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 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.
Hugely inventive ... Turton is excellent at slowly revealing the details about this post-apocalyptic world and its inhabitants ... I was engrossed in this high-concept thriller.
The Last Murder at the End of the World works well, and it does so on two different levels. Right at the surface, this is a wonderful hybrid that blends postapocalyptic science fiction with a murder mystery ... While genre elements are right at the surface here, The Last Murder at the End of the World is also a deep novel about big ideas ... The pacing isn't constant and the telling feels a tad mechanical in some passages, probably because of everything that's going on in the story.
Even given the momentum this ticking clock injects into proceedings, the novel lacks the bold dynamism of Turton’s earlier books ... Beyond lead investigator Emory and the elders, characters are barely sketched in, which also makes it hard to care whether they survive. The novel explores free will and morality, but only in a perfunctory way. And while the pace is helped by short chapters, the writing has moments of naffness.