Kayla Carter has recently lost her husband and is moving into the home they designed together with their daughter. The new house, although being in Kayla's childhood town, is backed up against a forest...a very dense, scary forest. Strange things start to happen including her garbage being tipped, squirrels being killed and pinned to her trees, and her young child being kidnapped.

Kayla's nearest neighbor is named Ellie Hockley, a woman who grew up in the area during the 1960s. During her teenage years, Ellie took part in a civil rights action called SCOPE, an acronym for the Summer Community Organization and Political Education project. This project enlisted young men and women to speak to unregistered voters and advise them of the soon-to-be-signed Voters Rights Law. During her time with SCOPE, she meets and falls in love with a young African-American man named Win who is later dragged away by members of the KKK and never heard from again.

One day while having fencing installed, remains are discovered. It is later determined that the remains are those of Win and they must discover who took the young man's life. Secrets are revealed and relationships are torn apart.

I confused this book with another of a simiiar title, so I was a little unprepared for what I read. This book is told in 2 points of view, Ellie from 1965 and Kayla from 2010. At first, other than Kayla building a home on what used to be Ellie's property, you do not see any connection of the two. Ellie was 20 when she joined SCOPE. A group who canvassed the black section of her town so that they would be able to register to vote when JBJ gave the okay. She lived in North Carolina and at the time, it was very uncommon of white people to interact, never mind live with, blacks. But that is what she did, and she became very close to a boy named Win. Through Ellie we learn about what happened during that time with all the race riots and protests. And we soon learn the terrible connection of Ellie and Kayla and how a secret that was kept for 45 years is finally let out into the open.

Full Review to come! I loved the Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain. A multi-faceted and moving story, told from multiple perspectives.

Kayla Carter has recently become a widow. Sadly her husband died inside their new home–one they designed together–as it was being built, leaving Kayla a single mother. Odd things have been happening however, and it seems as though someone is working very hard to scare her away and make her move. Kayla has a kind neighbor named Ellie, who has recently returned to her family’s home to help care for her brother and her mother, who are both facing health issues. As a young woman Ellie worked to help the cause of social justice and equality for all, even going so far as to work to register members of the black community to vote, facing the challenges and risks of this head-on. Slowly the two women begin to uncover the truth about a series of events that occurred many years ago, events that changed the course of one person’s life and will have an effect on the other. 

The Last House on the Street is a gripping novel that took some turns that I never expected. The events take place along two timelines, and these timelines work so well together, piecing everything together seamlessly. I love that the main characters are strong women who passionately stand up for those they love and for the things they believe in. They are well developed and so enjoyable to read about; you really fell for them and the things that they go through. There are some rather serious topics and themes throughout this novel, some that are difficult to read about at times, but Chamberlain addresses these in a respectful and honest manner. This was the first of her novels that I have read, but based on The Last House on the Street it won’t be my last.

The Last House on the Street is another 5 star read from Diane Chamberlain!
This book has dual timelines, 2010 and 1965, but with stories that though at first seem completely separate quickly intertwine into a heart wrenching tale.
I am always in awe of how this author can weave such a intricate and unique story that always keeps my attention until the very last page. The characters are written so completely that you feel they are your neighbors. How sad is it that so many topics in this book we are still dealing with today.
I highly recommend this book!

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

Review will be posted on social media closer to release date

Kayla Carter and her 3-year-old daughter Rainie are getting ready to move into their dream home in Shadow Ridge Estates. At least, it was their dream home, until Kayla's husband dies in a freak accident during construction. Now Kayla isn't sure she wants to move in, but knows she had to. Down the street are the Hockleys, and her elderly neighbor Ellie is friendly enough, but other strange things are happening that make Kayla wary. Ellie has her own secrets stretching back to the 1960s, when she worked for the Scope Project, registering black families to vote. Told in alternate time periods, Ellie's and Kayla's stories soon overlap as all the secrets come to light.

I devoured this book in one day. The chapters are short and action-packed so it was easy to just keep reading and reading. All of the characters are well-developed and realistic, even if not all of them are particularly likeable. The story is tough and dark, but I needed to keep reading to find out what happened next.

I highly recommend this amazing story.

Available January 11, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I found this novel a bit disappointing and disjointed. Could not finish and did not enjoy as many other reviewers have.

Whew! I had to wait several days before writing this review. The story still lingers in my thoughts. Other books by Diane Chamberlain have had surprise endings or spotlighted a social problem, but this is the first one that has downright haunted me.

Ellie Hockley has returned home to care for her aging mother and sick brother after 40 years of estrangement. She left her small North Carolina hometown in 1965 following a tumultuous summer volunteering with SCOPE -- a program seeking to register southern blacks to vote.

While Ellie’s childhood home still stands, down the street a new housing development is under construction. Kayla just moved into the new house at the end of the road, bordering on dense woods and a murky pond. Numerous family and acquaintances have discouraged Kayla and her daughter from occupying the home, especially after her husband died onsite while it was under construction. A menacing old woman issues a similar warning and then disturbing things start happening on the property.

Alternating between present day and flashbacks to 1965, we see how youthful decisions shape a person’s future and the heritage of family beliefs. We see why the right to vote is still a divisive issue today, as well as the price the previous generation paid to secure it. Chamberlain portrays the community pressure in the 1960s South to maintain the status quo and stick with your own kind -- the quandary of wondering whom you can trust and who secretly sympathizes with the KKK.

An engrossing read that will also shed light on a current political debate, this novel makes for a great book club selection.

4 1/2 stars (4 stars on Goodreads)

I was thrilled to receive this ARC as the author has become one of my favorite writers. This book’s subject matter of race in North Carolina was intense and emotional.

What I liked:
•The dual timelines between Kayla in 2010 and Ellie in 1965. It wasn’t clear at first how these stories would become weaved together. But they eventually did and that’s really when the story got good for me.
•Any time I can learn more about the Civil Rights Movement from a different perspective, I appreciate it. Having been raised in the Midwest in the 60’s-80’s, I was certainly aware of racial discrimination but my eyes are becoming more and more open to how it really was. And frankly, how in 2021 we still haven’t reached the equality all people deserve.
•I appreciate the perspective of “I know this person, they couldn’t be racist” ~ then showing a side of them that is so deeply ingrained that we hardly recognize them. I feel like with the divisive political culture in which we currently live, we can all relate to not understanding the people close to us who so strongly believe what we cannot.
•a hopeful ending

What I didn’t like:
•simply the beginning of the book, the stories being so disjointed. Kayla’s house described in great detail didn’t lend much to the final story. But once the timelines weaved together, it all made sense.
•the pain felt for characters we came to deeply care about. Honestly I’m not sure that’s a negative ~ a book that can make you feel so deeply is a well written book. I loved these characters, especially Ellie. I wish I could be more like her!


This book is due to be published January 11, 2022. I highly recommend you read this story. It was fast paced (especially after the first third of the book), and a look into an important part of recent history. We’ve come far, but have a long way to go.

Another best seller from Diane Chamberlain. A mystery from the past and present. This is a intriguing story of just how much the past can affect future generations. Thank you so much to the publisher m author, and #netgalley for my requested ARC. This is a must read, can’t put down until finished book!

I would like to thank NetGallery and all those raving about this novel, without you I may have passed it by! And, of cause, Diane Chamberlain for the amazing story. I received a copy on NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

The novel cycles between the past and the present, weaving the story of Ellie and Kayla. The impact that Ellie's past has on Kayla's present/present. The work of SCOPE and the horrible experiences endured in the 60's.

Well worth the read and one to be read again. Thank you!

What an emotional journey.

From the description, we know up front that there is bound to be some controversial content here. Ellie is a well-to-do 20-year-old white girl who takes up the cause of black voter registration in the South in 1965. While I had never heard of SCOPE specifically, I did know enough history to be interested in pursuing this title.

In the 1965 timeline, the story is told from Ellie’s point of view over the course of a few weeks one summer. Ellie’s interest in civil rights stems from three factors: being paired on a project in school with a “Negro student,” having a favorite aunt who always took up a cause, and a tragic history with a black childhood friend. When she hears about the SCOPE project, a grass-roots movement designed to encourage black residents to register to vote prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Ellie volunteers to join the movement.

In those few weeks, Ellie’s entire future forms. We learn her history with the childhood friend. We understand why she left Round Hill and moved to California. We grow to learn the complications in her relationships with family and friends.

I don’t want to give away the details of that summer. If you understand the climate of the country in that time, you can probably infer some of the places the story goes. Emotional and sometimes heartbreaking, it is a journey worth taking.

In the 2010 timeline, the story is told from Kayla’s perspective until the very end when the author adds Ellie’s point of view. Kayla’s present day is colored by the tragic loss of her husband and the ominous theme that someone clearly does not want her and her daughter to move into their new home.

In an awkward turn of events, 65-year-old Ellie and 28-year-old Kayla become unlikely friends, and Ellie’s past collides with Kayla’s present.

While this is clearly a work of fiction, the historical element in this story can’t be ignored. While we are all aware of the racial tensions in society today, the author’s descriptions of the racial tensions in 1965 were heartbreakingly real. The bigotry is harsh and raw.

This one is so worth the read, and it’s going to stay with me for a while.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the opportunity to review this book. I am a huge Diane Chamberlain fan, so it really was a thrill to receive an ARC

For me, this book missed the mark. Something felt a bit off about this book, I felt like the main character was performative, and reckless. Her decisions led to serious consequences and violence against Black folks in her community. I don’t want to give anything away, but that’s how I felt about this book.

It was certainly well written, but I had a hard time with this one.

4 1/2 ⭐️‘s
In 1965, Ellie has decided to follow in her Aunts footsteps and crusade for civil rights. She’s signed up for a summer project called SCOPE. The program places college students in the homes of black families and the students canvas neighborhoods to register black voters. At the time Ellie has no idea what she will have to give up to help better the cause or the impact it will have on her relationships, but none of that matters to Ellie.

In 2010, Kayla is a recently widowed young woman with a three year old daughter. She and her late husband designed the house of their dreams and its time to move in. As she prepares to move in a mysterious older woman approaches her and leaves her frightened and in doubt. Kayla is soon questioning everything about her choices and ultimately her dream home.

As in many dual timelines one story is much more compelling than the other. That’s the case with this book as well. The 1965 story was a difficult read, but one that had me riveted. Chamberlain tells a tale of racial injustice, impossible love and those that stood up for what they believed in no matter the cost.

Chamberlain weaves a heartbreaking story leaving the reader wondering just how the two families are connected and asking what really happened on Hockley street so many years ago.

Diane Chamberlain is an author I enjoy as she introduces us to characters that are flawed or in a challenging family situation and due to her character development, I feel (most times) like I am on the journey with them. It seems she also folds in a societal element of something that happened in the past. In The Last House on the Street, she takes on the current aftermath of a wife, Kayla, who has lost her husband in a tragic accident and moving into the dream home they've built together which is where he died. Her journey intertwines with the story of Ellie who grew up forty years ago when her house was the only one on the street. She is a courageous woman who fought for social justice as a very young woman and who has never forgotten the devastating loss that drove her away all those years ago. She's come back home to care for her mother and brother and meeting Kayla awakens all the things she's been avoiding for so long, but now that she's facing them, she might also have to face the truth of the past. I enjoyed the story, not a light read due to the themes it explores, but I feel like I caught a glimpse of what it might have been like all those years ago for those fighting for freedom.

I discovered Diane Chamberlain a few years ago and have devoured her books since. I think this is one of the best books she has written. It is a dual timeline sorry alternating between 2010 and 1965. It follows Ellie, who in 1965, is a civil rights activist. In 2010, Ellie returns to her hometown to care for her brother and mother. The real story is about civil rights. The book did a wonderful job showing how racism was in 1965, and how whites were treated when they tried to help blacks. In 2010, some people are determined to keep secrets hidden.

I loved the vivid writing. I lost myself in the story more than once, picturing the scenes as they played out.

The civil rights movement was only a generation ago and this story highlights how it is still very much needed.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me and advanced copy. It is truly a wonderful book!

The Last House on the Street is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about racism, family, love, prejudice, and forging your path.

The story is told in dual timelines of Ellie in 1965 as she spends her summer volunteering with SCOPE and Kayla in 2010, who is struggling to settle into her new house after her husband passes away.

This book highlights the SCOPE project—a voter registration initiative that recruited white college students to canvas rural black areas. I’d never heard of SCOPE before, so learning about this grassroots effort was eye-opening. It brought to mind how timely the issue of voter registration rights is.

Reading a story about the deep South during the 60s invoked feelings of anger, hope, and frustration. It was heartbreaking to read about what some of the characters were experiencing.

While reading, I found myself drawn more to Ellie’s story than Kayla’s. Despite this, I enjoyed reading how both timelines were interconnected.

I highly recommend this story and feel it would make an excellent addition to any book club.

I read this one immediately following Clint Smith's How the Word Is Passed, and I had no idea how well these two books paired together. Told in dual timelines, Chamberlain explores the implications of racism and prejudice during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the ways we're, as a country, still experiencing the repercussions of a country built on a racist foundation. It totally solidified the evidence that Smith relayed in his book and the hardships that Black people had to navigate just to be seen and heard. I immediately fell into Chamberlain's writing and felt like she handled the two timelines well (though I liked the 1960s better).

I'm a huge Diane Chamberlain fan. This book had all the usual twists and turns, and a few surprises. I felt like it dragged a little in the middle during the description of the voter registration work, yet it was interesting to learn of this effort.

As usual, she does a great job with character development. The ending was also very satisfying.

Wonderful Book coming out in January called "The Last House On The Street". Dual time line. Ellie, 20 year old white college co-ed, is helping with 60s Voting Rights Act and getting blacks registered to vote in North Carolina and Kayla's story who built a house near the woods where Ellie grew up. Ellie's past catches up to her when she meets Kayla.

Ellie's story is amazing. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens. I loved learning what is was like growing up and doing what Ellie did that summer. It took incredible strength and courage.

Kayla's story is also of strength and courage but she has to deal with people not wanting her to move into her house because of what happened in the past.

Mystery, romance, history. This book has it all. Loved it and it could quite possibly be one of my favorite books I read this year.