From bestselling author Diane Chamberlain comes an irresistible new novel that perfectly interweaves history, mystery, and social justice.

When Kayla Carter’s husband dies in an accident while building their dream house, she knows she has to stay strong for their four-year-old daughter. But the trophy home in Shadow Ridge Estates, a new development in sleepy Round Hill, North Carolina, will always hold tragic memories. But when she is confronted by an odd, older woman telling her not to move in, she almost agrees. It’s clear this woman has some kind of connection to the area…and a connection to Kayla herself. Kayla’s elderly new neighbor, Ellie Hockley, is more welcoming, but it’s clear she, too, has secrets that stretch back almost fifty years. Is Ellie on a quest to right the wrongs of the past? And does the house at the end of the street hold the key? Told in dual time periods, The Last House on the Street is a novel of shocking prejudice and violence, forbidden love, the search for justice, and the tangled vines of two families.

Phenomenal!!!!

Plot/Story Premise

The story alternates between the years of 1965 and 2010.
In 1965 Ellie, is a young woman who decides to help with the cause for allowing African Americans the right to vote. However, the residents of this small town are against her decision and have started harassing her, her family, and the other volunteers.
In 2010, Kayla has moved into the new house that she and her husband designed but while building there was a horrific accident in the house that caused the death of her husband. Has she made a mistake moving in since there seems to be someone or a group of people trying to torment her into moving out? Why? What is it that this house is causing such a disturbance including one night when the Ku Klux Klan decided to show up on her property?
How are these two women connected, besides having only the 2 houses on the street, as construction is moving along for more houses in this development?

Characters

I was so engrossed within the story that I felt that I was there in this little town in North Carolina. I felt the emotions and sensibilities of each and every one of the characters.

Setting

There were different settings in the story but I could picture every one of them, Ellie’s parent’s house, the Church where the volunteers would come together, the families and shanties that the volunteers would stay with for a few days, the houses that the volunteers knocked on doors to explain why it is so important to vote, etc.

Ending/Conclusion

WOW!!!! There were stories within the story and as each page revealed one of those “stories” my jaw dropped. I turned the page and needed to pick up my jaw because it was going to fall again!!!!

Overall opinion

Not only was this an amazing story it was also an eye-opening education for the reader about the history of segregation in the south during the 1960s..
As a long-time reader, as I am sure a lot of you are, if we are honest with ourselves, we have read hundreds+ of books but there are some books read that we probably can’t remember what it is about. But I can promise you, this is a story that will stay with you for years to come.
The narrative is perfection whereas the reader will be kidnapped and become a part of it. A book that you will find any excuse to take you away from adulting and to pick it up and continue reading. A book that is definitely one where you will be telling yourself, just one more chapter and we all know how that goes!!!!
Engaging!! Riveting!! Provocative!! Heart pounding!! Intoxicating!!

I received a complimentary copy from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗

I guess that saying is correct that the year flew by. I know it did for me, but as I look back, it just doesn’t feel that much got accomplished especially when it came to my reading. Can you say MAJOR SLUMP? It also, seems to me, that the past couple of years have been a new normal that I haven’t quite gotten used to.

When we all were faced with COVID and mandated to stay home and masked, my husband decided that he would be the one who went to get our necessities at the grocery store and pharmacy due to my underlying conditions. And then it looked like, just maybe that it was getting better and then we got hit with the Delta variant and Omicron.

When all this started I thought I would be breezing through books to occupy myself while self quarantined. Well….that didn’t happen, the opposite did and it ran into 2021. Another bad year with the amount of reading I did (see graphics below). I do know some of the reasons why but I just can’t get out of this slump. And it has nothing to do with the books I am reading because the book I am “currently” reading is by an author that I wait patiently for her “next book” every year.

A few of the other reasons that I think hindered my reading time this year was that Partners In Crime Tours (PICT) was extremely busy, which is a good thing, so a lot of my time went in that direction. Scrolling on my phone to check out social media every now and then, OK, maybe more than “now and then” doesn’t help. Another bump in the road was that we didn’t have a great summer here in RI, which is the time frame where I do a lot of reading. I get on my pool float, grab my book, float away and read. This is one place where I don’t do any scrolling but do get a lot of reading done and work on my tan.

And then the one thing that definitely changed my reading habits was my health. For quite a while I hadn’t felt well but couldn’t put my finger on just one thing as I had a myriad of symptoms, which landed me in the hospital for over a week in October and have had several setbacks since but over the past week or so, have had some better days.

But I’m planning on making 2022 my reading year!!! I have already signed up for Reading Challenges, which I hope will get me on a better path starting January 1st, and if you know me, then you know I love Reading challenges!!!!! I also plan on participating in Read-A-Thons to get me back on track and hopefully keep me accountable to read and track my progress. Matter of fact, I will be participating in the Bout Of Books 33 (#boutofbooks) starting tomorrow through the 9th. I will also be relying on Bookly (see one of the graphics in this post) to keep me in check to read my allotted time, or more, every day. If any one would like to purchase a Bookly Pro, please let me know as I do have discount coupons for it.

I hope I don’t jinx myself, but yesterday I did get in some quality reading time. YAY!!! Could it be???? Has the slump ended? I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!!!

The weather here in RI, during the month of July, wasn’t great pool weather, which is why I didn’t even do a Wrap-Up. But it was definitely pool weather in August, which is why I had a decent month of reading. I wish it was more but, I’ll take it!!. My first, and most enjoyable place for reading, is on one of my pool floats with my protective waterproof Kindle case. Even though it has never leaked, I don’t want to take any chances so I use the first Kindle I ever purchased, which still works. Since I don’t have my phone or TV to distract me that some days I will be floating around in the pool for 2 hours or more. Needless to say, I am quite tanned. In the past, we have had some Septembers where we were in the pool right into October. Keeping my fingers crossed that we have some hot and humid days over the next 30 days to get some more pool time and reading in before we have to close the pool for the winter. 🙁

My review for Such A Good Wife by by Seraphina Nova Glass was posted on August 10th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane was posted on August 13th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for Aftermath by Terri Blackstock was posted on August 19th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for I Said Yes by Kiersten Modglin was posted on August 24th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for Silent Island by Dana Perry will be posted on October 7th.

WooHoo! Finally, I read more books in one month than I have in a long time. I wish it was more but I will take it!!! It could be that the summer is my favorite time of the year to read. Either I’m on the deck or on my float reading in the pool. I’m hoping my reading mojo is slowly coming back!

My review for Dream Girl by Laura Lippman was posted on June 25th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for Her Ocean Grave by Dana Perry was posted on June 15th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi will be posted on September 9th.

My review for Just Married by Kiersten Modglin will be posted on July 9th.

My review for The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth will be posted once I write it.

MONTHLY BOOKLY GRAPHIC:

Another bad month. I just can’t get my reading mojo back to what I used to read. However, the books I did read were all exceptional!!!

My review for Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay was posted on March 16th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for The Stranger In The Mirror by Liv Constantine will be posted on July 7th.

My review for The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda will be posted on May 5th.

WooHoo!!! I read a total of 3 books this month. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but for the past year, I have not even come close as to how many books I used to read in a month. So this is a great accomplishment for me. I just hope that this continues and that maybe soon, I will get back to my old reading habits! Wish me luck!!!!

My review for Do No Harm by Christina McDonald was posted on February 16th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon will be posted on May 21st, which can be seen HERE.

My review for The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry will be posted on March 4th, which can be seen HERE.

Sorry….I just had to join in with the Bernie meme!!!!

As for my reading, not good, AGAIN!!! I don’t know if I’m in a minor slump or it’s just that we are super busy with tours for Partners In Crime Tours. Just 2 books this month, both good, but only 2!

Also, if anyone is interested in the Bookly app that I have been using to track my reading and the graphics, let me know because I have a 30% discount for the Bookly Pro.

And a shout out to Gina @ Hott Books for giving my blog a facelift!!!!

My review for The Betrayal was posted on January 13th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for The Perfect Daughter will be posted on April 21st, a 5 star read!!!

I don’t want to jinx myself but I’m finding that I want to read more. Now if only I can get back to where I was before the pandemic. But I’m afraid, listening to the scientists, that we are in this for a very long time if people would listen and not be complacent.

My review for To Tell The Truth by Gilly Macmillan was posted on October 13th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for The Girl In The Mirror by Rose Carlyle was posted on October 20th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for Eye For Eye by J.K. Franko will be posted in November/December p

My review for The Trial Of Joe Harlan Junior by J.K. Franko will be posted in November/December as I am in the process of reading the Trilogy