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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
This was a weird book. Too sci fi for my taste. It was also hard to keep tract of all the characters.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The last bastion of humanity at the end of the world, post-apocalyptic plague—and the murder mystery that unravels it all.
Stu Turton has done it again! His books don’t follow a set genre, and this time we have a sci-fi/dystopian murder mystery—he calls it a ‘locked island’ scenario. In a world beset by a fatal fog, a group of villagers and the elders they rely upon eke out a meager existence on a small Greek island. However, this delicate balance is thrown into chaos when one of the elders is found murdered. Our protagonist, Emory, puts her years of reading detective stories to work and takes the case—not only to get justice for her friend, but to save the lives of everyone on the island.
Although Emory was not my favorite character, I did appreciate her sense for details and ability to puzzle together the various bits of evidence. What I appreciated from her character was her relationship with her family—her reclusive and emotionally distant father, Seth, and her daughter (also somewhat emotionally distant), Clara. To put it bluntly, Emory is slightly persona non grata—not only with her family, but also in her village; her natural habit of being curious and asking too many questions has not endeared her to the other villagers. Yet, it is exactly this trait that makes her a great protagonist for a murder mystery—her inclinations become a strength and perhaps she is the only one who can take on this task.
The other characters were fairly complex and nuanced—the elders in particular have some interesting backstories, which I will not elaborate on. Suffice it to say that they are much more nuanced than they first appear, and everyone has some stake in the events that are under investigation. Turton’s skillful arrangement of the relationships between the villagers and the elders, as well as the familial relationships, was quite well-done. I felt the fragile bonds of pain and distrust but also desire for reconciliation that characterize Emory and Clara’s mother/daughter relationship.
The Last Murder at the End of the World is clearly a novel inspired by living during the pandemic. Yet it takes those familiar ideas and turns them on their head, asking what it means to be truly human and what it might take to thrive even as the world is ending. It is brilliant, descriptive, and the plot twists are especially compelling!
Stu Turton has done it again! His books don’t follow a set genre, and this time we have a sci-fi/dystopian murder mystery—he calls it a ‘locked island’ scenario. In a world beset by a fatal fog, a group of villagers and the elders they rely upon eke out a meager existence on a small Greek island. However, this delicate balance is thrown into chaos when one of the elders is found murdered. Our protagonist, Emory, puts her years of reading detective stories to work and takes the case—not only to get justice for her friend, but to save the lives of everyone on the island.
Although Emory was not my favorite character, I did appreciate her sense for details and ability to puzzle together the various bits of evidence. What I appreciated from her character was her relationship with her family—her reclusive and emotionally distant father, Seth, and her daughter (also somewhat emotionally distant), Clara. To put it bluntly, Emory is slightly persona non grata—not only with her family, but also in her village; her natural habit of being curious and asking too many questions has not endeared her to the other villagers. Yet, it is exactly this trait that makes her a great protagonist for a murder mystery—her inclinations become a strength and perhaps she is the only one who can take on this task.
The other characters were fairly complex and nuanced—the elders in particular have some interesting backstories, which I will not elaborate on. Suffice it to say that they are much more nuanced than they first appear, and everyone has some stake in the events that are under investigation. Turton’s skillful arrangement of the relationships between the villagers and the elders, as well as the familial relationships, was quite well-done. I felt the fragile bonds of pain and distrust but also desire for reconciliation that characterize Emory and Clara’s mother/daughter relationship.
The Last Murder at the End of the World is clearly a novel inspired by living during the pandemic. Yet it takes those familiar ideas and turns them on their head, asking what it means to be truly human and what it might take to thrive even as the world is ending. It is brilliant, descriptive, and the plot twists are especially compelling!
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book had a really interesting concept, but at its heart it is a closed room cozy murder mystery. The characters all have some interesting and complex reasons for having committed the murder, but their memories have all been wiped and even the murderer doesn't know if they did it. It's definitely worth a read.
3.5/5 stars, really. The dystopia world building is stronger than the mystery aspect, for sure. But I was still kept intrigued all the way through and enjoyed the book overall.
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was incredibly interesting. I picked it up because it was part of the Poolside Puzzlers goodreads reading challenge. I was pleasantly surprised.
I really liked how focused around the sci-fi/future-y aspects that were part of the mystery. How the village/island works and the AI that is part of the island was really interesting. I don't read in this genre a ton so I'm not sure if there are books like this out there, but for me this was new.It's more focused on the mystery and society aspects than any particular character, even the narrator, but it's also done in a way that works really well.
Overall, I really liked it. I'll definitely have to check out more by Turton.
I really liked how focused around the sci-fi/future-y aspects that were part of the mystery. How the village/island works and the AI that is part of the island was really interesting. I don't read in this genre a ton so I'm not sure if there are books like this out there, but for me this was new.It's more focused on the mystery and society aspects than any particular character, even the narrator, but it's also done in a way that works really well.
Overall, I really liked it. I'll definitely have to check out more by Turton.