Ben H. Winters

"[The] weird, beautiful, unapologetically apocalyptic Last Policeman trilogy is one of my favorite mystery series."—John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns Winner of the 2013 Edgar® Award Winner for Best Paperback Original! What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway? Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact. The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares. The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard questions way beyond “whodunit.” What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered? Ebook contains an excerpt from the anticipated second book in the trilogy, Countdown City.

A Novel

The Last Policeman

When the Earth is doomed by an imminent and unavoidable asteroid collision, New Hampshire homicide detective Hank Palace considers the worth of his job in a world destined to end in six months and investigates a suspicious suicide that nobody else cares about. By the Edgar Award-nominated author of The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman. Original.

Shona Tiger

Loved the writing, the mystery, the buildup, the story. The main character is very likeable, and the book has quite a few gentle surprises. Also loved​ that there's a big story hanging over everything. Looking forward to book 2.

Dave | Storyphoria

I'll edit this review and rating after our AIC Stories Story Club has discussed the book for our next episode chat.

***Edited***
So we haven't had the Story Club discussion just yet, but I wanted to take a minute to talk about this book while it was fresh in my mind after a second reading. I decided to read this book again to kick off a new series of book read along's on my website (aicstories.com) called 'Spines and Bindings'. 

Part chapter by chapter summaries and part review/story breakdown/story thoughts, Spines and Bindings seeks to explore stories and encourage others to read along and discuss what we're reading. 

Anyways, The Last Policeman. 

As a concept I found it interesting but by the end(no spoilers here so you're safe) I found myself a little unsure how I felt about it. It seemed like the focus of the entire book was possibly just a setup for the other books in the trilogy, which I understand completely, but don't always love. I've read plenty of epic series of books and the best ones always manage to perfectly balance the line of being a great, one-off, stand-alone story while also building excitement for the larger world in the coming books. 

This one felt like it missed that mark a little bit for me, the balance was a bit off. That being said, I enjoy the thought experiment of looking at the world around us and thinking about how we(and our loved ones) would handle themselves in such an extreme circumstance. 

It is entirely possible that by finishing the other 2 books in the series, it may place this book in an entirely different light. But as a stand-alone it felt very much like a "that was fun, but not super memorable" type of book. To the point that I read it the first time and then as we neared our Story Club recording/discussion, I felt the need to read it a second time because I felt like there was a lot of the story I couldn't remember... besides the asteroid that is. 

However, in full disclosure, this ISN'T a book genre I normally read a ton of. It's very possible, in fact absolutely likely, that it was a great book for fans of this genre... just wasn't for me. That being said, it was still a fun concept and enjoyable read that at 3 stars, still falls into my "Yes I'd recommend it" category.

Janice Hopper

The further I read , the more I liked this book. 

It's dark, yes. I had a nightmare about asteroids crashing into earth after reading at bedtime. But as the story moved along, the impact of the asteroid receded a bit, and the working out of the details became more interesting. 

Good book. I'll read the sequel too, I think.

Jayme Bosio

Of all my book club picks, I would say this is one of my favorites (after Christina Henry’s “Lost Boy”). I’m curious if I would have found it interesting without the whole “there’s a giant meteor hurtling towards Earth” element of the book. But, overall, I enjoyed the writing and the story kept me engaged.

Ben Burns

I picked this up because I was looking for something fresh and different, a "normal" novel that hadn't already been sitting on my to-read list for a year, and I happened to come across it while reading an interview with Phoebe Bridgers, of all people. The premise - a murder mystery set against the backdrop of an imminent world-ending asteroid impact - sounded fun and original. Turned out the setting was right in my neighborhood, including a trip to the Weeks Footbridge in Cambridge, so that was great. Here's the thing, though: don't read this during a pandemic. Because during the week I was reading this book, I found myself picking up on little societal-breakdown clues around me and forgetting that the world is *not* ending in 6 months. So kudos to the author for creating a very realistic pre-apocalyptic vibe. And when was the last time you read something pre-apocalyptic, anyway? Cool stuff.
Five stars is for perfection and four is for 'actively recommend,' so this is a three, but I enjoyed it. I would keep going through the series if it weren't a little too real right now.

When the Earth is doomed by an imminent asteroid collision, homicide detective Hank Palace considers the worth of his job in a world destined to end in six months and investigates a suspicious suicide that nobody else cares about.

Melody Izard

The world is going to end. No need to think otherwise. So many people are just giving up and living a life of mayhem and chaos. But Hank Palace is trying to keep things civilized. This book was better than I was expecting. I'll read some more.

Stevie Blundell

3.5 good thriller and whodunnit mystery. Not too predictable but not impossible to solve. A few plot holes but overall enjoyable

Ben Nathan

Great world building. I can completely understand the motivations of every character. Brilliant characterization. Not to mention that the story/case that drives it is completely understandable too. I'm very much so looking forward to reading the other books in the series. A pure fun read

cygnoir

I was fascinated by the premise -- solving murders in the dimming light at the end of life on Earth -- and ended up enjoying the protagonist immensely. The mystery part was a little thin, but still enjoyable. I will probably read the rest of the trilogy.

Bryan Alexander

"I had to kill her."
"No one has to kill anyone."
"Well, soon... soon, they will." 
Before reviewing this book, I must offer two caveats.
1) I am woefully underread in the mystery genre.
2) I live in Vermont, which makes it nearly impossible to say anything good about the nearby, lesser state of New Hampshire.

Given those hedges, let me explain why I liked this novel.

The Last Policeman is a hybrid novel, structurally a police procedural, but also a science fiction tale. For the former, it concerns detective Henry Palace's quest to figure out who killed an insurance actuary. For the latter, the book explores what it's like to live in the shadow of apocalypse, as a major asteroid hurtles towards the Earth, guaranteed to wipe out the human race.

That combination works like magic. Sometimes the narrative switches back and forth between the two domains, describing the detective's thoughts about criminal motive, then flicking to add information about the asteroid's discovery. At other times the two genres fuse neatly, as in describing the effects of certain doom upon crime rates and civil liberties. All of this is done very lightly, with a precise touch. The book reaches deeply, but does so at a rapid clip.

I don't want to spoil things by saying too much about the plot, since the dual genres promise delight by narrative excitement. I'll just set up the beginning. Palace, a very new detective, appears on the scene of an apparent suicide, taking place during a rash of suicides (the cops nickname Concord "hanger town"), but can't shake the intuition that the actual crime was homicide. 

Palace begins an investigation, hampered by the oncoming asteroid's effects, and this is where the novel moves into solid sf territory. Specifically, sociological science fiction. Winters shows a variety of reactions to the oncoming obliteration of humanity, and each intersects with Palace's inquiry. Some people quit their jobs to take up other pursuits, while others just withdraw from life or directly kill themselves, leaving professional services overstretched, and making it difficult to get police work done. Others act out violently, ramping up the crime rate. The economy and most infrastructure are decaying, even collapsing. The internet barely exists.

Through all of these mean streets goes Henry Palace. He's a focused character, zeroed in on being a fine detective because he believes in things being done right, despite the end of the world. Palace is a kind of boy scout, using "holy moly" and "good heavens" as swear words, "sir"ing and "ma'am"ing frequently, keen on following regulations. He's competent, a loner, and on the edge of being crushed by sadness. A good point of view character. Plus: (view spoiler)[he's the dead man's double. Winters gently notes this throughout the book (hide spoiler)].

The setting is New Hampshire, especially the city of Concord. Winters sketches out the town and state nicely, offering cold weather details (one murder attempt involves hacked tire chains), run down buildings, quiet opiate abuse, guns, a distinct lack of crowding, few non-white people, and a little touch of hockey. In fact, this is such a New England novel. It draws deeply from that classic American tradition, building up the story from secrets and sin, small populations, corrupted towns and the quest for righteousness, the need to fly from it all and the desire to be self-sufficient, religion, the omnipresent threat of violence (especially by guns), and conspiracy. We don't get the supernatural, or Indians in the woods, or literal monsters... and yet: (view spoiler)[the federal government seems to be becoming a tyrannical state, possibly running a secret program protected by military might. A moral and political monster, let's say. (hide spoiler)]

As I said above, I'm not the best judge of mysteries, but did find the mystery plot compelling. Winters never leaves Palace's point of view, so we don't get free clues from the villains, like in some stories. Palace plays his cards close to his vest, so we enjoy the guessing game that entails. And the ultimate revelation was satisfactory. Plus the bonus revelation. And the other bonus one. 

All of which adds up to my wanting to get into the sequel. I'd like to see where these plots head to next, and to follow the further social dimensions of oncoming destruction. In short: recommended.

The Last Policeman A Novel

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