WOW, the characters come alive in this one!! Ellie in 1965 and Kayla in 2010 have stories told in dual timelines before coming together in the present. Racism is a big topic here, and while tough to read about, it's a very timely one and very well-told here. This author does a great job of always making you feel as though you are right there in the middle of everything. Diane Chamberlain is quickly jumping onto the top of this almost strictly psychological thriller/police procedural girl's favorites list! Well done!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Diane Chamberlain and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

An incredibly powerful historical fiction novel by Diane Chamberlain.

This story unfolds in two timelines --- one in 1965 and one in 2010.

In 1965, young college student Ellie surprises her family and friends by signing up for a summer program that helps Black community members register to vote. She convinces the pastor in her county to let her participate, despite the program being designed for students not from the South.

In 2010, Kayla is reeling from the sudden death of her husband, who tragically died in a construction accident while building their dream home. Despite her reservations about moving into the house where he died, her and her daughter try to make a home out of their address. Her new neighbor is Buddy Hockley, Ellie's brother, who still lives in the same house he grew up in. His terminal illness causes Ellie to return home for the first time in forty five years.

As Kayla tries to figure out why strange things keep happening at her house in the 2010 timeline, we watch Ellie become more committed to her work, and the people she is doing it alongside, in the 1965 timeline.

Just a breathtaking story of the prevailing prejudice that existed during this era in the South. It will rip your heart right out! I thought the past timeline was so much richer than the present day timeline, but the dual timelines were important to the conclusion of the story.

Looking forward to reading more from this author!

I enjoyed this suspenseful story. This is not my first book by this author but it is one of my favorites. One of my favorites things about this author is her writing style. Her ability to pull me into the story from the beginning and how realistic they are. This book is no different. The characters not only are connectable, they also pulled me into the story. They kept the story engaging and made the twists and turns edge sitting. A fast paced story that not only has alot of action but also is hard to put down. A story about two families with a forbidden love and a wanting of justice. I really enjoyed this story and how entertaining it was to read it. I highly recommend this book.

It pains me to write a less than stellar review for a Diane Chamberlain book because I’m truly a fan of her writing.

With that said, I’m going to keep this short and sweet…

What I Liked 🌿

✨ The last fourth of the book was truly mesmerizing, and I couldn’t put it down once I reached this point.

✨The ending was straightforward and brought both timelines and narratives full circle.

✨ The importance of the historical timeline – The Civil Rights era of the South – can’t be understated, and I felt that the author represented this era well.

What Could Be Better🌿

✨ The two timelines seemed completely unrelated and non-cohesive until the very end.

✨ At times the switch between timelines felt disjointed and stilted.

✨ A good deal of the characters’ actions and awareness, especially in the modern timeline, were just not believable in my opinion.

In spite of my own review, the reviews on Goodreads are overwhelmingly four and five stars. So I recommend reading this one for yourself. If you do, let me know what you think.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book before its January 11 publication date.

Wow, what a story. The back and forth between 1965 and 2010 sharing stories of love, loss, racial divide and more kept me thinking the whole time. Loved it!

Wow! Last House on the Street is a powerful book about the deep prejudices that existed in the South in the 1960s. The story takes place in North Carolina in present day with Kayla a newly widowed mom adjusting to her new life. It then flashes back to the 1960s with Ellie, a freedom fighter civil rights activists. The combination of these two stories is captivating. I was sitting on the edge of my seat trying to anticipate the twists and turns. Very well written story.

I sometimes find stories with two viewpoints a bit hard to engage with. With this story, I definitely was more invested in Ellie's story, especially the part set in the deep south in the 60s. At one point one character says "it's too soon for the kind of change you are after". That is really the core of this story. That deep-seated racism. That deep belief that it is "too soon" for change, even one hundred years after slavery was abolished.

I cried multiple times, always the sign of a well-told story. There were several plot twists that I knew were coming, but it didn't matter as for me, the story wasn't about the mystery, the story was about racism, trying to make a difference, love across all boundaries.

4.5 stars out of 5

Secrets are almost never a good thing. And only one person can truly keep a secret. When multiple people are involved a secret becomes harder and harder to hold.
A young family’s dream home becomes a nightmare for the young wife who is determined to discover the secrets hidden in the trees behind her new home.

The basic storyline is about a female architect who designs her dream home with her architect husband who dies in a tragic accident while the house is being built. The house is now finished and she is moving in with her young daughter. There are number of bizarre and frightening events that lead her to think moving in has been a terrible mistake. The back story about the days when the blacks in that area were in the process of getting the right to vote reveals a series of events that come forward to present time. This was a very interesting story that held you attention throughout.

Diane Chamberlain did not disappoint!! Love her!!

This story alternates back and forth between two characters (& two time periods).

Ellie is a college aged girl growing up in North Carolina during the civil rights movement. Against her family’s wishes she joins SCOPE, an organization that canvases Southern black neighborhoods and encourages them to register to vote. It is not an easy assignment by any means.

Kayla and her daughter Rainie have just moved into a newly built house (current day). Kayla’s husband recently died while building this house, and now other suspicious things are happening to Kayla & Rainie that cannot be explained.

When Ellie is much older she moves back home to take care of her dying mother & brother….and she ends up in the same neighborhood as Kayla.

These two women (and their property) share so much history and their stories start to unravel together.

Loved this one. Highly recommend!!

I'm a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain and especially enjoy how her past few books have brought events in history to light that I was not very aware of. I thought this dual-timeline fictional story was a powerful one to write and showed how much has changed, while much has not sufficiently changed. It is obvious that this story Chamberlain wanted to tell was an important one to her. She tells the story throughout both timelines, by slowly "peeling the onion" of events with many reveals throughout.
I had a hard time connecting with the characters, mainly the main 2 female characters, Kayla and Ellie, in both timelines. A young Ellie becomes involved in the SCOPE program in 1965, attempting to help register black people to vote. For someone who is socially aware who so badly wants to help the community, she acts impulsively and recklessly in a way I didn't understand. Meanwhile, in 2010, Kayla is a newly widowed mom, who moves into a new home in Ellie's old neighborhood, who gets unexpectedly involved in Ellie's story.
Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for giving me access to this ARC of one of my favorite authors, in exchange for my honest review.

“Take the tree house down”

Not an easy read but it is a powerful read. I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to write for review as this story was totally unexpected and I don’t want to give any spoilers. It was a very well written story. Told in dual timelines with the transitions very smooth. A forbidden love that tears apart a family and in some ways, a community. The civil rights movement is front and center. In the later years there’s a mystery which weaves the timeline and two families together.
ARC received from publisher via Netgalley
Reviewed December 10, 2021

Diane Chamberlain does it again! She has turned into a favorite author of mine. Her writing reminds me more and more of Jodi Picoult. She tells a story so well! The Last House on the Street was a very powerful book that is sure to be a bestseller! The book focuses on The Civil War and the Martin Luther King Jr. movement as well as dual timelines. Ellie’s character was very inspiring!

The Last House on the Street was an incredible story. It grabbed my attention right away, as Diane Chamberlain books generally do, and I was not disappointed. It tells a harsh story of racism in the south, uncovered family and community secrets, love and history. I could picture the characters vividly as I read and I much as I didn't want the novel to end, I NEEDED to know how it ended. Beautifully written and told, I would definitely recommend this to my book-loving friends. Thanks St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review..

Another compelling story by Diane Chamberlain. This book touches on a 45 year old mystery, a current day stalker, racism, freedom fighters and the KKK, using dual timelines of 1965 and 2010. Centered in NC.

The author opens one’s eyes to living in the south in 1965, to the Era of MLK and SCOPE (Summer Community Organization and Political Education) a group of black and white college kids that were trying to bring the voter registration process to blacks while the Voter Rights Act was pending. I had never heard about this group so found it very interesting. Our eyes are again opened wide as the author describes the horror, fear and injustice of this time. It was hard to read. As with all this author’s books, it is well researched with excellent characters and development. I can remember watching MLK on TV with my Dad as he tried to explained to a 6 year old what was happening and why. I love when a book has a great story, but also when it educates. I highly recommend this book. The modern day stalker issue is scary and realistic. The storylines intersect nicely and keep both stories are equally compelling.

Thanks to Ms Chamberlain, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

I have become a huge Diane Chamberlain fan and this book cements the deal! Dual storylines take you from present time to the summer of 1965 in North Carolina. The author takes you right into the trenches as college students arrive to get black people registered to vote while the nation awaits President Johnson’s signing of the Voting Rights Act. As the story moves along, the past and present start to come together to solve a longtime mystery. I loved learning more about the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Sadly it’s all to pertinent to what is happening in our country right now. Diane Chamberlain has hit another one out of the park!

This story left me a bit heartbroken. The writing was fantastic. I was absorbed into the story and could visualize it so clearly in my head. I liked the trading off between the past and current times. It took me a bit to keep the characters straight at first, but once I did, I was good. The suspense was good but moved a little too slow for my taste. It picked up at the end and parts of the story left me feeling horribly sad. Days later, the feeling still sticks with me. My reasons for giving it a 4 instead of 5 was the pacing seemed a little too slow and the motivation of the events in the current time didn't work for me. I think overall it was an accurate portrayal of events of the times. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This book hit all the feels!

You have dual time lines, Kayla in 2010 and Ellie in 1965.

You start with Kayla, a young widowed mother of a four year old daughter. At her office one day, she gets a surprising and life threatening visit from a stranger informing her not to move into the dream house that her and her recently deceased husband designed.

You then go back to 1964 with Ellie and her family, Her dad comes across an article about a Civil Rights Movement group heading down to their state, and their town. As the family is stating their opinions, even though they're not racist, they are definitely not interested in encouraging black people to go vote. That is, except Ellie. She continues to listen to her dad and discovers that she can be a part of SCOPE, Summer Community Organization Political Education, project and learns how to do so.

After 45 years of moving away from NC, Ellie returns home to tend to her extremely ill brother and mother. She meets Kayla and they hit it off very well until Ellie realizes that Kayla's father is Reed, the man she had dated many many years ago.

You go back and forth between the timelines, Kayla trying to start her life in her new home and trying to figure out why nobody wants her in that house and the events that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement with Ellie and the beliefs that people had on both sides.

As you approach the ending, a few eye opening events comes along. Some may seem silly, but the reality of it is that, real and typical, and I loved it!

I loved this book and want to thank NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go until the end. The twin storylines twist together wonderfully. I enjoyed the suspense and civil rights era timeline.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the free book.
Chamberlain has a way of hooking me into her stories, and I don't want to stop until I finish. This story is full of hope and sadness. Kayla has to deal with the grief of losing her husband and then being threatened in 2010. Ellie wants to make a difference in the 1960s by helping with registering Black people to vote without the support of her extremely racist family. What follows is a story of potential hope for the reader. I so wanted things to go perfectly, but if you've read Chamberlain before you know that's not quite how she does things. It's a story of the characters learning how to be their own person, fighting for what's right, and choosing to continue when life throws roadblock after roadblock at them. It was beautiful and heartbreaking.