Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC. This is a very dark book about child abduction indeed. It took me awhile to figure out what was going on and the book definitely has a strong sense of foreboding. Would I watch the movie? No! Too creepy.

This is the story of Ted who lives on the end of Needless Street. He lives with his cat Olivia and his daughter Lauren. He may also be a murderer. His new neighbor is the sister of a young girl that went missing years ago and she is out to prove he did it.

With that said, I really wanted to like this book. With so many great reviews, I expected more, but it wasn’t for me. First, I wouldn’t categorize it as horror. Secondly, I figured the premise early on and wasn’t surprised by the ‘twist’ others mentioned. Each chapter is written from one character’s point of view (including the cat). Without giving too much away, I do have to say the author did a lot of research but I couldn't get into it the way I would have liked.

Dark, atmospheric. I found it slow in the first half but then the pace picked up considerably. A little bit much of a "how I did it" monologue in the revelatory chapters - while it is nice to see all the pieces put together, it felt a little too neatly laid out especially considering every single narrator character in the book was super unreliable. A good read in general, however. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this book- read it in 2 days. I found that the author was very sensitive to the psychology of DID and brought forth great imagery regarding society's innate prejudice against people who are different. I appreciated the development of the main character(s) and the way the author shared the trauma these characters experienced and how they dealt with these traumas in different ways.

I was constantly trying to figure out who the "bad guy" was and enjoyed the fact that the main characters were each also trying to find a "bad guy" and in the end we realize that that can mean many different things to the different people. Guilt, trauma, mistakes all carry their own weight in this novel. The author creatively draws the reader into the plot and all along you are wondering who is "the murderer/kidnapper"?

Still, the puzzle unfolds well and was an enjoyable read. I think I wanted to know more about DeeDee and her situation and wished I had had more information about her life and her inability to move on (especially the psychological impact of amnesia/PTSD that followed the disappearance of her sister). Since Deedee was a main character, I felt her storyline should have been slightly heavier. I wanted more information about her situation.

WOW! This book blew me away! I am usually very perspective and can catch on early on in a book where the author is going and what to expect but this book kept me guessing. I was astonished with how Catriona Ward weaved the words and created this work of art. This book will keep you on the edge and all the twist and turned will keep you guessing. I highly recommend this physiological thriller to everyone.

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This book combines horror with horrifying experiences with a result somewhat like fantasy. There are numerous characters with multiple problems - their interaction is ever changing. Twists and turns are throughout. I recommend this story if the reader enjoys a wild ride with constantly altered reality.

I finished reading this book a few days ago and had to take a few days to collect my thoughts.

Overall, I did not like this book. I felt that once I learned what was happening, I was just not that into the characters.
I understood what the author was going for and before I get into the spoilers, let me say that there was so many characters that did not need to be in the story...the bugman, and Dee come to mind.

I felt that the author did a great job trying to incorporate the different perspectives.

However, I felt that it was too chaotic, not enough information till the end, then add in characters that were supposed to matter to the reader, Rob, the gay guy.

I felt that this book had great potential. However, I couldn't connect with any of the characters, the story was thin, and overall not to my liking.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC for this honest review.

I was so looking forward to reading this book -last house on needless street- from the preview. This book was too bizarre for me. I understand you were in the minds of characters who were ; well bizarre. But this book was just too difficult for me to read. If you want silence of the lamb on steroids. Then maybe you will enjoy

Riveting!
What was, isn't ... and what is, wasn't.
I was hooked from the beginning. All the twists and turns... WOW!...


#TheLastHouseonNeedlessStreet #NetGalley

Dark, creepy, terrifying but the writing was the best I've seen and I was immediately pulled into the story and invested in the characters.

352 pages

5 stars

It took me a very long time to write this review. I thought about this book for days and pondered what I could say to do it justice. The book is somewhat promoted to be of the horror genre. It is not. It solidly fits into an intense study of abnormal psychology. This book made me cry.

A man named Ted, his sometimes daughter and a cat live in a ramshackle house whose windows are boarded up. The man has drilled holes in the boards to peek out. He sees someone who says he is a psychologist (but is he really?), but doesn't talk to him about anything important. He just collects the pills the man gives him.

He lives an isolated llife, hunting the personals, but never gets up the courage to actually meet anyone. His cat provides the love he needs. She is very affectionate. And on the days that his daughter visits – oh, she can be a terror – the atmosphere in the house is mixed. Olivia the cat hides from the girl.

His mother was very abusive, but the man never thought of it as abuse for he knew nothing else. His father left the family when he was young. Then, his mother went away and he was alone. Now he just has Olivia and his daughter.

He knows he is not “normal.”

This book is absolutely wonderful. I readily became obsessed with finishing it, but at the same time, I didn't want it to end. I cannot begin to describe the effect it had on me. I must confess to a background in clinical psychology, so I cottoned on pretty quickly as to what was going on with Ted. I was devastated and so very sad for him.

I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillian-Tor/Forge/Tor Nightfire for forwarding to me a copy of this heartrending and wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Loved this story so much and I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next! The back and forth between timelines, along with the creativity of the angles and perspectives of the characters, has stuck with me since I finished the last chapter.

I honestly gave this book a chance to prove all the great reviews it received from the horror greats (Stephen King!), but I really could not get into it...I wasn't even partially afraid! Sorry!

Wow. My emotions during this novel really ran the gamut: from horror and disgust to empathy and curiosity. I don’t want to give anything away, as the last third of the book really pivots in a new direction, but I am so glad I read this. Don’t go into this expecting to be scared exactly, although there are some pretty terrible things happening. This is definitely worth a read for those who are into all things dark and twisty. Absolutely unlike anything I’ve read before. 4.5 stars.

Six-year-old Lulu disappeared one summer day from a lake in Washington State eleven years ago. Now her sister has tracked down the final suspect in her long-cold case and is determined to find answers.

Creeping, thrilling, and a wild ride, this will be one book you won't be able to put down. Between a very strange man, a crumbling house, a misbehaving daughter, and a talking cat, this story unfolds in a beautifully creepy way that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

Catriona Ward has crafted a tale that keeps you enthralled from beginning to end. It is exquisitely yet simply written, capturing the essence of each character's depth and intricacies while making the reader care about them, no matter what they may have done.
However, to call this a horror novel is, in my opinion, a disservice. Horrors leave you frightened and unable to sleep at night for fear of what may lurk in the dark. There are definitely horrors IN the book, but it is more of a psychological thriller with an underlying mystery than a horror novel. So if you are hesitating to read this book because horror isn't something you enjoy, I humbly suggest you give it a try.
When reviewing this book, it would be so easy to accidently include a spoiler. And such a mistake would truly spoil the novel. The author takes you on a journey, unravelling a tapestry slowly and carefully until an ending that I expect very few will see coming, on more than one level.
I came away from this somewhat shocked, saddened, and yet satisfied at the end. It will likely stick with me for a while, which is, after all, what a book is supposed to do.

Review Copy

The writing is as gorgeously imaginative as it gets and drew me down into this tale like no other. It's told from many different points of view giving the reader the perspective needed to figure out what is going on.

But everything you think you know is wrong.

Do not read a single review that even smacks of giving away even the smallest fragment of storyline. This is one story you'll be glad that you went into knowing nothing. And when you break out the tissues mak sure you save plenty for the stunning, no, make that shocking conclusion. You're going to need them.

This is psychological horror at its very best.

THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET gets my vote for the best book of the year. Hope you think so too. Don't waste a second, you can order it from Tor/Forge.

THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET
BY CATRIONA WARD

This was a book that could give me nightmares. It started out harmless enough but once I was into it at about fifty two percent it was deeply disturbing. Stephen King and his son Joe Hill had endorsed it and since lately I have seen Stephen King endorsing many books I am skeptical about some of his endorsements. On the contrary his lesser known for their family roots is Stephen King's son Joe Hill who I found out about fifteen years ago on a frigid Winter night at an independent bookstore is a talented writer. I remember meeting him like it was yesterday and Joe Hill was a very humble author who was kind and I remember having so much respect for Joe Hill because although he could have easily been published by using a name and get instant fame by using the connection to his internationally world famous father, Stephen King, he chose to use the (then) unknown name, Joe Hill. Joe Hill endorsed this book and that is the reason I gave it a try and I am so glad that I did. Joe Hill could have taken the easy route and rode on the coattails of his world famous father but he has risen through the ranks of distinguished author's of this genre with anonymously earning his place by his extreme talent. I knew that an endorsement from Joe Hill was not hype and that this book would be the real deal and it was. This book is deserving of more than five stars.

When I got to about fifty two percent in I was asking myself why am I reading a book that could be so scary that it could easily give me nightmares? I mean this is rare that I feel spine tingling chills as I did with Catriona Wards new book called, "The Last House on Needless Street." Yet, I couldn't put this book down it held my attention and I was enjoying the thrills and chills during a stifling hot ninety degree plus Summer day on my youngest son's birthday. I had a 1:30 appointment that afternoon that I postponed because I had to keep reading. This novel is one that I never will forget for the beauty of the prose, yet it still was scary enough but never in a gratuitous graphic way.

For fans of thrillers you won't go wrong with picking up this fantastic roller coaster ride that had me totally gripped. Reading this reminded me of a life altering moments when I watched the movie "Psycho," for the first time when I was aged ten or eleven. This book reminded me of Norman Bates and his crazy mother but in the end I was completely wrong. In the Afterward, Catriona Ward, explains her reasons for writing this outstanding novel and I had so much respect for her for taking on such an honorable subject matter and illuminating it in such a noble way. I LOVED THIS BOOK and it will be a long time and an even longer dry spell for me before I get to read a horror genre that wows me as much as this one did. I will be recommending this to all of my friends and family who love great reading experiences. I am definitely buying this in the hardcover physical copy to place on that special shelf of favorites that I must own. This was Sooooooooooo Great!

Publication Date: September 28, 2021

A huge Thank you to Net Galley, Catriona Ward and Macmillan-Tor/Forge Publishing for being so incredibly generous for sharing with me my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheLastHouseonNeedlessStreet #CatrionaWard #MacmillanTorForgePublishing #NetGalley

So I finished this book an hour ago and I am already rereading it. What in the hell is this book? Why is it so addictive? It’s so terrifying. But there was a genuine LOL moments in there, not at all darkly humored but the kind of genuine belly laugh you get from a sly pun about a late night talk show hosted by a cat. But that's the kind of humor needed when you are reading a book that keeps you so on edge that every sense is heightened. This is a great book see you on the other side of my double header reader theater.

Horror? Suspense? Good review by Stephen King? I love Stephen King so any book he recommended I just had to read.

It’s a different book, I’ve never read anything like it before.

I wanted so much to get done with the book and give it glowing praise. I can’t. The book is written awkwardly and there’s a reason for that, but the awkward writing makes it hard to get into the story and is a jumbled mess. The writing feels like Ted is a child and not an adult with a child and this book feels like it was written by a child, This book is not a page turner by any stretch. I wouldn’t call it horror, bizarre maybe, but not horror, I can’t recommend the book. I had so much hope going in but found that hope dashed pretty quickly in the first chapter as I slogged through it.

Pros: It’s a different book and I have not read anything like it before.

Cons: Awkward writing that feels like it was written by a child and not an adult. Jumbled story. Certainly wouldn’t categorize it as horror.