This was such a different read.

The feeling of this book was so much like 'The Walking Dead' but it's without the Zombies.

The world comes to an end after the 'stupid' politicians turn each other's countries to nuclear playgrounds. Attacks on everywhere, cuts the communication, transport and destroys the order of the world as we know it. In a massive hotel building in Europe, far far away from every form of civilisation is the American lecturer Jon, stuck with some 20 strangers.

The story is told via Jon's diary, he writes to keep the journal of what happened in hopes of her wife Nadia might read it one day. Ovious and inevitable socialisation with other 'strangers' he is trapped with, will be a curse and gift for Jon at the same time. Not long after the end of world they discover a young girl's body in a water tank. She doesn't look like she's been attacked or anything but it's clear she's been murdered. Jon starts to investigate. Who is this girl? Who killed him and why?

This is the murder mystery element of the book, but this book is not a murder mystery. It's more a social dystopia, if there is such a genre. The only reason I am giving this book a 4 stars, not 5 is because it moved the focus from the girl's murder after 40-50% of the book, transforming into a psychological drama between characters in a post-apocalyptic environment. I still enjoyed reading this book and would recommend this to people who likes: sci-fi, dystopia with a hint of mystery.

A really enjoyable read. Given the glut of post apocalyptic novels.around at the moment I was more than pleasantly surprised to enjoy this from start to finish. Highly recommended!

The idea of a nuclear attack and the fall out that follows is a fascinating premise for a book and one that instantly grabbed me.

Jameson’s style is easy to read and regularly captures the nuances of human nature, thus making the characters relatable. The imagery was strong, helping to create the isolated Swiss hotel and the circumstances surrounding it. .

My main criticism would be that I always felt that I wanted more... More detail, more exposition and more from the plot line in general. This isn’t a necessarily negative note; more that I was taken into the book and wanted to explore it further.

At times I questioned logistics; internet access, phone batteries etc... but who am I to know what could or would happen in those circumstances?! Overall though this didn’t affect my enjoyment or investment in this book. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author in the future.

This was an interesting read, but the ending seemed to wind everything up very suddenly. I would have enjoyed following the characters further into their story.
I liked the 'near future' setting - which was unsettling - and while the ending left me with unanswered questions, I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

An excellent believable read, well written with excellent unusual plot, although a bit of strange ending, a page-turner found it hard to put down. Makes you wonder how easy something like this could happen.

The Last is a very tense, and unsettling post apocalyptic story of survival, and the discovery of a murdered young girl, all seen through the eyes of Jon Keller, who writes 'A Narrative Chronicle of the Initial Postnuclear Months by Possibly the Last Living Historian'.

I did really enjoy this book, and Hanna Jameson worked the tension so well in the book that I spent most of the time wanting to know what happened next, but being worried about what it would be.

Jameson has Jon say in his narrative 'I think it was Stephen King who said that the sum of all human fear is just a door left slightly ajar.' and yes, I'm sure Jameson pulls every trick to get your heart racing and the page turning.

My advice to you is to not read this book whilst listening to any music that might in any way add to the tension, because it really doesn't need it, and I might have completely unsettled myself enough to want some Disney to make it all right again!

The Last by Hanna Jameson is due to be published on 31st January 2019. Here's the pre-order link from Amazon!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and Viking (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile for more reviews.

This is an intriguing idea, a mixed group of people, by chance staying in the same hotel, when the world is overtaken by nuclear war. Along side this is a murder mystery, so that the feel of the book is of an Agatha Christie novel in a dystopian setting. The action carries along nicely until the final section, when the surviving residents reach a nearby town. For me this was an unsatisfying conclusion.

What a book! A great view on what could be the end of the world and how a small group of people can twist and turn with their thoughts and behaviours.

Set in the immediate aftermath of a world-wide nuclear attack, The Last is more than just another post-apocalyptic story. Not only are the guests in a hotel in Switzerland possibly the last people alive on earth, all dealing with the worries of survival and enforced isolation, but one of them is also a murderer!

I liked the idea of adding a touch of Agatha Christie to an end of the world scenario, and felt the author accurately captured how people would behave in such a situation. A very enjoyable read, especially if you like dystopian thrillers or murder mysteries, but one that sometimes felt scarily too close to home politically and socially.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The premise of this dystopian novel is electric; in our current global political climate, who knows what actions will be taken in this modern day game of thrones. This novel passively involves politics into its plot however. The lack of explicit discussion on who exactly is to blame (we know exactly who it is though) may be to centralise the underlying point of the story; how we are all just part of the collateral damage. How beyond all of these spheres, we are the greatest victims of all.

As expected, Jameson involves the discussion around humanity, and how we respond to being cast into a hellish environment. Do we succumb to our supposed animalistic tendencies and bestial capabilities? Evidently so, as a young girl is found murdered in the hotel in the days following the war. Our protagonist, Jon Keller becomes detective, understanding that the young girl must have been killed in the moments very shortly after the announcement. This heightens the sense of paranoia and suspicion within the hotel, as Jon begins to contemplate whether he can trust any of those around him at all. This layer runs alongside the main plot, providing added tension to their dire situation. More of this is demonstrated as the novel progresses, in rather unsettling ways.

It is written in diary entry form, as Jon documents the days after the nuclear war as a form of historical documentation. This provides us an intimate view into the psychological workings of Jon, and the relationships he develops with those around him. He is not the best of individuals, but the reality of a situation like this is that everybody and anybody can find themselves within it. We cannot expect the greatest of our generations to find themselves in luck of survival. Nuclear bombs are surprisingly indiscriminate, if you could describe it as that.

The ending, which I won't provide any spoilers to, was somewhat disappointing. It lost a tremendous amount of pace and concluded in a coincidentally convenient manner. Especially considering the duration of the novel is just over 2 months. However, tragedy cannot last forever and perhaps that is my own expectation on how I prefer dystopian novels to end.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this novel to anybody who enjoys dystopian novels with an inkling of crime fiction within. It is an enjoyable merge.

Thank you to both Penguin Book UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review.
This is a very dark book that moves at a fast pace. Good plot and well written.

BREAKING: Nuclear weapon detonates over Washington
BREAKING: London hit, thousands feared dead
BREAKING: Munich and Scotland hit. World leaders call for calm

The world is falling apart and possibly the last people remain in a hotel in Switzerland. Everyday is a fight for survival and when the body of a young girl is discovered, Jon Keller, a historian, takes it upon himself to find out what happened to the girl.

The premise was interesting, however, it failed to deliver for me. I stopped reading a 42% as not much was happening and I soon lost interest. I am also not a huge fan of diary-format novels, so the structure didn't really make itself appealing to me either. The characters were interesting and felt real, but I struggled to relate or care about them. There was not much action either and it felt very much out of focus.

Unfortunately this book was not for me so I did not see the point in continuing, however I believe that others could find it enjoyable.

An apocalyptic story, with a crowd of people stranded in a Swiss hotel as nuclear war devastates the major cities of the world.

Jon is a historian, and takes it upon himself to document the stories of the hotel residents... but then a body is discovered and it must be murder, and he decides to investigate.

Exploring fate, community and survival, The Last is easy to read, yet somewhat over-contrived - could a whole new community with government and new methods of technology be set up in less than 10 weeks? I was enjoying it to start with but then it all got a bit far beyond belief for me.

As a fan of dystopian/apocalyptic fiction, I wasn’t expecting much from this title. The same plots have been recycled and used over and over. The Last by Hanna Jameson however offered a refreshing take on an overdone story.

One of the big things I enjoyed was use of the internet, and how social media could come into play during an apocalypse. It had an underlying feel of reality, and genuinely spooked me.

The overarching mystery of the murder in the hotel added another layer of tension and asked more questions.

Overall, definitely a good read, and would highly recommend.

The Last is an end of the world murder mystery which I can not recommend enough. Set in a hotel in Switzerland, occupants find that numerous conuntries around the world have launched nuclear weapons at each other. From Day one the occupants find that not only do they have to deal with the isolation and surviving the end of the world but also there could be a murderer amongst them.

The main protagonist Jon, an American Historian begins to investigate the death of a young girl murdered at the hotel, slowly peeling back the anxieties (past and present) of the hotel guests as well as uncovering the dark history of the hotel.

The story and characters are well thought out and extremely plausible touching on present day anxieties whilst adding in a great murder mystery.

I loved the idea of the book more than the book itself.
When I read the description I was like, "wow that's a book that's speaking about the big fear we all got in this day and age". After finishing the book I'm being left disappointed...I defo still love the story line idea; the end of the world after a nuclear blast is such a current and scary scenario.
I thought the characters were a bit flat and boring, the ending was a bit dull and sudden. The story peaked at no point and just flowed along.
The story idea deserves 10 stars unfortunately the execution is poor.

Sorry, this book just didn't grab me. I couldn't connect with the main character, and I just didn't really care about anyone who was left in the hotel, I didn't think their stories were really expanded on enough for me to connect with anyone, and I felt a bit cheated once I'd finished reading it - it promised so much more and it just didn't deliver for me.

Sorry - my thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy though.

I really enjoyed this book! I'm a big fan of apocalypse or post apocalypse fiction, and this was a really interesting mix of nuclear war and crime / investigation thriller. It was a thoughtful look at a very plausible end of the world as we know it scenario, and how that affects a small group of normal people. I enjoyed the supporting characters, all well defined and believable, and the main character and his doubts and worries were interesting and kept me hooked - this didn't take long to read, but I did stay up a bit later than I really planned to. Only a few of the 'usual' post apocalypse cliches in the book (I do love a good trip to the ransacked food store with fear and guns!) which was a pleasant change, Overall I'm very grateful to Netgalley for the free review copy, and WILL recommend this to some apocalyptic fiction fans I know. I'm very glad I got the opportunity to read it, and I'm sure it's one that will stay with me. Great stuff!

A gritty thriller exploring the secrets we are willing to keep even when the world ends. Fast paced and well plotted

A dark, fast paced, dystopian thriller which I very much enjoyed. It resonates especially in today's climate. I really enjoyed The Last and would recommend it.