I received this ARC via Netgalley prior to its publication April 2nd 2024! Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the chance to read this one! Definitely an adventurous read. Enjoyed reading and recommended.

I had such a blast with this book! I am a Stuart Turton superfan--I love everything he's done, and I can't wait to see what's next. He's fascinating!

There was so much to love about this book. The story line initially felt very similar to the premise of Horizon Zero Dawn, my all-time favorite video game, so I was sold from the very beginning. This story follows a group of people, the last humans, after humanity has been wiped out from a deadly fog. The people have relocated to an island, where they are pretty subservient to the scientists who have been around since the fog took out most of humanity. The people only know what they're told, and when one of the scientists is murdered, there's only one person on the island who has read any mystery novels who knows what to do. The book is twisty-turvy, and you'll keep turning pages until you race to the conclusion. And then you'll think about it long after.

There are many layers to this novel, and I loved unpeeling them one by one. There is the surface level story, one of the most fascinating narrators I've ever read, the world as the commoners understand it, the world as the scientists understand it, and the heart beating underneath all of it, the core of the real problem. This book was fascinating, was funny, spoke to family, and love and hope and what it means to be human. I loved every second of it.

The Last Murder at the End of the World is a trippy SF/dystopian island murder mystery set against a post-apocalyptic extinction event written by Stuart Turton. Released 21st May 2024 by Sourcebooks on their Landmark imprint, it's 368 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out 1st quarter 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is an oddly compelling story, about the descendants of a group of survivors from a catastrophic level event which killed the vast majority of humanity. There are a handful of survivors who still remember the original event, and they're elders and govern the few hundred vestiges of humanity who are left on a tiny atoll island bunker after everyone else is gone.

The writing is solid. The plot and science aspects much less so. At the base of the whole is a pretty well plotted isolated murder mystery setting with a limited pool of suspects. The execution is problematic, because the author works against the reader to obfuscate and muddle the story at every step. The plot is a bit scattered, there's a universal telepathic narrator which lives in the thoughts of all the characters in the book called Abi, there are physical and psychological dangers at every turn, and the titular murder sets events in motion which will result in the demise of the last vestiges of humanity if not solved in a very short window of time.

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 11 hours 21 minutes and is capably read by James Cameron Stewart. He has a classically trained, very well enunciated light baritone and manages the various characters well, both male and female. The choice of a man to voice a book mostly filled with female characters (Abi is also described as female) was perhaps odd, but he does an exemplary job with the read. Sound and production quality are high throughout.

Three and a half stars. The author is wildly popular, so it would make a good choice for public library acquisition, and possibly for book club discussion.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I went into this story completely blind and really had a fun time. The characters were written in that cooky british style humor that works so well. This was my first Stuart Turton book and I will absolutely be reading more from him in the future. I felt the story had a bit of a slow start but once it got going I loved the progression of the investigation. Well done!

An apocalyptic fog has left the world's population dead except for 120 people who exist on an island off the coast of Greece. Then, one day, a murder sets off a chain of events that will bring this group of people to an end unless they can solve the murder. The only problem? They can't remember anything that happened.

This story is quintessential Stuart Turton. It's cerebral, unique, and a lot of fun to read. I really enjoyed it.

I LOVED this addition to the Stuart Turton metaverse. My bookclub read this one and it was such a well of conversation and moral dilemma all wrapped into a semi-cozy but survivalist scifi/mystery book......if that makes sense

The Last Murder at the End of the World" intricately weaves together the elements of a gripping murder mystery within a richly imagined sci-fi universe. Set against a backdrop of futuristic technology and interstellar travel, the novel follows the investigation of a puzzling homicide that unfolds against the looming backdrop of the end of civilization itself. The author masterfully combines suspenseful storytelling with thought-provoking explorations of human nature and the consequences of advanced technology, creating a narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats while delving into deeper themes. For fans of both murder mysteries and science fiction, this novel offers a captivating blend of genres that promises an exhilarating and thought-provoking reading experience.

this was such a new twist on what you would think of as the traditional murder mystery. I loved the dystopian feel and how our narrator is unlike anything I've read before.

The title of this thriller aptly describes the content of the story. On an island surrounded by fog and inhabited by 122 residents, their leader, Niema, is found dead in after a fire. What follows is a dystopian mystery where the characters are trying to identify the murderer. The novel is a locked room mystery where the characters doubt, and suspect each other.. Recommended for fans of who-done-its in a futuristic setting.

Unfortunately, this was a definitely not for me. It was a lot of details and I could not follow the plot lines. I did not get a chance to finish it completely so I was about 60% in thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

A small group of people are living on an island in the middle of nowhere after a cataclysmic event has destroyed most of the world’s population. The group of villagers is living in harmony on the island, until the unthinkable happens and one of the villagers is brutally murdered. This catastrophe sets off a chain reaction which could lead to the end of all life on earth. At first, Stuart Turton’s tale reads like a classic mystery story, but the setting and the subtle world building soon immerses the reader in a post-apocalyptic science fiction narrative. I found the story to be disturbing as I considered the major theme of the novel: what it really means to be human.

Stuart Turton, the author of one of my favorite books - The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - demonstrated remarkable creativity and complexity in that work. I absolutely loved it. Regrettably, The Last Murder at the End of the World failed to evoke the same level of appreciation.

I'm crushed to even say this, but this book doesn't even seem like it was written by the same author. The narrative felt erratic and confusing, burdened by an excessive number of characters. Additionally, the switch between first and third-person narration was jarring.

Despite these disappointments, I persevered through the book due to my admiration for the author's previous work, hoping for improvement that never came (in my opinion of course).

Others have loved this book, and I am ecstatically happy about that. But not every book is for every reader and this one missed the mark for me.

Thank you @NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I truly enjoy Dystopian books and when reading the synopsis, I was intrigued how this story would play out. In this case, I wasn't the right audience for this type of book. I was confused and lost when I got deeper into the mystery. Their was too many characters and moving pieces that I forgot who holds what information. It would of been helpful to put the POV at the beginning of the chapter, so I knew who I was reading about, instead of guessing. It was just hard for me to get into the book and I tended to push off reading the next chapter. When the mystery was coming to the end, I had a feeling it was going to turn out the way it did. It was hard to keep an interest in liking the character. This book just wasn't for me.

I believe this is a case of "not for me" and also that I was confused of the tone/content of the book before I picked it up. Based on the description and cover, I thought it was going to be more of a light island murder mystery. Which sounds like an insane pairing of words. But it took itself too seriously in my opinion. Or rather, the writing wasn't good enough to back up what the author was trying to do. The writing and story just didn't pull me in, but I'm going with 3 stars because I just don't think I'm the right audience for it.

There was so much to love. The Sci fi mystery was
compelling, and the pace was incredible. I think the world building was flawless. The ticking clock of the end of the world mixed with the human drama. The unbelievable world stakes mixed with personal stakes.

I think the strength comes from how the mystery unfolds, How we are never lost, or feel cheated. The solve at the end didn't feel cheap. The Sci fi never overshadowed the mystery or emotion of the characters.

I love Emory. Her mind and her refusal to give up. The writing was also top notch. I loved this.

I Love Stuart Turton, this book was a pleasure and I can't wait to read more. Thank you very much for sharing the book, will make sure to spread word far and wide!

I loved this book - the 7 1/2 Deaths was the first book of Turton's I read and ended up being confused by the end. This one had just enough dystopian element to make it spooky but almost believable. Will be recommending!

I wanted so badly to like this book. It just seemed to drag on and on. I loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I knew a Stuart Turton book would be a "locked room" type mystery, and that he usually adds an element where even the characters involved are missing more information than normal. In this case the "locked room" is an isolated island and the consequence for failing to solve the mystery is the extinction of humanity. It feels a little like the show Lost, which I enjoyed at first, but every time I did a progress check on how much I'd read, I thought surely the end was closer than it was.
I didn't care about the characters, I really didn't care about solving the mystery.
Turton gets a lot of points for an original plot, I just couldn't make myself care about the ending.

This book had an audacious scope and mostly delivered across all dimensions for me. I recommend to readers who enjoy complex plots, science fiction, and philosophy.

The plot: The island shelters 122 villagers and 3 scientists from the lethal fog that destroyed the rest of the planet, allowing them all to live in perfect peace and community. Each villager contributes to the success of the group in hunting, gathering, and maintenance up until the nightly curfew, obeying the scientists without question. The group is shocked to wake with no memories and discover one of their celebrated scientists has been murdered. With horror, they realize her death has also triggered a disablement of the island's security system. In a race against the clock, the villagers and remaining scientists have 107 hours to figure out how to keep the fog at bay while identifying the murderer in their midst.

My opinion: I love Turton's stories for the complexity, varied character set, and moralistic overtones. This book blended several genres well including science fiction, mystery, and philosophy, with some heartwarming scenes between characters throughout. The premise was very interesting and well-executed overall but I felt the pacing was a bit too slow in the beginning and too fast in the end. Perhaps this was driven by rapid switches between PoVs with a large character set. The twists were also somewhat predictable for fans of mystery. Overall, I enjoyed this story and recommend readers prepare to read it slowly to keep up with the complex, interwoven character lines.

Thanks NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC!

I liked this - I didn't love it. I think mostly because I read it while I was sick - so I'm going to give it another chance after I get a physical copy!