Highly atmospheric and fiendishly clever. 4/5 stars.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley.
The blurb:
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…
My take:
Having been impressed with Stuart Turton’s previous books (The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Deep Water) I was delighted to get an advance copy of The Last Murder at the End of the World. But would I enjoy it more than The Devil and the Deep Water, which I found to be overly long and rather confusing in places?
In short: yes. This is a leaner story with far fewer central characters. That said, some readers may find it rather annoying at first as the set-up is shrouded in its own mystery. Who are the villagers? How did they get to the island? And we are faced with many more unanswered questions, even before the murder mystery element of the plot kicks in. If you don’t enjoy being kept in the dark or would find it too stressful not to know what the heck is going on, you may struggle to get into this story.
I liked the main investigator character, Emory, and her daughter, Clara. The scientists were also an interesting group. However, I’d argue this story isn’t really about character. Like a classic Christie mystery, the plot is the star of the show. I didn’t feel there was much heart in the book and it is more of a fun, entertaining puzzle than an emotional read. I wasn’t that bothered by the thought that everyone on the island was close to being wiped out. But, even so, I found the final chapters to be a tense experience as the seconds tick down to the satisfying conclusion.
And speaking of tension, the pace throughout the book is cracking with short chapters keeping things moving along. I thought the revelations were well-timed and the reader is told just enough to keep them hooked. The countdown to the arrival of the deadly fog keeps the pressure high from the moment the murder is discovered.
Readers may struggle with the main narrative voice. It’s a disembodied consciousness which resides in the minds of all the island inhabitants, reading their thoughts and talking to them. It is narrating the action in third person but then also speaks to us using first person. This can be a little jarring until you’re fully immersed in the story and used to it.
Overall: mystery readers and fans of Stuart Turton’s previous books are highly likely to enjoy The Last Murder at the End of the World.
