As a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, I was excited to read this and in terms of genre expectations, it didn't disappoint. The novel begins as the nuclear strikes do, so there's a sense of breathless urgency without time to get used to setting or characters which is dizzying and effective, As the days and then weeks tick by in Jon's hastily-begun journal/logbook/historical diary, we get to know the disparate multi-national group gathered in an isolated Swiss hotel and I found this one of the most unsettling aspects - being trapped with people you couldn't necessarily even communicate with, much less trust or rely on.
There are gripes for me, however. In the aftermath of nuclear annihilation, how useful is it to be dwelling on the fact that a serial killer once stayed at the hotel? Or the youthful ghost visions of one of the survivors. Or the possible misdeeds of a mysterious hotel owner? Surely the devastation of the planet supercedes such trivia, and yet the narrative pays these aspects too much attention in my opinion.
SPOILER ALERT
You might also be forgiven for questioning why some turn to cannibalism after mere weeks, particularly once you find out there's a functioning city with hot water, food and comfortable, safe housing not far away. It's almost laughable in that I pictured a couple of cannibals, as they approach the town gnawing a human femur, pausing mid-bite as they notice the cheery townsfolk wandering towards their annual Thanksgiving picnic and muttering 'I think we may have made a terrible mistake...'

I really enjoyed this novel so much so that I read it in 4 days which is pretty fast for me. It was really gripping and I really wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. That said I'm still not sure if I liked the ending or not on one hand everything was wrapped up but it also seemed a little anticlimatic if that makes sense. Up to that point it was amazing though and I really recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery and post apcolypic stuff.

As a post-apocalyptic novel, The Last ticked a lot of boxes for me. The reader sees the moment when the calamitous event – in this case, the use of nuclear weapons to attack various targets around the globe – happens, and observes as civilisation breaks down in no time at all. Our means of communication, so much of it linked to the internet now, fail, and so the pockets of survivors don’t know the true extent of the damage, survival rates, nor who is behind the attacks. They don’t know if there’s anywhere safe they can go. Whilst it can be frustrating not knowing as a reader, I think that this adds a degree of realism to the situation that our survivors find themselves in, and it made me consider how I might act in such a situation, which is exactly what I like about this kind of novel.

Setting The Last in a hotel is a brilliant idea. The twenty or so survivors have some supplies of food and drinking water to rely upon. They have shelter, beds, (cold) water for bathing, and back-up generators that can be used in emergencies. They also have weapons, previously used for recreational hunting, but now providing both sustenance and protection. With careful rationing, these survivors are able to live in relative comfort for some time. Whilst it sounds like they’re having an easy time of it, being cooped up in the isolated hotel allows for cabin fever to set in, and Jameson explores the psychological impact of being one of the few left alive brilliantly. Tempers begin to fray, and group begins to divide, largely into groups based upon nationality. The situation becomes increasingly tense, and I thought that Jameson portrayed perfectly how different characters might act and react in such a situation – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Jon – our main protagonist – is a historian, and decides to document the end of the world and its immediate aftermath. It seems a little pointless, but I think that it's as much to keep himself occupied as to actually capture the day to day goings on. Throughout, he drops in comments to and about his wife, Nadia, still in America at the time of the bombings. The reader learns a great deal about Jon in this way, and I have to say that not all of it is good. He carries a great deal of regret with him, but realises this when it’s too late to do anything about it. I didn’t like Jon as a character, although he does provide the voice of reason as the novel progresses and the survivors begin to turn on one another, and my poor opinion of him didn’t detract from the story at all.

Combined with the end of the world is the discovery of a little girl’s body. The victim of a murder, no one is sure who she is, nor who is responsible for her death. This adds another dimension to the story, which given the relative ease with which they are initially, at least, surviving the end of the world, adds some drama and an element of paranoia. Jon investigates, capturing his activities as part of his documentation of their survival, but this proves more difficult than usual, and he is reliant upon good ol’ fashioned means of investigation to hunt for clues. It’s an interesting premise, although I did feel that this story line got a little lost in the survival element of the novel.

Combining an end of the world situation with a little And Then There Were None thrown in, The Last is an original and intriguing novel. It’s not as dark as some post-apocalyptic novels can be, and should appeal to readers who enjoyed Station Eleven.

The Last will be published on 24 January on Kindle, and 31 January in hardback. Many thanks to the publisher, Viking, for allowing me to read and review this title ahead of publication via Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. It was one of those "I am so frustrated that my eyes can no longer stay open to enable me to keep reading) books that you pick up to read at every opportunity, even if only for 5 minutes. The premise of what actually happens in the event of the end of the world centres around the survival of the main character who is left stranded, with a small group of other people, in a hotel after most of the world is instantaneously wiped out after a nuclear explosion. What I loved about it was the honest exploration of humanity, the sudden breakdown of everything that went "before" while the survivors endeavour to adapt to the "after". There is no sugar coating here but the insights into the personalities of the survivors develop alongside the obsession of the main character to still adhere to some system of justice even though there seems to no longer be much reason to do this. The ending was unexpected and I had to think back to link some of it together but it did link. My one thought was that perhaps this ending could have been drawn out a bit longer to enable it to all sink in within the context of the whole story. The "postscript" to the ending was brilliant, I loved all that it implied.

What a phonominally good read. 'The Last' was quite the departure from my usual genres but it has blown my mind with how good it was. I read the whole thing in just over 24 hours. Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me a free e-copy in return for an honest review.
The main reason this book was so fascinsting for me was because it genuinely could happen. It is not out of the realms of possibiliy that a nucleur war could occur and if it did, then just like in the book, large cities would be destroyed, causing millions to die and the ones left to suffer too. Lack of food and medical supplies would be very real problems during those first few weeks. I paused often whilst reading to think 'what if?'. The truth is I probably wouldn't make it, I would be a complete wuss but then that wouldn't .ake half a good as story as this one.
I 100% rooting for Jon (the protagonist) throughout. He is such a belivable charcter and far from perfect but I never stopped believing he was one of the good guys. There were times when I did wonder if he was going mad, anyone could be forgiven for doing so in his situation, and his unreliable narration really added to the suspense.
5/5 stars and I can't wait to read more by this author.

The Last wasn't at all what I was expecting, but that was no bad thing. I thought I was getting a country house style whodunnit set in a dystopian world - which is a great concept - and on paper this is what this book is, but it's also so much more. It's a moving, terrifying and real look at what makes us human, a community, an examination of grief and destruction, fear and hope.
The book starts with the end of the world and it is horribly plausible. There's an unpopular US president and an escalating arms race and when the narrator, Jon, is an ocean away from his family, at an academic history conference in a country hotel in Switzerland, someone presses the button and he watches cities and countries disappear in real time on Facebook and Twitter. Most of the hotel flee for the airport in a clearly doomed move. but Jon goes into deep shock and stays at the hotel along with a few members of staff, a fellow American historian, some young Europeans and a Japanese family. Americans, Jon and Tomi find themselves almost ostracised at first, as the hotel guests blame them for the end of the world, Tomi in particular, when her voting history is revealed.
As a historian Jon starts to chronicle the day by day world as the guests begin to face up to their future - or lack of it. But when a body is discovered, Jon turns detective, needing to make sense of this one tragedy amidst the much bigger one.
Through his narration Jon reveals his regrets as a father and husband, his insecurities and weaknesses, even as he doggedly carries on in the face of paranoia, apathy and fear.
The Last is an astonishing book, I found it hard to put down, fast paced, exciting and hugely atmospheric, yet one that leaves many questions in the reader's mind long after the book has finished. Highly recommended.

Twenty people in a hotel at the end of the world. When a girl's body is found, it's clear that one of them is a killer

This should have been good, but I didn't get into it at all

I'm a big 'post apocalyptic' fan and also love a good murder mystery, and this book ticks both boxes.

Jon Keller is a history lecturer and writer attending a conference at an isolated location in Switzerland when the world-as-we-know-it ends, with many of the world's major cities being razed in nuclear attacks. Most of the hotel guests make a run for the towns and airports but Jon and a small band of 20 or so remain. With dwindling food, water and power, strange weather and no phone signal or internet the disparate group makes the best of the situation. A body is discovered and Jon takes it upon himself to investigate the death, despite limited interest from the others.

The story is told in the form of a journal - at first in a very perfunctory manner, which I initially found disappointing, but soon it is explained that the shock of the initial events were so traumatic that Jon was only able to record a few basic facts. The events of the first few days were, thankfully, elaborated upon later and by the end many 'loose ends' were tied up.

Characters were well-formed, distinctive and believable. There was quite lot of dialogue, unusual for journal entries, but it worked. The book is incredibly atmospheric and you can feel the social dynamics of the disparate group, their fears and paranoia. Things become particularly dangerous and traumatic when some of the group leave the hotel in search of supplies.

Many theories went through my mind while reading this book - were they in purgatory, was it all a social experiment, was there really a nuclear war, had he gone insane, delusional, etc? Red herrings abound and obviously I won't say which, if any, is true. You'll just have to read it.

I highly recommend The Last and was lucky enough to receive a copy via Net Galley. The Last made me think of a cross between The shining and the passage. This book sucks you into Jon’s world now that the world has in fact ended. We learn there has been a murder, how people cope (or don’t) with the end of the world and wonder if Jon is sane. Each character in the Last is so well written, you can almost touch them! You feel like you know them and you want to know who will survive and who simply isn’t going to make it........................

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher, Penguin, for approving me an ARC.
This book is quite a departure from my usual reading of detective mysteries in the main, and I actually feel rather privileged to have had access to it - because it was so very, very Good!
This was a satisfyingly long read and I was so enthralled by the excellent writing, character development, dialogue and storylines, I really didn't want it to finish at all. I could 'feel' the atmosphere being created and developed through the thoughts and actions of the survivors at the end of the world. The imaginative intertwining of the changing group dynamics, personal relationships, paranoia and initial loss of hope, with the main character Jon's determination to solve a murder to the point of doubting his own sanity, was inspired.
It's not an easy read in terms of how the characters come to terms with the flaws in their own humanity and the shocking actions they sometimes need to take under extraordinary circumstances. The story I felt was also a lesson on how reliant we've become on the internet and social media, almost more worrying than the loss of basic services and utilities, or whether the sun could shine or birds could fly.
I liked the conclusion to the book - I would really like to know what happens next!
What can I say, Brilliant.

Couldn’t put it down ! The American elections go horribly wrong and world peace shatters with a nuclear war. Stuck in a Swiss hotel Jon tries to document the survival of the few soles who stay behind.

Oh so possible it scares me to thing his close we are to “the end”

I enjoyed the characterisation and the prose is easy to digest - well worth a read

As an avid reader of post-apocalyptic fiction I was interested to read this novel take on the genre. 'The Last' merges the genres of post-nuclear holocaust and murder mystery to good effect. The characterisation is good, especially given that the characters are drawn from a wide range of nationalities, and the setting is suitably eerie! It's a good example of cross-genre fiction. Something that could easily have gone badly wrong has been shaped into an enjoyable read.

I actually really enjoyed this book, it was surprising and kept me in suspense. I recommend this to those who like post-apocalyptic fiction with a bit of murder mystery thrown in for good measure - definitely a writer i'll keep an eye on!

The Last is a gripping story, following the actions of a group of hotel guests after nuclear explosions wipe out major cities across the world. We follow Jon Keller as he records the following events day by day, documenting his interactions with the other hotel guests and his thought processes as he, and the other guests, try to come to terms with their situation.
-I loved this book, devouring it in a single session. It swung me from one place to another in terms of events and how they are described through Jon's eyes. Should I be supporting Jon? Is everything really what it seems? How is his health, is he telling the truth? All these questions flickered around my brain with every page turn. I was gripped.
-Jameson builds a sense of unease and suspicion quietly but effectively throughout the book. On finding the body of a girl in one of the rooftop water tanks, Jon tasks himself with finding the culprit. We are taken deep into Jon's mind as paranoia begins to spread throughout the hotel. Along with tough decisions on justice, dangerous missions to find food, and complex group dynamics, I found myself trying to think what I would do in this situation. The premise isn't that far-fetched - what would happen if just one world leader launched a nuclear attack? We have the capability for this situation to happen - this made it all the more interesting to see how I reacted to the decisions made by the group.
-I was so interested in the actions of the group as a whole, and each individual within that group. I found myself curious about how the book took the perceived isolation of a small group and how that inward-looking thinking resulted in each action, and affected each person. Jameson takes us into that world, and I found myself affected by the reality the group had created, making more of an impact on me as the story unfolded.
Shocking, intriguing and rawly human. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Intriguing with a great premise, however this didn't hold my interest. Just not the book for me on this occasion

After a nuclear attack on America and the United Kingdom, Historian, Jon Keller is left stranded at a huge, isolated hotel in Switzerland along with other guests and staff who are staying there.
A few weeks later, the body of a young girl is found, and it looks like she was murdered. Who was she and how did she die? As he has limitless time waiting for contact from the outside world, Jon decides to investigate, by interviewing each of his fellow survivors and searching through hotel records and cctv. But somebody seems to be trying to stop his investigation and Jon is not one to give up.
I enjoyed this novel tremendously. With the added peril of roving gangs in the woods ,food and water running out and many other nail biting scenarios, i found myself racing through this, to get to the end. This is a really outstanding novel, and i felt the story moved along at a steady pace with a satisfying conclusion. There is even an opening for a sequel! Anyone who enjoys dystopian novels would find this a great read, but what gives this the edge is that no one knows what is going on in the outside world and if it exists anymore!
I just reviewed The Last by Hanna Jameson. #TheLast #NetGalley

I generally avoid dystopian fiction since the huge influx of bad dystopian these past few years. This novel is not one of them. Jameson has created a well-thought-out novel and it has clear characters and a structure that works really well with the developing plot. The formatting of the diary as the main way of understanding the story and this mystery is at the heart of it works really well. The story is quick paced and the suspense is paced really well and there were several moments where i needed to know what happened next.

NetGalley Book!
Warning- Contains Dead Children, Rape, Violence, Drugs, Death etc

The Last, May be the longest book I’ve read in a while and that’s why it took me weeks.

The Last is the survival story of a man called Jon who goes to a business conference in a remote Scandinavian location. While he’s there the World ends as they know it. This is their survival story!

I was lucky enough to get approved for the Last on Netgalley and I’m so glad I did. I really enjoyed the settings and characters were well developed. Is definitely a adult orientated novel. I would not recommend this book for under 16s.
The Last definitely deserves a place on your tbr and it’s not very often I say that about thrillers.

I give The Last a whole five stars for the writing and character development as well as the interesting settings and riveting plot line with a massive plot twist at the end.

The Last will stay with me a while!

Thanks for reading this review everyone and please like.

Who can you trust at the end of the world when only strangers are left?
Washington was first hit followed by city after city around the world. With details remaining scarce nobody in the Hotel Sixième knew what or who was left. I absolutely love apocalyptic storytelling. When modern man is stripped of the comforts of modern day life. Internet , phones, electricity and even basic medical care. Add to that the break down of established rules and you have a recipe for survival or failure. With failure meaning death.
The last follows the 20 or so survivors as they stay inside the Swiss hotel they were staying in when nuclear war happened. Written in the style of a diary as historian Jon Keller determines to leave a written record of their survival for whoever might find it in the future. Things are then complicated by the discovery of a dead body in the hotel and Jon determines to find out if the killer has stayed in the hotel with everyone else.
The diary format is a nice change with the character directly addressing the future reader simulating a breaking of the fourth wall without any real breakage. The story flows well with the backgrounds of different characters revealed as Jon gets to know the people he has survived the apocalypse with, enough is discovered for mysteries to be uncovered as time passes.
I really enjoyed this book, being drawn back to it at every opportunity to find out what happened next. From reading during my break at work to popping into the corner of the storeroom just to read an extra page or two to find out what was going to happen next.
Definitely a must buy when this book is released and if I see it in the book aisle at work will definitely recommend it to customers.

The Last by Hanna Jameson is due for release on January 31st 2019 and would definitely recommend this to any fan of the end times.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for the purpose of providing a review.

Thanks to the publishers for this ARC of The Last.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself thinking on numerous occassion "what If"
The story is set in a post nuclear war world where bombs have been dropped over the main countries of the world and focuses on a hotel in the country where there are survivors who are obviously cut off from the rest of whats left of the world and its population.
Set against this background the survivors discover the body of a young girl who has been murdered pre nuclear holocoust and the main character Jon Keller sets out to investigate.
Look forward to future publications from this author