Horror

The Last House on Needless Street

The Last House on Needless Street

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-28 12:13:15
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Catriona Ward
  • ISBN：1788166175
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Summary

This is the story of a serial killer。 A stolen child。 Revenge。 Death。 And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street。

All these things are true。 And yet they are all lies。。。

You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street。 You think you've read this story before。 That's where you're wrong。

In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street， lies something buried。 But it's not what you think。。。

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Reviews

Louise Mullins ，

I read this in two days。 I'm a psychologist so I guessed one of the big twists but not got the final reveal very wrong and the journey from the first to the last page was extraordinary and brilliant。 I highly recommend this book。 I read this in two days。 I'm a psychologist so I guessed one of the big twists but not got the final reveal very wrong and the journey from the first to the last page was extraordinary and brilliant。 I highly recommend this book。 。。。more

Mary Scanlon ，

Thank you to Netgalley for the ability to read this book in return for an honest review。 A complicated story of revenge， child abduction， a serial killer， and psychological control。 The journey starts with The Little Girl with Popsicle and her mysterious disappearance。 There was so much going on in this book。。。too much really。 There are multiple characters whose lives intertwine in various ways。 I found this story to be too convoluted to really enjoy。 The most significant theme throughout the st Thank you to Netgalley for the ability to read this book in return for an honest review。 A complicated story of revenge， child abduction， a serial killer， and psychological control。 The journey starts with The Little Girl with Popsicle and her mysterious disappearance。 There was so much going on in this book。。。too much really。 There are multiple characters whose lives intertwine in various ways。 I found this story to be too convoluted to really enjoy。 The most significant theme throughout the story is that of mental illness and how abused children handle their trauma in order to survive。 I was not a fan of this story， the prose， and the flow of the story。 I found finishing the story a chore and had to force myself to do so。 If you like a psychological thriller that will have you wondering where the story is going， then this is a read for you。 。。。more

Veronika Jordan ，

Ted Bannerman lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia。 They live in the last house on Needless Street， on the edge of a forest where secrets lie buried。 All the windows in the house are boarded up and no-one other than Ted goes in or out。 Ted is a recluse。 He’d love to have a friend but he doesn’t know how。 We have flashbacks to Little Teddy when he lived with his Mommy and Daddy。Eleven years ago Dee and little sister Lulu were at the lake with their parents， when six-year-old Lulu was Ted Bannerman lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia。 They live in the last house on Needless Street， on the edge of a forest where secrets lie buried。 All the windows in the house are boarded up and no-one other than Ted goes in or out。 Ted is a recluse。 He’d love to have a friend but he doesn’t know how。 We have flashbacks to Little Teddy when he lived with his Mommy and Daddy。Eleven years ago Dee and little sister Lulu were at the lake with their parents， when six-year-old Lulu was taken。 She became known as Little Girl with Popsicle and though the police searched and searched， no trace of her was ever found。 But Dee is convinced that Ted was responsible， even though he had an alibi。However， if you think this is a straightforward missing child story， think again。 Yes it’s a story about kidnapping， child abduction and abuse but that’s where the similarity ends。 Written from the point of view of Ted， Lauren， Olivia and Dee， everything is true but nothing is as it seems。 I have never read anything quite like it before。I can’t really say anything else without spoilers， but please do read this incredible book。 It’s original， unique， beautifully written and full of tragedy， sadness and hope。 It’s a work of genius， a true masterpiece。 。。。more

Katie ，

Oh my God！ This book。 This freaking book。 Wow。 It is so so so so well written and I never wanted to stop reading it。 It is freaky and weird and chilling and twisty and amazing。 5 freaking stars。 Read it right now。

Marina ，

If I had to sum up a book in a single word， I would say it's strange。。。 gloriously， frustratingly strange。 For the grand majority of this book， you will be left questioning everything you read。 I'd say in terms of incoherent narrators， Needless Street probably falls somewhere between Piranesi and The Sound and the Fury。 I pride myself on being able to guess a book's plot by 30% of the way through， but I really had the rug pulled out from under me multiple times until the very end。My rating switc If I had to sum up a book in a single word， I would say it's strange。。。 gloriously， frustratingly strange。 For the grand majority of this book， you will be left questioning everything you read。 I'd say in terms of incoherent narrators， Needless Street probably falls somewhere between Piranesi and The Sound and the Fury。 I pride myself on being able to guess a book's plot by 30% of the way through， but I really had the rug pulled out from under me multiple times until the very end。My rating switched between 3 to 4 to 5 and at times I was almost tempted to DNF （especially when we suddenly started getting a perspective from a CAT of all things）。 Instead， I've settled on a five-star review because frankly it deserved it。 I will say that Needless Street requires a huge suspension of disbelief but so do most thrillers nowadays。 I'm too impressed by Catriona Ward's ability to spin such a complex plot to hold it against her。 。。。more

Carolyn ，

A book shaped spoon that scooped out my emotions as if they were ice cream。 Longer RTC for the Nerd Daily。

Bill Wallace ，

A very difficult book to set down。 Stunningly well written and a terrific accomplishment in interwoven narratives。 Disturbing， painful， occasionally poignant and， as with any good horror novel （maybe with any good novel）， the less one knows about the plot， the better。 Already optioned for filming， this is not going to be an easy book to turn into a movie。

Anne Hulse ，

Very confusing at times but kept me reading。 Quite a lot of explanation in last few chapters。 Worth the read。

Steph ，

Amazing

Hayley ，

This one really drew me into its tangled web and I was so compelled to see how everything would come together。Sad， unsettling and atmospheric。I'll definitely be getting to Catriona Ward's other books soon。 This one really drew me into its tangled web and I was so compelled to see how everything would come together。Sad， unsettling and atmospheric。I'll definitely be getting to Catriona Ward's other books soon。 。。。more

Laura ，

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Serpent's Tail / Profile Books in exchange for an honest review。It has been a long time since I've read a book that has made me struggle to put into words the effect it has had on me。 Particularly when it comes to this book， I feel it is better to go in blind so I can't actually say too much about it。 On the surface， The Last House on Needless Street is a familiar story。 We are introduced to Ted， a man who was suspected of kidnappi I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Serpent's Tail / Profile Books in exchange for an honest review。It has been a long time since I've read a book that has made me struggle to put into words the effect it has had on me。 Particularly when it comes to this book， I feel it is better to go in blind so I can't actually say too much about it。 On the surface， The Last House on Needless Street is a familiar story。 We are introduced to Ted， a man who was suspected of kidnapping a little girl several years ago and who now lives with a mysterious daughter and a cat。 The cat acts as a secondary narrator and this is where the weirdness starts。Almost immediately you get the sense that something is 'wrong' with this picture， and it's that wrongness that draws you in and keeps you hooked。 It is very easy as a reader to make assumptions and this book plays with this， making you feel like you are wandering into an obvious trap and yet you can't see how else things could go。 The result is this book casts a brilliant spell。 It consumed me in a way few books can， and I was desperate to keep reading it at every opportunity。Overall， I don't think there's much else I can say except that I think most people should give this book a try。 The horror is subtle and slow， and it creeps up on you。 I think even those who don't enjoy horror as a genre but enjoy thrillers or similar mysteries would get something out of this book。 It has a lot of depth and interesting things to say， as well as just being a fantastically written and immensely entrancing story。 I know this book will stay in my mind for a long time after reading it and it was an experience I won't forget。Overall Rating: 4。5/5 stars 。。。more

Dawn Ellis ，

There were a few times I nearly put this book aside but the second half was better than the first with the last few chapters bringing everything together。 I understand why some have rated this book highly but in some ways I was disappointed and so it wasn’t really for me。 I found it too disjointed but I suppose that was the point。 Nevertheless I doubt it will ever be on my favourites list。

Nicole ，

I really don't get the hype around this book。。。I really didn't enjoy the writing style or the characters。 I found the plot hard to follow， the writing difficult to read at times and no connection to the characters。 This book is very weird and people said it will mess with your mind。 Yes， it's different but the problem is I went in knowing that so I questioned everything I read and therefore， the twists were not that shocking。 I could kind of guess where the book was going。 I didn't fully underst I really don't get the hype around this book。。。I really didn't enjoy the writing style or the characters。 I found the plot hard to follow， the writing difficult to read at times and no connection to the characters。 This book is very weird and people said it will mess with your mind。 Yes， it's different but the problem is I went in knowing that so I questioned everything I read and therefore， the twists were not that shocking。 I could kind of guess where the book was going。 I didn't fully understand it until I read the afterword。 After reading that， on the reflection even though this book was weird， it wasn't that unique as it used a trope well loved by the horror genre it just did it more respectfully。 If you like weird books then this one may be for you。 I like weird books but this one did not live up to the hype for me unfortunately TW: child abuse， mental illness and violence 。。。more

Magda ，

Audible Version。 I am not good at writing reviews。 I either like， or don't like a book and I am not a very picky reader。 This book was a different read for me altogether， in the beginning I was not sure whether I was going to like it。 It soon had my full attention and I really enjoyed it。 Good narration and a storyline that kept me guessing at the what and the why and the who。 Audible Version。 I am not good at writing reviews。 I either like， or don't like a book and I am not a very picky reader。 This book was a different read for me altogether， in the beginning I was not sure whether I was going to like it。 It soon had my full attention and I really enjoyed it。 Good narration and a storyline that kept me guessing at the what and the why and the who。 。。。more

Chris21 ，

I am not usually one for reading thriller/ killer stories， I tend to go more for fantasy but since I had read a number of those recently I wanted something different。 This book was a great intro into this genre for me。 To start I found the POV characters a bit odd to read considering they were all very different。 To be honest I wasn’t sure if I was going to love the book as much as the reviewers had claimed to。 However as I progressed through it I found myself going down the “one more chapter” r I am not usually one for reading thriller/ killer stories， I tend to go more for fantasy but since I had read a number of those recently I wanted something different。 This book was a great intro into this genre for me。 To start I found the POV characters a bit odd to read considering they were all very different。 To be honest I wasn’t sure if I was going to love the book as much as the reviewers had claimed to。 However as I progressed through it I found myself going down the “one more chapter” road。 Slowly getting more determined to find out what the hell was going on。 I really thought I had figured the twist out and I imagine most readers will too but you probably won’t have and the last 100 pages are addictive。 So much that I stayed up til 3am with sore eyes to finish because there isn’t really any way you can stop this book once the final act starts。 All in all a great book for me to start my journey into this genre。 。。。more

Noll ，

Fantastic。 Trust it， go with it， you will be rewarded in the end。

Madah J ，

A fantastic horror。 Or thriller。 Mystery？ Speculative fiction？ There is so much going on， but not what you might think。 Great。 Loved it。

Alan Gorevan ，

Beautifully written in rich， evocative prose， THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET is best approached with as little knowledge as possible。 Avoid spoilers and jump in。 It's a journey to savour。 Beautifully written in rich， evocative prose， THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET is best approached with as little knowledge as possible。 Avoid spoilers and jump in。 It's a journey to savour。 。。。more

Paul ，

Wow。 This absolutely blew me away。Dark， disturbing， haunting， heartbreaking and absolutely enthralling。This is at times hard to read and hard to put down。You can't really review it any other way without giving too much away so I won't say anything other than you'd be a fool to miss this one。My book of the year （and beating anything from last year） so far。Incredible。 Wow。 This absolutely blew me away。Dark， disturbing， haunting， heartbreaking and absolutely enthralling。This is at times hard to read and hard to put down。You can't really review it any other way without giving too much away so I won't say anything other than you'd be a fool to miss this one。My book of the year （and beating anything from last year） so far。Incredible。 。。。more

Jon Neal ，

4。5 What a great read and an important book。 Can't say much without spoilers， really。 I'll just say I thought I'd guessed a few things and worked some stuff out， and sometimes I came close， and sometimes I was basically right， but ultimately not completely。 4。5 What a great read and an important book。 Can't say much without spoilers， really。 I'll just say I thought I'd guessed a few things and worked some stuff out， and sometimes I came close， and sometimes I was basically right， but ultimately not completely。 。。。more

Michelle ，

Holy Fucking Shit。 This book is absolutely amazing。 If you haven't ordered a copy then it should be the next book you buy。 This book had that many ups， downs， and omg moments I felt like I was on a roller coaster。 This book had me constantly guessing what was happening， and what would happen next。 Did Ted really abduct Lulu all those years ago ？ If he did what has he done with her ？ Is she buried in the woods at the end of needless Street， or is something else going on ？ It kept me wondering how Holy Fucking Shit。 This book is absolutely amazing。 If you haven't ordered a copy then it should be the next book you buy。 This book had that many ups， downs， and omg moments I felt like I was on a roller coaster。 This book had me constantly guessing what was happening， and what would happen next。 Did Ted really abduct Lulu all those years ago ？ If he did what has he done with her ？ Is she buried in the woods at the end of needless Street， or is something else going on ？ It kept me wondering how it would end right until the last page。 One of those books that will leave you sat there when you've finished saying what just happened， exactly what you want with a book like this。 。。。more

Loraine Philliban ，

Never having read anything of Catriona Wards work I was intrigued by the blurb and decided to give this a go。 Hmmmm what can I say I was confused from the beginning and unfortunately that state of mind did not change until the very latter part of the book when all was revealed。 Because of my confusion I took longer than usual to read it as I really struggled to understand what was going on。 Now that the content has been clarified I intend to wait a couple of months and read it again with my new Never having read anything of Catriona Wards work I was intrigued by the blurb and decided to give this a go。 Hmmmm what can I say I was confused from the beginning and unfortunately that state of mind did not change until the very latter part of the book when all was revealed。 Because of my confusion I took longer than usual to read it as I really struggled to understand what was going on。 Now that the content has been clarified I intend to wait a couple of months and read it again with my new found knowledge。 Very clever book which on reflection is a completely harrowing existence for those whose story has been told。 。。。more

Steven Dines ，

I doubt I'll read a better novel this year。。。 I doubt I'll read a better novel this year。。。 。。。more

Philip ，

A very well written horror novel， that went in a direction I didn't expect。 I liked the characters， and the ending was satisfying。 A very well written horror novel， that went in a direction I didn't expect。 I liked the characters， and the ending was satisfying。 。。。more

Kevin ，

Five stars is nowhere near enough for this book。 To give any details of the story would be a massive injustice to the next reader， so I’ll just say this; this book is beautiful， tragic and absolutely breathtaking。 I cannot recommend it highly enough。

Lu ，

3。5。。。 ish。。。this started out really good and heading into one direction that i was hoping for but as the afterword says， course changed mid flight and for me the story is forced to fit the new idea

Kieran ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Rating: 2。5 stars – Not as unique as it is marketed to be。 Who would I recommend this for: People who like suspense/thriller novels。 Would I read from this author again: I think this author has the potential to write a book that is 5 stars for me I just don’t think a lot of the elements came together in this book。My biggest problem with the book is that I feel like a lot of it relies on “OHH LEARNING DISABLED/MENTALLY ILL MAN SCARYY？？？” and as a man who is both that just isn’t fun to read。An Rating: 2。5 stars – Not as unique as it is marketed to be。 Who would I recommend this for: People who like suspense/thriller novels。 Would I read from this author again: I think this author has the potential to write a book that is 5 stars for me I just don’t think a lot of the elements came together in this book。My biggest problem with the book is that I feel like a lot of it relies on “OHH LEARNING DISABLED/MENTALLY ILL MAN SCARYY？？？” and as a man who is both that just isn’t fun to read。Another thing I didn’t like is that very early on it feels like we have so much like withheld from us by the author。 I get in most mysteries there is going to be stuff withheld but it feels far too excessive in this book。 Everything in the last 50 pages of the book could have been folded into the book throughout and it would have been more interesting。 I also just think it would have been more interesting to have flashbacks for Ted， Lauren， and Dee。 I think this needed more Dee in general as I enjoyed the chapters from her perspective。I didn’t love the writing style and found some parts a slog to get through。 I still have to give it props to where it went in terms of twists， even if I did see all of them coming。 。。。more

Glenn Coleman ，

I preordered this book months ago after reading the tagline。 When it arrived， I dropped everything to start reading it。 Luckily I had a few days off work！So where do i start？ The first chapter or two had me worried， was I really reading the same book I was so excited about？ Surely I hadn't been duped again？No。 I hadn't， it rolled on， caught me， shock me to the core and kept me on edge。 It's a beautifully worded tale。 A wonderful winding tale with an exquisite plot which is highly unique。 It made I preordered this book months ago after reading the tagline。 When it arrived， I dropped everything to start reading it。 Luckily I had a few days off work！So where do i start？ The first chapter or two had me worried， was I really reading the same book I was so excited about？ Surely I hadn't been duped again？No。 I hadn't， it rolled on， caught me， shock me to the core and kept me on edge。 It's a beautifully worded tale。 A wonderful winding tale with an exquisite plot which is highly unique。 It made my jaw drop on multiple occasions as the plot thickened。 I'm so pleased to have read this and proud to own this tale！ 。。。more

ally’s reading corner ，

Firstly I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review。Wow。 What a book this was my head is still in a fit of confusion with all these twists and turns along the pages。 YOU CAN NOT TRUST ANYONE IN THIS BOOK！！！I think this book could possibly be for some and not for the rest， at first I really didn’t think it was for me… I was on the fence， I didn’t get it。 I could tell something was off but I didn’t know what， but I was drawn to the p Firstly I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review。Wow。 What a book this was my head is still in a fit of confusion with all these twists and turns along the pages。 YOU CAN NOT TRUST ANYONE IN THIS BOOK！！！I think this book could possibly be for some and not for the rest， at first I really didn’t think it was for me… I was on the fence， I didn’t get it。 I could tell something was off but I didn’t know what， but I was drawn to the pages again and again and I needed to know what happened。One thing I do know for fact is that Ted Bannerman the creepy main character is certainly a character you will not forget in a hurry。 。。。more

James ，

Ted lives in a dilapidated house with his daughter， Lauren， and his cat， Olivia。 Their house is at the end of an ordinary street called Needless Street （hence the title） but the windows are all secured with wooden boards， with just small holes drilled into them to see out of。 A decade before， a girl called Lulu went missing from a nearby lake， and her family broke apart as a result: the mother walked out on them; the father died of a broken heart; Lulu’s sister， Dee， was left alone with her guil Ted lives in a dilapidated house with his daughter， Lauren， and his cat， Olivia。 Their house is at the end of an ordinary street called Needless Street （hence the title） but the windows are all secured with wooden boards， with just small holes drilled into them to see out of。 A decade before， a girl called Lulu went missing from a nearby lake， and her family broke apart as a result: the mother walked out on them; the father died of a broken heart; Lulu’s sister， Dee， was left alone with her guilt and self-recrimination。 Now Dee believes that Laura （who she hasn’t seen yet， but has heard Ted talking to） is Lulu， and Ted is the man who abducted her sister all those years before。 She’s intent on finding the evidence， bringing Ted to some kind of justice， and rescuing her sister。As least that’s what we think is going on。 This is a twisty-turny Gothic horror chiller， told from a variety of perspectives， not least that of the cat， Olivia。 While the set up seems straightforward at the start， it isn’t long before readers are unsure of their footing。 All the people in the book are unreliable narrators， to use that overused term， and revelations come aplenty as the narrative unfolds。The Last House on Needless Street has received much praise， not least from Stephen King。 The film rights have been optioned and it will come to screens shortly， I’m sure。 But I have to say， this novel really didn’t do it for me。 I really wanted to enjoy this book， not least because all the buzz told me I should - The Times Thriller of the Month， an Observer Thriller of the Month， a Guardian 2021 in books pick， a Waterstones March 2021 pick， a Red Magazine March 2021 pick， a Refinery 29th March 2021 pick - the list is exhaustive。 But I’m afraid to say this book just left me cold。 It never seemed to know what it wanted to be - gothic horror？ crime thriller？ - and I found all the twists and turns confusing。It was an enjoyable enough read， and lots of people will disagree of course （they already do， look at the plaudits）， but for me it just didn’t work。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Last House on Needless Street

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Last House on Needless Street&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Last House on Needless Street&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0