If you knew the world was coming to an end, how would you spend your final years, months, days? That might sound like a dreary thing to think of, but it’s a great setting for a murder mystery. First, there’s a societal breakdown, which is prime for creating an atmosphere of crime. It also opens the door for a lot of philosophical questions about community, society, humans, how we live, death, all of which add more layers.
Below are three authors who took the idea of a world coming to an end — or a viscount convinced it is — and threw in a murder mystery.
Murder at the End of the World by Akane Araki, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator)
A meteor is set to hit the Earth and cease life. This has created a massive breakdown of society, and in Japan, many people have fled the country or decided to take their own lives, as Haru’s father has. But Haru has decided to continue her time left on earth as she normally would and is taking driving lessons in order to get her driver’s license. When Haru and her instructor Isagawa come upon a murder victim, Isagawa — who, it turns out, is a former police officer — immediately takes action to solve the murder. Haru is along for the ride, and the two wildly different personalities end up on a wild, twisty, and layered “adventure” trying to get answers.
The Last Policeman (The Last Policeman #1) by Ben H. Winters
In this completed trilogy, asteroid 2011GV1 will hit Earth in six months, and many people have taken to either ending their lives or walking away from work and responsibilities to complete their bucket lists. Unlike his colleagues, 27-year-old Detective Hank Palace will continue to solve crimes in Concord, New Hampshire. Currently, his sister needs him to find her husband, and there’s a suspicious suicide that is going to look. Throughout The Last Policeman, a question frequently comes up: Do laws only exist if there is an idea of a future?
The Murder at World’s End (Stockingham & Pike #1) by Ross Montgomery
Here we have a setting that isn’t actually the end of the world, but is believed to be by Lord Stockingham-Welt. Halley’s Comet is predicted to pass by the Earth, and he, along with many people panicking around the world, believe it will be the end of the world. Even though he boarded up and sealed shut Tithe Hall — which is on a remote island!— and was locked in his study, he was still found murdered by a crossbow. The accused is, of course, the under-butler who was recently in prison, but the victim’s 80-year-old great-aunt, Miss Decima Stockingham, is on the case — which creates an odd-couple sleuthing team!
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf and see 2026 and 2027 releases! Until next time, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Multitudes Contained.
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