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The Last Day

The gripping must-read thriller by the Sunday Times bestselling author

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

*Narrated by Gemma Whelan*

A WORLD HALF IN DARKNESS. A SECRET SHE MUST BRING TO LIGHT.

2059. The world has stopped turning.

One half suffers an endless frozen night; the other, nothing but burning sun.

Only in a slim twilit region between them can life survive.

In an isolationist Britain, scientist Ellen Hopper receives a letter from a dying man.

It contains a powerful and dangerous secret.

One that those in power will kill to conceal...
'A beautifully realised and thought-provoking thriller.' THE TIMES

'A taut, thrilling runaround' GUARDIAN

'Reminiscent of Robert Harris's high-concept conspiracy thrillers' FINANCIAL TIMES

© Andrew Hunter 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Scary

Critic reviews

I read this hungrily ... Its intelligence and bravura characterization will have you turning page after page. A fabulous achievement.
A brilliantly clever thriller from a brilliantly clever writer. (Richard Osman)
Murray should be commended for going into the nitty-gritty of how his post-disaster society functions[…] What really distinguishes the book, though, is the creative energy of its world-building: it demonstrates the virtue of using the future as a playground for the imagination rather than trying to second-guess it.
A taut, thrilling runaround... The Last Day is an impressive dystopian techno-thriller. Murray paints a grim picture of a draconian isolationist Britain, with some vivid descriptions of a much-changed London, and the novel’s climax has a neat twist.
A brilliant debutwhich blends apocalyptic drama with a tale of espionage, keeping readers on tenterhooks […] Fans of Robert Harris will love it.
A stunningly original thriller set in the world of tomorrow that will make you think about what’s happening today.
A fresh take on the dystopian thriller, to say it’s gripping is an understatement - I cancelled all my weekend plans to finish it
[A]n atmosphere reminiscent of PD James’s dystopian classic The Children of Men and alternative history thrillers such as Len Deighton’s SS-GB. As with those novels, The Last Day investigates the “boiled frog” nature of totalitarianism, with Hunter Murray imagining what Britain succumbing to it would look and feel like. The result is a beautifully realised and thought provoking-thriller.
Dark, believable and brilliantly written
A thrilling page-turner, and a reminder to treasure our sunsets and sunrises while we still have them. I couldn’t put this book down!
All stars
Most relevant
LOVED
💛 This is the three-bird roast of novels and who doesn’t love a three for one? It’s a thriller set in a dystopia in a post-apocalyptic reality in which the world has ceased spinning. Big thumbs up to this smart premise.
🎧 Gemma Whelan is the kind of narrator I know I can count on. Versatile of accent, smooth of tone and dry of wit, she delivers a characteristically strong performance.
💚 The world building is comprehensive and fascinating, albeit (ahem) dark.

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COULD HAVE LOVED MORE

I would have liked the emphasis to lean further towards exploring the post-apocalyptic side, but that’s a preference rather than a flaw.
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SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO…

A Lee Child style thriller set in a Day After Tomorrow World.

A page-turning thriller.

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Love the unique twist to this story. don't usually like the doom world's, alternate realities all too often go over the top picturing doomy situations yet this story kept me listening multiple hours in one sitting. Pulling me in deeper and deeper.

kept me listening without stopping

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excellent idea, and a good story. gripping. the writing felt a bit forced and immature. e.g. the same adjective used multiple times in adjacent sentences, overly flowery descriptions.
however, will definitely but his next novel...

great story, writing not perfect

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A good addition to the post apocalyptic genre. Well written and well narrated. Didn't realise who the author or the narrator were until the 'extra bit's at the end and was surprised to find out that I knew who they were (not in real life but from telly / radio).

Plot was well paced. I fell for a few red herrings. Seemed so obvious story was going one way and then, whoa. off it went somewhere else. I like to be wrong in such things. keeps me interested.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the performance. But this brings me onto my gripe, which appears in so many of my reviews. Where is the bloody ending?

It is so obvious that this story has to continue, even if that was not the original intention of the author. Too many loose ends, Plot threads and characters not even close to be done with, and no clue as to how they are likely to end. Great you may say - book 2. BUT if this is the first in a series, the readers should be told that. And if not we should get a real ending. The author hasn't even committed to writing a book 2 - just 'a desire to return to this world' to paraphrase. Grrrrrrr....

Conspiracies at the end of the world..

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different, was looking for more intrigue and hea ier action but was a pleasant listen while walking

end of the world ?

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