The Last Murder at the End of the World

by Stuart Turton

Genres: Mystery, Science Fiction
Pages: 354
Rating:

Synopsis:

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three 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 then they learn that 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 107 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.

And the clock is ticking.

Stuart Turton’s The Last Murder at the End of the World was a pretty fun read, particularly as I didn’t stop to think about it too hard (otherwise the gaps would’ve shown a bit more, I’m pretty sure). It’s basically setting up a closed-circle mystery and trying to keep the stakes high, even when really it’s all made a bit too obvious, by wiping everyone’s memory of the last 12 hours and introducing a strict deadline: even the murderer doesn’t know they committed the crime, and everybody’s going to die if they’re not found and proven.

It’s all very obvious when you look at the elements individually, but because it rattles along quickly, adding new bits of evidence (including of course plentiful red herrings) and raising the personal stakes for the character who acts as the detective, that isn’t too much of a problem.

I liked Emory and Clara, but felt like other than them (and a little bit Seth, especially toward the end), everyone else seemed a bit bland, especially since Thea was so unlikeable in her dismissal of the obvious personhood of the villagers.

Mostly, it seems like a writer having a lot of fun with writing a futuristic mystery that has a lot of classical elements, and I enjoyed that. Some of it feels a bit goofy/like a total plot device, but overall I enjoyed it. Definitely not for any hard SF purists, though.

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)