Translated from the Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood.
Published 2nd July 2026 by Pushkin Vertigo.
From the cover of 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...
***********
In just over two months, a giant asteroid named Telos is due to hit the Earth. For those not wiped out by the impact in Japan, a miserable, lingering death awaits. Desperation has driven many to flee to parts of the world where they hope to survive the collision. Some have chosen suicide as a way out. Meanwhile, the rich plan to travel to space in a foolish attempt to wait out the apocalypse.
For those unable or unwilling to leave their homes, like twenty-three-year-old Haru, life continues in a strange new world order of lawlessness and dwindling resources. With her parents gone, and just herself and her reclusive younger brother Seigo at home, she decides the time is ripe for her to finally gain her driving qualifications before the end. Fortunately, when she arrives at the Dazaifu Driving School, there is a sole instructor on hand to teach her, the enigmatic Isagawa who has stayed behind for reasons of her own.
The two spend their days driving around virtually deserted Fukuoka. One morning, before the two set off on another driving lesson, they discover the brutally murdered body of a woman stashed in the boot of the training vehicle, and set off on quest for justice...
This delicious end-of-the-world adventure, meets whodunit crime-caper, meets female buddy-story is the brain child of debut author Akane Araki, and it explores a host of lovely themes about humanity tied up with a twisty murder mystery.
The absurd premise of a young woman deciding to learn to drive in the lead up to the apocalypse, negotiating debris strewn streets, and multiple corpses of suicide victims, spirals into a clever, many-layered story. What Haru does not know is that Isagawa is actually a former police detective, with a very particular set of skills, and strong sense of right and wrong. She persuades Haru to accompany her as they track down clues to find the killer and anxious Haru makes for a reluctant side-kick, with reasons of her own for searching out the guilty party.
Along the way, the pair encounter friends and enemies, and spend quite a lot of time hiding things from each other - including how they plan to deal with the murderer in a world which has no clear rules anymore. There are numerous likely suspects, especially given the intriguing sub-plot around high-school bullying and revenge, and it was a lot of dark-themed fun picking out the relevant clues from the slick trail of breadcrumbs that leads to a gripping, mountainside climax.
This book is rich in awkward relationship dynamics, and asks a lot of thought-provoking questions about how people might cope in an end of the world situation. The many examples of selfishness, crazed ambition, and exploitation, jockey nicely against duty, sacrifice, the kindness of strangers, and making restitution. It leaves you with a lot to ponder upon, as well as entertaining you with a cracking murder mystery in an imaginative dystopian setting. All praise to the translation by Jesse Kirkwood which kept me engaged from beginning to poignant end.
I look forward to more from Akane Araki!
Murder at the End of the World is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Pushkin Vertigo for sending me a review copy.
About the author:
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.
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