Tag: 20 Books of Summer

Book Review – Murder at the End of the World by Akane Araki, trans. by Jesse Kirkwood #20BOS26 @PushkinPress

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About the Book

TWO MONTHS UNTIL THE APOCALYPSE. TWO WOMEN WITH NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE

An asteroid is hurtling towards Earth and the human race has just over two months to live. But twenty-three-year-old Haru, stargazer and chronic worrier, is still trying to pass her driving test.Then she finds a body in the boot of her car: a woman, stabbed and tortured. There’s a murderer on the loose. And it turns out that Haru’s driving instructor is an ex-cop with a manic devotion to justice.

So, despite the small matter of an impending apocalypse, the two women team up to catch the culprit regardless of the danger.

After all, the world’s not quite over yet…

Format: Paperback (336 pages) Publisher: Pushkin Press
Publication date: 2nd July 2026 Genre: Crime, Translated Fiction

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My Review

Trigger warning: Suicide

I’m not sure Japanese crime fiction and I are ever going to be best friends but I enjoyed this more than I did Butter. The question of what you’d do if you knew the world was ending in two months time is an interesting premise. In fact, that element probably engaged me more than the actual mystery.

Others may have different priorities but Haru has decided she wants to pass her driving test. She’s already passed the theory test but just needs a few more lessons with her driving instructor Isagawa. Obviously, no-one’s really going to worry if she’s got a licence or not but she has a journey in mind that she’d like to be confident about making. All that gets derailed when she and Isagawa discover a body in the boot of the training car. It’s not a pretty sight either but Isagawa doesn’t seem fazed and Haru soon discovers why. Encouraged by Isagawa, they set out to try to discover the culprit because the police are either unable or unwilling to investigate. They’re in the process of packing up like everyone else.

I don’t think it’s giving too much away to say there is more than one murder. In fact there’s no scarcity of dead bodies because many people have decided to take their own lives rather than wait for the asteroid to do it. The fact there’s no-one around to deal with the bodies brings a distinctly ghoulish aspect to the book.

Initially, there seems to be no connection between the victims. Haru’s and Isagawa’s task is made more complicated by the fact water and power supplies have failed, and there’s no mobile phone coverage. In the course of their investigation, Haru and Isagawa encounter other individuals who have stayed behind in what is forecast to be the impact zone of the asteroid, scavenging supplies of food, water and fuel from empty shops and warehouses. A few of these join Haru and Isagawa in the hunt for the person behind the killing spree. One of the puzzles is what the motive could possibly be. When most people are going to die in a few months anyway, why kill them now? I did actually guess the identity of the killer about two thirds of the way through the book.

I can’t say I ever warmed to Isagawa, especially as we see a quite different side to her at some points.

The aspect of the story that interested me most was people’s differing responses to the approaching apocalypse. Some, if they can afford it, have fled to countries further away from the impact zone although even that is unlikely to protect them from the disastrous environmental effects that will follow the asteroid strike. Many have decided to spend their remaining time with loved ones. Others are putting their faith in underground shelters or rather fantastical escape schemes. Some, as we’ve already learned, have decided to take things into their own hands and commit suicide. But with no-one around to enforce the rule of law, perhaps it’s possible to get away with anything?

Murder at the End of the World is an entertaining, if rather macabre, murder mystery peppered with black humour.

I received an uncorrected proof copy courtesy of Pushkin Press. Murder at the End of the World is book 6 of my 20 Books of Summer.

In three words: Quirky, intriguing, dark
Try something similar: The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stu Turton

About the Author & Translator

Akane Araki was born in 1998 in Fukuoka, Japan. She is a graduate of Kyushu University’s School of Letters. Murder at the End of the World is her first novel, and it won the prestigious Edogawa Rampo Prize. (Photo/bio: Publisher website)

Jesse Kirkwood is a literary translator working from Japanese into English. His translations include The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto and The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa.

Book Review – Dwell by Rue Baldry @northodoxpress #20BOS26

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About the Book

January 1919. A new gardener at a snowbound boarding school catches everyone’s attention. It’s rumoured he is a war hero.

He’s nineteen-year-old Albert, haunted by Great War experiences and fighting the temptation of one particular prefect. What they want is illegal. Being caught would ruin them. 

Then Albert’s past finds him, making their quest for a place where love can safely dwell look impossible.

Format: Paperback (336 pages) Publisher: Northodox Press
Publication date: 11th June 2026 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

Dwell is an exquisitely told love story about two people whose attraction to each other is so strong that no obstacle must stand in the way of them being together, even though that brings with it great risk.

Despite being similar in age, Albert’s and Edgar’s life experiences couldn’t be more different. Edgar’s life so far has been one of privilege. His father is a successful solicitor and it’s expected Edgar will eventually join the family firm and marry well. His mother and his sister are already on the lookout for suitable candidates.

Albert grew up in poverty and joined up to escape his violent home life. Now the war is over, he’s adrift. The terrible things he experienced during his time on the front line, not all of which were perpetrated by the enemy, continue to haunt him. He suffers nightmares in which he recalls harrowing scenes. He has catatonic episodes and flashbacks, sometimes triggered by seemingly innocuous things. The reader shares Albert’s experience of these sudden shifts from present to past. In vividly drawn scenes we witness the horror of the battlefield, the ultimate demands of comradeship and the malevolent actions of those with power over life and death.

From their very first encounter, Edgar and Albert seem destined for each other. For Edgar, his attraction to Albert confirms the sense he’s had about his sexuality but has been unable to act on before. Albert is equally smitten but is conscious of Edgar’s innocence and inexperience. He also has a secret he fears would change how Edgar feels about him.

Both are aware of the risks they’re taking. Edgar knows discovery of their relationship could result in prosecution and disgrace, including for his family. Albert’s war experiences have left him with the notion that others have been punished for his ‘sin’ of being attracted to other men. What if Edgar too is punished because of Albert’s actions?

Ironically it is the difference in their social class that eventually provides a ‘cover’ for their relationship. Hidden in plain sight, if you like, but still not without risk because that thing in Albert’s past could still bring everything crashing down. It’s why Albert’s instinct is to remain in the shadows, to resist Edgar’s desire to venture out into the underground gay community. As it turns out, Albert was right to be wary.

I loved that, as well as the passion of Albert’s and Edgar’s relationship and their delight in each other’s bodies, we witness moments of tenderness and domestic intimacy: a reassuring embrace when awakening from a nightmare, the gentle application of lotion to inflamed skin, the drawing of a bath to soothe aching limbs, the preparation of an early morning cup of tea.

The author writes with real compassion and insight. By the end of the book I was totally invested in Albert and Edgar’s story and left with the profound hope they would be able to make a future together. It’s Albert though who will really stay with me.

Dwell is an emotionally charged, tender and compelling story of a love that must remain hidden. It’s one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.

I received a proof copy courtesy of Northodox Press. Dwell is book 2 of my 20 Books of Summer.

In three words: Intense, intimate, moving
Try something similar: The Two Roberts by Damian Barr

About the Author

Rue Baldry has a BA in English Literature from York University and an MA in Literature with Creative Writing from Leeds University. She still lives in York, where she met her husband and they raised their five children. In 2015 she was a Jerwood/Arvon mentee, in 2017, the The Bridge Awards/ Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer, and in 2021, a Women’s Prize Discoveries longlistee.

Her novel, Dwell, won the 2024 First Novel Prize. Other work of hers has won the 2023 Canada and Europe region of the Commonwealth Prize, come second in the Yeovil Prize, been longlisted for the BBC NSSA, and placed in the Caledonian, Bridport, Reader Berlin, First Page, Odd Voice Out, Retreat West, and Flash 500 competitions.

Thirty of her short stories have been published in journals such as Granta, Ambit, MIR Online, Mslexia, The Honest Ulsterman, Fairlight Shorts, Fictive Dream, Litro, Postbox, and The Incubator. Her plays have had amateur performances and professional workshops. (Photo/bio: Publisher website)

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