The Last House on the Street gripped my heart and still hasn't let go! Set in the 1960s during the civil right rights movement of the south, the author does a great job of bringing some true feelings to life. To fall in love with a person regardless of skin color and to have everyone tell you that it's not proper or disgraceful is something I do know myself. I have lived it and with time my story became better, but Ellie's didn't. Ellie's is more tragic and by the time I was at the end of this book, I just sat there with my hand on my heart. It was heartbreaking and touching at the same time. The old gospel song "I'll Fly Away" sits with me differently now and when I hear it I will connect it to this book.

I have placed this book in my all time favorites! I don't know why I haven't read Diane Chamberlain's work before now, but I will have to check out her other work. The Last House on the Street is absolutely phenomenal and I want to give it all the stars!

It's been a long time since a book has impacted me to this degree. Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Macmillan Audio for the ALC for an honest review.

Books, Historical, Mystery, Suspense, ThrillerThe Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain Leah 2 Hours Ago No Comments
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The Last House on the Street
Narration
5

The Last House on the Street Book CoverTitle: The Last House on the Street
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: January 11, 2022
Format: Kindle, Hardback, Audiobook
Pages: 352

A community’s past sins rise to the surface in New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain’s The Last House on the Street when two women, a generation apart, find themselves bound by tragedy and an unsolved, decades-old mystery.

1965

Growing up in the well-to-do town of Round Hill, North Carolina, Ellie Hockley was raised to be a certain type of proper Southern lady. Enrolled in college and all but engaged to a bank manager, Ellie isn’t as committed to her expected future as her family believes. She’s chosen to spend her summer break as a volunteer helping to register black voters. But as Ellie follows her ideals fighting for the civil rights of the marginalized, her scandalized parents scorn her efforts, and her neighbors reveal their prejudices. And when she loses her heart to a fellow volunteer, Ellie discovers the frightening true nature of the people living in Round Hill.

2010

Architect Kayla Carter and her husband designed a beautiful house for themselves in Round Hill’s new development, Shadow Ridge Estates. It was supposed to be a home where they could raise their three-year-old daughter and grow old together. Instead, it’s the place where Kayla’s husband died in an accident―a fact known to a mysterious woman who warns Kayla against moving in. The woods and lake behind the property are reputed to be haunted, and the new home has been targeted by vandals leaving threatening notes. And Kayla’s neighbor Ellie Hockley is harboring long buried secrets about the dark history of the land where her house was built.

Two women. Two stories. Both on a collision course with the truth--no matter what that truth may bring to light--in Diane Chamberlain's riveting, powerful novel about the search for justice.

It was haunting. It was heartbreaking. It was beautiful.


This story is set up so that you are being told two stories from two different women, in two completely different times. Kayla is a new widow in 2010, and Ellie is a young college student in 1965. Each woman tells their story, but obviously they must be connected somehow. Every time I tried to guess how they would tie in; I would learn something new that made me doubt myself. I never could have guessed how their stories intertwined because it was much more sinister than I could have imagined. Everything I thought this story would be flew out the window, and it was replaced by a deep dread.


It was shocking and honestly hard to listen to at times. It was beautifully told, and it was the kind of story I think everyone needs to read. It was honestly one of the best books I have ever read, though it honestly wasn’t the kind of book I would have picked for myself. I find myself stuck in the YA section a lot or reading whatever is the next best book on TikTok, but I am so glad I was able to listen to this story. It was the kind of book that makes you rethink so much, and I think it is the kind of book that all Southerners should read. It is a glimpse into a time of racisms, sexism, and all kinds of hardships, but it is told in the way that doesn’t allow people to forget what that was really like.

Every piece of the book was carefully put in place, and as I reached the end things began to click, but I still found myself frozen with the realization of what was unfolding before me. The phrase “you’ve got to be kidding me” came out of my mouth several times towards the end. It was a very hard, authentic book, but completely worth the read. I cannot recommend this book enough, and I really think that anyone who is a fan of books that make them truly step back and think should read this book.

Narration
Susan Bennett did a great job with this narration. The two things I look for in a good narrator is emotion and voices. If there is not emotion in the narrator’s voice, it can ruin the whole story. And, if the narrator doesn’t even try to give characters their own voice, everyone starts to blend together. This was no issue for Bennett, and it just made the book that much better. Her voices were great, and I truly felt everything she was saying.

Thank you NetGalley and Diane Chamberlain for letting me listen to such a well researched and captivating read.

Two women. Two stories. Both on a collision course with the truth--no matter what that truth may bring to light--in Diane Chamberlain's riveting, powerful novel about the search for justice.

The Last House on the Street is one of the best historical fiction books I’ve read. So many emotions and so powerful! I had never heard of the Scope project so learning about it while getting acquainted with the cast of characters kept me flipping the page. I love when an author can keep my attention with a dual timeline but also be so descriptive I know what decade I’m in from page to page. Definitely one everyone should add to their 2022 TBR pile and bookshelf.

Audiobook - ARC from NetGalley
Oh my goodness gracious! Y’all! What a great storyteller Diane Chamberlain is! This is, I believe, my first book of hers to read. I now have all of her books on my “to-read” list! I got completely lost in this book. The North Carolina setting was very relatable for me. The dual timelines were very easy to follow. The 1960s historical timeline was accurate and also heartbreaking. I cannot imagine how horrible it was to live during those hateful times (and I know we still have a long way to go nowadays). The edge of your seat suspense was perfect. I didn’t want to stop the audio and was left wanting more when I finished the book! The twists and turns had my mouth falling open in utter surprise quite a few times.

Narration was the best I’ve ever listened to. Seriously amazing! The southern charm was spot on (Being a southerner myself, believe me, I know what I’m talking about!).

Extra notes: (My “vanilla” self grades graphic scenes and vulgar/foul language in reviews) - 1 encounter but it is not graphic. Foul language, well even though I would rather have none at all, it is sprinkled throughout the book but it is not overbearing or awkwardly placed.

Historical fiction combined with mystery and elements of love stories sprinkled in - definitely a recipe for an excellent book. This story is told in dual timelines set 45 years apart surrounding a small town and its hidden secrets. I loved that this involves characters we see at different stages rather than family descendants. I was intrigued to find where the past and present were going to intersect but also afraid at what would unfold.

We meet two families in 2010. One young family working their way through tragedy and just trying to carve out their future (Kayla) and a second (Ellie) who has been present in this small town for decades. The marred past finds it’s way to the present as the story unfolds.

While Ellie may have tried to physically escape the oppressing town of her youth when she returns to help take care of her ailing family she finds that emotionally things are still raw and unresolved. In 1965 Ellie was in college at the height of the civil rights movement. She becomes an activist who challenges the racist ideals of the small southern in which she was raised and soon sees she will need to make many more sacrifices than she initially thought. Can she ever really escape it’s confines?

I was so excited to have the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of this audio book because I really enjoy Diane Chamberlain’s work. I find that it makes me think, feel, and challenges me to really dig deeper emotionally. I’m happy to report that The Last House on the Street was everything I was expecting and more.

The narration is eloquent and you can really feel the words and emotions as the story unfolds. I had a transformative experience listening; while I devoured the story, wanting to absorb as much as possible I found myself not wanting it to end.

Special thanks to #NetGalley #MacmillanAudio and #StMartinsPress for access to the Audio ARC

The Last House on the Street is another heart wrenching, heartwarming tale by wonderful author Diane Chamberlain. This is yet another brilliant story spun by this seasoned author. Her stories speak to the heart and in doing so can turn the reader inside out!

Once again this author shows her mastery of the generational dual timeline as she brings together Ellie Hockley of Round Hill, NC, a child of the 60’s, and Kayla Miller Carter, a millennial, in 2010. Kayla, who was recently widowed, and her young daughter Lainie are ready to move into the home she and her late husband, both architects, had designed. Kayla has very mixed feelings about the move as her husband had died in a tragic accident on site. And she is even less sure when several ominous, even threatening, things happen.

Ellie Hockley is back at her home at the other end of the same street for the first time in 45 years. She is home mainly to assist her older brother, Buddy, as he deals with end stage congestive heart failure, and her mother, who deals with dementia and has been in assisted living until Ellie’s return. She left home after the disastrous summer of 1965.

In the few months that Ellie and Kayla know each other, much comes to light as buried secrets of a shameful history from when the South caught fire with the passing of the voting rights amendment are unearthed in their small North Carolina town. And the connections that tie the two women together are more than having homes on the same street.

This poignant story will be hard to beat in the 2022 world of literary fiction. This mystery thriller is so well plotted with both rich characters and an even richer history! I very much enjoyed this book and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

4.5/5

The Last House on the Street is now my second time reading Diane Chamberlain, and once again I was amazed. For the majority of this book, I was feeling a 4/5 for a star rating but once that ending hit and everything was revealed, I knew I had to go up. The story is told from Kayla's viewpoint in present and Ellie's viewpoint in past, and I was into both storylines, but I was especially curious about what would happen with Kayla. Both timelines ended up shocking me, but I also liked the way they ended up tying together. Ellie's POV is in North Carolina in the 60s and it hurts to read a lot of her viewpoint due to all the racism. Seeing what was happening through her eyes as a white girl was very enlightening, and I thought the way Chamberlain handled it all was very well done.

It took me a little bit to get into the book, but that was more about me than the story. I started the audiobook on the NetGalley Shelf app which is completely horrible unless you listen below a 1.5x speed, and I can't bring myself to listen below a 2x speed these days. Due to this, the narrator sounded robotic instead of normal and this definitely took away from my enjoyment at first. Luckily, Scribd had it, and once I got to listen to Susan Bennett in her normal voice, The Last House on the Street hit me harder and got me more invested in the story. At first, I thought there were 2 different narrators, and I loved that about Bennett's narration! She made the 2 character voices feel very different and was definitely the perfect person to voice this story. I really want to get into more of Chamberlain's backlist and if you like historical fiction with some mystery, you must read The Last House on the Street!

Thank you to the publishers for my advanced listening and digital copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, and the narrator did a great job! This is one powerful story!!
I always know when starting a Diane Chamberlain novel, I am in for a crazy, controversial, heartfelt journey!
"The Last House on the Street" did not disappoint!
It is truly an unforgettable plot that I am still thinking about.
It has suspense, mystery, family, and friendship and is woven beautifully between dual timelines in 1968 and alternating with 2010 in North Carolina.

I can simply say: "You will love it and will not imagine the ending! It is mind blowing and fantastic"!

Diane Chamberlain is a wonderful storyteller, and this book is no exception. Told via dual timelines (1965 and 2010) and viewpoints, young women named Ellie (1965) and Kayla (2010) it takes the reader through a gauntlet of emotions - it's intriguing and mysterious and heartbreaking and infuriating. While reading it, you know something bad must be coming, because the opening chapter or two is full of foreshadowing. But you become invested in the characters and have to keep reading (with more than a bit of trepidation) to find out where their paths will lead them. I was 14 in 1965, and grew up in Georgia (with deep family roots in North Carolina) so I recognized much of what I was reading, both in the descriptions of the locales and the heat of a southern summer, and - for better or worse - in the characters. When the mysteries are revealed, there are definitely some surprises. It isn't always an easy read, but it's an excellent one that I highly recommend.
I listened to the audio version, and the narration by Susan Bennett was excellent, she brought the characters to life with their accents.
My thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Happy Pub Day to The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for gifting me a review audiobook.

The Last House on the Street alternates between two women in two different time periods but in the same location: Round Hill, North Carolina.

In 2010, Kayla Carter is mourning the death of her husband who recently passed away while building the house of their dreams. She has a small girl and even though she’s not so excited about her new house anymore, she wants to honor her husband’s memory by living in the home he built for them.

One day, a mysterious woman comes to her office and tells her not to move to her new house while making it perfectly clear that she knows Kayla and her family. Kayla doesn’t know who this unsettling woman is and is now uneasy about moving to their new home.

In 1965, Ellie Hockley is a twenty year old Pharmacology student. She comes from a wealthy family and has the perfect boyfriend. She has everything she’s ever wanted but she’s tired of having a privileged life while Black people couldn’t even vote and were still being segregated and murdered daily. She knows she has to do something about it so, against her family’s wishes, she decides to join a Civil Rights initiative called the SCOPE Project whose main objective was to encourage political activism and register Black people to vote. But, as one can imagine, life in the 60s in a Southern state couldn’t be easy for Black people and the white students fighting for their rights.

I loved how Diane Chamberlain managed to connect Ellie’s past and Kayla’s present. It felt like reading two different books at the same time that ended up intertwining brilliantly in the most unexpected way.

Not only was it entertaining but also educational. I learned a lot about this Civil Rights movement and the political and social unrest of that time.

The Last House on the Street is a powerful story about love, friendship, family, social justice and betrayal wrapped in an eerie and mysterious atmosphere.

The book is narrated by Susan Bennett, who does an amazing job at bringing these amazing stories to life. I couldn’t stop listening and binged the whole 12 hours and 10 minutes in one day.

This was my first book by Diane Chamberlain and it was a great one. I’ll be looking forward to reading more of the author’s work in the future.

I learned, grew, and was incredibly moved by this dual time-line audiobook mystery set in North Carolina by gifted writer Diane Chamberlain and narrated by Susan Bennett. From inexplicable happenings on a street and surrounding woods in 2010, to the racial injustices and secrets of a small community in 1965, she completely and profoundly immerses readers by connecting the two stories. The talented Susan Bennet gives a stellar and riveting performance in her presentation to listeners. Hearing the words read aloud by Bennett brings even more emotion and passion to Chamberlain's work as author.
Although her husband died as they built it, Kayla Carter and her young daughter, Rainie, settle into their modern, architecturally stunning new house in Shadow Ridge Estates. A series of unsettling, frightening events unfold, making the move anything but comfortable for Kayla and Rainie. Ellie's life is forever changed when she joins the Summer Community Organization and Political Education Project, known as SCOPE. She has ambitious aspirations, but a dangerous goal to help Black people register to vote during the racially charged mid 1960s.
As I followed these two women's lives, I was captivated but often left speechless and horrified with the happenings in Ellie's journey and how it tied in to Kayla's world. Ellie stood up for equality, and both freedom to vote and freedom to love who one chooses to love. In doing so as a white woman in the South during this time period, danger lurked at every corner. This book is thought-provoking and significant in portraying the darkness of civil rights history, social justice and prejudice. Capturing me from page one, it is not to be forgotten and deserves all of the recognition that I know it will receive. Don't miss the audiobook version of this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the advance reader's copy of the audiobook and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2022/01/11/%f0%9f%8e%a7-the-last-house-on-the-street-by-diane-chamberlain/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I tried this author's work for the North Carolina settings.  The books I have read are historical fiction and deal with the aspects of racism and mistreatment of minorities, including women.  The characters are well developed whether they are compassionate and caring or angry bigots. I was in suspense as I waited to see what would happen to these people.

<strong>The Last House on the Street</strong> tells its story of two women. Ellie in 1965, from a well to do family. She is studying pharmacology at UNC Chapel Hill. She's in a relationship with a bank manager.  She gets involved with the civil rights movement, which her family and boyfriend would rather she didn't.  She takes a summer job working with marginalized people to educate them on their rights to vote.  She works with a young black man and falls for him.  I could see the dangers and how horrible this could be.

Ellie's story is interspersed with the current story of architect Kayla Carter, who is the daughter of the "bank manager" Reed.  Kayla is a widow with a little girl, and her father has recently lost his wife.   Kayla is moving into a home on Hockley Street, on the other end from where Ellie grew up.  Ellie is back to take care of her ailing brother and mother.  Kayla's home is  one she and her husband designed and built together and then he died in a construction accident.  There are people who don't want Kayla to live there.

Ellie and Kayla meet.  We learn of Ellie's past and the history of the woods and lake behind Kayla's home including a treehouse originally used by Ellie and her brother.  It's a heartbreaking story, for many reasons.  I guess one of the villains easily, but there were many prejudiced people in the town.  Ellie and Kayla become friends and they find the truth about the past.

<h4><strong>Narration:</strong></h4>
This is my first listen to this narrator. I really enjoyed her performance and her appropriate voices for male and female. She added a few regional tones and made the characters distinct.  I was able to listen at my usual 1.5xspeed.

<strong>Listen to a clip:</strong>
https://soundcloud.com/headline-books/the-last-house-on-the-street-by-diane-chamberlain-read-by-susan-bennett-audiobook-extract?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

I selected this book because Diane Chamberlain is a good author. I had no idea what it was about or what to expect.

This is a very emotional historical fiction. It reminded me that the "horrors of our past" as a country aren't so far in the past. Many of the people who were against integration, who participated in violence against people of color, who committed horrible crimes, are still alive and continuing to teach hate to the next generation. There is still so much work to be done.

Trigger warnings for hate crimes and racism

I really enjoyed this novel, written in alternative view points in dual time zones. Two women, who are a generation apart, are brought together by a common tragedy. It is a truly heart wrenching story, and at times difficult to read. At first, I was wondering how these stories fit together, but when it came out I was so pleasantly surprised.

This was such a powerful and compelling read! With a heavy focus on racism, this one is incredibly thought provoking yet equally heartbreaking.

With alternating POVs and dual timelines, I enjoyed the educational component of learning about past events, struggles and hardships. It was very emotional at times but enlightening.

I found it to be such an intriguing and entertaining blend of mystery and historical fiction and I definitely recommend checking it out!

This a hard hitting Historical Fiction. This book is told by two timelines (1965 in Ellie's point of View and 2010 in Kayla's Point of View). This book shows how hard blacks and some whites how to fight for Civil Rights for the Blacks in the South. I grow up in the North Carolina where Southern views where, and I also felt like Ellie did lucky I was not alive during 1965. It was a hard time in our history, and I hope no one forgets it. This book is one of those books I will not forget it for a long time. The ending had a twist, but I had already figured out the twist, but I do not think that took away from me enjoying this book. I do feel that some of the 2010 parts did not need to be there. I listen to the audiobook from this book, and I think the narrator did a great job. I really enjoyed this audiobook. I was kindly provided an e-audiobook of this book by the publisher or author (Diana Chamberlain) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Told in two time periods, 2010 and 1965.

In 1965, Ellie Hockley is 20 years old and determined to spend her time helping the black community register to vote despite what her family and friends think. She joins a program, along with other mostly white college students from all over, student civil rights workers, that goes into the communities to live with black families and canvas the neighborhoods to educate people about voting. Ellie’s family and friends are adamantly against it causing major tension between Ellie and the rest of them.

In 2010 Kayla Carter and her husband, both architects are building their dream home. When her husband dies from a freak accident in their unfinished home, Kayla wonders whether she and her young daughter should still move in. Just before moving, Kayla receives a visitor who is a mysterious woman, who warns her not to move into the house and threatens her.

At first, I was confused while reading, how the two timelines intersected, but it did all come together at the end. The writing style was great and sucked you in right away. This was a deeply moving historical fiction book that was powerful and emotional. I enjoyed the 1965 timeline better than the 2010 timeline, but both were needed in this story. This was a story about racism, civil rights, love and loss. I highly recommend you read The Last House on the Street!

The Last House on the Street was a harsh visit to our not-so-distant past as well as a good contemporary account of two women bravely accepting the independence life has thrust upon them. Published early in 2022, the half of the story that takes place in 1965 North Carolina will evoke embarrassed memories in a fair number of Ms. Chamberlain's more seasoned readers and shock in her younger fans. Fine, upstanding members of a community playing an active role in Klan activities was, sadly, not an exaggeration, and the author does a magnificent job of allowing us to feel at home in a world where we hope maybe things won't be as bad as all that, and then flinging back the curtain to show just how bad it was. The prose was seductive, allowing the reader to feel instantly immersed into the dual-time lines of the story: cheering for the young and idealistic Ellie in 1965 and the confident career woman Kayla in 2010. The narration of the audiobook was excellent. Ms. Chamberlain consistently takes on major social themes and wraps them in an engrossing storyline that keeps her readers spellbound, and she's done so again with The Last House on the Street.

You can’t go wrong with a Diane Chamberlain novel and this one is no exception! I love the dual timelines with different POVs that weave a gorgeous story together. In this book, I admit I enjoyed the pat story line more than the present day but that was just because we all grew up hearing about the 60’s and the Civil Rights movement and how incredibly emotional of a time it was. To follow Ellie’s story, you felt what she felt; you wanted to laugh, cry and love with her. I felt like I was Ellie and Diane Chamberlain does such an amazing job at immersing you in the story and making you feel ALL the emotions! Highly, highly recommend this!

The narrator Susan Bennett was fabulous and she did a great job with different character voices and accents. I was definitely more invested in the historical part of the story, the present-day section didn't seem to have much to grab you, but the two times still worked well together.