Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world.

Outside the island there is the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 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 they learn 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 92 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…

Like many readers, I have very much enjoyed Turton’s twisty mysteries — The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water. I was a little late to the author’s work, but when I received this for review, I didn’t wait. It’s another twisty and engaging novel, and I enjoyed it.

The post-apocalyptic world that Turton has created for this novel is quite interesting. It’s a small, closed society, with an AI security system (the narrator) watching over the villagers and scientists — helping out when she can, yet also withholding an incredible amount of information.

When the idyllic existence of the villagers is shattered, as they wake to the death of one of the scientists, a series of events unfolds that brings their world to its knees. Who are the scientists? Why are they so different to the villagers? What happened to the world, before the fog descended upon it? Where do they go from here…? And who, if the villagers are constitutionally incapable of violence, could have murdered the scientist? All of these questions and more are answered as the plot progresses, in this twisty and engaging novel.

If I’m honest, I found The Last Murder at the End of the World a little slow — I had a similar experience with the author’s debut, but not with The Devil and the Dark Sea, which remains my favourite of the author’s novels. The pacing wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked in a mystery, and there were a few dips in momentum. Turton’s imagination and writing nevertheless pulled me through, and I was never bored (just not as-gripped, perhaps).

The characters are well-drawn, but due to the nature of the villagers I sometimes got them mixed up (their personalities and emotions are medically and genetically modulated to a semi-docile state), but there are a couple with distinct personalities that set them apart from the others and they added some welcome variety.

The plot unfolds quite nicely, with some surprising reveals, as various factions investigate what happened, trying to piece together a period of time that nobody seems to remember. The ultimate “solution” to the mystery was well-done, and I think Turton stuck the landing.

If you’re a fan of Turton’s novels already, then I have no doubt that you’ve already pencilled this one in to be read. It’s definitely worth reading, too, and I think many fans of mysteries will enjoy it. Recommended.

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Stuart Turton’s The Last Murder at the End of the World is due to be published by Raven Books in the UK (March 28th), and Sourcebooks Landmark in North America (May 21st).

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Review copy received via NetGalley