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A review by ngallion
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
4.0
Honestly, I could rate this book anywhere from 3 stars to five. It can be incredibly frustrating at times - intentionally so, and with good cause - but it can also be compulsively readable at others. There were a number of parts to the story that kept me turning page after page. Ultimately, I’ll settle on four stars for the following reasons:
1) Ward’s writing is, as always, excellent. Even when she’s writing about something complex or confusing, she does an excellent job of conveying her central ideas. She also knows how to give the reader just enough to keep them hooked all through the book.
2) The central secret of this book is a bit cliche. I thought that something very different was going on for half of the book and I was intrigued about how she’d reveal it. I was pleased to learn that I was wrong in my assumptions - nobody wants to predict major developments too early on - but the actual reveal made me say, “oh, it’s one of THESE.”
3) While there’s supposed to be a message of resilience at the core of this book, one of the plot threads ends in a way that makes that whole part of the story seem like a depressing, frustrating red herring. I need to think over it more because Ward may have been doing something more than I realized, but my initial reaction wasn’t positive.
4) Despite those frustrations, the twists and turns of the plot are fun to experience and I enjoyed my time with this book over all.
Little Eve is still my favorite Ward book, but I’ll keep picking up whatever she puts out.
1) Ward’s writing is, as always, excellent. Even when she’s writing about something complex or confusing, she does an excellent job of conveying her central ideas. She also knows how to give the reader just enough to keep them hooked all through the book.
2) The central secret of this book is a bit cliche. I thought that something very different was going on for half of the book and I was intrigued about how she’d reveal it. I was pleased to learn that I was wrong in my assumptions - nobody wants to predict major developments too early on - but the actual reveal made me say, “oh, it’s one of THESE.”
3) While there’s supposed to be a message of resilience at the core of this book, one of the plot threads ends in a way that makes that whole part of the story seem like a depressing, frustrating red herring. I need to think over it more because Ward may have been doing something more than I realized, but my initial reaction wasn’t positive.
4) Despite those frustrations, the twists and turns of the plot are fun to experience and I enjoyed my time with this book over all.
Little Eve is still my favorite Ward book, but I’ll keep picking up whatever she puts out.