The Last by Hanna Jameson

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 352 

Publisher: Penguin 

Released: 31st of January 2019 

BREAKING: Nuclear weapon detonates over Washington

BREAKING: London hit, thousands feared dead.

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

Jon Keller was on a trip to Switzerland when the world ended. More than anything he wishes he hadn't ignored his wife Nadia's last message.

Twenty people remain in Jon's hotel. Far from the nearest city, they wait, they survive.

Then one day, the body of a 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 happens if the killer doesn't want to be found?

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, manslaughter, child murder, politics, animal death

What I Have to Say 

A unique take on an nuclear apocalypse scenario.Jon Keller is historian visiting Switzerland for a conference when the world ends. It made him a really great character to narrate this, because what would a historian do in a case like this other than start writing stuff down to make a record for someone to read in the future? I kind of liked how the other characters saw him as pretentious, but he was just doing whatever he could to cope with a situation that no one should have to go through. 

It raised a lot of questions about where fault lies when something so awful happens. Having the setting in Switzerland made for a cast of several different nationalities and the American characters got some of the brunt of the other's anger. It raised a lot of questions about how much blame is on the voters. Is it fair to blame someone just because they voted for one person or another? I went in with one opinion, but I have to say that I ended up feeling a lot less certain on the subject. It really made me think. 

This really isn't the average post-apocalyptic novel. It was much less action packed and so much more thoughtful. It had a lot to say about humanity and how people react to these sorts of disasters. 

I was gifted this book by Netgalley and Penguin in exchange for an honest review.