The Last Policeman

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters is a mix between pre-apocalypse and crime mystery. If that isn't enough to intrigue you, then I don't know what is! When I first heard that The Last Policeman was a combination of those two sub-genres I was instantly interested in reading this. Not to mention the fact that it is a trilogy, and I am always up for a good series!

About the book:
What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die? Detective Hank Palace has asked this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. Several kilometers wide, it’s on a collision course with planet Earth, with just six precious months until impact.
The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. Industry is grinding to a halt. Most people have abandoned their jobs. But not Hank Palace. As our story opens, he’s investigating the latest suicide in a city that’s full of suicides—only this one feels wrong. This one feels like homicide. And Palace is the only one who cares. What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die?
The Last Policeman offers a story we've never read before: A police procedural set on the brink of an apocalypse. What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered?

Book trailer:



My thoughts:
Like I said earlier, I was very pleased to have this book come my way. I thought the synopsis was extremely interesting and that the idea of a pre-apocalyptic tale would be cool. (yes, I just used the word "cool")
When it arrived on my doorstep, I was pleasantly surprised by the cover and the sweet poster that Eric Smith sent along as well. Side note: that poster now proudly hangs above the classroom library and has inspired my middle school students to request the book when I finished it.
I digress. So, I began reading The Last Policeman with seriously high hopes for the series. The idea of a asteroid connecting with Earth and destroying humanity is terrifying and thrilling. I really hoped that with this premise, along with a police mystery, would be an equation for an amazing story.
It was, but it wasn't. I was happy with the book and thoroughly enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away either. Winters is an excellent author and did a great job creating the character of Detective Palace and setting the scene on which this story unfolds. Knowing this is a trilogy, I have to take that into consideration when I think back to the beginning of this novel. While reading, I felt that it just took much too long to get into the meat and potatoes of the story. I understand that in a series it is essential to lay a foundation on which the story can develop, but for me it was just a tad bit too much here. I struggled to get into the book and stay engaged.... that is, until I got about halfway through. THEN things picked up.
As Palace gets deeper into the mystery of his hanger, I couldn't put the book down. Once things really got moving, this novel had some serious heat. The asteroid was there, hanging out in the background, while this gigantic mystery begins to unfold... and then Winters throws in a small little tidbit of information that opens up a whole new can of worms.. and oh do I hope hope hope that this little tidbit of conspiracy theory is a big part of the rest of this series.
Winters may have bored me a bit in the beginning, but looking back with the lens of a series foundation, I get it and appreciate it. Once The Last Policeman got moving, I was caught in Winters grasp and am now waiting with baited breath for the next novel to come out.

About the series:
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters released last July to rave reviews. It has since been translated into 6 languages and was the recipient of the 2013 Edgar Award for best paperback original. The series continues this coming July with the release of the second book in the trilogy: Countdown City: The Last Policeman II. I am very excited for this next installment! If you haven't read The Last Policeman yet, go grab it so you are ready this July!

About the author:
BEN H. WINTERS is a New York Times best-selling author (Quirk’s Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters) and an Edgar Award nominee (for the HarperCollins YA novel The Secret Life of Ms. Finkelman). His most recent novel, Bedbugs (Quirk, 2011), was hailed by Vanity Fair as a “diabolical tale of paranoia.” He lives in Indianapolis, IN.

{Summary, book & author information, and video provided by Quirk Books}



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FTC: I received The Last Policeman from Quirk Books in exchange for a fair and honest review
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