Reviews with content warning for Vomit - The Last House on Needless Street

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The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

41 reviews

amessina3399's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I'm not someone who likes to throw around 5-star ratings for books, but this book was certainly the exception. This book is most certainly my favorite to date. I laughed, I cried, I'm about to go to the store and purchase a copy to have forever.

It took me about 25% of the book before I really got into it, and the only thing that kept me was the other reviews saying how great it was, so I trusted. And I am SO glad I did.

There are tons of twists and turns in this book, and it navigates these shifts with a nail-biting grace. It's horrific, it's bittersweet, and the characters are INCREDIBLY lovable. I usually don't re-read books, but I am excited to go back and read this one again to catch all the juicy little details I missed the first time around. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy!

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librarymouse's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed The Last House on Needless Street! There were a few false starts before I finally made it past the halfway point, and was hooked. I adore the gay and religious cat, Olivia!

this is one of the most sincere representations of disassociative identity disorder that I've ever seen! I'm really glad Ted didn't end up being a villain. It was interesting to have gotten Ted's point of view of events only to have those events later rewritten as explained by the consciousness that actually experienced them. I want more information about Ted's mom, tbh. Making Ted both a suspect and one of his mother's victims filled in the hanging questions in the story wonderfully. I also wanted more of an explanation on why the bug man is the way he is and what exactly he did to warrant the temporary loss of his license.
Rob feels like a good addition to the story, and I like the hints of possibility that Ted is gay.
The ending of this book was unexpectedly tender and comforting.

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marstarr's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

I adored this book. It was beautifully written and engaging, at times terrifying and at times darkly funny and I truly had no idea what to expect the whole time. An unreliable narrator is tricky to write at the best of times, let alone three of them, but Ward does an absolutely stunning job here.

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thewordapothecary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

A rollercoaster for sure. There were multiple times I swore I had it all figured out. And I guess in a way I did, but not fully. There are so many ups and downs with the characters, you love them and think they’re good and then the next you hate them and think they’re the bad guy.

Not a challenging read, but you do have to get used to how Ted speaks. Once you do though, it’s a very fast read.

Really dark, but so good and I can tell it was well researched.

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melliedm's review

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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

5.0

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misophorism's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I can't really put my thoughts about this into words without spoilers. Broad strokes: Catriona Ward is a very talented writer with excellent prose and a perfect grasp of structure and pacing. If you are looking for a dark thriller, you should check it out. My issues with this book in no way reflect on her literary talent, which is obviously immense, but rather personal preference.

Spoilers:

I do not like the twist, which is the reason for my mid-score rating. Before I arrived at the twist, I would've likely given this book 4/4.25 stars. The memories were engaging, the tension between Dee and Ted was skull-shattering, and the pace was perfect. I found the prose in Olivia's sections somewhat grating at first, a bit too quirky for my liking, but it was easily forgiven. But the twist in this book is twofold: one, Dee is much more responsible for Lulu's death than the first half intimates, and two, Ted has not killed anyone, and was the victim the entire time. After spending so long in his head, with very unsettling narration that does heavily hint that he has harmed someone, it is hard for me to be satisfied with that twist. Looking back over the book, I think the Dee twist works much better, but at the same time, I'm not crazy about that one either.

This is why I said it comes down to my personal preferences: the twist in this instance is one I don't think I would like in a story no matter how well it was written or who wrote it. This type of story element just isn't my style. I was immensely invested when I believed that Lauren was Lulu, who had been kidnapped and developed D.I.D. herself and that Dee was on her way to save her, but instead Dee dies and Ted is the victim the entire time. And while this is, when looking at the memories of his mother leading up to that reveal, quite believable, it's hard for me to countenance as a reader solely because I just plain don't like it as a twist. A review at the beginning of the book said that Shirley Jackson, my personal favorite novelist, may have to concede to this book, and unfortunately, I have to disagree here.

In a technical/mechanical sense, this book is flawless. My gripes have more to do with me than it. Nevertheless, I'm eager to read more of Catriona's work.

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