A review by annamolpus
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

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

2.5

I never know how to rate reading experiences like this.  I read this in a single day - once I got going, I wanted to know what the heck was going on, so I felt compelled to finish.  That's gotta be worth something.  HOWEVER, I found the twists in this book fairly dumb.  There are bread crumbs hinting at where it's going, and I appreciated that, but there's plenty of purposefully misleading stuff which made some of the ultimate revelations feel a bit like a cheap trick.  FWIW, I loved Ward's 2022 novel "Sundial," which has more supernatural horror elements (and I think "earned" its twists better).

This is a page turner and I'd feel fine recommending it to thriller fans, it's just that I'm beginning to think I am not a thriller fan myself.
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