ONLY 3 ⭐️ for my enjoyment level of the storyBUT...5 ⭐️ for the spectacular Audible performance by Christopher Ragland! (I still cannot believe this was just one narrator!)Sssh! Do you want to know a secret?🤫👏🏻 Bravo to the marketing team of this novel for saying VERY little, and making us ALL want to know the secrets contained within the pages of this book.What is said: That it’s a story of a man named Ted, who lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia in a house at the end of Needless

I have a little request for those of you who’ve already read this. Could you all raise your hand if the first thought after finishing this book was something like:“WTF did I just read?!” 😳Those of you who have yet to read it, and I recommend that you do … just wait. You’ll get what I’m saying soon enough.Catriona Ward has written the only book I can think of in recent memory that I have no clue how to review without giving spoilers, but here it goes:Ted lives alone in a boarded up house on Needl...

Hands up, when I started reading this, I thought it wasn’t going to be for me, but it turns out I was wrong, and I was duly rewarded with a strange, dark, but unique reading experience.Ted is something of a recluse, he lives in a tumbledown house right beside a spooky forest on Needless Street, he has his cat Olivia for company, and occasional visits from his daughter Lauren. Lauren’s visits are a whirlwind of torment for Ted, (and Olivia) she’s noisy, aggressive, and defiant, but he does his be...

oooh, goodreads choice awards finalist for best horror 2021! WHAT WILL HAPPEN LET’S FIND OUT!come on, everybody!as you may have heard, this book is all about the twist. there are some books whose whole appeal is hinged on their SHOCKING TWIST SURPRISE (like the disappointing We Were Liars, which wendy darling summed up perfectly in her review). this is not one of those books. however, talking about what makes it so great apart from the resolution becomes a review-challenge of landmine-avoidance....

There is something odd going on in the boarded-up house at the end of Needless Street. Its inhabitants include a man who drinks a lot, an angry teenage girl who isn't allowed out, and a religious cat. When a new neighbor moves in next door, it seems all their secrets will finally come to light.Talk about a riveting story. It took me a few chapters to get into the rhythm of this, but once I did, I could not put it down. There is this chilling and discordant atmosphere that permeates the pages and...

Dark and Disconcerting4.5 stars “The world is full of stuff that doesn’t make sense. But maybe they are connected.” The Last House on Needless Street is a dark and disturbing story about a man, his teenage daughter, and his bible-reading cat, Olivia. This is all I can say without giving too much away. There are many layers to the plot and the characters. In the beginning, it is hard to grasp what is going on. The timeline is confusing, and the narration is disorienting: The characters’ version

Do you remember watching the movie The Others (starring Nicole Kidman)? And when you got to the very end, you were, like, "I have to watch this one again!!" Well, it was like that for me with this book!After reading so many of my Goodreads friends' 4-5 star reviews (thank you, everyone, for NOT spoiling it by spilling the beans!), I just had to get my hands on this book and read it NOW!Some of my friends know that I prefer to read the Afterword/Author's Note first, but for some reason, I made th...

full spoiler thoughts here https://youtu.be/PWe4daemfKA

Be sure to visit Bantering Books to read all my latest reviews.The Last House on Needless Street is . . . No, it’s . . . You see, the story is really about . . . Gah! Sorry, but I just can’t tell you. If I did, your fun would be spoiled. And believe me, Catriona Ward’s novel is one you do NOT want spoiled.Here’s what you need to know:The story is about Ted. Ted lives in the last house on Needless Street with his daughter, Lauren, and his cat, Olivia. A murder has occurred. A child has been stole...

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!First word that came to mind after reading this: WOW! I was essentially speechless and needed to get my thoughts in order.Ted lives in an old house that is dirty, uncared for, and on the verge of being decrepit. He shares the house with his cat, Olivia, and his daughter, Lauren...when she’s able to visit. He values his privacy for many reasons and is not happy when a suspicious woman moves in next door.As the synopsis states:“All these things are true. And yet some of them

*Now available! Just in time for October's spooky reading season.*The Last House on Needless Street is a 5-star book that you may not end up liking, but mark my words - you WILL be hearing about it.In fact, if you listen hard enough, you may even hear the buzz building already. Though it was published in the U.K. in March, it won’t be available in the U.S. until September. So what are North American bibliophiles doing to get copies? Firing off requests to publishers, buying them online from U.K....

A challenging story to review. A challenging story to read. Once invested, a hard story to put down.While reading the book and listening to the audio, I was confused, puzzled, and disturbed. It is more than a horror story, it made my pulse race.3 locks turning - let me in- let me in.....A feeling of doom, a decrepit house, broken things, a clever cat, shock and surprise and a need to know. You won't know until you know. SayonaraAn excellent audio!! Thank you Macmillan Audio and NG! OUT in US on

My dear friends, please add this brilliant book to your reading list! Okay, I’m making quick connection: not only to add to your list, please read it! This is smart! This is so well written! This is finally out! First time I am out of words! Anything I may write about this book will be so worthless! None of the words come out my mouth, letters I click, sentences o try to form or expressions I barely articulate will never be enough to reflect how I feel!I’m extremely flabbergasted, shocked, start...

Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?!?! I am officially all freaked out!!. . . . . .I was so close to DNFing this Audiobook because, at first, it was slow going, listening to Ted's description of his cloistered life with his daughter, Lauren, and his cat, Olivia. (I now admit that I should have paid a bit more attention to this part!)Then, as the story progressed, the bizarre hints of something dark and horrible lurking in the background began to make me feel extremely anxious. I did suspect dissociative personalit...

Wowza! What a story! All these things are true. And yet they are all lies...When I first starting reading this, I was instantly intrigued!! A missing girl, a cat that reads the bible and a man with mental health issues! Bring-it-on!And she does! Catriona Ward brings it on in this book. Try to go in knowing as little as possible. The synopsis is all you need to begin this book. Because things get interesting and then *BAM* your socks will get knocked off. I loved how original this book was an...

**4.5-stars**In a quiet town, at the end of a typical neighborhood street, sits a well-worn home with boarded-up windows. In the house lives an eccentric man named, Ted.Ted's daughter, Lauren, sometimes visits. Although she's never seen playing outside, the neighbors can hear her sounds of joy, and sometimes discontent, well enough, ringing through the walls. Also, residing in the home, is Ted's furry companion, Olivia the cat.Told through the alternating perspectives of Ted, Olivia and a neighb...

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (Author), Christopher Ragland (Narrator)Eleven years ago Dee and her six year old sister visit a lake with their parents. By the time they leave, the six year old is missing and Dee's family is shattered forever. But Dee is determined to find her sister. Now, or is it before...time is so twisted and confused and missing for Ted. He lives in the family home, with the windows covered with plywood, the house dusty, cluttered, dark, and falling apar...

I am overwhelmed. And I think I have whiplash from all the twists! “There’s a monster inside each of us...if you let yours out, Ted, it might not eat you.” Ok, I’ll keep this short because I think going in blind is the best option with this one. We have 4 POVs. Ted, a loner who lives on Needless Street, no job, no friends and comes across as creepy. Olivia, his pet cat (this is a weird POV but trust me, go with it) and Lauren, Ted’s ‘daughter’ who frequently comes to visit. But something isn’t

"Everyone has a monster inside them," he says. Layers under layers under layers. The Last House on Needless Street is one of those books that starts very strange and then gradually reveals itself over the course of the novel. If you think you have it figured out, I'd wager you're wrong about at least some of it. Other reviewers said "twist", but this is not one of those books that hands you a kaboom of a reveal and that's it. Be shocked or disappointed, depending on whether or not you figured

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. In a place that echoes with lost boys, 11 years ago, the haunted Dee lost her little 6 year old sister, Lulu, the Popsicle Girl, disappearing, never to be seen again. Unsurprisingly, Dee's family disintegrated, and her father is now dead. Dee is left petrified of snakes, thinking she knows who t...