The Last Murder at the End of the World
A Novel
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4.3 • 119 Ratings
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
"A gripping tale that reads like a Sherlock Holmes novel set in a broken future...Turton is an exciting writer with a knack for strange tales that push the envelope, and this strange story of murder, survival, and the importance of memory might be his best work yet.” —Gabino Iglesias for NPR
From the bestselling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, and an audacious solution.
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
Customer Reviews
Unexpectedly beautiful
This book was such a great read, and the author kept me on my toes the whole time.
Sci-fi mystery like no other.
Great read