For me, Stu Turton’s The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was a revolution in detective stories. It combined science fiction with mystery in a fascinating way and earned its six stars out of five. His followup, The Devil and the Dark Water, was a disappointment. With a strong beginning and premise, the novel didn’t land for me. Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I read his third novel, The Last Murder at the End of the World (hereafter, Last Murder).
As with his prior two novels, the premise is fantastic. An island holds the remnants of humankind after a mysterious fog wiped out the remainder of the world. Three scientists work toward re-establishing society among one hundred and twenty-two villagers. Being a mystery, one of the scientists is murdered. Furthermore, the technology holding back the fog is disrupted, and everyone’s memory has been wiped from the prior night. It’s up to villager outcast Emory to investigate and solve the crime.
Unlike the The Devil and the Dark Water blurb on the back cover (which I thought misleading), Last Murder’s blurb plays it loose but gives the reader the outline of the story. In order to enjoy this novel, you must favor a good science fiction novel. Turton uses technology to break a few mystery story rules, but he establishes a unique narrative. Because of the memory wipe, the murderer also doesn’t know they did it. In addition, the story reveals a twist in the first half about the villagers that narrows down the list of killers immensely. The reader doesn’t have to learn one hundred and twenty-five names (villagers and 3 scientists).
As a mystery story, Last Murder is odd. The character that wiped everyone’s memory knows who killed the scientist, but she’s in a position of power and is not telling. The fog closing in reminds me of Ellery Queen’s The Siamese Twin mystery, that is, the detective must race against nature to solve the murder. Yet, the “race” technique feels more like a plot device here. The clues and conclusions Emory and her daughter Clara arrive at feel unearned. For example, one of the character’s hands are raw upon waking up. There could be a dozen reasons why this is so. Why was the real one the only one that could’ve happened? I went with it, so I had fun with the mystery.
As a science fiction story, Last Murder is great. What’s in the fog that kills people, the secret of the islanders, the different ambitions of all three scientists, the technology that has been salvaged on the island are all fascinating. Science fiction should ask existential questions, and Last Murder succeeds admirably in this regard.
Emory, Clara, and the scientists are all solid characters. I like that Emory goes from outcast to detective (Chosen One) overnight, and I enjoyed her self-doubt as the hero. The island’s various locations are creative and mysterious.
So how was Stu Turton’s third effort? It can’t touch Hardcastle but is far better than Dark Water. I enjoyed it, and it’s a solid effort. His premises continue to intrigue, and his characters and settings are exciting. This one is on the better-than-any-other-novel side of the needle. For the future, though, I’m counting on him for an ending that delivers on the promise of the back blurb.