The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona WardThe Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
Published by Nightfire on September 21, 2021
Genres: Horror
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Goodreads
four-half-stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

About The Last House on Needless Street

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward is an intense psychological thriller.

Love the unreliable narrator trope coupled with flashbacks a la Gone Girl? Then strap in for this roller coaster ride!

Ted was suspect in a child abduction case but his alibi couldn’t be broken.

Now he lives in his dilapidated house with the windows boarded up. His daughter is never seen outside the house. And his cat? She reads the Bible.

Dee Dee’s sister went missing at a nearby lake, years earlier. Dee Dee thinks Ted had something to do with Lulu’s disappearance despite him having an alibi. She moves into the house next door to do a little investigating.

My thoughts about The Last House on Needless Street

Catriona Ward skillfully gives each character their own, incredibly realized voice and point of view. Each secret revealed leads to more questions in this intricately woven story.

The tension slowly but unrelentingly heightens and the overall feel of creepy house unease leads to truly horrifying moments as Ted and Dee Dee’s stories intertwined.

If you pay attention to the writing, Catriona gives you clues to what’s happening. Although, I didn’t figure out everything that was happening.

Each revelation is a horror but curiosity couldn’t keep me from finishing the book.

CW: Body horror, abuse

In conclusion


I loved every horrifying moment of dread-soaked writing!

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC.

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About Catriona Ward

CATRIONA WARD was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. She read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford and is a graduate of the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia.

Stephen King praised her upcoming gothic thriller, saying: ‘The buzz building around Catriona Ward’s THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET is real. I’ve read it and was blown away. It’s a true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end. Haven’t read anything this exciting since GONE GIRL.’ THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET is published 2021 by Viper (UK) and Tor Nightfire (USA).

Ward’s preceding novel LITTLE EVE won the 2019 Shirley Jackson Award, as well as the August Derleth Prize at the British Fantasy Awards, and was a Guardian best book of 2018. Her debut RAWBLOOD also won the 2016 August Derleth, making her the only woman to have won the prize twice. Her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies. ‘The Pier at Ardentinny’ was shortlisted for the ALCS Tom Gallon Trust Award organised by the Royal Society of Literature. She lives in London and Devon.

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