The worst kinds of monsters, after all, are those that we can find evidence for in the real world. 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.. He doesnt have friends and he cant quite get free of his mothers influence over him even though shes been long gone. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The cat is a litmus test, isnt it? Ward laughs. An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. He broke them between two boards with a mallet. Having read the award winning Catriona Ward's incredible debut, Rawblood, it is not surprising that her latest novel, an atmospheric gothic horror, the darkest of fairytales, is one of the books of 2021. . The Last House on the Street (2021) - IMDb Shes honed in on Ted and is determined to find out what became of her sister. The mothers coldness should have been a big red flag. The clues are all there, slowly introduced by fact or omission, even the street name takes on a different tone when the final page is turned. The Last House on Needless Street - Catriona Ward - Google Books I never heard from her again although I do think of her every once in a while. Despite the fact that thousands of people were at the lake that day, he walked up to each woman while they were with friends and introduced himself using his real name. 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. and our To me it is a tightly woven tale, full of tension and intrigue, with the truth just dangled tantalisingly out of reach. 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. The Last House on Needless Street - Macmillan You made it to the end, which is further than I did. More than biting into a nice apple and finding a worm, this book is like unexpectedly stepping on the worm barefoot, only to find out the worm isn't a worm and I mean that in the best way possible. However, I seem to have completely lost grip on the story when it comes to the Chihuahua woman. Learn how your comment data is processed. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward is one of those books that is difficult to describe without giving away spoilers. 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. OMG. The Secrets That Lurk in The Last House on Needless Street Andy Serkis To Turn 'The Last House On Needless Street - Deadline 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. Some are more disturbing than others. There are also a lot of clues and hints sprinkled throughout which makes it a bit too easy to guess the twists. Fuck this book and every author who blurbed it. Dee finds herself focused on Ted as the possible kidnapper. So therefore, I wont go into specifics on the book, just my thoughts on it overall. 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. *, The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (Author), Christopher Ragland (Narrator). AGE RANGE: Adult. And I won't even start with the talking cat. Or watch movies for that matter. 'completely and cleverly manipulated,' is about right, tortuously and underhandedly. At this point, we still think that Lauren is Lulu. This is an old comment but I just finished this book and I agree! It hangs like it has been strapped there. The Last House on the Street: Directed by Adam Berardi. Almost time to get my garden going. THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET by Catriona Ward 431. This is the story of a serial killer. "The Last House on Needless Street" by Catriona Ward is definitely worth all the hype! Im really surprised at the hate for this book in this thread! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The creepy dilapidation of the outside world mirrors their mental state. There were times I was thinking about DNFing, but my curiosity got the better of me, and me see it through the end which I have no regrets about. Little Evewon the Shirley Jackson Award, was aGuardianbest book of 2018 and won the Best Horror Novel at the 2019 British Fantasy Awards. Lulu had followed Dee while she hit on Trevor, and while Dee and Trevor were fooling around, Lulu slipped on some rocks and hit her head and died. 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. Eleven years ago, Lulu, a six year old girl, disappeared from the nearby lake. The Last House on Needless Street - amazon.com I just finished TLHONS and it was okay. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse. 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. I hope its [really] about survival and hope as much as it is about suffering. As I mentioned in my review, I suspected from the first chapter that multiple personality issues will come into play in some way, including Lauren and Olivia. And that I draw the line somewhere between grimdark and horror? REVIEW: The Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward His mother knew what he was at an early age after finding him killing an animal, and her words in that moment never left him: "For a long time, I have feared that this was in you. 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. It started off with a strong atmosphere and intriguing set up. Its an echo [in this story] because its such a landmark in my landscape of fear.. There are a limited number of characters who are given names. That was a decision, Ward says. PAGES: 352pg. I loved Ward's Rawblood a few years ago but The Last House on Needless Street is such a disappointment, just a cheap series of narrative cheats whose only purpose is to support the oldest and most cliched 'twist' ending in horror fictionwe are seriously supposed to believe that not only does the murder suspect have multiple personalities, but that the dominant one has a name coincidentally . That was my first encounter with this particular mental disorder so I had no understanding of what it really meant. Her desperation drove her to the edge of sanity, and I guess thats what she paid for in the end. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The 55 Best Movie Musicals of All Time, Ranked | IndieWire It sure left me with thoughts. Kayla and Ellie both suffer the loss of the man they love. The writing is complex and not linear so it does keep you on your toes in that sense. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. What kind of parent says they dont love their child? Can you help explain The Last House on Needless Street? (And the author herself is well aware of that fact. . The Last House on Needless Street - The BOLO Books Review I find that it is a relief. Review: The Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward Do Billie and Brad get together: that is the question isn't it? One thing is for sure, nothing is as it seems.Actually, that is just the given synopsis. Her fourth novel, the gothic thriller Sundial (2022 - Viper, Tor Nightfire) was Observer Thriller of the Month and a USA Today, CNN and Apple Books selection for best new fiction. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. I usually try to keep my reviews as spoiler-free as I can, but Im going to have an exception here. When a new neighbor moves in next door, it seems all their secrets will finally come to light. But youre wrong. The reader plays detective the whole time trying to piece together what is reliable and what is not, Ward says. 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. The Last House on Needless Street has been called a horror novel or a gothic thriller. Change). Let's Talk About The Last House on Needless Street // Spoilers // CW Seeking redemption and revenge is one thing, but inflicting self-judgment on innocent people is a whole another one. I did not like the last 20-30% at all when the big "reveals" happen. Number of pages: 400. The only reason I can write this stuff is because Im afraid of it. But when a book has a mildly interesting plot with characters that fail to make you have strong feelings towards them, being occasionally appalled is just not enough. For more information, please see our Wayward Magazine features veteran entertainment journalism staff covering new releases in horror and horror-adjacent fiction (mostly books). All these things are true. He drinks but there are other issues as well. Right, lets get to the spoilery bits. 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 story is about Ted, a recluse suspected of a childs abduction. I didn't find it horrifying or terrifying, though it is thrilling to read. But that was one twist I didnt quite see coming the mother being the psychopath, I mean. 'Every monster has a story': Catriona Ward on her chilling gothic novel You dont get to know everything about everyone. Follow Queen's Book Asylum on WordPress.com. Full of twists and turns, sorrow and humanity. Ted lives on Needless Street. 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 What's worse, she adds the further cliche of repressed memories/unreliable narrator to the protagonist in order to further obfuscate the narrative. Couple of things you got wrong. Horror books; Fiction; I hated it. Ted lives in the last house on Needless Street. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward, 9781788166188, available at Book Depository with free delivery . Twice in the same day. Book spoilers to jog your memory. It was different and kept me interested and may I even say, Im slightly SHOOK. Fascinated is the wrong wordIm terrified, and the event that has quite a power over me is the Lake Sammamish Murders committed by Ted Bundy.. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The books narrative counts on its readers to feel as though they know whats happening, that theyve already guessed the twists ahead of them. Then as the story progressed, I started thinking of DID until it got confirmed that DID indeed got the drivers seat in the story. Review: 'The Last House on Needless Street,' by Catriona Ward : NPR The Last House on Needless Street is another critical darling that employs what is arguably the most tired trope in horror, all while telling a pseudo-empathetic story that portrays a demonized community as. There are all these oppositions in place. Liz's Book Report: The Last House on Needless Street And yet some of them are lies. Find out more here. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. As an avid reader, I often find myself reading a book description and not being able to remember whether Ive read it before. The story is narrated by Ted, Oliva, Dee and Lauren with some characters in third person and some in first person, a technical that allows a rounded tale, told from limited but different viewpoints. She hasn`t repressed the memories, the guilt of what happened and the fact that she kept it all to herself drives her to find who took her. Thanks for the great review! HERO TOWING - 31 Photos & 39 Reviews - Yelp I feel like I need to re-read this book in order to catch all the clues I missed! She lives in London and Devon. And, as the story progresses, certain moments reinforce those assumptions. Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse. 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. Whether he did or not, as well as the mystery of what happened to the Girl with Popsicle who vanished back then, are just two of the story threads this ambitious narrative attempts to balance as it juggles three different perspectivesone of whom is the aforementioned cat and asks readers to question what they believe to be true and why. Readers are left unbalanced by sequences they dont entirely understand and cant completely trust, armed only with partial and imperfect knowledge., One of my great loves is the Gothic, the fragmented narrative. Nighttime is another alter, but I cant remember if he really had much point other than helping to integrate them. This is my first time coming across this book and oh my, it sounds so good! Its pretty heartbreaking. I think everything I read for the rest of this year will pale in comparison. The House on Needless Street SPOILERS | Mumsnet I thought long and hard because at first, I wasnt sure if portraying DID in a horror setting was something I was comfortable with. The therapist doesn't play a huge role in The Last House on Needless Street, but he certainly didn't help things! All original content on this site belongs to the author. 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. The Last House on Needless Street - Wisconsin Public Library Consortium Her debutRawbloodwon Best Horror Novel at the 2016 British Fantasy Awards, and was a WHSmith Fresh Talent title. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. I had previously recommended Catriona Ward`d first two novels on this sub. Those that Ted interacts with are christened with Ted names such as bug man his therapist and Chihuahua lady, one of his neighbours. This is finally out! I loved the story, but the audio production made it ten times better. I wanted to read this book and be shocked, so I ignored other reviews and didnt even read the synopsis. Revenge.