I really enjoyed this one. Started out reminiscent of The Giver. An island utopia where the villagers work hard, but are happy and peaceful. 3 elders govern along with a bit of AI that is a voice of conscious in everyone’s head.

Not everything is as it seems and towards the middle of the book it becomes a “who done it” with one of the villagers tasked as the detective.

Great character building and world setting. Would recommend for fans of sci fi and thrillers.

I recently bought a special edition of this book and have decided to read it rather than listen to the audiobook. I didn’t care for the narrator at all. I usually enjoy a British accent just not that one lol. I am excited about the book and will post a review of that on my page, but not of the audiobook.
Thank you for approving me, this audio just wasn’t really for me.

This was one of my most anticipated reads for this year but it ended up falling a bit flat for me. That’s not to say the mystery of the murder and the island weren’t interesting but it didn’t grasp me quite like the other books Turton has written. I did enjoy the narration but I did find of the voices to be a little over done. However with so many characters that probably is important in order to distinguish them. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook!

My mystery book club read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle last year and I was interested in reading The Last Murder at the End of the World to see if I should suggest we read it. However, it would be better for my post-apocalyptic book club.

There were elements of the storytelling that echoed Evelyn Hardcastle. If you read that book, you might remember that the story takes place at Blackheath Manor. In this book, there is also a Blackheath. But that isn't the only similarity. Unlike Evelyn Hardcastle, though, there is not a time loop. The story is told in a linear fashion, but there is an all-knowing character that keeps the story moving forward.

I listened to the audiobook and James Cameron Stewart is the narrator. He also read the Evelyn Hardcastle book, which may have provided some of the similarity vibes. I like his readings. He is easy to listen to and does a good job with different character voices. The cast of The Last Murder is kind of large while I had trouble remembering who was who I did not have trouble distinguishing the different characters.

As is often the case with utopian societies, when you start to dig below the surface you realize it is more of a dystopian world. And the island society is no exception. The revelations of the island society were more interesting to me than figuring out the murder mystery, which is why I think my post-apocalyptic book will enjoy this book more than my mystery book club.

If you liked Turton's previous novels, then you will want to pick up this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Wednesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2024/05/the-last-murder-at-end-of-world-by.html

To be honest, I don’t really know how to rate this one. I’m really torn. On the one hand, it was well written, had interesting characters, and a great story idea. On the other hand, I felt like this one dragged on forever. It was a slow burn for sure, and I had a hard time really getting into it until about the 60% mark. I also had everything figured out pretty quickly, but I don’t think that was because the author was lacking in anything. Honestly, the pacing was probably my biggest complaint. I think this may be one of those books that are just better read instead of listened to. I loved the narrator, he made me feel like I was listening to a BBC special. (I’m a middle-aged woman born in England, what can I say?) But I do think it was a lot to follow and is probably easier to comprehend and follow if it’s read instead!

Huge thanks to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

This new story by Stuart Turton felt like the best combination of Emily St. John Mandel, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Agatha Christie. I adored the dystopian/apocalyptic suspense throughout the story, I fell in love with the cast of characters, and the element of murder mystery kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way through! Such a solid follow-up to his series of novels, highly recommend!

I listened to an audio version of this provided by Tantor Audio via NetGalley. It was great. I enjoyed the narrator. He did such a good job,

I have to admit that this is a hard review to write. I loved the book. I loved all that was going on and boy it was a lot. The characters were so likable and the topic/topics were great. It was a fun book to read and somewhat edge of your seat. Maybe not edge of your seat, maybe more of a who did it and what the heck is going on. I think this author did an excellent job of pulling me in and keeping he hooked. This was a real page turner for me. WAY DIFFERENT than my usual type of book. Even though I have been reading more sci-fi and fantasy. This was not magical but it was a sort of magic. It was in many ways a powerful book. A futuristic story about a very powerful yet somewhat humble woman. At least after the fall of humanity.

I'm not positive about the timeline of this story but do know it's set in the future. It has quite a few things going on and shows in lots of ways the power of AI. Of a few humans and many, what I called Pod People. And a Fog. People are going about their lives with not to many problems when there is a murder. Thus the title of the book?? The woman who basically started this colony of people is murdered. The fog starts moving in. It's suppose to be the end of humanity as they know it.

This book out there for sure. But it's written in a way that you just have to find out what happened and who did it. What happened before all of these people came to this island. What will happen once the fog rolls in. It's suppose to kill everyone. Tear them apart, literally. This is what they have been taught all of their lives.

There are a select set of humans and a group of made people. The made people die at sixty. They go to sleep and never awaken. A child is sent to replace the ones that die. At the age of eight the child is sent to whatever family is worthy of having him or her. There is a strict curfew for these made people. Lots of secrets are kept from them also. But by the end of the story everyone, including the reader, knows everything. Even who the murderer is. I had to go back and read the very Prologue just to see what I may have missed. I missed nothing. lol But I do understand it more now. In the beginning someone has to die in order for the others to live...

I recently had just finished Evelyn Hardcastle so I was excited to receive a copy of this audio from NetGalley. I enjoyed this a lot more than I did Evelyn, I felt like this one was much more interesting to me and I really liked the concept behind it. I did love the nods to Evelyn but honestly wished there was more info on the back in tying the two together (I just thought it would be a cooler premise). While I did really enjoy this read for a free audio, I am seeing the formulaic approach to his books now, and with how complicated they are to follow at times (just very wordy) I'm not sure I'll continue with more by him.

"The Last Murder at the End of the World" by Stuart Turton, narrated by James Cameron Stewart, is a suspenseful and captivating novel that takes readers on an intriguing journey. The story constantly shifts as characters make new discoveries, keeping readers engaged and eager to uncover the truth.

One standout character in the book is Emery, who proves to be both inquisitive and smart. It's amusing to see how she acquires her detective skills through reading mysteries. This adds a unique element to the narrative and makes Emery relatable to those who enjoy solving puzzles themselves.

The blending of suspense thriller and dystopian sci-fi genres creates an interesting mix within the story. The premise itself is quite unique - a murder that triggers a lowering of security systems around an island threatened by deadly fog. If not solved within ninety-two hours, everyone on the island will perish. This high-stakes situation keeps readers on their toes throughout.

Additionally, James Cameron Stewart's narration deserves praise as it enhances the immersive experience for listeners. His delivery likely contributes to bringing out all aspects of Turton's world-building and character development.

Overall, "The Last Murder at the End of the World" succeeds in keeping readers guessing until its conclusion while offering an original premise and engaging characters that make it worth delving into this gripping tale.

I wanted to give this a glowing review but the narrator ruined this book for me. The contents of the book itself was pretty good from what I could tell, but it was so hard to even pay attention because the narrator was getting on my last nerve. The voice was so grating. It sounded like I was listening to a 12 hour boring college lecture. I definitely want to try to read the physical book so I can hopefully enjoy it more but this audiobook really fell short for me.

It's funny sometimes when you read the book before listening to the audio and in your own head the narration would be a female voice and then it's most definitely not! That being said, I was drawn in by Stuart's voice (the narrator, Stuart, not Stuart narrating his own book.) and this audio version is as immersive as reading the novel, just in a slightly different way. The story is a locked-room mystery that takes place on a dystopian island that seems to be the last bastion of civilization following a killer fog that has ostensibly killed everyone else on the planet. When one of the three remaining scientists, or elders, is murdered and the rest of the islanders have had their memories of that night erased, how is the murder to be solved? Enter Emory, who was my favorite character. Every other character we meet, other than the elders, is conditioned by the island (maybe?) or the weird narrating voice in their heads (maybe?) to be compliant and have a "place", but Emory is a gloriously flawed character with questions from the very start. This book was confusing to me at the beginning with the voice narrating in first person inside everyone's head, but once the mystery gets going it was a bit less distracting. I also enjoyed Niema since it was hard to tell if she was good or bad and I liked how her story unfolded after the fact. I look forward to recommending this book throughout the summer. Thank you to Tantor Audio, Recorded Books, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion. I look forward to recommending both the novel and the audio version throughout the summer.

This is nothing against the narrator or their performance. He did a fantastic job!

I’ve tried listening to this book 4 times from the beginning and made it to about 50%. I just get too lost. This is a book that my brain needs to read on pages as to not get confused and overwhelmed with information. I’m beyond intrigued, already ordered a copy, I just can’t keep up with the storylines on audio.

DNF. I’ve tried this author multiple times and the style of writing is so bland and unnecessarily verbose that I lose interest far too quickly. Lots of 5 star reviews on this book so seems like a me issue, but even the narrator bored me.

Thanks to NetGalley, RB Media and Source Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published May 21, 2024.

This is the first book that I’ve read by this author who also wrote the very popular book The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

I didn’t like the narrator of the audio book (James Cameron Stewart) or the story. I was completely bored. Cannot recommend..

A very different take on a post-apocalyptic world. Stuart Turton always gives the best cast of characters, and The Last Murder at the End of the World is no exception. This book had me listening, and I couldn't wait to figure out what would happen next. I loved Emory and the lengths she was willing to go to solve this murder. With a great cast of characters and an interesting setting, this is one to definitely add to the mystery TBR. I just struggled with the ending and felt like it maybe went a little quick after all the build-up. But this is another entertaining read from Turton. A big thank you to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

I wanted to give this author another chance, as I realize I am in the minority of people who didn’t love The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle,but found myself feeling the same way about this book.

The premise is very intriguing and I was really looking forward to this dystopian world. I found the amount of characters hard to keep up with, and didn’t really care for any of them. Perhaps it would have been better for me to read vs listen to, because I wasn’t a fan of the narrator either.

Between not being able to distinguish the characters from each other and the slower pacing, I had a hard time finishing this one. I think he is just not the author for me, but if you liked his other works you might enjoy this one too.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I thought the premise of this book was very interesting, in order to save the world and humanity, all that is needed is to solve a murder. Except there's a serious time crunch and everyone's memories have been wiped.

I love a good "whodunnit" book, and after reading this book I think maybe post apocalyptic books aren't for me. Having said that, I still enjoyed the book. I just didn't feel overly invested in the characters or what happened in the end.

One thing I did really like that the scientists and villagers valued a non violent civilization.

Stuart Turton is clearly an amazing author and I give him a round of applause for the creativity and complexity of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced readers copy of this audiobook in exchange for a fair an honest review!

I found this book to be really hard to get into as there was lots of characters and storylines that didn't seem to interact much. I think this might've been an easier read with a physical book. The audio-narration was hard to follow with all of the moving parts, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that ABI was a character of the book and not just a narrative choice. I enjoyed the story overall, but personally, the way the narration was done really confused me It felt like sentences were run-ons and I was also expecting a second part of sentences as the narrator usually finished them by inflecting his voice up. This is the main reason it is getting a lower rating, as I found this really hard to overlook.

The first ~60% paced way too slowly for me and I found it difficult to pick up and want to read, but in the last ~40% it completely changed. As the characters really started to unravel the mystery of the murder, I began to want to learn more about it and really ended up enjoying it quite a lot. I was able to predict the end relatively early on but there was some nuances to the ending, especially about the non-humans being able to survive the fog, that I didn't see coming. I wish there was more about how the non-humans were different than the humans. It felt inauthentic that they were so on-board with them being lied to their whole lives and it moved too quickly over that aspect for me. I really enjoyed the ending and especially the chase around the island in the finally hours!

I listened to the audiobook of The Last Murder at the End of the World. It honestly wasn't for me. I went in looking for a thriller, but I found myself bored and increasing the speed just to get through it. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more as a physical book, but the fact is I was bored. I really liked the concept of the whole book and think others would enjoy reading it. I made it 35.8%.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. The opinions are mine.

A whodunnit mystery…but this time, the survival of the few left in the world rides on this mystery being solved. After a fog that killed the entire planet, one island was spared and the 120+ habitants have lived peacefully ever since. But when a scientist is found stabbed to death, the island’s security measures are lowered and the fog is creeping in. The clock is ticking to find the murderer and protect the island. As if things weren’t difficult enough, their memories are wiped every night, which means the murderer is among them, and likely doesn’t even realize what they’ve done.
This was a fun mystery with a good twist but I found it hard at times to keep track of all the moving parts. However, James Cameron Stewart was great as narrator and brought each character to life.
Thank you RB Media for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.