At first, this was a perplexing read. The narrative seemed super disjointed and when I realized a religious cat was one of the narrators, I was ready to give up. However, because I had read many positive reviews of this book, I persisted. The narrative remained disjointed, but instead of being a source of frustration, the fractured pieces of plot became an interesting puzzle that I needed to solve. Even when the pieces started falling into place for me, I was compelled to continue reading because each chapter seemed to shed new light on situations, making me rethink what I thought I knew. It was very hard to read through some of the more traumatic moments of the plot, but I understand those were necessary to understanding the pain and suffering of the characters in the book. I didn’t know that I’d want to reread the book, necessarily, because experiencing that vicarious pain was intense. However, the plot was really original and satisfying. Also, to my surprise, I grew to really love that cat narrator!

It is 3am. I am trying not to cry. I feel as if I can’t breathe properly. This book is no doubt going to my top favorites.

Ever.

DEEPLY atmospheric and will leave your mind going 100 miles an hour. I absolutely loved it and will likely never forget this book. It was truly amazing....

Despite the fact due to recent events in my own life, I knew what was going in right away.

This book was such a surprise to me in the way that the various points of view come together at the end of the novel. Overall the theme of the novel is about extreme abuse and neglect and how we deal with unimaginable horrors in our youth and as we get older.

This book is written from various view points and goes into how our main character dealt with extreme forms of abuse as they grew up. It was such a creative and horrifying story of severe abuse to read, I found myself not able to put it down! By the end I was feeling so emotionally attached to our main character. Such a well written and original story!

Thank you so much for the arc of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet they are all lies...

You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you've read this story before. That's where you're wrong.

In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. But it's not what you think...


OMG! This is going to be frustrating
because I really can't give a review without spoilers! I will say it was the most impressive book I've read this year hands down. A new modern classic. The writing style echoes Shirley Jackson, but has its own unique voice. It's horror/gothic/thriller and so much more. I only wish I could give it more stars than 5 stars. Can not wait to purchase my own copy

In a decrepit house on a dead end street, behind boarded up windows near a dark wood lives a family.

The man loses time, finding himself standing over and over again in front of his neighbors house, trying not to remember his past. The girl can’t go outside without the man, and rides her pink bicycle up and down, up and down the halls of the house. And the cat watches her lover (a very pretty tabby) out the peephole in the window, hoping one day the tabby will look back.

Meanwhile, Little Girl With Popsicle’s sister has moved next door, convinced she’ll discover the answer to the mysteries behind her sister’s disappearance. And she has her eye on the family.

This book was dark in all the right ways. Little Girl With Popsicle went missing under mysterious circumstances from a nearby lake eleven years ago. The police arrived at Ted’s doorstep to search the house. So the question is, is Ted a perpetrator of a crime, or is he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

It took a long time for me to figure out which direction this book was heading! I really thought I knew the answer to the mystery (because it felt so obvious)! But, I was pleasantly surprised at the end. This was one of those books that felt like it could ended 50 pages before it did. Luckily, it was a good thing it didn’t. The ending really made this book for me.

I loved the different narrators in this book, especially Olivia the cat. She did feel very cat like to me, all things considered. I especially liked her observations about brouhahas (or dogs).

Altogether a very twisty turney thriller/horror novel. I very much enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to be at least a little surprised at the end of the book (wow, was I surprised about Dee's ending!).

First time I am out of words! Anything I may write about this book will be so worthless! None of the words come out my mouth, letters I click, sentences o try to form or expressions I barely articulate will never be enough to reflect how I feel!

I’m extremely flabbergasted, shocked, startled! And for the first time after I finish a horror- thriller- gothic- psychological thriller-mystery ( the good dances between all those genres) I deeply feel soooo sad! I deeply cared for characters!

If I tell you more, I may give away more about the story! So I’m just shutting my mouth because I don’t want to do anything affecting how you’ll feel about this book and I don’t want to ruin your epic reading experience!

I can only see this book truly exceeded my expectations and it’s extraordinary work!
It’s not only a serial killer story! It’s not only about a cat recites the Bible perfectly! It’s not only about a girl who is adamant to find the killer who hurt her sister! Or is not about a wild child she needs to be trapped in the house to protect herself from the violence of the outside ( or the outer world should be the one to get protected from her)! And it’s not about bulky, introvert, outcast man who wears same clothes, dealing with her wild daughter and sarcastic cat who hates crime thriller shows on TV, trying to blend in but hardly failing.

This book is so much more than these! Just read it and prepare to get shaken to the core! You may start to pick up the pieces in the middle about the big mystery but trust me it’s even bigger and uglier than you may hardly imagine.

I have to say this is so different from the horror books I’ve recently read and it’s one of the unique and original works of the year I highly recommend you to give a shot!

Millions of thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan / Tor-Forge for sharing this incredible digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

A dark story of murder and revenge? A supernatural thriller? I mean, it's endorsed by Stephen King, so that's a helluva introduction. And then, not to be shallow, but that cover is fantastic.

'The Last House on Needless Street' has it all...death and madness, humor and sadness, and perhaps even a sprinkling of redemption.

The prose and characterization are top notch. A page turner for sure.

Well worth the time investment.

This psychological horror novel is about a missing girl and the big sister who tries to find her. It’s a book about a whole lot more, too.

PROS:
The feelings of the characters are so deep (even when the feelings are hidden, which only makes sense when you read the story) that they drill through the book and into your head and leave you reeling.

Another thing Ward does so skillfully is write distinctive voices for each character. I could tell immediately whose head we were in without looking at the chapter titles. (Each chapter titles says whose point of view it is). I particularly liked Olivia’s voice. She is aloof and yet grounded at the same time, like a fussy, fastidious feline.

I can tell Ward did a lot of research for this book. The psychological horror aspect felt true-to-life.

I especially liked the sprinkles of clues throughout the book. The ending was unpredictable yet not a surprise because of all the clues. The ending was perfect!

CONS:
You have to read this book with enough patience to think, “That doesn’t make sense, but I’m sure it’ll make sense later.” I found passages like that intriguing, but I’m sure some readers will be frustrated.

OVERALL:
I’m thrilled to have received this book through NetGalley. Five big stars!

Gothic horror with terrifying atmosphere, creepy characters, and unreliable narrators, but where the real horror is abuse and a legacy of trauma. A great modern interpretation of the genre.

When I first started reading, the style seemed a little disjointed and I wasn't sure that I would enjoy it; boy was I mistaken. This was such a gripping novel full of twists and turns. Each narrative perspective was well defined and had their own individual personality - the jumps between characters may not be for everyone but I felt that they were well defined and quite easily distinguished. By the time I reached the midway point of the story there was a twist I hadn't expected, or a piece of information revealed in each chapter that sucked me further in. It's a wonderfully written and surprisingly tragic story that is so much less straightforward than it presents itself to be. I thoroughly enjoyed The Last House on Needless Street and I'll certainly be picking up Catriona Ward's other works.

Dee's sister, Lulu, has been missing for years. Haunted by her disappearance, Dee moves in next to Ted Bannerman, the reclusive drinker she suspects of taking Lulu.

Meanwhile, Ted is concerned with his daughter's behavior issues, and his cat just wants to read the Bible.

The above description tells you enough to get started with this story. But to say it's the tip of the iceberg is an understatement. Spoilers are tough to avoid with this novel.

In The Last House on Needless Street, Catriona Ward has written a gripping tale of gothic horror, where every turn of the page reveals a twist that even the most jaded reader won't be expecting.

I started out wondering what had happened to Lulu, but as the story progressed, I found myself wonering the same about every character.

Highly recommended for horror and thriller fans.

This is perhaps one of the strangest books I've come across. I mean one of the points of view was by a cat!

This book is a very fast read, I sit down on Saturday afternoon and finished it before I went to bed that night. I see this book being very well received among horror fans. The writing was very good, Catriona Ward is a great writer. It had a big twist that I didn't see coming. Overall I wouldn't say this is a bad story, it just wasn't for me.

It's so difficult to describe my thoughts about this book without giving anything away. This is a story about survival and how powerful the mind is.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and Catriona Ward for the advanced readers' copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is JAW DROPPING. ASTOUNDING. It is so freaking well written. I honestly cannot believe how amazing this book is. It is freaky and psychological and so twisted with twists throughout. The writing quality is not the typical thriller horror writing that I'm used to. It's perfect. I am so happy I ordered a special edition of this book because I will be rereading it and I will be buying copies for everyone I know. Thank you SO much Catriona Ward for writing this phenomenal book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ability to read this book in return for an honest review.

A complicated story of revenge, child abduction, a serial killer, and psychological control. The journey starts with The Little Girl with Popsicle and her mysterious disappearance.

There was so much going on in this book...too much really. There are multiple characters whose lives intertwine in various ways. I found this story to be too convoluted to really enjoy. The most significant theme throughout the story is that of mental illness and how abused children handle their trauma in order to survive. I was not a fan of this story, the prose, and the flow of the story. I found finishing the story a chore and had to force myself to do so. If you like a psychological thriller that will have you wondering where the story is going, then this is a read for you.

I have NEVER been so confused but not able to stop because I needed to know where this story was taking me.


I thought this was pretty straight forward and had it all figured out. Until everything took I twist which lead me to reading over half the book today just to finish.

I have to say that at first I found it hard to follow but was quickly able to figure out, or so I thought, the differences in characters.

Another book I’m excited to see published. I actually want to give 4.5 starts but that's not an option.

This is a heck of a read -- I could barely put it down. Twisty and terrifying, yes, but also compassionate and hopeful, and occasionally very very funny. I can't wait to read more from Ward and will be enthusiastically recommending this book to all!

Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

This is one of those books that starts out as one thing…and ends as quite another.

When I started this, I thought it was kind of a standard thriller. I was also very confused about one character. Extremely confused. The kind of confused and unhappy where my mind was screaming DO NOT LIKE and I honestly questioned if this was the book for me. Luckily, I kept reading.

I ended up loving this. This was one of those books where I started out thinking it was definitively not a five star book and I ended completely floored.

It is a thriller, but it’s also a completely heartbreaking tale. The author has a particularly devious way of telling the story. It’s sinuous, but you start to get glimmers of the truth until you finally, truly understand.

I’m so glad I read this one. And yeah…it ended up being an absolute five star read for me!

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Rating: 9.5/10

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of The Last House on Needless Street for review consideration. This did not influence my thoughts or opinions.

The Last House on Needless Street is as good, if not better, than advertised. Believe all of the hype surrounding this novel from names like Stephen King, Joe Hill, Paul Tremblay, Alex North, Sarah Pinborough and a litany of others. It is an absolutely mesmerizing novel; a bone-chilling masterwork of dark fiction that is as disquieting as it is heart-wrenching. A true standout in the genre.

I’ve been watching the hype surrounding this book for a while now and have been waiting on pins and needles for an advance reading copy so I could absolutely devour it. Not many novels have the ability to instantaneously sink its claws into you, shred every nerve in your body, and leave you a messy puddle on the floor… but this one did. The only others that come to mind are Gone Girl, The Only Good Indians, You, and maybe a handful of others.

I’m sure most of you have already seen the Deadline article where Andy Serkis (yes, THAT Andy Serkis) alongside Jonathan Cavendish will be making a film adaptation (if not, here is the link.) I’m not going to say that is unheard of before a book has even been published world-wide, but it is still a super noteworthy thing. You know, on top of the dozens of other massive praiseworthy articles, lists, etc. it is already making its rounds on.

What I am saying is… READ THIS FREAKING BOOK AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

I found Ward’s writing very intriguing, especially in the onset. It is a completely different style than what I am used to which is probably part of the reason I found it impossible to put down. The way in which she wrote the beginning couple of chapters asked way more questions that it answered and had me searching page after page well into the darkest part of the evening. Much like the synopsis on Goodreads…

This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet they are all lies…

You think you know what’s inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you’ve read this story before. That’s where you’re wrong.

In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. But it’s not what you think…

every time you think you have it figured out, you are completely wrong. Like, WAY wrong. Even after finishing, (which in order to read this section, you HAVE TO FINISH. Otherwise, you will ruin the book for yourself) I had to read Ward’s Afterward where she explains how she came up with the story idea and all of the research she put into it. Utterly fascinating.

You’ll fall in love with the characters, hate them, feel sorry for them, and will end up in a pool of your own tears by the final turn of the page.

Ward is a very new author to me, and probably most of you. I keep asking myself “WHY?” Why am I just now finding out about her? TLHoNS isn’t a debut; it is actually her 3rd full-length novel. Why did Rawblood and Little Eve fly so far under my radar? Who knows, but I will definitely be purchasing both by the time I am done writing this review.

Time to end the review. I simply have nothing else to give. Buy the book and thank me later.

Wow... Now that was not at all what I expected. Seriously, this is one of those books that you go into thinking that you have a vague idea of where it's going to go and then you get through it and realize that you were just played. The author used your expectations against you in the most beautiful way. Bravo! This is a Gothic masterpiece with different viewpoints that take place in a small town where... Let's just say some crazy stuff is happening. It's hard to get into without ruining some of the most amazing twists that I've encountered in a long time, but let's just say that it's important to pay attention to the narrator and their motives. Think House Of Leaves... Not all narrators are reliable. I'll leave it at that. Again, Bravo. Also, if you're a fan of cats be forewarned...you may want to skim past a part of two. I would definitely recommend!

You know how some horror doesn't really scare you because you know you're unlikely to encounter a vampire, werewolf or zombie? This isn't that type of horror. It's something that could happen to you or someone you know. It's doubly scary and it's also literary, glorious words taking on a deep subject. I wanted to immediately call a security company and have my whole house wired up. Like I can afford that.

In the first chapter, Ted is speaking quite simply. I thought, "Oh, this will be tedious." But don't let that first chapter fool you. He, and the other characters, are multi-dimensional and in more ways than you can imagine.

Other readers kept mentioning a surprising twist, so I thought I'd be prepared. But no, it still caught me off guard. This is the kind of book you keep reading and reading because you're eager to find out what happens. Throughout the book there are three or four people you want to rip out of the story and stomp on. Beware, they are not necessarily the one you are looking for.

The child abuse is extremely difficult to read. If you feel you may be triggered, you probably want to stay away.

Since I can't afford security, I'll do like one of the characters and start sleeping with a claw hammer beside the bed. (My cat disapproves of this idea and says she'll protect me...by hiding under the covers with me)