Ted lives with his cat and sometimes his daughter, who is very difficult to deal with. He is rather odd, doesn’t go out much and drinks too much. The windows of the house are boarded up, with peepholes. Dee has spent years trying to find out who abducted her little sister from the lake, and her search brings her to Ted. Will she find out the truth at last? This is an unusual and memorable psychological thriller/ horror story told by multiple ( unreliable) narrators, including Olivia the cat. Whenever you think you have worked it out, there is another twist and everything is seen in a different light. To say more would be to give too much away, but be assured it is weird, creepy and unsettling but with the possibility of redemption.

The Last House on Needless Street is a rare and unforgettable novel, unlike anything I’ve read before. It blew my mind — repeatedly. And even now, weeks later, I find myself marvelling at the author’s incredible creation.

This is a story about Ted, it is a story about a lost little girl. It is a story about a house, a forest and a mystery, the like of which will shock you to your core. Cinematic in its vivid imagery and emotional strata, the author has created a unique story and compelling characters which will slip into your mind as quick as a snap of the fingers.

I loved the author’s lyrical prose, which marries light and shade, possessing an emotional acuity second to none. Themes of horror, mystery, thriller, suspense elegantly and effortlessly segue into one another. It is hypnotic in its beauty.

TLHONS is an exploration, a deep-dive into the human psyche. It explores the effects of abuse on the mind, the heights one can fall from yet still recover from. The author approaches all this with sensitivity and truth, a tenderness in her words that belies the brutal content. This balance is striking and it moved me and devastated me all at once.

The characters are rich, nuanced and have a power over the reader as soon as you meet them. Ted is one of the most fascinating characters I’ve ever come across. Other than that I can’t say much more. This is a difficult review to write as I do NOT want to give away any of this book’s secrets.

The Last House on Needless Street is a marvel, and I’m going to be pressing it into everyone’s hands. Don’t wait a minute longer, pre-order and brace yourself for one of the most striking and unforgettable novels you will ever read (certainly one of mine.) Once you enter The Last House on Needless Street, you might never leave.

Catriona Ward has written an instant classic. The novel is so well plotted and the viewpoint characters are so intriguing. As usual I don’t want to discuss the plot in any way as it would spoil it. This is so much more than a thriller and the afterward explaining one of the key plot points had me retuning to the start to read again. This novel has stayed with me weeks after finishing and I would recommend everyone picks it up.

Eeeeeeek!!! That was a brilliant read!
What a creepy, atmospheric, twisted and at times sad read!
I started off feeling sympathetic towards Ted but that soon changed as I got to know him better......or so I thought. In the end, he was such a sad character. It's a story about survival. We all find different coping mechanisms when facing horrific circumstances. Some more extreme than others......
What is really going on in the last house in Needless street and what has been hidden away under the bone trees........

Thank you to NetGalley, Viper, Serpent's Tail and Profile Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Description
*** THE MUST-READ GOTHIC THRILLER OF 2021 *** 'The buzz is real.. I haven't read anything this exciting since Gone Girl' - STEPHEN KING 'This spectacular gothic fantasy is one of the most extraordinary thrillers of the year' - DAILY MAIL 'Catriona Ward is the new face of literary dark fiction' - SARAH PINBOROUGH

This is the story of a murderer. A stolen child. Revenge. This is the story of Ted, who lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia in an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. All these things are true. And yet some of them are lies. You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you've read this story before. But you're wrong. In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, something lies buried. But it's not what you think...



Review

Having had 24 hours to mull over this sinister and traumatic tale of imprisonment, loyalty, hate and fear, you will not have read anything like this before. The reading journey started a little unsettling, almost disjointed with switches between the narrators, you question if you are following this? Should i go back and reread? You question the reliability of the narrators. It is all part of the complex, chilling and compelling tale, there are ripples of gothic horror, the atmosphere created by a strong sense of place - a near derelict house at the end of a street at the edge of a forest.

By page 100 i was gripped - no going back. I need to know how this ends. Certain elements are nightmarish and malevolent, our expectation is that Ted is the evil party in the kidnapping of the missing girl. The tale is haunting and spirals beyond all expectations - it is a tale of murder, abuse, but also the strength to mentally survive such tragedies.

It is a gruesome, complex, knotty and entangled tale that sucks you in. It is on a par with Stephen King novels, but streets ahead of Gone Girl in my opinion.

#TheLastHouseonNeedlessStreet #NetGalley
Score 4/5

Not going to write much as I don’t want to give spoilers.

This was a fantastic read from start to finish and I don’t think I’ve read another book like it. So many layers to it.

I now know why so many people are talking about this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Serpent’s Tail and Catriona Ward for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Bejeezus… The Last House On Needless Street…. I just don’t know what to think. I have read nothing quite like it. This is one helluva unique read in many ways.

This dark tale is told from four perspectives, each very different voices. First we have Ted who we hear most from. He’s an odd character. A recluse, socially awkward. But he’s sinister with it. His thoughts are very unnerving at times and his confusion can add to the unsettling feeling he radiates.

I loved the character of Olivia. She’s the lighthearted voice in this very dark tale. She’s one of the unique points in this novel. Getting into the mindset of this feline character was something I didn’t expect in an adult thriller.

I couldn’t work out Lauren. She was the character I couldn’t imagine. She’s a mixed up young lady, I say young lady – that was the thing. Her voice sounded grown up, teenage but the account Ted gave was of someone so much younger. But is that part of the character of Ted, not letting his daughter grown up?

And then there is Dee – a woman in a mission. A woman desperate to find her sister’s kidnapper/killer but even this supposedly stable character, the one who doesn’t live in the house at the end of Needless Street is less than reliable. She stalks, she lies….

The different voices gives the book something different. Each character was questionable about their narrative but on different levels of questionability (is that even a word??!). Ward has written a very unsettling book. I’m seriously impressed with this twisted tale. I thought I knew what was happening but Ward consistently pulled the rug from under my literary feet and surprised me at every turn! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I really wanted to read this book after hearing great things about it from Tina Baker (author of Call me Mummy). As a fan of psychological thrillers and horrors I had high hopes and was chuffed to be offered a copy to review via Netgalley.

This is going to be tricky to review without giving away any spoilers! It was a slow burn kind of book. Basically you have a missing child, LuLu, her sister Dee, who is looking for her and an ‘odd’ man living with his daughter (Lauren, who seems to have ‘issues’) and his cat, Olivia. The story unfolds from several perspectives and initially I quite enjoyed that one of them was that of Olivia the cat.

There was however, a period in the book where I started to feel a bit confused/irritated and almost gave up as it was rather weird and I felt I was losing the plot thread. If I hadn’t had to write a review I might have given up.

And then… it got really good, exciting, and I wanted to stop doing everything except read the book! The twist at the end was completely unexpected but also explained why I had found parts of the book a bit confusing.

So, I would definitely recommend the book but add that it’s one to keep going with, the best plot comes to those who wait.

I’ve spent days trying to figure how to review The Last House on Needless Street. How to write a review worthy of this story because I don’t think I’ll ever find a book like this again. A story that could chill me to the bone but a few pages later make me cry.

The synopsis gives little away but nothing could have prepared me for this book. A serial killer, a missing child and a woman seeking revenge. It promises you that nothing is what it seems and it’s not. The Last House on Needless Street is a place full of secrets and lies. It’s the home of Ted, Lauren and Olivia.

Olivia.

A little black cat who has become the most beloved character of any book I have ever read. I felt for her, I cheered for her and I cried for her. I’m going to be thinking about Olivia for a long time. Reading a story from the viewpoint of a cat was magical, touching and more moving than you might expect. She was wonderful.

I’m not going to say anything about the plot because I don’t want to diminish the journey you experience when reading. I’ve seen people call this a horror and while I can see that it’s also so much more. It’s a thriller, a character study in grief and loss. There’s fantasy elements as well. I’ve never read a story like this and I think it could easily be my book of the year.

The writing in this is superb. Atmospheric, enchanting and so compelling I spent a day absorbed in this world and despite the horrors you find you don’t want to leave because it’s a magnificently constructed world and you feel for the characters so much. I’m in awe of Catriona Ward and this book, she’s a genius.

Ted lives in the last house on Needless Street alone but with an occasional visit from his daughter, Lauren. When his daughter comes for a visit one day, she goes missing. Did the young woman, Dee who just moved in next door take her? But Dee believes Ted is actually responsible for her little sister’s disappearance many years ago.

Is everything really as it seems? And who really did kidnap his daughter?

The POV constantly changes throughout the story, bouncing between Ted, Lauren, Dee and Olivia the cat.

I absolutely loved the chapters with the cat. The author was so descriptive that I felt I could actually see what was happening through the cat’s eyes. It also brought in a bit of light hearted humour.

As we go on throughout the story, we learn a little bit more about each of their story and background.

However, every time I thought I knew what was happening, the author threw in another surprise. I spent most of the book trying to figure to piece everything together and was continually left guessing.

It’s a real page turner and I constantly felt on the edge of my seat, wondering what was going to happen next.

It’s brilliantly written and full of complex characters as well as in-depth description. The author has really outdone herself here and created something amazing.

There are lots of creepy and horrific moments which the author blends in well. However, I wouldn’t recommend reading this one late at night if you’re easily creeped out.

It’s a brilliant gothic thriller that will draw you in.

"Don't let anyone find out what you are."

The Last House On Needless Street is a gothic masterpiece. It’s a few months since I read it and yet it still lingers vividly in my mind. Mysterious, unsettling and original, I was mesmerised from the start and completely enrapt by the eerie world the author had created. And the creepier it became, the deeper I fell; lured against my every instinct into the dark and twisted world of a murderer, his cat and the mystery of a missing child.

The story is told from multiple points of view: Ted, Dee, Lauren and Olivia the cat. Yes, the cat is a narrator in this book. Each is vividly drawn, fascinating and memorable, but they may or may not be reliable, adding to the mysterious atmosphere and leaving the reader never quite sure what is and isn’t real in this bizarre tale.

It takes a talented author to write a story that is both horrifying and funny, something Ward has achieved with flourish with this book. She has crafted a tale unlike anything I’ve read before. One full of beautiful imagery and prose that belies the dark, murky, spine-chilling story it tells. She plays with your mind, cleverly lulling you into a false sense of security where you accept what you’re reading, while using it to mask an entirely different narrative that only becomes visible as you approach the finale. And when you see it, it changes every word you just read. It is a masterclass in storytelling, twists and plotting that blows my mind every time I think about it.

"... if you wait long enough, evil always shows up."

One of the things I loved most is how deeply Ward delves into the mind of the killer. I need more books like this! Don’t miss the Afterward for the full, fascinating insight into Ted’s mind. The amount of research that has gone into it is phenomenal and sent me down a fascinating and frightening rabbithole.

Striking, inventive and gloriously unhinged, this jaw-dropping thriller is one that doesn’t come around often. It is a truly spectacular and original novel that you won’t be able to shake. One that will haunt you, horrify you and surprise you. Someone needs to call Spielberg or Howard because this is a story that belongs on the big screen.

I actually finished The Last House on Needless Street a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been trying to figure out how to do it justice in a review, whilst being very careful not to give anything away about the the plot intricacies, ever since. It is a truly original book with a style all its own. The story follows Ted, an odd (to put it mildly) man living beside a forest on the fabulously named Needless Street. He lives with his daughter and his cat, both of whom take turns at narrating this strange and unsettling tale.

I really don’t want to talk about the plot at all because it is the sort of book which takes its reader on a journey and I think it is best to go into it without any knowledge of what is to come. However, I can absolutely try and get across my feelings and thoughts on this wild and powerful read. Firstly, the atmosphere is outstanding. There is a quietly sinister feeling from the very start which creeps into the consciousness of the reader and doesn’t let up. It is frightening in a sense but I actually think it’s more subtle than that – it is spooky without being overtly scary. The writing is brilliant and has a very unique style. It is also incredibly visceral – the imagery and language provoke the senses in a way that burrow into the reader’s mind, especially the sense of smell. What I think is so impressive about The Last House on Needless Street is that it is horrifying whilst also managing to feel almost tender at the same time. Somehow these two opposing forces don’t fight against each other at all but meld together in a bizarre and remarkably poignant manner. For me, the thing that has made this book really stick in my mind is that reading it was a weirdly physical experience. I was totally exhausted after finishing it which felt very strange. It completely consumed me for the entire time I was reading it and that doesn’t happen every day. The Last House on Needless Street has to be one of THE books of 2021 because of the way it seems to provoke a strong reaction in everyone who reads it. It is beautifully and intelligently written, carefully researched and a genre-bending tour de force which eludes description and categorisation. Highly recommended.

https://lynns-books.com/2021/03/18/the-last-house-on-needless-street-by-catriona-ward/
5 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Unique and compulsive, psychological horror

Quite possibly this is the most unique, unusual and utterly compelling book that I’ve ever read. At the same time it’s a book that you have to give your brain a little time to adapt to but once you do you won’t be able to pull your eyes away. It’s horribly fascinating, almost hypnotic in its ability to make you read ‘just one more chapter’ as you desperately seek to uncover the truth.

The story is told by three unlikely characters. A man who is very detached from everyday life, who lives by himself and is socially awkward. Ted finds himself the centre of unwanted and unpleasant attention following the disappearance of a young girl from the local lake. Dee is also a character who struggles to fit in. Following the disappearance of her younger sister whilst on holiday she has lost everything she holds dear. Her entire life is consumed by the desperate need to know what happened to her little sister and maybe ideas of revenge. Olivia is a cat. Rescued as a kitten she never sees the outside world and spends a lot of time in her ‘safe space’, she also gives readers an alternative view of events as they unfold – even if that view is a little unconventional.

Okay, I’m trying not to give away spoilers and so I’m not going to touch on the plot at all. As the description says, ‘a serial killer, a stolen child, revenge, death and an ordinary house. All of these things are true and yet at the same time all of these things are not true. When is a door not a door?

So, I loved the writing here. I think it’s safe to say that you might experience a little ‘what the heck’ moment when you first begin on this journey but all I can say is press on. I would also say that you need to pay close attention to what you’re reading, which I admit is sometimes difficult because some of the content is so mercilessly intriguing that it encourages you to read on at breakneck speed. Don’t do it. Take your time and absorb the detail, there are clues here not to mention a certain unreliability in narration about what’s going on together with an overlapping of certain events that gives everything a skewed perspective at times.

This is quite possibly going to be one of the shortest reviews ever considering how much this book affected me but I really don’t want to give away spoilers. Instead, I’ll discuss my feelings whilst reading this which jumped around like crazy. I was intrigued, I was angry, I was desperate for answers, I was shocked, literally ‘mouth opened in a perfect ‘o’ type of shocked that doesn’t often happen and I was horrified. In fact for me this is a perfect example of sleight of hand. Ward led me down the dusty path in a masterful display of ‘these aren’t the droids you’re looking for’ and maintained her mind control completely until she was ready to give me the final punch to the gut. I didn’t see any of it coming. I pictured exactly what the author wanted from the beginning. My mind was made up, the doors were closed, and then the doors were blown open in shocking fashion. Masterfully done. I applaud you.

I don’t know what else to say. This was a gripping read. It was utterly fascinating for me and I take my hat off to Ward for managing to hold all this together so masterfully.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

This was a very interesting, twisted, unique and intense book with an abundance of what did I just read moments. I won’t be going into a lot of detail with this review because I believe that it is very easy to spoil what happens and I don’t want to do that.

The Last House on Needless Street is narrated from multiple POVS and it includes some very interesting ones. This book was not what I was expecting whatsoever and I actually think that is what made it interesting. My only advice would be to take your time reading this book because it is very easy to miss important information.

I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.

This is a tricky book to review. Not because it's bad or indeed average. It isn't. In fact it's very good. It's tricky to review because it's one of those books that you need to go into blind. One of those books that if you say too much about it you run the risk of spoiling elements which I certainly don't want to do.

I can give a brief overview that doesn't differ too much from the blurb. There is Ted who lives with his daughter and his cat on Needless Street, there is a missing girl and there is the sister of the missing girl who is searching for her, but beyond that it gets difficult.

What I will say is this book is great at characterisation. There are a number of different narrators in this book (one of whom is a cat) and they all have their own unique, recognisable voices. The main character Ted, for example, brings a feeling of unease with him every time he's on the page. Completely different to the cat.

The book is tense there are elements of horror in here, but there are moments of real tenderness as well. It is written in a way that is oddly jarring. Not badly written, but deliberately oddly jarring that might take a while to click with the reader but once you've got the rhythm of it it's an easy read, and it makes sense as to why it feels like that the further you get into the book.

There are plenty of surprises and a great ending. I really liked it. I would definitely recommend it to fans of the thriller genre and you'll get a lot more out of it if you go into this one blind.

The boundary between thriller and horror is often tenuous. The Silence of the Lambs has no supernatural elements but is often frightening. Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House can be read as a haunted house tale but equally could be read as a mind that is shattering under extreme stress. Often in such tales it’s up to you Dear Reader to make up your mind what is going on and what is behind the story. Catriona Ward adds to these greats with The Last House on Needless Street a tale of a man and his household that will make you question your morality and your senses.

In the present-day Ted Bannerman lives on Needless Street in a house where all windows are bordered up with planks while the gardens are filled with various treats for the birds. Inside it’s messy and in many ways unchanged since he was a boy. But look closely and you’ll see an unplugged metal fridge with airholes and various child drawings in crayon. Ted struggles with the pressures of life powering through with alcohol and tablets while at the same time trying to manage his rebellious daughter Lauren and try to manage his very independent housecat Olivia and he puzzles if he should try online dating. Across the road a new neighbour Dee has arrived – she has no job and is just fixated on Ted and what goes on in his home. Several years ago, Dee had a sister Lulu who vanished on a family trip to the nearby lake and was never seen again and she believes Ted may know a lot more about what actually happened. The truth is finally to be found in this strange street.

The success of this novel is the different perspectives that Ward crafted around the central mysteries of Ted;s home and Dee’s sister. Unusually it is not focused on Dee but the strange and often disconcerting Ted Bannerman. Ted’s voice is friendly almost childlike and yet we sense Ted isn’t being 100% honest about his life. Certain words and phrases pop up while he talks to us that mean he quickly changes the subject. In some ways the traditional singly working man father trying to move on and yet we also get a sense that all is not right. His childhood was not a pleasant one and left scars physical and mental that carry hi throughout the day. His online dating profile is designed to attract women but bears little link to his own reality as even his profile picture is fake). He worries often about the Gods in the woods who may be angered by any people walking too close to their home. Despite all these warning signs that all is not adding up he strangely feels sympathetic which may be the most worrying thread of the book – we get to see the world through his eyes and as the tale widens find out Ted’s secrets.

Ward helps develop our concerns about Ted by giving us two other narrators inside this house on Needless Street. We see Lauren’s point of view which is that of a troubled young girl who has a strange love/hate relationship with her father. One-minute laughing and riding her bike through the house then perhaps trying to give him food poisoning. Watching them both is Olivia and here Ward gives us an actual cat’s view of the world! For Olivia Ted is the person who saved her when she was found as a lost kitten but increasingly, she finds his behaviour and drunkenness frustrating while Lauren too is someone that she finds difficult to trust as too keen to break the constraints of the household. Olivia’s viewpoints on humanity are both funny – cats do like to punish their owners and yet also in her comments again troubling over exactly how these family dynamics are working. How is Ted actually looking after his daughter and what is he doing when he is leaving the house and returning so worried? There is a growing sense of dread in the book about Ted that starts to unsettle you and then increasingly disturb you. As various elements of his earlier life get revealed he starts to sound alarm bells and yet you will find it hard to turn your eyes away from the next step in their various narratives as the conflict between each other grows.

Giving the tale some additional poignance is Dee. She is truly a lost soul and very much broken by Lulu’s disappearance and its subsequent impact on her remaining family as well as her own life. For Dee finding answers are key for her and she has followed every loose thread she can often at personal cost to solve Lulu’s disappearance. When we meet her in this tale she is very much on the edge and yet happy to throw herself into potential danger to find the truth. Dee is the human face on a tragedy and a reminder that crimes don’t end for the families of victims – as we see her get into Ted’s line of sight, we fear a conclusion that at least one of them will not survive.

As you can gather this story touches on dark themes of abuse and murder and the impact these can have on those left behind. It can be uncomfortable reading and finding yourself in sympathising with characters who can also be disconcerting. The genius of the story though is that this is a story about understanding the characters and their motivations. As the story reaches a powerful finale all the elements of the jigsaw come together, and you’ll marvel at how Ward from the start laid out all the clues from the start. These four central characters give us a truly standout thriller you may want to re-read very quickly afterwards to see how the storyline was created.

For me this is not a novel of twists this a novel of the mystery being explained from four very different people’s perspective and the reader trying to work out what the real truth has been. Ward has created what I think is going to be one of the most talked about thrillers this year – surprising, captivating and hard to tear yourself away from. You will be chilled; you’ll be uncomfortable, and you’ll probably want to tell everyone you know to read it. Fans of Shirley Jackson will love this. Go get your hands on this one now.

This is a review that, for the sake of future readers, needs to be written without spoilers & fairly simply. Let's just say that the story is incredibly well plotted, the characters well written & absorbing and the whole thing is dark and disturbing.

I must admit I nearly DNF'd it in its early stages. The story is told from the perspective of different characters, one of which is a highly religious cat, and I really wasn't sure it was for me. However I always try to step away and come back a day later, & after assurance from a friend that it was worth continuing, I found the story and intrigue picked up & I'm happy I kept going.

I've seen rave reviews for this book & I understand why, but for me it was a good read but I can't rave about it because of how I felt in the early stages.

If you like your thrillers psychological, dark, disturbing and incredibly well plotted then check out Needless Street and Olivia the cat.

The Last House on Needless Street is a gothic-tinged literary mystery crossed with straight-up strange horror, and it makes for a killer combination. It promises to incorporate a serial killer, a kidnapped child, and something mysteriously buried in a dark forest into one chilling tale. We begin by being introduced to Ted, a strange and reclusive man who is scarred by past experiences and recurring trauma that have badly impacted his mental health. If he leaves the safety and comfort of his home it's usually only to visit the forest or the elusive ’bug man.' He suffered an abusive upbringing at the hands of his cruel, ruthless mother, who was in fact a nurse, and throughout his formative years, there were boundless rumours that the family had something to do with the disappearances of several young children in the area. But did they or were they viewed as easy targets due to being weird outsiders who preferred keeping themselves to themselves and carrying out bizarre rituals? He lives in a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the remote, wild Washington woods of the American Northwest. All of the Windows of the dilapidated house are boarded up but specially drilled holes are put in them to let the light in, there are bird feeders hung in the garden but no birds, but what the house does have is plenty of secrets. Ted lives alongside two other family members who are his only company: a disapproving cat, Olivia, and his 11-year-old daughter, Lauren, who is with him part-time. When Ted gets confused he calls them both ‘kitten’. Ted has always been strange, but he’s becoming stranger and more erratic much to the concern of Olivia, a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.

Ted sets up false online dating profiles, comes home late with the scents of bone and fear on his hands. He spends nights in the forest, digging amongst the paper birches. They make a curious trio, where the boundaries of their interactions keep shifting. Then a mysterious woman, Dee, who believes Ted had something to do with her younger sister Lulu’s disappearance eleven years ago when they were children, moves into the abandoned house next door. And when Lauren goes missing, suspicion turns to terror. The 'Little Girl with Popsicle' was only six when she vanished from the lake close to Ted's house, the last house on the street. He was considered a suspect by police at one stage but then cleared of any involvement, but Dee was here to find out what really happened to her little sister as she is still haunted by it to this day. This is a scintillating and deeply disturbing genre-bending novel with a potent mix of horror, suspense and psychological elements to the superbly crafted plot. It is so ensnaring, her characters so nuanced, and the unique structure of this twisty tale kept me guessing at every turn. By the time I finished reading (and was released from fear’s icy grip), I found that it's a one-of-a-kind horror story with a deeply empathetic message at its core, and you shouldn’t underestimate Ward’s ability to completely blind-side you. It's a dazzling story that is completely unforgettable, chilling and poignant, and although it is told primarily from Ted's perspective, I found myself loving Olivia the feline and her thoughts. This is an extraordinary gothic thriller that delivers a dozen twists and turns, The Last House on Needless Street is a thrilling tour de force with an ending that’s impossible to forget. Strongly recommended.

I knew, as soon as I caught sight of The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward over on Twitter, that this would absolutely be my kind of book. Dark, mysterious, and with an air of something dangerous lurking just beneath the surface, I couldn’t wait to read it and discover what twisted secrets would be revealed. The title instantly enticed me into wanting to find out more about the house on Needless Street. I wanted to know what was so important about it and why it was the sole focus of the title. Not only that, but the cover of this book had my mind alive with all manner of ideas. Death? Lies? Deceit? Secrets? I just couldn’t wait to find out what waited for me between the pages.

In The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward, readers are introduced to Ted. Wrapped up between the walls of the last house on Needless Street, Ted lives a very private, very restricted life, alongside his daughter Lauren, and his cat, Olivia. It isn’t long before readers begin to realise that Ted’s life is far from normal, much like Ted himself. Chapter by chapter, reality becomes murkier, and more suggestive, and I found myself trying my hardest to correctly place my thoughts and feelings about the circumstances revealed to me. The truth remains ghost-like throughout the telling of this story, so much so I could never be quite sure of what I was reading. Was I right in my anger? Was the fear necessary? Was I correct in feeling as though I’d avoid Ted at all costs if I were to come across him in real life? This questioning of myself was something that remained with me right the way through to the end of the novel, and it was such an exhilarating experience.

Ward creates an almighty overwhelming sense of place in this novel. The Last House on Needless Street, where the majority of this story takes place, was dingy, dirty and overgrown. It felt claustrophobic almost, like simply being there would cause a person to panic and freak out. It couldn’t have been more of a fitting house for Ted, Lauren and Olivia to inhabit. I loved how unsettled I felt while here, how nervous I was of my surroundings, and of Ted himself. There was just something unreadable about his character, and as the plot wore on, I realised that there was a reason for this, because there was so much more to him than I originally anticipated. As Ward provided more of Ted’s childhood, I began to realise that his upbringing hadn’t been normal either, and it quickly became clear that his world had been dark since before he could remember.

When Catriona introduced Dora to the plot, my excitement was almost too much to contain, because this is where the novel really picked up its pace for me. As realisation dawned, and I came to understand what connected Ted and Dora, I genuinely couldn’t wait for the moment when these two characters would cross paths. I became entirely invested in what became a mission for Dora, and as I swept back and forth between the ever-changing narratives, I knew I’d hurtle towards the last pages barely pausing for breath because I couldn’t wait to see how it would end. Throughout this chilling, twisted tale, there were numerous moments where I thought I knew what I was witnessing in Ted’s world, and again and again I was proved differently. It was thrilling, to forever think I had a handle on the plot, only to realise that I didn’t.

There were so many different aspects to this novel, so many different themes that laced the pages which made it interesting and juicy. There were secrets around every corner, and moments of pure confusion swiftly followed by stark realisation. I loved the uncertainty that I drowned in throughout, the ‘never quite knowing’ that heightened my interest even more.

Ward writes an assured, bold and complex novel in The Last House on Needless Street, one which tricks the reader time and time again. It takes skill to be able to play with the readers mind in such a powerful, all-consuming way, and I thoroughly enjoyed being victim to the authors’ dark creativity. Not only was this chilling and frightful, but there were moments of grief and sadness that echoed throughout the pages too, which left their mark. This was a fascinating novel, and has left me excited for more from Catriona Ward.

You NEED to read this book simply to get to the end and enjoy the sensation of being absolutely stunned for a while! I’ve read nothing like The Last House on Needless Street, and I don’t think I’ll read anything as good for a long time.

The narrative certainly takes some time to get to grips with and you will need to think and stay focused whilst reading this novel as you might get lost in the characters otherwise. Ted, Olivia (the cat) and Lauren are all wonderful in their own unique ways and the end of the novel just makes their sections so satisfying.

Upon re-reading the novel there are loads of brief hints and clues about how the narrative is going to unfold, and this just makes you appreciate Ward’s talents even more!

Absolutely stunning.

Definitely worth a second reading.

Catriona Ward deserves all the success in the world with this one, and I know that she’ll get it. Just mind blowing.

This book will never leave you. It blends several genres, horror being just one of them for sure, but in the best possible way - the scariest horrors touch on the fabric of what it means to be human in the darkest of times. This novel does that perfectly.

I’m really looking forward to reading her back catalogue and enjoying any future work from Catriona Ward.