Book Review; The Last House On Needless Street- Catriona Ward

Page Count 352

Publication date March 2021

Publisher Viper 

GoodReads link

Synopsis

 

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…

 

**********

Review

Switching between POVs, Needless Street is the tale of Ted- a reclusive drunk, his cat Olivia, daughter Lauren and Dee- a woman in search of her missing sister Lulu.

There’s something weird going on in this book. You know from the outset there’s a lot more to this than the characters are showing you, but it’s so carefully written you can’t quite figure out what they’re hiding.

Both Ted and Dee are an absolute wreckage. They take no pride or care in themselves, just forcing their way through each day furthering their own agenda. This adds to the atmosphere of desperation and the knife edge feeling that something explosive could occur at any moment.

When we then switch into kitten Olivia’s viewpoint it’s a jarring change. I loved the tone of voice Ward created for her, it’s exactly the kind of aloof, narcissistic and skittish attitude you’d expect from a cat if it could talk!
Olivia is the fly on the wall but an unreliable spy at best, since she talks only of her own interests. Subtle hints are dropped to keep us trying to guess what Olivia knows but doesn’t care enough to mention- a fun, unique aspect of Needless Street.

Ted’s infrequent trips to the ‘bug doctor’ give us a little extra insight into his personality and a few ideas of important events. Again with Ted blanking for unknown time periods and trying to garner advice from his doctor only by describing TV shows, we are piecing together truth from fiction.

I really can’t say a lot more without giving away major plot secrets, you’ve got to just enjoy the ride for The Last House On Needless Street, the intrigue is blinding in this one and the ending is nothing short of incredible.

Features & Functions:

 ** This title earned me the Animal Companion badge in the Spells & Spaceships SFF collection! A fantastic readathon running this year, check it out here: The 2021 SFF Badge Collection