I was ready to write this book off after the first half as another tale unfairly stigmatizing those who suffer from a particular mental illness as predators when in reality they are almost always the victims of abuse, but I am so glad I stuck it out. This book did a complete 180, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the author had not only done their research on this disorder, but also was able to portray it fairly accurately and in a creative manner, the likes of which I haven’t seen since watching Mr. Robot.

As far as the plot goes, I typically don’t love feeling like I’m in the dark for so much of the story, but as I was able to guess relatively quickly what was happening, it kept me hooked. Even though I had my theories, the ending was not something I would have guessed in my wildest dreams, and it absolutely blew me away.

I’m hoping other readers won’t be turned off by the oddness of this narrative; rather, I hope it will inspire them to do some research on this strange disorder, because it really is fascinating.

What a ride..The twist and turns, the ups and downs left me dizzy with excitement. This book was exactly why I love reading. Amazing book.

Thanks to Netgalley and McMillan Audio for this advance listener copy.

What the actual f*** did I just listen to? And I mean that in a good way. This book was intense, to say the least. The Last House on Needless Street is an unpredictable ride from start to finish. It's told from several different perspectives, including that of a cat (crazy, but brilliant). This book is best going in to knowing as little as possible. It's one of those novels that you think you know where it's going, but you're wrong. The writing is confusing at times, but it's like it's supposed to be, so it works. The conclusion was satisfying and the book put me through every emotion possible. Warning, however, this book is extremely disturbing with mentions of child abuse, suicide and murder. It's definitely not for everyone. Catriona Ward knocked it out of the park with this one. This book will stick with me for a while. I'll need a light, pallet cleansing book to listen to next.

Now, for the audio. Christopher Ragland's narration was phenomenal. His voices were spot on, especially for Olivia, the cat. His range was incredible. His voices were perfect. It couldn't have been any better. All in all, a great story, told by a fantastic narrator.

This is one of those books where you will spend 3/4 of it going "wtf is going on here? How do all of these narrators/plotlines interweave?" but then when you get to the last 1/4 of the book and everything starts being revealed your mind is completely blown and suddenly everything comes together. This was so unlike any other book I've ever listened to or read. I was fascinated and confused from the very beginning but needed to understand what the heck was going on and kept listening. The author does a great job of living little clues so you could potentially figure out some of the twists but I certainly didn't because I just trying to figure out how all of the narrators fit together. From the beginning it is made clear that one of the narrators is a cat which was just so bizarre to me but ended up making so much sense by the end. The ending almost felt like a bit of a letdown after so much confusion and chaos but it did make sense why it ended the way it did. Overall, would definitely read another by this author because I loved her approach to this.

The narrator was AMAZING! That is really what makes this audiobook. The story was complex, with lots of intricacies, and an impressive (if sometimes slightly confusing) story line. I actually may re-read the book now that I know the ending. Not the kind of book I usually gravitate toward, I couldn't stop listening to this one.

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (available in September) is an original story that blends creepy horror elements with intriguing mystery to great effect. It follows a very troubled man named Ted, a recluse living in a dilapidated house next to an eerie forest on Needless Street. He has a precocious, bible-reading cat named Olivia (who narrates part of the story), as well as occasional visits from his defiant daughter, Lauren. Meanwhile, a woman named Dee is trying to get to the bottom of her young sister's long-ago disappearance from a snake-filled lake. In an effort to avoid spoilers, all I will say is that readers will soon find that time means nothing in this story. It is completely disorienting!

This is the dark dark tale of Ted, his daughter Lauren and the cat Olivia. In the dark of the forest, among the white birch trees, something is buried.

To totally appreciate this work of gothic fiction I suggest listening to the audio version. The narrator tells the story in a perfectly haunting voice.

The saga unfolds using multiple voices and points of view: Ted, Olivia, Dee, Ted’s new neighbour, and Lauren. Amazingly it all comes from the voice of only one narrator.

The story opens 11 years after a little girl vanishes on a family trip to a lake. Was the life of the child stolen? Is Ted, the guilty party? What about Dee, the sister, out for revenge?

This most satisfyingly, complex, story, can be deeply disturbing yet also, somehow, heartwarming.

Ted lives in a boarded-up house at the end of Needless Street on the edge of the forest. He lives with his daughter Lauren and cat Olivia. Ted is obviously disturbed as he slips in and out of the present and the past, remembering being questioned by the police years earlier over the disappearance of “Little Girl With Popsicle”. He sometimes ponders his mother, who was “born far away… under a dark star”.

Dee’s family becomes torn apart after the disappearance of her sister Lulu. Now empty and lost she is fixed on finding whoever took Lulu.

This complex and exceptionally written book was for me, hard to review. You just have to read it to fully understand the many-layered and sinister plots.

I noticed several reader reviews didn’t like Olivia, Ted’s cat, as part of the narration. I thought her wonderfully vain voice completely added to this creepy tale.

If you like Stephen Kingish tales of mystery and horror, this will satisfy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio-ARC of The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward.
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this book. Four chapters in, I was ready to abandon it, but this novel received such great reviews I decided to stick it out. I ended up finding myself embedded in the plot, trying to figure out the mystery. It was bizarre, haunting, and psychotic, yet I could not stop listening. Christopher Ragland does an incredible job on the audio, owning numerous voices. From the plot twists to the eccentric, I am left to ponder this read for a long time.

I initially requested this novel from NetGalley due to a combination of cover (love it), genre (was in the mood for a good scare) and the description. However I only got 2 hours in before giving up on it.

After getting to the part with the cat Olivia I put the novel down with the intention of picking it up again. After a few days and no desire to continue it I decided to cut my losses.

Normally I love cat sidekicks or cats as SCs. However this cat character started spouting religious dribble which was a big nope for me. <spoiler>Unless I actively pick up a Christian novel I don’t want to hear about God this and God that and this is Gods plan.</spoiler>

I tried to look past the annoying cat character but the plot wasn’t interesting enough. I thought the MC could have been interesting but his mental disorder bothered me. Instead of feeling realistic and natural his mental illness felt like an insult people who actually suffered from them. After two hours I’m still not sure what he suffered from, I guess you could look at that as a great mystery building tool but I don’t. It’d be like reading a book with the MC suffering from a mysterious illness and you’re not sure if it’s cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers or epilepsy.

The mystery was very slow moving. I tried to get invested in the missing girl but I couldn’t.

The audiobook was excellent with distinct voices for each character, very good quality audio.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for this ARC.

This book had me on the edge of my seat. The beginning was a little slow getting into it but it picked up quickly. There were several times where I audibly gasped and said things like, “Wait...what?”

I love the points of view that this story is told. Reading a story from the point of view of a cat was definitely different but I think those parts were some of my favorites.

There were moments that were difficult to read so I would definitely recommend looking up some trigger warnings if you feel like you may be affected.

The audiobook was incredible. The raspy voice of the man was stellar and added so much eerie vibes to the experience. There were a few cat noises as well and they were so realistic sounding.

This was so weird 🥲 I’m sorry, I couldn’t finish it! 😂 The narrator creeped me out and THE CAT. WHAT THE HECK 😂😂😂

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for sending me an ARC copy of this audiobook!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Last House on Needless Street was mysterious from beginning to the very end. Each twist and turn kept me on the edge of my seat if I'm being completely honest. Plus, each character and narrator completely sucked me into the actual story.

I'm going to be completely honest. I was thoroughly confused the entire time. I think that's why I devoured this book. Once I started to think things were going to one way, well, the rug was pulled from under me. Especially when we would switch point of views - I mean.. a talking cat? Yeah, sign me up and color me all sorts of confused. Either way, I wasn't prepared for what I was about to walk into.

Now this book didn't shy away from the dark stuff. So much abuse happened in this book that it was hard to walk away from it all. There's also little clues that might help you before the end finally shows up. Or, you will end up like me, still not coping with what went down.

In the end, I'm scared yet happy that I got to dive into this book. Definitely needed to spice things up with a mystery thriller and this was a perfect book to do so.

This book is a must read for everyone who loves thrillers and wants a bit more. I feel this is more of a horror book than anything because of the fear it brought me. I actually listed to the audiobook of this and the voice actor for this did an amazing job!! Talk about under your skin creepy!
I read a lot of thrillers and sometimes they are a bit predictable, this is NOT one of those books. It doesn't have a big in your face twist but the way it unfolds keeps you engaged till the very end.
Though the book Ted the main character goes back to memories of his terrible childhood and switched to thoughts of seemingly evil things that he has done in the past. {Trigger warnings of mental illness and child abuse is throughout.}
Every character in this book (excluding the cat Olivia) is untrustworthy and you just don't know who to trust. I highly recommend this one. So unique!

I decided to request a copy for review because of the description. I struggled immediately. Then we got to the point of view of Olivia, the cat. I almost quit, but I looked at how high this was rated on Goodreads and everyone was talking about this big twist at the end. So I continued, but was still tempted to quit at all times. I should have listened to my instincts. There was no twist for me- well, a minor one- what really happened with Dee and Lulu that day at the lake.

It is hard to pinpoint what I did not like about the book. I guess I felt like all of these things were being thrown at me to try to confuse the plot, but it didn't work. It just didn't make sense for me.

I also did not care for the narration. It was slow- I finally sped it up at around 66%, mostly so I could get the book over with. The narrator uses different voices for all of the different POVs, which I always find helpful when listening to an audiobook. However, they were all extremely annoying- especially that of Olivia, the cat.

Perhaps that is what was too much for me and my tastes- a large part of the book being told from the perspective of a cat. Or, more accurately, a cat alter. Which I did not know at first but quickly figured out that it wasn't actually a cat.

As I said, I received a copy in exchange for an honest review. Obviously, many people liked it. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced release copy of the book and audio book.

I really wanted to like this one as the premise was really interesting but it was just so slow! There was so much extra information given at the beginning that it became difficult to figure out what was actually important. I did love that part of the book was told from the cat's point of view!

The narrators on the audiobook had very soothing voices and did a good job. Sadly, this was not a favorite for me.

An impressively constructed mind bender of a novel in which nothing is as it seems.

Catriona Ward, through clever construction and precision of language, has built an impressively complex, cleverly deceptive thriller of serial killers and kidnappings in which good and evil, hero and bad guy seem clearly defined...that is, until they don’t.

Initially I didn’t think this book was going to be my kind of thing (I’m not big on serial killers, modern horror, or anything involving animal violence), but this book is not what it first appears to be at all.

It took me a long time to figure out the first of a series of hugely surprising twists, but I was delighted when I did. Ward’s plot construction and big reveals (yes, there are several) are exceptionally good and turn the entire narrative of what you think you’re reading on its head.

This is much more suspense thriller than horror (though it does include some horrific violence), and Ward definitely makes us work for the ending we want. Still, it’s worth it, though that requires some blind faith at the outset of the novel when you’re trying to come to terms with what you think you’re reading.

The explanation for what’s really happening in this story does deal in part with a disease that isn’t very well understood, so whether this is truly plausible is difficult to determine. Still, Ward did a good job using what we do know about it to meet the narrative.

There are a few parts of this book that I wouldn’t want to read while eating and despite being blissfully free of any sexual violence, it needs a lot of trigger warnings. That said, it’s also a master class in storytelling and boasts a bizarrely uplifting conclusion.

And if you enjoy audiobooks, this one is well worth reading in that format. The narration is exceptional.

I wants to say thank you so much to Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for this advanced audiobook! Christopher Ragland did an amazing job narrating this book! This was a great thriller that kept me guessing until the end of the book!

I have to admit that several times while reading & listening to this story, I almost stopped. But....I couldn't stop. I had to keep on....because I wanted to know The Truth & The Ending! There are a lot of deep, dark things in this story -- abuse of children and animals, violence, etc -- that some readers may need to be aware of before reading this book. Then again, it's a heavy, gothic, horror novel....not a peek-a-boo picture book. We horror readers pretty much know what we may be in for if we delve further than Chapter One. (Just felt it had to be mentioned on this one since there are instances of animal abuse/torture and child abuse - be aware before reading).

What a weird, confusing at times, creepy, disturbing and utterly fantastic bit of horror this is! Dark, disturbing, demented -- loved it! I have to admit that I had no earthly clue what was going on for the first few chapters of this book....a obviously crazy hermit guy, his cat, other weirdness....but it WORKS! Horror is supposed to be uncomfortable and I love crazy, creepy stories that make me wonder WTF is going on.

I'm not going to say anything about plot....best to go in to this story not knowing what is going on. Be confused. Be uncomfortable. Let the story envelop you. Let the creepy build on its own. Don't read reviews with spoilers. Let this sneak up on you....

I had both an ebook arc and a review audio book....sometimes I read, sometimes I listened, sometimesI did both at once. I find I really love horror novels on audio....it's like ghost story time around a campfire! :) The audio book is narrated by Christopher Ragland. He did a wonderful job!

I look forward to more by this author -- she managed to creep me out! :)

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Macmillan/Tor and listened to a review copy of the audio book from Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

The Last House on Needless Street follows Ted, Lauren, Olivia, and Dee in a multiple character point of view mystery. Children have gone missing from the lake, one of whom was Dee's sister, Lulu. No one knows what happened to Lulu, and nothing is at it seems.

*Spoiler Alert*

This started off good. We're introduced to Ted immediately, and it's obvious that there's something not quite right about him. It feels as if the reader is let into the mind of the novel's antagonist. We also have Dee, who appears to be the hero. One of the twists is that Dee is the narrator we shouldn't be trusting. This entire concept is great. But Ted coming out at the end as complete innocent didn't feel right, especially after he attacked a character and walked away wondering if he had killed him.

The writing was immediately addicting. Olivia was annoying, but in a way that worked well. After Dee leaves the scene, the story putters to the end. The last 20% of the book took me longer to read than the first 80%. This book had a lot of potential, but didn't quite do it for me.

The audiobook narrator did a great job with the different voices. I initially questioned the use of only one narrator for all of the characters, but it made sense in the end. I do hope that they fix the narrator's pronunciation of "dachshund" before publication.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio. for approving my request for an advance audio copy of The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward! Y'all, I dove in this morning and am spellbound. I went in knowing NOTHING and asked myself several times "WHAT in the world am I reading?". This slow burn......psychological thriller, genre bending mind f*ck is utterly gripping. It's a story of an overweight, obviously psychologically damaged recluse, Ted, with what's starting to look like Mommy issues. Not to mention, "Ted" potentially may or may not have connections to some serial murders in some form at the very least. So far, we have multiple narrators (some quite surprising voices ,and alternating time lines, which format I absolutely adore.. But let me tell you right now, this twisty book full of secrets is different from all the rest that are jumping on the "unreliable narrator" .train. Is he actually unreliable or emotionally damaged? Hmmmm. Well, remember, NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS...Be ready to be creeped, spooked, a tad confused at times, but ultimately eating up this author' insane genius that is nothing what I assumed it would be. 4* for creep factor, freshness and creativity. People will definitely be talking about this one!