Member Reviews
Another 5 star book by an amazing author. This book had everything you want when reading a book! Chamberlain has yet to write a book that I haven't read in less than 2 days, this one included. Highly Recommend
The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain. WOW! What a read! The story of Ellie from 1965 and Kayla from 2010. When I started reading was wondering how the 2 story lines were going to merge. The author did a seamless job in doing so. There was a build up to the climax that just kept you reading. I cared about the characters and what happened to them. I was canvassing with Ellie and Win. The author brought the white/black story line to life. I liked how Kayla spoke to her little daughter. I was surprised about who did it, the author revealing only so much. I will recommend this book to friends. Thank you for letting me review this book.
Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.
I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.
Building their dream house in a new development, her husband suddenly dies. A woman struggles to keep things a float with her young child but the house now is a constant reminder of the sadness.
She meets a woman who lives nearby who tells her no to move in. She will become increasing suspicious as there is a history between them that she isn’t aware.
A deep memorable read that you will not forget.
3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I’m a big fan of Diane Chamberlain’s books so I was happy to receive an early copy for review. The dual timeline has worked before for her but I didn’t connect with it in this story. I liked each timeline story on their own and even though it worked together at the end, it did make it harder for me to get into both of the storylines for most of the book.
Thank you to Net Galley, Diane Chamberlain and St. Martin's Press! I am so glad I was chosen to receive an ARC of this book! It is such a great story! I have read all of this author's books and this story is one of the best. She does a great job of connecting the two time periods together. The characters are also very well developed, revealing both the positives and negatives in their life. I really felt sorry for Ellie and Win, and my heart broke right along with theirs. Wonderful story! Make sure you have time to read because you will not want to put this wonderful story down!
I received an advance copy of, The Last House on the Street, by Diane Chamberlain. The 1960's and 2010 are light years apart, but some things have stayed the same, many thing has changed.
Wow is this book good. So bittersweet. I loved the characters and the story. I can’t imagine going through something like that in the 1960’s. I highly recommend this book and this author.
Interesting book, but not a fan of jumping from one character in 1965 and one in 2010. Set in a collision course of exposing secrets. Interested enough to want to find out the conclusion, but topic was also not the easiest to read. Would recommend, but may just be it didn’t click with me. Sorry.
I’ve enjoyed many of Diane chamberlain’s books, but this one was just ok. I started out like both Ellie and Alex, but the more the story went on the more I was confused with their decisions. And the ending felt very dramatic and a bit over the top. It just wasn’t my favorites of hers. But I’ll definitely keep reading her books!
"The Last House on the Street" by Diane Chamberlain is two stories wrapped into one. Told in two different viewpoints and time frames, the transitions are easy to read. While I didn't particularly enjoy the long passages about the need for a civil rights movement, they felt over-explanatory, I understand that they would provide background to someone who lives outside the United States and didn't know of our past racial history.
Well written and easy to read, I enjoyed this novel even though it had some disturbing scenes.
Diane Chamberlain's novels are light but filled with suspense. They are an easy read, yet never ever disappointing. "Buried Bones" kept me up all night reading. It is a great book if you are looking for a story to finish in one sitting :)
The first half of this book is extremely slow. It didn’t capture my attention until about 70% in. It was a good story but very slow.
I will read any book that Diane Chamberlain writes. I don't want to even say too much about this book, but it's a must-read. Very moving and beautifully written.
Thank you so much for my copy of The Last House On the Street. Another beautifully written story by Diane Chamberlain. I always enjoy reading stories with dual timelines and this one did not disappoint.
Wow...I was not expecting this book. Somehow I had just skimmed the synopsis and decided in my mind it was just a thriller. It was way more than a thriller. The amount of emotion and heartbreak I felt in Chamberlain's writing will cause me to think about this book for a long time.
Two story threads intertwine. First, Ellie is a young UNC college student from the South that decides to enlist in the SCOPE program to help Blacks in the South register to vote. Disobeying her parents and breaking off with her college flame, Ellie steps into an unknown world in her own backyard determined to bring about change. Coupled with a Black man named Win, they are charged with going door to door in a dangerous area in order to bring information about voting to the South.
Second, Kayla is a recently widowed 28 year old who is moving into her dream house designed by her and her husband with their young daughter. After a surprising encounter with a red-head and various threats about moving, Kayla really begins to question moving into her house and what might have happened on her land. Kayla's and Ellie's stories connect as Kayla tries to uncover the secret of the mysterious and threatening red-headed woman.
Despite Kayla calling her father "Daddy" which honestly makes me cringe to my core for a woman in her 20s, I was really invested in each of the characters. Kayla's and Ellie's lives illustrate two very distinctive periods of thought for people in the South during the 1960s and 2010s. The Last House on the Street highlighted important social and racial issues in a truly meaningful manner. Even though this book had many sad and depressing components in both actions and ideologies of the people, I am happy for having read this book.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I'll start off by stating that I'm a huge Diane Chamberlain fan - and this book, again, was so gripping, enjoyable, heartbreaking, educational, and timely.
The story focuses on two characters - Ellie (1965) and Kayla (2010). Ellie is a UNC student who, inspired by her aunt, decides to join in the fight for civil rights. She ends up joining Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE), a project college students volunteered in order to help register Southern Black voters before the passage of President Johnson's Voting Rights Act. Ellie's story seemed very well researched (as I read an early release, it lacked an Author's Note, but I'd appreciate knowing more about how Ms Chamberlain researched the SCOPE volunteer's lives that summer). While Ellie is passionate about this cause, many in her community (including friends and family) are against it. This, of course, causes a lot of tension and (skipping spoilers) eventually Ellie leaves her family, friends, and state in order to find peace. In 2010, Ellie returns home to care for her brother and mother and that's where her story overlaps with Kayla's. Kayla is a widow and mother to a young child. Kayla and her husband designed their house literally down the road from Ellie's parents' house. Unfortunately, after her husband's death, a mysterious woman badgers Kayla about leaving the house. Kayla begins noticing strange things happening at her house, resulting in her calling the police. Eventually Ellie and Kayla meet and Kayla discovers her father and Ellie know each other from 1965 and that something happened - but did her father play a part in why Ellie left?
I greatly enjoyed learning about SCOPE. Ms Chamberlain did a wonderful job portraying the eagerness (and naivete) of those brave volunteers and the violence and hatred they faced. I also liked how Ms. Chamberlain accurately described the homes in which Ellie resided - from no electricity, to outhouses, and sleeping in shared beds - and also how the Ellie realized that the family's she stayed with really needed the money they were given by SCOPE (heartbreaking).
I wasn't as enthralled with Kayla's story, but I understand why there needed to be "something" to have Ellie return to North Carolina - and Kayla provided a link to figuring out something from Ellie's past. Toward the end of the book, there was one twist I knew was coming, but a few others I didn't see - which was, in a weird way, an actual nice surprise.
I'd give this book a solid 4.5 stars - great and engaging story beautifully told (Ellie's 1965 story), but a little bit taken off for Kayla's story line.
Diane Chamberlain does it again. She has a beautiful way of writing and connecting the reader to all of the characters.
The story begins in 1965, with a young white woman, Ellie, just becoming aware of what is happening in the country. She wants blacks to have the same opportunity to vote and be heard as whites, but doesn’t realize the depth of fear, prejudice and hatred surrounding the issue. When she and a black boy fall in love, their secret relationship is discovered , with horrendous consequences.
In 2010, Kayla and her young daughter finally have to move into the dream house she and her husband have built together, but it’s not as envisioned, since her husband died in a freak accident during construction.
How these two stories are entwined and the secrets uncovered will stay with you long after the last page.
This book is haunting, sad, shocking, and hopeful, and you will feel each of these emotions throughout. There is a laconic pace early on as the two viewpoints and timelines set the stage for the climax. And even though you can predict where the author is leading, it is no less gut wrenching or disheartening to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the arc.
I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This story is amazing and I loved it! The characters are woven together with an historical perspective going back to the ‘60’s. They are all coming from a different place and roaring down the road to a destination beyond their control. The story is full of twists and turns and the result is astounding! I totally recommend this book to any reader who enjoys a psychological thriller filled with mystery and a bewildering sense of premonition.