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The story is told in alternating timelines:

2010- Kayla is recently widowed. She and her young daughter have just moved into their newly constructed home.
Strange things begin happening and Kayla hears whispers among the townspeople that the woods behind her new home are haunted….

1965- Ellie is a young white woman who joins a group to help fight for civil rights in the south.
She falls in love with a black man that she is working alongside.
Their love is forbidden… and gravely dangerous.
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I have read many of this author’s books and her talent never ceases to amaze me. I always think about her stories for weeks and months after. She is simply masterful at character development, dialogue and transporting the reader. You can see and feel and smell her settings.

This one was tough to read. I had to stop several times because it was just too difficult and I couldn’t see through my tears. I felt nauseated and twisted inside. The horrors that black people endured back then is harrowing and plain evil. My brain can’t comprehend how one human being can treat another human being that way.

Although it’s a distressing book to read, I definitely recommend it.

Thanks #NetGalley #StMartinsPress and#MacMillianAudio for an electronic copy of both the ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Told in dual timelines, The Last House On The Street features Ellie Hockley in 1965 and Kayla Carter in 2010. The novel unravels the tangled history of these two families by uncovering the shocking history of violence and prejudice, forbidden love, and the never-ending search for justice.

This book is my first book by Diane Chamberlain. She seamlessly weaves the past and present. The 1965 timeline retells the struggles of enacting the Voters Right Act. I'm ashamed to admit I knew nothing of the SCOPE (Summer Organization and Political Education) project. But this story felt poignant today as many states try to limit access to voting.

I mostly listened to the book while driving to and from sports, so I had the added pleasure of seeing this story through my teenager's eyes. The anger and heartache we both felt as Black people confronted immeasurable brutality just for the fundamental right to vote. This emotional journey commanded a deep discussion on race, rights, and history.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. The story isn't easy. But a necessary one as we confront our complex and often embarrassing history on who we treat our fellow Americans - an ongoing battle still today.

A well done narration of this dramatic family historical fiction. Diane Chamberlain knows how to write a family drama with the right amount of twists and historical notes. The narration was great and I will look forward to listening to her again.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and author for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Last House on the Street. It kept me interested. It is told in dual perspectives, 2010 and 1965. I learned a lot about the SCOPE program ( a program where college kids come from the north to register black folks for voting), which I had not heard about. This story was part love story, part family drama, and lots of mystery and just a creepiness with the house. I highly recommend it.
Though not necessarily a young adult book, the part of 1965 is about Ellie, a college student, and it's about a time in history that might interest students.

Not always a fan of the split timeframe in a storyline, but in this one I feel it really worked well.

We have Ellie in 1965, a young white woman from NC fighting racial injustice and trying to help in the fight allowing blacks to vote.

In the present day, we have Kayla. She's an architect who built her dream home with her husband, who was killed in a tragic accident during the building process. She questions moving in, but decides she and her daughter need to live in the dream home.

Things begin to happen around this house and in the neighborhood. Kayla again questions whether it's the right place to be. She meets the Hockleys - the last house on the street that hasn't sold for the new development. They include Ellie, from the 1965 story line, home from years in California to care for her taking care of her elderly mother and older brother, who is terminally ill.

Kayla and Ellie have a connection that they don't realize (I think Ellie, does know, but it takes Kayla a while to figure things out).

Some triggering topics with race related issues, but a good read that mixes a lot of mystery with some historical fiction. And the mix is well done.

Lots of twists and turns and many things I didn't see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an advance copy.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress @netgalley for the ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts…
Thoughtful. This is my first book from the author. From other reviews I’ve read, if you’re a fan of hers, you’d enjoy this book. For me, it was okay. I like dual timelines but, sometimes they have the issue of one timeline being stronger than the other. This was the case here. Elly’s story working with SCOPE in the 60s was really interesting and informative. Kayla’s story based in 2010 was almost irrelevant. I really wanted to hear more about Elly and her fellow SCOPE members. The narrator was really good, especially in the areas where the story slowed.

Very interesting story told from two different narrators during two different times.

One is Kayla and her 3yo daughter. Kayla recently lost her husband and is about to move into the home they just had built. That they designed. Then all sorts of weird things start happening. Starting with a red head coming in to Kayla’s work and threatening her. Will she move into the house? Will it scare her away?

The other is Ellie. Ellie lived in the area back 50 years ago.

How do their stories intersect? Do they? Can they help each other?

Such a moving lovely story.

The Last House on the Street is a story about love, race, and standing up for what's right not matter the cost. This book tells the story of Ellie's decision to choose what's right and help fight for civil rights in the south in the 1960s and Kayla's ability to move on with her life following the unexpected death of her husband. Both woman's stories alternate throughout the book while slowing coming together in unexpected ways. Diane Chamberlain is an expert at building suspense while telling human stories full of emotion, passion, and excellent prose. I love the way that Chamberlain makes you feel like you know her characters and can relate to them on many levels. Her characters come alive on the page and you can truly visualize every moment of her stories as if it's a movie played in your mind. In The Last House on the Street, Chamberlain balances telling the good, the bad, and the ugly because each story matters and needs to be told. As always, Chamberlain writes a fantastic story that you will find yourself thinking about long after you finish.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC audio. Even though it was only one narrator , I still enjoyed it. This was a heart wrenching story set between 1965 civil rights movement and 2010. How far will you go to be with the one you love? Who is really your best friend? Who can you call your family? Who can you really trust? This book ask a lot of hard questions that you are probably not prepared to answer. Grab a box of tissues and something to throw at the wall while reading this newest book by one of my all time favorite authors!

I am always eager to read the next Diane Chamberlain book and The Last House on the Street was another one that I enjoyed. This book is a historical fiction novel, written in two timelines. One storyline is set in 1965 and shares the story of Ellie Hockley and her involvement in SCOPE, a group that recruited college students to educate Black citizens about their right to register and vote, as well as help them register. Ellie was a proper, white girl raised in well-to-do Round Hill, N.C. I have read books about this time before, but was shocked by the happenings in this book. You never know what the people you live with, your family and neighbours are capable of. In 2010, Architect Kayla Carter and her 3 year old daughter, Rainie, are moving into what was supposed to be her dream house. She and her husband designed it, but he died in a freak accident and she isn't sure if she still wants to live there. Several things happen to scare her off, including a strange woman showing up at her office to warn her off. What happened on that property all those years ago?

The last line of the blurb is a perfect line about this book: Two women. Two stories. Both on a collision course with the truth--no matter what that truth may bring to light

I did not know anything about the Scope Project and learned a lot about it. I did do a bit of googling to learn more. I loved the 1965 timeline the best. Learning about Ellie and what she went through as interesting and at the same time appalling. She was such a strong character, doing what she thought was right, even alienating her family. Win was also a wonderful character, doing what he believed in and helping others. Watching their relationship bloom, was sweet, but a disaster waiting to happen. I have to say, I didn't enjoy Kayla's storyline as much until the end when the two timelines come together. I would have liked a smoother transition between the two times, but I still very much liked this book. The setting was creepy. An overgrown yard, a brackish pond/lake and noises gave me chills at time. This was an emotional read and it punched me right in the gut several times. This was a good read with a strong message about the civil rights that are still being fought for today. I definitely recommend this book. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Susan Bennett. She did a great job using expression and tone to give that creepy feeling and add emotion to this story.

This book was historical fiction and I enjoyed exploring the issues presented in this reading. Diane brought up voting rights and race, both of these issues major back in 1965 and even brought back into the spotlight more recently. The story started off pretty slow, and at first, I was confused. I think listening to the novel was the cause of that because I could not keep up with the time switching. Diane Chamberlain is a great storyteller and I recommend this novel.

Diane Chamberlain. She’s my gal.

Her storytelling has the power to sweep me away, completely. When I get my hands on one of her books, I spin around in circles like Snoopy doing a happy dance. I did that with her latest, The Last House on the Street, but then a weird thing happened. I set it aside and read dozens of others ahead of it. I just NEEDED it to be so good that I was scared to read it.

Fortunately, it is good. Really good. In true Chamberlain fashion, The Last House on the Street is a dual-timeline narrative set in North Carolina. The contemporary story features a young grieving widow, Kayla, piecing together a new life for herself and her daughter, and the historical story focuses on a 20-year-old white woman, Ellie, in 1965 who goes against her family’s wishes to dedicate her time to SCOPE. The Summer Community Organization and Political Education project was a voter registration civil rights initiative conducted in six southern states. The goal was to recruit white college students to help prepare Black Americans for voting and to maintain pressure on Congress to pass what became the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Typically dual-timeline narratives have one treasure and one turd, but I found both women’s stories equally compelling. Kayla and Ellie are likeable and easy to root for, and it was satisfying to see how their lives intertwined at the end.

As for the inclusion of the SCOPE project as a central plot point, I'm happy this aspect of American history has been brought to my attention. Chamberlain just scratches the surface of it by using it as a backdrop for a forbidden interracial relationship though, thus my desire to learn more about the project will send me to nonfiction resources in the future.

So will The Last House on the Street be recalled as one of my favorite Diane Chamberlain novels? No, she’ll be hard pressed to top Necessary Lies and The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes in my eyes. I will always recommend her books to people looking for page turners though, and this is no exception.

I was gifted an advance copy for review by Macmillan Audio. The audiobook features one narrator, Susan Bennett, despite the novel’s dual-timeline/-main character format. Ms. Bennett is a very capable performer though, so it was never difficult to discern any of the who/what/whens of the story. If you prefer the audio format, you won’t go wrong here.

This is a phenomenal historical story about the scope project. It is a heartbreaking, powerful novel that is told by 2 different characters from 2 different time frames. their stories are all woven together to leave you speechless.

1965
Ellie is so determined to help the black community to register to vote. She's a southern white lady that loses so much to fight for civil rights. This causes her to eventually see the true character of the friends and family that she grew up with.

2010
Kayla and her husband are designing their dream home when her husband tragically dies. Kayla is getting concerned with moving into Shadow Rodge Estates alone with their daughter. For some reason, someone is not wanting her to move there.

When the stories collide and you find out why, it will leave you emotional. This is a gut-wrentching story that touches on hate, racism, family, and friends. The deception is unreal. I definitely recommend this to everyone.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Told in two timelines in small town North Carolina, 1965 and 2010.

1965, a young college age woman, Ellie, joins a group to encourage black residents in the South to register to vote. in 2010 a young mother and widow, Kayla, is trying to come to terms with the death of her husband and moving into what was to be their dream home that they designed. Someone is trying to discourage Kayla from living in the house at the end of the street, but who and why? Does it have anything to do with the distant racist past of this small town?

The lives of these two women are both tragic and yet they are both positive, uplifting characters. It's hard to read some of the sections from 1965, but that's exactly why we should read this book. We can't forget what happened in this country or try to pretend it didn't happen, their was as is racism and we have to try to learn from our past so we don't repeat it.

Thanks to NetGalley for this audio ARC in exchange for this honest review.

The Last House on the Street started off a little slow, but oh my goodness, did it quickly grab hold of me and not let go! Kayla and Ellie's stories seem to be completely different but come together in the end and lead to quite a finale.

Kayla is a widowed mom whose husband recently died while on the job, building their dream home for their little family. Kayla and her daughter move in, but strange things keep on happening and she'd determined to figure out what in the world is going on and why someone or something doesn't want them living there.

Ellie is an independent, liberal thinker in the time of MLK. Though she's an upper-class white girl, she's determined to help the negros (writing as the book was written-don't take offense, please!) the right to vote and to encourage them to get out there and make their voices be heard. She defies her friends and family and joins up with a group to go around to the poor, black communities to educate them on the benefits of voting and their rights. She didn't expect to fall in love, or for what happened one night to change her world forever...

I found Ellie's story to be much more engrossing, but Kayla's mystery was the perfect complement to many of the heavy chapters that this book included on race equality, etc. I can't recommend this book enough if you want a well-researched, thought-provoking fiction novel with dual stories going. Diane Chamberlain wrote a beautiful story and Susan Bennett narrated it perfectly.

Thanks to #Macmillanaudio #netgalley and the author for this fabulous ARC!

This was a very thoughtful, well written but slow story. I’m a fan of dual timelines that are far enough apart that there’s a clear distinction between them and this one was perfect for that. One was set in the 60s and one was more present day. As with other dual timelines, one story was more prevalent than the other. Elly’s work with Scope and the Voting Rights Act was definitely the focus of this story; Kayla’s story was pretty weak and probably not even needed for most of the story. I enjoyed this enough but felt that it moved way too slowly.

The narration was well done and added just enough drama in the right places.

I received a copy from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this author and all of her books! Her stories being you in and make you feel like you actually know these characters and they are a part of your life. Kayla and Ellie were fantastic and I enjoyed reading about social justice, love and mystery throughout their lives. The setting of North Carolina added so much to the story. This one is unforgettable!!!

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced audiobook copy of The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain. The narration was great!

The Last House on the Street explores similar themes to the author's 2020 novel, Big Lies in a Small Town, the major one being historic racism in the Southeast United States. The plot of both books were captivating and entertaining. I ended up rating both books the same 4-stars as well. For me, the romance plot in this latest one didn't really work. The main character, Ellie, was supposedly very smart, but she made some decisions that were either really dumb or deadly-selfish.

The theme of the book was informative, but nothing that hasn't been covered thousands of times before. Frustratingly, the author has used the same comments in both books claiming surprise that racism in North Carolina was an issue historically even though that state isn't part of the "Deep South". While the plot of the books both bore out that North Carolina had the same issues that existed in the "Deep South", I think the author is belaboring that point and missing the bigger opportunity: Racism exists everywhere to different degrees, not just in "The Southern States".

Diane Chamberlain is a great storyteller and I have enjoyed all the books I have read by her. The Last House on the Street and Big Lies in a Small Town were both good books, but neither had the impact I hope for with the theme of racism. The Last House on the Street didn't offer a lot of optimism or hope either, which may be realistic, but doesn't make for good escapism.

The Last House on the Street

SUMMARY
Architects Kayla Carter and her husband have designed and are building a beautiful home in the new Shadow Ridge Estates development in Round Hill. It was a home where they would raise their three-year-old daughter and grow old together. But instead, Kayla’s husband died in an accident while building the house in 2010.

Kayla is no longer excited about the house and is further frightened when a mysterious woman visits her at her office and threatens her against moving in. The woods and lake behind the property are thought to be haunted, and the new home is now being targeted by vandals leaving threatening messages.

Kayla’s neighbor Ellie Hockley grew up in Round Hill, just up the street from Kayla’s new house. As a teenager, Ellie left town in 1965 to join the fight for civil rights against the wishes of her scandalized family. When Ellie fell in love with a fellow volunteer, she discovered the frightening nature of the people living in Round Hill. When Ellie shares her story with Kayla, some long-buried secrets about the dark history of the land where Kayla house was built are revealed,


REVIEW
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET grabs your attention in the first few pages and makes you want to know more. How could Kayla move into this house where her husband died? What does Ellie know about this property? Set in North Carolina, the chapters alternate between the lives of Kayla in 2010, and Ellie in 1965.


The story is meticulously built and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. Kayla who had just lost her husband and is now getting threats and Ellie who worked with the Civil Rights movement during the Summer of 1965 are expertly drawn smart, strong female characters. The writing weaves a tale that effortlessly blends the past and the present

Author Diane Chamberlain makes you feel the fear, pain, and courage that envelopes this dramatic and tension-filled story. Chamberlain has written 28 novels that focus on relationships between men and women, parents and children, sisters and brothers, friends and enemies, and the way people struggle with life’s trials and tribulations.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin Press for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher St. Martins Press
Published January 11, 2022
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Diane Chamberlain never disappoints. This story was hard to read, but it was incredible. I really enjoyed both story timelines, and how everything came full circle. This is almost a 5 star for me and I would really rate it at 4.5. I just felt the ending was a little unsatisfactory for some of the characters. I can't really say too much without spoiling anything, but justice was not served. Diane Chamberlain is a must read author for me and as a NC native, I love that her stories are based in my home state. I highly recommend this one and really anything she writes.