Wow, I really loved this one. Chamberlain did a wonderful job intersecting two stories both from past and present. I will be recommending this one to everyone!

An emotional tale told from the standpoint of two women who are tied by both the past and the present. Ellie, a young woman of the 1960's, defies her family and friends to fight for what she believes in, no matter the cost. And the cost is beyond heartbreak. Kayla is a young architect, wife and mother who, decades later, builds her dream home with her husband in Ellie's former neighborhood. Tragedy also descends on Kayla's life, and she becomes nervous and suspicious of the dark woods that surround her home, the last house on the street.

Kayla and Ellie meet, and through their tenuous friendship, begin to unravel the mysteries and pain that surround both of their lives, which include others that they love or have loved.

This is a true-to-life and tragic story of the South and its bitter legacy, and of hope that exists, even in the midst of hate and fear.

This novel is told in alternating time lines, 2010 and 1965 set in North Carolina. It’s 2010, and Kayla’s husband dies just before they move into their North Carolina dream home in the gorgeous Shadow Ridge Estates. Kayla and her young daughter proceed with moving in. But when she is approached by an older, mysterious woman who tells her not to move in, strange things start to happen. It's a haunting novel that connects the tragic past with the present. Many thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

Diane Chamberlain is the one author I recommend to people who want to get into reading but don't think they like it. Her writing is spectacular and hooks me right in, this book was no different. The Last House on the Street is a serious book, and definitely not a light read. It is about the SCOPE program during the civil rights movement that I I knew nothing about prior to this story.
This book goes back and forth between the 1960's and 2010. You won't be able to put it down.
Thank you Net Galley, the author, the publisher for an early release of this book.

What a phenomenal 5-star read!

This was my first read by Diane Chamberlain and it certainly won't be my last! This story gripped me from the very first page and had me reading long into the night!

The novel is told in dual POV through the eyes of Ellie in 1965, and Kayla in 2010. Kayla and her young daughter, Rainie, are moving into a new house – a house that tragically took the life of their husband/father during construction. Strange things happen around the house, and numerous warnings are given to Kayla about the property on which the house sits.

Ellie is a young woman who finds purpose with the civil right movement happening in her southern state. She joins an organization called SCOPE, which is focused on educating and encouraging the registration of Black voters. SCOPE is met with ignorance and hate from her hometown of Round Hill. Ellie becomes an outcast, and her family and friends feel the heat of her decisions especially when she forms an attachment to Win, one of her colleagues.

The two women’s stories merge unexpectedly and tell a story that should never be forgotten.

This book is a hard book to read, but a hard book to put down. I felt so much love for some characters, and loathed others. The relationship between Ellie and Win had my heart breaking, knowing that it was doomed from the start. I had never heard of SCOPE and the work they did and look forward to researching a little more about them.

I highly recommend putting this title on your reading list!

This book was told in two timelines, 1965 and 2010, it was a little bit hard to adjust to the alternating timelines, because I really wasn't invested in the 2010, I had a hard time getting into that one. I preferred to stay in the 1965 timeline, it was more interesting to me, a little predictable as far as the tragedy that happened, and I didn't want to read that, as real as it was, but the Scope and the civil rights and the things that the author wrote about was a lot more interesting to read about than the 2010 version, which was also sad, but it didn't seem to go as deeply into the story as the 1965 one did. The connect wasn't there, that being said, it did finally connect at the end and we see the story nicely wrapped up.

The author did well with the world building, the storytelling, it was just another reason why she is one of my favorites.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this

This book brought an era and time of the 1960s vividly to life. I wasn't sure where the flashbacks were going at first, they didn't seem to be related to the present day story. But after a few chapters, it all started tying together. The author did a great job describing a Southern small town during the turbulent 1960s and how ordinary citizens can or won't work to make a difference.

Omg!!! This book had me grubbed from beginning to end!! I never really read a book that i would be so gripped in like i did this one. I would love to read more books by her because i see that she is a very good writer

Definitely a page turner! Events from 1965, during racial tensions and the KKK was very active, effect the present when the main character moves into her new home after losing her husband to an accident there. Someone doesn’t want her living there and strange things begin to happen. Great ending for the reveal to answers of what actually happened on those grounds in 1965. Thanks to St Martins Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this great book.

This is a tragic story that spans two timelines. 2010 Kayla has lost her husband. Who died in a tragic accident during the building of their dream home. 1965 Ellie has left home to join the SCOPE project against her families wishes.
Someone is trying to deter Kayla from moving into her new home as the past and present collide in this tragic tale.
A great read!

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the ARC.

The Last House on the Street tells the story of Ellie Hockley and what happens when she goes against her family's beliefs to volunteer to help register black voters in the sixties. When Ellie falls in love with a fellow volunteer, she finds out the true meaning of prejudice and how judgmental and cruel people can be.

The story switches back and forth to 2010 where architect, Kayla Carter and her daughter move into a beautiful home that she and her husband designed. Kayla soon meets a mysterious woman who warns her about moving into the house. The property is rumored to be haunted and Kayla soon finds out that there are many other secrets surrounding its past.

The two women have two completely different stories, but both want to find out the truth about the mystery that surrounds the property. The story is well written and keeps you guessing the outcome until the very end. Diane Chamberlain does an excellent job describing the racial tension and prejudices that were prevalent in the sixties.

Chamberlain’s latest novel resonates strongly with our times . Kylie is a widow , mother to young 3 year old when she receives a strange visit from an older woman . Told during two timelines one during the 60s at the height of civil unrest this book is suspenseful and poignant . This story will stay with yo7 long after the last page is turned .

This is a really moving historical story about the Voting Rights Act that every white person should read. Though I knew the basics about the Voting Rights Act, this story really brought that era to life and made me consider things in a much more personal way - the way all good fiction does.

This is a story of two alternating timelines, focusing primarily on Ellie, a white girl who, in 1965, decides to join the Civil Rights group SCOPE to help fight for voting rights for African Americans. Ellie is the only Southerner in the group. Through her decision, Ellie learns little by little that her beloved white family members and friends do not accept and love people of other races the way they accept and love her. The story alternates with 2010, when new resident Kayla meets an older Ellie and learns her story.

I thought this story was written with a lot of pain and heart. It is, of course, written by a white person (and primarily from a white girl’s perspective) - so as an emotional and educational tool for white reader about the era, I think it does its job more than ably and in a way that really makes you connect with Ellie and the other characters in her life. It is harder for me to say how this book would be received by Black readers, and how real it might feel to them, but I’m interested in seeing more reviews about that.

Really appreciated this look at an important historical era that is often overlooked by history and the American education system. The end of the book is especially sobering. 4+ stars.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book takes on one of the ugliest parts of our history. That being said it was a great storyline which had me guessing until the end. You think you have things figured out but wait until the end, you will find out quickly that you really didn’t have a clue. I’m a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain but she out did herself with this one. Great storyline, good characters just an all around good book

I want to thank St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Last House on the Street by author Diane Chamberlain.
The story alternates between 1965 and 2010.
Ellie lives in North Carolina in 1965 and is currently a white college student. She decides to devote her summer to helping southern blacks be prepared to register to vote. As a civil rights activist she will go house to house and also live with black families. Her family and friends are not only against what she is doing but many are active members of the KKK.
In the later time period you meet Kayla and her daughter Rainie. Strange, awful things are happening in their beautiful new home.
How do the two periods connect.? Will the secrets be revealed?
“Ellie—We’ll fly away—love Win.”
The Last House on the Street publishes 01/11/2022.

While alternating timelines are never my favorite to read, this story is easy to follow. It is set in two different years, 1965 and 2010, with the two main characters, Ellie and Kayla, alternating.
Kayla is a young widow moving into the house she and her architect husband designed. It's in a new subdivision where not everyone is welcoming. There are incidents almost from day one. Some say there are evil spirits and maybe there are.
Ellie has just returned home, after many years, to care for an ailing brother, and the mother who despises her. Ellie was raised here in NC during the civil and voting rights movement. It was the time of the Klan and Gearge Wallace.  As a teen she volunteered with a group registering blacks to vote. That caused a family and community rift spanning decades.
Kayla's new house is close to Ellie's family home. Their lives will become intertwined with the history of the land and the town itself.
It is an emotional depiction of family during a  time when race divided towns, people, parents and children. The wounds and heartbreak last a lifetime. It was a dark time with a difficult subject matter and it's not easy to read about. It was emotional and powerful. There is mystery and suspense, but it was much deeper than just solving a crime. As hard as it was to read about my country's history, I could hardly put it down.
I would put this in the historical category, as well as a great mystery. The book seemed very accurate to time period and was well constructed.
I was familiar with this author's name, but had never read her works before. Now I understand why she's earned such a following. She's written an important story with lessons still to be learned about race today. It will linger with me, as all good book should.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance digital copy of The Last House at the End of the Street, by Diane Chamberlain, and to St. Martin’s Press. These thoughts and opinions are mine alone, given voluntarily.

The Last House on the Street intertwines the past and present with the stories of Kayla, a newly widowed woman who just moved into her dream home shortly after the accident that took her husband; And Ellie, a young college aged woman fighting in the civil rights movement of 1965.
In present day Ellie is Kayla’s only neighbor in the newly developed neighborhood, and when a mysterious woman threatens Kayla, Ellie is there to help solve the mystery. In the “past” chapters, we follow a young Ellie as she joins a civil rights group helping Black southerners register to vote.
I really enjoyed this book as a whole; The way the present day mystery and the past civil rights storylines were woven together so seamlessly created a book I didn’t want to put down. Diane Chamberlain has written strong, believable characters that I was rooting for the whole way, and a story that I won’t be able to forget.

Told from 2 voices in 2 very different eras, the story sets up a mystery that kept me reading. Following these two women as their lives touch in so many ways, yet are so very different. The back story revolves around a group of civil rights workers in 1965, yet moves quickly to the very surprising reveal in 2010. I have to admit, I thought I had it all figured out, but there were so many things I did not even guess. The last chapter is a cool down after the explosions, wrapping the story up but leaving room for me to see another life for these women.

This is the book that everyone needs to read right now!! We live in a sad world where race is still an issue today and this book shows us how hate crimes if the past are still an issue today. I love the main characters in this book and I love that justice was served for that good man who was only doing his job.

I went into this one blindly and I'm so glad I did. What a story- wow! The story is told from two different time periods (1965 & 2010) from multiple POVs (Ellie & Kayla). We meet Kayla, newly widowed, as she's moving into her new home that her & her husband designed. Little do they know- there's a ton of history behind their lot. We meet Ellie in 1965 as she's working with SCOPE (an activist group who is working to help African Americans register to vote) and we watch her grow as she thrives in this organization. We also meet a few characters along the way that make you smile, make you laugh, and make you hate. Everything so nicely came together (even though it was heartbreaking) and the plot of this book really made you think. I would recommend this one to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Diane Chamberlain, and St.Martins Press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This one hits shelves in January of 2022!