Welcome to the 2030s, where fires are ravaging the DC area, so everyone is masked up.  Artificial intelligence is both a blessing and a curse – the police force that has synthetic implants for partners are more effective, but it has also rendered many redundant, resulting in massive levels of unemployment.  Housing affordability and the climate crisis have significantly worsened, and a new epidemic called ROSE is a certain killer of anyone in their forties or fifties without the treatment.  “Exit” offers a solution to some of these issues for the general public.  Its premise is simple, but its ethics are not: parents aged 65 may volunteer for euthanasia to ensure their children receive a modified treatment, allowing them to live into their nineties. 

While some willingly “do their duty,” other parents are not as eager to comply.  It is in this environment that rumors surface about Eden, an underground, cheaper version of the same treatment the uber-rich receive to become Timeless.  Shortly thereafter, the Elder Abuse Unit is directed by the Narcotics & Illegal Pharmaceuticals Enforcement Unit to be on the lookout for and report any information about a lethal counterfeit version of the treatment.  Michael Kaufman’s THE LAST EXIT unfolds as Detective Jen Lu works the case – does Eden even exist?  Is it the real deal, or a lethal counterfeit?  Who is behind the street treatment, and why?  Will she make it out alive to crack the case?

If you love corrupt, dystopian societies (think Handmaid’s Tale or Hunger Games), mysteries, and political conspiracies, THE LAST EXIT is the book for you.  Aptly timed and unsettlingly plausible, Kaufman’s near-future society imagines how seemingly-innocuous actions resulting from escalating political tensions today could shape our world ten years from now.  THE LAST EXIT spotlights the impacts of the power divide between the most elite upper-class and the everyman, asks us to evaluate our society’s current obsession with living forever, and highlights the simple pleasures of what it means to be human.  Kaufman packs this police procedural mystery full of action and intrigue, which is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.  The details of the case are carefully and expertly woven together, and it is best to read this novel in a weekend so you don’t forget the facts.  Chandler, Detective Jen Lu’s synthetic implant, narrates, providing well-timed comic relief and an unexpected emotional connection. 

Upon finishing reading THE LAST EXIT, you may find yourself wishing you could delve further into this dystopian society more.  If so, take heart – Kaufman’s website notes that this is the first Jen Lu mystery, so here’s to hoping he makes it a series and continues to explore what happens when today’s society veers a little bit too far off the beaten path.