Diane Chamberlain is a must read author for me and she just keeps getting better. Her books are always entertaining, but I always enjoy the historical context that are often present in her books. In The Last House on the Street there is a dual timeline. Kayla is moving into the house that she and her husband recently designed and built. However, it is with mixed feelings for Kayla. Her husband died in an accident while working on the house and now she is not sure if she wants to move into the isolated home. In the other timeline, Ellie is a college girl who is inspired by a demonstration she was covering for her school's paper, to get involved in the Civil Rights movement. When she learns that there is a groups spending the summer in the south canvassing poor, black areas to help people register to vote, Kayla knows she wants to help, even if her family is not happy about it. As the summer goes, Ellie feels more and more that this is exactly what she should be doing even as tensions rise and her safety is threatened. Everything builds to a tense, explosive and shocking end that I will not forget.

It was interesting to read this book right around Martin Luther King, Jr. day decades later and have this historical context while watching the news in 2022 while people are still struggling with voting rights and the government is still trying to find a way to solve the problem.. For me, this made the book all the more real and important for people to read.

Special thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET is a timely read, and is now available!

Kayla is preparing to move into the dream home she and her now deceased husband designed, but strange things keep happening. A woman who knows too much about her tells her not to move in, and she's certain someone is watching her. Ellie, a neighbor down the street, is back in Round Hill after 45 years and seems like she has something to hide. Does Ellie have anything to do with what's happening at Kayla's new house?

This is a dual timeline story. Kayla's 2010 story is introduced first, and the strange woman who knows too much is very intriguing. Ellie's 1965 story is introduced as we learn more about Round Hill, North Carolina and the history of the town. So many characters from Ellie's past are still around in Kayla's story, but it's the historical timeline in 1965 that steals the show for me.

While I thought it was fairly obvious where the story was going from the beginning, I still wanted to find out how everything connected. The last 70-100 pages came together in a satisfactory yet heartbreaking conclusion. I'd recommend this if you're interested in a historical fiction novel specifically about the SCOPE program. I did not know much about it, and found it very interesting. Even though voter suppression is illegal, I know there are many ways this story is still relevant today. One of my favorite aspects was the Author's Note Diane Chamberlain included as to the inspiration and history behind her writing. Find more on my blog!

3/5 Stars

CW: racial prejudice & harm, miscarriage, suicide, stalking, language, sex

History mixed with a bit of mystery? Count me in.

Told in dual timelines, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET centers around a plot of North Carolina land with an unsavory history. In 1960 we meet Ellie Hockley, a social activist working to register Black people to vote for her college summer job. In 2010 we follow recently widowed Kayla Carter and her daughter as they move into a new home despite vicious threats. Secrets abound as the history of the land and the character’s pasts are revealed.

Diane Chamberlain seamlessly weaves together two distinct timelines to create a thoughtfully layered story. Each storyline had a compelling mystery and I was equally invested in both. I enjoyed ;earning more about the history of voter registration in the south, especially in light of the voting access issues many Americans continue to face today.

The novel boasts a strong sense of place with ominous trees and vivid descriptions of the property making the last house on the street a character all its own. The characters were well-drawn and I appreciated getting to follow their lives over the course of decades.

Readers who enjoy historical mysteries or the author’s previous books won’t be disappointed with THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET.

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: January 11, 2022 (available now!)

A big thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.
I really enjoyed the last Diane Chamberlain book I read, which was Big Lies in a Small Town, and this book held a lot of the same appeal to me that Big Lies did. I loved the multiple timelines and points of view, and the history, which is traumatic for sure but so important for us to never forget, and serves as a reminder for us to keep working to better ourselves. I also really enjoyed the characters; I loved Ellie's passion and her character growth, and all of the characters feel real and well developed even with the multiple points of view, which I think it really important and something that sometimes gets left out when a book has multiple points of view.
I can say that the first half of the book was a little slow for me; I understand that there was a lot of necessary character building happening there, but a lot of that time I was just waiting for the big events to happen that I knew would be coming. I can say though that once the story hit the 60% mark, I didn't want to put it down and it was a very quick read from that point on. I also found the story a little predictable; the main events were shocking, but I was able to kind of piece together where it was all heading before anything happened. I mentioned earlier that this book was similar to Big Lies, and while there were parts of both I really enjoyed, this one felt a little too similar in its structure and that's kind of what I felt lead to some of the predictability for me.
I'd definitely still recommend this book, it's a really good read with mystery and tension, but also heartwarming characters. It features a lot of character growth that I enjoy seeing in a story. It was just a little too similar to the other book I've read by her for me to feel as blown away by it as I'd have liked to.

Set in a dual timeline in the 1965 and 2010, The Last House on the Street packs a lot of heavy content into its 352 pages, and I found myself doing a lot of supplemental reading to better understand the time and movement which was particularly resonant reading in the time leading up to MLK Day: the Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) project, 1964 Civil rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, HBCU history, KKK activity, and even Community Pharmacy Practice during the time of segregation (a personal professional interest based on what was just a sideline context in the book), But in the end, this was a fictional story with a family and community secret deeply rooted in the changing times of 1965 North Carolina. Ellie's story was well developed and the highlight of the book across both timelines. Kayla's story could have been a little more developed as I feel I never really got to know her life and grief as well. And I couldn't help but want to know just a little more about Win's life and family before getting involved in SCOPE. Overall, this was a meaningful read and a story not easily forgotten. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Solid Exposition Of The End Of An Era. This is one of those that as a Son of the South - and of a region in particular that literally still bears the scars of that war criminal terrorist b*stard William Tecumseh Sherman - I find myself leery about going into... but which was actually respectful while not condoning any of the mistakes of prior eras.

Now, I *have* reached out to an aunt who actually lived in a similar region to the one depicted here in 1963 (specifically, in the countryside outside of Atlanta vs the countryside outside of Raleigh) and was of a similar age as Ellie at the time for her thoughts on the book as well. But for me and my experiences as a Southern White Male who grew up more in Kayla's era (turned 30 in 2013, so a couple of years younger than Kayla)... this rings fairly true. Yes, there were absolutely horrors and tragedies in those prior eras, but as the recent Ahmaud Arbery case in my native Georgia shows... that isn't the South anymore. And Chamberlain shows that as well here. Having had a good political friend (former Governor of Georgia candidate John Monds, the first Libertarian Party candidate ever to receive over 1 million votes) actually attend Morehouse and growing up with Hosea Williams Feed The Hungry being one of the most well known food drive campaigns in Atlanta, the scenes with Morehouse and Williams were particularly interesting to me.

Thus, for me the book works well in both timelines, and I truly found both timelines quite compelling - though for very different reasons. Ellie's timeline was absolutely fascinating as almost a coming-of-age tale where a young woman learns what is important to her and why, and has to fight for her new beliefs against staggering odds. Kayla's timeline is more of a light-ish domestic suspense, with a widowed mother alone in the woods facing an ominous threat. Very much recommended.

This is my second Diane Chamberlain book and I enjoyed this one much more than the first. I always enjoy dual timelines, but what made this one different than others in the past is that I enjoyed the past timeline more than the contemporary one. I really enjoyed Ellie as a character. She had some flaws but overall I think she was a good person. Kayla was nice but I felt I wasn't as connected to her as I was to Ellie. I don't want to say too much and spoil the story. The 2 timelines read as different genres. One is more mysterious and the other is more historical fiction. The mystery was pretty easy to figure out but that doesn't take away from the story at all. This book is engaging and reads fast. I highly recommend it.

Diane Chamberlain’s storytelling amazes me every single time, and her engaging writing style sweeps me away immediately. I’m always hooked within the first few chapters of her books. In her latest, Kayla and Ellie are new neighbors in an up-and-coming housing development in Round Hill, North Carolina. We soon discover that they are connected in some way, and must piece the puzzle together. Through a dual timeline involving the two female characters, the author gives her readers a remarkable story full of mystery, history, tragedy, and family affairs. I appreciate Chamberlain’s willingness to take on heavy subject matter like prejudice, racism, and social justice. This seems to be a common practice in her novels, and it’s the reason why I’ll read anything she writes. She’s definitely a favorite of mine. The Last House on the Street is available now!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Diane Chamberlain, and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Diane Chamberlain's newest novel, The Last House on the Street, is a historical fiction mystery, told in dual narrative/alternating timelines, and takes place in the fictional town of Round Hill, NC (in 1965 and 2010).

In 1965, pharmacology student Ellie wants to spend her summer volunteering for SCOPE, a project aimed at preparing African Americans in small Southern rural communities to register to vote. Even though her parents tell her she can't, Ellie goes anyway. During her work, Ellie learns about African American history, freedom songs, the squalor that most live in, the hardships and brutality they face everyday, and just how dangerous the South can be.

(2010)
Kayla, now a widow, is feeling apprehensive, sad and somewhat scared about moving with her young daughter into her dream home, that she designed with her late husband. Their only neighbors are the Hockleys, since none of the other houses in the new subdivision are finished yet. There she meets Ellie who is visiting from San Francisco taking care of her dying brother and elderly mother. The more the two get to know each other, it becomes apparent that Ellie's past and Kayla's present have a connection.

As with every historical fiction dual timeline novel I read, I found the "past" storyline more intriguing and immersive. I thought the characters had more depth and felt more lifelike. I didn't enjoy the "present" timeline nearly as much mostly because I didn't like Kayla's character. She felt somewhat flat and it felt like she was was whining and complaining throughout most of the book.

The Last House on the Street has a much slower pace than previous books I've read from Chamberlain. There's no real action until the second half of the book and then it's more of a slow burn. There's an undercurrent of dread throughout most of the book because you are expecting the book to end a certain way. You know something bad is coming, you just don't know quite what.

What I love about this book is that it explores an important time in our nation and the issues it touches upon: racism, equality, and voting rights. Most of all it shows just how little has changed in 57 years, all of these issues are still relevant today. My only real wish is that voting rights act and SCOPE project featured a bit more heavily in the book.

3½ stars rounded up ro 4
Recommended for readers of: historical fiction, women's fiction, general fiction, mystery, and history.

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain was a powerful and timely read. Chamberlain is the queen of dual timelines and she does it again with this one! I was drawn to both characters but really loved Ellie’s story. It was a hard one to read, but so good. The Last House on the Street will stick with me for along time.

Diane Chamberlain's books have been my favorite for over 20 years and for good reason! She never fails to weave a story that is so full of heart, soul, mystery, heartbreak, and ultimately redemption. The Last House on the Street was a fantastic read. Kayla and Ellie's stories were both equally compelling and heartbreaking but through their telling we got to see just how resilient these women are. I could not put this book down and will recommend it to all!

Another must-read! Author Diane Chamberlain is a long-time favorite of mine, so I know just how good she is, how affecting and spellbinding her novels are. It’s not as if I forget that in between novels, but just a few pages in I am always reminded of just how exceptional her writing is; good doesn’t even come close to covering it. Her stories have an indescribable “feel” that lets you know you are in for another rare, exhilarating, rewarding reading experience. The Last House on the Street is no exception.

The main characters are Ellie in 1965 and Kayla in 2010. Chamberlain is as good as they get at writing dual time periods. She moves seamlessly back and forth between time periods, tying all the pieces and people together. She does such a good job of pulling you along, guiding you through that you are so involved in the story, enjoying the flow, the pacing, the unfolding of events, your detective hat is not on, and then all of a sudden it’s whoa, is that who I think it is? Is that event tied to that event? Are we in the same place that the other thing happened?

Ellie is an innocent, sheltered, naïve young woman, the product of her Southern upbringing in 1965. But her heart is in the right place and her convictions are unshakable. This is the beginning of the civil rights movement and she is determined to be involved, to make a difference. Little does she realize how trying to do the right thing will turn out. She can’t even begin to conceive of what is buried beneath the surface of her seemingly idyllic life.

Kayla isn’t innocent; she’s a recent widow with a young child whose joyously anticipated move into her dream home with her husband is now an endurance test. She wants to honor his memory, to learn to live in the home they so carefully and lovingly designed together, but it’s hard. Very hard. Especially hard when suspicious activity and suspicious people appear around her house and the deep, dark woods behind it. And neither can Kayla conceive of what took place in this quiet, welcoming town and just how close to her present those shocking events of the past are.

The Last House on the Street is swiftly paced and well-crafted. It’s one of those stories where you don’t want to know too much when you start reading, because discovering each connection, each “coincidence,” each tie from the past to the present, is so rewarding. Chamberlain has something special, hard to describe but easy to feel. Maybe her pre-writer life as a social worker and psychotherapist account for it, but whatever it is, she knows people and the emotional power of a story.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance copy of The Last House on the Street via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. This story has become another cherished part of my Diane Chamberlain library. I can’t recommend it enough, and I will be purchasing the audiobook because the combination of Diane Chamberlain’s words & Susan Bennett’s voice is unbeatable. All opinions are my own.

In this new read by Chamberlain we follow two woman in different times one in the 1975 and one in 2010. Both young women are fighting for the injustices that are in the forefront of their times hoping to make a difference to those that it affects. Ellie is trying to get black people to register to vote, trying to make them understand that their voice is needed to make changes occur. She lives a life that has already been laid out for her but with this new mission she is on she wants some things in her own life to change. Will she be brave enough to continue her mission as well as change her own life or will she go back to the life her parents have laid out for her? Move forward to 2010 and you meet Kayla, an architect, who had a wonderful life in front of her. Kayla and her husband were building their dream home but Kayla's husband dies in an accident while working on the home. Kayla isn't sure I'd she can ever live in the house. People have been saying that the area behind her new home is haunted and her neighbor Ellie holds the secret to some of the bad things that have happened on that land. The two women meet and don't know it but the truth will eventually come out but will it set either woman free?

This was more of a heartfelt story than I was expecting . It's told in dual timeline and everything comes together nicely.

This is another historical fiction gem from Diane Chamberlain that evoked many emotions while reading. It is told in dual timelines, one in 1965 right after the Voting Rights Act was passed, and the other in 2010 when Kayla and her husband are building their dream home in Shadow Ridge Estates in North Carolina, but he tragically dies while they are building. The home is in an area with tragic memories, and she is met with resistance by some that want her to leave, but there are others that are more welcoming, such as the elderly Ellie Hockley, whom Kayla gets to know and begins to learn there might be ties between her land and Ellie’s past. I liked the past timeline a little better but understood the current day of Kayla’s story was necessary to connect the past to the present and deal with the horrifying wrongs of the past.

This was so well done, and while definitely hard to read at times I am grateful for Chamberlain’s storytelling, as she was great at creating characters that were beautiful inside and treated horrifically, as well as creating characters that were basically the devil incarnate and utterly infuriating. However I believe she was spot on with how some people were back then and unfortunately still are today, making this a must read in my opinion. There is so much in here to unpack, and the audiobook was very well narrated, I really enjoyed listening to this one. I highly recommend this one, it was a five star read for me and as I noted above, it is a must read.

This was my third read by Diane Chamberlain and she is now firmly on my favorites list. Thank you to @NetGalley @Macmillanaudio and @stmartinspress for the ALC and advanced digital galley to review. This one is available now!

Diane Chamberlain is a reliable author of dual timeline historical fiction. So far, I have read this new release, The Last House on the Street, published on January 11th, as well as Big Lies in a Small Town, The Stolen Marriage, and Necessary Lies out of Chamberlain’s 30+ novels.

The two settings of The Last House on the Street are 2010 and 1965 in North Carolina. The 1965 timelines involve the Civil Rights Movement and the main character hears Martin Luther King, Jr. speak; reading this book this week is excellent timing to remember the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. close to the national holiday that honors him.

The naïve white female protagonist volunteers to help with voter registration in 1965 and learns that her town, family, and friends are tied to hate in a way she could not have imagined. The 2010 female protagonist learns that her new home and the land surrounding it has a dark history, and the mystery aspect of the novel plays out as she discovers what happened in the 1960s.

The KKK plays a role in this story, and there is very disturbing violence in the novel, all the more disturbing knowing that the type of racism and violence in this novel is inspired by true events.

I found The Last House on the Street to be very engaging and recommend it to readers of historical fiction and those who are interested in reading a novel set in North Carolina during the Civil Rights Movement.

I enjoyed the history and setting of this book, though I had a hard time keeping track of the two main characters. They were so similar I kept mixing up which story went with which woman. Overall, it was a good read. 3.5 stars

A well told story from two perspectives and timelines set in North Carolina. A mystery woven through a story told during the civil rights movement and present day. This was a book that I couldn't wait to keep picking up to see what would happen next. Thanks to Netgalley for this review copy.

In a Nutshell: A dual timeline story, but where each of the two timelines belongs to a distinct genre and they don’t merge until the final few chapters. It’s a fairly engrossing read, but one that doesn’t turn fabulous until the final quarter. The book is marketed as a mystery; it is not.

Story:
2010. Kayla’s husband has died in a freak accident while building their new dream house in a new development called Shadow Ridge Estates, in a small town named Round Hill, North Carolina. Kayla is now apprehensive of moving into this home with her three year old daughter, and more so after a mysterious old woman warns her against the move. But with no other option left, Kayla has no choice but to shift. Soon, there are many events taking place that show her why she must get out of Round Hill ASAP. The only person who is somewhat welcoming to her is an elderly neighbour named Ellie Hockley, but even Ellie’s behaviour seems puzzling at times. Who wants Kayla away from “the last house on the street”, and why?
The story is told in the first person perspectives of Kayla from 2010, and Ellie from 1965.

The two timelines are covered mostly in alternating chapters. There's a certain amount of foreshadowing done in the contemporary narrative with respect to events in the past, but other than this link, it's like there are two stories running in parallel and one can’t see the connection between them until more than three-quarters of the book is done. This works both for and against the story.

The historical timeline outshines the contemporary timeline by far. With its coverage of racial privilege, white supremacist attitudes, the extensive yet covert spread of the KKK and the brave SCOPE project initiated by Dr Martin Luther King Jr., there’s a lot of intense, thought-provoking and emotional content in Ellie’s narrative. In fact, if the contemporary story had been discarded altogether, the book would have worked brilliantly and given tough competition to Jodi Picoult’s “Small Great Things” as a book about racism. Kayla’s story is nothing but the bland bread to which the delicious stuffing of Ellie’s story is adding flavour. It was like reading two books in one, one bland and one delectable.

(On an aside: As a non-American, my point of view of the actual historical events was that of an outsider. But as a global citizen, it was easy to identify with the struggles of the Black people to get their rights in a country where their ancestors were mostly brought by brutal force. Racial fights are far from over, and a lot of the thinking that is portrayed in this book is unfortunately still an extant problem in many nations, including the US. In the 21st century, we can’t live with the “I, me, myself, mine” mentality anymore. High time people all over the world, including my fellow Indians, realise this!)

Usually, in a dual timeline novel, both narratives belong to the same genre. As such, the reader gets a nostalgic sort of experience while reading the historical timeline and gets the explanation of the past while reading the contemporary timeline. However, in this book, the biggest flaw is that the two timelines are quite distinct in their nature. The 1965 timeline is a historical fiction for most of its journey except for a few tense events; the 2010 timeline is mostly like a psychological suspense. Each of these genres attracts a distinct kind of reader, so if you go into the book expecting a mystery-thriller, you will be as disappointed as the reader who was expecting historical fiction.

Most characters in both the narratives are either clearly black or clearly white. (And I don’t mean this in terms of their skin colour.) They have either a majority of good qualities with minimal or no bad qualities, OR vice versa. As such, it is not too difficult to figure out the potential antagonists of the story. Though this is marketed as a mystery, the suspense is easy for most avid readers to figure out because of this two-dimensional portrayal of the people in the book. Of the main characters, I found Kayla the weakest in sketching. Her character isn’t given much common sense but just false bravado. This again brings down the contemporary timeline. At the same time, Ellie's character is also quite erratic at times; I liked her timeline but didn't necessarily like her.

This was my second Diane Chamberlain book. My first was ‘The Midwife's Confession’, and I felt that it was great but it could have been so much more. The same feeling applies to this book. Nevertheless, I like the way Chamberlain makes me ponder while reading her works, and I am surely going to read more by her.

3.5 stars, mainly because I’m a historical fiction fan and that part of the story satisfied me.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of “The Last House on the Street”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I loved every second of reading this! I've never read Diane Chamberlain before but she has a new fan now! I need to go read everything! This felt like such an important story to tell. It was very well done and hooked me from the beginning and kept me hooked throughout the whole book! I was sad because I read it too fast and it ended too soon! Major book hangover! I highly recommend it to everyone! DO NOT MISS OUT on this excellent book!