REVIEW: The Last

The Last
Author: Hanna Jameson

Jon had a fight with his wife and left for a conference in Switzerland, frustrated and angry. He thought he had all the time in the world to fix his relationship with his kids and his wife. But, widespread nuclear attacks destroy modern society and he's left stranded with a small group of survivors at a remote Swiss hotel. Not only do they have to worry about radiation, dwindling food and supplies, and other survivors....but they find a child's body floating in one of the hotel's water tanks. It's the end of the world as they know it....20 people holed up in a deserted hotel.....possibly with a murderer. And Jon has no idea if his wife and kids are even still alive.

Yikes!

I enjoyed this story. The plot has a lot going on....a murder investigation, the fight to survive, personality conflicts. It definitely kept my attention from start to finish. The ending was a little bit strange....but after I thought about it, I think it is a fitting and realistic end. I like books that make me think about how I would react to similar circumstances. Jon and the other survivors had to make some rough life and death decisions. I'm not sure I would make the same ones, but I can understand their reactions to things like a rapist, going on supply runs and how to handle a murder investigation in the middle of extreme chaos. I'm not sure what I would do if I were away from my family when a society-ending event occurred. Would I try to get back home and hope they survived? Would I stay where I was and always wonder what happened to them? I hope I never have to face anything like Jon went through in this book.

All in all, a great book. I've read a lot of end-of-the-world disaster stories, but this one was different and creative. It didn't just focus on the disaster and the struggle to survive, but also touched on how the situation would change everything -- relationships, acceptable behavior, morals, etc. The story really got me thinking about how a world-level cataclysmic event would change life as I know it completely. I love it when a book gets me thinking big thoughts. This one definitely did! Full stars from me!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**