The world was destroyed by a fog and now everyone lives on an island controlled by scientists. Everything is peaceful and everyone is content until one of the scientists is discovered to have been murdered. Everyone's memories of the night of the murder have been erased, so piecing together what happened proves to be difficult. As they uncover the clues to the murder, they also discover bigger truths about the island.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I tried several times to listen to this audiobook - the synopsis sounded great! This however did not catch my attention and I’m not sure how to describe it - maybe more sci-fi type genre than I expected? I just couldn’t get into it or follow, which is nothing against this book at all - just not my thing. I’m sure many others will love it!

TW for gaslighting.

I think I liked this book? I'm giving it 4 stars, so I must have. It gave me Douglas Adams vibes at times, the writing feeling witty and quick. There was another author mixed in there too, but I'm struggling to put my finger on it. I think it may be Aldous Huxley? It has a sort of Brave New World vibe at times, so that's what I'm going to go with.

Overall, I liked the characters in this book, I liked the writing, and I thought the plot was well thought out. there is something about it that wasn't totally satisfying to my brain, but that may just be I was pretty sure I knew who the killer was immediately. Toward the end, I thought we would get a wild twist, but it ended up being exactly what I thought it was. Finding the motivation for the killing was a little harder.

Overall a good book and a fun read, I'd recommend it to people who like stories like Dragonriders of Pern, Brave New World, and Douglas Adams.

90 years ago the world suffered a catastrophic event. Sinkholes appeared from nowhere and a fog began to blanket the Earth causing most of the population to perish. A small number of people were able to escape to an island where the fog surrounded but did not reach.

Run by the "Elders" - three people who were around when the world collapsed and now don't seem to age - the island operates like a machine. Everyone has something they contribute to the overall wellbeing of the people and the island. Although some, like Emory, would say that the villagers trust too much in the Elders. After all, her husband was one such casualty of the Elder's demanding experiments.

Plus, in order to keep the population under control, no one lives past sixty years old (barring of course the aforementioned Elders). So it is on the eve of her grandfather's death that Emory finds a revived sense of wariness where the Elders are concerned. Truthfully, she's always been curious and not one to let a question go unasked - even though she rarely gets a straight answer. This sense of curiosity has made Emory somewhat of an outlier within the village. No one wants to look too hard at their situation, they just want to continue living their lives.

So maybe it's fitting that when one of the Elders is discovered brutally murdered, Emory is the perfect one to lead the investigation. But she's on the clock as the surrounding fog is slowly starting to encroach upon the island.

This book took a bit for me to get into. To the point where I picked it up and started and just wasn't connecting with it so I put it down. When I started listening to the audiobook, that made it unfold better for me, and then once we get to a certain point, I'd say maybe about 15 to 20 percent into the story is when you realize that everything going on has more depth than people simply surviving and rebuilding after collapse of civilization.

Adding to all this is the fact that the story is told to us from the perspective of Abi. An omniscient presence who is able to speak into the villagers' minds and know their thoughts and whereabouts. This presence is always a little ominous. You don't know what Abi is and what her true function is within this society. Therefore, you don't know if you can fully trust her.

Trust is a big thing in this book. Not only trust, but the blind trust we often place upon people in positions of authority willing that they have our best interests at heart. This is not to be a scary allegory of trust and faith, but I think more of a don't be afraid to ask questions kind of thing. Don't be afraid to learn and be curious. Because it quickly becomes apparent that there are things the Elders have been keeping from the villagers.

I thought that Stuart Turton lead us on a wonderful unfolding of this society. Each chapter revealed another layer or another piece of the puzzle working toward putting together the big picture. I never felt like there were too many twists and turns, which to be honest there are a lot. Instead each turn leads nicely along to the next and the next in a way that makes sense. I was rapt by how everything was unfolding.

Now, I think this also sets a pretty high bar that's difficult to top. Meaning, the ending wasn't as revelatory as I was expecting. To be fair, though, I think this says a lot about it being more about the journey than the destination. It also doesn't negate the fact that the book kept me wanting to read on, wanting to find out what was happening next. I wanted to put the pieces together with Emory to see where it lead. Overall, it was very satisfying.

Speaking of the listening aspect of the book as mentioned above, I think an audiobook really works because it leans into the idea that we're being told this story (via Abi). The telling makes sense then if we are literally being read the story aloud. I think it's an interesting choice to have a male narrator essentially speaking for a female entity as Abi is referred to as she throughout the book. I don't think it takes anything away or adds anything, I simply think it's an interesting choice and makes me wonder about the process of choosing narrators for audiobooks. I do feel like there were times it was difficult to know which character was speaking. There was not enough distinction between the differing voices used for each character in some cases, but I'd say Emory is definitely the main protagonist of the book and she does stand out.

Overall, I know that Stuart Turton is known for the clever twists and turns in his stories. Reflecting on this one, I truly was surprised in quite a few places, but not only that, I'm left very curious about the world and left thinking on what the world was like. I appreciated that it's set in an unknown time so we have no idea what year the fog came and overtook everything in relation to our own real world which gives it a timelessness. As though this could all really happen at any moment. So again with that ominous feeling.

Any book that can make me continue to think about it for days going on weeks afterwards is a book worth spending time on.

4.5/5 stars
This author does weird thrilling unnerving stories so well. This is my second book of theirs I’ve read and truly enjoyed.
The narrator was wonderful.

"The Last Murder at the End of the World" is a dystopian murder mystery that I really enjoyed! There are many characters so it took some time to learn who everybody was. However, I couldn't put the book down once I did get into it. I'm usually not interested in dystopian sci-fi novels but I really was riveted by the story! I didn't love the audiobook reader though. I found his reading style to be very dry,

Thank you to the publisher for the digital audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of the book.

A seemingly perfect island with 122 villagers and 3 scientists. Everyone has their own role on the island until one scientist was murdered and the security system malfunction can’t hold back the deadly fog for too long. The villagers have 92 hours to solve the murder or the fog will take over the island. There is only one problem - no one remembers what happened.

At the beginning of the book it felt that there were too many important characters and it took some time to figure out who is related to whom. I liked to discover more and more from that island life, about villagers and the past of the scientists. Stuart Turton ability to describe the nature and characters was amazing, his text was flowing like a melody.

I loved the narration of James Cameron Stewart and his portrayal of the characters and their emotions.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for my copy of The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton narrated by James Cameron Stewart in exchange for an honest review. It published May 21, 2024.
First off the narration of this book was very well-done. I found the reading and cadence to be perfect for this book.
This book was so imaginative and had me thinking so much. It gave me serious The Giver vibes, and I really loved that. I found this book to be both so mysterious, and fascinating. I could not stop listening to it. I loved the was that the narrator was written, it was unique and added to my overall enjoyment of the book.

3.5 stars // A dystopian sci-fi take on a murder mystery. I enjoy Turton’s genre bending plots and always find them pretty interesting. I wasn’t as invested in this story as I’ve been on his other novels but it was still a fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

I always read Stuart Turton's books and can't help but wonder how his brain works. I don't understand how we comes up with these stories but they are definitely interesting. One thing that is also true is that, even though they are 500 page monstrosities, I am still left wanting more from the story. In Evelyn Hardcastle, I wanted more about the prison system. In the Devil and the Dark Water, I wanted more about the pirates and world beyond. In this one, I wanted more about the fog and the science behind it all. I was invested in the story and wanted to know who killed Nema but when certain things were revealed I just didn't seem to much about any of it anymore. Overall it was a good blending of genre's that does have something for everyone. For me, I was left wanting a whole lot more.

The Last Murder at the End of the World is my second book I've read by this author, the first being The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Although the window dressing is different (sci-fi/apocalyptic on an island at the end of the world for the former, more traditional murder mystery vibes from a mansion), the ultimate premise is similar -- closed-door mystery where the characters need to come together to identify the murderer before time runs out.

I really enjoyed The Last Murder on a similar level to The 7 1/2 Deaths. The cast of characters were interesting, and most of the twists I did not see coming. These are the kinds of books so incredibly dense with detail that if you don't read them for days, you're liable to forget important events. My only qualm with this book (which is more a personal issue) is that I was a little disappointed in the ending; to be fair, I had some pretty outlandish predictions, but ultimately, the ending was quieter than that -- still a shock, sure, but nothing as crazy as I had imagined. There was also a lot of commentary on society and violence, etc., which I enjoyed.

All-in-all, excellent book. I will definitely keep an eye on this author's future works.

The Last Murder at the End of the World- Stuart Turton
Rating: 3/5
Form: Audio
Duration: 11 hours and 28 minutes

This book has been one of those I've been waiting to get my hands on! Special thank you to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion. This book was very...interesting to say the least. The premise is a unique one centered around a post apocalyptic world on a tiny Greek island with "endlers" and "villagers". The "elders" are members of society who are very old, yet seem to freeze in time at the age of 50, and the "villagers" all live to the age of 60. This story is told through Abi, an AI entity who is always in the minds of the villagers, guiding them throughout their daily lives. One day, one of the "elders" is found dead and it is up to a villager named Emory to find out who the killer is to save all of humanity before the fog gets to them.

While I loved the idea and was slightly terrified at this type of lifestyle being 100% possible with the evolution of AI, this book had a ton of sci-fi in it and less...murder mystery. It was also very long and took me a while to get through. The characters were well developed, storyline was well thought out, but just lacked excitement for me. There weren't specific cliffhangers making me want to know more throughout the chapters...which would have made it better. Also, I felt like at the end, I was disappointed by the outcome. There is no big reveal or shock that the reader gets.

Overall, great premise, but would have loved more hooks in the storyline.

A deadly fog has swept over the planet and killed most of its inhabitants, save for a few scientists and some simple villagers on a protected island. When one of the scientists is murdered, a dead man's switch is triggered and villager Emory must solve the murder in order to prevent the fog from destroying her home.

The Last Murder at the End of the World is a suspenseful blend of a murder mystery and post-apocalyptic science fiction wrapped up into a single book. From the description, I expected the story to be focused more on the murder mystery than the science fiction, but it turns out that there's a pretty equal amount of both. Novels heavy on science fiction – especially of the dystopian variety – aren't usually my jam, but somehow this book mostly worked for me?

Okay I really enjoyed this! I didn't love his first book, but this was a wonderfully twisty dystopian sci-fi take on a procedural murder mystery.

The choice of narrator was brilliant because they are a character who at once sees everything that happens, and strategically withholds information for its own reasons. There were multiple points in the book where my assumptions about what was happening and what world we were in got turned on their head and cast everything in a new light. This would be a fun book to re-read knowing what you know at the end to see if you can put more of the pieces together.

One of the things I didn't like about Turton's first book was that there is a sci-fi twist at the very end that comes out of nowhere. This book seeds that information very early and then slowly drops bits of information that continue to flesh out the world and characters. I thought it was masterfully done and it held my attention throughout the book. The audio narration is also perfect, though at the beginning I didn't like it. Once I understood who the narrator of the story was though, I loved it. I won't spoil what happens because I think it's best to go in knowing very little, but I do recommend it! I received an audio copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thanks to Tantor Audio & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I listened to (and enjoyed) The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (although I hated the ending SO MUCH), so I kind of knew I was in for a weird ride with this one. The scifi aspects of this story are pretty out there, and the reader doesn't know the full extent of them until maybe halfway through the book. Then there is the "murder mystery," which is not much of one. I don't love it when scifi and mys come together in a terrible PB&J and this time is no different: pick a genre, Stuart Turton!

We are in a post-apocalyptic world, on a little Greek island on which over 100 people live in the aftermath of the poison fog that killed humans on contact over the period of about a year. On this island there are "elders" and "villagers." The elders are very very old but don't look a day over 50 (this was never explained), and the villagers die promptly at 60. The villagers are constantly "assisted" in their minds by some type of AI entity guiding their daily choices, known as Abi. The mystery enters in when one of the elders, who is the most beloved by the villagers, dies in suspicious circumstances, and the remaining elders ask Emory, a villager who has tried her hand at a number of ways to be "useful" in the community, and failed, to investigate the crime. She is thwarted by many obstacles, including, at times, Abi, who it seems is engineering events to their own means.

This story has good bones; Turton is not untalented by any means, but man, is this convoluted. Many questions left unanswered, which was a bit frustrating. We find out "whodunnit" but it's rather a letdown and not particularly believable. Turton has done better.

2.5 stars rounded up

This was just ok for me unfortunately. I was excited to dive into this one since The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is one of my favorite books. This had a very interesting concept but the execution was a bit all over the place for me. The beautiful cover and narration itself was a 10/10! I do seem to be an outlier so maybe try and see if it works for you!

Thank you to NetGalley, Stuart Turton, & Tantor Audio for the ALC!

I liked the book for the most part. I think the idea was very interesting, but the story did fall a little flat for me. Maybe I missed something and it was make more sense and be better in a second listen but I’ll give it some time to marinate first.

Enjoyed until the very end that felt like a talking head explaining the mystery. Bummer. Reminded me of Clara and the Sun, Wolves of the Calla.

This was on my most anticipated 5-star read and did not disappoint. It's hard to give a review without telling spoilers. This book needs to be experienced going in cold. I was fortunate to be blessed to experience BOTH the book and the audio. Let me say the audio enhanced my overall enjoyment!! Right now the author is 2 out of 3 for enjoyed books written. I'm definitely looking forward to his next book!!

#NETGALLEY
#STUARTTURTON
#THELASTMURDRRATTHEENDOFTHEWORLD

Last Murder is a strange post-apocalyptic novel centered on various classes of beings that have taken refuge on an island after all of Earth has been consumed by a strange fog. There are various classes of people -- from a few humans running the show to several constructed humans serving as a workforce, to regular people in hibernation waiting for opportune conditions. The narrator is in the odd position of being somewhat godlike in influence over and ability to control the lesser beings, able to read thoughts of higher ones, but subservient to the person overseeing things. For this reason, there are continual questions of its limitations and powers that appear contrived; as do the responsibilities of most of the beings, since every morning they awake with strange injuries and no memories of the night -- similar to the great move Dark City.
The unclear definition of who fits into what class and how limited their responsibilities for situations makes it hard to root for any of them as they try to piece together clues around their leader's death and what it triggers.