World of Trouble: The Last Policeman Book III

By Ben H. Winters

“A genre-defying blend of crime writing and science fiction.”—Alexandra Alter, The New York Times


The explosive final installment in the Edgar® Award winning Last Policeman series. 

With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force. But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank’s safety is only relative, and his only relative—his sister Nico—isn’t safe. Soon, it’s clear that there’s more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it’s up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs out...for everyone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jul 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781594746864

Ben H. Winters

Ben H. Winters is an author and educator who has written plays and musicals for children and adults, as well as several books in the bestselling Worst-Case Scenario Survival Guide series. He is also the author of The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman, Bedbugs, and the parody novels Android Karenina and the bestselling Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. He lives in Indianapolis.

Reviews for World of Trouble

[laerm-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aha, yes, what a finish. Good.

[shellys_70 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The impending impact of the asteroid Maia has humanity in a downward spiral in this third book of the Last Policeman trilogy. Former police detective Hank Palace chooses to spend the last two weeks before impact searching for his sister. There's no central mystery setting up the story this time, just one man trying to find and spend what are likely humanity's final days with his only family. Even more than in the previous two books, the desperation of the people he encounters is a prime focus of the book, and the ones who have chosen a more graceful way to spend their remaining days. But a mystery presents itself, one final crime that Hank is determined to solve before impact. Winters shows an impressive understanding of psychology, presenting what feels like a realistic look at what could happen should a giant asteroid be on a collision course with Earth. I'd love to see a follow-up, but maybe it's best to leave that to our imaginations.

[csdaley-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this series. One of the best end of the world stories from beginning to end. A great blending of science fiction and mystery. Be warned though. This is a realistic story. If you are looking for happiness and survival you have come to the wrong location. It is a sad and complicated story. You will not leave filled with pep. You will leave after an incredible journey and beautiful writing. This is the apocalypse done right.

[fhudnell-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Henry Palace can't stop being a policemen, even though he is no longer on the force and even though Earth will collide with an asteroid in a few days destroying all life. He can't stop looking for answers, even though it doesn't matter anymore. What he is looking for in this last book of the trilogy is his sister. He didn't buy into her theory that a vast conspiracy is preventing a missing scientist from diverting the asteroid away from Earth, so they haven't parted on good terms and he needs to rectify that.This was my favorite book of the trilogy (the middle book was my least favorite). It starts about a month after the end of the second book. There has been further deterioration of society. Henry, Cortez (a semi-reformed thief) and Henry's dog Houdini leave a place of relative safety to travel to Ohio to track down the conspiracy theorists who plan on freeing the scientist. My one quibble with this book was that Houdini's poor condition during the trip was kind of an unpleasant distraction for me.This author is really good at writing action scenes and he exercised that talent a lot in this book. The trapped-in-a-barn sequence was a particular favorite. The last 20% or so of the book was incredibly suspenseful as questions kept getting answered, only to be discredited, until Henry finally solved what might be his last case. I really loved the ending of this book. The narration by Peter Berkrot of all three books was very good.I received a free copy of the ebook from the publisher, however I wound up buying and listening to the audiobook version.

[antrat1965 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The finale of what has been a fantastic ride! The deepest and darkest of the three novels. He's a damn good writer.

[arubabookwoman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I finally got around to reading the final volume of The Last Policeman Trilogy. This is a detective series with the twist that the cases are solved against the backdrop of a changing world in which an enormous asteroid is bearing down on the earth promising to end life as we know it. In this, the final volume, there is one week to go until the asteroid will hit earth. Detective Henry Palace is seeking his sister Nico, who along with a group of cultists, believe they have a solution to prevent the asteroid collision. The novel reads like a post-apocalyptic survival story, since the world has degenerated and society has collapsed as the asteroid approaches. As Henry conducts his search for Nico, he comes across various people and groups who are handling the imminent catastrophe in different ways. I do have to say that if the world has to end, Henry arranged the best possible setting for himself.I think this would appeal more to science fiction fans than crime fiction fans.3 stars

[kbuxton_7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A great conclusion to a great book, but make sure you start with the first book or it won't make sense. In this pre-apocalyptic series we follow the last policeman still on the job. This final volume covers the two weeks before the asteroid hits.

[voracious_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

With 14 days left before a world-ending asteroid is scheduled to collide with Earth, Detective Hank Palace continues his search to find his sister before the end comes. Hank follows leads he had acquired previously to follow Nico's trail to a small town police station in Ohio, where Nico and her conspiracy theory peers plan to meet up with a rogue scientist in a last ditch attempt to save the planet. When Hank gets to the station, however, Nico is gone, although clues suggest that she was there recently. Unable to let it go and enjoy his last few days of life, Hank is determined to figure out what happened to his sister and where she went. In doing so, he meets a number of unusual people who help him finish his quest. I enjoyed reading each of the books in the Last Policeman Trilogy, which I thought were interesting and possibly realistic. I thought this one was probably the most suspenseful and climatic of the three and I liked how the author pulled the story together. I also enjoyed seeing Hank stay true to his ideals throughout the three books. For those who enjoy apocalyptic fiction mixed with the suspense of detective work, this series is for you!

[joshuaatkins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The end of the human race is days away, but for (forcibly) retired detective Hank Palace, there's one final mystery to solve. The LAST POLICEMAN trilogy is one of the best things I've ever read. Sad, gut-wrenching, and wonderful all at once. Read them and appreciate the world that we have a bit more.

[wmnch2fam · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good and very real ending to this trilogy.

[nevadaannie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have loved every book in this series and I will definitely recommend it to others. As I said about Countdown City, Henry Palace is a wonderful character, even if sometimes I don't understand his relentless motivation. Perhaps that is because I am a woman and not a policeman. I was totally immersed in the mystery didn't figure it out. Mr. Winters, in addition to writing a good mystery, seems to be a student of human nature, and can turn a phase quite nicely.

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Critically acclaimed author Ben H. Winters delivers this explosive final installment in the Edgar Award winning Last Policeman series. With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force. But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank’s safety is only relative, and his only relative—his sister Nico—isn’t safe. Soon, it’s clear that there’s more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it’s up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs out . . . for everyone. My Review A very interesting ending to a very entertaining trilogy!

[wethewatched · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Henry Palace is a great character. He insists on solving mysteries even though an asteroid is rushing to Earth. Other people wouldn't bother, but this detective just has to know the truth before it's too late!

World of Trouble went by really fast. Ben H. Winters writes in a very easy-to-consume way and wisely uses the threat of the asteroid as a hook (Will it really land? Will everyone really die?). Meanwhile, this book's case is the most personal yet for Palace and tests his usual emotionless crime solving method.

I half-expected this book to jump the shark and move into a crazy Independence Day direction (big Willy style). But with a steady hand, Winters keeps it a crime novel from start to finish.

World of Trouble does suffer somewhat from the fact that the world has already been pretty well established in the first two books. We have already seen what society's come to, so the setting does not carry as much intrigue.

Even so, as a conclusion the novel works, provides satisfying answers to the series' big questions. It nicely wraps up a solid series from a promising author. I can't wait to see what compelling new worlds and characters Ben H. Winters has in store for us next!

[altheaann · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A strong ending to the trilogy.

I almost felt that the middle book could've been skipped, but the story is back on track in the third.

Former detective Hank Palace's sister was last seen in a helicopter, zooming off with a cultlike group with seemingly far-fetched plans to rescue an imprisoned physicist and save the world in a daring last-minute bid to knock the asteroid that's headed for Earth out of its apocalyptic trajectory.

Hank is feeling guilty that his last interaction with his sister involved his refusing to believe her and shooting down her hopes. (And maybe he has a little bit of hope that her optimistic beliefs aren't quite as cockamamie as they sounded?) With two weeks to go till impact, Hank decides to take on a last case - a personal case - and sets out to track down his sister.

As one might expect, given the scenario, there's a desperation and sadness to this book. But it's also a tense and grippingly-told story. Bringing the personal element to it to the fore is a winning strategy, as we see Hank struggling to use his OCD-like obsession with detective work to try to bring meaning and a sense of conclusion to his life and to the increasingly senseless violence and entropy that surrounds him.

Highly recommended for all fans of apocalyptic fiction.

Many thanks to Quirk Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.

[matthew.ducmanas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Satisfying close to Winter's The Last Policeman trilogy. Though the trilogy began with such a promising open book, the whole series could have been derailed by a poor close. I'm pleased to say the author ended his detective-at-the-end-of-the-world story strongly. While I sometimes found his characters' dialogue a bit clunky and was a little less impressed by the plot of the second book, overall this was a fun read and a novel premise.

[pat_f. · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The third book in this preapocalypic trilogy finds Hank searching for his estranged sister Nico, so he can make amends before It's Too Late. His pursuit takes him from the Northeast to the Midwest, accompanied by Houdini, his ailing dog, and Cortez, a thief that he liberates from jail. At this point, the end of the world is 6 days away, and coming fast.Hank and Cortez have taken to labeling towns as Blue, Green, Red, etc., based on the color of the Post-It Notes they have with them. Blue towns are empty; Green towns are still in denial, so it's business as usual, and Red towns are on fire, literally or figuratively. Our heroes pass through all the colors on their road trip to the west, ending up at the police station of a small town in Ohio. There, they find evidence that Nico has been there, and might still be, if they can just crack through some concrete leading to stairs below the basement. At the same time, they find evidence of gruesome violence--bloodied knives and blood trails leading in and out of the police station. Whose blood is it?Winters outdoes himself with this one: the police procedural/mystery aspects were very satisfying, and the twists made complete sense. The various flavors of human nature were all done well, too. But what packs the most punch is the constant tick-tick-tick of the clock. No do-overs, no second chances--this is it. When you know it's the last time you're going to do something, see something, it means more. Everything means more in World of Trouble.This is another one of those books that follows the adage: "Science fiction isn't the story; it's the setting." Great ending to a unique trilogy.

[bdtrump · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the series overall. It had an interesting concept and was fun to read, albeit a bit short. I did feel that the ending was a bit of a letdown in a way that nothing was really gained from the whole experience - Occam's Razor applies. Character development also wasn't quite up to what I'd hoped, but hey - the world's ending after all.

[kp9949 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The final book in "The Last Policeman" series. A week before impending destruction by an asteroid, it's up to Hank to find his sister. Edge-of-the seat, apocalyptic, and a wonderful trilogy. Couldn't put it down.

[anniemod · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hank Palace is still convinced that the world is going to end but his sister is missing and all those documents and the helicopter makes him wonder if something is not actually different. But even if he did not wonder, he would not have stayed in that safe house in Massachusetts - his sister Nico is missing after all. At the opening of that third novel from the trilogy, there are only 6 days left to the 3rd of October when the comet is supposed to hit Earth and destroy life. Hank and Cortez had spent the last few weeks trekking to Ohio after a tip about Nico's whereabouts. And as always, things go crazy almost immediately - Hank need to solve one last murder while looking for his sister and somehow to survive that crazy world - from the Amish family to the guys that found some chicken and just wait the end eating them through people getting crazy and stupid. And amongst all this the threads that started in the first two novels start connecting into a final picture - surprising and logical and the same time. By the end it all will make sense and Winters' depiction of these last crazy days is as masterful as anything he had written before. The weak point of this third novel is the mystery - if you are reading the genre, you suspect who the killer is immediately. Although I am not sure if Winter was even trying to hide it and if Hank's inability to see who it is was not written on purpose - grief, the end of the world and the last crazy months can influence man's logic. It is a wonderful end of a good trilogy - and the way Winters decided to finish it is masterful and surprising - not in the context of the books but nevertheless a bit surprising. But it makes the whole series complete and any other ending would have ruined it. Highly recommended - but the books need to be read in order - this book won't make much sense if you had not read the previous two.

[elizabeth.b.bevins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow. I loved this trilogy. Gritty old fashioned detective novel set during an impending apocalypse. So creative and engaging. I didn't want it to end. Can't we have a 4th in the trilogy!?

[kikoa_8 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Loved "The Last Policeman", "Countdown City" less, and now "World of Trouble" not so much. I have literally skimmed the book to just get done. The Last Policeman was and Edgar Award Winner. What happened? Who locked the author who wrote Last Policeman up and won't let him out to write the rest? Never so glad to see a trilogy end.

[mooose_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After receiving this book through LibraryThing's 'early reviewer' program I admit I let it sit on the shelf for a long time. Why? Simply because I didn't want the trilogy to end and I knew once I began book 3 I wouldn't move much until it was over. This is an author I recommended after reading book 1, book 2, and now I can add book 3 to that list. Well done, Mr. W!

[katiekrug · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the last book in the "Last Policeman" trilogy, and a good end to the story. All of these books have been solid 3.5-4 star reads for me. The main character, Hank Palace, is a former police officer who is set adrift as the end of the world approaches (a giant asteroid has been discovered headed straight for Earth). Hank is a Good Guy - upright, moral, just wanting to do the right thing. As civilization collapses, he tries to figure out how to maintain his sense of self amid the chaos.The overarching story of the trilogy deals with Hank's sister, and her belief that the world can be saved. As Hank tried to save her (both from herself and from the weird group of conspiracy theorists she has taken up with), he is confronted by choices that test his ideas of right and wrong and force him into compromises with himself. Hank is a wonderful character and carries the story, even as the rest of it seems far-fetched and silly at times. I especially loved the end of this book and the peace that Hank finds. Winters has done an excellent job of asking what matters most in life and how one should confront the end; his exploration of possible answers makes for some good reading.

[bookappeal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ben Winters' trilogy is about a young policeman who, despite the fact that the world is ending in a few months when a huge asteroid will strike the Earth with catastrophic results, continues trying to do his job. By the third book, though, Henry Palace is driven more by his responsibilities as a big brother to reckless sister Nico, who believes that a scientist holds the key to averting disaster. In the second installment, Nico arrived - in a helicopter - just in time to save Hank. How did she fly a helicopter in an already-devastated world where fuel is almost completely extinct? Despite himself, Henry starts to believe his sister's crackpot theory may not be so delusional after all. But none of that really matters to the true goal - seeing his sister again before the world ends. Henry follows a scrap of information to Ohio, encountering all kinds of towns along the way, everyone reacting to impending doom in a different manner. Will Hank find Nico? Can the asteroid be diverted? How will Ben Winters end this fantastic tale of a genuinely good guy in an impossibly difficult situation? --Beautifully, that's how. This series with heart and humor, mystery and surprise, is well worth reading.

[mhanlon_19 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

HOW IS HE GOING TO FINISH IT? The book, the world, Hank Palace, his sister Nico. How does it end?Oh man. Well, look. I loved these books. As I've said, loved the whole premise, loved the characters. And this one doesn't disappoint. Henry's ensconced in lovely Massachusetts with a gang of ex-policemen, living out their final days in relative happiness and comfort. He's picked up a few hangers on from the last few books: a dog, Houdini, Cortez, an opportunistic thief who's taken a shine to Palace. But the pull of his sister, Nico, like a planet gently tugging at a 6km wide asteroid, is too much to resist. She's out with a rogue unit who think they may have a way to avert the global crisis, and they appear to have heavy duty firepower behind them, since she rescued Hank at the end of the last book with a helicopter -- a rare luxury, indeed, in a time when things like running water are hard to come by.So Hank embarks on his final case, a bit of police work to find his sister and her band of merry men looking to stave off the end of the world.I read this one on the plane from Massachusetts to San Francisco -- I should have been sleeping, should have closed my eyes and rested a bit, but I couldn't. I rifled through this book, no tell tale compression of the pages because this was in iBooks, but the end always drawing nearer as the asteroid loomed over all the action, the days counting down even as Hank lost hours, days at a time due to injuries or accidents.This was a beautiful and final cap to the series. I didn't quite know how it was going to end, not really, this time, nor did I know how I wanted it to end. The denouement with the remains of Nico's elite squad was, as in previous books, the weaker scene in the book -- telegraphed from a mile away, but, again, I couldn't help but wonder if it was meant to be because of Palace's rookie status as a detective. But the stuff that mattered throughout the series -- what happens to Hank, to Nico, to Houdini, in the end, ah, well, that was all worth the ride.I really enjoyed this series, as you may have gathered.

[minfo_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Filled with twists and turns - as the other two books in this series - it's sad to see this series end. Well-paced, detail-driven, and a finale that arrived in a quite different way than expected, this left me melancholy and wanting more - which I know won't arrive. It was a good, fun read.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book three in the pre-apocalyptic detective series that started with The Last Policeman. In this one, the end is now extremely nigh indeed, and Henry Palace goes searching for his sister, who still believes doomsday is avoidable, and finds one last crime to solve.I found this a satisfying end to the series, and a rather affecting one. There is something almost unbearably poignant about Palace and his inability to stop being a policeman long after so many things have completely ceased to matter.

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ben H. Winters' Last Policeman trilogy began with a built-in expiration date, and World of Trouble ends it in style. There may be a week before the end of the world, but the landscape Hank Palace travels through looks as though it's already happened. Technology died a long time ago. Cities are blackened and abandoned ruins. Bicycles are the most advanced mode of transportation. People have turned into hoarders and scroungers. Very few have the courage or the desire to show kindness to strangers, so Hank and his dog Houdini have no one to rely on but themselves.While the first two books in the trilogy were pre-apocalyptic mysteries (The Last Policeman and Countdown City), this final book begins as a straightforward tale of a brother going to be with his sister at the end of days. But Hank Palace is a young man who has always done his best to do the right thing, so it should be no surprise that he manages to find a puzzle or two that need solving before time runs out. Anyone who wanted a more explosive ending to the trilogy may not like this rather quiet, somber book. I didn't know what to expect and was content to let the story unfold. I was not disappointed. Hank Palace is a character that will live on in my memory as will the author's vision of the end of the world. I'm sad that the trilogy has come to an end; however, Winters appears to have followed the advice of P.T. Barnum: Always leave them wanting more. I'm looking forward to what Winters' imagination has in store for us next.

[bonniemarjorie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'...there are not jostling anxious crowds outside, no frightened people rushing and pushing past each other in the streets. No klaxon howl of car alarms, no distant gunfire. The people are hidden now, those that remain, hidden under blankets or in basements, encased in their dread.'With mere weeks left before the impending asteroid makes impact with the earth, Detective Henry Palace is on a last minute mission to get to his sister Nico before it's too late. Nico is convinced that the group she's joined up with is going to be able to save the world with the help of a nuclear scientist by the name of Hans-Michael Parry but Palace is convinced that it's nothing but a farce. One way or another, he intends to do anything and everything he can to ensure his sisters safety and solve his final case for the brief time that he may or may not have left.'They say that just before impact the sky will brighten ferociously, like the sun has burst from its own skin, and then we will feel it, even on the far of the earth we will feel it, the whole world will quaver from the blow.'The journey to find his sister is a difficult one. The few clues he has takes him and his dog Houdini from New Hampshire to Ohio and upon reaching the abandoned police station in the small town of Rotary, the evidence he sees leaves the outlook bleak. His determination to find his sister despite the knowledge that in a few days it will no longer matter is heartrending but his resolve is truly admirable. Society is crumbling around him and the world is literally about to come to an end yet Detective Henry Palace is doing whatever he can to maintain his morality even in the face of mortality. World of Trouble is an engaging end to a thrilling trilogy that you will want to race through to determine the fate of the earth and its inhabitants. I've never been so pleased with a not so happy ending.

[bostonbibliophile · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A perfect ending to a great series, with real suspense and crazy twists and turns. I figured out "who did it" but not why. I loved this book!