‘“I’m just tired of seeing a wrong and doing nothing to make it right, that’s all,’ I said. ‘I wish you’d give me some support.’”

“It’s somethin’ my people learned early on. We learned to weigh and measure the cost of everything. You got to decide what’s worth fightin’ for.”

This book, told in duel timelines (2010 and the 1960’s), follows Kayla Carter after her husband tragically dies building their dream home, and Ellie as she embarks on a civil rights journey with the Scope Project.

Wow. I almost gave up on this one. I LOVED the Dream Daughter. Like could read it again loved it. So when I started this one I had super high hopes. And it was just very slow to start and I didn’t see how the time lines would intersect in any meaningful way. Whelp, I am here to tell you, if you are feeling the same way, KEEP GOING.

I audibly gasped while listening to this. The narrator evoked such emotion that I actually found it difficult to listen to at times, considering the subject matter. This is one of those books that stays with you. It changes you. It is heartfelt and raw and so emotional. Nicely done (yet again) Diane Chamberlain. Nicely done.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Last House on the Street has dual storylines. One takes place in 1965 when Ellie Hockley decides to spend her summer break from college registering black voters in her home state of North Carolina. It’s a summer of revelations, love, and heartache.

In 2010 Kayla Carter and her three-year-old daughter are about to move into the house that she and her late husband, both architects, have designed. But, Kayla has been receiving warnings about moving in and the threats continue to escalate.

When I picked up this book I didn’t know what to expect. But, amid our current political climate, what a perfect time to be reading about the fight for voters’ rights. It felt so right and the story of Ellie and her experiences during that hot summer in 1965 is riveting. Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding the new home that Kayla and her daughter live in is equally compelling and the way the two stories converge is so very well done.

The Last House on the Street is well-written, passionate, tense, and nearly impossible to put down book. The characters are well-developed, as is the plot itself. The story moves effortlessly between the two eras and the author has infused the book with the passions of the young freedom riders and the determination of the young, widowed mother. Both women are strong and focused on their goals and convictions.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Thank you, Ms Chamberlain, for giving me such a pleasurable reading experience. You definitely have a new fan.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

What I loved and didn’t love as much

Diane Chamberlain grabbed my attention right from the start while creating some intriguing suspense around a hostile mysterious woman who comes to warn Kayla about her dream home. Located in the small town of Round Hill, North Carolina, it is the last house on a street that has only one other house on it. The story has Chamberlains’ classic conflict elements with complicated dynamics while weaving together two timelines; however, some parts of the story felt more convenient rather than complex.

I loved the backdrop to the story that focused on the civil rights movement and the summer program SCOPE that mainly recruited white, Northern college students to prepare Black Southerners for voting. However, the story gets lost in the weeds with all the telling of what is happening around the characters day to day life. So much time is spent on Ellie’s struggles to convince everyone to allow her to join the movement, it slowed down the story for me. What starts as Ellie fighting the good fight drags on losing stream and turning more into her selfish fight. Her character becomes more of a “white saviour,” and it was hard to sympathize with her sacrifices. And we were told a few times what those sacrifices were through her storyline.

I enjoyed how the two timelines merged, building tension right up to the explosive conclusion. However, the journey to get to that exciting ending was a slow one.

Is this fiction?! It could be true! I love a good "search for justice" story, and this one does not disappoint! The dual timeline was easy to follow and the characters were in-depth without being overly so. Five stars!

Before I start this review, I want to apologize to the publisher and author. A few months back, I had posted a review for The Last House on Needless Street on NetGalley, Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and BookBub. See, these two books were right beside each other on not only NetGalley’s list but my Currently Reading on Goodreads. I wasn’t paying attention, and c/p The Last House on Needless Street’s review under The Last House on the Street. I didn’t know what I did until I was contacted by everyone on the above list and asked to remove the review. It was an honest mistake. The titles were (are) so similar, and I should have been paying better attention.

Now that has been said, let’s get onto the review of The Last House on the Street!!

The Last House on the Street is the story of Kayla and Ellie. In the year 2010, Kayla is struggling to overcome the death of her husband and raise their 4-year-old daughter. Moving into the house they built together and where her husband died should be healing. But strange occurrences happen. From a mysterious woman threatening Kayla at work to mutilated squirrels left at her house, Kayla is left wondering why. In 1964, Ellie realized that the world she lives in isn’t equal for everyone. Determined to help, she joined the SCOPE program. But what Ellie doesn’t expect is that she will meet her greatest love that summer and that she will suffer her worst heartbreak. Coming back home wasn’t in Ellie’s plans, but she does to help with her elderly mother and terminally ill brother. She meets Kayla and becomes embroiled in Kayla’s issues. Someone wants Kayla out, and it is all tied to a summer night where Ellie lost everything. What happened that night? What are people trying to hide?

The Last House on the Street is a fast-paced suspense/thriller that doesn’t slow down. The transitions between 2010 and 1964 were seamless and did not mess with the book’s pacing. There was some lag in the middle of the book, but I did expect it. It did not take away from my enjoyment of reading The Last House on the Street.

The Last House on the Street did a great job showing racism in NC during the early 1960s. I was not surprised by the descriptions of how brown and black people were treated during that era. Brown, black, and yellow-skinned people still get treated like that today. It might not be as evident as in 1964, but it is still there.

I wasn’t surprised at how widespread the KKK was in this area of NC (I say this area because I live in the area of NC being portrayed) in the 1960s. I was also sickened by it. The author, again, did a great job of describing the KKK rallies (which reminded me of a fair) and how mob mentality takes over. My heart hurt for Ellie during those scenes because she saw people for how they truly were.

I had no clue about the SCOPE program until I read about it in The Last House on the Street. I can’t even begin to say how those men and women were heroes. They put their lives on the line to get African Americans to go and vote.

I liked Kayla, and I felt terrible for her. She was still getting over her husband’s death when she moved into the house they designed together. I could understand why she didn’t want to move into the house at first. Her husband died there, and she didn’t feel comfortable. She was the only house on the street that was finished, and she seemed to have attracted a stalker, and I didn’t blame her for wanting to sell. I was surprised to see how her and Ellie’s past connected. I still have an issue believing what Ellie’s father told her about that night (back in 1964). I do think that he might have been involved and not admitted it.

I loved Ellie’s character. I loved watching her morph into this woman who wasn’t afraid to fight for what she wanted. She was passionate about her beliefs and was willing to put herself in harm’s way for them. Her connection with the African American families was profound, and she truly wanted what was best for them. But her true strength was that awful night. She fought with everything she had to get to Win but couldn’t get to him. I had tears pouring down my face. Her anxiety, her helplessness, and her despair poured off the pages. Oh, and let’s not forget her shock when everything is revealed at the end of the book. I will admit, I was shocked by that confession too.

There is a romance angle to The Last House on the Street. Ellie’s love for Win was evident. I saw it happening before she even admitted it to herself. And Win was crazy for her. So, it made what happened all the more tragic and heartbreaking. Interracial relationships were frowned upon in 1964 North Carolina, and all holy hell did come down on them.

The mystery angle was wonderfully written. I had an idea of how that mysterious woman was, but when another character mentioned wigs that another wore, it was like a lightbulb went off. Then there was the mystery of what happened to Win. That cropped up a little later in the book. It was a no-brainer what happened, but I hoped it wasn’t the case. That was resolved at the end of the book.

The author wonderfully wrote the suspense angle also. I was kept on the edge of my bed (I was reading at night) with what would happen next. I kept wondering how it would escalate for Kayla, and I wondered the same thing for Ellie.

The secondary characters were also wonderfully written. I had extreme feelings for them all. But Miss Pat, Ellie’s mother, well she took the cake. She was, ugh, I wish I could finish that thought. But that would give away spoilers. Let’s say I didn’t like her and leave it at that.

The end of The Last House of the Street was what I expected. The author wrapped everything up, opening a new chapter on Ellie and Kayla’s life. I liked seeing everything coming full circle!!

I would recommend The Last House on the Street for anyone 16 and over. There is non-graphic sex, violence, triggering language.

I seriously love Diane Chamberlain. Not only because she lives in North Carolina but because her books are just written in such a way that you can tell she could write with the best of them and could be very literary but chooses to make things much more digestible.

2.5 stars.

Told in two timelines, this historical mystery focuses on the 1960’s voters registration civil rights initiative in the southern states. The Summer Community Organization And Political Education (SCOPE) Project was a movement where young White men and women canvassed door to door in rural Black counties encouraging the citizens to register to vote. Though voting was legal for all citizens, law makers and enforcers in these southern states did everything they could to make it difficult and often impossible for Blacks to vote.

An informative look at this important time in our history. I recognize and appreciate all the research that would have went into creating this story. Learning about SCOPE was fascinating. The dedication of these members was inspiring and hopeful, especially coming from such a dark and difficult time where it was a constant challenge and often dangerous to move forward and try to make change.

The author does an excellent job educating her readers on this important civil rights movement, however, I had no connection to the characters. I appreciate this for being an educational read only. The mystery, the storyline, the characters — none of it worked for me which is very unusual for this author. While the plot involved very important subject matter, it was not conveyed in a convincing manner. I had zero connection to the main character in either timeline which prevented me from feeling any sort of investment.

The Past timeline ending is intense, but I wasn’t emotionally involved so it lacked the powerful punch it should have had. The Present Day storyline was dull and predictable.

Overall, this was and informative and educational read, but not an entertaining or enjoyable one. I am a big fan of this author and would rank this book my least favourite of hers. I encourage you to pick up any of this authors other work before this one, however, I am the outlier in my opinion as many have loved it.

Thank you St Martin’s Press for the digital review copy!

✔️ this was categorized as M/T and Women’s fiction but to me it was more of a historical fiction novel - and I always enjoy a good HF !
✔️ told by to narrators in two different times - Ellie in 1964 and Kayla in 2010, the story explores racial segregation, the fight for voting rights, and a modern day mystery as Kayla and her your daughter move in to their new home - against warnings and threats to stay away
✔️ I really enjoyed Ellie’s story - the characters were well developed and not always what you expected - which I think reflected those times accurately

Diane Chamberlain is an auto-read author from me and her newest release did not disappoint. Told in dual timelines, we read about Kayla, an architect moving into her new house in a small town in modern-day North Carolina shortly after losing her husband, and Ellie, a young white woman in the same town finding herself involved in civil rights activism in the 1960s. The way the stories alternated and wove together created a compelling and engaging story. I was interested in both stories, though I was more eager to read Ellie’s story than Kayla’s.

I loved the storytelling in this book that I’ve come to know and love from Chamberlain. The story about the racial issues going on in the South in the 1960s was eye-opening. There was also a bit of a mystery at the end and it was interesting to see how that all came together. I loved the story of love, friendship, family and betrayal woven throughout as well.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to fans of contemporary and historical fiction!

This is one of those authors that you see she has a new book and you jump at the chance to read it. While this story was a hard read it still did not disappoint and was so hard to put down. The characters are so realistic it makes the reader feel as if we know them.

Once again, author Diane Chamberlain gives us a captivating and heartbreaking novel.
Told in two timelines, one in 1965 and the other in 2010 we hear the story of Ellie who is involved with SCOPE on a mission for equality and Kayla who is forced to deal with the ramifications of injustice and prejudice still felt 50 years later.
Intense and emotional the author gives us a compelling account of the Civil Rights movement in North Carolina in 1965.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars

What a brilliantly written book. Diane Chamberlain can do no wrong in my world!

I really loved how this book interwove the past and the present. I also think that Diane did a wonderful job of writing about the issue of race in the south, both past and present. This was a very real book with hot topic situations, but again, she did such a good job with this story. And I also went through every emotion possible with this book as well, good and bad.

I think this book would be good for everyone to read in all honesty.

I always love Diane Chamberlaine! She has mastered the art of keeping her readers on the edge of their seat at every flip of the page. Just like the rest of her work, The Last House of the Street was compelling, thrilling, heart breaking with a strong focus on history, racism, social justice and civil rights.

Ellie Hockley whose story happened during the year 1956 was a big character to reckon with. Smart, witty and full of courage as she stood her ground to her strong beliefs of doing the right thing and falling inlove to a black man at the time when interracial relationships was not socially acceptable.

Kayla Carter’s story is of the present year 2010. She was an architect and was building the home of their dreams until a tragic accident took his husband’s life right at the middle of their unfinished house.

Both of these ladies paths crossed at the locAtion of this house. The last wooded lot of Shadow Ridge Estates. A place where a missing body was buried and forgotten, a hole of haunted secrets were kept and sad memories linger,

The Last House on the Street is a very powerful read. The split timezone was meticulously presented and despite this, the boiling mystery of the book brought a lot of tension and suspense at every page. The conflicts on relationship were perceptible and concrete aiming for heartfelt tug. A combination of happy, sad, disbelief, unjust and anger all through out the beautiful writing. The ending was awesome and satisfying!

Special thanks to Netgalley and St.Martin’s Press for the advance copy in exchange of an honest review. A highly recommended read for sure!

I've loved Diane Chamberlains other books and this one for me started out with a bang, but then simmered to a slow burn that was tough for me to stick with. Written in a dual timeline fashion we first meet Ellie Hockley in 1965 during the approval of the Voting Rights Act. In a southern small town in North Carolina this bill is the last thing they want to deal with and when Ellie wants to join the SCOPE project (a volunteer group that helps register Black voters in rural areas of the south) it cracks the foundation of her family and town.
Fast forward to 2010 and we meet Kayla and her 4 year old daughter Rainey. They live right down the street from the Hockley house, in a huge dream home that Kayla and her now deceased husband designed and had built. Ellie warns Kayla that she shouldn't live in that house, especially with a little girl. When the two timelines finally meet it makes the book easier/better to read, but that middle 50% was a slog. I wouldn't recommend this as a first read, but Diane Chamberlains other books are much better.

My Thoughts

Phenomenal!!!
Plot/Story Premise:

The story alternates between the years of 1965 and 2010

In 1965 Ellie, is a young woman who decides to help with the cause for allowing African Americans the right to vote. However, the residents of this small town are against her decision and have started harassing her, her family, and the other volunteers.

In 2010, Kayla has moved into the new house that she and her husband designed but while building there was a horrific accident in the house that caused the death of her husband. Has she made a mistake moving in since there seems to be someone or a group of people trying to torment her into moving out? Why? What is it that this house is causing such a disturbance including one night when the Ku Klux Klan decided to show up on her property?

How are these two women connected, besides having only the 2 houses on the street, as construction is moving along for more houses in this development?


Characters:
I was so engrossed within the story that I felt that I was there in this little town in North Carolina. I felt the emotions and sensibilities of each and every one of the characters.

Setting:
There were different settings in the story but I could picture every one of them, Ellie's parent's house, the Church where the volunteers would come together, the families and shanties that the volunteers would stay with for a few days, the houses that the volunteers knocked on doors to explain why it is so important to vote, etc.


Ending/Conclusion:

WOW!!!! There were stories within the story and as each page revealed one of those "stories" my jaw dropped. I turned the page and needed to pick up my jaw because it was going to fall again!!!!


Overall opinion:

Not only was this an amazing story it was also an eye-opening education for the reader about the history of segregation in the south during the 1960s

As a long-time reader, as I am sure a lot of you are, if we are honest with ourselves, we have read hundreds+ of books but there are some books read that we probably can't remember what it is about. But I can promise you, this is a story that will stay with you for years to come.

The narrative is perfection whereas the reader will be kidnapped and become a part of it. A book that you will find any excuse to take you away from adulting and to pick it up and continue reading. A book that is definitely one where you will be telling yourself, <i>just one more chapter</i> and we all know how that goes!!!!

Engaging!! Riveting!! Provocative!! Heart pounding!! Intoxicating!!

I received a complimentary copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Will post to blog on 02/03/22 http://cmashlovestoread.com/2022/02/03/review-the-last-house-on-the-street-by-diane-chamberlain

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the chance to read The last house on the street by Diane Chamberlain. Normally I love the author's books, but I must admit I found the beginning of this one hard to get into, and ended up putting it down over the Christmas holidays. I found it slow paced and had to back up and re-read some of it; told in two timelines: 2010, and 1965, I found the back and forth a bit jarring at times. The last part of the book picked up though and I was able to enjoy the story.

I'm usually not a fan of dual timeline thrillers, but WOWIE!! I thought this was extremely well done. This book fully sucked me in, and kept me very very engaged throughout!!

I read a lot of mystery / thriller books, so I will say that I did see the ending coming, but I still wanted to read it!! I wanted to see how Chamberlain was going to get us from point A to point B and I'm definitely not disappointed that I read it!!

I recommend this book to all thriller lovers, especially if you like dual timelines.

Diane Chamberlain never fails to astound me with her ability to craft engaging novels with truly genuine characters. All of her books are so different, and I haven't read one yet that I didn't love. The Last House on the Street is another must read novel that I couldn't put down.

In 2010, Kayla has recently suffered the tragic loss of her husband in an accident at the home they were designing together. She has trepidations about moving into the house with her four year old daughter, but this is the dream home that she and her husband designed themselves. A visit from an odd woman warning Kayla not to move into the house only serves to further unsettle her. As other odd occurrences take place on their property, Kayla can only wonder if she is making the right decision to live there, or is someone just trying to scare her away?

In 1965, Ellie Hockley hears about a group of northern college students coming to North Carolina to make Black residents aware of LBJ's Voting Rights Act and encourage them to register to vote. Against so many obstacles in her way, Ellie pursues her hope of being involved in this important movement. She is met with disdain by her friends and family, danger from those who oppose what the students are doing, and some speculation from the other students as to what her motives are. The events of that summer change Ellie's life in ways beyond imagining.

The Last House on the Street is a multi-layered mystery blending historical details and social injustice. I believe reading has the power to make change in our world and is one of the most powerful ways to build empathy. The Last House on the Street should be a must read for those reasons alone.

I received this book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Incredible and very timely. Kayla is moving into a home designed by her late husband. She had no idea just how many secrets came from the property. Everyone needs to reads this. Eye opening to the past and also where we still are in the present. Highly recommend!

This page turner is filled with dramatic tension. Utilizing dual timelines set in North Carolina in both 1965 and 2010, Diane Chamberlain effectively combines historical fiction with a mystery thriller in this riveting story. In 2010, Kayla, a recent widow, is moving into the newly constructed house that she and her late husband designed and planned to raise their 3 year old daughter in. An encounter with a strange threatening woman is the first in a series of strange and frightening happenings to her in her new home. In the 1965 timeline, we follow Ellie, a 20 year old Southern white college student who decides to work for SCOPE, a voter registration civil rights initiative, despite her family’s objections. The intersection of these two stories reveals a connection between tragic events of the past, buried secrets and their effect on the present. Chamberlain is a fantastic storyteller, providing vivid insight into historical events in the fight for civil rights layered with palpable tension. This haunting novel grabs you and won’t let go.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.