Seeking redemption and revenge is one thing, but inflicting self-judgment on innocent people is a whole another one. Ted was a person of interest in the disappearance and now she is determined to find her sister or find the person responsible. Everything from the gripping plot twists that no one sees coming, to the intricacy of the characters that readers are coming to love. I guessed the twist very early on so kind of disappointed in that respect. Shes honed in on Ted and is determined to find out what became of her sister. I later exchanged emails with one of her other personalities which was an emotional roller coaster in and on itself learning that the person I knew wasnt in a good shape and it might never surface again. Im fascinated by the lake. Privacy Policy. His daughter Lauren comes to visit from time to time, but they never go out when she does, and their relationship is always tense and often violent. There is so much going on in this book that its easy to slip up and inadvertently spoil the story for others which makes it especially hard to review. Press J to jump to the feed. Viper, 12.99, pp352. Because in my opinion, this is not even close to a gothic thriller. spoiler I just finished it, I completely agree there was TOO much going on, I kind of figured where it was going with Ted, it was kind of obvious when they were at the mall with Lauren. It releases on September 28th! Gabino Iglesias is an author, book reviewer and professor living in Austin, Texas. Twice in the same day. I heard a few people describe this book as a gothic thrillerso I was in! GENRE: Thriller. He's unemployed, drinks a lot, and suffers from a few undiagnosed mental health problems. It would be a bad book if I wasnt afraid of it, she says, explaining that theres actually an important emotional element involved in telling and reading stories about our fears, of both the real and the fictional variety. This absolutely horrifies me because what kind of world do we live in where someone can walk up to a woman in a group of friends, introduce himself by his name, and take her away and kill her in broad daylight? she continues. While Im talking about spoilers, one of the most chilling things about this book was how the mother treated Ted. This is the story of a serial killer. This is probably the best-executed book I have read so far this year. I enjoyed the switching POVs initially, as I was just trying to piece things together, before anything had been confirmed. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. He nails the different voices so well, that you feel compelled to go and make sure that its really only one person narrating. So, when I read about Teds story, the abuse he went through at the hands of his mom, I just couldnt help thinking what might have happened to cause DID and create the person I called a friend. It would be a bad book if I wasn't afraid of it, says author Cat Ward about The Last House on Needless Street, this season's must-read horror novel. Part horror story, part mystery thriller, and part tragedy, the book subverts a lot of expectations about what a genre story should be and do, unpacking a complex emotional narrative in the midst of a menacing tale of fear, uncertainty, and constantly escalating dread. As for Dee, while I didnt have any feelings for her, Im not 100% sure she deserved to die as she did. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It's the tragic and often heart-wrenching story of a man living with a profound mental illness, and how this illness forces him to navigate his life. Somehow I had this book spoiled for me and I still decided to read it and still didnt figure out the actual twist til the big reveal and enjoyed the ride. 084121), Northcliffe House, 2 Derry . I can see how people enjoyed the writing. There are a limited number of characters who are given names. What a boring slog. The story starts to kick in beyond this, grips you and never lets up. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. Pretty clear, right? The second time I tried, you came out of my mind'" but the experience is unlike anything else out there, and that makes it a must-read for those who like the kind of labyrinthine narratives that pull the rug out from under you, sending you tumbling into a dark, dark room. The reader has to hunt them out, reflect on what theyve already read to find out where the story is going to take us. Thank you! Im not sure how to review it in its entirety without spoilers, so I will keep my thoughts brief on public forums and invite everyone whos read it to my blog post (coming soon) for a spoiler discussion. He lives secluded, has his mental health problems, and the only time he leaves the house is when he is going to the forest, to a local therapist for meds and advice, and to local pubs to drink and try to date women. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. Dee chases Ted through the woods thinking that he has Lauren in a bag and is going to kill her, but is bit by a snake. But this is one of those books that you have to trust and take the plunge so you can ride a hell of a ride. Overall, The Last House on Needless Street is a thought-provoking novel, with some chilling elements, placing mental illness into the focus in a different way - which is refreshing - managing to stay with you for a long time. Ive seen some true crime shows where parents talk about their children who turn out psychopaths and how it was to raise them, but even if they saw the signs and denied it as long as possible, every parent has at least a bit of love for their offspring. To me it is a tightly woven tale, full of tension and intrigue, with the truth just dangled tantalisingly out of reach. Like, holy shit, talk about psychopaths At first when they were in the forest and his mother revealed her fathers history and told Ted she never loved him I thought her coldness for her son was, if not natural, kinda understandable. I dont think I still have for that matter, although for all I know, The Last House on Needless Street gives justice to people dealing with this on a daily basis. Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is a shocking and immersive read perfect for fans of Gone Girl and The Haunting of Hill House. This is the story of a murderer. Firstly, this review is really hard to write in a spoiler free way but I am going to be extremely careful because you do need to go into it with no spoilers. Whilst I had my suspicions fairly early on about what was going on, I still enjoyed every second of it. Could you all raise your hand if the first thought after finishing this book was something like: Conflicted by this one. Dee, the girls sister, has never stopped thinking about Lulu. Your thoughts are echoed in a very good review by Wayward Magazine. Unsurprisingly, Dee's family disintegrated, and her father is now dead. . And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. I miss my friend, but I dont really have any means to reach her and even if I would, I have no idea if the person I call a friend is still around. Absolutely hated it and it was fucking confusing to follow. The clues were definitely therethe bike riding, shopping for the leggings, hints about how Lauren couldnt go outside. What I got was a distorted story that used mental illness as its major plot point. The mothers coldness should have been a big red flag. Five-star audio production, and five-star book. Except that I have weird quirks. The creepy dilapidation of the outside world mirrors their mental state. A woman who may be able to crack this cold case. All I know is that Stephen King had an endorsement quote on the cover, it was a horror book, and may or may not contain a serial killer story. Really disappointing ending and one most could see from a mile away. This is finally out! A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. Follow Queen's Book Asylum on WordPress.com. "You are an honest child. All original content on this site belongs to the author. Several important facts are clear from the start: Dee's sister was kidnapped as a child while on vacation and Dee is obsessed with finding her, Ted is a loner haunted by his mother's ghost and living in a dilapidated house, and Dee thinks Ted kidnapped her sister. DAS LETZTE HAUS in der Needless Street, Catriona Ward - EUR 22,99. If you watch a lot movies or read a lot of books not much comes off as a surprise. Anne Coates is a journalist and author of the Hannah Weybridge crime thriller series: Dancers in the Wind, Death's Silent Judgement, Songs of Innocence and Perdition's Child . All of this means there is a closed, almost claustrophobic feel so the reader feels as closed up as Teds house with its boarded windows and triple lock. Im a sucker for these kinds of stories where the story unravels piece by piece! But that plotlines closure felt a bitforced? . Learn how your comment data is processed. I know thats tough to do as you want to read everyones reviews and see if the plot is a good fit. There is a truth we begin to see relatively early on, but when you're standing on shaky ground and the narrative keeps throwing curveballs your way, believing you know what's happening is almost impossible. But in the grand scheme of things, I found this book a bit underwhelming. This is the story of a serial killer. As an affiliate for Amazon, I may receive a small monetary commission for purchases made through certain links on this website. And yet they are all liesYou think you know whats inside the last house on Needless Street. But then, its a bit of a grey area and it all really depends on your POV how you see her. A spoiler free 1st half of the thrilling, chilling and heart pounding "Last House on Needless Street" So, just a heads up. I laid her gently on a patch of moss at the foot of the tree. I no longer need to think of you as my son. Things are slowly getting out of his control when Dee appears in the house next to his, bent on finding her lost sister who went missing some ten years earlier from the lake. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward is available in hardback and audible, published by Viper; the paperback will be released on 30th September, 2021. It did not feel unpredictable to me. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. #whathaveidone #booksfordays #whoops, Herbs have been planted. And Ive been thinking a lot. Thats not to say I didnt get caught by surprise here or there, though. Dee is driven by her obsession and seems to be somewhat in control, but then that image crumbles; she's afraid of going to sleep because the "red birds will come flying into her head." Its a bit un-shelvable.. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. I can`t remember the last time I had my emotions so completely and cleverly manipulated. To comply with FTC guidelines, I receive no compensation for the reviews or promotional content posted. Im just really not into it, I guess. There isnt a page where the story lags. The conclusion is somehow so predictable, while also being entirely chaotic in its execution. Looking back from the end of the book, Im amazed at how well-executed this story was. Honestly I don't get angry about figuring out what's going on in a story because to me that means the writing is good and has enough clues that someone who's paying attention could reasonably figure it out. By the time they leave, the six year old is missing and Dee's family is shattered forever. The problem, for me, was that I wasnt invested in the characters and didnt really feel what I should have been feeling and that bothers me. Cookie Notice It's a difficult book to review however, as the less you know about the plot going in, the better (though the title reminds me of the house on Neibolt street from IT, it's not a spoiler for me to say . She pushed down her own guilt and focused that guilt on trying to find her sister and the person who eventually took her away from the scene. My Godreally? I had previously recommended Catriona Ward`d first two novels on this sub. Time is iffy and everyone is erratic. Lauren is not a very happy teenager but enjoys riding her bicycle in the house. It sure left me with thoughts. They all had their more or less deserved ending I say more or less because I just cant make my mind up about Dees fate. I kept reading because of the amazing reviews. I hope its [really] about survival and hope as much as it is about suffering. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. Dee saw her dead body, but the police/adults never found it. This is smart! But youre wrong. I wanted a horror story. *** THE THRILLING RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK *** *** THE BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK *** 'I haven't read anything this exciting since Gone Girl ' - STEPHEN KING 'One of the most extraordinary thrillers of the year' - Teds alters integrate, he gets therapy from a real therapist, and starts to become a part of society again. The Last House on Needless Street Audible Audiobook - Unabridged Catriona Ward (Author), Christopher Ragland (Narrator), Viper (Publisher) & 0 more 4.0 out of 5 stars 3,338 ratings That might sound confusing, but it's all part of the dark, strange world Ward created for this unsettling story, and it all makes sense. Perhaps the difference in myself and the disgruntled is that I usually figure out the twist or the plot or the aha moment in everything I watch or read, so having my suspicions confirmed in this case didnt bother me at all. Also Turn of the Screw is a brilliant book . Olivia, the cat, has her own chapters and it is a little startling at first to view the world from the vantage point of a cat. Horror fiction can scare readers, make them anxious, or upset their stomachs, but the most powerful narratives in the genre manage to create an unshakable sense of unease, and that's exactly what this novel does. The Last House on Needless Street publishes September 28, 2021 from Tor . I'm not used to how much space I take up in the world. You think you've read this story before. The worst kinds of monsters, after all, are those that we can find evidence for in the real world. Lauren and Olivia the Cat also have their own points of view of what is happening on Needless Street. This is an old comment but I just finished this book and I agree! I loved being suspicious, piecing it together in my mind, feeling a tad disoriented. Her debutRawbloodwon Best Horror Novel at the 2016 British Fantasy Awards, and was a WHSmith Fresh Talent title. It is pretty obvious that something isnt right in the house right off the bat. Dee dies from the snake bite. Im not sure I make any sense, so lets move on. Please do not copy or reproduce without explicit permission. THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET blew me away. Copyright 2020 by Bookends. So we could provide even more entertainment for you! To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. What kind of overpowering greed leads someone to need to do it twice in one day?. Revenge. How did that book end? 'The buzz building around Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is real. What cat understands English and speaks in slang? As an avid reader, I often find myself reading a book description and not being able to remember whether Ive read it before. For more information, please see our "Good," she said. Dee goes into the woods to have a bit of fun with the boy, tells Lulu to stay by the lake. Inside the triple locked door Ted keeps his cat Olivia and his daughter Lauren safe from the outside world. She lives in London and Devon. I listened to this book and I'm glad that I was forced to stay with the pacing of the novel. Couple of things you got wrong. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward is one of those books that is difficult to describe without giving away spoilers. Their remains were found on a neighboring hillside two months later, in such a state of decay that the local forensics team were driven to test the feces of local animals to help identify them. This all seems rather straightforward, aside from maybe getting the perspective of Olivia the . I never heard from her again although I do think of her every once in a while. You think youve read this story before. The Last House On Needless Street is the latest work from award-winning horror author, Catriona Ward. The writing is complex and not linear so it does keep you on your toes in that sense. I knock things over, I bounce off doorways. Kayla and Ellie both suffer the loss of the man they love. The Last of Us 2 Leaked Plot Confirmed by Naughty Dog, Dune: Part Two Should Expand the Role of Zendayas Chani, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Review, Shazam! I could hardly bear to let go of her, even for a moment. 'The Last House on Needless Street' is complex and multilayered, but more like a multiverse than an onion. Claire Douglas | The Girls Who Disappeared, Amy Lea | Exes and Os (The Influencer #2), Trish Doller | Off The Map (Beck Sisters #3). The Last House on Needless Street is finally out! In a house that has seen better days lives Ted, his daughter Lauren and Olivia. This is so well written! SHOW SPOILERS 18 March 2021. Baby snake bites Lulu who falls and hits head against rock. Thriller/psychological twisty turner, I couldn't put it down and read it in two days straight. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. For more information, please see our I loved Olivia! I loved every moment of it and Im keeping the book so I can read it again from a new perspective later on. Only, she has other motives for moving there. (LogOut/ Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Thats where youre wrong.In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. Ted has blocked out the outside world as much as possible, except for his . I cant believe this is all one narrator! Lauren appears in her own narrated chapters later in the book. It doesn't matter if you're into Stephen King, Octavia Butler, Jack Ketchum or Shirley Jackson, this is the place to share that love and discuss to your heart's content. The Last House on Needless Street is more accurately comparable to 2016's surprise hit I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Ian Reid. Thank you so much to Tor Nightfire for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Catriona Ward, NetGalley, and Viper books for the opportunity to read this book. In fact, it wasnt even scary. In a place that echoes with lost boys, 11 years ago, the haunted Dee lost her little 6 year old sister, Lulu, the Popsicle Girl, disappearing, never to be seen again. Her desperation drove her to the edge of sanity, and I guess thats what she paid for in the end. Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street arrived in 2021 riding a wave of pre-release hype the likes of which I don't think I've seen since Justin Cronin released The Passage ten years ago. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward | 9781788166164,Buy new & second-hand (used) books online with Free UK Delivery at AwesomeBooks.com Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse. The Last House on Needless Street is a book that has twists not for their own sake, but because what we think of as twists-unexpected events nonetheless grounded in established character and plot-are a natural extension of the characters and events Ward is tackling.. 13.9 miles away from Hero Towing. Which is disappointing, because I had high expectations going in based on the recommendations of people whose taste I trust in. I dont know, I felt like all those big reveals thrown at us in the last parts were too muchI mean come on, too much going on with such a narrow character list. It's also useless, because nothing in The Last House on Needless Street is what it seems. Time is iffy and everyone is erratic. Were afraid of Ted, because context clues say we should be, because our own knowledge of the world has shown us its often right to be suspicious of loner men who live in shabby, boarded up houses at the end of the lane. Do not miss this book.. All the evidence is there in the beginning. I'm getting bigger all the time. Book spoilers to jog your memory. Slasher Films Provide The Lens That Frames This Horror Story, This Noir Adventure Shows Silvia Moreno-Garcia Can Do It All, With Style To Spare. I think its unnerving to the reader because fiction is supposed to be more organized than that. An unspeakable secret binds them . ), Its a very strange genre, horror. They felt haphazard and cheap. I am overwhelmed. ISBN: 9781788166188. His mother apparently used to experiment on him surgically, which caused his scars and is what her tapes were about.Teds therapist was also abusing him and making his condition worse. Your perceptions change every instant and quite often no two people remember the same event the same way. Dee is left petrified of snakes, thinking she knows who took her sister, she fixates on Ted Bannerman, even though there was CCTV showing he was in a store, with scores of witnesses at the time, proving he had nothing to do with the taking of Lulu. The best way to go into this book is completely blind to any information about it. The Chihuahua lady and the mom seemed to be close, and the mom told her later on that she would be going out of town as a way to lead false tracks away from her if the police came snooping because of what happened at the hospital . The ending is propulsive and shocking and definitely had me re-running prior scenes in my head to assist with putting the pieces together. However, it gave me plenty of things to think about, and one thing I cant take away from Ward: she clearly put a lot of research into the main mental health problem featured in this book, and handled her characters with care. An Own Voices review of The Last House on Needless Street can be found on the channel The Chaotic Little Book Corner htt. As for Dee, while I didnt have any feelings for her, Im not 100% sure she deserved to die as she did. Almost time to get my garden going. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Ive been looking for a good opportunity to get to read this book, and the Ladies of Horror Fiction Readalong seemed like the perfect reason to jump The Last House on Needless Street on the top of my TBR. Thanks for the great review! Some are more disturbing than others. Depending on how you view him, he can come across as creepy, sinister or benign. Put it on the ground right there.". To be fair, it was probably always going to be difficult to know precisely how to classify a story that heavily features a very religious talking gay cat, and thats before you get to the potential kidnappings and possible serial murder of it all. CATRIONA WARD was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. *, The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (Author), Christopher Ragland (Narrator). Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. There are some deliberate reverberations that I set up with Ted in the beginning, Ward explains.Hes called Ted, and he lives in Washington state, near a lake where there had been a disappearance. I knew Ted was innocent, but I didnt guess the DID storyline. No longer must I search my heart for a love that I cannot feel." And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. And I think I have whiplash from all the twists! by Catriona Ward. There was really no other way the book could have gone. The Last House on Needless Street is a very dark, atmospheric and disturbing tale about a boarded-up house at the end of Needless Street whose inhabitants include a man who drinks quite a bit, an angry teenage girl who is a recluse, and a cat that seems to have a religious side. Its been nearly two weeks since I finished reading/listening to the audiobook version of The Last House on Needless Street, and I still couldnt figure out how I feel about it. If you dont, you may not., Especially since The Last House on Needless Street isnt the sort of horror story (or even quasi-horror story) that relies on gore or jump scares to terrify its readers.