Scan barcode
lmcclel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Slavery, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
inirac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.5
“The secrets on this island have teeth, and they don't like being dragged into the light.”
It kind of has become a tradition to buddy read Stuart Turton's books with Nicki, so of course we ended up doing the same with his newest title The Last Murder At The End Of The World. One of the things I love about his writing is just how completely different and unique each of his books is, and you never know what genre or story you are going to get. It's true that I don't exactly read a lot of dystopian stories, but I'm game for just about anything as long as Stuart Turton writes it. And I have to say that it turned out to be yet another very successful buddy read! The Last Murder At The End Of The World uses a multiple POV structure and there are a LOT of different characters to keep apart. A list of names is provided in the beginning, which definitely helped... But it still slowed down the pace a little in the beginning, especially since most are not the easiest names to remember. The dystopian world itself is intriguing, and I loved how you only slowly started to learn more about what was REALLY going on. This isn't just a murder mystery or a race against the clock, as it also shows you both sides of humanity and gives you plenty of puzzles to tackle along the way. The story started out slower than expected and this is not my favorite Stuart Turton, but especially the second half was brilliant. It was fun going back and forth with Nicki talking about and processing yet another shocking reveal... And of course there was also the obligatory baking involved. I'm keeping this review short as it's hard to properly talk about the plot without spoiling certain things... The Last Murder At The End Of The World is one of those books where it's best to go in blind. I can say that I never did guess the full truth about it all though! It's without doubt a very satisfying read, and I will already be looking forward to his next book (supposedly a more contemporary thriller; can't wait!).
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
aseel_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
jstilts's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A murder mystery set in a small near-utopian agraian village of less than 200 people plus three scientists and an AI that speaks in their minds - the last remnants of our society.
Everyone's memory of the night of an unprecedented murder has been wiped, and the murder is causing the deadly fog to roll in - unless the murder is solved in a few short days the AI won't be able to put the barriers back up to save the island.
Luckily, one of the villagers has never found their place in their rural life due to an uncontrollable urge to ask awkward questions, and she will do anything to save her family and village - making her the perfect detective in a world that has always spurned her skills.
It's a brilliant setting for an enthralling book that keeps up the pace, but still has time to build characters with depth and feeling, places you can picture in your mind and a society worth saving - everything a reader needs to make them desperate to keep turning pages to see if this beautiful world and it's people will survive.
Honestly, despite some of the hardships and controls and secrets that keep this island from being a full Eden of leisure, it's a place I'd love to be. I'd happily read prequels of this book where nothing happens but experiencing their lives!
Touching, mysterious, packed with twists and exciting revelations, heartfelt relationships (and a few egoists) - and a whodunnit to boot complete with map! - I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Highly recommend!
One thing of note - as the AI can read everyone's thoughts, the book is basically narrated by the AI. That may sound a little kooky, but the book flows perfectly normally, it's just that occasionally the book refers to itself and talks directly to the reader - an endearing and perfectly charming touch!
Graphic: Death, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
beepbeep101's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Torture, Vomit, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
aileron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Blood, and Cannibalism
jazhandz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Medical content and Stalking
Fantastical racismpewterwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
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.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
philosopher_kj's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Xenophobia