Diane Chamberlain has an engaging writing style, and I always love when a book has me “googling” for more information on a topic. But, I am a bit of an outlier by not finding it to be a 5⭐️ read…….

<i>The Last House on the Street</i> set the spooky atmosphere chained to place by bygone evils so well, I could feel it in my house, as I read. That's good writing. I was hooked. I followed Ellie and Kayla's stories, and it took me some time to finally determine relationships, and finally begin to realize where all was heading. To evil, evil, evil. The draw to these kinds of tales for me is because we think we are done with them, cured, so to speak. All is well now.

So not true. It lingers. Uncovered everyday.

A sincere thanks to Diane Chamberlain, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.

I love the multiple timelines. The civil rights movement is such an impactful event that happened and I love reading about history within a story. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain is an amazing historical fiction read told in alternating timelines from 2010 and in 1965 - and the stories merged so wonderfully. I really loved this writing on my first book from Chamberlain - lots of interesting information from history that really opened my eyes. Overall this is an important and timely read that will stay with me long after. Really enjoyed this!

Alternating timelines which explain a complex relationship between the mysterious events between the past and present in Round Hill and Shadow Ridge Estate.

In 2010, Kayla Carter reluctantly moves into the beautiful new home that she built with her now deceased husband, Jackson and 3 year old Rainie. Kayla and Jackson worked as architects and built their dream home at the end of the street in the new development called Shadow Ridge. Once she begins moving into the new home without her husband who suffered a fatal fall while building the house, she encounters resistance from locals who believe the house should never have been built.

The story transitions to 1965 to provide the historical aspect of Round Hill many years ago in North Carolina during the turmoil of the civil rights and prejudice. During this time, Ellie becomes involved with wanting to carry on her Aunt Carol’s legacy as an activist for civil rights. She decides to join a group SCOPE who are white students organized to help Negroes register to vote. It’s a dangerous and controversial decision for Ellie which isolates her from family and friends.

The past and present collide when Kayla meets Ellie who has returned to help care for her elderly mother and dying brother, Buddy. Many mysterious events in the present are revealed which relate to traumatic events of the past in Round Hill. It’s an important story about family, history, and reparations.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press. This review is my voluntary unbiased opinion.

Good dual time story!
Loved it!

Description
A community’s past sins rise to the surface in New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain’s The Last House on the Street when two women, a generation apart, find themselves bound by tragedy and an unsolved, decades-old mystery.

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

My, oh my! How I love some Diane Chamberlain! She can seriously do no wrong!

The Last House on the Street was another shining example of Chamberlain's writing talent. I was absolutely in love with the main character and her work during the Civil Rights Movement in 1965 despite being born and raised in the American South. Despite her family and friend's disapproval, she carried on with her work to register black voters, and discovered things about herself in the process.

The timeline also shifts to 2010 where a woman has built a house on a piece of land at the end of a street. She continues to receive warnings and threats not to move into the house. But why?

I adored this book from start to finish and would highly recommend.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Diane Chamberlain, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review.

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚
The Last House on the Street
By Diane Chamberlain
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m continuing to work through my Netgalley backlog, and this is another book that I left unread for far too long!

The Last House on the Street is a powerful, heartbreaking tale that tackles the ongoing issue of racism.

The story follows two timelines. Ellie is a young white girl in the South who volunteers to help support allowing Blacks to vote. The hatred and ignorance she and her cohorts encounter is so real and so raw that it had me in tears several times. Kayla is a young widow in present day. She and her husband built a new home near where Ellie grew up. Kayla’s husband is killed in an accident, and she and her young daughter move into the house after his death. Eventually we see how Ellie’s experiences years ago are still impacting life in her town.

As someone who grew up in the South, I could relate so much to the often unspoken remnants of racism that remain in present day. I commend @diane.chamberlain.author for tackling such a hard topic, and doing so with honesty and grace. This book is an absolute stunner and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC in exchange for my opinion. This book is available now!

Wow! What a shocking and powerful book. By melding a past and present timeline this book really drove home that the civil rights movement was really not that long ago. I feel like this book was a powerful story that had something for everyone - there was a mystery, some romance, a coming of age story and so much more all packed into one book. This would be a great book club book and would probably spark some great discussions.

Oh, how good was this book. I love historical fiction. I like learning about things that ive never even hear about it...
The dual point of view worked very well. It wrapped up nicely.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Told by two narrators, one in the present and one in the past, we learn about dark family secrets. While a lot of Chamberlain's books deal with very heavy subject mater, this one left me haunted by the hate that others can still hold onto.

Diane Chamberlain's latest historical fiction novel The Last House on the Street is a definite five star for me. In this book, she tells the stories of Kayla and Ellie, two women in different timelines who are each battling some personal issues and trying to figure out their futures. Each storyline is full of drama and completely engaging. They eventually connect together for a very dramatic finish.

In the present day, Kayla Carter is moving into the home she and her husband built for their family. Unfortunately, her husband died in an accident during the building of the house. When a mysterious elderly woman warns her not to move into the house and strange things start to happen at the house, Kayla begins to doubt her decision to live there. In the timeline set in the past, Ellie Hockley joins the SCOPE project and spends a few summer weeks trying to help register members of the black community to vote. Her family, friends, and community are all opposed to her work and trouble ensues for her and the other members of the project. The connection between the two timelines becomes clear as the story progresses.

The storyline in the 1960's is both inspiring and upsetting. Ellie's desire to stand up for what she believes in even when no one in her life supports her is admirable. The book does a good job of providing information about this very important civil rights project. The references to the Klan and its operations are disturbing, but they are important reminders of the adversity faced by people trying to make positive change during that time period. The reader should be prepared for many emotionally charged moments in the story.

Everything about this book is done well. The characters are well-developed with both likeable and unlikable traits. While there are some stereotypes in the book, they seem necessary to make the points the author is trying to make. The pacing is just right with enough development of both characters and plot without making it drag. Overall, I really have no complaints.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction and dual timelines. It will not disappoint.

I really enjoyed how this book went back and forth between two different times that were ultimately intertwined. I really enjoy this author and always look forward to see what she brings out next!

Great mystery of the days of the past and present. Really enjoyed the story of Ellie and how she fault for equal rights in the mid 60’s. I remember those days and how hard it must have been for the negro’s to be accepted as an equal race.

Such a good book, just like all of her other books. Great character development and a great plot, Thank you for letting me read this book.

I was able to listen to this story as well as have a kindle copy.

Once again, a dual timeline story comes forward with events that occurred in both 1965 and 2010. The setting is North Carolina for both time spans and deals with the upheaval of the fight for voting rights that had previously occurred. In 1965, the members of the Scope Project also known as freedom fighters depict a story that reveled a tale of a young woman named Ellie Hockney, a white young woman who becomes enmeshed in the project. The times are well depicted, bringing back lessons that I learned in school about life for black people in the South.

The 2010 story introduces us to Kayla Carter who has recently lost her husband in a tragic accident. She and her husband had designed their dream house for themselves and their young daughter, Kayla, against the advice of an older woman, Ellie, warns her of the dangers of the woods surrounding her property, which gives the area a haunted quality.

There are secrets that Ellie harbor about the area that the new home is built upon. There is a mystery surrounding this area which the reader might puzzle out as the story continues. When mysterious notes appear, the atmosphere becomes more ominous and threatening. Ellie becomes involves with a young black man and of course in the South a black and white combination was a huge taboo. However, for young people, taking a risk on love might bring so many repercussions.

I did enjoy both stories and the author deftly make the transition from one time period to the other. The 1965 version of course was heart breaking and once again reinforced the concept of what prejudice does. It also highlights the courage of a young college woman who risked life and limb following her conscious and doing her best to support the Negro cause. It was a clear reminder of a time gone by.

Thank you to Diane Chamberlain, Susan Bennett (narrator) and NetGalley for the audio version of this story.

Thank you to netgalley.com for this ARC.
This book was very well written and interesting and informative. Taking place in dual time periods from the 1960's and 2010 and two women's perspectives on life in small town North Carolina during the civil rights movement. This book has some heartbreaking moments but also some real life lessons and its scary how things have changed but not really changed in all this time.

The Last House on the Street is a dual timeline story. One timeline is set in 1965 North Carolina and the other 2010 North Carolina. Ellie, in 1965, joins SCOPE to help get African Americans signed up to vote. Kayla, in 2010, moves in to the house she and her deceased husband have designed. This is a story that is going to stay with me for a very long time. I could not stop reading it. I loved both storylines and as usual in a dual timeline story, past and present collide. I wasn’t surprised at the big twist reveal, but I wasn’t quite prepared for it, either. Diane Chamberlain is a new to me author, but now she is on my must read author list. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Wow!! This book was outstanding! Switching between current day and the past we follow the story of the life of a social activist Ellie who lost the love of her life. The history, mystery, and relationships made the a big page turner!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title

As usual Chamberlain delivered. I could not put this one down and reac way more than one planned to while on vacation. Absolutely excellent storytelling.