Review: The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided both an ebook and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I mainly listened to the audiobook version, however it was extremely helpful to have the ebook handy while reading this book as there are a lot of characters to keep track of as this story unfolds.  I found myself referring to the print version often to keep track of relationships.  The narrator was good for the most part, however he did a very high pitched voice for one of the female characters.  It was almost whiny, which I didn't enjoy, the other characters were fine.

As for the plot, I found the first half of the book to be very engaging.  We get the first major plot twist around the halfway point, then the remainder of the book seemed to drag after that major reveal.  The plot is fairly convoluted as one of the main characters is found murdered, and an investigation ensues to find out what really happened.  The investigation takes a round about approach to get to the bottom of what is going on, mainly because the inhabitants of the island can't remember what happened the night before.  With only hours left to save everyone on the island before a deadly fog covers the island, Emory and Clara must solve the murder and uncover the secrets of the island itself.

This is a really hard book to review without giving spoilers.  The twist in the middle of the book was great, then it went down hill for me from there.  The murder investigation itself, was more procedural than suspenseful.  If you have read Turton's previous books you will get that same high concept storytelling that takes a complex path to get to the end.  The author often wants the reader to stay in the dark until the very end to prevent the reveal of whodunit, however I often found myself losing interest as I wasn't connected to the characters or the world.  The concept of this dystopian, science fiction society was really interesting.  As I mentioned, I really enjoyed the first half, but the author lost me in the second half as the investigation lacked action and thrilling moments to keep me engaged.

View all my reviews