The Last Murder at the End of the World
By: Stuart Turton
My Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS
Best for: 16 and up

Another homerun for Stuart Turton!

Okay, let’s just get this out of the way. How this book is only averaging a 3.69 on Goodreads is beyond me. It’s a travesty, honestly. My usual rule is that if a book has a Goodreads rating below 3.7, I skip it, hard stop. I took a chance because I was such a fan of 7 1/2 Death’s and The Devil and the Dark Water–holy cow, I’m so glad I did. Stuart Turton, I hope you read this! Don’t let the haters get you down! The Last Murder at the End of the World was EXCELLENT!

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was a happy surprise. It’s Groundhog Day + Quantum Leap + Agatha Christie, and if you haven’t read it, you need to. The Devil and the Dark Water, his second book, was another closed-door mystery, and it was a winner too. His first two books were so good, in fact, that when I learned Stuart Turton’s third effort would be another closed-door murder mystery–this time set in a dystopian future with the last of humanity trapped on a remote island–I accidently let in that dangerous emotion we book lovers live for and dread with equal measure:

Anticipation.

Anticipation has been known to kill dreams of book nerds. No matter how powerful your commitment to not letting it in, it sneaks into your cracks, lodges in your guts, and grows until it gets what it wants: the next book. Because obviously it’s going to be just as good! Well, either that or it’s going to crumble under the overweight expectations and kill you dreams.

So? Did The Last Murder at the End of the World kill my dreams?

It absolutely did not!

There’s so much to love for fans of who-done-it stories. There are actually two mysteries to solve this time: 1) how did humanity’s last hope end up on an island, surround by flesh eating fog and 2) who did the killing and why?!

The murders are foreshadowed in chapter one, the mysteries pile up quickly, and I loved collecting the clues and trying to figure out the secrets. The stakes get higher as the pages turn, and by the climax I was glued to the pages and I still couldn’t figure out how all the pieces fit. And when it was finally revealed, I was glad to be perfectly surprised.

One more thought about the rating. Several folks didn’t love that the voices seemed to float from 1st person to 3rd person–I don’t think that was the intent. When you read it, you’ll discover a character called Abi, who is a AI voice in the head of each person on the island. Abi is the narrator of the story, so when Abi is referring to herself, she says “I,” and in the course of her narration when she’s describing the actions of others, she say “He/She/They.” Easy peasy.

No language concerns, but it’s pretty intense. There is some violence. No other adult content. This dad says The Last Murder at the End of the World is best for 16 and up.

Happy Reading!