The Last Murder at the End of the World (2024) by Stuart Turton

 Book Review

The Last Murder at the End of the World (2024)

by Stuart Turton

  I checked out the Audiobook of The Last Murder at the End of the World by English mystery writer Stuart Turton after reading a favorable Guardian review which referenced Never Let You Go, Kazuo Ishiguro's clone book.  The theme sounded interesting- the last humans on earth try to survive on a Greek island owned by a (female) tech billionaire trying to resuscitate the human race after a mysterious fog (black, with insects inside that eat you) destroys humanity.  Turton comes from a detective-fiction genre background, where his books have been well received, but this book sees him determined to escape the genre restrictions while still keeping important lessons he learned succeeding with that audience- i.e. keep the story moving/everyone loves a murder mystery. 

  Of course, the murder mystery at the heart of the book is the trigger for a much deeper, more interesting book a la Never Let You Go.  Like many authors, Turton is experimenting with a non-human narrator, here its a "bio computer" implanted in the cell structure of the island residents that allows it (Abbie is its name) to control the behavior of the people on the island and function as a voice in their head.  Needless to say, "unreliable narrator" klaxons are going off on page one, and that is part of the beyond genre moves that Turton makes as the author.

  Interesting themes aside, the core of The Last Murder at the End of the World is a standard who-done-it, and I felt like the machinations that Turton engineered to make it plausible within this scenario detracted from the reading/listening experience.  Also would recommend the printed book over the audiobook, since it is narrated by an AI, the audiobook voice reflects that authorial choice.