Wow, this was an amazing read! Diane’s ability to incorporate a bit of romance, history and multifaceted family dynamics all in one novel always impresses me. I especially loved the back and forth timeline, incorporating today’s characters into the black history that she was unaware of in her new hometown.

The focus on social justice along with Chamberlain's always compelling writing style made this one a powerful page-turner. Chamberlin has the unique ability to write historical fiction that also connects to real-world issues today and The Last House on the Street is no different. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to share more about it when it is released in early 2022.

As well as reading an advanced reader copy I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook edition. Narrator Susan Bennett did an incredible job helping this multifaceted story come alive. Her pacing was so well done, and I enjoyed listening to this book so much and highly recommend it via audio.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my gifted advanced copy.

The Last House on the Street
Diane Chamberlain
This is the best book I have read this year!
Kayla Carter and her husband, Jackson (both architects) drew up the plans for their dream home. They found what they believed was the perfect parcel of land at the end of Shadow Ridge Estates in Round Hill, North Carolina. They opted to build in the trees. Unfortunately, there was an accident and Jackson died from a fall while building their new home. Kayla is left with a four-year-old daughter to raise on her own and a house that is filled with memories of her husband’s death. What should have been a happy time and a beautiful place to live now brought bad memories and a feeling of apprehension. Kayla feels threatened when a strange woman comes to her office telling her not to move into the new house. Who was the woman, how did she know so much about Kayla and her family, what was her motive? There is an older home in the Shadow Ridge Estates it is owned by the Hockley family. Ellie Hockley seems glad to meet Kayla at first, but old memories resurface and stand in the way of their friendship.
In 1965 Ellie was a college student and ready to change the world. She volunteered to work with the SCOPE project. (Summer Community Organizing and Political Education: The Scope Project brought hundreds of white northern college students and Freedom Movement supporters into Black communities in six southern states: Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Florida.) The volunteers lived with black families and encouraged them to register to vote. Ellie’s family was angry and forbid her to work with SCOPE. The whole community was aghast that she had volunteered. Ellie was determined to follow her heart.
This tale is told through two timelines. The story moves back and forth through 2010 and 1965. I preferred the 1965 narrative however both were needed to truly tell the story. This was a tough topic and author Diane Chamberlain did a superb job writing it.

I loved The Last House on the Street - I finished late last night and can't stop thinking about it today! Diane Chamberlain is a master at creating two timelines that seem to have nothing to do with one another then she manages to blend them together in such an amazing way. I have been a fan of this author since The Dream Daughter (one of my all time favorite books ever) and this one is just as good. I look forward to reading her backlist titles that I haven't read and will certainly read anything she writes in the future! For the audiobook - I loved the narrator - she did an excellent job - I do think she's narrated books a previous book for this author as well.

Wow. I was warned going into The Last House on the Street that it was emotionally charged, but I was still woefully unprepared for the world that Diane Chamberlain drops readers into and doesn't let them go until the last page. The audio version is narrated by the phenomenal Susan Bennett, and there are times when her narration caused me to have goosebumps. She's that good at taking what is already a great book and adding that something extra that just takes it over the top.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to review!

Link to Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXg7LqjLPVk/

Solid 5 Stars.
I love the back and forth timeline between Kayla and Ellie. Thank you #Netgalley for the opportunity to review the audiobook. A definite must read if you love physiological thrillers.

The Last House on the Street is the latest historical fiction novel by Diane Chamberlain. As with her previous historical fiction novels, it does not disappoint. Also as with most, if not all of her books, it takes place in North Carolina. This particular story takes place in a fictional county named Derby County and fictional towns such as Round Hill. However, there are real cities mentioned in the book such as Chapel Hill-where the University of NC is located as well as Greenville, which is actually my home town. The fact that Diane Chamberlain is a NC author is one reason I am drawn to her books. As with her other books, she brings the real-life charm, history and not so pretty reality to her stories that truly represent NC. Susan Bennett also narrates a lot of her more recent books. Susan's accent brings a genuine voice to the books.

The Last House on the Street takes place in the summer of 1965 during the height of desegregation and in 2010. Diane tells the story of the SCOPE project; Summer Community Organization and Political Education. SCOPE was a grassroots organizing campaign created by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on June 14, 1965. The purpose of the project was to place predominantly white college students in close to one hundred predominately black rural and urban areas in southern states to help lead voter registration drives. In the book, these white students came from northern and western universities in the US. After reading about the campaign in a local newspaper article, Eleanor "Ellie" Hockley was intrigued and wanting to join the effort. However, being from the south and from one of the counties where a voter registration drive was planned, she was met with hesitation from Greg, the local church lead in charge of the local campaign.

Ellie comes from a well off, southern white family and associates with people of the same background. Her family finds it hard to understand and accept her wanting to participate. She deals with rejection and downright hateful words and actions from her family and friends. She is pretty much ostrasized. The experience opens her eyes to a different world and an unexpected love.

Fast forward to the year 2010 and architect Kayla Carter is introduced. Kayla is about to move into a new dream house that she and her architect husband planned and built - a house where her husband was actually killed when he tripped orn screws left atop a ladder he was climbing. This is also a house that her father, Reed Miller, begged Kayla's husband not to build in that location - a new subdivision inappropriately named "Shadow Ridge." Kayla doesn't find out about the letter from her father to her husband until after the house is built. Throughout the book, Kayla is warned about the bad locati of the house and her life is eventually intertwined with Ellie Hockley's life. Both women have their own stories, but they collide and ultimately uncover the tragic truth of events from the summer of 1965.

The book kept me captivated throughout. Susan Bennett's performance was stellar, as usual. It's no wonder Diane Chamberlain keeps using Susan Bennett to narrate her books. Susan provides intensity when needed. During these intense moments of the book, Susan's narration literally has me on the edge of my seat.

I have enjoyed many of Diane Chamberlain's books, but I personally feel that her writing is much, much better when she writes historical fiction. This book will not disappoint. One thing that I appreciate is that Diane Chamberlain writes about moments in history that I am not familiar with. Like in Big Lies in a Small Town where sh writes about the creation of post office murals during the Great Depression, she has written about another lesser known event in The Last House on the Street. I love how she brings life to these lesser known moments in history. Not only am I experiencing an enjoyable story, I am also getting a history lesson.

This book is so good, I read an advanced copy and then requested the audio book so I could listen to it. What I love most about The Last House on the Street is that it deals with real life, hard issues. The characters are so complex and likable, and the plot is both suspenseful and warming. Diane chamberlain knocks it out of the park again!

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

Kayla Carter is an architect mourning the death of her husband. It’s 2010 and she is moving with her small daughter into the home they designed together in NC. Ellie Hockley has returned to Kayla’s new neighborhood where her brother and mother live in their original home. Ellie has been gone since 1965 when she worked with SCOPE, a Civil Rights organization, trying to register blacks to vote. Chamberlain presents two stories. —Kayla’s from the present day and Ellie’s from 1965. I especially enjoyed Ellie’s story though many parts of it were difficult reading. Seeing the Civil Rights movement through the lens of a white southerner was shocking and informative. Though the storylines begin 45 years apart, the author is able to connect them and provides some unexpected twists. This is one of the best books I have read in 2021. It will stay with me for a long time and I highly recommend it. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audio ARC.

This was a great book. Jumps back and forth between times to tell a heartbreaking story of love, and betrayal. Will the secrets be uncovered and the truth be finally shared.

This was a book I almost passed on but am so happy I had a chance to experience it. It has history, mystery and real social issues that were all so well done. Told in dual timelines - 1965 and 2010, the story takes place in Round Hill, NC.

(2010) Kayla Carter is a recent widow with a 4-year old daughter. Kayla's husband died in accident which happened as their dream house was being built. The house is a a grand McMansion with some fifty windows and, it is now ready to move in when Kayla has a strange woman that shows up at her office. Kayla is also an architect as was her late husband and, the woman advises Kayla against moving into that new home. Who is this woman and should she take this as a threat or at least report this to the police? Does the woman have anything to do with the strange things that begin happening once Kayla and her daughter move in?

(1965) Ellie Hockley is a college student from Round Hill involved in The Scope Project -- students who were committed to registering Blacks so that they could exercise their right to vote. This, of course. in the 1960s South had to be done secretly. Ellie couldn't even tell her parents as they never would have approved. What, if anything, does Ellie have to do with the present day story involving Kayla?

I loved this story and the way it played out. I really felt like I got to know the characters, especially Ellie and, even though the story was sad at times and it mad me mad as well, it was an important story to tell. and the author did a great job. The audio book was read by Susan Bennett who did a great job. Highly recommended.

Another deeply moving and meaningful book from Diane Chamberlain.

This is a dual timeline novel. It alternates between Kayla in 2010, a young widow who has just moved into a house with her four-year-old daughter that she and her late husband had designed. While at work one day, a woman comes into her office and knows far too much information about Kayla and her property and warns Kayla away from living there among other dire proclamations. The second timeline is 1965, where Ellie is a college student. She learns about the SCOPE project (Summer Community Organization and Political Education) whose main purpose is to help Black people register to vote. Ellie is passionate about joining the cause, much to the dismay of her parents and her close friends. Despite their ardent disapproval, Ellie becomes firmly committed to the mission of the group and becomes close friends with Win, a young Black man she is assigned to canvass with. In 2010, Kayla becomes acquainted with Ellie, who has just returned to town to care for her ailing mother and brother. The two timelines will intersect in ways no one can imagine.

I became completely captivated by the narrative from the beginning. I was incredibly curious as to the identity of this mystery woman trying to warn Kayla away and what her motive might be. I was caught up in learning about the tremendous obstacles in place to keep Black citizens from registering to vote. Even the white college students' lives were in danger for helping the cause. The fact that this occurred within the lifetime of many people alive today is astounding to me, and it makes this fictional account all the more important for the education of readers about bigotry and deeply held prejudice.

I was in tears by the end, as the 1965 timeline drew to a close. The 2010 storyline was definitely the weaker of the two, as Kayla is not as developed and well-drawn as Ellie. I never really felt her fear or her loss like I did that of Ellie.

I both listened to the audiobook narrated by Susan Bennett and read a print copy. Bennett does an amazing job with her narration. I love alternating between the two formats because it means I can always be reading regardless of what I'm doing at the moment.

Regardless, this is a wonderfully written book. Fans of Diane Chamberlain and those who have never read her books before should definitely pick it up when released in January 2022.

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain was a really interesting read that intrigued me from the start. With two timelines that appeared to have nothing to do with one another, I was totally invested in finding out how they overlapped. Well written with good character development, this book is a solid mystery with a bit of historical fiction. It wasn't too suspenseful in the thriller sense, but there was a good bit of heart tugging at certain points in the story. Be advised that there is mention of animal (a cat) mutilation and death; I know that can be very off putting for some.

Diane Chamberlain is one of my guilty pleasure reads. Before I even start reading her newest book, I know it will be great. This was my first time listening to one of her stories. Listening gave her already atmospheric and beautiful story telling talent, a little something extra. Hearing the southern accent from the narrator, brought the background to life, and added extra drama to a story already full of it. I might be converted to Diane Chamberlain on audiobook from this point on.
The story itself is heartbreaking. Jumping between timelines, from 1965 we get to hear the tragic backstory of Ellie Hockley and her fight as a Civil rights Activist. Present day, we hear of the struggle of a single mom, Kayla, trying to start a new life on the street that Ellie grew up on. Both worlds eventually collide, revealing secrets that have been keep for years. It is sad, eye opening and horrific.
Chamberlain makes you fall in love with her characters. She immerses you in their world and hold your hand as she shows you the worlds injustices. This book deals with the bigotry of the south in 60's, and the quest to give African American's the right to vote. It was historically accurate, with mentions of Selma and Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as the Freedom Fighters that sacrificed everything.
Its hard to say I enjoyed the book, when so much of it is wrong, unjust and real. But as usual, there is a satisfactory ending that tied everything up nicely and helped me dry the tears.

I’m not sure what I was expecting with this book but I was very wrong and I am 100% fine with it!
This is a historical fiction/mystery set in a small town in North Carolina. The narrator had the most perfect accent to get me into the setting. We follow Kayla and her daughter in 2010 and then flash back to Ellie in 1965.
This book started out with a creepy vibe and then turned more historical fiction. It brought me to tears! I don’t want to tell you too much because I feel like you really need to just let this book take you on it’s journey. I would highly recommend for readers who wish they could have been part of the civil rights movement in the 60s, love duel timelines and feel like they need to cry.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and netgalley for my advanced listening copy!

This dual timeline story takes place in Round Hill, North Carolina, and alternates between 1965 - when the civil rights movement rocked the south; and 2010 - when ghosts of the past come home to roost.

*****

In 2010, Shadow Ridge Estates is a new housing development on a picturesque block in Round Hill, North Carolina. The biggest and most beautiful home on the street, designed by architects Kayla and Jackson Carter., nestles among a copse of trees at the end of the road. The Carters built the house for themselves, their 4-year-old daughter Rainie, and any future children they might have.

The house was almost complete when Jackson Carter fell down a set of steps and sustained a fatal injury. Jackson's wife Kayla was grief-stricken but decided she and little Rainie would take up residence in the house anyway, to honor Jackson's memory.

Kayla is almost completely moved in when she gets a visit from an obviously disguised woman who tells Kayla it's bad luck to live in the house. Kayla and little Rainie move in anyway, and sinister things start to happen - like bogus phone calls and trash being strewn across the lawn.

The only OLD house that remains on Kayla's street is a deteriorating southern home owned by disabled, seventyish Buddy Hockley, who refuses to sell. Right now Buddy lives in the house with his elderly mother and his sister Ellie Hockley - who returned from San Franciso after 45 years to care for her family.

The story skips back and forth between 2010 and 1965, when then 20-year-old Ellie Hockley was a pharmacology major at the University of North Carolina. Ellie was home for summer break when she became aware that the SCOPE project was sending college students to the South to help Negroes (the polite term for black people in 1965) register to vote.

Having been influenced by her liberal Aunt Carol (who married into the family), Ellie decides to join SCOPE. Ellie's mother, father, brother, and godfather are APPALLED and try every which way to stop her, saying things like: Negro people are happy with the way things are; there will be strong backlash from white people; she might get hurt; and so on. Ellie's mother even tells her the Ku Klux Klan is really just a social club, because people like to belong to something.

Ellie feels compelled to join SCOPE anyway, and the program - which involves singing freedom songs; staging demonstrations; and going door to door in Negro neighborhoods to convince people to register to vote - exhilarates her.

Ellie makes new friends, including young black college students. Any co-mingling between blacks and whites - especially black males and white females - horrifies racist southerners, and SCOPE workers are taught to run and hide from vehicles driven by white men, who might shoot them.

After a month, there's a terrible tragedy in the SCOPE program, and Ellie is so upset she moves to San Francisco.

Now that Ellie is back in North Carolina, she aims to learn the whole truth about what happened in 1965. However there are people in Round Hill who want to hide the facts, and this has consequences for both Ellie and Kayla.

The book provides a visceral picture of white resistance to civil rights, and the behavior of Klan members is stomach-churning at times. Sadly, some of the activities depicted are similar to what's happening in the country today, showing we still have a ways to go.

This is an excellent dual historic/contemporary novel, highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Diane Chamberlain, and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book.

Kayla's husband recently passed and it's time for her and her young daughter to move into the house they designed together. She's dreading moving in and knows the house will always hold tragic and sad memories. She encounters a strange older woman who knows far too much about Kayla and her family, and this woman is trying to tell Kayla not to move in.

Kayla's neighbor, Ellie, doesn't seem to like her much, and Kayla can't figure out why. Soon weird things start happening at the new house. Garbage is strewn about the front lawn and Kayla's daughter is put in danger. What is going on with this lot? Something is trying to force them out.

Told through alternating timelines and POVs, we learn the history of the woods the house was built in. This is a great story about forbidden love, healing your personal history, and the fight for justice. The final reveal left me speechless. I spent the entire book trying to piece everything together and figure out the truth, but I was wrong. Very well done.

4.5 rounded up
Dual timelines done well, flowed smoothly. Well developed characters throughout. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

Set in a dual timeline — 1965 & 2010 — The Last House on the Street weaves themes of racial prejudice and lies that are passed down from generations. Probably because I lean towards reading historical fiction, I was more intrigued by the past timeline (1965) than the modern-day one (2010).

The book references a program called SCOPE (Summer Community Organization and Political Education), which I researched and learned a lot about while reading the book. So, if anything, thanks to Chamberlain for educating more people and refreshing us with this time in history. The book was mysterious and emotionally thought-provoking for me. It isn’t a feel-good book. It made me so angry and heartbroken many, many times.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for my audiobook copy to review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Trigger warnings: lynching, suicide

Susan Bennett’s narration of this dual timeline story was excellent. Kayla in 2010 and Ellie in 1965 were quite distinct. Bennett was superb at all aspects of her narration her pacing moved the story along and fit the emotional time. Between her voice and the story, I couldn’t stop listening. This book has the perfect blend of mystery and social commentary with a little romance. I will highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.