Edgar Award Winner bridging murder mystery and science fiction genres with a deft hand

In The Last Policeman the meteor 2011GV (Maia) is more than six kilometers across and heading for the earth. The impact will be catastrophic.

For those not in the direct path of Maia there will be tsunami and other natural disasters to deal with. The outlook for humanity is grim.

In your and my day to day world people find their own coping mechanisms to deal with the stress and situations they are faced with. In a world that has an end date people behave in ways formerly untenable.

Within that setting, rookie detective Hank Palace is determined to solve what his gut tells him is murder not suicide. He delves into this incident running down leads and interviewing the victim’s colleagues and friends.

While “on the job”, his sister Nico comes to him insisting he find her missing husband. Palace knows that while ennui, depression and suicide are common, some just wander off from family and friends to fulfill their own personal bucket list. Nico is sure something else is keeping him away and pressures him until he agrees to help.

Ben H. Winters hit every note for me. A determined detective, an unresolvable situation, and at times thoughtful prose that can make you pause. Winters describes it as: “an existential detective novel.”  I describe it as thoroughly enjoyable but I fully admit to my second book love: science fiction.

The Last Policeman is the first book in the trilogy followed by Countdown City and World of Trouble.

Would you consider reading this trilogy? Do you like genre blending books of any kind?

~ June Lorraine