I finished reading ‘The last house on Needless Street’ last night and I’m still overwhelmed by its brilliance.

It’s hard to find right words to describe how fantastic this book is.

You can expect something very dark, very painful and very twisty.

You might think you figured out what’s going on, only to be surprised by the next pages.

You will be a bit confused at first, and then you’ll be holding your breath while reading.

This book is focused on an extremely important topic (which is really painful when you read more about it). I’ve been researching it for over a year so I might’ve guessed sooner what the story is about than people who never heard of it. I’ve seen several books on the market which tried to tackle this sensitive subject and all of them failed. Catriona did a proper research, made sure that she’s following real life experiences and true emotions, and she didn’t fall for the easy (but hurtful) stereotypes as others authors did. I’m grateful for that! At the end of the book you’ll find lots of resources to learn more about what is happening with the characters and I recommend you do that!

It’s a fast-paced story, creepy and properly gothic. It’s scary in parts and fascinating in others. I can’t recommend it enough.

Everyone should read it, so if you see my review, pre-order the book. Now.

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Thank you NetGalley and Viper Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last House on Needless Street

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. In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, something lies buried. But it's not what you think...

This book was quite a unique book and a great psychological thriller. I did find the book a bit strange to begin with it and it took me quite a while to get used to the format and the different characters. I found it quite complicated in the first few chapters, but once I was able to see past this, it was a great read. The book was a disturbing, captivating read

I am very impressed by the canny choices that Viper Books are making. They are quickly carving out a place in my library with a strong and varied range of must read books, characterised by strong and imaginative writing.

The Last House on Needless Street is one such book. A properly named psychological thriller, it is the very definition of layered. Immaculate storytelling, interlaced with beautifully constructed plotting provides the base layers for an atmospheric, eerie tale that had me hanging on every word.

This is an insidious book, it draws you in, letting you believe that it is a conventional tale, one perhaps that is not dissimilar to other crime novels you have read, but the deeper you read, the more you realise that there is nothing at all conventional about this story.

Ward’s characters are convincing and very well drawn and her descriptive abilities are such that at least one of her characters makes your skin crawl and give you nightmares. This story is told by multiple voices, at least one of them unconventional, which gave me pause for thought – but bear with it; it all makes sense in the long run.

An expert at making the reader feel they are constantly walking through shifting sands, the dark woods at the end of the road that is Needless Street sit like a brooding dark mass, threatening to reveal everything, unsettling, yet giving nothing away until they are ready.

Two characters are central to the story. Ted is a maladjusted adult and single father to Lauren, a child who visits his ramshackle house occasionally. Dee is the sister of a missing girl. She feels the police have let her down in the hunt for her sister’s abductor and is on a quest to find her sister where they have failed. Driven by guilt she seems to be the most obviously straightforward character, but her driven quest is obsessive and there is darkness around her that never lifts.

Catriona Ward expertly leads us into chilling territory, keeping us off balance, showing us some real moments of terror yet never quite revealing the whole picture.

I love the way she keeps the reader constantly out of kilter, never quite sure who and what to believe, constantly questioning what is going on. There’s real skill and sharpness here and it shines through.

Verdict: Dark, original and disturbing this is also a book with enormous poignancy, heart-breaking moments and real tragedy. It’s ultimately very haunting and deeply thought –provoking and will sit in my brain for a long time to come. Absolutely recommended.

I had heard really good reviews about this book, with some saying it was a terrifying read so after receiving a free copy I eagerly started reading. I was very unsure about the book after the first few chapters, it felt a little darker than I normally read and I wasn’t clear where the plot was taking me. You start from the perspective of Ted and then move on to other characters throughout the book. It wasn’t particularly terrifying and I wouldn’t put it in the horror genre as some reviews have suggested but it is what I would term a dark read. Whilst I was unsure of it early on, I kept reading and I’m glad I did as it kept me guessing until the end over who the killer was. Overall it’s an interesting read and well written and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys darker plots, with complex characters that keep you guessing until the end.

The Last House on Needless Street is one of the best thriller novels I read in a while. The multi layered tale of Ted, Olivia the cat and Dee really got me guessing until the end. The twists are amazing in the book and I for one didn't see them coming because I was too enthralled about the vivid writing and lovingly set up story. I found myself rooting for the bad guy not knowing in the end if he was indeed the antagonist of the story. This book to me is definitely the standout of the year and I can't wait for it to go out in the world and nestle itself in the hearts of readers.

I thank you Viper books for a copy of The last house on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. I have heard good reviews about this book, so I was looking forward to reading this.
The story is about Ted and his daughter Lauren. They live in the last house on Needless street. But you wouldn’t think that they are a normal family and live in a normal house as Ted acts strangely and is scared to the normal things a man does. He also wears strange clothes and even eats strange things. Lauren is not allowed to do the normal things a kid her age does and wears strange clothes too. She is not allowed out of their house which the windows are boarded up and they have a talking cat.
There is also Dee who has just moved in next door. Who is searching for her lost sister and thinks that Ted has something to do with her disappearance?
I can’t even tell you what type of book this is as I found it very surreal and weird and to be honest, I was actually going to DNF it. But I continued on. I also thought it was sad as the perpetrator was a victim himself when he was younger, so he didn’t know better. The story is told in several points of view in the past and present that confused me throughout and the ending was very disappointing, and I didn’t really get the ending at all. Three stars from me.

Wow, this book is amazing. And pretty much impossible to review without spoiling the story. It is a mystery story about the disappearance of a 6 year old girl and the reclusive man who is suspected to taking her. An incredibly engrossing book with a story that is so cleverly woven. A fantastic read that will stay with me for a very long time.

After finishing this story I thought that the author had been very ambitious in their intentions. If you have ever seen the film Identity or read the William Faulkner book The Sound and the Fury, you will develop some ideas as to what is going on with the bizarre narrative. As the first person narrators move from Ted to Lauren and then to Olivia the cat, I can see that some readers might give up.. it feels messy and like Alice in Wonderland on acid. But to understand it all, you need to persevere.
Not just content with this, Ward also flips the whole crime investigation scenario on its head as well as, in the latter stages, providing some social and emotional background to the revelations.
I admire the chutzpah of the attempt here but, reading the afterword, it is revealed that the story was, in its original form, a more straightforward scenario and this is perhaps why to me it doesn't quite work... rather than start from scratch, the original was moulded to fit the new idea.
An intriguing and clever read.

I almost gave up on this book when the 2nd chapter was from the cats point of view, but I looked at all the reviews and everyone raves about it and gave it 5 stars. Not for me, I found it muddled and so silly and far fetched however on reading the authors notes I found that the theme of the book is all very very real. A little girl has gone missing, some years later her sister is still looking for her, she would be a teenager now and Dee, the sister, is sure she is still alive and out there somewhere. She is revisiting every man who was at the lake where her sister disappeared, the one she thinks is a certainty is Ted, he was interviewed at the time and although he had an alibi she is now sure it is him. But Ted is not normal, and he has a “daughter” who visits him, and a cat called Olivia who narrates parts of the book and can do human things. Of course everything is a red herring and as the book nears the end, the threads slowly unravel and it becomes apparent that all we thought wasn’t always the case.
Not the best book I have read.
#netgalley #lasthouseonneedlessst

I had been seeing lots of chatter around this book online, talking about how brilliant it is. I have been a reader for a long time and I do tend to get a bit skeptical when see blurb like "the only book you need to read this year" or "the crime thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat until the end". So much of it is hyperbole and when a book is built up so much, sometimes it can't help but be a disappointment.

NOT THIS BOOK THOUGH, all the hype and chatter is true, The Last House on Needless Street is amazing. It's difficult to say too much without giving away spoilers, but the book drew me in slowly and then as the plot begins to unfold and you think you know where it's going, the rug is pulled from under you and it ends up being a totally different book to the one you thought you were reading.

I did find the book a bit tricky at the start, the narration is split between Ted, Olivia (Ted's cat) and Dee. Ted clearly has some sort of mental illness, and is an unreliable narrator. As a cat lover I am fully here for books told from the perspective of animals (a big fan of Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton for example) but it adds to the overall weirdness in tone, Then there is Dee, who has her own agenda and seems to be the most straightforward character, but also has a dark side. If you find the start to this book a bit weird, just keep going, it's worth the reward at the end when it all becomes clear.

As a layperson I found the depictions of Ted's mental health issues empathetic and compelling. Catriona Ward will not have suffered from the illness in the book, but has done a lot of research, which for me, always shows on the page, even in a fictional telling.

I really loved this book, and if you prefer books that come veiled in darkness to slowly reveal themselves, then this is for you.

This is a story with so many layers that it is difficult to know where to start a review without giving away too much. Suffice to say it is a truly deep and dark story with a wonderful plot. From page one it’s is a page turner and I couldn’t leave it alone. Right to the end the story keeps unfolding and the twists are brilliantly thought out and totally believable. Please ensure that you read the Afterword when you have finished the book, the insight into DID is just as fascinating as the book itself. A brilliant book, so well written, an absolute joy to read.
Thank you NetGalley

I am almost speechless by The Last House on Needless Street. I will say that this book has shot into my top three reads OF ALL TIME.

The story is simply magnificent, the characters are memorable and oh so special. The twists and turns had me gasping. I actually received a paperback proof from the publisher (thank you Viper), and finished it in December, we are now nearing the end of February and I am still thinking about it!

I’m amazed by the sheer amount of work that must have gone into this novel, and I greatly appreciate the end note of explanations. Difficult to expand without spoilers, all I can say is to read it. You seriously won’t regret it!

My word. What a read. This is up there already as one of my favourite books of 2021. Utterly captivating. Story telling at its best. Really well done, will definitely recommend.

What a brilliant bloody read this was. The twist was just awesome and it kept me engrossed until the very end with no let up in the tension and goosebump raising fear.

I really enjoyed this read it helped me understand DID a bit more an showing it in a different light rather then a negative light all the time I love how it all came togther in the end with so many characters I fort I would struggle but I didn't an in the end I had so much empathy for ted an the diffrent ted's

I was desperate to read this book having seen all the buzz being generated on Instagram and Twitter. The plot sounded so intriguing, a gothic horror story, just the sort of book I’m drawn to. But oh! This book is so much more than that! Catriona Ward’s writing is so vivid, utterly mesmerising. I couldn’t tear myself away, but also had to give myself little breaks as the story is so intense! The main character, Ted, is really confusing and it’s hard to get your head around what is going on at first but then it clicked for me, aha 💡 and from that point on I was reading while holding my breath! Some chapters are narrated by a cat, Olivia, which I thought was quite strange, but also totally brilliant.

I found both Ted and Dee’s stories really heartbreaking, you definitely feel for both characters. By the end of the book and having read the epilogue I was actually very emotional (there was a tear in my eye). As I shut my Kindle down to let this book sink in my final thought was...WOW.

OMG, this book blew my mind. At many points, especially in the first half I thought what the hell am I reading? So many times I wondered if it was worth sticking with as it was so terribly confusing and strange. There are inconsistencies and utterly bizarre, eerie things going on, yet believe me it does all fall into place, eventually. It is eerie and creepy and worrying and absolutely wonderful. Part who-dunnit mystery, we know right from the beginning about the popsicle girl, a little girl who went missing years earlier, a horror story and a psychological tour de force.
Yes, there is a strange boarded up house at the end of a dead end street which leads only to a deep forest and particularly the first part of the book has nuances of The Ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaiman.
The main character, Ted, is the most enigmatic character I have read about in ages, his daughter Lauren is one of the strangest and angriest girls, Olivia the cat, well, I adored her and I'm not quite sure what it says about me when I say I wish I had an Olivia of my own. She talks, by the way (and can read!) but please don't let the WTFness of this put you off, she is wonderful and pivotal to the whole story.
There's also Dee, sister of the missing girl, seeking revenge and desperate to discover someone's door to lay blame at. Even the secondary characters are mysterious and strange, the orange haired man with his noisy brouhaha dog, the dachshund/chihuahua/terrier woman, and the green boys - who ARE they? The story which eventually emerges is teeth grindingly gasp out loud horrific, yet ultimately immensely satisfying.
The writing is wonderful, everything is off-kilter and menacing, and I found by the latter third through to the end I felt genuinely disturbed and very anguished. I fell asleep crying and woke with tears still spilling from my eyes. Don't be put off by any hype as this is sure to be a much talked about book even though you really can't say too much, for fear of giving anything away.

I loved this beautiful thriller/horror cross. Intrigued by all the hype and praise from Stephen King, this novel is the rare thing - it's deserving of that hype. Beautiful, lyrical writing - dreamy and dramatic, the plot unfolds carefully, dropping just enough breadcrumbs to keep you hooked but not giving too much away.

I'm not going to go on about plot twists or whatever because if you read horror/thrillers, you know those will be in there and it's reductionary to talk about them in a novel that really, is so much bigger than that. It's about love and trauma and childhood and motherhood and what happens when you survive.

Definitely in my top reads of 2021, I haven't stopped thinking about this book. Up there with Girl A for heartbreak and terror.

A horrifying, atmospheric and unexpected book, which will challenge what you think, and make you question everything the entire time!

Ok, I finished this late last night, and didn't know what to think, or how to feel, I needed to process. I lay in bed after with a sour, unsettled feeling in my stomach because this book was not AT ALL what I thought it was going to be! Even with the cryptic synopsis! This wont be a book for everyone, at times it was one of the strangest things I've ever read! I would say, if you're finding it too weird, and I've seen a lot of DNFs at a certain point, when a cat is introduced, then persevere. I can see why people give up there, I almost did, but at that point you're not even scraping the surface of this story!

This is a very difficult review to write, because I cant really say anything about any of the characters without giving spoilers! Just know that there are multiple POVs from very unreliable narrators, and that the POV is constantly shifting. I felt lost and confused at times reading The Last House on Needless Street, but that style is important to the book, you are not meant to know. I would love to discuss this with others who have read the book!

At times, I thought to myself do I even like this book? I wasn't sure! But was I absorbed by the chilling and unusual story? Definitely! It was a complicated, layered look at trauma and survival. It was heart-breaking and tragic, intense and creepy. I hated Ted, and thought I had everything figured out, but was repeatedly wrong! Every time I thought that I had a handle on the plot, the ground would shift. Catriona Ward was always one step ahead of me, and her excellently constructed book, with it's beautiful and powerful writing kept me off balance, feeding me tiny clues at just the right time! I had a sense that there was something that I wasn't quite grasping, and had to find out what it was, I felt blind! This book had me murmuring to myself, commenting out loud, and even discussing theories with my husband. The further I got, the darker, more twisted and crazy it seemed! I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

I'm not even sure what genre to put this in, is it dark gothic horror, fantasy, a psychological thriller? All of the above? I have no idea! But whatever you think is going on, you are wrong🤷‍♀️ As things began to unfold, I thought my head would explode! And as I got even further, my emotions felt raw. When it came to the conclusion, I was truly shocked, like speechless, sat downstairs on my own. Looking back I could slap myself, as there were clues, but then again, I don't think many will really see until they get to the end?! Everything was just so cleverly disguised in the writing! Pay attention to everything! I kind of feel like I would like to read it again, now knowing what I know...

Overall, I would recommend this if you like gothic horror with a psychological element, if you like books that are a little bit different, because this was definitely original, I've not read anything like it! 🐱🐱🐱🐱

Anything billed as 'gothic' always piques my interest. But for this perturbing tale I had to spend some time thinking about what I had read. And, actually, whether I liked it.

The story is set in a house on 'Needless Street' where a man lives with his daughter and a cat. From the outset, we know that this isn't a 'normal' man in that he behaves oddly, he has strange injuries and wears old and strange clothes. Plus the house is run down with boarded up windows. But that is only the beginning. The chapters alternate between the man, daughter and cat, plus a woman whose little sister disappeared many years ago. She believes that this strange and solitary man has her sister.

In the truest sense of the word, this is a psychological thriller that invaded my dreams on a regular basis. There is horror and dread, and when I thought I knew what was going on I was shaken to find that I didn't have a clue. Challenging, chilling and totally absorbing, this is an unusual story - or perhaps it isn't. It is a tale of survival and how people deal with horror in their lives. Original and well worth a read.