I ended up DNFing this book after getting a sense of what the book would be about and spoiling the ending for myself to confirm if I'd been right (I had been). This book is well written and I was intrigued by a number of the mysteries at first, but several factors played against it:
1) The pacing was very slow and didn't work as well for me as other 'slow burn' books did (e.g., Summer Sons)
2) The suspicion I had of what the twist would be, which I just do not enjoy as a plot mechanism
3) The use of an animal as a POV (I also turned off Umbrella Academy partway into episode 1 because I was not prepared for a talking monkey. I don't know why I believe basically any ghost or fantasy element but talking animals are too much for me, but here we are)

I tried this book multiple times, progressing a few pages at a time each time up until the 37% mark, but unfortunately, it's just not for me.

The Last House on Needless Street is an excellent psychological horror involving murder, serial killers, and survival to the highest degree in a cruel world. This book was hard to put down and ended up being an instant page-turner as everything from start to finish makes this book worth reading. The ending was alright and even though I wanted a bit more, I would still recommend this for all my fellow fans of unique horror books.
Full review on YouTube.

***In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three.

A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time.
A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory.
And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.

An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.***

The Author has some amazing talent for writing and keeping you guessing. I found this book to be a slow burn at the start although things did pick up and were full of twists. At times I found it a little confusing but as the book unfolds you soon learn why.
I gave this book a 3* rating it didn't grip me as much as I would have liked and it took quite a while to read and finish.

I was so disappointed with this book. I expected so much because of high praise from Stephen King, but honestly, this is such a weird book. It's so oddly paced, and entirely predictable, and a super slow burn for an underwhelming wrap up. There was only one piece of this book that I was surprised by, but everything else I saw coming from a mile away. As much as I was looking forward to this scaring the bejeezus out of me, I found myself hating it instead.

I loved the atmosphere in this book, and Catriona Ward creates a very haunting and creepy one. I felt this, particularly in the flashback scenes as we see what happened in Ted’s childhood. You can see how what happened to him made him into the person he is today. You can see this, especially through the relationship he had with his mother. The book is so well written and Catriona Ward brought the setting to life with beautiful descriptions. I found that as I was reading, I did not want it to end. There’s only a small handful of books I’ve read which have made me feel like that, and I’m sure I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

The Last House On Needless Street is a book you can't put down, even though you feel really uncomfortable reading it. That's one of the best kinds of books, in my opinion. The characters are broken, unreliable, and sympathetic. The pacing is perfect.
The book has a dream-like quality to it., making you wonder if you will wake up to find that reality is very different from what you have been presented by the author.
But the author did an expert job of weaving the unlikely characters together in a way that makes each one indispensable. Perhaps the most interesting is a talking cat.
This is a tough review to write because I don't want to give away any spoilers. One thing I will say, though, is that if you have gone through trauma or abuse, this book may not be for you, as it could be triggering. I appreciated the author's respectful and careful handling of the subject matter. It is definitely a 5 star book!

This is one of the few books that I could not get into. I found that I couldn't get into the characters. I have flagged it to possibly return at another time.

I can't believe how well I liked this book! It had me fooled to the very end, I will recommend it to those who love an intriguing story that keeps them on the edge of their seat!

I'm not going to lie, I did judge a book by it's cover, I feel in love with it and decided to read it based on that alone.

I am not at all disappointed, this is a fantastic psychological horror story that will pull you in quickly. Catriona Ward is fantastic at not only giving each character their own unique voice and perspective but excels at sharing those characters emotions with the reader so deeply you'll almost feel them yourself.

This is a completely plausible horror story that may leave you pondering if your home's security is sufficient while you nervously check the doors and windows.

A fantastic read!

What can I say about this book but wow. It was a little of a struggle at the being trying to figure out what was going on. This story was heartbreaking to see the abuse from the mother to her son. She did horrible things which made him create these different personalities to try and cope with what was happening to him. Overall you didn't know if he was the one who kidnapped the little girl or not. You do find out in the end what happened to them and all of the missing children and why it stopped happening. This was a heartbreaking story about someone who in the end was able to overcome what had been done to him and try to start having a more normal life.

Original, gripping, shocking, impossible to review, and eye-opening in many respects. I do recommend reading the author's note (after you've read the book! otherwise you'll rob yourself of trying to work out when exactly you suspected something was off in this narrative or even understood what exactly was going on)- the last words both summed up the phenomenon and explained it in an incredibly clear and memorable way.

When I say it's impossible to review, I mean it is much better going cold into the book. Immerse yourself into the atmosphere and read carefully, because there will be clues. Not straight from the beginning and nothing of an obvious kind, but the author will let you discover the secret of the last house on Needless Street and trust me, your house will break. A lot of readers classified it as psychological horror and I tend to agree, just not that of a paranormal/Happy Halloween, here is your spooky story! kind. This one goes deep into a soul and explores what makes a person a person, the essential parts that will survive no matter what happens.

One last thing: the endings will keep coming, be patient and open-minded. This book is one of a kind!

This was a very interesting read. At times horror, at times thriller, but always a mystery as to what exactly was going on in the last house on needless street. Anyone looking for a book with plenty of twists and turns will not be disappointed. The ending was satisfying in a way that was completely unexpected from the original trajectory of the book.

I couldn't give this one a rating. A lot of it is from a pet's POV and that's just something I can't do. I've heard lots of great things about the book and the author, so don't let my DNF-ing this one stop you from giving it a proper chance. Who knows, maybe I'll try it again down the road. I stuck it with a 3 star review only because the NG gang makes us leave a rating.

Unfortunately this book is not for me. It took me about three tries to start it and every time I was put off by the chapters where the cat narrates. The writing style and tone didn't suit me, and the twists felt flat and cheap. Glad this worked for others and I wish it did the same for me!

Not my style of story. I was intrigued at the beginning, but the freaky locked up child abuse story - too many triggers and creep level way too high . DNF

The last house on needless street was definitely different. A suspense and mystery all tied up in one. Story is told from different points of view . Very enjoyable read. I really don’t want to say much so as I don’t spoil the book for others. Lots of twists and stuff you don’t expect

A child, Lulu/Lauren, goes missing.. Her sister, now grown, decides to search for her. Dee rents a home across from Ted who was questioned in the disappearance. In Ted's house, there is Ted, Lauren (his "daughter'), adn Olivia the cat. The story is told by all of these characters, but it isn't what you might think.
This is a sad story about a family and how abuse can change everything.
This is a psychological thriller/horror story with several mind-bending twists. I didn't have a good clue as to what was happening until the store where Lauren was trying on tights. That was my first hint that things were probably not what I was originally thinking.
The story and its conclusion were a surprise, but well plotted.

This book was not what I was expecting based on the cover. While it was an interesting story at times and having the cat as a main character it still fell a little flat for me. I was left just wanting more.

Thanks to NetGalley for the book in exchange for my review.

Wow! I'm not the best "detective" for sure and oftentimes my predictions fall short, but normally I have at least a few that are within reason but not this time. lol I was very confused for much of the book due to what I felt was a confusing timeline. I kept trying to figure out if it was just me or the way it was written or what. Because of how difficult that was for me to figure out for a minute, I found myself frustrated as well. That being said, as one can see based on my rating, I ended up loving it! It was dark and the characters were uniquely different...especially Olivia, the cat. Yep! Definitely a character in this one. Although it is dark and at times difficult emotionally, it did have its comic relief. I plan to re-read it fairly soon just to see if I pick up on things that I missed the second time around.

Christopher Ragland did a wonderful job narrating and his voice inflections were spot on in various parts of the story, changing as appropriate just adding to the eeriness of events and the enjoyment of the story itself.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, as well as Macmillan Audio, for an e-ARC and audiobook copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The book captivated my interest. I was instantly hooked when one of the narratives was a cat. Not is all as it seems in the story. There are twists and turns by the time the reader reaches the end.