The Last House on Needless Street: The Bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick

by Catriona Ward

***ONE OF THE TIMES BEST THRILLER BOOKS OF 2021***
*** THE THRILLING RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK ***
*** THE BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK ***
*** THE TIMES NO.4 BESTSELLER ***

#1 KINDLE BESTSELLER
THE TIMES THRILLER OF THE MONTH
OBSERVER THRILLER OF THE MONTH

''I haven't read anything this exciting since Gone Girl' - STEPHEN KING
'One of the most extraordinary thrillers of the year' - DAILY MAIL
'A dark, audacious highwire act of a novel' - GUARDIAN
________________________________________

This is the story of a murderer. A stolen child. Revenge. This is the story of Ted, who lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia in an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet some of them are lies.

You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you've read this story before. But you're wrong. In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, something lies buried. But it's not what you think...

From the multiple award-winning author of Little Eve and Rawblood, this extraordinary tale will thrill and move readers. A work of incredible imagination and heartbreaking beauty.

*** FILM RIGHTS OPTIONED BY IMAGINARIUM PRODUCTIONS ***
*** RIGHTS SOLD IN TWENTY TERRITORIES ***
________________________________________

'Catriona Ward is the new face of literary dark fiction' - SARAH PINBOROUGH

'Books like this don't come around too often' - JOANNE HARRIS

'Believe the hype... a masterclass' - KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE

'A chilling and beautiful masterpiece of suspense. I was completely enthralled' - JOE HILL

'A masterpiece. Beautiful, heartbreaking and quietly uplifting' - ALEX NORTH

• ISBN10: 1788166167
• ISBN13: 9781788166164
• Publish Date: 18 March 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 16 August 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Viper
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[nora]

I'm really struggling with how to rate this, because while I feel that it's a well crafted idea, I didn't actually enjoy most of it. I think the storyline quickly becomes obvious to anyone who's more than superficially familiar with the topic, and removing the intrigue makes the middle chunk feel more like a slog. I've previously seen several of the YouTube videos that the author's inspiration and research is based on, and I kind of feel like I've cheated the twist, tbh. The ending was the best part, but I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of atmosphere leading up to it. So, I dunno...

[Quirky Cat]

Catriona Ward's latest novel is a chilling horror novel, one that succeeded in keeping me up well past my 'bedtime.' And no, I'm not just saying that because I stayed up late reading The Last House of Needless Street.

Everyone can think of at least one house that gives them the chills. A house that always seems empty, unlit, or otherwise gives them a bad feeling. This is the story of one such house. It is the last house of Needless Street, and it is full of problems.

Within these walls, you will find those who need anger management guidance, a trapped teenager, and a cat who has found religion. They're not a likely family, and certainly not a happy family. But their lives will change when they get new neighbors.

“Anyway the trick to life is, if you don’t like what is happening, go back to sleep until it stops.”

First, can I just take a minute to gush about that cover? Because it is divine! Now onto the review. The Last House of Needless Street is one of those books that I've been looking forward to since the moment it was announced, and boy did it live up to the hype.

First, though, I want to mention that a few graphic scenes need to be discussed (so, spoiler warning!). The first revolves around animal death, which happens very early in the book. No, it is NOT the cat on the cover, I promise! But the death is fairly graphic, so consider yourself warned. Likewise, the scenes depicting child abuse are a lot, so again, use caution here.

What is it with me picking slow-burning horror novels this year? The Last House of Needless Street is yet another one, with tension that builds up so steadily that you almost don't realize your anxiety has gone through the roof. Almost. Actually, that makes me wonder how it would do on a second read-through. I will have to add this lovely back onto my TBR list and find out.

Honestly, I'm struggling to find more to say about this book without having it all be spoilers. So, just go read The Last House of Needless Street if you're curious, okay? I promise you it's worth it.

Thanks to Viper and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[chymerra]

I have had Catriona Ward on my reading radar for a long time but have never gotten around to reading her books. That all changed when I got an email from NetGalley for The Last House on Needless Street promoting the book was “Read Now” for the first 100 members. I jumped on that. I am glad that I did, even if this book was one of the more disturbing books I have read to date.

I wish I could get into more of the plotline, but I will stick with a fundamental outline. Ted is a loner who lives in a rundown house. He was also a former suspect in the kidnapping of Lulu 11 years earlier but had an alibi. Dee is Lulu’s sister, and she is convinced that Ted is behind Lulu’s disappearance. So she rents the house next door to him and spies on him. But not everything is what it seems. What happened to Lulu? Who is being kept in the freezer? Why can’t Olivia go outside?

I had a bit of a problem trying to figure out how I would review The Last House on Needless Street. Why do you ask? Because anything I write or want to reveal could potentially be a spoiler.

I am going to warn everyone; this is a very dark book. This book is one of the darkest books that I have read in a long time. It took me a while to process it after I was done reading because of everything that happened. I suggest that if you do decide to read the book, that you do with an open mind because nothing is what it seems!!

This book does start weirdly, and it stays that way while the author introduces the main characters (Ted, Dee, and Olivia). Once the introductions are made, the book does even out some and stays that way until about the middle of the book. That is when the first of several shocking twists are introduced.

The pacing of The Last House on Needless Street was fast. There was a slight lag in the middle of the book (when Ted was meeting with his Dr), but it wasn’t enough to throw the reader off track. The author kept up the fast pace until the end.

The end of The Last House on Needless Street played mind games with me. Everything that I thought about the book was turned on end. I was not expecting what was revealed, and it shocked me. I had to sit and think about what happened before I wrote this review. Also, do NOT skip the author’s note. It sheds so much light on everything.

I would recommend The Last House on Needless Street to anyone over the age of 21. There is no sex, but there is violence and language.