In this case, the apocalypse hasn’t quite happened yet, with devastating and unavoidable impact by an asteroid merely months away. The author manages to pull it off, offering a completely unique take on these well-worn genres.

It’s been a while since I read anything original in either genre. I’m a big fan of apocalyptic & dystopian fiction. [I’m staring at the insurance man and he’s staring at me, two cold grey eyes behind old fashioned tortoiseshell frames, and I’m having this awful and inspiring feeling, like holy moly this is real, and I don’t know if I’m ready, I really 10 July 2012, 336 pages, ebook, borrowed from via GET A COPY 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? The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. 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. People all over the world are walking off the job–but not Hank Palace. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?ĭetective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view.

The last policeman by ben h winters