The Last Policeman (The Last Policeman, #1)

by Ben H Winters

[inlibrisveritas]

The Last Policeman is set in a pre-apocalyptic world, where an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth and everything is slowly falling a part. It tackles the question of ‘what would you do if you knew the world was going to end?’.

The world in Last Policeman is threatened by an enormous asteroid called 2011GV1, or Maia, and civilization is in the process of crumbling under the news that it’s going to hit Earth. Our story follows a detective, Hank Palace, and his desire to do his job despite the inevitability of the worlds end. The world Winters has painted is very realistic and bleak. Suicides are common, no one wants to work anymore and laws are only there to be broken. In other words everything is grinding to a halt, making life more difficult and Hank’s determination to continue doing what he swore to do as a cop. One of the best things about this is the different ways people handle the news of the asteroid. Some people opt out, others use it as excuse to finally live, and some take the opportunity to do what they want no matter the cost. It’s the human condition on display.

Our main character, Hank, is one I truly admire. I know in the face of something so devastating and huge I would not want to continue working, I would be one of those people who have a sudden desire to go skydiving or road trip across the US. Hank puts up with so many people who have given up on upholding the law, and even with all of the nay-saying and general complacence he still puts his mind to work and tries to solve a murder that appears to be a suicide. I wouldn’t even say that Hank is all that fantastic of a detective, in fact he’s quite new to the job…but it makes a world of difference when you’re close to the only one doing your job. I loved getting to know about Hank and what makes him tick. Even though I can’t quite understand how someone could be so comfortable with the idea of impending death that they carry on, I still really liked his drive to continue. He’s the sort of person you hope to see in dire situations.

I loved that the novel was not solely just about the murder mystery, but instead about the setting around Hank. How people are living, reacting, and coping. The whole pre-apocalyptic setting is not an in your face experience, it’s more of a muffled exprience. The world is sad and scared, and the city reflects that. The mystery in itself was quite interesting and not one you can easily guess, so I really appreciated that since I tend to be one of those people who guess early on and end up bored.

I’m really looking forward to reading book two and three in order to see how things will play out the closer the asteroid gets. I do know that Hank is going to have his hands full and given the way this one ended things are only going to get tougher. If you enjoy out-of-the-box mysteries that are not only fun to read, but also make you think about life in general then definitely give this one a shot!