A Novel (The Last Policeman Trilogy) - The Last Policeman

I enjoy detective stories generally, but this one has a special twist that makes it more interesting. An asteroid is bearing down on earth, about to cause unknowable damage. How can one be a serious police detective when most people are preparing for the end of the world? Read this to discover the answer.

A unique twist on the hard-boiled detective genre. I really enjoyed the central mystery and the narrator's just-the-facts-ma'am style. The background undercurrent of the impending end of civilization running throughout adds a unique element that really drew me in. Very much looking forward to the next one. Highly recommended, especially if you like Chandler/Hammett/Spillane, etc.

I chose Te Last Policeman because I enjoy apocalyptic books. This book had an interesting twist on this genre. The beginning of the book introduces the main character who has been working as a police officer a short time when the news media begins to report the slight possibility that a meteor is headed toward earth. Originally this is thought to be a statically improbable occurrence. However, soon we learn that the odds keep going up until it is 100% sure this meteor will hit the earth and possible destroy the planet. Many citizens react with fatalistic behavior, drinking and smoking on the job but most troubling they are committing suicide in record numbers. Since many people are quitting there jobs and pursuing there bucket list dreams our main character is soon promoted to a detective. He continues to perform his job in a serious manner, especially when he is assigned to investigate a suicide which he alone feels maybe a homicide. This book begs the question of how people cope with impending doom or known destruction.

The Last Policeman set up an interesting situation in which everyone knows that the world will become very hostile to life after an asteroid impacts the earth in a predictable number of days. The main character is a detective who gets involved trying to prove a death (in a time when many are committing suicide) is actually a murder. His dedication to finding out the truth is impeded by the malaise caused by the impending doom of life as we know it, so why bother? The story becomes hard to follow during several twists and subplots that make it difficult to follow. I think it is worth the read, but at times the convoluted plot does make it slow going.

I bought this book on a whim, then immediately devoured it along with the other two books in the sequel. It is incredibly well written with rich descriptions. Winters does an excellent job inserting you into his world and making you feel like you are there. I will warn you... this is not an uplifting story. The book won't necessarily make you feel good, but it will make you feel-- which is high marks for any work of art.

Ben Winters' story The Last Policeman is a great story with a unique bent -- what if the world was going to end and what would happen to society when the fate was all but sealed? One policeman still wants to serve and solve crimes, even when others don't care and want to just forget that crime existed at all. The crime isn't all that complex, but the apocalyptic aspects just add so many layers to the story that added to my enjoyment of it.

Follows the old Clarke/Heinlein/Asimov rule for great science fiction: start with the real world, assume a single counterfactual (a nonexistent technology, the absence of light speed as a barrier, or in this case an incoming asteroid), and then write a story about people predicting how we would be different (and how the same) in light of that counterfactual. A classic noir in that vein, with what I think is a remarkable insight into how much we would all carry on much more normally than one would assume.

I rarely read murder mysteries (and even more rarely write a review or give a book 5 stars) but the premise of a murder mystery set months prior to a known oncoming apocalypse? That certainly caught my intrest.
This book was nearly impossible to put down and I blame the author for many hours of lost sleep as I continued this story in bed!
Well done, sir!
I am pre-ordering Countdown City: The Last Policeman Book II immeadiately!

I like mysteries, and the mystery in this one was fun. I also like some end-of-the-world stories, and this one was great. The whole, though, is greater than the sum of its parts. I think the author did an excellent job playing out the mystery in the really odd context of the impending doom. Also, the prose is just plain enjoyable to read; I had some difficulty remembering that the world was not about to end when I put the book down.

I read the trilogy and enjoyed the books You have to enjoy the main character and I did. I like reading different writers' vision of a dying or soon to be destroyed Earth and how the population handles it. Overall, these books are light and easy to read. Of course, there is some violence and darkness. I liked the main character's quirks and drive to do the right thing. This book is a good summer read.

This is an interesting but kind of disappointing take on the impending meteor distruction of the world and how society reacts to it. My problem with this was that there were a number of perpherial characters who were much more interesting than the protagonist, who came across as a bumbling loser with few redeeming qualities other than being stubbon. The other detectives were all more interesting, the sister, her boyfriend, the girlfriend..who knows what was going on there, and in this book you will never find out. The guy the author picked to describe was really just playing out the string...he was capable of very little more. Disappointing.

It's a blah story in a world with a whole lot going on.

This story shares the wild experiences of a professional and serious detective as he attempts to solve a murder in our society that has been informed the the Earth will be destroyed in about 6 months by a collision with an asteroid. The detective tries to discover the facts and motives of the people involved while most of society is falling apart with the knowledge that death is in their immediate future and there is no way to avoid it. The story exposes how some people would face death calmly while others become hysterical or depressed to the point that they are dysfunctional. It is an interesting study of humans and their relationships with each other in times of crisis.

I really like Detective Palace. Very good "bones" as far as the structure of the mystery is concerned but it is remarkable against the backdrop of the end of the earth is coming and now we know the exact date! [shudder] Could you keep coming to work? I've seen the book described as a genre mash-up and I have to agree that is an apt description. Very good!

I loved, loved, loved this book. I read the second in this series ("Countdown City") and loved it, too. Winters is a fantastic writer and this series makes you think ... How would you act if you knew that the world was going to end? What's really important in your life? How does society unravel when faced with a doomsday deadline? Our local book group is hooked, too, and we are waiting not-too-patiently for the final installment promised for Summer 2014.

How do you defend your psyche from the certainty of death? We all have to do it--everyone dies. But what if you know the day and that everyone you know will die with you? Detective Palace does his job despite its ultimate futility. In the process, he manages to get two "innocent" people murdered. I wonder how he will deal with his guilt in the next two books, which I will definitely be reading. Wouldn't miss what happens when the asteroid, as uncaring and implacable as death, "bams."

This was in interesting take on what the world could become if we knew it was coming to an end. How people might choose to focus on their jobs to stay sane. This book was worth the time it took to read.

I read this some time ago, but remember being glued to all three books of the trilogy. Our detective keeps pursuing his case, even as the world is about to end. I think he sets a good example of how we'd all like to behave under similar circumstances. The book is clearly in the mystery-thriller genre, but who cares?! Very good!

Heard the author speaking on public radio, and though my 17 yr old might enjoy this series. Did not have a store with this in our area, so I was not able to check it out ahead of time. My wife looked through this, she noted the first chapter explains in detail about how to hang oneself. Not good ready for my son, so we returned the series. This company was good to give us a refund. Would buy from them again.

I liked the combo. A determined detective to bring justice to the murdered, but under time and resource restraints. The world will end as a hammer from space approaches. But he continues to do his job. The story and the character kept me interested and I enjoyed the crime adventure. It was more of a detective novel, and I usually love syfy only, but the mix worked well, and it was a good read.

I don't write synopses.
One thing about fiction that I find attractive, as opposed to our real lives, is that characters have the opportunity to be heroes in black and white situations. Hank, the main character, finds it obvious to do the right thing in a world where most have chosen selfish pursuits. He's a good dude, kind of a doofus, but kinda tough, too. Easy to root for.
While it's definitely a book that is set up for a sequel, (or more), "The Last Policeman" stands well on its own. Much lighter in tone than the doomsday plot would suggest, it's also lighter in tone than Winters' previous book, "Bedbugs." Similar in tone perhap to "The Hitchhiker's Guide" books yet without the biting sarcasm, and sadly to say, without as much of the quality. Not to say that it's not well written, just that "Hitchhiker's Guide" is a pretty high standard. I'd say if you've read and enjoyed "The Breach" by Patrick Lee, you would enjoy this book. I'm buying the next one as soon as it comes out.

Absorbing premise and a quick read. Slightly disappointed by the ending - was expecting a little more from the proceedings than your standard murder for personal gain kind of thing. Still, if you're like me and morbidly enthralled with Complete Societal Collapse you may be entertained by this novel. Sorry about the spoiler, wasn't thinking.

Against the background of doom, a detective persists against the angst of everyone around him to solve a murder. The balance between the setting -- an asteroid is coming to wipe out human civilization -- and the plot -- a young detective is determined to do his job even as the very structure of justice is collapsing around him-- is the genius of this novel. WInters explores the theme of the uncaring world, where conspiracy fantasies, illusions about the solidity of our daily habits, the persistence of greed and self-image all outweigh the simple value of a single human life. The Policeman of the novel is the only one who perceives this value and lives the life it implies: even with only a few months of life left.

Winters' story is grim, but not cynical at its heart. Individual acts of selflessness abound -- the coffee-guy for instance. The protagonist comes to knowledge and accepts the world as it is, but not through surrender (like his crushed colleagues). Yet, at the end, the world is to be cleansed (through fire!), and I'm not sure what to make of that. Do we shrug, slump in our chairs, shake our heads at the futility of the protagonist's coming to knowledge? I wonder if Winters would do up a sequel, if this setting makes that possible? I would like to know how this theme might work out in the post-apocalypse. Do singular human acts make civilization rather than the reverse?

Novel concept...earth will be destroyed. The end of civilization. How do people react? And a policeman still doing his job. But it felt a little jerky. The writing was pedestrian, without he asteroid concept, there was no real story.

I really enjoyed the trilogy. Keeps you engaged all the way through and always wanting more. If you like this series I definitely recommend reading, "Underground Airlines". Now I'm just waiting for more.

The Last Policeman by Ben Winters, is a fantastic novel about a asteroid that will destroy the Earth in a few months and a tough detective named Hank Palace who's investigating a suicide that may be a murder. The tagline of the book is "What's the point in solving murders if we're all going to die soon, anyway?" Wisely, the book focuses on the mystery first and uses the plummeting asteroid as a backdrop to the tell the story.

As the first book of a planned trilogy, Winters adeptly whets the reader's appetite for the next novel.

I was introduced to this series by an interview on NPR. I found the concept interesting of a cop trying to solve crimes as the world is on the way to meeting a meteor. A couple antics of his sister were a bit hard to shallow, but I really did enjoy the series.

I got the book delivered to my kindle the morning of July 10th. Here it is, barely a day later, and I have finished it. I never read books this fast any more, but I did with The Last Policeman.

Drop whatever book you're reading right now, put it aside, and read The Last Policeman.

This book is a murder mystery. There are elements of science fiction. Elements of a conspiracy. I look forward very much to the next two parts in this trilogy.

This was my first kindle book. It was nicely formatted, but I did notice one typo, and one time when the wrong character's name was used in a sentence. It was obvious that it should have been one person, but instead, the name of another character was used. I know that copy editing is not a sexy job by any means, but it is necessary, and I am a little surprised that a professionally-produced book would have even these 2 small errors.

Other than these small caveats, I heartily recommend The Last Policeman!

Bevboy
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I guess I was expecting something more in line with an end of all things story. That's more of a background theme though. I do like the police story, although not my cup of tea.

I'll read through some of the reviews for the next books to see if I want to continue.

It is a good humanitarian storyline. What would you do if you only had six months left? What indeed!!

Fast paced and well written. Keeps you guessing throughout and the backdrop of earth's impending doom creates a fabulous setting for exploring questions of meaning, ethics, and what it means to be civilized. As much as I enjoyed this book, I think the sequels (Countdown City and World of Trouble) are even better for plot, character development, and philosophical exploration. I found them both fun to read and deeply moving.

This was absolutely beautiful. A triumph of the human spirit in the face of terror and destruction. I loved every single chapter. I loved seeing how different people reacted to the news of the impending meteor strike. I loved watching the main character maintain his level-headed, Stoic commitment to duty. And I loved his compassion.

In a seemingly impossible near future, Ben Winters pursues a multifaceted, page turning plot that holds a mirror up to our society, explores adult inner and outer emotional landscapes, navigates the hard facts of existence, the limits of belief and will,and the source of action in the face of disaster both personal and societal; all with a gritty sense of humor. An integral part of a trilogy, one cannot put this book down.

Perfect, amazing book. Ben Winters uses a deft touch to describe a monstrous horror -- certain death for virtually all people on Earth in about 6 months time. If he used even one extra sentence or adjective to describe it, the whole book might sound fake and overwrought. But this book is all bone and sinew with not an ounce of fat.

I'm really looking forward to the next two parts. Ben, when's the movie coming out?!

The series kept me going. I liked Winters' take on this whole concept about what would we do if an asteroid was really heading this way. But, I also liked the way that he developed the characters. All books were very well written.

LOVED this book, LOVED the trilogy. It was so well written and the main character is human and brave and very real. All the characters are great and the setting of a world about to die adds to the urgency and desperate craziness of people. Mr Winters is excellent at showing the humanity of people, what they are made of, in the face of THE END of everything. You have to read these books.
I couldn't put them down.

A beautiful unfolding of what the end of the world could mean to those of us who take our calling seriously. This entire series is remarkable. Fun to read and challenging to imagine yourself in the context the author presents. What would you do if you know you were going to die, with every one else, on October 3rd of this year? Terrific read!

The Last Policeman is a mix of Deep Impact, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, House M.D., and True Detective. The author's first person POV writing style enhances the story and helps create a feeling of impending doom throughout the book. If you like Doomsday scenarios (chaotic societies) and/or a good mystery - this book is for you.

This was an incredible book. Very interesting premise. It is cliche to say, but I had a hard time putting it down. I've since read the entire series and have been recommending it to everyone. Something about these books has stuck with me in the way fiction usually doesnt. I keep finding myself thinking about it.

Ben Winters deserves credit for combining a bog-standard detective novel with a coming apocalypse.

When I started this book, I realized I had no idea whatsoever how it was going to end. It's a regular sort of detective story -- dead guy found, looks like a suicide, but the protagonist, the titular Last Policeman, thinks it's murder -- but with a planet-killer asteroid several months away from earth, what is the author going to do?

Will our hero come close to solving the case, but not figure it out before the asteroid hits? Will he solve it just in time to watch the asteroid bring humanity to an end? Will he give up, because, really, why bother?

In the end, I wasn't fully satisfied -- hence the four stars, not five -- but the novel is an interesting investigation into motivation and duty tucked inside a detective story.

The author grabbed my attention from the first paragraph to the end There were enough twists and turns to satisfy any fan of crime fiction, coupled with a back story ..the asteroid aimed at earth that is as current as today. Our politicians as usual have there heads in the sand ..we need to do something about crime AND the potential for a large asteroid wiping out humanity.

I found the premise of the story fascinating and not too unbelievable, which always makes for a good read. I liked the main character Hank Palace, who always takes the moral high road on his investigations.I appreciated as a reader, the nicely developed supporting characters in the story as well. This is a good first effort and will keep you reading.

Intriguing idea of how the world will end; The author presents mankind at both its best and its worst when faced with a global tragedy. Makes one wonder which side of the fence they would be on in this event..... Also makes one wonder if this is a true event, or one manufactured by a nefarious group who has figured out a way to gain control of the world.

Interesting story line with good characters. Some surprises and twists and turns. Lots of flash backs that some times lets reader loose track of what's the main story line is doing. Interesting enough for me to read the rest of the books in the series.

I really liked this book which surprised me. I read quite a few of the reviews for this book but I figured I would give it a shot anyway. I liked the fact that it was actually a mystery and the end of the world was just really a backdrop for the story rather than the focal point. Parts were oddly touching and sad. Overall I thought it was a decent read and different than other dystopian novels I have read.

I really liked the concept and thought the book was very well written. I was disappointed to find my $8.52 288 page was not a complete story. Just to get to part 2 (of 3 I think) I'll be out over $17. My fault - should have looked closer but still a little steep for pleasure reading compared to other serial novels on Kindle. So bottom line for me - the book is a good read and if you don't care about the cost its well worth reading.

This novel was written by Ben H. Winters, and copyrighted in 2012. It is a work of science fiction set in Concord, NH in the near future after an asteroid has been detected on a collision course with the earth. Detective Henry Palace is a newly-minted detective on the same police force at which he was a patrolman for only a short time before being promoted. How did this happen? So many people are leaving their jobs and preparing for the inevitable death that awaits them in only a short time that attrition has created numerous job opportunities, including on the police force.

Suicide is rampant. All over the world, people are choosing suicide over the prospect of facing the end of the world. Different cities seem to prefer different methods of suicide, but Concord is known as “hanger town.” The manager of a local McDonald’s calls police when he discovers the body of a man hanging from an expensive black belt in the men’s room of his restaurant. Detective Palace is assigned to the case. Almost immediately, he suspects foul play, but none of the other detectives believe it is anything more than another suicide. Not to be deterred, Palace continues his investigation of the death, treating it as a homicide.

The plot twists and turns, and the hapless detective gets injured several time. In the end, however, he solves the case. We don’t learn the details, or the motives of the various characters in the story until near the very end, which was a bit surprising. All in all, this is a well-crafted novel that combines crime fiction with science fiction. This is the first novel in a trilogy, so it will be interesting to see what the next book will bring. In the meantime, I enjoyed this book and I think you might, too.

really interesting idea
mystery part of the book is not the best part, best part is the setting of the novel and how it affects everything
more of an almost great science fiction story than a mystery