Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Last Murder at the End of the World

I enjoyed Evelyn Hardcastle a lot, and D&DW a fair amount, so I was really excited to dig into this. It was very twisty and complicated in the way Turton’s books always are, but I loved the process of entangling what the high concept was this time, and I blazed through reading it. A fascinating mystery and if you’ll excuse me I need to go reread Evelyn Hardcastle to chase this emotional high again.

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pewterwolf's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

I will be honest with you. I didn’t know what I was going to get with this. I just liked the cover and the blurb on the book, but I had such a good time with this.

It’s such a strange beast. It’s sci-if post-apocalyptic novel with a murder mystery at its heart. And I devoured this! I had such a blast with this, much more than I thought I would as the last few reads have been very middle of the road for me.

Because this is a mix of genres, you do have to give a tad more leeway over some of the far-fetched moments and elements, though there were several times that I did go “that seems like a stretch”. Plus, there are so many names thrown at the reader that you need a moment to go “are you important to the story?”

But this was unputdownable with the murder and the wider issues this book tackled (AI, generics, the environment, etc) and the audiobook is narrated by Adjoa Andoh makes this feel much richer. I really liked this as it was twisty, fun, unputdownable read, but I completely understand that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea reading for a crime thriller. I must say I’m intrigued to try out this author’s previous works.

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chchchazley's review

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hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Why aren't there more postapocalyptic murder mysteries? Every aspect of this book was fantastic: the mystery, the characters, the setting, the tech, the twists that didn't stop until the absolute last page. I've already recommended it to half the people I know, and the other half are about to hear from me.

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geegee98's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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jackalope916's review

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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chezler24's review

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

"The secrets on this island have teeth, and they don't like being dragged into the light." p.225

Stuart Turton has successfully blended the genres of mystery, sci-fi, and dystopian fiction to create something quite intriguing! He drops you on this mysterious island which seems to be the last safe haven for humanity in a world consumed by a deadly fog; however, secrets lurk behind this backdrop of idyllic village life. After a brutal murder is committed, the villagers must race against the clock to solve the crime, or humanity as they know it will cease to exist. You're going to need to hang on as the pieces of this ingenious, high-concept puzzle are slowly uncovered, BUT you will be amazed at how Turton has threaded everything together. A read for those who want something to shake up the concept of a murder mystery! I'm honestly going to miss this island setting and world he's created; I can definitely see this as a book I'd love to revisit later.

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agnela's review against another edition

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challenging tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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