Hi everyone! Today I'll be reviewing The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain.
I have no words to describe how much I liked this book. The story it tells is deeply interesting, I particularly liked the sixties timeline and the role that Ellie played in the fight for civil rights; I'd definitely say she is my favorite character.
I also loved how this book blends the 2010 and 1965 timelines together, and I was amazed by the ability of the author to create a realistic atmosphere and to tell such a great story; I'm looking forward to read some of her other books.
I'd absolutely recommend you The Last House on the Street if you like historical fiction and mystery books.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Last House on the Street is an intriguing and suspenseful book written by a talented author. I have loved so many of Diane Chamberlain’s books in the past (including The Dream Daughter, which is one of my all time favorite books) but I have to say, this one is my least favorite of her novels. The premise of the story is very interesting and I really liked Ellie’s point of view and the parts of the novel that take place during the 1960s during the fight for equal voting rights for African Americans. I loved how Chamberlain chose to focus on a lesser known aspect of the civil/voting rights movements (the SCOPE program, in which young college students canvassed neighborhoods in order to get African Americans to register to vote). However, I did not relate to or feel as interested in the other timeline featured in the story, which focused on the present day (the year 2010) in which a woman is receiving threats for moving into a house that was built on the same street as Ellie’s childhood home. I just did not connect to the events of this timeline and thought the big reveal at the end, as to who was making the threats, was pretty weak and predictable. I also did not really feel the chemistry between the two main characters whose love story plays out in the 1960s timeline. Some parts of the novel seemed to be drawn out and I lost interest while reading certain chapters. Overall, this was an okay read.

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!

An intense, emotional story uncovering the truth about past secrets and injustices. Trigger warnings: suicide, child death, attempted kidnapping, and miscarriage.

Whew! This book wrecked me!! I mean, I read the synopsis but I just was not prepared for this gut-punch! I'm strongly encouraging you to have a happy book or tv show ready for when you finish this book because it is HEAVY!

This book is definitely a slow burn: Ellie's chapters detail her finding out about the summer volunteer program, her planning and orientation, and her day-to-day life while working with the Black communities in her county. Kayla's chapters provide the mysterious portion of the novel and honestly, I was more interested in them at first because it was just so strange. (And because I wanted to know how it all tied in to Ellie's story.) However, I wish that Ellie's story was introduced after she and Kayla meet; before then, the connection isn't clear.

As the book continues, Chamberlain subtly cranks up the intensity, particularly in Ellie's story which is both saddening and infuriating. As much as I'm aware of the reality of the injustices and tragedies depicted in this book, it's no less hard to believe nor is it any easier to forget now that I've finished reading. (I don't want to give too much away but man, did I hold out hope.)

The end is absolutely explosive and by that point, I was so invested that I didn't want the book to end. I also wanted and expected more resolution. Though there isn't a true epilogue, Ellie's and Kayla's last chapters each serve as one, and it was a bit underwhelming. I mean, there was a lot of information given (read: truth exposed) so where was the fall-out?

Still, I would definitely recommend this book. I think it touches on some very deep (and hot-button) topics, and that's what makes it important and relevant. I will be making a point to read more of Chamberlain's previous works, and of course, I look forward to reading her future novels as well.

4.5 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC!

Diane Chamberlain does it once again!

1960's North Carolina, Ellie is at the University of North Carolina and finding her way. After hearing about a new program to help Blacks register to vote via the SCOPE program, she feels compelled to help!

2010, Kayla, a recent widow, and her daughter Rainie are in the processes of moving to their new home, where an unfortunate accident took her husband Jackson just months earlier. But someone is trying to keep Kayla from feeling safe in her new home.

When Kayla meets her neighbor Ellie she discovers Ellie has decades old secrets. Together they might just learn the truth about the past!

5 Stars

Ms. Chamberlain created a book that is a very intense and not for the faint of heart. I usually don't enjoy back and forth background history but the author seamlessly goes between decades to weave a story that's linked from the past. It is the 1960s in the south and a young woman wants to become involved promoting equal voting rights for blacks. This caused a huge rift in her family and the dangers were surreal. It's hard to imagine times like this ever existed. The cruelty and the racism during that time frame were brilliantly highlighted in this book.

Over 4 decades later Kayla, a young widow is overseeing the completion of her dream house. She and her husband were architects designing this beautiful home. Her husband was accidentally killed in a freak accident during the construction, and she is struggling with the idea of moving into the house. A stranger appears and tries to frighten her off from moving into her home. I won't go into the details but there are many horrifying moments that makes her rethink living there.

Ellie, the civil rights activist has come back home for the first time in over 40 years. She's taking care of her sick brother and mother. She moved away after a horrible tragedy, and has never regretted her destiny in life. She and Kayla become somewhat friendly. There is a connection between the two that is scary and profound. Why is somebody trying to stop Kayla from moving into this home, and what happened to Ellie that made her flee to California and never come back? This book was intense, credible, and deeply moving. Be prepared for a heartbreaking civil rights story that will truly stay with you for a long time.

Because I have read and loved two other books written by this author, I picked up this book without reading the blurb. And honestly, if I did read the blurb beforehand, I probably would not be interested in reading this book. However, this is storytelling at its finest.

The author expertly weaved together the past and present in a tapestry of words that left me intrigued to the last page. I was captivated by both storyline but was definitely more drawn towards Ellie’s story than Kayla’s. What I love about this book is that the characters are so real and believable. It was an unexpected ending to a story spanning time, heartache and love.

This is an emotional yet also heartwarming story that will keep you turning the pages. I loved every minute of this story and look forward to reading another book from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Diane Chamberlain for an ARC of "The Last House on the Street" in exchange of an honest review.

This book broke me emotionally! I had to grab my husband’s hands during some parts because I was so on edge, but not from the usual thriller type suspense, but from the social injustices of the time. This was my first book of Chamberlins but I will definitely be looking for more from this author and recommend this to anyone who likes historical fiction or mystery.

Synopsis

Kayla has just lost her husband in a freak accident during the construction of their dream home in a small town of Round Hill, North Carolina. They were both architects and had designed the home with loving care. Now Kayla and her young daughter are moving in to the large dream home that seems bittersweet without her husband. Not only that but being secluded by all the trees they left on the property feels more sinister than private.

Weird things start to happen at their home that make Kayla rethink her decision to live there. With her father’s help and the return of Ellie, the awful events will slowly reveal themselves to the awful events that haunt Kayla’s property.

Told during dual timelines of Kayla in the present and Ellie in 1965, the reader learns of a town once filled with racism , social injustice, and where belonging to the Klu Klux Klan was as common as a country club membership. Ellie was inspired to become a freedom fighter to try and get more black citizens registered to vote. This alienated her from both her family and community.
It was a poignant tale of the effects of the civil rights era and the social injustice that bred hatred in the south. Chamberlain handled the difficult topic very well. We had a civil rights attorney in our buddy read and she was the first to bring that up! This is a must read!

Diane Chamberlain, you did it again! 4.5 stars for this beauty. Rounding up for Goodreads. I was so grateful to get to read this book early thru @netgalley It's tough read. It's a frustrating read. It's a necessary read. About half way thru this book, I blew thru the rest of it in one evening. I was scared but desparate to know what came next. I love how she can always connect two stories so seamlessly. I highly recommend this book, but check trigger warnings before doing so.

I have had this book for a while but it just did not really call me to read it. Eventually though, I figured I needed to give it a shot. I’ve read a handful of Diane Chamberlain‘s books now, and I have to say I found this to be my least favorite. I’m not sure exactly why, but I just couldn’t get into the storyline and really feel the characters.

The story takes place in two time periods, 1965 and 2010. The two main characters Ellie (1965) and Kayla (2010) are brought together by secrets that many hoped would remain in 1965. Ellie is a fighter for justice and equality. In 1965, she went out to support giving minorities the opportunity to vote.

Kayla is an architect and a recent widow. Her and her late husband designed the house she’s about to move into with her daughter. This was meant to be their dreamhouse, but it’s the house that took her husband away from her. She has reservations about moving in, but goes ahead with the plan. Quickly it becomes apparent that others do not want her to move into their neighborhood.

This is a very sad story. Unfortunately, I’m sure it represents reality more than I’d like to believe. The story was definitely well written but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.
#DianeChamberlain #NetGalley #TheLastHouseOnTheStreet

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

This latest historical fiction novel from Diane Chamberlain takes us to two timelines in a small town in North Carolina. We meet newly widowed Kayla in our time. We watch her struggle as she moves into her newly constructed home that she designed and built with her now deceased husband. Strange events occur that show her that someone doesn’t want her there.
We also meet Ellie, a privileged white girl in the 1960s. Ellie takes an interest in the civil rights movement and joins a group working together to help register black voters. Her drive to help others brings to light the prejudices in her community that she had always been blind to.
What a great story Diane Chamberlain has crafted as the two women’s stories intersect!
I really enjoyed this story! It was tough to see Ellie make choices that were destined to bring heartbreak, however that made the story all the more real. I was able to anticipate some of the twists and turns, but all in all, this was a superb read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

Diane Chamberlain has become a must-read author after her last few books and I could not wait to get my hands on this latest one. It was one of my most anticipated reads for this month and it totally delivers. This is also one of the selections this month for my online bookclub, the #bookfriendsbookclub, and we are not only discussing the book tonight but we will also be chatting with Diane as well. I’m so excited!

As soon as I started reading this book, I was captivated and that feeling never let up. Told in a dual storyline, I was equally invested in both timelines, which is not always the case. Sometimes with the dual narrative, I find I am more drawn to one timeline over the other, but here, I loved both. I found both women, Kayla in the present day and Ellie in the past, to be intriguing characters and right away I found I needed to know what was going to happen next with them. I very quickly became emotionally attached to these characters.

I loved the way this story unfolded, moving back and forth in time, slowly unraveling mysteries in both, while ever so slowly weaving a tale that eventually winds together both seamlessly and emotionally. This story packs quite the punch, shedding light on a small slice of history that should not be forgotten, however hard it may be to read about. While these events happened years ago, the sad fact of the matter is some things aren’t that much better now. And that is what makes this book so important and so timely.

I loved learning about the SCOPE Program in the South, a program aimed at helping register Black voters in the early 1960s. This was a program I had never heard of prior to reading this book, nor did I realize all the other obstacles that Blacks had placed in front of them if they wanted to try to get themselves registered. This was so eye-opening and exactly why I love reading historical fiction – I always learn something new!

I highly recommend this story to both historical fiction fans and fans of mystery and suspense. This genre-bending story will certainly appeal to all as it is completely captivating. It is definitely one powerful story that I know will be staying with me for a long time and I will be telling everyone I know to pick it up!

In this book, we get a dual timeline view. One of the timelines in Kayla, who was working on building her dream house with her husband, hoping to build a perfect life with their daughter. Then, her husband dies and Kayla is struggling with the choice to live in the house they designed together. She meets an elderly neighbor who creeps her out, and she's wrestling with lots of bad memories about designing the house. In the other timeline, we are confronted with the 1960s and issues of race and class. White college students are joining together, against the wishes of their parents in some cases, to help ensure that young black people are able to vote. They are taken in by black families and canvass the neighborhoods, and it's an eye-opening experience.

The dual timelines were each emotional and attention-grabbing in their own right. The emotional and gripping modern timeline kept me guessing. The flashback timeline resonated with me. We still struggle with those same issues today with voter suppression and inequality. One would think there would have been much more progress, but this book illustrates that we aren't the modern and evolved people we think.

Told through the lens of human emotions and experiences, the writing was lovely. It was emotionally driven for the most part but didn't feel overdone or excessive. I felt like I got to know these characters as people, fully fleshed out and clear. I'd recommend this book if you like a thought-provoking read. It will make you rethink your actions and what you can be doing to improve the world around you.

Thank you to NetGalley etc for an ARC in return for an honest review!
Pros: very easily readable, fell into the flow of the writing style from the get-go. The story is so engrossing I could visualize the people, places, and events. A story that sticks with you long after you are done reading it.
Cons: it was a bit of a slow start for me, however, going into it I thought it was more of a mystery so was expecting it to be faster-paced. This is a historical fiction book with a mystery element. There is plenty of mystery, just a bit of a slower start than I was anticipating.
All and all, I would highly recommend. On the surface, it is about the struggles of convincing and helping black people register to vote in the 60's but it goes so much deeper than this. Great read!

—Book Review—

Title: The Last House on the Street
Author: Diane Chamerlain
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
@stmartinspress
Genre: Women’s Fiction

Huge praise for Diane Chamberlain and her latest novel The Last House on the Street. This was a brave story to tell. One that I haven’t stopped thinking about since I finished and one that will stick with me for a long time. Aren’t those the best books!?

I’m a big fan of historical fiction and coming of age stories so I naturally preferred the 1965 timeline vs. 2010 one, but both come together, beautifully. A dual POV narrative is my favorite story telling.

1965 - Ellie Hockley, the daughter of the towns pharmacist, has grown up in a well-to-do neighborhood of Round Hill. She’s enrolled in college to follow in her Dad’s footsteps. She’s seriously dating a bank manager which thrills her mother who has expectations for Ellie to be a proper Southern Lady. But Ellie isn’t so sure about the future her family has chosen for her. Ellie has decided instead of her usual summer of double dates with her best friend and working at the pharmacy with her dad; she wants to volunteer with SCOPE a program that helps register Black voters.

2010 - Kayla Carter and her husband have purchased and designed a beautiful house in a new neighborhood in Round Hill. They are going to live happily ever after there with their three year old daughter, but instead Kayla’s husband dies in an accident. Then a mysterious woman warns her not to move in. Followed bye rumors that the woods and lake behind her house are haunted, threatening notes and vandalism. Kayla’s neighbor, Ellie Hockley, may be the only one who knows the answers.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 The only reason this isn’t a five star is it took a little bit for me to get into this one, but once I was into both timelines I couldn’t stop reading! I felt like I learned so much in the 1965 timeline. I had never heard of the SCOPE program before. Be sure to read the author’s note at the end of the book too. She offers more insight and some addition reading.

CW: Racism, Death, Violence, KKK

Thank you @bookfriendsbookclub for reading with us! I’m looking forward to our discussion and zoom with the author!

(Thank you for the eARC to read and review)

Well it's happened again: Chamberlain has made me an emotional wreck! And it's absolutely worth it because The Last House on the Street is a triumph and I loved every page.

The pacing is spot-on, not so fast that you felt left behind but not so slow that you felt like you could put it down (trust me, you won't be able to). The mystery element that unfurls as the story flows will keep you glued to your chair as you learn a little more with each jump into the past.

Both POV characters, Eleanor "Ellie" and Kayla, are really likable and enjoyable. Ellie feels more like the main protagonist to me though and I'm happy for it because she was my favorite. The fully revealed story will leave you aching (I'm not a reader who cries but BOY this one got me.) but the ending of the novel was perfect if bittersweet.

There's not a single thing I'd change. I'd highly recommend this novel to any reader but those who enjoy historical fiction or have an interest in the 1960s American Civil Rights movement will find even more here to love.

Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

A book set in the civil rights sixties - how novel! I can't quite swallow that the first death in the book is just an accident, but the resolution of the rest is terrific!

This will end up being one of my faves of 2022. It’s been compared to “Crawdads”, and while in my mind nothing could compare to “Crawdads”, this book is a strong 5 stars all on it’s own. Beautifully written, it’s alternately heartbreaking, anger-inducing and uplifting. If you’re looking for a strong historical fiction novel, this is it. This one will stick with me for a very long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @15%- This just wasn’t for me. I thought it would be more mystery than it was and I just couldn’t get drawn in to the story. I found myself not wanting to read so I stopped.

I did like the alternating timelines and POV. I know there are a lot of other readers who really enjoyed this story so I am an outlier. If you enjoy history mixed with social justice, this would be a good choice for you!

This book was really good. I really enjoyed the dual timelines, however I was far more interested in the 1965 timeline. Diane Chamberlain is such a powerful storyteller, that I don’t think she can write a bad book. Definitely give this one a read, it will keep you invested the whole way through.

I am a sucker for the "dual narratives in dual time lines that merge at the end" story. Actually if there are more than two stories, I'm fine with that too. This book has two - both set in the same small North Carolina town - one taking place during a black voter registration drive in the 1960s and one tells of a young widow trying to move on in 2010. The stories kept me guessing (some things I had figured out and some surprised me - which I also like) and I was very satisfied with the ending. Diane Chamberlain is an author I've liked before. Her writing style moves right along and she writes characters that are admirable without being perfect. I recommend this one!