Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

29 reviews

suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

wow. just wow. going into this book blind, i was in for a whirlwind. i thought i knew what the twist would be, and to some extent i was correct, but i was proven wrong again and again. ward has an absolutely brilliant way of stringing the story along and tying together all lose ends in ways that are partly scary, partly going to make you feel weird, but are ways that are complex and imaginative. but most of all, ward details this book in a way that is simply there, right before our very eyes from the beginning that makes it incredibly unique while also functioning on one of the most basic aspects of the horror classics that makes it so moving and just downright incredible. the afterward is incredibly powerful and, to some extent, left me very emotional (granted, i get emotional pretty easily, so that might not have been her intention). the twists and turns in the book will challenge everything you know about the story and it's overall message in ways that will forever remain impactful.

Spoiler

the one thing i really want to flag for those who have read the book is that i think ward put so much time into researching the effects of DID in ways that must be praised and celebrated. she took so much care into not making this one of those classic horror stories that come off offensive to actually craft a narrative that everyone can relate to at it's basic level: though we all seemingly strive for the good, sometimes the path of memory, acceptance, and forgiveness does not look linear for all, and that sometimes the very key to forgive ourselves and begin to live life and survive again looks like doing just that again and again and learning to celebrate and be angry at sometimes and just lean in. and that is perhaps the most beautiful message to put in a horror book especially.

as an avid nerd of the classics and dabbles into what defines the monstrous, this book borrows from so much of these classic authors and hallmark texts and really extracts the themes that make them work (i.e. religion, alienation, body horror, gender constructions, growing up, sexuality, the transcendental spaces of the woods and water, even down to the classic 'haunted house' trope, and so much more) while also developing an entirely unique product in the end that makes me happy i decided to pick up this horror book (as someone who doesn't really read horror) and makes me even more excited to see both what ward and other contemporary horror writers will do in the future. highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Torture, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Medical content, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Body shaming

Spoiler

suicide and suicide attempt

niceonehros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

While much of the content is troubling, disturbing, and hard, this book was worth the discomfort. I don't want to give anything away, but do make sure you read the Afterword.

winlei's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Ever wanted to read a book that would make you physically ill??? Well, have I got the book for you! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Vomit and Stalking

squisheebee_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

If you find yourself drawn to Ted and empathizing with him, trust your gut. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Stalking, Torture, Child abuse, Child death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Abandonment, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Animal cruelty

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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

this book is like nothing i have ever read before. i went into it blind and would recommend everyone does the same (except for content warnings if you need to) for the best reading experience. a lot of reviews had spoilers in them, even if they did not mean to. this writing was so incredibly immersive, the characters were incredibly well-rounded, and the narration was like nothing i have ever experienced. everyone needs to read this. if you have already read this and are looking for something similar, Ian Reid is the closest comparison i can make. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

theimposter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Child death, Child abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, and Vomit

jkarki's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

I don't think I've ever frowned so hard reading a thriller novel before. This did not go at all how I expected. I am not sure I enjoyed it... but I didn't dislike it. But I'm also glad I'm done with it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Stalking, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, and Child death

uchihas's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Genuinely the first TikTok recommendation I’ve enjoyed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, and Mental illness

Moderate: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Death of parent, Murder, Child death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Suicide

emwgrace's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

2.5

Trigger/Content Warning for the novel: Extremely Graphic Depictions of Child Abuse

Overhyped and ultimately disappointing. 

I’ve been meaning to read more mystery/thrillers, so I was excited to start this one. At the beginning, I was truly intrigued by both the missing girl case and the main character, Ted, and of course, any book that features a cat will get a special Cat Bonus Star from me. But around the halfway point, something about this made it so slow to get through, and instead of being the page-turner it should have been, I found myself more often just setting it down. This novel also made me uncomfortable (not in a good way) with how it handled certain topics, and because of that, any positive experiences I had while reading have been tainted. 

**Spoilers for the rest of the review**

Spoiler

Nothing ruins a book faster for me than using mental disorders as plot twists. It’s cheap and in almost all cases, poorly done. Yes, I read the author’s Afterword about the research she did and her intentions to destigmatize how DID is treated in media. But after finishing it, I can’t help but feel that the way this condition was handled in this book fed exactly into that stigma. While it was obvious for anyone who’s somewhat familiar with the genre to tell quite early on that Ted was not the culprit—that would have been too easy—the story still points all of its fingers at him from the beginning and spends more than 80% of the narrative treating him like an abusive monster who kidnapped a girl and locks her in a freezer. Revealing at the end of a novel, marketed as horror, that the character who’s been villainized by other characters and treated as an outcast to be feared for nearly the entire book has DID from abuse he experienced as a child, in my opinion, is not revolutionary. You can’t subvert the way mental illness is depicted in fiction if you spend almost 300 pages reproducing the same harmful portrayals you’re trying to subvert.

I know not everyone will agree, but I also know I’m not alone in my views.

In the end, the book wasn't scary, it was just sad and made me feel kinda gross. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, and Ableism

Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, and Stalking

ahixon1's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicide, Stalking, and Gore

Minor: Vomit