Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

180 reviews

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book is like nothing i have ever read before. i went into it blind and would recommend everyone does the same (except for content warnings if you need to) for the best reading experience. a lot of reviews had spoilers in them, even if they did not mean to. this writing was so incredibly immersive, the characters were incredibly well-rounded, and the narration was like nothing i have ever experienced. everyone needs to read this. if you have already read this and are looking for something similar, Ian Reid is the closest comparison i can make. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

retrogirl20's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a journey! While horror is normally not my genre of interest, the description of this book got me. I had no idea what the next twist and turn would be, which marks a good book in my opinion. This was hard to read due to the content it tackles but this book was absolutely amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Murder, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

lu555's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't know how to find the right word to describe my opinion on this book tbh. It's incredible! I loved everything about it. It was so interesting to see the story come together in front of my eyes I was intrigued from the beginning and even though I was speculating all the time I was still idk shocked/impressed by the depth of this book. it's not only a great story but also very moving and much deeper than you'd expect. I love that you just never know what to trust in this book. the writing style from different perspectives is usually not my favorite but it worked perfectly for this story. It's definitely my favorite book of 2023 so far and I immediately ordered another one of catriona wards books!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Death

Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia and Violence

whimsicalish's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

4.25

From the synopsis, I figured this was either a silly, half-baked story or a trope thriller mess.

I am happy to say it was much more.

This had me on a ride from tense, to anger, and then finally hope.

I will have to check out more work from Ward.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts

hunkydory's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Violence, Animal death, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Murder, and Torture

maverax42's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book keeps you guessing and unsure of what is true and real until the very end. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Blood, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt

lana72905's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Holy. Crap. This book is a Rollercoaster of what the hecks and what is going on. It was amazing. I loved this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Child abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Physical abuse

Moderate: Body horror, Torture, Suicide, and Animal cruelty

aignerloren's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Confinement

caelainnnn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, and Physical abuse

cady_sass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is the first time ever that I’ve read a LOT of other reviews before deciding on my final feelings. I went into this blind, because that seemed to be the recommendation and also my preference with most books anyways. I was expecting horror/thriller/possibly speculative fiction? And I don’t think it’s any of those, which perhaps leads to me feeling a little disappointed. If I had to assign a genre I guess would call it psychological mystery. It’s a very slow build, and there are very few horror or thriller elements here. I guessed the “big twist” about 3 chapters in, but the final reveal I did not expect. 

After reading more reviews from people i follow, it seems like it is widely agreed that going in blind was definitely best, and i agree, and that most of the 5 star reviews I see are upon SECOND read. Which makes a lot of sense. I would probably give this 3.75… it is REALLY hard to talk about this without spoilers. Up until the last few chapters, I had some serious qualms with the representation here and how it could be damaging. I fear that because of the way it’s written, this could be triggering and people would not understand the full story or even finish it, so even though I can retract my claws (pun intended) I think the damage can still be done. I will attempt a second read at some point and see if my feelings change. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Self harm, Drug use, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, and Suicide attempt