Author Stuart Turton is back with another novel of such mind-bending cunning, you’d be forgiven for thinking that he’s “as cunning as a fox who’s just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University” – but Blackadder quotes aside, Turton’s debut novel The Seven Deaths Of Eveleyn Hardcastle turned the Widnes-born writer into an international bestselling author and his second outing The Devil And The Dark Water has been optioned for TV adaptation. Thus far, Turton’s books have sold over a million copies in the UK and US. No pressure for book number three, then…

Combining several genres, but most prominently science fiction and crime, Turton has created what is probably his best piece of work to date in The Last Murder At The End Of The World. Existence as we know it is at an end: a mysterious fog has wiped out most of humanity, with only 125 lucky souls given access to an island free of terror. This island is governed by three scientists, with the remaining 122 people happy to abide by their rules and live out a peaceful and non-eventful existence… that is until a murder takes place. With one of the scientists brutally slain, the very existence of the island is put under threat. The natives have just 92 hours to solve the mystery before their blissful existence suffers the same fate as the rest of the world.

The Last Murder At The End Of The World takes elements from classic horror such as The Fog, along with the cult-like mentality explored in The Wicker Man. Turton combines all this with a mysterious location, such as we’ve seen in The Prisoner or Lost – but front and centre to the book is a classic murder mystery, which will keep you guessing right until the end in a way that is fast becoming his forte.