Reviews

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

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neelamreadsalot's review against another edition

3.0

2.5. This book took me so long to finish. But I finally did it and I am…disappointed. I think the problem here is that there was too much slow buildup that amounts to a lie and too many unreliable narrators. I also have unpleasant feelings towards the plot device being a mental illness. This whole book just feels like a lie. And I’ve read books where that’s happened, but there’s something for the reader to be satisfied with. It felt like the story started around finding Lulu and what happened to her, and truthfully it was for this reason that I stuck it out. I really wanted to learn what happened to her and if “Lauren” as the author heavily implies throughout the story is actually her. When it’s revealed that Lulu died by accident and Dee pretended otherwise….that felt clunky and kind of poor story telling. Kind of like “it was all just a dream!” sort of cop out.
So then I found myself invested in Lauren escaping. I found it weird that she was talking to a cat but I thought maybe the cat was a metaphorical person. Hell, I was even okay with it being part of her psyche. But to then take all of that and make it part of Ted’s mind…that felt like a complete rip off. No offence at all intended to DID or mental health. Those are serious issues that should be dealt with by a professional. This book categorizes itself in the thriller/horror genre and I feel like both of those elements are obliterated by the plot twists.
I teeter between being disappointed and being annoyed by the story.

I feel like one of the two (Lulu or “Lauren”) should’ve been found or made it to the end or something like that. Anything to make it worthwhile for the reader to make it to the end of the book.

rhodas's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

adventureinreading's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

jenhurst's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved this. Having a cat as a main character made it even better. I enjoyed figuring out what was really going on

calliek927's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow. I was unsure on this one after reading reviews, and TBH I went in and almost gave up after the first chapter because it was a true WTF am I reading thing... BUT. I am glad I stuck it out, and I won't spoil or say TOO much, but I definitely would disagree with calling this a "horror" book. Most definitely a psychological read, as far as suspense and storyline go. Yes, it will get your brain going, yes there is wondering again, WTF am I reading and will this all make sense? But I am glad I stuck with it!

Full disclosure I listened to it on Audible, and I'll certainly review it there too, because holy SH... that absolutely had to be THE best narration I've EVER listened to!

nelevb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

It is a thriller. At the begin it is a bit boring but if you keep reading, it gets more and more intense. I really liked that i learned something new from mental health with this book.