World of Trouble

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This is the third installment of Ben Winters' The Last Policeman Trilogy.

The trilogy opened with Henry Palace serving as a police detective in Concord, New Hampshire. The world has learned that a meteor may soon slam into the Earth, ending all life. The background of the first book was the slow unraveling of society while some, including our protagonist, Henry Palace, insist on staying at their job, keeping things running while they can.

The second book set up the possibility of a conspiracy to stop the meteor. Society is almost over. Henry has been “retired” and people are trying to find a way to scrape through the final months as they wait for the meteor that they now know will strike the Earth in October. However, the plot involves a very serviceable mystery story where Palace searches for a missing person and solves a murder.

Both stories, and the third, as well, are noteworthy for the fact that while society is collapsing and humanity is facing extinction, Henry insists on focusing on what are fairly prosaic mysteries. It seems clear to me that Henry is using his devotion to solving mysteries as a coping mechanism, a distraction from the end of meaning.

This book takes Henry and Cortez, the hoarder from Book 2, to Rotary, Ohio, in search of Henry's sister. What he finds is an attempted murder and a mystery that he doggedly sets out to solve during the last seven days of human existence.

The writing is excellent. The characters and the mystery captivate. We journey with Henry as he witnesses the end of days.

More than that, I will not share lest I give away spoilers.