I was a huge fan of Hanna Jameson's debut - the dark crime thriller Something You Are; The Last is a departure in a number of ways but is no less thrilling. Set in a dystopian near future this is a contemporary thriller using the possibilities that a small leap in current events could create. This isn't a genre that I read particularly often but the book called to mind both The Last Policeman series with its lead up to an apocalypse and Station Eleven which is set further post-apocalypse. The Last is somewhere between these, on the cusp of events as the realisation that the world is forever changed takes hold on a small group.

American professional historian Jon Keller is in a hotel in Switzerland, attending a convention, when the news breaks over breakfast that there has been a nuclear attack. Ever the professional Keller starts to record the events for posterity, or so that he can make amends with his wife who he left back in San Francisco.

A small group of survivors, a mixture of hotel staff and guests, remain at the hotel, the others having left despite the warnings that there is nothing outside for them. After the initial news reports the communications fail and the group needs to consider how they will survive. When they discover the body of a small child. Keller takes it upon himself to investigate

The hotel is enormous (thirteen floors and almost a thousand rooms) and set in an isolated location. Combine this with the very small group of survivors and this gives the setting a very eerie feeling. Needless to say that the pressure on the group  begins to take its toll as some seek to place blame for the events leading up to the nuclear strike, suspicion mounts over the identity of the killer and tempers flare as resources run low.

Although narrated in a straightforward way, as the days pass there is an element of backstory which fills in details of some of the events that took place once the news of the attack started to spread as well as an explanation of Keller's relationship with his wife. He's not a particularly likeable character and as he works his way around the group 'interviewing' them it doesn't increase his popularity. He is also putting his own spin on the situation in the unlikely event that he should be able to give the diary to his wife.

The crime aspect is an interesting one as it gives the sense of a locked room murder and the investigation is one with limited methods at Keller's disposal. The book is dark and doesn't ignore the fate of those who decide that they can't face the future. There are some interesting twists and turns to the plot and a sense that there was some sort of fate or destiny which placed the particular people in the group. I'm not going to say anything about the ending as I want to avoid spoilers but look forward to talking to other readers about it at some point!

A complex story mixing a crime story, with events which are catastrophic but plausible. A great read to start off the year.

Part post apocalypse story and part murder mystery, this book is a mixture of genres that manages to hit the right notes. Jon Keller has travelled to Switzerland for a work conference when a nuclear attack wipes out many of the world’s major cities. Stranded out in the Swiss country with strangers for company, Jon finds a focus for his energy when the body of a little girl is found in one of the hotel’s water tanks. Armed with only a notebook and an obsession for finding a murderer, Jon sets about recording everyone’s memories of that fateful day and beyond as they all look to make sense of a changed world.

The Last is a thoroughly absorbing book. Jon’s skill for interviewing and documenting events plays well with building the narrative of the story. He’s quite an arrogant and self obsessed character and when he starts to doubt his own recollections of that day it plays nicely into the idea of the unreliable narrator. It’s interesting also how quickly the people in the hotel form into a self contained group, not thinking for a long time about the possibility of life continuing on outside. Through Jon’s documentation little hints about the coming war start to seep in as people recall ominous news events in the months leading up to the attack. Given current real life events it does make this book feel like a very real possibility indeed, especially when some of the European characters turn on an American character who admits she voted for the current president.

The mix of genres could have been a real juggling act that fell flat but the author manages it ably. This book has a really interesting premise that is written with real skill and originality. A great book for those crime fans who are looking for something a bit different.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

The end of the world has happened and a group guests are left stranded in a hotel in Switzerland.

Washington has come under a nuclear attack and the President of the USA is dead.

UK and mainland Europe is also under attack and the end of the world is nigh.

The story unfolds through the journal of one of the Survivors Jon who has taken it upon himself to document his experiences for posterity.

This is part Lord of the Flies in how people break down under Anarchy. Part Walking Dead in that there is an us and them value where the people outside the hotel may or may not a threat. And part Poirot in that a dead body turns up and Jon wants to get to the bottom of how it got there.

I loved this novel. It twisted and turned in ways I was not expecting and the format of writing in that it’s a journal makes it a good angle, as you only get Jon’s angle.

In fact, when it got to the end I can’t help thinking; you can’t leave it there? And that maybe there will be a second instalment.

A dramatic story set as the end of the world erupts. A good story that kept me page turning until late into the night. Definitely recommend. 5/5 on goodreads.

3.5 stars
I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and was pleased it didn't descend into zombies!
I thought the discussions about the time leading up to Armageddon were well documented and the relationships between the characters, their back stories and the events which happened to them were well told. However, I didnt feel the murder of the child really added anything and the story would have possibly had more clarity and less padding if it hadnt been included. Not wanting to give any spoilers but I thought the ending was very abrupt, with the rushed, poorly explained loose ends being quickly tied up, and the piece with the fishtank was just odd!
Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy.

An American Historian, Dr. Jon Keller is stranded in a hotel in Switzerland. Jon was in Switzerland for a conference and was enjoying his morning coffee when he got the message that America has been hit by a nuclear weapon. Miles away from his wife and children, and with no news about the outside world whatsoever (because naturally, the internet and any other form of communication are down).

The story is an intimate character profile of all the people stranded on a hotel, that has somehow managed to escape an apocalypse. Things get worse when a dead body is discovered in a hotel, that is already tainted by stories such as the existence of ghosts, the residence of a serial killer and other bizarre stories.

The protagonist is driven by this intense need for justice, but in a world that is rapidly collapsing, the right kind of justice doesn't exist. I, personally didn't like the protagonist. He is edgy, repetitive, very strange. The other characters, however, have been portrayed in their truest sense. People locked up in a hotel with no knowledge of their family and friends, can get nasty and disturbing. And that adds a lot of layers to the mystery.

Overall, the book was a pretty good read with scenarios that are plausible. The reason and the forces behind the nuclear attack haven't been revealed anywhere throughout the book, which felt like a huge letdown.

The Last by Hanna Jameson is a memoir of the aftermath of the day the world ended by our protagonist, Jon. He is a scholar, and like most academicians, holds the importance of having a proper account of the post-doomsday events at the highest. And he is right- if the world had ended, the new civilization, if at all remaining, need to know what it was like before. All the myriad languages, music, technology need to be recorded, however briefly, so that their memories are not lost forever.
But maybe this was just his catharsis.
Under twenty people remain trapped inside a hotel in Switzerland after the world ends. One thing that I like the most is the diversity in the group.. There is a Japanese couple with two kids, who instantly adopt a French child who is orphaned. A Dutch, a German, few Americans.... Even though the gender and language divide is at times present, differences and views are for the most part respected.
Jon offers an unfailing view and narration of the day-to-day happenings. But even he, at times, reverts to talking about his failed marriage, his parents and the ache for his kids. Throughout, he keeps himself busy by attempting to uncover the murder of the little girl found drowned in the rooftop tank. He suspects the murderer is one of twenty still in the hotel.
As numbers dwindle and tensions arise, new relationships also form. If I had to categorize this read, it would be a murder-mystery-psychological-thriller. It was a fast, engrossing, steady read. We look at everyone through Jon's eyes. It helps that he is a reliant voice. We realize the frailty of our worth and as most doomsday scenarios, you constantly question if you would have been able to take that step, or what would you have done instead. But the author hasn't left much time for that, as you are quickly sucked back into this fast paced narrative. Many dialogues and revelations hit you deep and you'll feel yourself marveling at the beauty of the disastrous but potent words.

The Last by Hanna Jameson is a book to take your time with. There are many different elements to the story and although it is very suspenseful it might not be for everyone because it is not fast-paced. However, saying that, I enjoyed reading it.

Jon was on a conference in Switzerland when the world ended. Washington was hit first, then London and various other places around the world.

Jon is stranded at L’Hotel Sixieme in the middle of nowhere. He feels guilty because he didn’t reply to his wife Nadia’s message before it all happened and now, he may never get the chance to speak to her again.

Jon and the others have to learn to live with each and attempt the daily business of surviving with a bunch of people who are basically strangers.

Then a body of a young girl is found in one of the water towers on the roof and Jon realises that there may be a killer among them and decides to investigate.

Who can he trust? And how far will he go in his quest to find the killer?

The Last begins on the third day after the nuclear bombs have been dropped. The narrator, Jon, is thinking about something his wife Nadia once said:

“Nadia once told me that she was kept awake at night by the idea that she would read about the end of the world on a phone notification. It wasn’t exactly Kennedy’s Sword of Damocles speech, but I remember that moment word for word.

For me, three days ago, it happened over a complimentary breakfast.”

Jon decides early on that someone needs to keep a record of what happened after the bombs fell which is why he has begun to document everything that is happening. However, the reader is made aware early on in the novel that he may not be the most reliable narrator.

He writes an entry for day 6 and then writes a second entry for the same day because he knows he hasn’t been entirely truthful.

“That was a lie, what I wrote before. I wanted to come to the convention. I was glad of the time away from Nadia and from my children.”

Jon fluctuates between feeling lucky that he survived as illustrated bellow:

“Maybe I was lucky, watching the end of the world online, instead of living it, reacting to an explosion or a siren announcing one.

We’re not gone yet.”

Other days though he doesn’t feel so pleased at his situation:

“Is this it? I mean for humanity. Am I the last person alive making notes on the end of the world? I’m not sure if I would rather already be dead.”

I liked that it isn’t clear who prompted the start of the nuclear attack, but the implication is that it was the trigger-happy president of the United States.

“Well, it was you guys that fucked everything up, she said, deadpan, as if this was my punishment. We were fine here in Europe. We were just praying you guys wouldn’t do anything stupid. Well, to be fair; the whole world was pretty stupid. We just hoped it wouldn’t be end of the world stupid.”

Among my favourite thing about The Last was the way the history of the hotel echoed those rumoured to have happened at The Cecil hotel including a body in the water tank. If you haven’t heard of it look it up as it is an interesting case.

The Last reminded me of a grown-up version of Lord of the Flies because of the relatively short amount of time it took for civilisation to disintegrate. One of the first ways this was illustrated was in the way most people were seemingly uninterested in who murdered the little girl.

The dystopian genre is one of my favourites so it could have quite easily been a disappointment but The Last is able to compete with the best of the genre.

The Last is a well-written dystopian thriller which tells the story of a group of people, stuck in a hotel after a nuclear weapon wipes out various cities in the US - and all over the world. They happened to be staying there at the time, and now they're trying to survive together.

The interplay between very different characters - who no doubt would not have necessarily been friends in any other situation - makes for interesting reading. I really liked that 'main character' (or the person whose point of view we read the story from) Jon, because he's got a good social conscience, seems very smart but also isn't perfect. By his own admission he has faults and hasn't been the perfect husband or father, but nevertheless I warmed to him as the novel went on.

However, the story felt a bit slow for me at points. I definitely think this is a prime novel to be adapted onto the screen, and feel that perhaps it would work better that way - I can really imagine some of the dramatic scenes being filmed, and think it would work really well. Unfortunately at some points I just felt like I was losing interest a little. Saying that, other parts kept me completely gripped, so I'd still say that I enjoyed reading The Last and would recommend it.

Stepping outside my comfort zone to read The Last, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is. Not being a big fan of 'End Of The World' novels, I'd listened to the hype and really wanted to give this one a go. I was expecting hoards of post-apocalyptic scavengers - with a few zombies thrown in for good measure. What I got was a very well-written and excellently plotted story of camaraderie and survival.

Jon Keller, an American, is attending a conference in Switzerland when the first nuclear bombs drop. Entire countries are being obliterated. Communications and the internet are down, leaving Jon no way of knowing if his wife and two kids back home are alive. He believes his best chance of survival is to remain at his hotel in the Swiss countryside, while what's left of society descends into chaos.

When the body of a young girl is discovered in a water tank on top of the hotel, all evidence points towards murder. Jon uses his time to investigate and starts keeping a journal of his conversations with the other guests.

In the meantime, food and medical supplies are dwindling. The guests have no choice but to venture further afield into dangerous territory. Petty squabbles and power-struggles take hold and Jon doesn't know who can be trusted and who can't.

The reader gets to know the characters as they're forced together in their battle for survival. They become suspicious of one another as their situation worsens. Politics and internal bickering threaten to tear them apart.

How can I sum this book up? It's certainly quite a mixed bag of themes! It's gripping and suspenseful; it shows peoples' darker sides; it paints a bleak picture of what the future could be; but it also offers a glimmer of hope for humanity. Oh, and there wasn't a single zombie in sight!

My thanks to Hanna Jameson, Penguin (UK) and NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book.

Well, this was a bit of a disconcerting and frankly worrying book. but it's one that made me really think.
Set in present day, it follows Jon Keller, an American Historian, and his fellow guests at a hotel in Switzerland, following a nuclear war. Pretty much every major city in the world has been bombed. The majority of guests have left, trying to get back to their homes even thought the media has advised them against doing so (no aeroplanes, no public transport). Jon and a small group of other guests decide to stay and make the best of it.
Whilst checking water supplies in the roof storage tanks, they find the body of a child, and Jon decides to investigate.
The book is written in Jon's voice as he writes a diary, a history, of his and the other guests survival, and his investigation.
I really liked this. It wasn't sensationalised, it all seemed so reasonable, and in our current worldwide political climate, so plausible - which is what made it really scary. It did have a bit of the "Huis Clos" (a play by Jean Paul Sartre) feeling about it: a feeling of being trapped with the same day coming around again and again, no escape, stuck with the same people that you neither particularly like or trust. And I liked that about it.
By the way, in the advent of a nuclear holocaust, Switzerland would seem to be a pretty civilised place to be 'stuck'.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this very strange book

think walking dead, think day of the triffids...where overnight your world as you know it changes and not for the better

you are stranded in a different country and in a hotel with people you dont know and there is no way to communicate with the outside world when the nuclear bombs go off...

this is that story about survivors and how they co-exist with the people that stayed in the hotel...in a dark forest and then a dead body of a young girl is found... could the murderer be one of the people in the hotel....

wasnt to bad a storyline, i like how the storyline flowed but walking dead did come to mind everytime i was reading it and they met up with other survivors...found it a quick read

Not what I was expecting as the cover description promised more of a dystopian view of the world.

What you get is more of a dialogue between a group of various characters, the main one being Jon who seems to be struggling with the fact that his relationship its what it should be. Various characters aren't fully described.

The high points of the story are the interaction with other parties that rapidly breakdown and end in bloodshed.

The low point has to be the end - sudden, short and vague.

I do love a post apocalyptic novel and the fact that The Last also included a murder mystery really appealed to me. I enjoyed the diary aspect of the book but do wonder about an unreliable narrator as is highlighted at the end - we only have Jon's version of events. I would definitely read more from this author.

This turned out to be totally different to what I thought it was going to be but I loved it. The pacing was perfect and the whole settings was just wonderful. I enjoyed the conflicts that arose within the group and how we witnessed then make decisions about those. It was an interesting look at humanity and how quickly some people allow base behaviours to take over. I thought the way the survival and mystery plot threads were woven together was really well done and very enjoyable.

I actually liked the fact that Jon wasn't necessarily an all good guy. He became a sort of second in command more because he was looking for a way out of his own thoughts than a desire to take charge and help the people around him. He was certainly biased regarding how others perceived him in the beginning but I liked that he uncovered more of himself as the account went on and he would go back to events to give a more honest portrayal of them. I also thought it was hilarious how often he promised not to tell anyone something and then immediately turned around and told someone! It was such a human thing to do and said a lot about the character to me.

The supporting characters were all great. I enjoyed Dylan immensely as there was a great juxtaposition between being the leader of the group and also the one under suspicion.

Tomi was one of my favourite characters because she was very pragmatic and willing to do what it took to survive. She was constantly alert to the dangers around and assessing how best to deal with them. She was the best equipped to survive the end of the world and I think even if she'd been on her own, she was have made it.

I loved the backstories for both Nathan and Arran, who were two more of my favourites and just had something about them that made me really drawn to them. I didn't see the twist coming with Nathan's dad at all!

Tania was another good character who provided moral and emotional guidance that was sorely needed. If only she's got round to looking at Jon's tooth! I also adored Rob because he felt like this heart of the story and was just a lovely guy.

I wasn't a huge fan of the ending to start with. It felt like such an abrupt ending and I wanted to see more and see what happened next. I felt like it was a little rushed at the end which was a shame because the slow build up had been great but to me it needed a bit more fleshing out. I wanted to hear more from Nathan's dad. It was so sudden them finding everything out and then it was over. I just felt like there was more to it than simply he went crazy, but I didn't feel like I got the explanation.

However, fantastic read. Really, really enjoyed it and highly reccomend.

Unfortunately I found this to be quite disappointing and very long winded.
The premise is brilliant and entirely probable, so it really should have worked but sadly for me it just didn’t.

There’s been a nuclear event that has caused a global disaster, a group of survivors are stranded in a remote Swiss hotel, told from the viewpoint of Jon, we deal with the dilemma of a group of strangers forced together following this disaster. When the body of a young girl is found, paranoia floods through the hotel, the murderer must be among them and Jon is determined to find justice.

I believe this would have worked as a short story, for me it dragged far too much.

Okay, so I didn't really feel the a connection with this at all. The dialogue and action seemed staggered and the characters felt very 2D, that I just couldn't get into it.

Sadly, I didn't finish it, but some parts I really liked e.g. Jon's narration- other than that- very convoluted :(

Wow! I can not praise this book highly enough, I absolutely loved it! The story follows Jon, an American historian attending a conference at a remote Swiss hotel when the news hits that Washington D.C has been hit by a nuclear bomb, it quickly follows that other big cities across the world have also been destroyed. Then there is no more news, and those that decided to wait it out in the hotel are stranded in a bleak new world. Watching how this group of strangers survive, pull together or apart, and try to remain hopeful in a hopeless situation was so interesting. As time goes on tensions rise, the body of a child is discovered, and it becomes apparent that there are secrets being kept.The setting and characters were so well realised that as I was reading it there were times that I forgot where I was, I was just so immersed in the story. I sped through the story, reading in every spare moment I could find, and since finishing it have been recommending it to everyone who'll listen.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the chance to read this, in return for an honest review.

The end of the world.....or the world as we know it. The Last is set at the time of a nuclear apocalypse, with a dubious American president. Pretty topical in fact.

The narrator is John, in the form of a diary that he keeps, to inform those who may come after him. the other characters are a disparate bunch, a mixture of guests and staff in a Swiss hotel. Their survival and the investigation of a murder are essentially the story, but themes of regret, loss and hope are explored.

An interesting read. Recommended.

If I knew people who likes this kind of plotline, I'd have presents sorted for next Christmas already! I was a fan Jameson's story, how it was written and particularly the end. For me, the book just got better the further it went along, particularly as (admittedly) I did struggle for several chapters once my initial new-book excitement began to wane. There's one particularly intense moment, however, where it went from your standard mystery that just happens to be set after the world ends to a Dr-Who-esque I'm-kind-of-creeped-out-by-how-literally-in-the-dark-I-am story that had me on the very edge of my seat (it's not aliens, though - I promise there's no extra-terrestrial cop-out!). Jameson's writing truly immersed the reader and I was empathising with Jon (the protagonist) and finding myself in the heart of the moment even though we're nothing alike demographically. Great work, Jameson!