#TheLastHouseonNeedlessStreet by Catriona Ward (2021)
Publication Date: 18 March 2021
Page Count: 352
Rating: 🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛
My thanks to Serpent's Tail/Viper for an eARC and to Macmillan Audio for a review copy of the unabridged audiobook edition, both via NetGalley, of ‘The Last House on Needless Street’ by Catriona Ward in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook is narrated by Christopher Ragland with a running time of 11 hours, 30 minutes at 1x speed.
What an extraordinary novel! Definitely one that I was very pleased that I read without prior knowledge of its plot. All I knew in advance was that there was a great deal of buzz about it and that a cat named Olivia was featured in some chapters. Feline-based perspectives are always fun (one of my favourite childhood novels is ‘Thomasina’ by Paul Gallico).
A Russian nesting doll also makes the occasional appearance and that actually is quite a good metaphor for this multi-layered, genre-bending novel that blends elements of literary fiction, horror, suspense, and the Gothic.
With respect to the audiobook edition, although Christopher Ragland is the only listed narrator there is also an uncredited female voice. Ragland is an actor with a considerable number of audiobook titles to his CV. His voice was very compelling and he drew me quickly into the narrative. An excellent reading/performance.
Having both the book and audiobook allowed for a rich, immersive experience. The audiobook ends with the last chapter of the novel but the print edition has an Afterword that Catriona Ward describes as “one long spoiler.” I appreciated the background information that she provided in it as this gave me a wider perspective on the novel.
This is a book that will undoubtedly remain with me and one that I want to reread, hopefully in the context of a reading group given that its themes, structure, and characters would provide much scope for discussion.
Overall, ‘The Last House on Needless Street’ was unlike anything that I have read before.
Very highly recommended.