Book Review: The Last Murder at the End of the World | Stuart Turton

This premise of The Last Murder at the End of the World was too compelling for me to not add it right to the top of my TBR. I don’t read post-apocalyptic fiction often, but when it’s done well it’s a genre I love. Stuart Turton’s latest thriller is inventive and complex, exploring a group of people who live on an island surrounded by a deadly fog that destroyed the rest of the world, until one of them is murdered and the fog threatens to take them too. Are you confused? Let’s get into it!

What is The Last Murder at the End of the World about?

Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn’t solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer—and they don’t even know it.

And the clock is ticking. (synopsis from Goodreads)

What did I think?

I don’t read post-apocalyptic fiction often, but sometimes a book comes along that’s too fascinating to pass up. The Last Murder at the End of the World is an interesting divergence from the norm in this genre. Rather than having a few stragglers looking through desolate space and figuring out how to survive, Turton’s plot is nearly claustrophobic and centers around a small group of villagers on an island surrounded by fog that has taken the rest of the earth. There is no way for them to leave, and a murder upends everything.

This is in many ways a locked room mystery taken to an extreme. The island is home to 122 villagers, three scientists, and one exiled villager. They live in peace. The villagers don’t feel hatred for others. They have always lived in this utopia. They’re told that 90 years ago a fog took over the planet, killing everyone it touched. This small group made it to this island and has been able to survive in large part due to the three scientists.

The scientists don’t die of natural causes the way the villagers do. They’ve lived through the emergence of the fog and the 90 years on the island. They are the only ones on the island who don’t adhere to a strict curfew. An AI called Abi can understand the thoughts of the villagers and control them, though they live in relative harmony. Abi is designed to do the bidding of one of the scientists. When that scientist is found brutally murdered in the morning and all of the villagers have had their memories of the night before wiped, the island is thrown into chaos. They must solve the murder within 92 hours or the fog will take out the entire island.

The story was narrated entirely by the omniscient AI, which was an interesting and different narrative structure. I found it interesting that the AI could provide the reader more information, but there was a lot the AI is holding back. Abi was designed to do what their creator asked them to do, but Abi isn’t authorized to share what that was. I found Abi fascinating and frustrating. Abi is emotionless, while the villagers and scientists are influenced by emotion. That made the calculus of decision making differ depending on who is in charge. In every way that the villagers are peaceful, the reader quickly realizes that the scientists are not. They have tempers, they can experience hatred, and they can seek revenge.

A woman named Emory is the central character that seeks to solve the mystery and save the villagers. Even before the murder, its clear that there is something different about Emory. She questions their life and the scientists much more than the other villagers do. She’s a keen observer and intelligent, making her the perfect person to put together the clues and save the island.

Tension mounts throughout and by 25% a lot more information unfolds. The more I learned, the more puzzled I was. Turton has a few twists that he drops throughout. One fundamentally changed everything I thought I knew about where the story might end up. I won’t spoil the twists, but they are well-crafted and compelling. This book is more thought-provoking than anything. What does it mean to be human? How can people harness a powerful AI like Abi to do the things that they are too emotional to do themselves?

The world building was well-executed. I was able to follow along and gain new insights as more information is revealed to the reader. I never would have put together the solution to the mystery, and it was fun hearing how Emory slowly tried to piece it together. An imaginative, thought-provoking mystery with a great message.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for my copy. Opinions are my own.