Reviews with content warning for Murder - 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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kari_f's review

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4.0

“Streaking away from this moment are dozens of possible futures, each waiting to be conjured into existence by a random event, an idle phrase, a miscommunication.”

I love that when you read a Turton book, there is always going to be a sense of mystery about where we are and what has happened to get us there, as well as a murder mystery to boot. This book almost felt like a cross between an Agatha Christie mystery novel (i.e. the island vibes of And Then There Were None) and a dystopian “The Giver” scenario. Add to that an AI character whose perspective we see throughout the book, in addition to scientific experimentation that goes beyond what many readers might reasonably consider to be ethical.

The story opens on an island, where there are scientists and villagers purported to be the last civilization on Earth, and a mysterious fog that threatens to destroy them all. A prominent figure dies while others have gone missing, and the reader is trying to figure out the island as well as who or what is behind the mysterious deaths and disappearances!

While I did figure out the whodunnit long before the end of the book, I quite enjoyed the ride! There were a few twists and turns I didn’t expect, and the premise and writing were good enough that I was entertained throughout the entirety of the book. I will definitely continue to look forward to Turton’s future works!

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sarasreading's review

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a good Stuart Turton book. I love that he sets his murder mysteries in different genres with a twist. I think I liked this one better than The Devil and the Dark Water (it was the ending that I didn't love with that one), and I like it less than 7 1/2 Deaths.

It took me a while to get a few of the characters straight, which made it a little harder to get into. I also would have liked a little more character development. I really wanted to feel for these characters.

I did guess some twists, for the first time ever with one of his books! I don't usually guess any of his twists.

Overall, it's a good sci-fi, end-of-the-world mystery, and worth a go. I really want to rate one of his a 5 star again though.

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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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katie_elise's review

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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philosopher_kj's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

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irissunshine's review

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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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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