The Last Policeman

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Mystery / Winters, Ben	4-week checkout	Due 04-22-2024

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.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Fiction Profile
Author Notes
Excerpt

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Searching for a KIller, Searching for Meaning submitted by Jan Wolter on July 5, 2013, 9:58pm This is a mystery where the mystery takes a back seat to a deeper search for meaning. An asteroid is going to destroy the Earth in six months, and society is falling apart, as people drop out, some to do the things they always wanted to do, and some to escape the suspense by killing themselves. But one young police detective is still on the job, investigating one suicide among thousands that seems a bit wrong to him. If you're looking for a mystery, this is merely average. If you're looking for a meditation on the ways that people find meaning in life, or fail to find meaning in life, when all hope is gone, this is pretty good. This is the first book of a trilogy, but stands pretty well on it's own.

My friends loved this, though it didn't catch me submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on July 21, 2018, 4:12pm 3.5/5 stars. The detective in this mystery is quite the doofus Boy Scout, but the premise of the story is fascinating. The Earth is going to end when a monster asteroid hits in six months, and society has crumbled. People abandon their jobs, go live out their bucket lists, and whatnot. In Hank’s town, suicide is a common option. But one suicide doesn’t quite feel right, and he’s investigating it as a murder (even though nobody else cares).

I’m not sure why this book didn’t catch me the way it did two friends whose opinions I respect and so often share. Certainly the premise was wonderful and creative. The detective and other characters (major and minor) felt real. The mystery was intriguing. I think for me the writing itself simply didn’t stand out in any special way, so I just floated along, able to pick up or put down the story without much hesitation. And if I’m not reaching for it in spare minutes, I don’t generally give a book a very high mark. Still, if you like a good mystery, others have loved this and you might want to check it out.