4.5 stars

I loved Stuart Turton’s first two novels and was beyond excited to get an ARC of his third. A contender for longest title of 2024, it is a brilliant story to boot, more in common with the Black Mirror-esque Evelyn Hardcastle than The Devil and the Dark Water.

Narrated by a mysterious omni-present being called Abi, we follow a group of villagers trapped on a post-apocalyptic island surrounded by a poisonous fog that seems to have destroyed much of the planet. When one of the village elders is murdered, the villagers are tasked with finding the murderer; only then will Abi stop the fog from reaching them.

Bonkers but brilliant. Suspend your disbelief and let this book carry you along on a sci-fi wave. About halfway through there is a key plot twist which I had already figured out as it was the most logical explanation. perhapd the author meant this to be worked out; It didn’t ruin my enjoyment anyway. I also guessed correctly at the murderer, again my little grey cells concluding it was the most likely answer given the clues planted.

There are some really thought provoking messages in this which I liked. On the downside I didn’t really feel a connection to any of the characters, but I think there’s good reason for this.

A really enchanting read, looking forward to book 4.

This book was such an adventure. My favorite books are those that have ACTUALLY original storylines and this is one of them. The author also doesn't make you wait until the last page to drop the bombshell, but rather peppers them throughout the book which is great. I also found myself rooting for the characters as if they were actual people and am super bummed now that I don't get to "hang out with them" anymore, every night when I read before bed.

The only negative thing I would say about this book is that it's swivels from sci-fi to crime fiction and gets a bit stuck in the crime genre (which has become one of my least favorite ONLY because I've read too many). Personally, I would have been happier if it stayed more in the magical realism, sci-fi pocket that it started out in, but that's a personal preference.

Thank you for letting me read this! It was awesome.

It’s some point in the future, we’re not sure how far. A catastrophe has struck the planet, a man-made catastrophe we’re led to believe. A fog has gradually covered the planet, inhabited by insects that destroyed every living thing in its wake. There was only one place spared, a small Greek island, and ninety years after the devastation a hundred or more people live here. The leaders – referred to as the ‘elders’ - are three scientists. There’s also an AI system in play, called Abi.

It’s not clear why the fog didn’t reach this island but it does hover in the distance, a constant threat. The people here are a mild, friendly group and it seems that there is no violence, no disruption to their tranquil lives. But there are also secrets and soon there will be a murder – a death that will threaten the future of these people. They will learn that must identify and execute the perpetrator of this act or the fog will descend upon them. And they will have very little time in which to do this.

Turton writes carefully constructed, unconventional and complex crime thrillers; The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is, I think, a masterpiece. But what of this one? Well, it’s certainly complex and its premise does seem to offer plenty of mystery. It took me a while to get my head around the set-up on the island and, unsurprisingly, quite a bit of information is held back and carefully parcelled out as the story unfolds. The world he constructs here is an interesting one, too. Yet I found myself strangely unengaged by the whole scenario.

One issue for me is that I struggle with stories that include the opportunity for scientific and technological developments or inventions that don’t currently exist to suddenly crop up and surprise me. This obviously offers the author the opportunity to introduce all sorts of strange twists that I couldn’t possibly have envisaged. I just find this exasperating: I like to use my wits to try to resolve any puzzle I’m faced with and therefore a mystery set in a time when this vehicle exists is always likely to frustrate me.

I enjoyed the story but I didn’t love it. It is surprising and it is inventive, and yet I never found myself fully engaged with the fate of these people. That said, the ending is frantic and exciting and it did keep me urgently turning each page to see how thing would finally play out. I’m pretty sure many others will love this one more than I did, but it’s a three star offering for me.

It will probably come as no surprise to anyone who has read Turton's debut novel The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, but The Last Murder at the End of the World is more packed with twists and turns than most writers would know what to do with. Unfortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, that seems to apply to Turton himself here. Rather than taking settings we’re familiar with and putting his unique spin on them, as in his first two novels (a country house and a merchant sailing vessel, respectively), Turton has opted here to construct the whole locked room from scratch, with a high tech security system, an AI narrator, weird villagers who don’t seem to mind being euthanised, killer fog and more besides. While there’s obviously nothing wrong with coming up with a wholly original setting for your mystery, some of the elements involved have more than a whiff of deus ex machina about them. Turton gives himself hoops to jump through to emphasise how difficult this mystery is to solve, but because we don’t really have much idea of the parameters of what’s possible in this world, it feels a bit like the solution could just be pulled out of thin air with the help of another bit of technology at any moment. It’s less of a setup, more of a gimmick.

The solution to the mystery, when it does come, falls a bit flat not just because of this but also because of the somewhat anticlimactic way it occurs within the plot. There’s little chance of working out what happened yourself, as plenty of completely unguessable twists and turns are ladled in along the way; par for the course in a Turton novel, you might say, but everything just feels a bit loose and unconnected here. By the end, you probably won’t care who the killer is either, which feels far from intentional. The resolution is still fairly clever with the way everything slots together, but the amnesiac cast of characters makes it feel as if things could have slotted together any which way really, with one motive just as good as another - and every character seeming to have at least one.

Speaking of characters, this is where things are decidedly better. Villager Emory is given the task of solving the murder, with the clock ticking all the while, and is a fairly likeable investigator as she’s markedly different from the mostly irritatingly docile and unquestioning villagers. Emory is like a dog with a bone, asking the difficult and disrespectful questions she needs to in order to pursue the investigation. Her fraught relationships with both her father and daughter have a good amount of emotional heft to them too, even if the latter’s choices make things feel like a dated YA novel at times - teenagers falling out with parents over wanting to take “The Trials” in order to go off and be some badass scavenger no doubt sounds dully familiar to a lot of readers at this point.

The Last Murder at the End of the World is, it’s fair to say, something of a mixed bag. Fans might still get some enjoyment out of it thanks to its strong characters and interesting narrator, but the typically intricately woven plot unfortunately comes apart at the seams instead of knitting together satisfyingly.

Turton is back with a whodunnit novel that goes beyond the classic murder stories.

A hundred-ish people is in an island surrounded by a deadly fog. An island with secrets inside. There is no more civilization on Earth. One of the morning a body appears. The security system in the island has wiped all memories from this people. They have 92 hours to resolve it while the fog gets closer and closer. What seems like a story like many others is told from a very particular point of view.

A POV I’m not going to describe further cos is part of the magic of the story and open to interpretations. Risky and surely not the cup of tea of everyone. However, this makes this novel differential compared to any other. I love how Turton always finds the way to tie different genres and became with such an exciting story. Murder, dystopian and science fiction goes all together in a singular story with an excellent outcome.

I was lucky enough to be sent an advanced review copy of this title from the Publisher. The premise a small group of villagers and scientists are the only ones left on a small island after an apocalyptic fog has taken over the world and destroyed everything in its path.

Its 3 out of 3 for me with Stuart Turton , I love his thriller science fiction twists. Definitely one not to miss. When you pick up this book expect to be up all night, as you will not be able to put it down.

Another riveting read by Stuart Turton!

On an island surrounded by a deadly fog, Emory has questions. Emory always has questions, and she's shunned by her fellow islanders because of it. Everyone else accepts life for how it is until suddenly, one of the elders is murdered and only Emory has the questioning mind capable of solving it.

As with all of Turton's books, I found the first 20% interesting, but not thrilling. Then suddenly you realise that everything you just read might be based on a lie and you rip through the remaining pages looking for answers.

If you like twisty, science/speculative fiction mysteries that keep the final mystery for the very last chapter then this book will not disappoint you!

Mind-bendingly magnificent! Takes you by the hand and drags you through a maze of masterful twists and turns, with an ending worthy of a standing ovation.

I really enjoyed Turton's new novel. He continues to surprise us with the variety of genres he writes in but each novel has a puzzle to solve at its heart. This dystopian novel, kept me guessing for a while as I tried to visualise the world he was depicting and the various narrations but eventually it all starts to become clear. The comments on society ultimately reflecting some of our own issues with the responsibility of the environment and power certainly makes you think. I'm not sure about whether I was completely satisfied with the ending. Overall a great read but not as complex or as complicated as he other books.

A new world ★★★★☆

Ninety years after the end of the world, a community survives on an island surrounded by poisonous fog, governed by three scientist elders – Neima, Hephaestus and Thea – and AI system Abi.

The rules are simple: respect the elders, don’t ask too many questions, curfew 8.45 to 7am. All the villagers die at 60.

Then Niema is murdered. the fail safes keeping the fog back are lifted, and everyone’s memories of the previous night are wiped.

Emory struggles to accept the status quo, especially after the deaths of her husband and grandfather. When she is tasked with investigating Niema’s murder, for the first time her ways of thinking and her tireless questions are key.

The island is full of secrets – from an abandoned lab to broken memory vials and a sleepwalking army of labourers – and Emory, her father Seth and her daughter Clara, one of Thea’s apprentices, only have 67 hours to solve the mystery and save the island.

An incredibly complex mystery centred in a truly imaginative world.

After reading the author's previous 2 novels I couldn’t wait to read Stuart Turton’s new offering ‘The last murder at the end of the world’. I was a bit dubious at first, as it completely different from his last two novels. But I wasn’t disappointed. This is another fabulous read.
The last murder at the end of the world is a typical ‘Locked room’ mystery but is also a post -apocalyptic tale of the last 125 people left on and island with 3 scientists, after the rest of the planet has been wiped out by a fog. When one of them is murdered but the next day they found out their memories have been wiped. They are wondering who is the killer and why? But that’s not all. As the scientist has been killed it is meant that the barrier that has been let down on the island and they have 92 hours before the fog engulfed the island killing everyone on it.
This is a tense twisty thriller, and the author is good at not giving anything away too quickly, so you keep guessing and guessing. The characters are well developed, and I thought this was quite a unique storyline, with the mix of mystery and post- apocalyptic adventure. It also thought it was quite thought provoking in a sense if there was a world like this where everyone could be equal. What kind of world would it be? This is another entertaining read from the author. 4 stars from me.

Having not read Turton previously, I was unsure what to expect but this blew my mind and i'm so happy to have been gifted this. There were real mysteriously intense moments that paid off.

Turton’s delivered a real mash up. It’s a real mix of Dystopian, sci fi and at the heart is a murder mystery with a locked room theme. It’s a cracker. Very clever because I found it impossible to second guess how the various threads would pull together. There’s a real sense of creepy eeriness as the last 122 survivors of the human race are drawn together and pulled apart by events. There’s a palpable feeling of claustrophobia as the deadly enveloping fog threatens to wipe them all out. Packed with characters including one who claims the ability to prophecy and twists and turns that keep the pace going right from the first page. Turton is an original and inventive author who creates scenario that are just on the right side of plausible and have moments of true scary horror. Enjoyed this enormously and can’t wait for more. This would make a cracking film.

At the heart of this book is a good old-fashioned whodunnit. I really struggled at first, partially because I always find dystopian novels difficult (no idea why, just a me trait), and partially because there was a lot of characters to get to know.
I'm so glad I persevered as the character building and plot were well worth it. It kept me guessing and held my interest.

I enjoyed this novel by Stuart Turton. Like his previous books there are lots of twists and turns before the mystery is solved and this keeps you on your toes and encourages you to keep reading. I do however think that his first book has been his best so far and for this reason have only given it 4 stars.

What I absolutely love about Turton’s books above everything else, is that you never know what to expect, because there are no rules. Each layer of each story uncovers more intrigue, more twists and turns, more mystery, more revelations, until eventually we find the truth. ‘The Last Murder at the End of the World’ is no different.

It’s is set in a post apocalyptic world where only one tiny island of humans survive. The rest of the world has been wiped out by a mysterious ‘fog’ that now surrounds the island. As in other Turton novels, the setting plays a key role. Here, the island hides and exposes key information.

The narrator is Abi, an AI who is connected to each of the villagers. Abi is capable of communicating with the villagers simultaneously and is cognisant of the present, and possible future outcomes. The main protagonist, Emory, is at odds with the other villagers and with the mysterious Elders who take care of them. While all the villagers are content with the status quo, Emory questions everything. After the murder of one of the elders she is given permission to investigate, and to perhaps have some of her questions answered. But, if the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will reach the island.

I can’t recommend ‘The last Murder at the End of the World’ highly enough. Just read it!

Turton proves once again that he is the master of the high concept thriller. This is such a clever novel, probably a little too clever for me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hats off to the author.

This was my first Stuart Turton novel and lived up to my expectations based off reviews of his previous books. Clever, twisty and absorbing. It took me a little while to get a sense of premise of the book and the post-apocalyptic world Turton has created, but once I got going I didn’t put it down. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Not to be confused with Brit Marling "Murder At The End Of The World", Stuart Turton's title is a lot more literal with its use of The End Of The World. Its a post-apocalyptic tale of the last 125 people left in the world, on an idyllic island surrounded by the deal dealing fog which has rolled over on humanity causing madness and destruction. There are three long lived scientists on the island who maintain the barrier, and 122 islanders who "arrive" out of the blue when someone dies, and follow a very regimented by peaceful pastorl life. Evryone if connected by an all-knowing AI who makes sure tempers do not fray and all are content. Until one of the scientists gets murdered, the one who has maintained that barrier. And apparently unless her murder is solved, the barrier will fall and everyone will die.

This is much more science fiction than a mystery, though it does manage to keep both plates spinning pretty successfully. We get in the heads of a number of characters but our lead and main investigator is the islands malcontent, the only one of the villagers who has questioned their way of life - what makes her special makes her dangerous, to paraphrase Kate Bush. Turton does hold a few cards close to his chest, there are revelations that might be hard to hide in a more visual presentation of this story, and the very notion of murder is questioned at a couple of points. But it was always a compelling read, and its light touch catastrophising and small population did a good job at running through several of the big issues that face us with climate emergency. A thoughtful genre mash-up that is also a solidly compelling read too.

When you're looking for a story that's truly impossible to predict, Stuart Turton is the only way to go. I'm consistently amazed at the puzzles this man can conceive and the new ways of storytelling created, The Last Murder At The End Of The World takes a whole new direction.

In a post apocalyptic world where only one tiny island of humans survive, we're introduced to the villagers on a race to save the only liveable land they have left.

Every Turton novel is wildly different, this time narrated by 'Abi' a sort of artificial intelligence living in the minds of the villagers. Abi sees, hears and understands everything simultaneously alongside predicting future outcomes.
It took me a moment to understand the perspective as 'Abi' talks in first about themselves, in third describing to us and frequently engages in conversations inside each characters mind.
That may sound confusing but it soon clicked together and made for a unique style of writing.

For Turton's third novel he's built an entirely different world, this futuristic setting was fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed all the inventive technology and new species hidden in laboratories outside of the crude rundown village.

Rather than focus on the main event, Turton distracts by piling up the mysteries, each new revelation raises more questions.
Main character Emory has been chided all her life for her curiosity, until now. Finally given free reign to investigate the death of Niema.

Perhaps the most unique plot point of this story- Abi has wiped everyones memory, including the killer themselves! It was interesting to watch the main characters consider their own culpability and possible motives.

Emory is a powerful protagonist, the only one of the village with a spark of temerity. A drive to understand what's really happening when every other person she's ever known refuses to question the elders.

Turton ratchets the tension by titling chapters with a measured countdown to the 'end of the world', a pace that picks up speed before hurtling to the shocking finale.

Now begins my painful wait for his next creation. Definitely my number one author.