Member Reviews

Unfortunately, this was a definitely not for me. It was a lot of details and I could not follow the plot lines. I did not get a chance to finish it completely so I was about 60% in thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

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A small group of people are living on an island in the middle of nowhere after a cataclysmic event has destroyed most of the world’s population. The group of villagers is living in harmony on the island, until the unthinkable happens and one of the villagers is brutally murdered. This catastrophe sets off a chain reaction which could lead to the end of all life on earth. At first, Stuart Turton’s tale reads like a classic mystery story, but the setting and the subtle world building soon immerses the reader in a post-apocalyptic science fiction narrative. I found the story to be disturbing as I considered the major theme of the novel: what it really means to be human.

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Stuart Turton, the author of one of my favorite books - The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - demonstrated remarkable creativity and complexity in that work. I absolutely loved it. Regrettably, The Last Murder at the End of the World failed to evoke the same level of appreciation.

I'm crushed to even say this, but this book doesn't even seem like it was written by the same author. The narrative felt erratic and confusing, burdened by an excessive number of characters. Additionally, the switch between first and third-person narration was jarring.

Despite these disappointments, I persevered through the book due to my admiration for the author's previous work, hoping for improvement that never came (in my opinion of course).

Others have loved this book, and I am ecstatically happy about that. But not every book is for every reader and this one missed the mark for me.

Thank you @NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

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I truly enjoy Dystopian books and when reading the synopsis, I was intrigued how this story would play out. In this case, I wasn't the right audience for this type of book. I was confused and lost when I got deeper into the mystery. Their was too many characters and moving pieces that I forgot who holds what information. It would of been helpful to put the POV at the beginning of the chapter, so I knew who I was reading about, instead of guessing. It was just hard for me to get into the book and I tended to push off reading the next chapter. When the mystery was coming to the end, I had a feeling it was going to turn out the way it did. It was hard to keep an interest in liking the character. This book just wasn't for me.

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I believe this is a case of "not for me" and also that I was confused of the tone/content of the book before I picked it up. Based on the description and cover, I thought it was going to be more of a light island murder mystery. Which sounds like an insane pairing of words. But it took itself too seriously in my opinion. Or rather, the writing wasn't good enough to back up what the author was trying to do. The writing and story just didn't pull me in, but I'm going with 3 stars because I just don't think I'm the right audience for it.

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There was so much to love. The Sci fi mystery was
compelling, and the pace was incredible. I think the world building was flawless. The ticking clock of the end of the world mixed with the human drama. The unbelievable world stakes mixed with personal stakes.

I think the strength comes from how the mystery unfolds, How we are never lost, or feel cheated. The solve at the end didn't feel cheap. The Sci fi never overshadowed the mystery or emotion of the characters.

I love Emory. Her mind and her refusal to give up. The writing was also top notch. I loved this.

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I Love Stuart Turton, this book was a pleasure and I can't wait to read more. Thank you very much for sharing the book, will make sure to spread word far and wide!

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I loved this book - the 7 1/2 Deaths was the first book of Turton's I read and ended up being confused by the end. This one had just enough dystopian element to make it spooky but almost believable. Will be recommending!

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I wanted so badly to like this book. It just seemed to drag on and on. I loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I knew a Stuart Turton book would be a "locked room" type mystery, and that he usually adds an element where even the characters involved are missing more information than normal. In this case the "locked room" is an isolated island and the consequence for failing to solve the mystery is the extinction of humanity. It feels a little like the show Lost, which I enjoyed at first, but every time I did a progress check on how much I'd read, I thought surely the end was closer than it was.
I didn't care about the characters, I really didn't care about solving the mystery.
Turton gets a lot of points for an original plot, I just couldn't make myself care about the ending.

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This book had an audacious scope and mostly delivered across all dimensions for me. I recommend to readers who enjoy complex plots, science fiction, and philosophy.

The plot: The island shelters 122 villagers and 3 scientists from the lethal fog that destroyed the rest of the planet, allowing them all to live in perfect peace and community. Each villager contributes to the success of the group in hunting, gathering, and maintenance up until the nightly curfew, obeying the scientists without question. The group is shocked to wake with no memories and discover one of their celebrated scientists has been murdered. With horror, they realize her death has also triggered a disablement of the island's security system. In a race against the clock, the villagers and remaining scientists have 107 hours to figure out how to keep the fog at bay while identifying the murderer in their midst.

My opinion: I love Turton's stories for the complexity, varied character set, and moralistic overtones. This book blended several genres well including science fiction, mystery, and philosophy, with some heartwarming scenes between characters throughout. The premise was very interesting and well-executed overall but I felt the pacing was a bit too slow in the beginning and too fast in the end. Perhaps this was driven by rapid switches between PoVs with a large character set. The twists were also somewhat predictable for fans of mystery. Overall, I enjoyed this story and recommend readers prepare to read it slowly to keep up with the complex, interwoven character lines.

Thanks NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC!

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I liked this - I didn't love it. I think mostly because I read it while I was sick - so I'm going to give it another chance after I get a physical copy!

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"Solve the murder to save what's left of the world."
The Last Murder at the End of the World is a murder mystery and science fiction that will have you turning pages till the very end. The author wrote this book really well and I enjoyed the science fiction part of this. The characters were enjoyable and I loved Emory so much. This book is full of twist and turns that I did not see coming at all. I highly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend this one to any reader who loves a good mystery or science fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks Landmark for this one in exchange of my honest review of The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton.

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Charming and inventive, this book expertly blends mystery with speculative/sci-fi elements, set in a vivid and original world. I'll be recommending it to newsletter readers.

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It took me a while to get into this book and figure it what was going on. The best word to describe it is "intriguing." I had to know what happened and who the murderer was--and why--and the mystery was incredibly well done. Very different from the 7 and 1/2 Deaths by the same author. I found myself thinking about the story and the characters weeks after I finished it --the hallmark of a well-written story!

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Interesting ideas about one possible (plausible?) post-apocalyptic future. I enjoyed really not knowing where the story might go, while at the same time none of the twists seemed to come out of nowhere.

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Thank you for an ARC of the latest Turton gem! As always with his books, it was an incredible mind-fuck. Go in a as blind as possible!

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Stuart Turton writes very unusual books. They are twists on typical books. He builds a murder mystery and adds layers and then he twists the story on its head until you hardly know what is up and what is down. This book is no exception with genre bending twists. It is a post apocalyptic world with a deadly fog covering most of the earth, except for a small island with survivors. There is a mystery to be solved, suspense, and then everything you know is turned upside down. I found it to be a quicker read than his last two novels but no less compelling.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an early ecopy. My opinion is my own.

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I found the POV to be really unique and added to the already-engaging atmosphere. I did find the cast of characters to get a bit jumbled, but I understand that is necessary for a murder mystery! All in all I thought the book was a good thriller murder mystery, set against a unique post-apocalyptic setting.

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This book was absolutely amazing. It took me a minute to remember which character what who, because there is a lot BUT the story was completely original and had me guessing what was going to happen until the very end. I loved every minute of it too.

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An intense read that blends a whodunit mystery in a dystopian future. When the lead scientist and creator of this idyllic and protected island is found murdered, the countdown begins. With only hours to figure out the truth, before the protective shield around the island falls, Emory is appointed to figure out the case. This book had a lot of ebbs and flows for me, but I got into the second half of the book it was hard to put down.

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