I do like a post-apocalyptic story and this is a good one. Jon Keller is at a conference in a remote Switzerland hotel when the world end. The story is about what happens next. There's a sub-plot about the body of a young girl they find and this helps move the story along but, for me, the main plot line is survival and relationships with strangers during traumatic times. It reminded me of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

The Last is a curious genre-spanning novel which works surprisingly well. Guests and staff at a remote Swiss hotel are blindsided by the news of nuclear strikes on Washington and London, and those who don’t immediately flee decide that they’re safer staying where they are, away from population centres that may also be targeted. In their investigation of the hotel, they find the body of a little girl, and come to the realisation that the murderer may still be among them.

The story unfolds in the form of the chronicles of Jon Keller, an American historian, but his subjective point of view in no way spares his own flaws. As forms of communication fall away, the sanctuary of the hotel becomes increasingly claustrophobic, and paranoia begins to set in. Can Jon trust his fellow residents, and can they trust him? Do societal morals and laws from before the apocalypse still apply? Who gets to decide, and who gets to enforce them?

Set in a political atmosphere very similar to our current world, The Last is an enthralling combination of social commentary, dystopian thriller, and murder mystery, which I very much enjoyed.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The opening of this book was important to get right and it was perfectly done, drawing us into the scenario, making us find out the situation as the lead character did. It was realistic enough not to try and tie up everyone's loose ends and balanced to leave a lot of reveal until the final sections.

A murder mystery set just after the end of the world as we know it. When a nuclear war devastates the planet a group of survivors are left in an isolated hotel in Switzerland struggling to survive. When a professor, Jon Keller, who had been at a conference at the hotel, discovers the body of a young child he embarks on his own investigation of what happened.
The hotel is a big, lonely place in the middle of nowhere – think The Shining, with a few more people and intense isolation. There is no hope for outside assistance and Jon must conduct his investigation without access to any modern methods of investigation or technology. The real question is whether the murderer is still there and this paranoia infests the hotel.
This book keeps you guessing and is quite a page turner. It also looks at what happens to people when society breaks down. A good read.

This dystopian psychological thriller follows an American academic stranded at a Swiss hotel as the world descends into nuclear war. Jon Keller along with twenty other survivors, he becomes obsessed with identifying a murderer in their midst after the body of a young girl is discovered in one of the hotel’s water tanks.

This was an unsettling read, especially because it felt so plausible based on current events. That said, it was also a gripping, fast paced dystopian thriller with a side dish of murder mystery. What really worked is the focus of the murder in the backdrop of the end of the world. People are thrust together, they don’t know each other, they don’t trust each other, there’s no access to police or authority, they make their own authority. And this changes people’s reactions to the murder. A lot of people aren’t talking about it, aren’t bothered about it, they’ve got bigger things on their mind.

It Starts with Jon is waiting in the lobby of the L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland after an academic conference, he receives a string of horrifying notifications. Washington, DC has been hit with a nuclear bomb, then New York, then London, and finally Berlin. That’s all he knows before news outlets and social media goes black, and before the clouds on the horizon turn orange.

Now, two months later, there are twenty survivors holed up at the hotel, a place already tainted by its strange history of suicides and murders. Those who can’t bear to stay commit suicide or wander off into the woods. Jon and the others try to maintain some semblance of civilisation.

As supplies dwindle and tensions rise, Jon becomes obsessed with investigating the death of the little girl. Yet the real question remains: can he afford to lose his mind in this hotel, or should he take his chances in the outside world?

My only gripe with this book is the fact that we were never informed of how the nuclear attacks came about, who were the perpetrators and why? It was, however in my view an accurate portrayal of how people would behave in a situation like this and was also a chilling reminder of how easily this terrifying event could become a reality!

To sum up, its Stephen King meets Agatha Christie in this fantastic and highly original Novel. I Would recommend this book to anyone who isn't looking for gung-ho heroes but everyday ordinary you and me heroes doing their best with what and who they are. Staying away for conferences is bad enough, even worse when the nuclear apocalypse occurs during your breakfast.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for an advance copy in return for a fair and honest review.

This book is due to be published in January 2019

'Had me hooked and terrified, and delighted at its originality. So topical that it blurs all normal genre lines, and very scary because of that. In the words of a certain US president, 'it's gonna be yuuuge'.

Came for the cover. Stayed for the story. This striking cover and tag line - One hotel. Twenty survivors drew me in. And I'm so glad because this is my kind of book and up there with my favourites I've read this year. There is a lot going on in this book. Nuclear war, murder, mystery. We follow Jon Keller, an American stuck in a Swiss hotel when the end of the world beckons. Or does it? It is told in real time in the form of Jon's diary over 70 plus days, as he wants to record what is happening to him and his fellow survivors as they decide what the best course of action is. Imagine an uncertain world without internet and rolling 24 hour news.

I love books set in hotels because you get such a great range of characters. People who wouldn't normally interact with each other all under one roof. So is there anything better than an end of the world story in a hotel? This book is full of paranoia, creepy undertones and black humour. Who can you trust? It is also filled with interesting characters. Even the one I didn't like in the beginning (Tomi) I ended up loving. Thank you Netgalley for a preview of this 5 star book - out 31st Jan 2019.

What happens when the world ends?

Not in the big cities where the bombs have dropped. Not Washington or Glasgow which have been nuked out of existence. But what happens to a small group of people trapped in a hotel in the middle of nowhere as they struggle to come to terms with everyone they’ve ever known dying.

This is a seriously unexpected book which is part dystopian future, part murder mystery, full of tension and incredibly gripping.

(Thanks to the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

WHAT A THRILL. This book is thought-provoking but mostly it's just a very exciting read which I greatly enjoyed. Would recommend!

Jon Keller has travelled from his home in the US, and is staying in an isolated hotel set amongst the lush green forests of Switzerland whilst attending a work conference. His morning begins as normal in the hotel’s dining room, until news starts to filter in from around the world of nuclear attacks on major cities, indeed the whole of Scotland appears to have been obliterated! As expected, people start to panic, with many abandoning the hotel and heading for the nearest airport and railway stations - however, travel, and life in general will never be the same again for those who survive these attacks, and the quest to reach airports or other forms of transportation is futile!

Initially the first thing to be lost is communication, notably the internet, so after initial news reports, there is no information for quite some time.

The story follows Jon’s attempts to describe what happens to the twenty hotel guests who decided to stay. Switzerland appears to have escaped direct attacks, but unless they leave the hotel, they’ll never know to what extent they’re safe (or not) He documents the daily events in the wake of the nuclear apocalypse, together with his investigation into the murder of a young girl who was discovered in the hotel’s water tanks.

This was an intriguing scenario, and the author’s idea to isolate the hotel’s survivors from the chaos and devastation elsewhere, served her well up to a point, as it created some tension within the claustrophobic confines of the hotel and forest. There’s something quite unnerving about a large hotel being relatively empty, spooky to say the least, and there had already been talk of the hotel being haunted, but for me there was some relief when eventually, using one of the few cars left at the hotel, some of them decide to venture to the nearest town in search of food. I personally, was longing to know whether there were any more survivors and if so how this would affect the dynamics of their situation.

Jon was a somewhat unreliable narrator, and not particularly likeable either. I did really enjoy the story in parts, but felt frustrated by the ending, and also by the fact that we were never informed of how the nuclear attacks came about- who were the perpetrators and why? It was, however, an accurate portrayal of how people would behave in a situation like this, and was also a chilling reminder of how easily this terrifying event could become a reality!

* Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin books UK - Viking for my Arc in exchange for an honest unbiased review *

A captivating book, the 'murder mystery' really being almost a digression from the main point of the story being global nuclear war and its immediate aftermath seen through the eyes of one ordinary man and a small group of fellow residents in a Swiss Hotel. I see other reviewers have commented that Jon is not altogether likeable, but I have to disagree; what I like about him is in fact the very ordinariness and honesty with which he is portrayed - just an 'everyday ordinary person' like you or me finding himself in an extraordinary situation, trying to make the best of it and, despite flaws and failures, trying also to do the right thing. It is that which makes the story thought-provoking and real, as opposed to some of the post-apocalyptic scenarios that so often seem to depict the extremes of humanity where you either get your unrealistic superheroes or alternatively the whole of humankind sinking to unspeakable levels of desperation and lack of concern for others. I suspect neither will be the case if and when such an event ever happens in real life; rather, we will see the whole gamut of reactions, and such is the case in this book. Despite the occasional escape into taking drugs and the occasional (reluctant) foray into violent confrontation, a pivotal realisation for Jon is: The only thing left that might matter, that might keep us motivated to get up in the morning - was in the mall acts of human kindness we showed each other, and in my compulsion to be helpful, useful, to keep tings moving forwards, I've mostly forgotten to be kind." I believe Jon's realisation and the story behind it is thought-provoking for many of us in our own situations today, let alone in the extreme situation in the book.

Well done to the author for keeping feet on the ground. I did find the final pages a bit unsatisfactory but in all honesty only because I felt I had become involved in the characters and wanted to know what happened to them from there on ... which is actually a tribute to the author.

Would definitely recommend this book to anyone who isn't looking for gung-ho heroes but actually everyday-ordinary-you-and-me heros doing their best with what and who they are. Yes, there is some of the expected post-anarchic violence and decay you might expect, but it's by no means ubiquitous and more than anything, I think this story gives hope. There's also plenty of a 'thriller'-type flavour to much of the book, and I found it hard to put down, desperate to see what happened next.

A great read and definitely one I'll be keeping on my bookshelf.

* ACTUAL RATING 3.5 / 5 *

How can I best summarise "The Last" - An apocalyptic vision? A murder mystery? A journal that follows the questionable reactions of an assorted group of survivors after anything and anyone familiar doesn’t exist anymore? For a small band of folk facing the bleakest future imaginable with only each other for company it’s all this and more.

Through sporadic media channels the impact of a global nuclear attack filters through the group like a collective punch to their hearts and sanity. Some elect to take sanctuary in their hotel located within the scenic Swiss wilderness. Yet their once idyllic location is now terrifyingly in the middle-of-nowhere causing its residents to reflect on the building’s enigmatic allure and their own mortality.

As I’d hoped for (and savoured), it doesn’t take long for conventional pragmatism, conduct and morals to leave the building – not everyone is born with natural survival skills and they require leadership, even though their own ability to follow is flawed. In the middle of these personal battles, a few of their dwindling numbers chip away at an abominable situation in an attempt to carve something positive out of their existence.

At other times I wasn’t overly impressed by their underwhelming assertiveness, especially when they engaged in aimless activities. But to my relief every decision is marred by fear and uncertainty, which is a customary emotional response during an apocalypse if only to prove whether chinks of light are still capable of shining through of the cracks in civilisation.

I really enjoyed this one. Dystopian, post-apocalyptic fiction is one of my favourite genres, and The Last adds an extra layer - not just the murder mystery, but also the unreliable narrator. The Last is dark and engaging, full of twists, making you wonder what you should believe.

Originally posted to www.katiealexandrablog.wordpress.com
The Last follows Jon, an American historian and professor who is in Zurich for a conference when nuclear war breaks out, leaving him stranded and wiping out most of the major cities around the world. The hotel slowly empties around him as people leave for the city and airports, but even if planes are still operating, he doesn't know if he's got a home to go to. The Internet is down, help is evidently not coming, as tensions are raised when the body of a young girl is found murdered.

First off, I love the cover for this. It's so simplistic and minimalistic, but the bright screams danger and blood at you, while the image of the hotel makes me think of The Grand Budapest Hotel (why? Idk, that's not really relevant here) but also of The Shining by Stephen King - which is actually one of the comparisons this book has drawn. 

'STEPHEN KING MEETS AGATHA CHRISTIE IN THIS FANTASTIC AND HIGHLY ORIGINAL NOVEL ... I LOVED EVERY SECOND ... THIS IS THE BOOK OF 2019' LUCA VESTE (Quote taken from Goodreads blurb of The Last.)

Two very big names there, but I think it's worth those comparisons. The hotel setting is spooky and unfamiliar, and after all, these are all strangers. Who can you really trust?

The pacing at the start is very fast - I'd only been reading a few minutes and already we were on Day 18. But this isn't a bad thing. The premise of the book is that Jon, the protagonist, is putting his skills to work and recording the events as they happen after the nuclear fallout, with the idea that one day they might be used as historical document. When the bombs first fall, it's unlikely that that would be your first thought - survival would kick in, you'd be trying to make sense of the situation, you'd be in shock. But as time passes, Jon sets up a steady routine of documenting the days that pass. But what this does is thrust you into the story. You're not sat around waiting for news, waiting for the broadcasters to go off air, to lose the internet on your phone, as a lot of the characters were doing. You only get the action. And it's a great, very strong start to the story.

I also loved the use of social media. Of course your first point of call would be to check Facebook, see who's tweeting what, and without the ability to do that on your phone, you'd be at a loss. 

However, The Last is set back from all the action - the action of the nuclear strikes anyway. One of the only way they can know what is happening is through social media. I appreciated this perspective - the end of the world told from the (somewhat) comfort of a hotel in the middle of Switzerland. It's not a point of view you see very often. What really worked is the focus of the murder in the backdrop of the end of the world. People are thrust together, they don't know each other, they don't trust each other, there's no access to police or authority, they make their own authority. And this changes people's reactions to the murder. A lot of people aren't talking about it, aren't bothered about it, they've got bigger things on their mind. But for those involved it changes their mindset. Some are already living in 'the wild' - lawless and without consequence. Some are trying to keep things normal. You can't say that this is a story of two halves - the nuclear attacks and then the murder - because they are so intertwined. Yes, the discovery of a murdered body has no effect on the end of the world, but the end of the world changes so much about the murder investigation that Jon starts. 

I've read some reviews that have said something along the lines of 'in an end of the world situation, finding a body wouldn't be that great a deal.' But I disagree. Sure, it would make sense to try and put a time of death into the mix - is it relevant? But if you were living in such close quarters with strangers and you think one of them in a murderer? That would be pretty damn high on my list of things to worry about it. 

Jameson uses the hotel to the advantage of her cast too - what do you get in hotels? People! From all around the world! There was a diverse mix of races which I felt a lot of authors would, and have, just glossed over and kept everybody white.

However, it was still a male heavy cast. Tomi and Tania are two great female characters, but in the main group of those that become the decision makers, and those that do the 'brave' (and what I think is often seen of as manly task) of going on hunts/runs to find food, that was overwhelmingly male - Jon, Dylan, Nathan, Rob, Arran. It would have been nice if we could have seen something that we don't in 99.9999999999999% of other disaster films/novels/TV.

Having said that, there were some amazing topics touched on. Rape, and whether to believe the victim or the accused. Politics, and the decisions of governments and disagreements between those who voted for different parties. Morals, death penalties versus exile, and a whole host of more ethical questions. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't blown away by the writing style or the voice of the book. I don't know if it was the authors writing style (I've never read anything else by her) or if it was intentional. Jon after all is trying to write something that could be a historical document. But this is where it fell flat for me.

Overall though, I did really enjoy reading The Last and will definitely be checking out what else Hanna Jameson has written. 

Do I recommend this book? Uh, yeah! I rated this 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads - which you can see here!

Part mystery, part thriller, part post-apocalyptic account, The Last is a consuming, pacey account of one man trying to maintain a sense of humanity after the world has gone to hell.

Set in a remote hotel in Switzerland, Jon Keller survives the nuclear war that obliterates the vast majority of the world. Trapped with strangers, he discovers the body of a child and sets about hunting for her murderer., who he believes is in the hotel with them.

I finished this in 24 hours, repeatedly sucked back into the world, despite the fact the narrator wasn't easy to get along. It's hard to empathise with a man who in one breath is lamenting the whereabouts of his wife and children, and then in the next is trying crystal meth and sleeping with the only other American there - a "hot blonde" we're led to believe voted for A Bad President who kicked off the nuclear war, through words, if not deeds. That said, the story spun out well, although I did find the ending rushed and unsatisfying - more set up was needed for the revelation, and less red herrings on the way would have made it punchier and more shocking.

We read apocalypse books to see the day to day of survival, and this book was incredible at that - strongest at the small moments involving food, children, and basic human interaction. I enjoyed it.

[Review to appear on PopCultureBandit.com closer to release date]

Set in the wake of a nuclear attack on the White House and other key countries around the world, there is an unnerving plausibility to the post-apocalyptic setting of Hanna Jameson’s latest novel, “The Last”. While he is never explicitly mentioned by name, it is clear that this is a post-Trump world – one perhaps where he took things a tweet too far. With her cast of survivors distanced from the devastation in a Swiss hotel in the middle of the forest, they follow the updates through social media – a chilling premonition of how most of us would discover the news of a nuclear attack. Isolating her protagonists from civilisation allows Jameson to heighten the tension, creating an eerie backdrop for her Lord of the Flies-eque examination of post-nuclear survival.

Written as an epistolary novel, told through diary entries, The Last feels reminiscent of World War Z as Jameson’s protagonist Jon Keller attempts to document his investigation into the murder of a young girl against this dystopian backdrop. It creates a greater sense of tension as the story is recorded on a daily basis and the narrator only has knowledge of that past day – creating uncertainty of the future which comes into play midway through the novel where paranoia creeps in and the reader is forced to determine whether Jon is a reliable narrator, or not. The murder mystery angle of the novel provides a fresh take on the typical post-apocalyptic story, and acts as a source of tension as Jon investigates his fellow survivors.

Setting the majority of the novel within an abandoned hotel creates an unsettling tone, turning a place that is typically full of life and activity into a silent, derelict area. Cut off from the world in a remote hotel, “The Last” naturally invites comparisons to “The Shining” and it certainly plays into those similarities at times, hinting at supernatural activities and a history of violence behind the inoffensive décor of the hotel. It is an evocative location as the reader can relate to that disconcerting feeling of being stranded and forced to stay in a hotel longer than anticipated.

While most people equate post-apocalyptic fiction with action, “The Last” instead focuses on the relationships between its survivors, dwelling on the tension and gritty realism of its scenario as conflict arises amongst the group. This isn’t Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome – there is a bland normality to Jameson’s end of the world that makes it seem all the more real and frightening. The mysteries at the heart of the novel are extremely compelling, but ultimately the final reveal was somewhat lacking – with little explanation given, and it felt like it deserved more space dedicated to that particular section. Jameson flirts with supernatural themes in the book, but leaves things ambiguous towards the end, which felt more frustrating than thought-provoking.

Where Jameson really succeeds is in establishing tone, through her strong characterisation of her protagonist and his attempts to come to terms with what he has lost, and his need for a project to keep his mind occupied. With the popularity of TV shows such as The Walking Dead, The Last Man on Earth and The 100, it is difficult for a post-apocalyptic story to carve a unique identity for itself, but “The Last” manages to stand out from the crowd – both through its eclectic mix of genres and its fresh approach to clichés. For example, the supply run into the local supermarket is handled perfectly and feels fresh and exciting as opposed to retreading familiar ground. By sparingly making use of violence, those moments when it occurs are far more dramatic and traumatising – again, distinguishing the novel from others in the same genre.

Painfully realistic and chilling to the bone, “The Last” is a curious blend of dystopian fiction and murder mystery, riffing on the works of authors as diverse as Stephen King, Agatha Christie and Max Brooks. Readers wanting a fresh approach to post-apocalyptic fiction should definitely check out this novel for a terrifying glimpse into a possible future that lies just one bad tweet away!

The Last by Hanna Jameson is narrated by Jon, a variably likeable character who seems weirdly dispassionate in the face of such horrors. As his story unfolds we learn that it’s just his way of coping, but it does jar. I finished the book massively frustrated by the conclusion - the little girl’s murder was neatly tied up with the introduction of a new character, and we still didn’t know why the world was under a nuclear attack, or who had perpetrated it. An easy book to get lost in, The Last was thought provoking but superficial at times, but potentially realistic in terms of the hotel’s guests’ fears not being realised, and peripheral stories not being developed. A book that I would recommend, but with some reservations.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. When reading you can't help but make comparisons to other stories and this one to me, felt like a Station Eleven/Lord of the Flies hybrid, which is no bad thing.

This story follows an unreliable and, at some points, unlikable narrator describing the events following a nuclear apocalypse. Survivors are holed up in a grand hotel and all i swell, until someone is murdered.

This book was tense and enthralling however i felt slightly let down by the ending.
All in all a good addition to the genre.

Dystopian present/future? Check.
Modern take on the 'country house murder mystery' genre? Check.
Conflicted narrator? Check.

The Last by Hanna Jameson is a fast-moving, yet thought-provoking, exploration of what happens when a set of strangers thrown together by chance have to cope with a catastrophic world event. Far from family and friends, with no access to the internet or any form of news, limited supplies, and the constant threat of looters and raiders, the guests at L'Hotel Sixieme support each other, turn on each other, prey on each other but ultimately come to rely on each other in their new post-nuclear world.

The restricted setting of the hotel and grounds for the majority of the novel creates a suffocating, sometimes threatening environment, and cranks up the tension as Jon Keller, the main protagonist, insists on investigating the murder of the dead child found on the premises in the days after the nuclear bombs hit the US and Europe. Any more detail will entail spoilers so I won't say any more except that I really enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend.

Jon is away from his family and friends at a convention in Switzerland. When nuclear bombs start going off around the world, he seems to be in a tiny safe haven. A hotel out of the blast zones, with enough resources for the remaining residents to survive for months at least. There's just one small snag. Soon after the explosions, he finds a body in a water tank. The body of a young girl. Investigations suggest that she died right around the time of the explosions... but in the panic, who would kill a girl? And why?

There's lots to love about The Last. The narrative style is great, with the fast paced diary entries giving you a real insight into Jon's personality. It allows secrets to be kept from the reader, so that the puzzle pieces of Jon's life are revealed slowly rather than all at once. The relationships between Jon and the other residents of the hotel were also amazing. Scenes where he and some of his new friends relaxed, both in one of their rooms and on the roof, were beautiful and really added some happiness to a book that so easily could have been overly grim. Characters like Tomi and Dylan were fascinating too, as there was always the sense that there was something lurking beneath the surface.

The ethical questions that characters raised were also fascinating. How would you react at the end of the world if someone did something terrible? What is the appropriate punishment when the people are judge and jury? I also really enjoyed the descriptions of the reality of life post-apocalypse. There were adventures relating to food (and horrible suggestions about what some people nearby might be eating...), realistic depictions of medical care, and depictions of panic that felt real.
There are so many different ways that people could react to the end of life as we know it. Jameson's characters show us that there is no one right way to react to disaster and that ultimately, in the face of horrors beyond our imagination, the only way to survive is together.

While I loved the characters and hearing about Jon's journey, some aspects of the book were a little disappointing. It felt like questions that felt so important at the beginning of the book were either left unanswered or hurriedly tied up towards the end. The mystery of the little girl, which had seemed so central at the beginning, is solved relatively quickly. Being honest, I'm not sure how much it added to the book at all in the end. Jon's personal journey was intriguing enough on its own, without murder. References to paranormal activity are very interesting, but could have perhaps been taken a little further. At one stage a character hypothesises that they are all already dead and this could potentially be the afterlife, a place like purgatory perhaps. I found that idea fascinating and would have perhaps liked further exploration of that idea. Questions are raised about the lifestyle of those in a town Jon finds, but these are never really answered. I'm also not really sure how I feel about the slight heavy-handedness regarding who was responsible for the nuclear disaster, as the discussion on what seemed to be our own political world took me out of the story a little bit.

The Last has a great premise and characters, but for me aspects of the plot sadly detracted from its true potential.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Books, Viking and Hanna Jameson for the opportunity to read The Last!
3.5/5