The Last by Hanna Jameson – Book Review

The Last by Hanna Jameson – Book Review

The Last by Hanna Jameson

The Last

Author – Hanna Jameson
Publisher – Viking
Pages – 400
Released – 24th January 2019
ISBN-13 – 978-0241349175
Format – ebook, hardcover, audio
Reviewer – Cara
Rating – 3.5 Stars
I received a free copy of this book.
This post contains affiliate links.

 

BREAKING: Nuclear weapon detonates over Washington

Historian Jon Keller is on a trip to Switzerland when the world ends. As the lights go out on civilisation, he wishes he had a way of knowing whether his wife, Nadia, and their two daughters are still alive. More than anything, Jon wishes he hadn’t ignored Nadia’s last message.

Twenty people remain in Jon’s hotel. Far from the nearest city and walled in by towering trees, they wait, they survive.

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?

Review new 2021

Staying at L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland, having attended a conference, Jon wakes up one morning to find he has survived the end of the world; major countries and cities throughout have been victim to nuclear attacks. Stranded in the hotel with fear of what might await him outside, Jon starts to document the present events in the hope this will one day be read if they are rescued. A few days after the attacks, Jon finds the body of a young girl in one of the hotel’s water tanks and suspects there may be a killer within their group. We follow him as he investigates the death as well as try to outlast the nuclear devastation.

The Last is a day by day account of the happenings in the hotel through the eyes of Jon, our stories main character. There are a mixture of other characters; some quiet; some feisty and some with something to hide.

The way the story is written is clear and detailed and makes you feel like you are part of the journey. Seeing though the main characters eyes, I felt I could connect to him better as he reacted to situations like the majority of us would.

As the book progresses we start to learn the background to each of the survivors in the hopes of finding the young girl’s killer. It is interesting to learn about each character and how different their lives were from each other before the devastation and how they reacted to such events.

The hotel itself has a very similar history to that of the famous Cecil Hotel in America and due to this I sometimes found myself picturing this hotel instead which made it difficult for me to enjoy the location.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the build up was great but I felt like the reveal was rushed. I did not find myself with any unanswered questions but when reading, I felt like a lot of information had been thrown at me in one go, just to round off the story. This does not mean I would not like to read more of the authors books, the overall story was interesting and entertaining but due to the reveal I give the story 3.5 out of 5.

Reviewed by Cara


Purchase online from:

Amazon.co.ukAmazon.com


About the Author

Hanna Jameson

Hanna Jameson’s fourth novel, part murder mystery and part post-apocalyptic thriller – THE LAST – is out early 2019, with Viking UK and Simon & Schuster – Atria Books US. The Last is the story of an American academic searching for the truth about a girl who has been murdered in his Swiss hotel in the aftermath of a nuclear war that has destroyed most of the Western world.

Jameson had written the first draft of her debut, award-nominated novel – SOMETHING YOU ARE – at just seventeen. Something You Are and two further novels in the series – GIRL SEVEN and ROAD KILL – are available now in the UK, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands.

She lives in London currently, and is working on screenwriting projects. She likes whiskey, history, and emotionally taxing TV shows.


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22 Responses

  1. Emma Mane says:

    This is a book for me. Will purchase at the end of the month. Thanks for the review.

  2. Fizah Saeed says:

    Cover and story looks interesting 🙂

  3. jennifer gaarder says:

    Definitely my type of book. I will look for this at my library.

  4. Jo Linsdell says:

    This one sounds interesting. I love this type if book. Great review. Will check it out.

  5. DJ Sakata says:

    I like the sound of it, but too bad the ending didn’t fully satisfy

  6. Gemma says:

    This sounds interesting but I understand what you mean about too much information.
    Gemma @ http://www.gemmasbooknook.blogspot.com

  7. Kathy says:

    Sounds interesting

  8. Stormi says:

    This one definitely sounds interesting. I’m always disappointed when a good story has a rushed ending. Hopefully your next read is 5 star worthy.

  9. Karina says:

    This sounds exciting and something I would read. It’s just sad that it’s only 3.5/5 though.

  10. Melissa's fandom world says:

    I love this type of book but don’t read them often enough. This one is definitely on my radar now. Thanks for sharing!

  11. Fantastic, I hope you enjoy it.

  12. Fantastic, I hope you enjoy it.

  13. Thank you. I hope you get to read it and enjoy it too.

  14. Just felt a little rushed.

  15. Thank you. We’ve had a few five star reads since.

  16. I would still read it, you may enjoy the fast ending.

  17. You’re very welcome.

  18. Megan | Ginger Mom and Company says:

    Not entirely sure this one would hold my attention but it sounds like you enjoyed it 🙂 Great review!