The Last Day

Book excerpt: _________________________________ 'A beautifully realised and thought-provoking thriller.' THE TIMES 'A taut, thrilling runaround' GUARDIAN 'Reminiscent of Robert Harris's high-concept conspiracy thrillers' FINANCIAL TIMES _________________________________ A WORLD HALF IN DARKNESS. A SECRET SHE MUST BRING TO LIGHT. 2059. The world has stopped turning. One half suffers an endless frozen night; the other, nothing but burning sun. Only in a slim twilit region between them can life survive. In an isolationist Britain, scientist Ellen Hopper receives a letter from a dying man. It contains a powerful and dangerous secret. One that those in power will kill to conceal... _________________________________ THE LAST DAY: an utterly original debut thriller, perfect for readers who loved Robert Harris' Fatherland, Emily St. John Mandel's Station 11, and The Wall by John Lanchester. _________________________________ 'Wonderful: boldly imagined and beautifully written - the best future-shock thriller for years.' LEE CHILD 'A tantalizing, suspenseful odyssey of frustration, deceit, treachery, torture, hope, despair and ingenious sleuthing... Murray has so thoroughly thought through the ramifications of his conceit and conjured up such a dramatic plot and stellar cast of characters that he might have set a new standard for such tales.' WASHINGTON POST 'A stunningly original thriller set in the world of tomorrow that will make you think about what's happening today.' HARLAN COBEN 'I read this hungrily ... Its intelligence and bravura characterisation will have you turning page after page. A fabulous achievement.' STEPHEN FRY 'A brilliant debut ... Fans of Robert Harris will love it' DAILY EXPRESS 'To say it's gripping is an understatement - I cancelled all my weekend plans to finish it' SARA PASCOE 'In his fascinating debut, Murray has crafted something original ... an interesting new twist on a post-apocalyptic tale.' KIRKUS 'Downright impossible to stop reading. The science is believable, the near-future world feels as real as our own, the characters are lively, and the plot is suspenseful. A near-perfect alternate-future thriller.' BOOKLIST 'Dark, believable and brilliantly written' JENNY COLGAN 'A thrilling page-turner, and a reminder to treasure our sunsets and sunrises while we still have them. I couldn't put this book down!' CHRISTINA DALCHER, author of VOX 'I loved the premise of this high-concept thriller ... a compelling read with some well-placed observations on the darkness of human nature and survival. The Last Day will keep you gripped to the very last page' C.J. TUDOR