THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET by Catriona Ward – Review

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

THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET by Catriona Ward – ReviewThe Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
Published by Tor Nightfire on September 28 2021
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

The nitty-gritty: A creepy, disturbing tale perfect for fans of twisty, psychological horror. I couldn’t put it down!

All storytellers are liars, but Catriona Ward is a particularly good one. I have been lied to in the best possible way and I enjoyed every single moment. The Last House on Needless Street is surrounded by buzz and gushing blurbs from big name authors, and in my opinion all of it is well deserved. This is a psychological horror story that leads you to believe certain things, but then pulls the rug out from under you late in the story. I have to admit I was confused for quite a long time, but Ward does bury clues within her tale, and astute readers—or even readers who are well versed in thrillers—may be able to figure things out. I certainly didn’t, which I guess makes me the perfect reader!

To avoid spoilers, I’m only giving you the basic set up and will avoid talking about the plot too much. The story revolves around a handful of characters: Ted Bannerman is a single man who lives in a creepy, boarded up house on Needless Street. He has a black cat named Olivia who isn’t allowed outside the house, and a daughter named Lauren. The main story takes place eleven years after a six-year old girl named Lulu went missing down by the lake. Lulu was never found, nor was her body, so to this day her disappearance remains a mystery. Lulu’s older sister Dee is still upset by her sister’s disappearance and has continued to search for clues on her own, even after the authorities gave up. Now on the anniversary of her disappearance, Dee has tracked down a new lead, and that lead just happens to be Ted.

Dee moves into the vacant house next door to Ted and begins to spy on him, convinced that not only was Ted responsible for abducting Lulu, but that Lulu is still alive and being held inside Ted’s house. What follows is a mind-bending mystery where nothing is quite as it seems. 

Ward does a great job of creating an ominous atmosphere, especially surrounding Ted, his house, and Olivia and Lauren. Right away we see that things aren’t quite right with Ted. He “loses time” and makes frequent, nighttime trips to the nearby woods. He’s boarded up all his windows and can only see outside through the small peepholes he’s drilled into the boards. He seems to be obsessed with his dead mother, who he refers to as “Mommy.” Even more unsettling is his relationship with his daughter, Lauren. Whenever she misbehaves, Ted sends her away, leaving the reader with a lot of questions. From Ted’s first person narrative, we get the impression that he’s dealing with quite a few issues, although it’s not clear exactly what those issues are. But Ted has some endearing qualities as well: he loves animals, especially the wild birds that flock to his garden bird feeders, and of course, his beloved cat Olivia.

And speaking of Olivia, what a unique character! We’ve seen many stories told from an animal’s POV, but Olivia was something else. Olivia thinks she was sent to protect Ted by the LORD (always described in caps like that), and she occasionally knocks Ted’s Bible off the table in order to read a random Bible verse (if you’ve ever read the Bible, you’ll understand how unsettling some of it is). Olivia is in love with an outdoor cat that strolls by the window peephole, and she has an odd relationship with another cat named Night-time.

Then there is Dee, who is also shrouded in mystery. From the outside, she appears to be a woman who is still mourning her sister, and now that she seems to have proof that Ted might have been involved, she’s filled with rage and a thirst for revenge. Dee’s journey was surprisingly nightmarish—we learn she is afraid of snakes for example—and I thought her character added a nice dimension to the story. 

Ward dips back into the past at times and we learn more about Ted’s childhood, as well as the events at the lake the day Lulu disappeared. This is one of my favorite story devices and it works so well here. These little bits of information eventually reveal what actually happened—or do they? The other device the author uses is that she shows the same events from two different perspectives. You might have a chapter from Olivia’s point of view and what she’s observing from inside the house, and the next chapter might shift to Dee, who is in the house next door, watching the same event unfold. It’s another way to show how unreliable all of the characters are, since they never seem to agree on what they see or experience. And that is the beauty of this story—getting to the truth is a circuitous and uneven path, one I never grew tired of.

And there are even more mysteries to solve: who exactly is the Chihuahua Lady and how is she involved in all this? Why does the “bug man”—Ted’s therapist—seem so sinister? Who killed Ted’s songbirds? What really happened inside the freezer chest? And what exactly is Ted burying when he goes into the woods at night? By the end of the book you’ll have most of the answers, but not all, which I was OK with. The reveal at the end was sort of mind-blowing, and I loved the author’s Afterword where she gives some background on how the story came to be.

Overall, this was an excellent story, masterfully constructed and executed, and creepy as hell. I can hardly wait to read Catriona Ward’s next book!

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Posted July 22, 2021 by Tammy in 5 stars, Reviews / 33 Comments

Divider

33 responses to “THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET by Catriona Ward – Review”

    • Tammy

      I really thought the whole “pull the rug out from under you” was well done. I love surprises like this if they’re handled well:-)

      Reply
    • Tammy

      Thanks Debjani, I hope you get the chance to read it, and I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts:-)

      Reply
  10. sjhigbee

    Another fabulous review, Tammy! I’m not generally someone who reads horror, as I tend to suffer from nightmares, but this review sounds really tempting. Is it a thriller mystery along the likes of Blake Crouch, or is that wishful thinking on my part???

    Reply
    • Tammy

      Thanks Sarah! This isn’t anything like Blake Crouch, sorry to say, but you won’t be disappointed:-)

      Reply
  14. Susy's Cozy World

    I love this cover! And I am glad you had such a great time with it! Sadly I am not a fan of this kind of book, horror is not for me, amd psychological horror is definitely not for me, but your review was captivating!

    Reply
  16. Lynn

    I couldn’t agree more with everything you said above . I loved this, it was so unusual and I couldn’t put it down.
    Lynn 😀

    Reply
  17. Kal @ Reader Voracious

    This was my first book of the year but I sadly set it aside because I could tell my brain wasn’t in the right mindset for it, but I am so glad you reviewed this book so well and I am excited to pick it up when the mood is right!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.