Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

This book is outside of what I would usually read but I am really glad I finally picked it up! This post-apocalyptic novel was gripping from the outset and honestly very harrowing because it felt plausible for life today- especially the aspect of loosing all connection with the outside world and the affects that would have. The additional element of murder mystery was also a welcome surprise to add to this unnerving but addictive book that is sometimes far too realistic for today's society.

I had really high hopes for this book as the dystopian plot and thriller/mystery element sounded like a great combination. Unfortunately the latter didn't come across as I'd hoped and there was no tension about the murder. With everyone stuck inside the hotel, I expected much more claustrophobia and paranoia but it didn't seem to come. I would read more from the author in the future as I enjoyed the writing style but this particular book wasn't for me unfortunately.

Jon Keller was on a trip to Switzerland when the world ended. Without phone service or an internet connection, he doesn’t know whether his wife and kids survived. He and the other people remaining in his hotel wait for help that never comes. Then, one day, the body of a little girl is found. It’s clear she’s been murdered, so Jon decides to investigate. Is one of his fellow survivors a killer?

I really loved the idea of this book: A murder mystery set during the end of the world. And it turned out to be even better than I expected. The murder mystery aspect gets quite a lot of attention towards the beginning of the book, but then it does sort of drop away and become about the character’s survival in the months after the world has ended. Which is totally fine by me, because it turns out I love apocalyptic fiction.

Jon isn’t always the most likeable character, but he feels very real. The story is told from his point of view, as a kind diary of events because he’s a historian and he feels someone should write down a record of the end of the world. The first-person narrative was really effective in this context. There’s also quite a good range of other characters to fill out the story – all of whom can be believed to be surviving an apocalypse.

The Last is a really solid, well-written piece of fiction. I enjoyed every page.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love escaping into a Dystopian world every so often, now sometimes they are more fantasy and then others are based more on a real threat. This book easily fits in with the latter as the world experiences Nuclear attacks and what a truly scary thought that is! I can safely say that this book will make you think, worry and feel tense throughout. Well that was my experience anyway!

In this book we follow Jon as he keeps a record of the days since the nuclear attacks. I have to mention that I love diary style entries as a way of telling a story and The Last is a great example of how well it works. We find out about the survivors in the hotel along with Jon himself and I loved how Hanna Jameson gave us this information in bits and pieces so we could get to know the characters one by one. Seeing how they reacted to the events but also hearing about their lives before the attacks. However what makes this book different is the fact that a body has been found and this sets off a chain reaction of events as Jon is determined to discover the truth. So you really do get a magical combination of murder mystery with a dystopian background creating a brilliant tension filled story.

As you would expect there is a very claustrophobic element to this book creating a tense plot that manages to keep going pretty much all the way through. Hanna Jameson has filled her book with interesting, flawed and varied characters that really make this book extra special. One of the questions I asked myself was, how would I react? Especially when it came to certain situations in the book. I guess you really would find out what kind of person you are if your survival was at stake.

The Last will make you think, feel and maybe even appreciate what you have just that little bit more. The pages are filled with mystery, suspense and plenty of on the edge moments. Gripped from first page to the very last!

As many other reviews have stated, this book is confused. While it could have been an amazing fusion of post-apocalyptic survival and thriller, it manages to lose the tense edge you'd expect. The hotel should have been claustrophobic; everyone should have been a suspect. They weren't.

As it was, Jameson seems to forget the murder aspect a lot of the time when focusing on how the group in the hotel are going to function after the bombs drop. I still found it compelling enough to want to know what happens, but the denouement when it finally came was lacklustre and throw away.

It isn't bad, but it could have been great and it's disappointing it wasn't.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

This one was a really intriguing read. It is certainly an interesting concept and I do think it’s a well written book. However something just didn’t quite click completely for me. I would be happy to read more from the author as I did like her writing style.

From Good Reads:
An apolcalyptic murder mystery. -great mix.

Setting it in a remote hotel was a clever move isolating us and the characters for much of the detail of what has happened to the rest of the world.

The murder mystery element was always a side show (perhaps unfortunately) - this was more about the people involved, decisions to be made and the general horror of the situation.


I found the ending a bit flat - but a clever concept well written - well worth a read

This was a great, original post-apocalyptic tale which feels more authentic because it’s not sci-fi; this story could be real.

It’s about Jon, an American historian attending a conference in Zurich when the end of the world arrives by way of nuclear war. Major cities like New York, London and LA – not to mention the entire country of Scotland – are wiped out in an instant, but somehow the hotel Sixienne where Jon is staying remains. And he and his fellow guests are thrown together in order to survive.

Jon narrates the entire story, in his diary attempting to document the end of the world. And he’s written so well, providing a (mostly) unbiased account of the people and situation, and an image of himself which is likeable, whilst not perfect. It’s intriguing that the writer is actually a different gender and around ten years younger than Jon, but it worked for me personally.

Stranded in the secluded Swiss hotel, the range of people who otherwise might not have mixed begin to forge friendships and relationships. There’s a kaleidoscope of society; from the kind Japanese family, to feisty American Tomi, Arran who turns to drugs to escape reality; Nathan the Australian bartender with his own strange story and many more. We get a little snapshot of each hotel resident seen through Jon’s eyes.

On top of the end of the world, Jon is also dealing with a murder mystery, as a young girl’s body is found in a water tank near the beginning of the story and he seems to be the only one who cares about how she wound up there. It’s a good storyline but I wouldn’t call this a murder mystery; it just adds another layer to Jon’s tale.

This feels like an accurate portrayal of how people may come together in these circumstances; both the small acts of kindness between each other, and the rising sense of paranoia, suspicion and the selfish survival instincts which start to kick in. There’s inevitable moments when people turn against each other but there’s also friendships and relationships forged. The characters felt authentic, the story was gripping and it was fascinating reading. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for what this author does next.

A murder mystery at the end of the world

The World has ended. Nuclear weapon strikes have taken out the world's capital cities. In a hotel in Switzerland 20 survivors wait.
As the group come together, a body is discovered and one of their group could be a murderer. Jon Keller takes it upon himself to investigate a murder at the end of the world.

The author takes us instantly to the heart of the book and hurls us into the action. Armageddon has begun!
I was interested to see how the characters would survive, how they would organise, and how they would react. Well in 'The Last', pretty calmly it would seem.

I had quite high hopes for this, as I like a bit of 'post apocalyptic fiction', unfortunately it didn’t hit the mark for me.
It didn’t really know what it was trying to be, post apocalyptic tale, or murder mystery? It appeared that the end of the world was a backdrop to the whodunnit and that didn’t work for me.

I didn’t quite understand the obsession to solve the murder when the world had ended. Perhaps that’s the point though, things still do matter. Still remaining human when humanity is lost?

There was a nice, rich, diverse cast with the standout being being Tomi. Tough, clever and ruthless. Nice to see another novel with a strong female character well written. The lead character, Jon, however, was bland, not particularly likeable and didn’t hold the novel together.

The hotel itself was quite creepy. Nearly a character in itself. A huge hotel populated by just a few, a great setting but unfortunately under used and an opportunity missed.

Despite the problem with its identity, I finished the book fairly satisfied. The ending was a little weak and I was hoping for a better twist, but ultimately found this to be a nice, quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC, in return for an honest review.

4 Thrilling, Fascinating Stars!!!

I was given this book in turn for an honest review.

When Jon Keller goes to a conference in Switzerland, the world as he knew it, changes before his very eyes. As panic ensues, he finds him self amongst the twenty people left at his hotel. Mysteries lie ahead for Jon; deceit, lies, and secrets, are uncovered. Can Jon really trust those left in the hotel, or is his own life at risk?

The Last was a great read, and I found myself captivated by the story from the beginning. Jon was an intriguing character, the story is written as Jon documents everything that is happening around him, almost like a diary. This worked well for this story, although at times, I felt Jon was becoming a little repetitive, and almost boring. With this said, given the time spent in the hotel, after some weeks of not knowing the future, it was understandable why Jon had become depressed in some way.

This story uncovered many different secrets throughout, keeping readers on their toes for what would happen next, and wondering if the people in the hotel were, who Jon believed them to be. I loved the idea that this story mainly focused around them trying to survive within the hotel, creating some kind of life for themselves. When they decided to venture into the wider space, looking for supplies, I found my heart racing with theirs, as they entered the unknown. Unaware of what may lay ahead, or if they would manage to make it back to the hotel, unscathed.

The Last was a fascinating story, that I truly did enjoy. It was a unique, exciting, and thrilling book, that any reader who enjoys the mystery, thriller genre will definitely enjoy.

So I stepped outside my comfort zone with this one a little. Post apocalyptic genre, one I had only dabbled in once before with Station Eleven, but I enjoyed that so thought I would give this a crack. The Last follows the account of historian Jon Keller who is at a conference at a hotel in Switzerland when nuclear bombs go off in major cities all around the world. Colleagues flee but Jon stays, the book is Jon’s diary.

The story unfolds with narration from Jon’s diary describing how he is handling the events post Day One and also observing all that remain at the hotel. Jon also takes on the role of investigator after a body of small girl is found in one of the water tanks on the roof of the hotel. The story is quite a slow one, however it had enough about it to keep me interested throughout. It was intriguing seeing how different people handled the situation and the different roles they all took on. However I think it only skated on the edge of this, you didn’t get to feel their emotion, their anxiety, it was a little one dimensional through Jon. Jon was a strange character and I wasn’t ever sure quite how I felt about his character, he didn’t enamour himself well with the reader in my view.

All in all it was a relatively decent read, but it left me feeling a little underwhelmed, I felt it could have been so much more. Bit of a mixed review as I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t quite deliver on how I had hoped it would.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for this honest review. I give this book 3.5/5.

Thank you to both NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this fantastic book in exchance for an honest review.
It was an amazing read. I loved everything about this book. I loved the main character's voice, the world-building, the intriguing (and terrifying) prospect that Trump creates a nuclear war and how his supporters would be interracted with in a post-apocalyptic setting. I loved the claustrophobia of having a small number of people in isolation and how they interract under such stressful and surreal circumstances. I was very interested in the murder mystery and felt the entire book was plausible, something that can't often be said about post-apocalyptic fiction.
And the ending is superb.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
One more point- the cover (the red one) is amazing. The new cover I've seen on NetGalley for a new edition is horrible. PLEASE don't do that. This book is too good to give a naff cover to.

Headline : Is this what we have to face?
Stars : 5

I really enjoyed this book which has echoes of the quality and tone of the original Survivors TV series. How will people react to the ‘end of the world’, especially of pockets of ‘civilisation’ still exist. How will they deal with issues and basic human needs?
The author has a good stab at this whilst also threading in a good mystery/murder hunt at the same time. In these Trumpian times the scenario painted is all too plausible. Definitely worth a read.
This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher in return for an honest review.

I can’t begin to describe the tension I felt reading this brilliant dystopian story about a group of international guests holed up in a Swiss hotel, survivors in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse. I couldn’t turn each page fast enough and from the beginning the level of suspense was on a par with what one normally expects to see near the end of a book and that level was maintained throughout. The setting is unutterably bleak and spine-chilling, but with so many heartstopping moments that irresistibly attract and repel.
Dr Jon Keller is an American Historian who was attending a convention at the moment most of the world’s population was annihilated. Overwhelmed by events, understandably, he tries to clutch at normality and what he knows best, writing history and so begins a chronicle in case it is ever discovered and read by anyone.
Knowing that family and friends have been wiped out as well as civilisation, people’s reactions differ; some commit suicide, others set off for airports, even though there is no means of getting anywhere. No governmental help is forthcoming with whole cities obliterated and no internet or telecommunications. Jon and some of the other 20 or so guests have the unpleasant task of cleaning up and burying the bodies of the guests who have killed themselves, but then come across the body of a nine year old girl who has been murdered in mysterious circumstances. Jon does everything he can to get to the bottom of who did it, even though everyone else thinks he’s wasting his time, that the perpetrator must have left the hotel, and that it is likely none of them will survive long enough to see any kind of justice done anyway. A small group of them set off on a food expedition as supplies are running low and winter is on its way. When they get to a foodstore they’re ambushed by two people with rifles. Jon realises that they’re two professors that he knows from the convention, but in the ensuing wrangle over food supplies, the two are shot cold dead. The group’s reaction is that it’s every man for himself.
To me this was a very shocking turning point because civilised people were being transformed into murderers. As Jon later wrote, “Before didn’t exist anymore. The giant slate of the world was clean. Consequences no longer existed.” This really made me think about how I would behave in the circumstances and whether I would be able to retain my humanity in the face of chaos and societal breakdown. It raised so many questions about what kind of person you would be when the chips were down, would you be able to hold onto your moral fibre, would you be able to carry on if your family and friends were gone, could you live in a lawless society, would you commit suicide in despair or kill someone else for their food and medicines. And then you begin to realise just how tenuous the fabric of society is, how slowly and painstakingly civilisation was built, but how in the blink of an eye it can be torn apart.
When important decisions have to be taken, the group starts to splinter by gender, and by Europeans versus Americans and it becomes easy to see how animal instinct can take over, how groups can descend into kangaroo courts and summary execution. The author shows an in-depth understanding of group and survivor psychology that makes her characters and plot so believable. I was completely bowled over by this story and couldn’t wait to find out how it would end. I’m sure Hannah Jameson has a great future ahead of her based on her amazing writing skills and I look forward so much to reading more by her.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Penguin Books UK and Hannah Jameson for the opportunity to read and review The Last.

Historian Jon Keller is on a work trip to Switzerland when the unimaginable happens – nuclear bombs start dropping on the major global cities, signifying the end of the world. Holed up in a hotel with other survivors, Jon has no way of knowing whether his family back in the United States are still alive. Then, the body of a young girl is found at the hotel – one of the residents is a killer. As he investigates, paranoia begins to surface – just who, if anyone, can he trust and is he putting his own life in danger by trying to uncover the truth in a strange new world?

I had heard so many good things about this book so was ecstatic to be given the opportunity to read it as part of the blog tour and was equally pleased to find that it certainly lives up to the hype. I admit that dystopian novels have never been something that have interested me, but I loved the premise of the book and was so glad that I decided to expand my horizons (even if it was the crime element that pulled me towards it!).

One of my favourite books is Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, where a group of people being murdered one-by-one realise that the killer is one of their number. It was for this reason that I wanted to read The Last, as there seemed to be echoes of this plot. This was not the case, however, and although there are certainly deaths in the book, I would not say that this is the main focus. Instead what we have is a thought-provoking tale of ‘what ifs’ – especially scary given the instability in the world at the moment. In an age where we are so heavily reliant upon the internet and other media sources, it was easy to imagine the panic of the people at the hotel, not knowing what was happening or whether their loved ones had made it to safety.

I liked the mix of characters and felt that the slow pace of the book gave the author chance to develop them fully. It was fascinating to read how personalities changed and that, faced with such extreme circumstances, some people stepped up to take control whilst others were keen to survive at all costs, no matter who they hurt in the process. There were some genuinely tense moments when they left the confinement of the hotel in search of supplies, not knowing if there were other survivors out there and whether they would make it back alive.

The Last is a very tense, claustrophobic read and one that certainly makes you question what you would do should you be faced with that situation. It is a very clever book that grabs your attention and holds onto it until the very last page. This looks like being one of the books of the year and one that could be easily be imagined as a TV mini-series. Highly recommended.

Our narrator, Jon Keller, an American academic, is attending a conference in Switzerland.  There was previously a change of hotel and he ends up staying at L'Hotel Sixieme, a large, remote hotel surrounded by forest.

Whilst having breakfast a fellow guest shrieks after seeing something on her phone. 'They've bombed Washington!'  Jon frantically starts scrolling through news items on his phone.  It's true! Washington, London, Berlin. Nuclear explosions!

Many guest flee immediately, heading for airports trying to get home to family and friends, but Jon decides to stay, feeling it's safer to await rescue.

A week later he's still there....

'This is the third day and the internet is down.  I've been sitting in my hotel room watching what I can see of the horizon from my window.  If anything happens, I'll do my best to describe it...... I can't believe I didn't reply to Nadia's text.  I can't believe I thought I had time......

Told in diary format Jon decides to keep notes on each day.  He's used to records, to documenting life so this is what feels like the natural thing to do, a comfort, and if anyone ever finds it they will at least know what happened to everyone left at L'Hotel Sixiene.

They story introduces us to the remaining guest, now 20 in total, and explores how characters have established, or not, roles they can play within the group.  On day 50 they notice the water has turned cloudy and tastes a little off, so Jon and 2 others head to the roof to inspect the massive water tanks.  In one of them they find the body of a young girl, clearly no accident, and dead before the explosions started.  Most show little concern.  Why bother given the circumstances.  But Jon is determined to find out what happened to her and if the killer is still here in the hotel!

I loved the opening chapter.  How the author sets the 'end of the world' on such an ordinary morning, and it is details like this that make the story so believable.  This is primarily a character driven book and explores how each one reacts in this extreme situation.  Who is useful? Who can be trusted?  Blended in with the mystery of the girls death, the remoteness of the hotel with everyone trapped inside it makes for an extremely claustrophobic, chilling read.  I particularly enjoyed the parts where they began to realise that they would have to venture outside.  The description of the weather and vegetation effected by the poisoned atmosphere and the amazingly terrifying bits were they fear if and whom they may meet outside.

This genre was a departure from the norm for me but I thoroughly enjoyed it.



I received a digital copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review, and would like to thank Emily Burns for the invite onto the blog tour.

The thing I most enjoy about dystopian fiction is the chance to explore the author’s great imagination through the world they have created . The Last was a very well imagined and frightening story made all the more so by how realistic it seemed. The nuclear weapon is detonated because a politician makes a mistake, which is seeming increasingly likely in today’s political climate. I found myself instantly drawn into this world, trying to work out how I’d fit into it which is always a sign that I’m enjoying a book.

The characters or residents of the hotel are all very varied and well developed. It was fascinating to read about how much they change over the course of the book. The fear and uncertainty that the characters feel are almost palpable at times and I found myself feeling very sorry for them.

This is quite a character driven novel though it is still quite gripping as the more I got to know the characters, the more involved in their story I became. I wanted to keep reading to find out not only who the murder was but also what would happen to everyone.

The murder mystery side of the story was very intriguing and I enjoyed watching it develop. The evidence is tantalisingly revealed and I found myself changing my mind frequently as to who the murder could be.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’ll definitely be going back to read her previous novels soon. The Last manages to be both a dystopian and a murder mystery which I felt was an interesting mix that worked very well!

Huge thanks to Emily Burns from BrandHive for inviting me onto the tour and to Viking for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

The Last takes place at a hotel with some sinister goings on after what seems to be the end of the world. Various world powers seem to have all bombed eachother quite thoroughly and some survivors in a countryside hotel decide to stay there and see what they can make of the situation.
Not a massive amount happens over the course of the book, it's more an exploration of how the situation impacts the hotel residents and what they are hiding from eachother.
This was an easy read but didn't feel as though it had a particular point to make. Written ostensibly in diary entries, the writing feels unrealistic for actual diary entries as it includes long detailed narrative and conversations, it would probably have worked better just told from the diarists point of view without trying to use diary entries to tell the story.

If you’re looking for something a little different, The Last is the book for you. It’s the end of the world, and twenty survivors are holed up in a hotel – and if things weren’t bad enough already, there’s a killer among them. And Then There Were None meets Station Eleven in this high-concept dystopian page turner, inspired by a terrifyingly real unsolved mystery.

I had high hopes for this book. The blurb describes it as a tense mystery set in the midst of a post-apocalyptic world, but there was no tension in this book whatsoever. Most of the characters are unlikeable (which I understand because you know, the world's ending), but the main character (Jon) was just so bland and boring. Also, I didn't think the mystery had enough presence in the book. It's often pushed to the background, while the characters squabble and talk about nothing. Towards the end of the book, I just didn't care.