Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this novel, and I think that’s the best way to approach it. It’s advertised as a horror, and while there are aspects that might fit that, the story is so much more. When you pick this one up, be prepared for fear but also for grief and love. Be ready for twists but also the consistency of humanity. Be ready to be shocked. Be ready to not be ready.

This was such was a wild ride. I feel The Last House on Needless Street could’ve been pitched/marketed a little differently, it’s not exactly a horror novel. It was definitely creepy and unsettling, but I feel the message it was trying to convey related more to mental health than an actual ‘horror’ story. But overall, I did really enjoyed this book, the writing and the ‘twists’ were well done. I will definitely be checking out Catriona Ward’s next books!

*thank you NetGalley for the ARC and all opinions are my own*

I have heard rave reviews about this book for months, but when it came to them giving a synopsis, no one could really explain it besides saying that there is a POV from a cat. That both intrigued me and turned me off at the same time. For the first 60% of this book I was so lost and had no idea what was going on, but yet couldn’t stop reading. Once I got an actual idea of what was going on, I really couldn’t stop reading and consumed this book in a matter of 24 hours.

I recommend going in to this book blind because honestly, no synopsis will ever truly capture the beautiful oddness that this book is.

The Last House on Needless Street is a spine-tingling page turner! Catriona Ward's psychological thriller is more than meets the eye.
Told from multiple perspectives, (including the cat!), the reader isn't left to shape the story from an unreliable narrator but instead can piece together the mystery from all angles. Just when you think you've figured out what is really going on, you’ll probably realize you were mistaken as the plot takes many twists and turns along the way, bringing it to an unexpected conclusion.
Catriona Ward’s The Last House on Needless Street, which opens 11 years after a little girl vanishes on a family trip to a lake, is released to much-deserved praise from her fellow authors: Stephen King, no less, calls it the most exciting novel since Gone Girl, and “a true nerve-shredder”.
It is the story of a child whose life was stolen, of Ted, the man who may or may not have done it, and of Dee Dee, the sister out for revenge. While the plot sounds straight-forward, it's anything but!
A special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review which I read on my Kindle, but I've heard the audiobook format is fabulous!
FYI: Andy Serkis & Jonathan Cavendish's Imaginarium Productions were so enthralled with Ward's novel that they scooped up the story and have already optioned the film rights.
But you know how that is....we readers always swear by the book!
Trigger warnings: child abuse, animal abuse, kidnapping, neglect, mental illness

Holy moly this was a good one! Literally not a clue what was going on for the first (at least) half of the book but I couldn’t stop because I needed to know! I got an ARC of this from netgalley and have no idea why I didn’t pick it up sooner. Thank you, netgalley, publisher and author!

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I wasn't sure what to think of this book at first. It had me texting my book buddies to see if they had read it so I could talk about it. Unfortunately, they haven't read it. But they are definitely adding this to their TBR because it was fantastic. I loved the perspective of all the characters and it had me guessing from the start until the end when everything came together. Highly recommend!

Creepy, chilling, spine-tingling goodness is "The Last House on Needless Street". May have to read again near Halloween.

A girl is trying to find her sister, Popsicle Girl (Lulu), she went missing years before. This book was weird to me, the only thing I understood was the mystery about Popsicle Girl. The chapters named Olivia were just strange. The only reason I am still listening to this book is to find out what happened to LuLu. I have no idea what I think of this book, what I do know is that I won't read or listen to this book again. I didn't like any of the characters and couldn't connect to any of them. This is the type of book that doesn't get good til the last few chapters. Not my kinda book. This book read more as a psycho thriller.

My first time reading this author and I am usually all about Stephen King. This book took me away into the past when I was a teenager and life was so very different. The story is about 2 women who are from different times when they come together in South Carolina during the 60's. I have plans to read some of this author's other work.

Here’s the thing: If you go into this book expecting it to be completely original and unpredictable, you’re probably going to be disappointed. I only say that because I’ve seen a lot of reviews describing this book that way, and as someone who thinks that’s just kind of an unrealistic standard for ANY book to attain, I don’t want that to turn readers off if they find it’s not true for them.

That being said, I found this book wonderfully refreshing, beautifully-written, and emotionally captivating. I find that many psychological horrors are written in an almost clinical way, with very little to speak of in terms of character depth and a distinctive tone. I also feel that the stakes in most horror novels don’t feel very high, at least for those of us who read the genre often; when fear, death, and loss are constant threats, they start to lose their effect! I didn’t have either of these concerns with this book. Ward’s writing style had me emotionally invested in each character within just a few pages of meeting them. Each character had a unique voice and personality, so that even without identifying plot points I am confident I would have been able to tell each of them apart without knowing who they were beforehand. I found myself worrying about these characters, not just for their overall survival but for their overall wellbeing, down to minute details—just as if I knew and loved them in real life. The stakes felt high despite the many twists that made me doubt what I thought I knew about the characters/situation, because I was emotionally invested—something I don’t think many horror novels achieve so effectively. For me, that was the source of the horror in this book: facing how terrible, painful, and pointlessly cruel this world can be and finding the strength to stay here anyway. This story was hauntingly beautiful, one that will stay with me for a long time.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit! It required me to pay close attention to details as I read it so that I could keep track of everything that was going on, so I read it a bit slower than other books. The writing style was wonderful and I love the switch between characters. While the story was about tough subjects, it wasn’t described in a way that made my stomach turn or feel it was disturbing. For those that may end up confused, the author does a fabulous job adding an Afterthought chapter that explains the writing behind the book. It was such a thought provoking read!

Well-written, entertaining and unexpected. It’s hard to review this book without spoiling it. I’ll just say it was memorable and the ending was satisfying.

The hype was real. While the story crafted by Catriona Ward might not be highly original, her narrators are unique, well researched, and just incredibly built. At first, the book was a little confusing, but it did not take long for it to grip me and then I could not put it down. What I ultimately want in a book is for it to make me feel, and this one made me feel so much. I went from disliking certain characters to empathizing with them to being heartbroken. This was my first book by Catriona Ward, but I certainly won't be the last!

Holy crap on a cracker! Definitely not what I expected. First, this is classified as a horror book, but I took it more as a suspense novel. There was a little gory stuff, but not as much as I would assume would be in a horror book. Second, it is weird. I mean a very weird book. I think that's way it took me four days to read. I could only handle a little bit of it at a time. Well, that is until I got about 65% into the book. I couldn't put it down until I got to the end of it. Third, it so intrigued me. I kept thinking what the crap. I actually liked Olivia a lot. There's not much more I can say because if I tell anything it will ruin the book. I will say, if you decide to read it, just know it is weird, but also intriguing.

Thanks to Netgalley, McMillan, and Ward for a Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

just finished The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward and I think I’m still a little dazed. It starts out very strange and confusing. The story is told from several perspectives including Ted, the main character, Lauren, his daughter, and even Olivia , his cat. This is when I thought, OK this may be too weird for me. But the more I read the more I became invested in the story line and the characters. When Dee Dee, whose sister disappeared many years ago, becomes convinced that Ted is some how responsible for her sister’s disappearance, she moves in next door. That is when the details slowly start coming out. The curve balls just keep coming at you until the very end. A very, very different and interesting book.

Ambitious, exceptional prose but with a plot and characterizations that felt recycled. Feels a bit detached, though I do enjoy a cat POV.

This story blew my mind! I love how layered and twisty it was. This story is absolutely jam packed with secrets, misdirections, and grand reveals! I also loved the way that this story was more than surface level, but was also very enlightening, as well. I adored this book, and cannot wait to read more by Ward!

I absolutely understand why this book is getting so much hype. As it promised, I had no idea where the story was going and found myself surprised at the end. This is a story that will definitely keep you turning pages and I strongly recommend it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is different, as in the characters, but it could not hold my attention for long. I could not finish it, but the it has been checked out a few times and even put in transit for a library patron outside of our system.