'The Last House on Needless Street' by Catriona Ward - Review

by Samantha Shawkinh

*Reposted from my Instagram.

‘The Last House on Needless Street’ has been incredibly popular since its release. It's received high praise from authors and readers alike. However, after reading it, I don't completely understand the hype.

Catriona Ward's writing is very beautiful; many of her sentences read like poetry verses. In addition, she does have a knack for creating a sense of dread.

I think this book was mismarketed. It isn't really a horror novel as much as it is a psychological mystery. I can't fairly use the word "thriller," because it wasn't thrilling. It was slow, convoluted, and frustrating.

I generally like psychological thrillers and the unreliable narrator trope (this isn't a spoiler -- it's obvious from the first couple of chapters), but I felt like the narrative was trying too hard. Like, it's squeezing every single trope from that genre into one book. Ward is trying hard to misdirect the reader, and by doing so, has called attention to herself, leaving plot points to be predictable.

Last thoughts: Reading Needless Street reminded me of the literary mystery novels I was assigned in college. The text is intended to be dug through to look for deeper meanings and promote discussion. It seems like Needless Street wanted to be a smart, literary piece on mental illness AND a pop culture thriller at the same time. In this case, the two genres didn't work together.

2 stars.

Ps. Please keep in mind, this is my own opinion. If you enjoyed this book, I'm glad! But books are subjective and this one just didn't click with me.