The last A novel

Hanna Jameson

Book - 2019

For fans of high-concept thrillers such as Annihilation and The Girl with All the Gifts , this breathtaking dystopian psychological thriller follows an American academic stranded at a Swiss hotel as the world descends into nuclear war--along with twenty other survivors--who becomes obsessed with identifying a murderer in their midst after the body of a young girl is discovered in one of the hotel's water tanks. 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?

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Subjects
Genres
Thrillers (Fiction)
Suspense fiction
Published
New York : Atria Books 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Hanna Jameson (author)
Edition
First Atria Books Hardcover edition
Physical Description
339 pages ; 24 cm
ISBN
9781501198823
9781501198830
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Historian Jon Keller, the narrator of this engrossing postapocalyptic psychological thriller from British author Jameson (Something You Are), and a small group of others have decided to stay in place at L'Hotel SixiA"me, a Swiss hotel in "the middle of nowhere," in response to reports of nuclear attacks devastating major cities in the U.S. and Europe. They have been surviving for nearly two months on the supplies left in the hotel when a young girl's body turns up in a drinking water tank. Jon feels compelled to ferret out the killer while also documenting life in the hotel, processing the likely death of his family, and maintaining the alliances that will keep him sane and alive. The dialogue-heavy writing focuses as much on social interactions as on Jon's mental state. Jameson asks powerful questions about fear, community, and self-interest while exploring human interactions that range wildly from the tender to the brutal to the purely mercenary. She succeeds in evoking a palpable, immanent sense of tension in a story that's equal parts drama and locked-room murder mystery. Agent: Alexandra Cliff, Peters, Fraser & Dunlop (U.K.). (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

When nuclear war devastates major cities and nations, historian Jon Keller is attending a conference in Switzerland, far away from his home and estranged family in the States. Although safe, at least temporarily, Jon is anxiously waiting for news/rescue and worrying about the future. He begins documenting his stories and those of other survivors holed up in the L'Hotel Sixième to preserve a record of what has happened to them. When the body of a girl is found in one of the tanks supplying the hotel's water, Jon assumes the mantle of amateur sleuth, attempting to discover her identity and that of her killer, who may still be among them. Meanwhile, threats from the outside-looters and starving brigands-add to the tension. They can't stay at the hotel, but where can they go? VERDICT -Jameson's ("London Underground" mystery series) postapocalyptic tale presents some interesting moral/ethical quandaries, though a lack of specificity and detail occasionally undercut its authenticity as sf. More likely to appeal to readers of the author's -previous works of suspense.-Karin Thogersen, Huntley Area P.L., IL © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A historian documents his strange days hiding out in a Swiss hotel in the aftermath of nuclear war.American historian Jon Keller is at a conference at L'Hotel Sixime outside of Zurich when a nuclear weapon destroys Washington, and more major cities aren't far behind. The president is dead, and millions of others are, too. The horror is almost too much to contemplate. Many people in the hotel flee, but Jon stays and begins to chronicle his days with the small remaining group of guests and staff. He worries about his wife and two daughters back in San Francisco and laments that he didn't leave on the best of terms with his wife. He befriends a few of the guests, most notably the outspoken Tomi, who is the only other American; they have a doctor and plenty of food stores for the time being. Jon makes a record of his experiences in the hotel and collects the stories of his fellow survivors, hoping he can preserve something of what they were before the world went sideways. When Jon and a few others find the body of a little girl in a rooftop water tank, Jon resolves to find her killer. Trusted with a set of master keys, Jon sets about snooping around the enormous hotel. He often feels as if he's being watched, adding a distinct element of creeping dread reminiscent of The Shining. Jameson delivers an eerie and unsettling tale, made even more so by its frequent mundanity. Even with a world in chaos, people still do what they doform alliances, keep secrets, make love. They also go to lengths they never imagined they would. Jameson's premise certainly resonates in our current political climate, and blame for the situation is leveled directly at Tomi because of whom she voted for in the last presidential election even as Jon ruminates that those who voted otherwise (like him) didn't do enough to stop what happened. It makes for propulsive reading, but readers invested in what happened to the little girl in the water tank will find themselves scratching their heads when all is finally revealed in a rather rushed finale.A thoughtful, page turning post-apocalyptic tale marred by a disjointed conclusion. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.