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.

What a thrilling ride. I was hooked within the first few pages and felt there were a few nods to a certain current politician which I found particularly scary. The atmosphere was chilling and the characters were well drawn. Hopefully there will be a sequel.

The stage for this book is set in a hotel deep in the forests of Switzerland at what just so happens to be the end of the world. After entire cities around the globe are destroyed by bombs, a collection of residents are left stranded within the hotel to wait out for what happens next. In an Agatha Christie worthy twist in the story, a body of a young girl shows up which means only one thing, a guest has committed a murder.

With the concept of the end of the world as the main driving force behind this story, it created some really interesting dynamics for the plot and characters. Throughout the novel we get to see how social situations and standards could change when certain things occur during an apocalypse. If someone commits what we would know as a crime, how is justice served? If someone has a medical emergency what do you do when help isn't a simple phone call away? Are women more important because they can reproduce or is that unfair to men? All of these questions and more are explored within this story and it was one of my favourite things about the book. Following these characters as they face situations and dilemmas where questions like these arise was so interesting. I felt the author was very realistic in displaying how moral compasses are tested when the world is no longer what it was.

As well as being morally interesting, The Last was just a really enjoyable read. It has moments of intense suspense, action and touching emotion. Each character was very well developed and multi-layered which just gave more depth to the story as a whole.

If you are a fan of thrillers or post-apocalyptic/dystopian novels then this book is well worth the read.

What would you do if the world went mad and destroyed itself with nuclear weapons? Would you stay put or run? Would you hide from others or face the future? The event occurs and in a remote hotel a group of people face an uncertain future. A brilliant read that makes you question how you would cope in such a scary new world. Twists, turns, stress and hope. Enjoy this good read.

An interesting concept! I didnt feel at the start I would like this book but it sucked me in and kept me reading!
It has good character building and makes you wonder? The characters are stranded in a hotel in Switzerland when nuclear bombs go off around the world. Has anyone survived? Are they the only ones?
At times there does seem to be a parallel with Hell-is this real or are they in Hell? I’ll leave you to decide!!

For those of you looking to try a new genre...how about 'Trump-induced apocalypse/whodunnit'?

That's the eye-catching premise here. Nuclear war wipes out much of humanity and a small group of survivors in a Swiss hotel try to adapt to the new world. However, the discovery of a young girl's body suggests one among them may be a killer.

I thought this was hugely enjoyable and zipped through it. There are times when the book isn't quite sure if it wants to focus on the post-apocalyptic elements or the whodunnit element but as I greatly enjoyed both this wasn't a problem.

The narrator Jon, was an agreeable but imperfect hero and the author carried out the difficult task of introducing a large number of supporting characters very well.

The writing and pacing was great but the author could perhaps have ratcheted up the tension even more. This is lot more gentle ride than, say The Road and could have benefited from a little more threat at times. However, I much prefer this to The Road personally; there is hope and humour amongst the bleakness.

All in all a cracking debut and an author to watch. There were hints of other genre elements in the book (like Arran's visitor) so I'm hoping Hanna Jameson continues into genre writing and not mainstream crime...but I'll likely read whatever she does next.

Despite being given an advance copy by NetGalley and the associated publishers I am not really enjoying this book...it left me with feeling quite depressed. I see that other reviewers loved the 'new world' genre but I found it disturbing. There is a lot of character searching and not enough action for my taste. I am finding it good in some parts and sufficiently dark and miserable in others that I am skipping sections of a page. Perhaps I just don't have the imagination for what our existence could be like should this event really take place. I will get to the end but not a volume I will be revisiting.

This book is everything it promises to be and more! It’s dark – perhaps all the more so because dystopian future it depicts hits close to home – but the mysterious plot line makes it compelling and difficult to put down. It’s urgent and exciting and like nothing I’ve read before. I loved reading this book and would highly recommend, even (or perhaps especially!) if you’re not usually a mystery or dystopian genre reader.