Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for sending me this eARC in exchange for my review.

To start off, I had already read Stuart Turton’s book The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle when I requested this title. I had found 7 1/2 Deaths to be a fine book, just not something I thought about much later or wanted to read again. The Last Murder at the End of the World had an intriguing premise but ultimately my feelings about it are also fairly ambivalent. I could see others liking it more than I did (I did like it, to be clear), but this was just kind of forgettable for me.

I was initially intrigued by the premise of an island populated by the last people on Earth, with an AI that wiped their memories of a murder. I like murder mysteries and post-apocalyptic settings, so it seemed like it would work for me. But in the end there were a few too many clues and goings-on for me to keep track of, and the final explanation was a little confusing. It would probably make more sense if I reread the book, but I don’t want to. I was never attached to any of the characters.

The book was easily readable and I was able to finish it quickly which definitely gives this book one of three stars in my review.

A murder mystery on an island after the apocalypse of sorts, with the clues doled out slowly which both kept me confused for the first part of the book but also kept me reading until I knew who done it. A self-contained island community wakes up one morning with many people badly injured, and the lead scientist dead. They need to solve the murder before the killing fog descends on the island. Contains: An omniscient narrator who talked to the characters. A social structure that you need the entire book to piece together. Red herrings galore. A tech centered world that leans this book into the scifi category. Ethical dilemmas of new technologies.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. At first I really struggled to make sense of what was going on, and I'm guessing that some readers won't stick with it because of the drawn out exposition. Those that do are in for a complex mystery with many false leads and clues that keep the reader guessing until the very end. Fast and fun read.

Turton's third novel is a quirky and creative murder mystery set on a beautiful island after a deadly fog has wiped out the rest of the world. This book will not be for everyone!, but for me personally it was completely engaging and I loved its clever construction as well as the setting and characters. If you liked The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I expect you will like this as well. This should also appeal to fans of Blake Crouch. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a digital review copy.

I like how this story combines elements of fiction with reality, creating a dystopic story where humans and non humans coexist, until a murder takes place (hence the title). It gave me some Westworld vibes.

I tried SO FREAKING HARD to get through this book. I kept coming back and back, hoping the next chapter would be the one to hook me. But after reading about a quarter, I decided there is no hook.

There’s a lot of stuff in that quarter, and yet absolutely nothing of substance. We’re introduced to at least ten characters but none of them are…man, I don’t even know what to say about them because there’s just nothing. They’re the vaguest idea of a stereotype: mysterious old woman who has all the answers but dies before answers are given; the inquisitive misfit who doesn’t have a job she’s good at because she’s quirky but she’ll also be the main problem solver; the daughter who went against her mom’s wishes and isn’t that dramatic and I’m gettin’ bored just listing them.

The gist of the story is that a hundred-some people are living on this island that’s surrounded by a killer fog. Old Mystery Lady is putting a plan in motion to save humanity and she only has a few days before all life will be lost. The questions of how will humanity end/be saved, how did they get to this island, why are things the way they are, and why will the person be murdered, are supposed to be good mysteries. Due to the poor characters, I don’t care what happens to them nor did I foresee a time when I could care what happens to them. When the fate of humanity is on the line, it might help if the humans are worthy of sympathy and salvation.

There’s nothing noteworthy about any aspect of the writing and that’s a shame, because this concept has potential.

VAGUE SPOILERS:

I skipped to the end to see if perchance there’s some bedazzling conclusion and nope, there isn’t. It’s one of those endings that’s pointless because the world doesn’t end, the future is not grim and from what I gathered, only the baddies died. That seems like a wasted opportunity. Why bother slapping the ‘stakes’ on the grill if the fire isn’t gonna be lit?

And thus ends my hope of Turton becoming a new favorite author.

*Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.*

I don't even know where to start. I won't give too much information since the summary does a great job at describing the plot. It was a slow as the murder didn't happen until 20% into the book. However, the intro was necessary as it sets up the rest of the story. The mind of Stuart Turton is fascinating as the layers upon layers and twists and turns are something so well done, I couldn't stop it. It's a dense read so it's not something to read quickly. The descriptions and the character development gives dimensions and allows connection with the reader. This would be an amazing movie as the plot is so unique. This book excites me to read more of Stuart.

An incredible and intelligent setup! I enjoyed this one even if you have to suspend your belief. This dystopian is on a post-apocalyptic island when over a hundred years ago a man-made fog destroyed earth except for this island that has over 122 villagers and 3 scientists. A civil and tranquil existence among them remains a refuge from a deadly fog they can see in the distance.
When one of the scientist Niema is found murdered, they have 107 hours to solve it before the fog consumes them. The bad thing is everyone's memory was erased the night of the murder, so piece the story back together would be difficult.
One of the main characters, Emory, refuses to allow the fog onto their premises so she works diligently with her daughter to solve the crime. This story takes a lot of twists and turns, which kept me guessing and eliminating who did it. An awesome whodunit!! I did not read Stuart Turton's other books, but I want to now.
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The last murder at the end of the world by Stuart Turton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such incredible writing and building of a post apocalyptic type world that I’ve not ever quite encountered. Written do you can see but not over wordy and keeps the story focused on the plot.

Elders which are humans, 120 villagers and then there is Abi, a voice inside their heads make up the island after the rest of the earth was swallowed by the fog and is not livable. Sounds crazy! Reading just that line even I think it sounds crazy but man did it work!! Moving, several twists that I didn’t see coming, gives you the whole should I be rooting for vibe. Emory and Clara were my favorite characters, a mother daughter bond that worked very well with the story. The ending, loved it!

Sci fi isn’t really my thing and definitely enjoyed this one, although it’s not just sci fi, has fantasy and mystery for sure.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #SourceBooks
#StuartTurton #thelastmurderattheendoftheworld

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This book is basically a murder mystery in post apocalyptic setting of which I was invested at first, especially because there was a time limit in solving this. I’m not a huge fan of using amnesia as a plot device and didn’t feel like it was done well here, unfortunately. This was my first time reading Stuart Turton so I was hyped up after having heard rave reviews for his book The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The premise was intriguing, and initially I was invested but as I kept reading my interest waned and when the reveal and twists finally happened I was ambivalent to it as opposed to emotional. Very anti-climactic. I’m thinking it was the story itself since I’m not the biggest fan of science fiction so maybe that’s why I didn’t vibe with it as much as I thought I would. Or perhaps it was the author’s writing style (which can sometimes be a bit wordy, imho). It was enjoyable but nothing I loved or was crazy about.

Pros: short chapters
Cons: too many characters, long winded story, cerebral

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Mr. Turton is hereby awarded my "you make my brain hurt in a good way" award. Wow!! I love how intricate his worlds are and the characters he brings in to them and this book is no exception. An island full of people who have lived the same way for generations after a fog descended and killed the rest of the planet. Most everyone is happy and there is a great sense of community. The island and scientists protect them from the fog until something goes wrong. I loved how Emory's questioning mind that was constantly seen as a liability is now an asset as they try to solve the murder to save themselves. Abi, this virtual voice in everyone's head, was an unique and wonderful character that added another level of interest and mystery. I did feel like the story started a bit slowly, but when creating a world this expansive (funny since it is all on this little island), it takes time. Give the book the time! It is a book that you might want to block out time to read in big chunks as you won't want to put it down once you get immersed in the world and you won't be able to stop thinking about it between reading sessions!

This is a sci-fi mystery novel. The sci-fi dystopian elements are great, but the mystery elements fall flat. I think a big reason for that is the perspective. Our narrator is an omniscient AI security system. This, practically, means that our narrator knows everything but annoyingly will not reveal anything the whole book.
In practice, we are often in an effective limited-3rd person point of view of other characters. I did enjoy following our detective, Emory. However, her perspective was also poorly utilized. She's always finding clues, but those clues are never connected to anything else. It feels more like a book that it made out of a list of suspicious blood stains instead of a real investigation. There's a lot of clues and moving parts to the story, and I wasn't able to feel grounded in the tale or follow where the clues were leading.

I was going to give this book 3 stars, but as I think about it more, it has dropped to 2 stars. Mostly this is because of the large amount of plot holes, and people's motives not matching their actions. Once I finished the book and got through all of the reveals, I was only disappointed. I had my theories of who the murderer was, and I was wrong. Honestly, my theories feel like they fit better to the clues and characters, and the actual answer is full of plot holes and ridiculous contortions of logic.

A video including a review of this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, @ChloeFrizzle

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

The Last Murder at the End of the World tells the story of the last bits of a humanity, forced to live on a island protected from a massive fog that killed the rest of the planet. Villagers and scientists live together in a seaside utopia. When their leader is killed, the villagers must put the pieces of the murder together before the fog bypasses the security systems and swarms the island.

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It is a well established fact that Stuart Turton writes books that have absolutely bonkers twists. This one is no different. These are incredibly vivid characters who are grappling with their very existence. The bounds of humanity are put to the test. The surprise is the strong ode to the classic whodunit in this strange and dystopian setting. It read like a movie, it was gripping and funny, terrifying and dry. This was the first Turton book where I had a loose idea of who the killer was, but the journey to getting there was so twisty and turny.

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Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC; all opinions are my own.

I had a little trouble getting into this story. It took a few chapters to find myself invested in the story. I think that was more of a me thing than the story or the writing. I found myself trying to figure out what was truly going on in this story and knew that I wouldn't rest until I had a clear of idea of what was going on.

I enjoyed the idea of the elders and how they imparted knowledge onto the villagers. I enjoyed that Emory seemed to challenge them and asked way too many questions. Most of which if she didn't figure out on her own, were never really answered. This of course make sense when we learn of the mystery of the island and the villagers.

While I enjoyed this book, I preferred Stuart Turton's first novel better. I do believe I will read other books by this author as they become available. I enjoyed the way he tells a story and the ideas that those stories invoke.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

“In four days we’re either going to change the world or die trying. ”
Here are reasons to read the thriller book:

Island fog - in a far off island, a fog surrounding it is held back from causing damage
Countdown - but series of events set of a countdown starting with an island elder dead
Mystery - and one woman is set to solve a mystery to see if they can stop the fog from taking over and eliminating them all.

Having been a huge fan of the 7 ½ deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I was very excited to read this book. The synopsis was very vague but also, I’m not sure it really gave me the right expectation. I spent most of this book feeling like I was going around in circles and the ending, really left me feeling like maybe I was missing something. Other reviews said that this author was a genius and that he was painting this very vivid picture of a complex society. I don’t know that I felt that way. The twist was interesting but not as great as I expected. I think if you haven’t read Evelyn Hardcastle, you may like this one. But if you have, you might be let down.

"The Last Murder" is the first book that I've read from this author. And I don't understand all of the hype about the book nor the author. Like Alex Michaelides, I think Thurton is overrated.

The novel reads like a wannabe Wayward Pines meets The Thunderhead. But it fell short of the suspense and world building. It starts off boring and continues on that path with dull characters and a generic, flat landscape.

Not much more to say except that I didn't appreciate the novel as much as others. A one star DNF.

I received a DRC from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.

This was my first Stuart Turton book. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. He's got an interesting writing style, and I can't wait to check out his other books!

The Last Murder at the End of the World is a post-apocalyptic story which I normally love. There was a lot going on with this story. You have a mystery fog. Someone is murdered. You have people stuck on an island and as the story goes on you learn what the heck is going on. Overall, the book was interesting, but parts of it fell flat for me. I realized that I didn't care about what happened to many of the characters and that's a problem.

But I did like it! I would recommend reading it.

Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC!

A clever and well plotted dystopian murder mystery. Through all the twists and turns, the narrative remained tightly controlled, and the characters developed as the plot unfolded. Though the mystery was cleanly solved, the reader is left pondering the puzzle of humanity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very worthy follow-up to one of the best thrillers of the last decade.

The stakes in this one literally cannot get higher. This would make for an EXCELLENT film!

I enjoy dystopian science fiction and I didn't have any trouble finishing it, but I did have trouble really becoming vested in the story. I think it may be because the narrator is one dimension even though there is an interesting premise behind it. There were a lot of characters to keep straight and not enough character building to keep track of them all. If you are a voracious reader looking for a sci-fi book, this may be worth reading.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.