dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't know what to expect from Turton, after 7 1/2 deaths, I know he can come up with some creative things, so I went in with my head ready to figure it all out!

We are in a post apocalyptic world, but it feels like its a hundred years in the past at the same time, no sense of year is given. A terrible fog filled with bugs has entered the earth and destroys anything it touches, literally tears it apart.
The Island is where the last of humanity lives with 3 surviving scientists. It is there job to try to reclaim humanity and fix the fog, in a sense.

Before we can get into the trickiness of that, a murder happens, the murder must be solved or the fog will take out the remaining survivors. they have less than 2 days.

No of course there are way more details, and much more weirdness that makes this not such a simple solving of a murder, but if I get into those details, it really will ruin the book for you. It's more fun to be slightly confused by them until they are explained. Then perhaps continue to be confused, and maybe a bit upset.

Oh, don't forget the AI feature, Abi. Abi is a voice in everyone's head and can speak to you and share others thoughts with you (sometimes) Abi isn't exactly reliable and may make you question your own sanity, let alone the sanity of the villagers.

I can't tell you more without spoilers, but man, if you read this, I'd love to chat it out with you, it had so much I really enjoyed about it!

Maybe I'm too harsh. The premise should make this book interesting. The twists and turns should keep you on edge. They didn't, not with me. And maybe I'm prejudiced, because I loved his debut novel so much, that, just like with his second novel, I can't help comparing his work to that and wondering what went wrong. Where is the colorful cast of character and the strong-voice narrator of that first novel? I couldn't sympathize with any of the characters here. They felt like cardboard statues. The main character annoyed me, the narrator seemed more than a gimmick, there is a point to the novel, but it has been done so many times before and much better. And the writing is...rather on the sloppy side. At one point there's a description of those that come to the island and it goes something like this: "Their faces were all grief-stricken and smug" (paraphrasing, but that's the general idea). How in the world can you look both grief-stricken and smug at the same time? The smug is only added because we're not supposed to really sympathize with those people, but really, the combination is jarring and distracting. Maybe the next one will be better...The author's premises are always good...it's the execution that falls flat.

Loved Evelyn Hardcastle. Liked Devil and the Dark Water. This one was not fun or interesting. Very preachy. Won’t be following this author anymore.
adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

great premise, iffy execution and pacing.
adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

3.5. it was a quick and engaging and had some interesting things to say on humanity but at some point in the murder investigation it got a little tired. but overall very clever. i particularly like the use of both 1st and 3rd person - abi was a great device, a narrator who knows all yet can't be trusted. good stuff.

also WHY was the narrator a MAN when abi is NOT. like yeah she's an omniscient voice but STILL. glad i switched to print.