Review of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET by Diane Chamberlain * * * * *

Title: The Last House on the Street 

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Genre: Mystery/Suspense 

Rating: 5*

Publishers: St. Martin's Press

(Jan 11, 2022)

Hardback: 352 pages

ISBN:  978-1250267962

FTC Disclosure: Book provided by my local library

A small town divided by prejudice. A family torn apart. A secret that won't remain silent.

Read the magnificent new novel from the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author.

'Compelling, important, devastating: you have to read this one' Sunday Times bestseller Clare Mackintosh

'Both powerful and page-turning' Sunday Times bestseller Cathy Kelly

'Sensitively written yet unflinching... Taut, compelling and moving' Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks, Platinum magazine

1965. A young white female student becomes involved in the fight for civil rights in North Carolina, falling in love with one of her fellow activists, a Black man, in a time and place where an interracial relationship must be hidden from family, friends and especially the reemerging Ku Klux Klan. As tensions rise in the town, she realises not everyone is who they appear to be.

2010. A recently widowed architect moves into the home she and her late husband designed, heartbroken that he will never cross the threshold. But when disturbing things begin to happen, it's clear that someone is sending her a warning. Who is trying to frighten her away, and why?

Decades later, past and present are set to collide in the last house on the street...

This book was a wonderful blending of the past and the present and the captivating mystery kept me reading late into the night.

I grew up in a town very like the one in this story in the foothills of North Carolina and though I'd have only been 10 at the time this happened, I am both fascinated and horrified to realize that events that happened in this book could and did take place in my lifetime and possibily in my community. 

It took awhile to see the connection in what was going on in 1965 to the events in 2010 but when they connected wow! I must say I had very little of it figured out and what a surprise ending. It was perfect. If you want a read that will keep you thinking about it long after you've finished it then read THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET.

Diane Chamberlain is the RITA Award winning author of sixteen novels, published in over twelve languages. A former hospital social worker and psychotherapist, Diane writes complex stories about relationships, redemption and forgiveness with a touch of mystery and suspense. She lives in North Carolina with her significant other, John, and her shelties, Keeper and Jet.