HOLY SHT!!! As many others have said, this is a very hard book to review. Mostly because you don't want to give anything away. It is extremely hard to put into words the depths and intentions of this book without giving away the big picture.

I guess I'll start by saying this book as SO MUCH MORE than I expected it to be. I almost put it down at first because it was super confusing, but it's meant to be that way. You are not alone in thinking this, but push through and keep the little things it gives you in your head. It will make sense soon enough and you won't want to put it down after.

It sounds interesting in the blurb, but what this story actually is and how it all fits together is nothing you would ever imagine from the back cover. It is intense, fucked up, haunting, sad and a little bit hopeful. Everything about this story is a jumble that needs undoing to be figured out, and that is pretty much its whole purpose.

The characters are fantastic, you get a very deep understanding and insight into each one of them. How such hurt and loss can unravel someone and shatter their very being. Go into this story with an open but strong mind, because it might very well shatter you as well once you know the truth.

The audiobook was pure perfection. The characterization was amazing and truly brought this one to life. You could really feel each character and their emotions com through the narration.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review

Creepy is the word I would use to describe this book. Actually, it’s probably the creepiest book I’ve ever read. I’m not a reader of horror or creep usually so this was a stretch for me. That said, it is very well written and quite intriguing.

The plot is innovatively told through many narrators, including a cat, and while at first I had misgivings about this, Olivia grew on me like a real life person. We don’t understand until later how the author imbued such life like characteristics into this animal but it’s quite amazing as it got me to keep going! This excellent writing kept me glued to a subject I dislike and despite the sense of doom and foreboding and evil I finished this book. Quite an accomplishment!

Based on that, I’m not sure I’d recommend this as a read for myself! However, if you like creepy, you’ll love this! Personally, I am intrigued to read more from this author but I will be looking for less gore.

If you love dark, chilling, creepy stuff and are ok with not knowing what’s going on, you’ll enjoy this one. I felt that the book dragged a bit for me and seemed a bit repetitive but that might just be me not loving the genre.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Catriona Ward for my AudioARC. I appreciate broadening the scope of my reading.

Loved loved loved. Not enough space in this review to describe how phenomenal I thought this book was. It was truly haunting and I couldn't predict the twists as they kept coming; I felt like I was really getting sucker punched with them. Such a great read. The narrator was incredibly talented with the different voices.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I feel like I’ve been handing out a lot of 5 star reviews lately, but the book this year are killer! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audio copy of this book. The narration was spot on with the story line and I was drawn in. This book is one that you have to read to appreciate. I read the description of the book and looked at some early reviews and thought to myself, “it’s been a while since I didn’t see the ending of a book coming.” Guys the ending of this book dips and spins and swerves. Once I was finished I had to go back and listen to certain parts again to get the total picture. This is a must read for 2021! Who wouldn’t appreciate a book with a cats perspective in it?

"I judge a person two ways - by the way they treat animals, and by what they like to eat." Umm, SAME!

Wow! That turned out to be a really great read, or listen actually in my case. It started off a bit odd and confusing for me at first, but probably about 30% in is when it started to come together for me. The story is told with 3 POV's - We have Ted who is a seemingly disturbed/odd father to a preteen-ish daughter named Lauren, a quirky cat named Olivia that likes to politely swear, (trust me it's not too silly!), and then we have Dee, who has been searching for her missing younger sister and moves herself into a house across from Ted on Needless Street.

I have to say that this is not your typical thriller. There are some creepy vibes, disturbing situations, dark and suspenseful events that kept my heart racing. When you find yourself getting a bit confused, just know that the "lies" start to reveal themselves and everything starts coming together. Your typical twists, were more of shocking reveals in my opinion, and had me saying "whaaat" out loud, and left me feeling quite emotional. I also want to mention, without spoiling anything, the author did a great job at writing about and portraying a certain mental illness that deserves recognition.

The narrator did a perfect job with the different characters! Definitely worth the read and/or listen!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!

Netgalley #3. DNF is an automatic for using God's name in vain. The author, Catriona Ward, immediately has the character half-heartedly say oops she really should say GD, people won't like her talking that way. So, the author has a low standard and IMO thinks I will overlook her sarcasm. I'm tired of the so-called F-bomb (ridiculous) being commonplace in fiction. After the vile use of God, I was waiting for the PC bombs. Thankfully, there are many good genres and if there weren't, I still would DNF this.

And, furthermore I'm not into a talking cat, (the GD user) oh yes there is one. The other character, Ted (supposed human) was a mess. And with no explanations this was going to be a struggle to finish without the author's mocking. There is a little girl who has disappeared. I seriously am surprised this was published.

What a wild ride this book was! I thought I knew how it was going to go, then complete twist. I loved the different point of views (especially Olivia's). It was such a great mixture of horror, twists, and feeling unpleasant. I haven't read a book like this, ever, and it will be staying with me (in the best creepy way) for awhile. Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

This was hard to get through. I almost DNF many times. I figured out what was happening pretty quickly because I just finished a book that was very similar. I don’t really recommend this one! It was made to be so confusing that you don’t even enjoy it.

Narration was great though.

This was such a an odd book but I really enjoyed it. The twist and turns of this book was really fascinating. I don't really want to give a full review of this book other than to say I really enjoyed it. This is best just to dive in with no expectations and just let the story unfold. You will be so much more satisfied and entertained of you do.

With shocking and horrifying twists, this dark novel is a page turner that leaves the reader racing to finish. It is difficult to accurately describe this story without spoiling it. Highly recommend!
***A huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Wow. This narrator did a great job. He was able to give each character the nuance they needed. The book itself had me scratching my head. Just when I thought I had things figured out, it'd go "ha! You only had 1 thing, everything else is a lie!". Very good book. Not what I was expecting at all.

You ever been reading a story all the while thinking “what the hell am I reading”? But, you can’t seem to stop reading? Well, here I am.

If I had to describe this book in one word, I’d say… outlandish. It was very…bizarre…dark… eery… but everything started to make sense for me towards the end.

I really can’t dive into detail, without giving the story away. I’ve got to give props to the author for creating this out the box story and seeing it through for 300+ pages.

This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet they are all lies...

You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you've read this story before. That's where you're wrong.

In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. But it's not what you think...
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I don’t even know where to begin with this book. I couldn’t summarize it if I tried, it was absolutely bonkers. The storytelling is unsettling with never ending twists and turns. There is a depth and layering to the characters and how they are unveiled, and I never felt certain in what was going on. I listened to this one and the narrative was so riveting. I honestly had no clue where this was going, but I didn’t want to stop reading until I found out. If you’ve read it, you’ll understand why I can’t find the words. 😂
Sorry y’all. Worst book report ever, but if you like an unsettling, crazy creepy story, this is for you!
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⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This books contains child abuse, kidnapping, mental illness, and other stuff I may forgetting because it was a lot.

I honestly didn’t know much about this book so I went in blind. The matter of fact of how this book was structured with the POV of a cat, kidnapper and the sister of the girl who was kidnapped was very complex since to me it felt like I was reading from a third person and then the character itself. It was confusing in the beginning but once you get the hang of how the dialogue goes then you are engrossed with the story.

I really found the cat’s POV adorable because you never really read a pet’s perspective.

This whole story was pretty messed up and let me tell you it was gruesome towards the end. Too much description of something bloody and I’m still warning you if you’re Squeamish the. This book is not for you. The kidnapper isn’t introduce as a kidnapper in the beginning . It slowly transcends into the horrible truth.

If you are a horror fan I would recommend this book! I forgot to mention that I listened to the audiobook. Sorry! The narration was on point and it was a good dialogue in the POV. I think both formats are great if you can’t decide. This is something our of a horror movie in my opinion. Hope they would make it into a movie lol. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I love the narrator and I enjoyed how well they differentiated between character voices. Excellent book.

** realized I had both the ebook an audio here so copying my review with a quick note to say the NetGalley app audio is super glitchy and hard to listen too!

I had a really hard time getting into this one.

It's not very creepy in my opinion, and it was really hard to follow. I polled hundreds of people on Instagram if I should keep going and a large percentage were DNFs, but I still decided to stick it through because I was told the ending would be worth it.

I had actually figured out really early on what was happening, and was hoping I was wrong. When the "twist" was revealed it was pretty disappointing because it's a trope I'm not a fan of - as I think it's just been done too much -and I think using mental health as a plot device casts harmful assumptions, stereotypes and misrepresentations.

** a note on the audio - I think the narrator was a bit too childlike and quirky for me? So maybe that's why I had a hard time getting into any sort of creepy vibe... it was almost a little funny and cheesy? And the cat stuff I found more hilarious and annoying than anything else - the screechy meows were like nails on a chalkboard.

Needless Street is a dead end street, the houses older and neglected. The last house is particularly descript. Ted lives there, a lonely man with no friends. His daughter Laura is there off and on. Outside of that, there is his cat, Olivia. Ted has lived there his whole life. His father disappeared somewhere along the line and his mother died years ago. Ted is a huge man, who often drinks too much. His size and slovenliness puts off everyone so his life is solitary.
Ted is suspected by many of being involved in the disappearance of various young girls who have gone missing in the vicinity. One of those girls was Lulu. Now Lulu's sister, Dee, has moved in next door and tells Ted they should be friends. What is her plan? Is Ted involved in the disappearances?

This is a psychological thriller with horror overtones. Nothing is quite what it seems. Why is Lauren sometimes there and sometimes not and where does she go when she is gone? How has Dee determined that Ted is the one with the answers about Lulu's disappearance? Why can't Ted remember things like other people can?

Catriona Ward was born in the United States but lives in England. Her books have won several British horror awards. The slow unpeeling of Ted's story will horrify and surprise readers and the final story will be quite different from earlier expectations. The narrator was perfect, seamlessly transitioning between characters.
This book is recommended for thriller and horror readers.

This was a masterfully written suspenseful thriller that kept me guessing throughout the whole story. This one stems mostly from a 6 year old girl who goes missing, but grows into more. There were several (unreliable?) narrator's telling the story along with many plot twists built in making for quite a psychological thriller story.

One of my favorite narrator's was actually Olivia the Cat! Listening to her point of view added a lot of depth and value for me as to what was actually happening throughout the whole story. I think Ted was quite the freak! and listening to his point of view was beyond bizarre.

I think going in blind to read this book works very well. That is how I approached it and found that the story builds itself up as it goes. By the time it ended, I was surprised after it twisted around to the conclusions. Looking back at everything, I was just thinking, wow...what the heck did I just read!?? If you like suspenseful, psychological thriller books, then you will like this one.

The audiobook was narrated by Christopher Ragland and he did a fantastic job of bringing all the different characters to life.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Catriona Ward for my AudioARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

First of all, the narrator, Christopher Ragland, does a fantastic job with this book. He uses different voices to create the various characters. This story begins with following the protagonist, Ted, who lives in his house with his cat and daughter. The initial conversation that Ted is having seems off somehow, and to me, it was because he speaks as though he is significantly younger, like a small boy who still calls his parents Mommy and Daddy. The reader/listener must decide if this character is a fully grown man, a young person or an intellectually challenged man. I went into the story completely blind and I highly recommend doing it this way. It makes it a little tougher to stick with the beginning as the story is laid out but it is completely worth it. This story is a well crafted, slowly building story and the twists during the last 25% were great. There were some pieces of the story that I anticipated but other parts that I never expected.
Hats off to the author and the narrator for a job well done!
#TheLastHouseonNeedlessStreet #Netgalley #MacmillanAudio #ChristopherRagland

<b>Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?!? I am officially all freaked out!!</b>

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I was so close to DNFing this audiobook because, at first, I found it tiresome to listen to Ted's minute description of his cloistered life with his daughter, Lauren and his cat, Olivia.

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Then, as the story progressed, the bizarre hints of something dark and horrible lurking in the background started making me feel extremely anxious. I did suspect dissociative personality disorder, but not the extent of it, and that ginormous twist at the end had me shaking my head with bewilderment and spluttering, "but..... but..... but.....!"

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This is a book you should read - or, as in my case, listen to - twice. (But I just don't think I could bear to listen to it again! Oh my nerves! My poor nerves!!)
Holy smokers, this was a jaw dropper!

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I therefore highly encourage you to stick with it and get past the first few chapters. Nothing makes sense until the very end. Everyone has secrets that they are hiding, even Dee, who devotes her life to searching for her abducted sister, Lulu. The twists just kept coming: total shocker! I'm scarred for life now!

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I totally understand why the movie rights for this novel were snatched up even before it hit the proverbial bookshelves.

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I'm going to rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars just because I was so, so, so, so, so, so WRONG!!! And the part that I got right just did not matter in comparison! I've never been so flabbergasted in my life! You won't know what hit you in the end!

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My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of the Audiobook, which was brilliantly narrated and dramatized by Christopher Ragland. His range of voice modulation is incredible: and his imitation of female voices was equally superb and totally convincing!!