This is a brilliant novel where nothing is at it seems. Yes, rather gothic in all the right ways, yes rather dark in all the right ways, yes, rather sinister in all the right ways and yes, rather different than any other missing child books out there. Just read it, don’t read the reviews or synopsis. Just read the book.

“There’s a monster inside each of us. If you let yours out, Ted, it might not eat you.”

This quote sums up the whole book I’m so many ways. It truly was a wild ride. Just when you think you know what’s going on, you really don’t. This book is genius, dark, confusing, heartbreaking, and intriguing. It’ll give you hope, then rip it away.

When I started reading it, I thought it was going to be a dud. However, it didn’t take me too long to be sucked into the chaos that was unfolding. I highly recommend the journey full of emotional whiplash that this book will take you on.

This book is getting tons of buzz for being a brilliant, twisty horror thriller—and it definitely is. But it’s also one of the most beautiful books I’ve read in ages. And I mean true beauty. The kind that breaks you open and stitches sadness to awe. These are characters I will be living with for a long time, and Ward's economical narrative prose makes this a book to be admired (and revisited) for its craft as well as its story.

The Last House on Needless Street tells the story of a family who lives at the edge of the woods. They aren't your typical family (one of them is a cat who reads the Bible), but like all families they have their ups and downs. And they have a secret. When the secret is on the verge of being exposed the story really begins.

This book was weird. The characters were strange...the pacing was painfully slow...and the prose was written in a way I had a hard time following. I saw so many positive reviews so I thought I'd love it, but I found myself wishing it was over more often than not. It wasn't worth all the long ramblings for something less than mediocre. Save yourself the time.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this ARC.

The deft pen of the author makes this title an intriguing but challenging book to get into, as well as a beckoning, trust-me call to continue to read.

But the beginning of the book with the characters we're introduced to failed to engage me enough to keep reading in preference to other beckoning, promising reads. I'm DNFing this strange but potentially powerful book; I hope others can hang in there to reap the rewards.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC. This is a very dark book about child abduction indeed. It took me awhile to figure out what was going on and the book definitely has a strong sense of foreboding. Would I watch the movie? No! Too creepy.

This is the story of Ted who lives on the end of Needless Street. He lives with his cat Olivia and his daughter Lauren. He may also be a murderer. His new neighbor is the sister of a young girl that went missing years ago and she is out to prove he did it.

With that said, I really wanted to like this book. With so many great reviews, I expected more, but it wasn’t for me. First, I wouldn’t categorize it as horror. Secondly, I figured the premise early on and wasn’t surprised by the ‘twist’ others mentioned. Each chapter is written from one character’s point of view (including the cat). Without giving too much away, I do have to say the author did a lot of research but I couldn't get into it the way I would have liked.

Dark, atmospheric. I found it slow in the first half but then the pace picked up considerably. A little bit much of a "how I did it" monologue in the revelatory chapters - while it is nice to see all the pieces put together, it felt a little too neatly laid out especially considering every single narrator character in the book was super unreliable. A good read in general, however. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this book- read it in 2 days. I found that the author was very sensitive to the psychology of DID and brought forth great imagery regarding society's innate prejudice against people who are different. I appreciated the development of the main character(s) and the way the author shared the trauma these characters experienced and how they dealt with these traumas in different ways.

I was constantly trying to figure out who the "bad guy" was and enjoyed the fact that the main characters were each also trying to find a "bad guy" and in the end we realize that that can mean many different things to the different people. Guilt, trauma, mistakes all carry their own weight in this novel. The author creatively draws the reader into the plot and all along you are wondering who is "the murderer/kidnapper"?

Still, the puzzle unfolds well and was an enjoyable read. I think I wanted to know more about DeeDee and her situation and wished I had had more information about her life and her inability to move on (especially the psychological impact of amnesia/PTSD that followed the disappearance of her sister). Since Deedee was a main character, I felt her storyline should have been slightly heavier. I wanted more information about her situation.

WOW! This book blew me away! I am usually very perspective and can catch on early on in a book where the author is going and what to expect but this book kept me guessing. I was astonished with how Catriona Ward weaved the words and created this work of art. This book will keep you on the edge and all the twist and turned will keep you guessing. I highly recommend this physiological thriller to everyone.

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This book combines horror with horrifying experiences with a result somewhat like fantasy. There are numerous characters with multiple problems - their interaction is ever changing. Twists and turns are throughout. I recommend this story if the reader enjoys a wild ride with constantly altered reality.

I finished reading this book a few days ago and had to take a few days to collect my thoughts.

Overall, I did not like this book. I felt that once I learned what was happening, I was just not that into the characters.
I understood what the author was going for and before I get into the spoilers, let me say that there was so many characters that did not need to be in the story...the bugman, and Dee come to mind.

I felt that the author did a great job trying to incorporate the different perspectives.

However, I felt that it was too chaotic, not enough information till the end, then add in characters that were supposed to matter to the reader, Rob, the gay guy.

I felt that this book had great potential. However, I couldn't connect with any of the characters, the story was thin, and overall not to my liking.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC for this honest review.

I was so looking forward to reading this book -last house on needless street- from the preview. This book was too bizarre for me. I understand you were in the minds of characters who were ; well bizarre. But this book was just too difficult for me to read. If you want silence of the lamb on steroids. Then maybe you will enjoy

Riveting!
What was, isn't ... and what is, wasn't.
I was hooked from the beginning. All the twists and turns... WOW!...


#TheLastHouseonNeedlessStreet #NetGalley

Dark, creepy, terrifying but the writing was the best I've seen and I was immediately pulled into the story and invested in the characters.

352 pages

5 stars

It took me a very long time to write this review. I thought about this book for days and pondered what I could say to do it justice. The book is somewhat promoted to be of the horror genre. It is not. It solidly fits into an intense study of abnormal psychology. This book made me cry.

A man named Ted, his sometimes daughter and a cat live in a ramshackle house whose windows are boarded up. The man has drilled holes in the boards to peek out. He sees someone who says he is a psychologist (but is he really?), but doesn't talk to him about anything important. He just collects the pills the man gives him.

He lives an isolated llife, hunting the personals, but never gets up the courage to actually meet anyone. His cat provides the love he needs. She is very affectionate. And on the days that his daughter visits – oh, she can be a terror – the atmosphere in the house is mixed. Olivia the cat hides from the girl.

His mother was very abusive, but the man never thought of it as abuse for he knew nothing else. His father left the family when he was young. Then, his mother went away and he was alone. Now he just has Olivia and his daughter.

He knows he is not “normal.”

This book is absolutely wonderful. I readily became obsessed with finishing it, but at the same time, I didn't want it to end. I cannot begin to describe the effect it had on me. I must confess to a background in clinical psychology, so I cottoned on pretty quickly as to what was going on with Ted. I was devastated and so very sad for him.

I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillian-Tor/Forge/Tor Nightfire for forwarding to me a copy of this heartrending and wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Loved this story so much and I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next! The back and forth between timelines, along with the creativity of the angles and perspectives of the characters, has stuck with me since I finished the last chapter.

I honestly gave this book a chance to prove all the great reviews it received from the horror greats (Stephen King!), but I really could not get into it...I wasn't even partially afraid! Sorry!

Wow. My emotions during this novel really ran the gamut: from horror and disgust to empathy and curiosity. I don’t want to give anything away, as the last third of the book really pivots in a new direction, but I am so glad I read this. Don’t go into this expecting to be scared exactly, although there are some pretty terrible things happening. This is definitely worth a read for those who are into all things dark and twisty. Absolutely unlike anything I’ve read before. 4.5 stars.

Six-year-old Lulu disappeared one summer day from a lake in Washington State eleven years ago. Now her sister has tracked down the final suspect in her long-cold case and is determined to find answers.

Creeping, thrilling, and a wild ride, this will be one book you won't be able to put down. Between a very strange man, a crumbling house, a misbehaving daughter, and a talking cat, this story unfolds in a beautifully creepy way that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.