Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

86 reviews

bickleyhouse's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

Wow. Just wow. I just finished this book, about five minutes ago, and I am almost in shock. This is a book that starts out being one thing and gradually becomes something totally different by the end, and I didn't see that coming at ALL!! About halfway through, I started getting an idea, but even that was pretty far off the mark.

This book starts off being about a guy named Ted. Ted lives alone in a house that he keeps boarded up so the light doesn't get in through the windows. It becomes pretty obvious, pretty quickly that Ted is mentally "challenged," "disturbed," or whatever word you want to use. 

Then we get introduced to "Lauren," his daughter, and "Olivia," his cat. 

Eventually, it becomes clear that there is something beyond strange going on, here. My head was spinning by the end of the book. Not literally, of course, that would be bad. 

And then I read the author's Afterword, which pretty much brought me to tears. I can't really divulge any more, at this point, without serious spoilage, and that would just be wrong. Yes, this is a "horror" book. It is psychological horror at its finest, in my opinion.

But it is oh, so much more than that. 

This was my first book by Ms. Ward, and you can be sure I will read more!

I recommend this book for horror lovers, especially psychological horror, but be warned. It is rough and it is VERY disturbing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

lilsteegs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Kidnapping, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

kietz's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I really enjoyed this. I think the twist centered around the story is very well done and the author shows a lot of empathy and kindness toward the main character that would have been exploited by a lesser author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Violence

marrie_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

tomasalbanez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

3martini's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

nattyyllie's review against another edition

dark 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

Wow. This book is absolutely incredible. It was thrilling and enticing all the way through to the end. One of the best plot and character combinations I've read in quite some time. Highly recommend for those who aren't afraid of letting their mind wander into dark places in search of answers to this mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Stalking

spaghettii's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Somewhat predictable, did not love the mental health as a plot device but I think it was done with good intentions

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

katreena's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail