Outside the island there is nothing: 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…
"She didn't come here to cry. There'll be plenty of time for that in the next few weeks. Her grief will be waiting in the dark, and quiet. It will hide behind a dozen ordinary things, ambushing her when her thoughts drift."
The last hope of humanity, an idyllic sanctuary and a bloody murder mystery - the makings for an electrifying story. Immediately the scene is set in a utopia within a dystopia; after the near extinction of the species we’re shrouded in that existential dread but also shown a beautiful scene of futuristic, peaceful society among the wreckage in a powerful and uncomfortable contrast.
From the very first page, the timer starts and it just makes an unshakeable intensity — taking classic sci-fi tropes like the countdown and collective amnesia and utilising them in such a refreshing and creative way. The villagers are introduced as they go about their life, the key players becoming apparent but the suspects not so much - not just for the murder but for countless other crimes happening in the shadows of the village.
The utopian society is a strange mix of ancient and futuristic - and it crumbles as the control and manipulation that holds it up starts to creep from the shadows, making us question not only who is the murderer in question, but who is guilty of anything and what that really means.
It moved slowly, a little too much at times, especially after the main introductions and there’s a lot to follow at the start but it settles into a good pace - with multiple strands of mysteries going on at once, weaving in with tales from before and plenty of speculation leading us in opposite directions as we try to not only solve a murder but the many mysteries of the island and its strange inhabitants. The storytelling was intriguing, but slightly filler-like in places as I found myself waiting for the next thing to happen.
A morally grey story about the astounding resilience of humanity and the complex nature of being human too, wrapped in a dystopian sci-fi mystery.
⭐⭐⭐
- The Last Murder at the End of the World will be available on 28th March with Bloomsbury Publishing. I received an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for a review.
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