Thanks Netgalley and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.  I really enjoyed it. a great original story. It was quite unsettling read, especially because it felt as if something like  this really could happen based on current events. It was also an exciting, fast paced dystopian thriller with a hint of whodunnit  murder mystery and a real page turner. 
Jon Keller is at a hotel in Switzerland when Nuclear war happens across the globe and the world ends.  As far as he knows the only survivors are the 20 guests and staff staying in the hotel.  Could his wife and daughters still be alive?  Jon wishes he hadn't ignored Nadia's last message. Then one day, the body of a young girl is found. It's clear she has been murdered. Which means that someone in the hotel is a killer. As paranoia descends, Jon decides to investigate. But how far is he willing to go in pursuit of justice? And what kind of justice can he hope for, when society as he knows it no longer exists?
A really exciting read and I'll definitely read Hanna's other books an hope they are all as good as this one.

This is not my usual type of book but soon got involved with Jon's account of what happened. He is one of twenty survivors in a hotel after several countries were innahilated. Were there any other countries that weren't hit, is his  family still even alive. Tryng to find food and safe clean water is hard. Other people out there are also in the same predicament and that makes people desperate and dangerous. It ticks all the boxes for me and would read it again. The outcome was not expected but you could draw your own conclusion.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Books, and the author Hanna Jameson. 
This is a pretty standard ‘end of the world’ novel, and it was an enjoyable, gripping read. I finished it in a few days, and the author was particularly good at communicating the hopelessness, fear, and paranoia that are the key themes of this book. The main character Jon, however, isn’t a particularly likeable or reliable narrator, and there are some elements that don’t feel fully fleshed out and developed. The ending also felt a little rushed and unsatisfactory. 
Nothing ground-breaking, but an easy, thrilling story. Would recommend for a holiday read!

Sadly I just couldn't get into this and stopped reading at around 30%. It was well written but maybe just wasn't for me.

NB: ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Someone else fed back that they liked the story, just wished it was told by someone else, and I completely agree with that. Jon was by far the least interesting character in the book, and attempts to establish him as unreliable or flawed fell a bit flat. I felt that the concept was great, and the book was really pacey and readable, but it didn't wow me in the way I hoped, and the ending felt rushed - in particular the resolution of the key mystery, which was disappointing. Overall, a bit forgettable I'm afraid.

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.

the story was fun to read but it dragged on in some areas. there was a bit of action but i wanted more and i wished the other characters were more involved in the story.

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.