Monday 11 February 2019

The Last by Hanna Jameson

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for The Last by Hanna Jameson. My thanks to the Publishers for the opportunity of taking part.

The cover, blurb and my thoughts.

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From Goodreads

Breaking: Nuclear weapon detonates over Washington

Breaking: London hit, thousands feared dead

Breaking: Munich and Scotland hit. World leaders call for calm

Historian Jon Keller is on a trip to Switzerland when the world ends. As the lights go out on civilization, 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? 

My thoughts

I have to admit that dystopian themed books are a particular favourite of mine, so I was really excited to be sent a copy of this to read in order to be able to take part in the Blog tour.

I enjoyed this well written and thought provoking story. I gave it an 8/10 or 4 stars.

The world as we know it, has changed due to a series of nuclear attacks. As survivors have no way of knowing whether their loved ones are still alive or not, due to the loss of contact as a result of resources such as electricity and other commodities running out slowly and becoming in very short supply. Social media is becoming a thing of the past due to the lack of abundance of electricity.

Jon Keller finds himself one of twenty remaining survivors in a hotel in Switzerland, he'd been staying there while attending a conference. His wife and family are back home in the US, their survival in doubt.

As the remaining group of survivors, live day to day certain decisions need to be made and one day while carrying out some of the duties necessary to preserve what provisions they have left, a body of a young girl is found. Who is she and what has happened to her? It's not long before they realise that someone, is a Killer. As Jon finds himself investigating this murder and piecing together her last days alive. It's not long before the finger is being pointed at several people and paranoia soon sets in as they all try to defend themselves.

At times this was a claustrophobic and dark dystopian read, told in a form of a journal based on Jon's experiences following the nuclear attacks. It sure makes you think how you would cope with the not knowing of what has happened to your loved ones. The reader is soon drawn into the lives of the characters and their current situation leaving you wanting to know who has killed the young girl and whether life will take on any form of normality in the ensuing days.

I would thoroughly recommend this book to others who enjoy thrillers and dystopian reads.

The book is now available from all good book retailers and Amazon.

About the Author (from Goodreads)

Hanna Jameson's fourth novel, part murder mystery and part post-apocalyptic thriller - THE LAST - is available now, 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. 

Three random questions that I asked the Author.

1. Tulips or Daffodils?  Daffodils.

2. When reading for pleasure, what is your go to genre?  Non fiction ~ History.

3. Full English or Cereal for Breakfast?  Neither.

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