for the story to trap you - and that’s a great mystery if I’ve ever read one.

I’m hoping that this will be the actual return to more regular posting, but I’ve learned at this point to temper what I promise. But I hope, truly, to see you all again soon. Until then - stay cozy, and stay curious!

(Happy book birthday to The Last Murder at the End of the World!)

*This will count for my "features the ocean" entry for my 52 Book Club Challenge!

The synopsis of this was so interesting, getting me all excited but the actual book didn’t live up to it. The narrative style was dry, nothing much happened with the mystery till almost the end, and characters weren’t all that likable. Maybe the author just isn’t for me.