The Last Murder At The End Of The World by Stuart Turton

You Can Buy "The Last Murder At The End Of The World...Here

Rating 3⭐

First published 2024

432 words (paperback)

You Can Find Out More About Stuart Turton...Here

• The Blurb...

The small group of villagers who live on the tiny island lead simple, but happy lives. There is no world beyond their shores, but they're content with what they have. Only Emory feels frustrated. Unlike everyone else on the island she doesn't yet seem to have a purpose. All she seems to be good at is asking questions.

But then one of the scientists who guides the villagers is found murdered and as there has never been a crime before, there is no detective to call on. There is only Emory and her gift for asking questions. So now Emory must explore every inch of her island - from the cliffs to the jungles, from sandy beaches to the very top of the mountain - to find clues that apparently don't exist.

How can she solve a mystery on an island where no one lies but there's still no way to find the culprit?

• Our Review...

I cant recall if I have ever read a post-apocalyptic/science fiction/murder mystery before. This may be my first. The world has ended, all that is left is a tiny island, with a few hundred people which is surrounded by a killer fog, full of killer insects. It is only kept at bay by equipment cobbled together and maintained by three scientists. They are the elders, each very different. The way of life is no longer technologically advanced but is none the less idyllic. That is until the senior scientist is found murdered. Emory our disaffected gobby chip-on-the-shoulder  villager, who just cant seem to settle into the lovely-dovey hippy-dippy vibe of the island is called upon to find the murderer when there hasn't been a murder in living memory. However she is against the clock. If she doesnt solve in a couple of days the island will be engulfed by the killer fog. 

So simple, yes? well yes and no. Here is where POTENTIAL SPOILERS come. The author has so may things going on  and they come at you at such a pace that I felt a little overwhelmed and  unable to keep up. There is a central intelligence hub that has contact with each individual mind on the island but not collectively. This intelligence can converse with each person (as a voice in their head) but the people cannot use this to communicate with each other. Its name is Abi and it acts as an addition to their own conscience. It subtly  guides the individuals. When reading we are sometimes in the point of view (POV) of Abi in the person and sometimes we are in the POV of the actaul person. So each person is potentailly not one but two unreliable narrators. A very clever trick to write an engaging tale but it can be tough to follow. In addition strange things happen to the villagers. An enforced curfew where they all just fall asleep at a given time and wake up the next day covered in bruises and scrapes. Oh and they drop dead at sixty1

In addition the convoluted clues for the murder come thick and fast. I just couldn't process all the info quickly enough or to any great depth. I felt like I was watching an episode of countdown where I could get a four letter word but everybody else was getting 6 and 7s. Perhaps I should have read it slower I did guess the perp before the end but didn't get the how and the why. 

While I did feel a little out of my depth, there is much to commend this book. The author's imagination is off the scale. The scenario and world structure are both very creative. The moral behind the tale is one that can be seen throughout the world at the moment and is (as always very relevant.) Looking through the lens of this book man's capacity for destruction and the invention of A.I. is basically fuel mixed with fire. As ever evolution will find a way....

• Selected Quotes..

From my vantage in her mind – and the minds of everybody on the island – I can predict the future with a high degree of accuracy. It’s a confluence of probability and psychology, which is easy to chart when you have access to everybody’s thoughts. 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 or an overheard conversation.

My only skills seem to be noticing things people don’t want noticed, and asking questions people don’t want answered.’

I’ll have to treat her like everybody else, concealing information while subtly manipulating her actions. As with every other human, her emotions make her erratic. She can’t be trusted to act logically, even in service of her own goals, which is what I’m for. Sometimes the only way to win a game is to let the pieces think they’re the ones playing it.

He was a billionaire’s son. He never had to learn to hide his emotions convincingly, or make excuses for his behaviour. The world did that for him.

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