Book Review | The Last Murder at the End of the World

Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world. Outside the island there is nothing: the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island: it is idyllic.

122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island – and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer – and they don’t even know it…

The outstanding new high concept murder mystery from theSunday Times bestselling and Costa Book Award winning author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

An ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, an audacious solution.

Waterstones

Welcome to my book review of The Last Murder at the End of the World. First of all a huge thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the eARC of this novel.

This is the new novel by Stuart Turton, who wrote one of my favourite thrillers The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I am always intrigued when he brings out something new, so jumped at the chance to read an early copy of this one!

Turton’s novels always offer something slightly different from your regular thriller, and this one is no different. A run of the mill murder mystery with a twist, the last of humanity are the suspects, and there’s 92 hours before the world ends for all of them.

This novel is packed full of twists and turns, your assumptions about the book are constantly undermined and changed, which I quite enjoyed. You also discover more about the situation these characters are living in, and how they came to be the only survivors left on earth.

The only element of this novel which didn’t quite hit were the characters themselves. None of them are likeable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I just couldn’t connect or relate to any of them. As a result I read the book feeling quite detached from the action. I don’t really enjoy reading this way, it definitely affects the way I rate a novel.

Despite my lack of connection to the characters, I liked this novel, its a fresh and interesting thriller, which will definitely appeal to fans of Station Eleven!

Huge thank you again to Bloomsbury and NetGalley UK for the eARC of The Last Murder at the End of the World.

Pre-order The Last Murder at the End of the World at Waterstones (*affiliate links)

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