The Last

Picked up this post-apocalyptic thriller, The Last: A Novel by Hannah Jameson.

Goodreads Stats

Why I Read This Book/How I Heard About It

This must have been on the Books About Hotels and Travel list because I think I've read about three hotel books in a row now! I don't know why, but I do love books set in hotels. Come to think of it, I also love hotels.

Goodreads Summary

Jon thought he had all the time in the world to respond to his wife’s text message: I miss you so much. I feel bad about how we left it. Love you. But as he’s waiting in the lobby of the L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland after an academic conference, still mulling over how to respond to his wife, he receives a string of horrifying push 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 civilization. But when the water pressure disappears, and Jon and a crew of survivors investigate the hotel’s water tanks, they are shocked to discover the body of a young girl.

As supplies dwindle and tensions rise, Jon becomes obsessed with investigating the death of the little girl as a way to cling to his own humanity. 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?

First Impressions

This book begins with Washington DC getting hit with a nuclear bomb and the US government annihilated. Then, several other major cities across the globe are hit with nuclear attacks. The people in a hotel in Switzerland are so far from any big cities, they survive, believing they are possibly the only humans left on earth.

The shocking beginning reminds me a little of the first few minutes of the first episode of American Horror Story: Apocalypse, where everyone's phones suddenly alert them to an incoming attack. I've always thought that was one of the most riveting beginnings to a show I've ever seen.

And, yesterday, when our phones all went berserk warning us to take shelter due to incoming tornadoes in our county, the horrible squealing emergency tone was eerie, seeing as I was in the middle of this book at the time. Can you even imagine???

Final Thoughts

The story is intriguing and the cast of characters is well thought out and slowly developed. In the audiobook version, the narrator is excellent at multiple accents, as the inhabitants of the hotel are from all different countries and it's easy to recognize which character is speaking, based on the voice and accent.

The author also adds an element of mystery, wherein the main character and reader are attempting to solve a murder that has occurred in the hotel - a little girl, killed and left in a water tank on the hotel's roof. So, aside from the general horror of the end of the world, there is added fear that there may be nefarious people within the group. And trusting your small group (new civilization) in nuclear war time is pretty important if you all want to survive.

It's a great story. Well worth a read, especially if you are fascinated with end times lore and like to solve puzzles as you read.

Rating on Goodreads

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.

My rating method:

• I rarely rate books 5 stars. I save this for the absolute best books I've read. You know the ones...the ones that you can't get out of your head, even after you've finished them. The ones you think about for weeks afterwards.

• If a book is really, really good, I'll give it 4 stars. If you see a 4-star rating from me, I'd definitely recommend it to you to read.

• If it's just OK, it gets 3 stars. Basically, it means I could take it or leave it. I'd probably read it again because it wasn't terrible. But not like a favorite or anything.

• If I rate it 1 or 2 stars, I would not recommend anyone read it. It either didn't hold my interest or I couldn't relate to the characters/plot.