Publishers Weekly
★ 03/18/2024
Turton (The Devil and the Dark Water) continues playing fast and loose with genre boundaries in this dazzling postapocalyptic thriller that blossoms into a race against time whodunit. A small island in the middle of the ocean has become the last refuge against the deadly, insect-filled fog that’s been covering the globe for the past 90 years. The 122 villagers who live and work on the island rarely question their regulated way of life, the elder scientists who keep them safe, or the disembodied voice named Abi beamed into their heads to coax them to sleep each night when the curfew bell rings. When the violent death of a teacher named Niema triggers a 12-hour memory wipe on all of the island’s residents, plus a fail-safe that will shut down the island’s defenses in 38 hours unless her killer is identified, villager Emory, armed with a curiosity nearly all of her peers lack, sets out to investigate. In the process, she unravels distressing secrets about the origins and operations of her supposed paradise. Turton smartly fortifies his themes of freedom and control by utilizing Abi, a manipulative HAL 9000 figure, as a semi-omniscient narrator, and he drops in enough clues for mystery fans to stay half a step ahead of Emory’s sleuthing without undercutting the impact of each reveal. This dystopian detective story fires on all cylinders. Agent: Harry Illingworth, DHH Literary. (May)
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"[A] dazzling postapocalyptic thriller that blossoms into a race against time whodunit…This dystopian detective story fires on all cylinders." — Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"A postapocalyptic sf/fantasy/murder mystery that’s as imaginative as it is dazzling and mind-boggling...An extraordinary, thought-provoking book that will appeal to mystery and sf buffs and general-fiction fans looking for a unique and unforgettable read." — Booklist, STARRED review
"A complex world and characters in a page-turner centered on what it means to be human and whether those qualities are worth preserving." — Library Journal, STARRED review
"A fresh twist on dystopian fiction with its share of surprises." — Kirkus Reviews
"A mind-bending, genre-blending, boy-that-ending mystery unlike any I've ever read...as though Agatha Christie and Stephen King had jointly rebooted Lost." — A.J. Finn
"Stuart Turton’s literary pyrotechnics are on full display in this magnificently sly novel. Part Holmesian deduction, part Shyamalan level twists—Turton somehow manages to reinvent both himself and the mystery genre with every book. An absolute blast." — Benjamin Stevenson
"Stu Turton is the master of intricately plotted, brilliantly imaginative murder mysteries. His latest delivers all that wonderful head-scratching complexity in a darkly drawn future world with a message about what makes us human at its heart. I loved it." — C. J. Tudor
"An extraordinary novel. Midsommar meets Station Eleven meets The Mist meets a fresh post-apocalyptic murder mystery. Audacious and utterly mind-blowing. Stu Turton is one of the most inventive writers working today." — Will Dean
"The Last Murder at the End of the World is wildly inventive. Stuart Turton is a unique talent." — M. W. Craven
"A unique, intricate murder mystery absolutely full of heart, The Last Murder at the End of the World is a heartbreaking exploration of what it means to be human." — Vikki Patis
"Believe the hype about this book. I absolutely raced through. Such a great sharp little jigsaw of a sci-fi mystery." — Alice Bell
"Stu Turton has done it again. I finished The Last Murder at the End of the World last night and it might just be his barmiest, cleverest and creepiest mystery yet. Buckle up, because you’ve never read a whodunnit like this one." — Tom Hindle
"Set in a post-apocalyptic world, with a literal village full of incredible characters, this is an original take on the murder mystery and I loved it. Unique, thought-provoking but, above all, addictive." — Louise Hare
"Even better than The Seven ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Turton's cemented his reputation as the king of the mind-blowing mystery." — Gareth Rubin
"Stu Turton has done it again with The Last Murder at the End of the World, the mad, alchemy-embracing bastard. A murder-mystery wrapped in a sci-fi allegory, it's utterly gripping, constantly confounding and will be another monster hit." — Adam Simcox
Library Journal
★ 04/01/2024
As with previous works, Turton once again blends genres in his latest (after The Devil and the Dark Water), mixing a near-future, postapocalyptic setting with a murder mystery. A fog has destroyed the entire world and all the living beings on it—except for on one island off the coast of Greece. On this island, 122 villagers and three elders live a self-sustaining, peaceful existence. Their lives are tightly controlled, but they're happy and don't have any concerns with how things are run. All except for Emory, who questions everything and struggles to find her purpose in the colony. When she wakes one morning to the murder of one of the residents and the imminent collapse of the barrier that protects their island, Emory is suddenly pressed into the role of investigator—and perhaps the savior to all. VERDICT Turton has created a complex world and characters in a page-turner centered on what it means to be human and whether those qualities are worth preserving. There is very real suspense as the clock runs down on Emory's investigation, plus true emotional depth in the struggles she and her fellow survivors face.—Jane Jorgenson
Kirkus Reviews
2024-02-17
It’s doomsday eve on a small Greek island where the last post-apocalyptic community on earth will be destroyed unless a murdered scientist’s secret research can be uncovered.
The rest of the world ended 90 years ago, just as humankind was close to overcoming climate change. Now, a lethal black fog is approaching the island, where 122 villagers live peacefully, albeit with an unreliable female AI voice inside their heads. All but the rebellious woman Emory are content not to question geographical boundaries they are not allowed to cross or mysterious programming that can wipe their memories, make them fall asleep at 8:45 p.m. every night, and die at 60—a bum deal considering the extraordinarily long lives of the three elders, including Niema, the murder victim. A brilliant scientist who in another lifetime was awarded two Nobel Prizes and later devised the barrier blocking the fog, she was 173. Hours after announcing she would reveal hidden truths about the island and the extreme experiments she was conducting to safeguard its future, she was stabbed to death. Solving her murder is key to saving the island. Turton, who specializes in odd, raging conflicts in closed settings—a London manor in The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (2018); a cursed 17th-century ship in The Devil and the Dark Water (2020)—here takes on a bunch of big themes including the nature of existence and the value of life. H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau, without the monsters, comes to mind. Long and talky and light on characterizations, Turton’s latest is a bit mechanical in the telling, perhaps owing to the AI’s role as narrator. But it’s a fresh twist on dystopian fiction with its share of surprises.
“Don’t go in the water” takes on new meaning in Turton’s brainy thriller.
