A historical novel focused on racism, social justice, interracial relationships, secrets, love, family and grief. ⁣
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I love Diane Chamberlain and The Last House On the Street did not disappoint! Historical fiction, dual timelines (1965 & 2010), racial prejudice, interracial relationships, and so much emotion - the two women’s stories will grip you. I found the storyline a bit predictable but so heartfelt. I loved the 1965 storyline (Ellie) more than the one centered on 2010 (Kayla). It definitely felt more emotional. Overall, I love how Chamberlain wove together elements of history, love, mystery and social justice.

A must read by Diane Chamberlain, this book resonates so much with what we are living in this country right now, voter suppression, racial discrimination and inequality.
The book is written as a dual timeline between 1965 and 2010 in North Carolina thru the point of view of two female protagonists, Ellie in 1965 and Kayla in 2010. Ellie gets involved in the SCOPE program, the Summer Community Organization and Political Education Project, helping the Black community register to vote, with everything personally against her, she's white, from a well to-do family and a southerner, the only one in the program, all the rest are college students from the North.
Kayla on the other had in 2010, just moved into the last house on the street after her husband dies in an accident at the house while building it.
Somebody wants her to leave the house and move away from it, to prevent unearthing a secret buried for 45 years.

With a very good character development and accurate historical description this book will keep you riveted until the very shocking ending, where you learn that nobody is who seem to be.

My second read from this Author, and this book was just as GREAT if not better. Definately adding all her books to my TBR.
I loved the way this was written from each of the Female protagonists POV and their particular time frame Ellie 1965 and Kayla 2010.
This is an absolute nail biting page turner that all comes together in a bittersweet way.
It has elements of History, Racism, Family, Romance, Friendship and suspense.
A must read for 2022.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and the Author, Diane Chamberlain for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I’m settling at a soft 3.5 rounded down to 3 stars for this one. maybe this was not the best choice for my first Chamberlain novel, it took me months to get through the first 3rd of the book because I just was not invested in anything going on. I decided to push through since I know she is a beloved author and, although it definitely picked up a lot in the last half (and especially last 3rd) of the book it just wasn’t quite what I was expecting. this is really more of a historical fiction novel set in the Civil Rights era south, where a white teenager joins the SCOPE program (helping educate black people about their voting rights).
maybe this was a me thing, because I’m seeing lots of 4 and 5 stars reviews for this one, but it felt like it went a but overboard with the ‘white savior’ trope which seems a bit tone deaf in 2022.

I am a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain. I really loved her book The Dream Daughter and I am always excited when she has a new release.

The Last House on the Street is a must read! The story tells of two different women of two different time periods with excellent alternative narrations. The intersection of the two timelines was incredibly done.

There is definitely mystery, romance and historical fiction all present in this book.

But also, social injustice and the history of voting and suppression in the 1960's carried through to today.

An incredible novel that I am so grateful I read. I also learned about the SCOPE program- Summer Community Organization and Political Education Project that existed in the 1960's.

Such a well written, complex and at times heartbreaking novel. Kudos to the author for another fantastic novel.

Diane Chamberlain never fails to deliver a book draws the readers in along with educating about a lesser known subject.

This is a dual timeline book with a dual point of view. The book is set in North Carolina during the 1965 and 2010. Kayla is a new widow and a mother of a young daughter set in 2010. Ellie is a twenty-year old in 1965 who has chose to volunteer with a civil rights group, S.C.O.P.E.

This is not a light-hearted book. It is very heavy from the beginning. There is social injustice, sudden spousal loss, kidnapping, prejudice and murder. There is one scene that is especially hard to read that made me physically sick.

Diane Chamberlain is an author that I will always read no matter what she writes because she always leaves the readers with new knowledge.

Thank you to NetGalley, Diane Chamberlain and St Martin;s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read much from Chamberlain, but this was amazing and I can't wait to dig into more now! I loved the past and present timelines and how they all come together in the end with a shocking twist. There were a few main characters that I fell in love with and made me feel so many feelings. This one made me shed a tear and that's quite a feat considering I don't generally enjoy historical type fiction. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone!

Thank you Netgalley Macmillan Audio and St. Martins Press for the gifted book!

"I knew what was going to happen in this book. I could have told you in chapter 1. I have known what was going to happen the whole time and it just happened and WAAAHHHH. It's still so sad. Actually it's worse than I expected it to be." That was what I told a friend on Marco Polo as I was listening to this book. This book is a powerful picture of the Civil Rights movement in North Carolina in 1965. It also has a timeline set in 2010, but that timeline is only there to add a harmony to the melody of the 1965 timeline. And knowing this is a book about the fight for civil rights and the main characters are both white women, you know that something is going to happen that will inevitably be heartbreaking, but the way the story is crafted you still feel the tensions mounting even though it is missing the ultimate element of suspense and surprise. I thought though that it needed that element of foreshadowing to not completely rip your heart out. And even though you can fill out the outline for the big plot point, you won't be able to fill in all the details by guessing and that is the secret sauce to this book, the little details.

Content Warning: Racism, Hate Crime, Miscarriage, Murder

Amazing

I received an e-arc from the publisher via Netgalley a while back but for some reason put it off then got busy. Big mistake! I just started the book last night and finished it today. It is gripping and amazing. Highly recommended!

A wonderfully scripted novel that straddles two time periods, 1965 and 2010. The attention to detail dealing with the social injustices of the ‘60’s is spot on. And the harm that some white southerners put themselves in the way of, to right what they knew was wrong is shown in a way that makes you understand how and why someone would risk everything because others are not free.

Sadly, 2022 and this is still the way things are and this book not only shows where we were but the fact that we have not moved very far at all in the past 60+ years.

The characters are so realistic that it pains you when something happens to them. To me, making me care about a fictional character that deeply is a sign of a true artist.

I read the book and also listened to the audiobook. The Narrator, Susan Bennett, did an excellent job and kept you immersed in the story all the way through.

Thanks to @Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Diane Chamberlain for the opportunity to read and listen to this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley. I really enjoyed it. I never really know what all black people went through in the 60s

This was a great dual timeline, historical fiction/mystery book. The writing was so well done, the story was rich in detail and historical information. The themes of racial relations in the 1960s and 2010s, family secrets, lost friendships, lost love were all in this book. It takes place in North Carolina, with two points of view. Ellie who was a teenager in the 1960s, and Kayla who is a recent widow and moving into a new neighborhood that holds secrets of the past. Their worlds collide and when weird things start happening Kayla wonders if someone doesn’t want her and her daughter to be there. I loved Ellie’s story the most. Her story of joining a group called SCOPE to help spread the word of the Voting Rights Act was interesting to read about and still has implications today. The things she went through even though they were fictional really resonated with me. Diane Chamberlain wove a well crafted story with two narrators and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. I will definitely be reading more by her!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review! This book is out now!

Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors. I was so hyped to receive and ARC of The Last House on the Street, and Chamberlain delivered!! I can't wait to purchase the print book for my library.

The Last House on the Street is a tale of mystery, a tale of racial tension in the deep south, and a tale that isn't about to let you down when it comes to standing up for what is right. Told in present and past. Ellie and Kayla must endure the aftereffects of tragedy and terror.
it's the 1960s and Ellie Hockley signs up for the Northern group SCOPE. A program made up entirely of northern university students sent out into the south to help Blacks sign up for voting in anticipation of President Lindon B Johnson's voter's right act. Ellie is the only student to come from a local area of North Carolina into the program. There she meets Winston Madison, Win to his friends, which she is hoping she becomes. There are rules in SCOPE. Ellie places herself in danger, not only because she is a southerner but because she is a blonde-haired, pretty white woman but also because she is local. People don't look kindly to intermingling of the locals when it comes to race and this will affect Ellie and anyone she interacts with during her time in SCOPE.

It's 2010, Kayla Miller has just lost her husband, Jackson to a freak accident involving the building of their new house at the end of old Hockley Street now known as Shadow Ridge Estates. The Hockley's old house sits at the top of the street where Kayla's new home is the last house on the street down in the middle of a ton of trees. What Ellie finds out and Kayla is beginning to find out is that there is a ton of history that happens on that street. What the two women have in common is a tale of hatred, conflicting feelings, and confusion. They will have to deal with time, place, and race together if they are to ever be able to move on into the future and forget the tragedies of the past.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this novel. I wasn't sure how the 1960s and the 2010 era could ever intermingle. I was pleasantly surprised and utterly devasted to find out the link to both eras.

The Last House on the Street is poignant in that it gives a detailed telling of the tensions of the 60s in the deep south between Black and White. The evil of the Ku Klux Klan and the narrow-mindedness of superiority towards the Blacks in the outskirts of the town of Round Hill's citizens. Is it even possible that only one person in Round Hill could see Blacks as equal? I know I am looking at this from a current-day perspective, but still, I just don't understand that there weren't more people who felt as Ellie did.

It also amazes me that those same people didn't change their view as they grew older and came to understand the backwardness to their perspectives on the view of Race from their childhood. Can people really change? Can people really become better at dealing with the history of past experiences, or do they stay jaded and narrow in their views from generation, to generation? This seems to be a bit of what The Last House on the Street touches upon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found Ellie and Win to be relatable. Reed, Ellie's boyfriend and his friend Garner and her best friend, Brenda showed me that there truly is bigotry and hatred in the world even today and I needed to be reminded of this so that we as readers can change our views. Without looking at the past, we can not change for the better in the future. This story kept me at the edge of my seat and up late into the night.

Author, Diane Chamberlain knows how to turn a story from beginning to end so that you don't get a dull moment in between.

A well written and thought provoking murder mystery. This is the first book that I’ve read by Diane Chamberlain and I thought it was great! A murder mystery that took decades to solve. The story is told by 2 women in 2 different time periods, both stories are well written and blend together perfectly to tell a thought provoking story filled with history and mystery and I highly recommend it.

This is my first book by Diane Chamberlain, and I dug in hard and never looked back. I confess, I thought I was done with dual timelines, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

1965| Waiting for the Voting Act of 1965 to go through, North Carolina resident Ellie Hockley and volunteers from the north are on the streets to get word out to the African American voters. Ellie soon finds out her family and other white residents are not happy to see this Act go through. All volunteers are warned in advance of the dangers, as KKK members regularly make things near impossible for them. To add fuel to the fire, Ellie falls in love with an African American volunteer, which could become a death sentence for him.

2010| Kayla Carter is devastated by the accidental death of her husband. After years of designing a home on the perfect piece of land in North Carolina, her move into this home without him is bittersweet. Her large property behind the house was a blessing, an area for exploration and serenity, but now she finds it creepy. Kayla starts receiving threats at work and home, now believing her husbands death was not an accident. Rumors from the residents say unspeakable things happened on her property - now its time for her to protect herself and daughter by uncovering secrets that many have held close for over 45 years.

I ripped through this book, often thinking about Ellie, Kayla, and the property when I wasn't reading. Often reminding me of Greg Iles’ Natchez Burning series (but not nearly as epic), this book is part thriller, part fictional story of the civil rights movement in the 60’s. 4.5 stars. This book made me excited to read again. Needless to say, I’ll be checking out Diane Chamberlain’s backlist very soon.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Diane Chamberlain for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

Diane Chamberlain presents a new book. It has it all - mystery, love story, betrayal and social justice. She takes a historical take on a hot contemporary topic of race in America and tells a story of intra-racial love in the 1960s. She presents it from a perspective of a young white privileged woman who believe is action and equality, who believes that changes is needed and it is possible. Her little town proves her wrong with their bigot attitude and readiness to be cruel.

Two story lines - 1960 and and our time from two different perspectives. Ellie, a young girl from 60s, is full of energy and love to share. She doesn't plan on it but she falls in love with a wrong person at the wrong time in the wrong place. They are in a little town full of KKK members. Kayla, my contemporary, builds a house on the plot where KKK used to meet and some horrible events took place. Kayla is being bullied to give up her place by ghost stories, and weird events. These two women meet in our time and they managed to find out the truth about the past and clear Kayla's property of ghosts.

Well written, quick paced story. Very engaging with the reader, basically every chapter has a cliff-hanger and it makes one read on and on without notice of time. Diane Chamberlain raises a few important issues that are still unfortunately present in current American culture.

I would definitely recommend this book.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Everything about it is great. To be honest, I guessed 2 of the 3 twists, but I still loved the book. Diane Chamberlain has quickly become a favorite author of mine. I can't wait until her next book. Luckily. she has a large backlist for me to read. What a way to start out 2022; I could definitely see this being one of my favorites, if not my favorite of the year. By the way, did I mention how I love this book? I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest opinion, w3which in NO way biased my opinion. If you've seen some of my other reviews, you would know how utterly honest these reviews are.

This was a pretty good read for me. I loved the characters but the dual timelines were a bit of a struggle for me. They didn't really relate to each other much other than the setting and I really enjoyed reading the 1965 timeline, which made the 2010 timelines feel slower to me. I thought the way that history was incorporated into the book was well done and meaningful. Overall it's a really good read with just a few things that didn't work for me.

Diane's books are just some of the most wonderful stories I've read that stick with you for the rest of time. This is one of those stories. While many of my readers know that I'm not a huge fan of alternating timelines, I get so excited when I find authors that do it well. This is one of those authors. The historical context was captivating and impeccable. I found myself wanting to know more outside of the book. I highly recommend this book for you to read.