The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

The Last House on Needless Street

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
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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 ***
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'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

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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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

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 31 December, 2021: Finished reading
  • 31 December, 2021: Reviewed