I am a big fan of Diane Chamberlain and I was very excited to get approved to read and review this book. Don't get me wrong the book was great and I enjoyed the storyline but I did feel like there was something missing.
Thank you to Diane Chamberlain and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ellie and Kayla their stories will complete a forty five year old mystery. As the horrific past slowly unfolds in a new house in Round Hill in North Carolina. Widowed Kayla struggles to settle in her beautiful home which she and her husband designed and built, her sadness and positive attitude towards her young daughter are touching and well related.
The other time line is Ellie, her easy and privileged childhood as the daughter of the local pharmacist until her black friend dies in an accident. Ellie never gets over this and decides to join an organisation for registering black votes. She experienced poverty and deprivation which makes her more committed to her cause.
Lots of secrets emerge throughout the novel, it is harrowing and finally the harsh truth is revealed.

Another Winner from Diane

As expected this booked grabbed me from the start and didn’t let me go until I had finished

Kayla Carter, recently widowed is trying to stay strong for her 4 year old daughter.. Kayla's husband dies in an accident while building their dream home. Kayla feels she has to move in to honour his memory, however when she’s confronted by an odd older lady telling her not to move in she almost agrees. What is this lady’s connection. Kayla also meets her new neighbour Ellie Hockley, who welcomes her to the area, it’s clear she also has secrets that stretch back almost 50years.

This book is set between 2 timeline the present and 1965..

In 1965 we meet a young Ellie, a college student, who volunteers for the SCOPE project. Ellie’s family and friends are against her joining but Ellie is determined and follows her heart but in doing so those dear to her pay the price.

Once again Diane has opened my eyes to the struggles others have to go through and raised aware to issues I wasn’t aware of.

Beautifully written, very emotive and certainly got me thinking.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Loved the storytelling style of this book and the contrast between modern day and the past

I always love a book that has a dual POV - they always run the risk of one POV being preferred over the other. In this case, I absolutely adored the 1960s timeline. thought it was really well written, Ellie is an absolutely amazing character and loved watching her stand up for what she believed in.
Unfortunately I coudln't fully submerge myself in the current day timeline with Kayla, not for lack of trying. I'm not quite sure why, it was sad and a good plot.
Overall this was an enjoyable read and would recommend.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the advance copy of #TheLastHouseOnTheStreet by #DianeChamberlain

This book is set partly in 2010 when newly widowed Kayla moving into the new home where she and her husband hoped to spend the rest of their lives and in 1965 with Ellie who is starting to find her voice in the civil rights movement. It makes for some very unsettling reading but is told in an unsensational way. It is hard to comprehend what was happening in our recent past.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️

An excellent and gripping tale from one of my favourite authors. I love reading books set over two or more timelines and this one kept me reading late at night and I was sad to finish it.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing the advance copy.

Highly emotive, The Last House on the Street spans two different decades, in the 196os and in 2010. The reader follows the life of architect Kayla Carter, a widow and mother to her 3-year-old daughter, Rainie. Kayla and her husband, Jackson designed their dream home in Shadow Ridge Estates in North Carolina. Jackson died in an accident whilst working on their home, and the house will always hold memories of his tragic death. Ellie Hockley, now 65, has come back after a 45-year absence due to family circumstances.

I could not leave this novel alone until I unravelled the mystery of what it was that bound these two women together. It's gritty and shocking and there are powerful themes including racism, interracial relationships, brutality, forbidden love and grief, but the author deals with them sensitively. The two timelines blend perfectly together creating a tale that holds you firmly in its clutches. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Headline via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley, Headline and Diane Chamberlain for a copy in return for an honest review.

This book runs with dual timelines, one in the 60s and the other in the 80s which adds great insight into this plot. This is a great thriller and a little creepy at times. This is the first book by Diane Chamberlain that I have read and it has not disappointed. Full of twists and turns, perfect for thriller lovers.

The Last House on the Street is a story split between Ellie, who gets caught up in the 1960s Civil Rights movement and Kayla, a recently widowed architect in 2010.
Ellie joins Scope, an organisation which helps register black voters at a time when they have to pass written tests to do so and many are illiterate. This unnecessary test puts them off and Scope are there to help support their registration. She meets Win, but he is black and she is white, and they live in the South where inter racial relationships are not accepted. So this is not accepted. Meanwhile in 2010, Kayla is trying to move on after her husband’s death but she feels uneasy in her new house when strange things start to occur.

The two storylines come together wonderfully, with repercussions for everyone involved.

I loved the descriptions of the South in the early sixties and was horrified by what went on and the prejudices expressed that we just dont see these days (well nowhere near as much)

Thanks for the chance to read it

Set in two timelines - 2010 and 1965 - this story deals with two separate tales it would appear, with the surroundings being the common factor.
2010 is the story of a recently widowed Kayla, who had designed and built her dream house with her husband, who had tragically fallen to his death. Kayla is subject to threats and the attempt to frighten her away from living in her new house.
Far more compelling is the story set in 1965 when Ellie feels compelled to defy her family and join a group who are intent on educating African Americans to push for their right to vote.. The descriptions of the conditions so many of the people live in is so well described and their need to have their voices heard is fascinating reading.
The characters are well drawn, the story well told.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Diane Chamberlain/Headline for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Kayla 2010 (presentish day) is who you see if you want to build/add to your dream home. Kayla is only just back at work after a devastating loss. When a client comes in that gives her the fear, acting weird and being threatening without directly threatening, it is just weird. Then we have Ellie and the time jumps to 1965, Ellie is starting to realise how important black people's rights are and gets fully involved much to her families horror. Ellie witnesses some horrific racism, prejudice, hate and violence around and directed toward her.

You wonder what the two timelines and characters could have in connection and both are separate storys, when I went chapter to chapter I wanted to go back to the other, see what was happening. The story is evocative, emotive, shocking, horrific, heartbreaking and deals with many themes, racism, violence, family, friendships, secrets, love, loss. Whilst this is a fictional story you only need to look at history and even now, 2022, some places are still very racist, killings and horror done because of skin colour. It is heartbreaking. I love a book that gets the emotions going and Chamberlain does that, it had been a while since I read her and I need to dig my older books out the pile. Fab read but get the tissues ready and munchies to eat your feelings as I got all kinds of emotions reading this. 4/5 for us.

Wow......The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain was a powerful book and beautifully written from start to finish. I just Love all of Diane's books I have read I find she writes from the heart. These books always have meanings and have you hooked from the very first few pages. This latest book divided into two time zones: One in 1965 and the other in 2010, which introduces us to 2 great characters: called Ellie Hockley and Kayla Carter.

I highly recommend this book and all books written by Diane. One thing I will say about her books is - You will need tissues and once you start to read her books you will not put it done. She has away of drawing you into her books! and they will be with you a very long time.

Big thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I have previously read a few books by Diane Chamberlain so was looking forward to this. True to style, it had me absorbed and immersed from the very beginning.

The plot evolves around a then and now concept, but it flows very well and is easy to follow. The sensitive issues discussed are handled well and along with anticipation and intriguing characters, this was a fantastic read!

This had me feeling a range of emotions and I was particularly impressed with the conclusion. The only reason this is not a five star rating is because I have better from this author. However, this is still very highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, I spent 3 weeks trying to get through the first 10% of the book and I ended up just giving up (something I rarely do with books). This novel has a very very slow start and put me in a complete book funk. 2 stars ⭐️ ⭐️.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. My first by Diane Chamberlain and it won’t be my last. A tough read in parts and told from 2 points of view in varying timelines, it is a very well drawn story, beautifully brought together. Well written and sad but totally engrossing and highly recommended!

The Last House on the Street was an engaging read and I particularly connected to Ellie's story.

We move from Kayla's story in 2010, back to 1965 to hear how one summer changed Ellie's life forever. She's a Southern girl with a typically bigoted family. But Ellie feels compelled to do something valuable, and she joins SCOPE, where her and the others in her group, canvass local black families about the importance of registering to vote when the new law is passed.

It is an educational and humbling experience for Ellie, and she shows courage when she defies her family to continue working with them. But when the black man, (Win), she has fallen in love with, is put in danger because of their relationship, she has no choice but to return home.

Where tragedy awaits.

In 2010, Kayla and daughter Rainie have moved into their new home. But sinister threats and acts of destruction haunt Kayla, and it's only when she meets Ellie, that she begins to understand the horrific history of the place she calls home.

An engaging and emotive read with an element of mystery that captured my attention throughout.

5 powerful but tragic stars

Diane Chamberlain is your author if you love emotional, heartfelt, poignant plots that reel you in book after book.

Dual times are my favourite and I loved the 1960s politically charged and turbulent setting. Even though it was uncomfortable reading about black discrimination, it was insightful and makes me want to read more books around this topic, especially those written by black people. The current day setting held my attention too with it's tense, unsettling plotline.

It might seem like an issue driven book, but as always the characters that Diane creates will steal the show.

There is a reason she is one of my favourite authors, and this book was another winner for me.

I have read a number of Diane Chamberlain's books, most I enjoy although a few I haven't been so keen on. This however is a great read, maybe a slightly different theme for her, which she tells well. The storyline hooked me in from the first chapter and kept me interested the whole way through. It is set in two timelines 1965 and 2010 telling the story of two woman, eventually they meet up in 2010 and it is fascinating as the truths of the past are revealed and how this affects them both. The historical theme of the 1965 events was new to me, (although I knew of the KKK), not being from the US, so I feel a bit more educated which is always a plus. There were, for me, some frustrations around the actions of some of the characters in 1965 and also in how the red headed lady fitted in. I felt that the end was a bit dramatic and in some ways unsatisfactory but in the main it is a story which kept coming to mind both when I was reading it and for several days after. Personally I try to avoid books that are disturbing and there is a spookyness about this story and also inevitably upsetting scenes but the author has managed to keep this within the boundaries of what I can cope with!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Headline for a free early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book really takes you by the heart and shakes you. It is apparently two separate stories - about Kayla in 2010, buying a house at the edge of a wood in North Carolina, and Elli in 1965, a young student, facing strong opposition from her family and friends as she wants to join the civil rights movement and work for black voting rights.

Kayla's tale unfolds, she has lost her husband and is moving into the home with her daughter, but someone seems to want her to leave. Ellie's story is heartbreaking - her journey to understand what it was like for black people in 1960s America, the power of the Klan, the bigotry of otherwise nice people, the condemnation of her family. Of course the two tales converge, and it makes for powerful reading.

I didn't find the two strands very easy to begin with, as the two people are so diverse, but eventually I got the rhythm and enjoyed the back and forth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.