Normally I would enjoy dual timeline stories, but this one was different. I enjoyed one timeline over the other. The author did manage to connect the two timelines and that made the last 1/3 of the book a good read!

Ellie ( 1965 timeline) lives in a small town in NC. It is the height of the Voting Rights Act, Johnson is president and protests are everywhere. Ellie doesn't like what she sees in her town and decides that she needs to help change the way that people think and feel about black people voting. She joins SCOPE, whose intention is to canvas the black neighborhoods across the south and to get people to commit to vote.

Kayla (2010 timeline) has just lost her husband and is preparing to move into the house that they designed together. She doesn't have a good feeling about living in the house where her husband died from a freak accident. But she feels she has to, so she and her daughter, Rainie, move in. Peculiar things begin to happen and Kayla begins to regret moving in.

I enjoyed Ellie's timeline so much more than Kayla's. For me Kayla was the wrong person in the 2010 timeline. I am thinking it should have been her father, Reed that should have been the main focus. Kayla seemed more of a plot device, and I think that took away from the book.

I did enjoy the last 1/3 of the book more because of the fast paced events in the book. However, I find myself struggling with some things, and will ponder on them more before I add them to this review.

As always, a big thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was an enjoyable read, but felt a bit like our author was trying to reckon with her own history? Maybe she did or didn't step up the way she wishes she had at the time that this book takes place? I was kinda hoping for a creepier resolution.

The Last House on the Street sounds like an ominous title, right? Well the story lives up to it. There is a new housing development in Round Hill, North Carolina. It plans to be home to Kayla Carter and her four-year-old daughter but unfortunately, her husband died in an accident while building their dream home there. One stranger tells her not to move in while a neighbor named Ellie is more welcoming. Both seem to have some kind of connection to the area that goes back almost 50 years.

I avoid novels told in dual time periods/multiple POVs; however, Diane Chamberlain is a consistent 4-or-5 heart rating so I trust and read everything new of hers the moment it is available. The Last House on the Street being no exception. Then I read her author's note on Goodreads which described her inspiration behind writing the story and passion for civil rights, voting rights for people of color and the SCOPE (Summer Community Organization and Political Education) program. Fiction based on reality? Count me all in! So I made a cup of peach tranquility tea and settled in for two (2) full days of reading.

The Last House on the Street is two completely different stories with a couple links. Because I am easily confused by dual time periods, I read this book in a way that is not traditional or intended. The chapters alternate narration between Kayla in 2010 and Ellie in 1965. So I read all of Kayla's chapters first then went back to read all of Ellie's chapters in sequence. Because of my reading style, it made it all the more apparent how different the storylines were. Kayla's is very mysterious and modern. Ellie's is heartbreaking with a focus on social injustice.

I don't know how the author managed to interweave this novel with such perfection but she did the damn thing! I stayed up late turning the pages of Ellie's story set in summer 1965 as a freedom fighter with elements of racism, voting rights and forbidden friendships. I even shed a tear, y'all. Then how it connected to Kayla's life 45 years later was an ending I did not expect. It could have been two separate novels but somehow it worked as one powerful tangled tale! The Last House on the Street is so well written that it will stick with me for a long while. Highly recommended the minute it hits bookshelves!

Happy Early Pub Day, Diane Chamberlain! The Last House on the Street will be available Tuesday, January 11, 2022.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

~LiteraryMarie

Another five star from this author! This book is told in two timelines - 1965 and 2010. In 1965 Eleanor “Ellie” Hockley, a college student, is adamant about volunteering with SCOPE and making a difference in the civil rights movement. She falls in love with Win and it gets back to her family. In 2010 Kayla Carter, a widower, moves into her home in Shadow Ridge Estates with her daugther, Rainie. Ellie and Kayla cross paths as Ellie has come home after 50 plus years to help her mom and her terminally ill brother. There’s mystery to be solved, the characters are well developed some you like and some you don’t. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy. This is my honest review.

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain is yet another dual timeline story. I have decided I am getting bored of this format. As much as I love Diane Chamberlain, I found myself struggling to get connected to either storyline in this novel and it took me over a week to finish it. I did enjoy that the main character from the earlier timeline becomes a part of the second timeline connecting the two stories. Even so, the transitions from one story to the other were a bit jarring at times.

In 1965, Ellie Hockley is a pharmacy student at the University of North Carolina. In the summers, she works at her father’s pharmacy in Round Hill, North Carolina, and lives in the family home on the isolated Hockley Street. Ellie learns about the SCOPE project that encourages blacks to register to vote. Her family, best friend, and her boyfriend, Reid, are all opposed to Ellie joining this project. Her work requires her to live with local black families and to have very limited contact with her own family. Ellie is a passionate civil rights advocate, She quickly finds herself in conflict not only with those she loves, but also with the local Klu Klux Klan branch, which is determined to keep SCOPE from succeeding in its mission. Ellie also finds herself deeply attracted to the young black man she is assigned to canvas the area with. Once word of this relationship gets out, all hell breaks loose.

In 2010, Architect Kayla Carter is a 28-year-old widow with a young daughter. Her husband died when he fell down the stairs of the dream house the two were building at the end of Hockley Street in a new subdivision in Round Hill, North Carolina. Just before she is to move in, Kayla is contacted by a strange woman who tells her not to move into the house, which sits on a heavily wooded lot. The woman is very threatening. In spite of her misgivings, Kayla goes ahead and moves into the home. In surveying the property, she finds a strange cleared circle with a treehouse near a very murky lake. While unpacking boxes, she finds a letter that her father, Reid, had written to her late husband, warning him about the past history of the property. Kayla then meets Ellie Hockley who has returned to her childhood home after more than 50 years away to care for her elderly mother and her older brother who is dying.

Soon, strange things happen at Kayla’s new house at the end of the street. Kayla realizes there was a connection between her father and Ellie. But does that relationship have anything to do with the threatening woman and strange occurrences happening at Kayla’s house? And are there really ghosts that haunt this wooded property as her father implied in his letter?

Overall, this is a good mystery. I enjoyed learning about the SCOPE project, which I knew nothing about prior to this story.

3.5-stars rounded up to 4-stars. Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced reader copy. The House at the End of the Street will be published on January 11, 2022.

I will remember The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain for a long time. The story takes place in North Carolina during two periods of time. In 1965 Ellie plans to spend her college summer break to help in the registration of black voters, which will turn her family and friends against her. In 2010 Kayla, a young architect, is moving into her dream home that she and her late husband designed. The paths of the two women will cross when Kayla moves down the road from Ellie and it seems that there is much opposition to the move. Ellie’s past appears to be related to the land that Kayla’s new home occupies. Horrific crimes of the sixties will affect both women. The poverty, bigotry, cruelty and violence of that time will bring their lives full circle in the new millennium. This is a very difficult read but remembering the past can help bring better attitudes in the present. Diane Chamberlain has written about a very painful subject with her usual sensitivity. Highly recommended. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was nothing like I had expected it to be from the book's description. The dual timeline stories seemed so different and unrelated, until you start to realize how much they shared in common. Kayla's newly single after losing her husband in a tragic accident and is quickly warned not to move into her new house. Ellie is a college student in the sixties who wants to participate in a movement to get people registered to vote. Ellie leans into her activism, and along the way, she discovers who she really is, who her family really is, and what she is willing to give up in the name of love. Her story is both important and tragic to read, and while you are hoping for a happy ending, the time period doesn't allow for that to happen. Kayla, on the other hand, is dealing with someone who is threatening her family, and little clues are dropped as to how her story relates to Ellie's story. The author does a great job weaving the two stories together and sharing how challenging the sixties were in the south. This is one of those books that will leave you thinking long after you finish it, and I appreciated the author's ability to keep the reader on the edge of their seat to find out how the story ends.

The last house on the street Kayla and her young daughter finally move into the house at the end of the street of Shadow Ridge Estates. The one up against the dark, dense forest. Both architects, Kayla and her late husband designed every inch of their dream home with thoughtful and loving detail. Sadly, a horrific accident took his life months before completion. Kayla is determined to love their home despite the sadness she feels every time she enters the door. An odd woman with a bright red wig mysteriously stops by her work, suggesting no-one should ever live in that house. At first brushing it off as a nosey small town neighbor, Kayla soon becomes frightened when her daughter is found alone in the tree house and garbage is strewn on her lawn. Kayla befriends Ellie Hockley, an elderly woman that grew up in the neighborhood and moved away long ago. Back home for the first time in decades, Ellie is nursing her brother and mother, she too suggests Kayla will never be happy living on that land. Secrets slowly unravel revealing long ago KKK meetings, a forbidden friendship and violence that can never be forgiven. Silence and suspicion surrounds them. Kayla’s own father will not utter a word. Narrated through history and the ghosts of justice, this suspenseful mystery will have you on the edge of your seat.

Diane is in my top 5 of go-to authors, and there's a reason for that...it's quite simple, really - She's proven herself over and over again that she's an outstanding storyteller! Everything she's written, I've read, and everything she puts out fresh I devour on it's release day! So guys, I am SO SO happy and excited I got a chance to preview a few of her works here on netgalley, it's been such a treat!! We are sooo lucky she enjoys being an author still, I can't wait for what she has in store for us next.

The Last House on the Street is a book that will pull at the heartstrings. It's a dual timeline/dual pov novel that has intriguing mystery, edge of your seat suspense, and lots of important American history. I loved the character building scenes with Ellie and Win, they're so special to the lesson in this story. I'm rating this 5 stars because even though I predicted/detected the villain fairly early, I enjoyed every word, every page, and every thing about this important book. I even shed a few tears! 5 gold stars

Thanks netgalley for giving me the audiobook so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

Wow! What a moving story,I learned so much. I never heard of the SCOPE Project, being a young child during 1965 news was not my thing. The story is of Ellie who against everyone say in her small town of Round Hill, NC joined the civil rights movement as a member of SCOPE. The more Ellie learned of mission of getting the black people to register to vote by canvassing with them, living with them. The more she is determined to continue the work. Her canvassing partner Win, is the quiet, serious type, but determined to get his people to register.
A friendship develops between the two, but the boundaries for more are not to be crossed.
Fast forward to 2010, Kayla recently widowed is moving into her dream house she and her husband had designed and built. She has misgivings about the move, yes it’s beautiful, but so many memories of her husband are tied into the house. He had during the construction died in it, stepping on screws on the stairs and falling to his death. But there seems to be more strange happening in the surrounding woods behind her home. Warnings for her not to be there.
The characters are wonderful, realistic, the story is a sad time in history that everyone should know about. This book will leave you heartbroken, a very emotional ride.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #TheLastHouseontheStreet

Absolutely loving this book! Classic Diane Chamberlain. I am way more into this one than her last one and I loved that one too. Love the Civil Rights Era chapters and main character Ellie being linked to Kayla's father. I'd definitely recommend this one to readers!

This book is written from two points of view.

The book starts up with Kayla (2010) who is at work when a strange woman with red hair comes to her office her claiming she has an appointment to see her. She proceeds to tell Kayla that she would like to hire to do some renovations at her home. This creepy woman is wearing mirrored sunglasses and seems very off. She proceeds to ask Kayla questions about her daughter and seems to know quite a bit about Kayla's circumstances which is very disturbing since this woman is a stranger and she doesn't know her. It has been a rough year for her as her husband died in the home that they were in the process of building together. Kayla has reservations and concerns about moving into the house but her father is pushing her to do it.

Ellie (1965) is dating Reed. He's a good guy but Ellie's not quite sure he is the one for her. She's been working part-time at her father's pharmacy for the summer. Ellie is in college studying to be a pharmacist. She decides she wants to make a difference and volunteer to help get people to register to vote. She knows this is something her Aunt would support her in doing this. She feels passionate about people's civil rights and wants to be involved to help make a difference. She's determined to be a part of the solution.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, this is the first book I have read by this author. It started off feeling very much like a bit of a suspense book and a bit spooky at times. As the story developed the more I enjoyed it. I loved Elli's story, it was hard to read at times but there was so much new information about that period of time that I learnt. The book has a historical fiction component to it as well. I enjoyed reading about the Civil Rights movement and a bit more about the KKK.

I would give this book a 9/10 and honestly it's very much likely in my top reads for 2021 and I'm glad I was given the opportunity to read this book. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing me the opportunity to read this book on Netgalley.

Chamberlain won me over with “The Dream Daughter” and I’ve been a fan since. I’ve read many of her titles, recommended them to many patrons and was looking forward to this one. While I can’t say it matched Daughter for me, it was a compelling read in spite of its predictability.

I loved the dual timelines and different POV narrative style. It worked well. The story is tragic and sad, heartwarming and infuriating. I stayed up reading late into the night even though I knew where it was going. I was hoping I’d be wrong.

While not one of the most original novels I’ve read, I enjoyed meeting Ellie and taking a peek into the North Carolina of 1965. I was hoping for a better reveal about Kayla’s husband, but aside from that, the story reached a satisfying conclusion. I want more about Reed though!!

A solid 3.5 rounded up to 4, because hello?, it’s Chamberlain after all.

A huge thank you for the ARC, provided by the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.

This is undoubtedly my favorite book of the year. Diane Chamberlain’s novels have always been entertaining, but this just made such an impression, a lasting one, I’m sure.
This book is set in two timelines, in 1965, when a young North Carolina White student, joins those that have come from the North, to work on registering black voters. This story follows their strong beliefs in civil rights and the the importance of the right to vote for every citizen.
Ellie leaves her rural southern home and has to prove herself, as a southern born white girl, but as she lives in the homes of her poor black neighbors, and sings their songs, she loves them and is committed to their cause, despite the escalating danger the group faces from the Klan and her racist neighbors. All of this has an effect on her friendships, her relationships with family, who have suffered due to her activism.
Fast forward to 2010, when Kayla and Jackson with a young daughter are building their home in that same rural town, and the events from that earlier period, creep in to affect their lives, bringing fear and terror to their home.
@Diane Chamberlain is a wonderful story teller, and this was no exception. Strong interesting characters, a gripping storyline, result in a page turner. A perfect book to close out my literary year, when just focusing on a book was a struggle. But I definitely didn’t struggle here. My thanks to @NetGalley @StMartin’s Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Another must-read author for me is Diane Chamberlain. Every book she writes is so good. I love the settings of the southeast where she sets most of her stories. The Last House on the Street is another excellent read that takes place in North Carolina where Kayla and her husband have created a gorgeous home at the end of the street. The happiness of this new beautiful home is darkened by the death of Kayla’s husband. There are secrets and a dark history surrounding the area and Kayla has more questions than answers.

Synopsis:

1965

Growing up in the well-to-do town of Round Hill, North Carolina, Ellie Hockley was raised to be a certain type of proper Southern lady. Enrolled in college and all but engaged to a bank manager, Ellie isn’t as committed to her expected future as her family believes. She’s chosen to spend her summer break as a volunteer helping to register black voters. But as Ellie follows her ideals fighting for the civil rights of the marginalized, her scandalized parents scorn her efforts, and her neighbors reveal their prejudices. And when she loses her heart to a fellow volunteer, Ellie discovers the frightening true nature of the people living in Round Hill.

2010

Architect Kayla Carter and her husband designed a beautiful house for themselves in Round Hill’s new development, Shadow Ridge Estates. It was supposed to be a home where they could raise their three-year-old daughter and grow old together. Instead, it’s the place where Kayla’s husband died in an accident—a fact known to a mysterious woman who warns Kayla against moving in. The woods and lake behind the property are reputed to be haunted, and the new home has been targeted by vandals leaving threatening notes. And Kayla’s neighbor Ellie Hockley is harboring long-buried secrets about the dark history of the land where her house was built.

Two women. Two stories. Both are on a collision course with the truth–no matter what that truth may bring to light–in Diane Chamberlain’s riveting, powerful novel about the search for justice.

Emotionally gripping and thought provoking.

An educational read that grips the soul with enough mystery and intrigue to break it up.

A dual timeline, though the subject heaviness and vibe between each is so different that it is quite jarring when it switches.

In one timeline we have the raw passion of the early 60's trying to fight for civil rights. The hatred and fear that motivated certain groups and the equally as strong love and fear that motivated the other side was a line drawn in the sand so to speak. It gets heated and very very heartbreaking to journey through a period where so much hate permeated the air.

In the other timeline we have the present where things aren't cast with a air of fear and urgency but still of heartbreak as a newly widowed mother faces threats of where her new house resides. In the process of trying to settle into her new home, old discoveries are made that uncover new truths.

An absolute wreck after reading!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Diane Chamberlain and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

This is a story that will forever stay with me.
This book is a historical fiction novel. It is about the Scope Project in 1965. Which I had never heard of but now I know alot about. The book goes between two time periods, 2010 and then back to 1965..
In 2010 Kayla and her daughter are moving into their new house which her husband built. Her husband died on site while building their dream home. Kayla is confronted by a woman there telling her that she shouldn't be moving into this house on this property. This then make Kayla very uneasy.
She then meets Ellie Hockley. Ellie is a 65 year old who returns home after years of staying away. Ellie family refused to sell their home to the developers and their home on the only other house on the street.
Back in 1965 Ellie was very involved in the Scope Project against her families wishes.
What kept her away for 45 years? And what does it have to do with the last house on the street?
I could not put this book down. My heart was breaking for what so of these people went through. Diane Chamberlain can really tell a story. I love all of her books. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley foe letting me read this in exchange for this review. I look forward to Diane's next book.

**This review contains spoilers**

3 Stars

One Liner: A social drama with a bit of mystery

2010: Kayla’s Carter lost her husband in an accident when building their dream house in Round Hill. The house is now complete and ready for Kayla and her four-year-old daughter to move in. However, a strange woman walks into the office and tells her not to move in. The meeting leaves Kayla shaken, but she has no choice but to move into the new house.
Kayla soon meets Ellie Hockley, a woman with secrets from her past. Ellie is a lovely lady, but what does Kayla know about her anyway?
1965: Ellie is determined to do something worthy in her life. Marrying her boyfriend and having kids isn’t on her list. When Prez Johnson announces a change in voting registration, the civil rights activities plan SCOPE, a program to convince black voters to register and vote for their rights.
Ellie knows she needs to be a part of the program even if her family and friends don’t see the reason. But life is hardly easy when a revolution is brimming. Ellie’s decision changes many lives, including her own. What had happened back then that Ellie still holds resentment in her heart and maybe even desire for justice?
How do Ellie’s and Kayla’s lives converge with so many decades between them? Why is the house on the hit list? What will happen when the secrets come out in the open?

What Worked for Me:
• The second half of the book, or rather the last 100 pages or so.
• Side characters seemed more defined (with their flaws) and real than the main leads.
• Rounded ending with no loose ends.
• Not a happy ever after but hopeful and assuring.
• The portrayal of racism, KKK, and bigotry.

What Didn’t Work for Me:
• The first 65% of the book is slow and left me wondering what the mystery was and when it’ll be solved.
• Kayla paled when compared to Ellie. Her track didn’t feel emotional or touching despite her apparent sorrow and fear.
• Ellie’s track was the primary focus of the book, and that affected the mystery angle as well as the modern-day Kayla’s story. What saved the story was how the two came together at the end.
• Ellie fights for the cause, against racism, and for black rights. All good. She has better character development than Kayla. But she appears too good, too innocent, and unwilling to believe the worst of those she loves.

**Spoilers**

Ellie was more than ready to blame Reed for the attack on Win, saying he was jealous when he was supportive and understanding (as much as he could in the circumstances). However, when it came to her parents and even Brenda, who openly showed their disgust and hatred, she wasn’t willing to consider them guilty.
Even after almost five decades, she was ready to blame Reed rather than rethink what had happened that night and who all were involved. A classic case of selective blaming and unwillingness to see people for who they are. Being an ostrich when it comes to dear ones doesn’t make her an ally.
**Spoiler ends**

Ellie finds solace in yoga after whatever happens in her life and is a yoga teacher in the present track. She is also vegan and loves Middle Eastern cuisine. Of course, she couldn’t find solace in any other profession (despite being a pharmacologist) or fall in love with another cuisine. Talk of irony! Racism is much more than abusing a race/ culture or burning crosses.
To sum up, The Last House on the Street deals with poignant issues and is more of a social drama than a mystery. Many people loved the book, but some elements didn’t work for me.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.


Note: The spoiler has been added and hidden only on GR. It hasn't been included in my blogpost.

Well, Diane Chamberlein does it again with another heartbreaking and engaging historical fiction. This story of two women in two timelines surrounding the Scope Project in the 1960s, working to get the black vote. The story tells two narratives, Ellie’s in the 60s and Kayla’s in 2010. Kayla’s moved into the home that her recently deceased husband was building for their family, and it turns out there is quite the shushed mystery surrounding the home. And even the street. It was a beautifully spun mystery and story that kept me going, as Chamberlein always does. I especially liked the storyline of the Scope Project, which was something I had—unsurprisingly—never heard of. I always look forward to Chamberlein’s book, and this one certainly delivered

As always Diane Chamberlain's books are so fun to read. I loved the historical component to The Last House on the Street and really enjoyed the interactions between the individuals. The ending was completely unexpected which of course makes a fabulous book. Would highly recommend!