Author Talk: May 31, 2024
Stuart Turton, the bestselling author of THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE and THE DEVIL AND THE DARK WATER, is back with an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop and an audacious solution. In this interview, Turton talks about his inspiration for THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD, why isolated settings appeal to him so much, his favorite character in the book, and what he has in mind for his fourth thriller.
Question: You’ve said of your work that you have written about a locked room, a locked boat and now a locked island. What draws you to such isolated settings?
Stuart Turton: There’s something that feels inherently “right” about writing a murder mystery in an isolated location. They bring their own tension, they immediately limit the movements of your characters, and they’re fun because you can really get to grips with the space and make them feel lived in. The problem is that once you’ve locked people in a house, a boat and then on an island, it’s pretty difficult to find the next size up. Maybe I’ll trap a bunch of folks on a space station.
Q: How did you get the idea for this book?
ST: It emerged from the same maelstrom of brain chaos all my books emerge from. It’s a sort of trial-and-error thing. I start with an enormous idea and the concepts I want to explore, then realize a year into the writing that it’s not going to work. I then panic, finish it anyway, listen to my editors as they patiently explain why it’s not going to work, and start again with an almost-brand-new idea that’s a little bit smaller. Rinse and repeat for three years and five drafts until I eventually create a book. It’s not a healthy way of working and is almost certainly going to kill everybody involved at some point.
Q: What character is your favorite?
ST: I love the characters that are the hardest to write, either because they’re emotionally complicated or they’re utter arseholes that I need readers to connect with. In this book, Seth fulfilled both of those roles. I really enjoyed his struggle to understand his daughter and how he has to slowly learn to relate to this person who doesn’t share any of his ideals or beliefs. I have a harrowing sense that sooner or later, I’m going to go through this with both of my own daughters, so there’s an element of preemptive therapy to all of this.
Q: THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD presented quite a few ideas that lean very speculative. Are there any elements in the book that you wish were real?
ST: I come from a technology background, so a lot of the stuff I wrote about is in our immediate future. It’s either being worked on now or has a prototype floating around in a lab somewhere. Depending on your disposition, that either thrills you or terrifies you. I’m somewhere in the middle. As a 43-year-old man, my tomorrows are already arriving far more swiftly than I’m comfortable with. I can wait for the future. I have plenty of books to read.
Q: What was the hardest thing about writing this book?
ST: This is an enormous book that had to feel small. It’s a dystopian/utopian end-of-the-world story about family and humanity and what’s worth valuing in this world. I had to bundle all of that into a 90,000-word murder mystery novel with suspects and red herrings and a conclusion that felt earned. Only readers can decide whether I managed to pack all my cool stuff into the box, but I worked really hard to make sure the lid closed nicely. God, that was a convoluted metaphor. I blame jetlag.
Q: There are a couple of nods toward your other novels in the book. Can you tell us any more about that? Did you say you were going for a contemporary thriller next?
ST: People always ask me to write sequels, and I always say no because I’m happy writing stand-alones. I like new worlds and new characters and the unpredictability of never doing the same thing twice, but I love the joy of Easter eggs in novels. I like that warm feeling when you spot one or when something you previously enjoyed is brought back. For me, there’s a magic trick in all of this. So far I’ve written three completely different novels that don’t feel related, but what if they are? That’s a nice thing for a reader to wonder about.
As for the contemporary thriller. Yeah, I’ve said that in the past, but who the hell knows? I mean that’s the book I’m planning now, but in three years --- with my process --- it could end up being a magical realist romance. Honestly, the more I talk, the more I think there may be something wrong with me.
