The last murder at the end of the world

By Stuart Turton

The end of the world means people change, very rarely for the better.

The Ugly Truth:

Stuart Turton’s latest novel starts with 107 hours left until humanity’s extinction leading me to believe that I was diving into another classic post-apocalyptic/dystopian storyline. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see Turton deviate from the script and offer his own take on what the real end of the world might be like.

In this case, Turton sets the novel up to be placed around 100 years after a strange and deadly fog has settled over the entire world, save for one small island in an unknown ocean, which is now populated by three “elders,” about 160 “villagers,” and a voice inside everyone’s head named “Abi.” Right away, you get the feeling that there are secrets that need to be told and lies being fed to the villagers about the truth of their island. Additionally, as the reader, and knowing what you know about humans as of now, you are immediately confused about how everyone has just accepted a powerful, all-seeing voice playing in their heads every minute of the day.

As the tale continues, you are forced to focus on a select few villagers and their experience of being on the island and their original interactions with the elders. The plot focuses particularly on a villager, Emory, and her family tree and connections to current society. Out of all the members of the bunker, she is the only one brave enough to ask the questions you, as the reader, will be asking yourself. Her curiosity drives her passions, and with it, she is the first to start noticing that things on the island are beginning to change.

Unfortunately, Emory did not recognize what change truly meant and was unable to prevent the final murder at the end of the world. The murder was the catalyst needed to kickstart the total destruction of the island, the search for the truth and the turning against old powers. Waking up with no memory of the events the night before, the island’s inhabitants are left with only Emory being brave enough to try and find the clues to stop their impending doom. I would say this is truly where the book started to make sense for the first time and even became somewhat of a page-turner. The more questions Emory began to ask, the more you started to learn the truth of what happened to the rest of society some hundred years ago and the reality of what the island once was. 

Eventually, the truth about the island is revealed, which left me quite satisfied but also a little freaked out, and the murderer is ultimately discovered. However, after such a great middle-of-the-book, I was frustrated by the almost abrupt ending and am so thankful for the last page's true resolution.

There is a lot more to say about the story, but without wanting to give too much away, I would like to leave you with the following: Read this book if you like thrillers, science fiction, and dystopian novels. And recognize that there is a lot more to this story than the first 50 pages.