The Last Murder at the End of the World

Welcome to Blackheath – the last island of human inhabitants at the end of the world. After a cataclysmic event exterminates the rest of the planet and it is enshrouded by a deathly black fog, one tiny island holds the last of humanity: 122 villagers and three scientists. They are kept safe by an extremely sophisticated security system that also exists in their minds. All is well. All are happy. Until one of them is brutally murdered and all in the village realise the last 24 hours of their memories have been erased. A ticking clock hanging over the residents turns this thriller on its head.

I love a good mystery novel that puts more than the usual twist on things, and this one is no exception. Stuart Turton weaves an incredibly compelling narrative that draws you in before you’ve even realised it. The world-building alone is brilliant and believable, and with each character you’re left wondering whodunit – and whydunit?

This book is fairly unusual in that it’s narrated by an omniscient A.I. named Abi. At first it was tricky latching on to Abi’s ‘voice’, but once grasped they became a fascinating storyteller that carries you through, along with Emory, a fierce and wilful villager tasked with solving the murder, who I just adored as she never stops questioning everything.

The Last Murder at the End of the World is a suspenseful blend of a murder mystery and post-apocalyptic science fiction, all wrapped up into a single book. If you enjoyed Turton’s first book, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and authors such as Max Barry and Benjamin Stevenson, this novel will not disappoint.