☠☠☠☠
THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Stuart Tinton
368 pages (Kindle Edition)
Sourcebooks Landmark
May 21, 2024
This was a very ambitious book as was Stuart Tinton’s previous book, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which was a DNF (Did Not Finish) for me. This novel was more engaging although I think at the end of the day, this author’s work may not be my cup of tea. My review (3 1/2 stars but there is no half star here or in NetGalley) reflects this. The Last Murder at the End of the World was a dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction mystery novel. I love mysteries; end-of-the world scenarios not so much. However, this did keep me reading enough so that I finished it in two days, wanting to know how it ended.
The positives: Mr. Turton has a very vivid imagination. The creation of such a plot alone has to have taken tremendous mental prowess. This book takes place in a world that was brought to an end by a fog that is layered with insects. A small group of people managed to survive and is once again threatened with extinction. There are 122 villagers, three scientists and serious Artificial Intelligence involved. There is also a mechanism for erasing peoples’ memories. I have heard that this “amnesia” device is something that is used in novels and I do think it was used effectively here.
There is a murder on the island and the threat of extinction by bringing back the fog becomes real; the murderer must be found, make a confession and be put to death in order to avoid this.
Embedded within this story are issues around whether it is ever justifiable to commit murder, artificial intelligence, climate change, loyalty, and so on. I liked the fact that Mr. Tinton took on these themes, which are very topical in today’s world.
I loved the scope of this book.
What I did not love so much: the pace. There were times it was a bit slow. The jumpiness of the plot: there were times that it was hard to follow.
I read and listened to audio (alternated). I preferred the arc. It was a bit harder to follow in audio or to go back if I missed something. And while the narrator had a wonderful voice, I felt like the English accent was a bit much with this. It seemed just a tad pretentious. Just my opinion for what it is worth.
I think the novel was worth a read. For me, I tend to avoid post-apocalyptic stories and, yes, from the title, I understood that it was. I wanted to see if I just didn’t like Mr. Tinton’s writing since I did not enjoy his previous work. However, I do not really have a clear answer since this is so different from The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle that it is hard to compare.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, Tantor Audio and, of course, NetGalley for providing me with access to this heady novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
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