In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act and the SCOPE project took place over the summer to register blacks in six southern states. This book, told in a dual timeline, covers the project in North Carolina. Elly is a 20 year old white woman, a sophomore in college, when she decides to sign up as a volunteer.
The second timeline of the story takes place in 2010. Kayla is a young, recently widowed architect when a strange woman comes to her office and knows more about her than she should. And tells her not to move into her newly completed house.

As is so often the case with dual storylines, the historical one is much more interesting than the latter. It details the breadth of the bigotry of the day, the prevalence and hatred of the KKK. I’ll never think of the hymn The Old Rugged Cross the same way again.

I was engrossed by Ellie and her story, but Kayla seemed more like a plot device than a real person. It didn’t take long to determine how the story would play out. It’s that obvious. But I did enjoy learning about the SCOPE project. This was probably my least favorite of Chamberlain’s books just because it was so obvious. I would have also liked for her to have woven a little more historic facts into the story, but that’s a personal preference of mine.

Another great story by Diane Chamberlain. I love the way she weaves story lines from past and present so flawlessly and hits on issues that are still being faced and fought today without being preachy or forcing an opinion. Her books are definitely one-sitting reads because you get so lost you can't put them down!!

I loved how the book's concurrent storylines ended up intertwining. In the 1960s, Ellie works in the Round Hill area as an advocate for black Americans to get the right to vote. Meanwhile, in the 2010s, widowed Kayla moves into a brand new Round Hill home in the house at the end of the street. The series of events in the book unfolds throughout history and three generations of family, and it kept me riveted the entire time. I gobbled up this book in three days. There are two huge twists in the last half of the book that were surprising and heartbreaking. This is a great read for those who like historical fiction. The plot moved fast enough to keep me intrigued, with a few well-placed moments of reflection on moments pivotal in history and to the main characters. Such a great read!

This book was not what I was expecting! But in a great way! It was a mix of local history, mystery, and social justice in the South and in the 60s. The story is told in past and present timelines by narrators Ellie and Kayla, who eventually meet in present day as the mystery unfolds. This book was rich in language and emotion. Very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this advanced reader’s eCopy. My only critique is I wish the arc included the author’s note and acknowledgments at the end as I would have liked to read what sparked this novel for Chamberlain and why she thought it was important.

I Did not finish this book to give an accurate review. It Was not for me.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this and best wishes on the release.

This book is a historical fiction novel that has dual timelines - 2010 and 1965. In 1965 a young white woman, Ellie, is helping register black voters in the south. She does this against the wishes of both her parents and her community. In 2010 a young mother, Kayla, is mourning the death of her husband and is preparing to move into the house they were building together. At first it is unclear how these two timelines will intersect but Diane Chamberlain does a masterful job of tying both them both together.

This book really pulled my heartstrings and packed a big emotional punch that left me thinking on the topics long after I put this book down.

I love Diane Chamberlain books! I always look forward to new books by her and this one was no exception. I'm not old enough to remember much about this time in history; however, I am a native North Carolinian and have heard stories about racism in some of the more rural counties in the 1950-60s. I am thankful that times have changed. I am hopeful that there were many Ellies who stood up for what was right and persevered. I will definitely be recommending this book to others!

Diane Chamberlain is one of my automatic by authors and I loved this one! I loved the dual timeline and how the stories entertained. I found myself not wanting to put this one down!

Wow! I stayed up way too late to finish this last night. The ending blew me away. I am still digesting it.

I admit when I first started I wasn’t sure. It flips between 2010 and 1965 in almost every other chapter. The 2010 storyline at first felt unnecessary but I was wrong. It was so needed.

Some readers may take offense to words used and situations that occur but one must remember it was 1965 in the South. Not the South’s most beautiful moment in history. It happened and we must read to learn how not to repeat.

Definitely, a must-read for 2022.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed above are entirely my own.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This work of historical fiction is told in two time periods - 1965 and 2010.

In 1965, the Civil Rights Movement in the United States reached a peak. While waiting for the Voting Rights Act to be signed by President Johnson, a group of leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., announced project SCOPE, which would help the disenfranchised black population in the South register to vote. The volunteers met with prejudice and violence from the Ku Klux Klan, a powerful force in those days.

Skipping to 2010, the echoes of those turbulent times would still impact a small North Carolina town.

Diane Chamberlain's powerful story resonates with the Black Lives Matter and similar situations that are occurring today.

The Last House On The Street is a histoarical fiction is a dual timeliness with a knocked me off my feet ending. Loved the characters in this story. This author never fails to engage me in her writing and story line.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed are my own

Oh my goodness! I could not have predicted the ending! This book had all the feels for me! I love books about civil rights and this is a book that I think should be read by everyone concerned about civil rights! The ending surprised me so much. I had my suspicions but it kept me guessing until the very end! Fabulous author.

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain is an interesting mix of thriller and historical fiction that will both terrify you and give you pause. The book has dual timelines and narrators, which work well together to keep the story moving. This is an enjoyable and enlightening novel that will evoke many emotions.

Set in alternating timelines between 1965 and 2010, we learn the stories of two women and how their lives intersect. Ellie is a white young adult in the ’60s who is an activist helping Black Americans in North Carolina registering to vote. Her story is compelling and scary, as she sees first hand how racism affects those around her. Meanwhile, in 2010, Kayla is building a new house and is discovering that the area has more history and ghosts than she was aware of.

❀ EXCITING AND TERRIFYING

While I found the book to be slow paced at first, the dual narrators are both enjoyable to read about, and when the two characters’ lives begin to intertwine, the story really starts to click. I found it hard to set down once things start to unravel. The way the author has set the stage for the story to shock readers is exciting and terrifying.

❀ HISTORICAL REFERENCES

The mix of historical fiction and thriller is what makes this book unique and engaging. There are lots of interesting historical references with themes of racism and social justice. Also, a forbidden romance adds tension and intrigue to the plot that will break your heart.

❀ DOES NOT DISAPPOINT

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain is a fascinating combination of historical fiction and thriller that will entertain and engage you at the same time. Fans of the author’s previous works will not be disappointed in this latest novel. I can’t wait to see what Chamberlain has in store for us next.

This historical fiction is a dual timeline between 1965 Ellie and 2010 Kayla, setting in North Carolina. I enjoyed learning of the SCOPE project which helped register Blacks to vote in the 1960s. The storylines seems a bit forced until the end. However. true to Chamberlin's writing style, I enjoyed this read. Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story will stay with me for quite a while. Wow. I couldn’t put it down and definitely did not want it to end. What an amazing author.

This sounded like something that would be up my alley, but I just could not get into this so I did not finish it.

Wow! When I started this book, I thought it was going to be a thriller, but I got so much more. I loved the historical aspect, and parts of it even had me tearing up. Definitely a great read!

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain is told from different viewpoints from 1965 and 2010. The back and forth between the past and present is a format I enjoy, mixing the emotional past of the Civil Rights movement with the emotional present for one family.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

Diane Chamberlain’s métier is crafting a story that links the past and the present in unique ways, from a contemporary artist restoring a historic mural in Big Lies in a Small Town to time-traveling in The Dream Daughter, she has a true gift for finding new ways to explore how the present is built on the past. The Last House on the Street is another unique look at the past through today. In this book, Kayla Carter is building a house, one that was supposed to be a dream home for her family, but now her husband died in an accident in the home and she is conflicted. Does she really want to live there now? Add to that, there is a woman warning her against moving there and people say the forest behind the house is haunted. And it sure seems so.

In the past, there is the story of Ellie Hockley, who joins Freedom Summer registering voters. She is unique in that she is not a volunteer coming from the north but a local Southern young woman who wants to make a difference so much she forges her father’s name on the permission form. In her work, she meets a young Black man and falls in love. And of course, the South is the South so they do not live happily ever after.

Diane Chamberlain cannot write a bad novel, but I sure wish she would stop writing white saviors. Ellie did not seem real, she felt like a plot device and that is disappointing. I understand the desire to highlight the sins of the past, but using a white savior as the lens distorts the past and washes away the sins. I understand she wants to write novels that speak to big problems, novels that matter, but let them be more honest.

I received an e-galley of The Last House on the Street from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Last House on the Street at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
Diane Chamberlain author site
Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain
The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain

Another fabulous book by Diane Chamberlain! Told in a dual timeline by Kayla Carter in 2010 and Ellie Hockley in 1965 that flows seamlessly between characters and decades. This book mixes historical fiction dealing with Ellie's experiences during the high tensions of the Civil Rights Movement and a thrilling mystery happening to Kayla's family in modern times. It was a hard book to put down while it easily held my attention from the intriguing beginning to the climatic end. Their stories have stayed with me many days after finishing it and I miss the characters and setting of Round Hill, North Carolina as if they were my own neighbors.
I highly recommend this suspenseful and emotionally charged book. I am very grateful to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this fantastic book in exchange for a honest review.