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A review by shona_reads_in_devon
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
'πΊππ πππ'π πππππππ πππ ππππ
ππππ πππ πππ πππ; ππ ππ ππππ ππ π
ππππ ππ π πππππ
ππ ππππππππππ.'
__________________________
Stuart Turton is truly a master of his particular slice of literature.
A malevolent fog has taken over the planet and the world's only survivors have been ensconced on a little island for decades. When a murder takes place, everyone's safety is compromised and only the discovery of the killer can save mankind.
This novel was much closer to Evelyn Hardcastle than Devil and the Dark Water. Another whodunnit of sorts, and memory comes into play again. I don't think this one is quite as successful as Hardcastle - though that novel was so fresh and new and inexplicable it would be hard to create that kind of experience again.
But, Last Murder deserves to be reviewed on its own merits, of which it has many.
The pacing and plotting of this is as wild and wacky as I could ever wish it to be. My brain does not work as well as Emory's and, having borrowed this from the library, the map was covered over which did give me struggles with the locale - setting and location is kind of central to this tale and I did struggle to keep everything in place! Not a real problem because I don't feel the need to solve the book when I know it's going to do it for me at some point but I do feel it estranged me a little from the mystery. While the conclusion is satisfying, I'm not sure I managed to keep track of everything enough and I'm not convinced there weren't some plot holes. I also felt that there were a few contrived circumstances slotted in to wrap everything up a bit.
The themes in this book, the philosophy, the morality, the *MESSAGE* was phenomenal. Stuart is taking on some big themes here: morality, justice, the nature of humanity, what it is to be human, faith, the nature of power, eugenics, the power and danger of tech. I mean, it's a lot. But this book isn't theme over plot - the exploration of these themes is so brilliantly weaved through the story in subtle and not so subtle ways.
I did have my suspicions about the conclusion to this, but it's delightfully full of red herrings.
Really recommend this novel, Stuart's done it again!
__________________________
Stuart Turton is truly a master of his particular slice of literature.
A malevolent fog has taken over the planet and the world's only survivors have been ensconced on a little island for decades. When a murder takes place, everyone's safety is compromised and only the discovery of the killer can save mankind.
This novel was much closer to Evelyn Hardcastle than Devil and the Dark Water. Another whodunnit of sorts, and memory comes into play again. I don't think this one is quite as successful as Hardcastle - though that novel was so fresh and new and inexplicable it would be hard to create that kind of experience again.
But, Last Murder deserves to be reviewed on its own merits, of which it has many.
The pacing and plotting of this is as wild and wacky as I could ever wish it to be. My brain does not work as well as Emory's and, having borrowed this from the library, the map was covered over which did give me struggles with the locale - setting and location is kind of central to this tale and I did struggle to keep everything in place! Not a real problem because I don't feel the need to solve the book when I know it's going to do it for me at some point but I do feel it estranged me a little from the mystery. While the conclusion is satisfying, I'm not sure I managed to keep track of everything enough and I'm not convinced there weren't some plot holes. I also felt that there were a few contrived circumstances slotted in to wrap everything up a bit.
The themes in this book, the philosophy, the morality, the *MESSAGE* was phenomenal. Stuart is taking on some big themes here: morality, justice, the nature of humanity, what it is to be human, faith, the nature of power, eugenics, the power and danger of tech. I mean, it's a lot. But this book isn't theme over plot - the exploration of these themes is so brilliantly weaved through the story in subtle and not so subtle ways.
I did have my suspicions about the conclusion to this, but it's delightfully full of red herrings.
Really recommend this novel, Stuart's done it again!