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A review by rorikae
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
'The Last House on Needless Street' by Catriona Ward is a mystery thriller chock full of twists and turns that kept me hooked.
The story centers on the titular house and its inhabitants, which include a man dealing with flashbacks to his past, a young girl who rides around on her bike, and a cat that reads the Bible. A neighbor moves in trying to solve a years old mystery that she thinks those in the house may be involved in. The more that the story pries into the mystery at its heart, the more the expected story begins to unravel.
Ward does an exceptional job of building expectations and then slowly unwinding them. Every time that I thought that I understood exactly what was happening, further pieces began to be revealed that would turn my understanding on its head. This is an incredibly hard story due to the subject matter. There are strong content warnings for child abuse, murder, and mental illness. I encourage anyone interested in this book to look those up so that you will be prepared going in.
One of the strongest parts of this story is how Ward creates complicated characters but makes you care deeply for them despite their flaws. Every character has their own issues that they are dealing with and Ward explores these in-depth. I think in another writer's hands this story could be very harmful but Ward does a great job of making these characters feel fully fleshed out.
I will say that I expected this story to have more of a speculative slant than it does. In some stories, this may have dampened my experience but Ward did such a good job with the story that it was thoroughly enjoyable even though it was different than my expectations.
I am interested in what Ward will write next as I have a lot of confidence in her storytelling abilities.
The story centers on the titular house and its inhabitants, which include a man dealing with flashbacks to his past, a young girl who rides around on her bike, and a cat that reads the Bible. A neighbor moves in trying to solve a years old mystery that she thinks those in the house may be involved in. The more that the story pries into the mystery at its heart, the more the expected story begins to unravel.
Ward does an exceptional job of building expectations and then slowly unwinding them. Every time that I thought that I understood exactly what was happening, further pieces began to be revealed that would turn my understanding on its head. This is an incredibly hard story due to the subject matter. There are strong content warnings for child abuse, murder, and mental illness. I encourage anyone interested in this book to look those up so that you will be prepared going in.
One of the strongest parts of this story is how Ward creates complicated characters but makes you care deeply for them despite their flaws. Every character has their own issues that they are dealing with and Ward explores these in-depth. I think in another writer's hands this story could be very harmful but Ward does a great job of making these characters feel fully fleshed out.
I will say that I expected this story to have more of a speculative slant than it does. In some stories, this may have dampened my experience but Ward did such a good job with the story that it was thoroughly enjoyable even though it was different than my expectations.
I am interested in what Ward will write next as I have a lot of confidence in her storytelling abilities.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis