The Last House on Needless Street

Catriona Ward Press Reviews

The buzz building around Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is real. I've read it and was blown away. It's a true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end. Haven't read anything this exciting since Gone Girl -- Stephen King

Books like this don't come around too often. An intelligent, well-written, stylish psychological thriller... with a perfectly structured plot arc and a perfectly satisfying whammy at the end. I would say I inhaled this in one, but I think I was too busy holding my breath throughout. Bravo -- Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

The new face of literary dark fiction -- Sarah Pinborough, author of Behind Her Eyes

Full of twists and turns, this high-concept gothic horror is going to be huge - Guardian

A chilling and beautiful masterpiece of suspense, cunningly plotted and written with the elegant imagination of a Shirley Jackson or a Sarah Waters. I was completely enthralled -- Joe Hill, author of NOS4R2

This book is tender rather than terrifying. Playful and sweet as well as sinister and thrilling, the creeping dread is tempered beautifully with humour and it ends being extremely emotionally impactful -- Emma Healey, author of Elizabeth is Missing

A masterpiece. Beautiful, heartbreaking and quietly uplifting. One of the most powerful and well-executed novels I've read in years -- Alex North, author of The Whisper Man

Believe the hype. The Last House On Needless Street is not only a masterclass in horror, but in storytelling full stop. Up there with the best I've ever read. The most unsettling, beautiful, sad and wise book, it'll stay with me a long time. I'm in awe -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

THIS IS THE BEST HORROR NOVEL I HAVE EVER READ. Even Shirley Jackson, her Majesty, would have to concede to this one -- Natasha Pulley, author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

I was glued to my sofa until I finished it. Such a clever book with two things I appreciate - horror and compassion -- Francine Toon, author of Pine Brilliant.

This is a book everyone is going to be talking about. Dark, clever and utterly page-turning -- Cass Green, author of In a Cottage in a Woods

This immersive modern gothic reads like a timeless classic as it lures you hook and sinker into its world -- Essie Fox, author of Somnambulist

Both harrowing and compelling. As soon as I finished it I wanted to read it all over again. An absolute masterpiece -- Katerina Diamond, author of The Heatwave

I didn't think it was possible but The Last House on Needless Street is even greater than the hype suggests. Clever, devastating, beautiful, terrifying, poignant, how often can you say that about one book? There's not enough stars in the world for Catriona Ward -- Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End

One of the most original and exciting books I've read in years. Prepare to be immersed in this chilling, thrilling, emotional read -- Jo Spain, author of Dirty Little Secrets

A breathtakingly ambitious book, gorgeously written, and never once shies away from showing you its fangs and its beautiful blood-filled heart. Stop reading this blurb already and open the damn book -- Paul Tremblay, author of A Headful of Ghosts

Absolutely brilliant. This is extraordinary, high-wire-act horror, audacious as hell -- Christopher Golden, author of Red Hands

The most extraordinary book. It's mesmerising, original, and challenging. A work of genius -- Mark Edwards, author of The House Guest

The creepiest, saddest-but-funniest, most mesmerising book I've read in a long time. Psychological thriller and horror writers beware: Catriona Ward just raised the bar skyward -- Tammy Cohen, author of When She Was Bad

As mad as a snake but all the better for it. A story that slinks deeply into uncomfortable places in the tradition of Fowles' The Collector. An enigmatic story of trauma -- Adam Nevill, author of The Ritual

I thought The Last House on Needless Street would be good but I didn't know it would be THAT good. It's a book of the year. For any year -- Martyn Waites, author of The Old Religion

Breathtakingly brilliant. Dark and relentlessly twisty, the best thing I've read this year -- Lisa Hall, author of The Party

Incredible. Absolutely creep-inducing, skin-crawling, even agonising; and also so beautiful, both in writing and heart. One of my favourite things in ages -- James Smythe, author of The Explorer

Not only edge of the seat, terrifying suspenseful horror, but it also broke my heart into tiny pieces. Such exquisite writing -- Muriel Gray, author of The Ancient

A taut, dark, twisting exploration of the human condition. At once gripping and heartbreaking -- Rebecca F. John, author of The Haunting of Henry Twist

Wow. What a journey this book takes you on. A unique, cleverly plotted and compelling read that left me lost for words. Dark, disturbing, devastating. You'll want everyone you know to read this book just so you can talk about it! -- Sam Carrington, author of Bad Sister

A haunting novel, beautifully conceived and written, that will have you in pieces from the beginning to the surprising and audacious end -- Tim Lebbon, author of Eden

An extraordinary, disturbing, original and powerful book. A bloody marvel -- Anna Mazzola, author of The Story Keeper

Astonishing - terrifying, tragic, mind-bending, heart-breaking and bleakly beautiful. Everything about it shines -- Kate Griffin, author of Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders

Jaw-droppingly original, deeply disturbing and one hundred percent heartbreaking. Psychological horror at its very best -- SJI Holliday, author of Violet

Weird, glittering, inventive, and shot through with needles of warped, brilliant light, this book slipped under my skin from the first page -- Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters

Unusual, sad and ultimately redemptive, it's a book to surprise and delight -- Rhiannon Ward, author of The Quickening

Terrific. An utterly mesmerising feat from a powerhouse writer who elevates the British horror genre -- Irenosen Okojie, author of Speak Gigantular

Incredible. Just incredible. Throughout, I didn't know where to put my heart. A breathtaking, fiercely beautiful novel -- Rio Youers, author of Halcyon

Exceptional. Uplifting, terrifying, beautiful, and mesmerisingly dark -- James Brogan, author of Hekla's Children

My mind is blown. What a brilliant, breathtaking, heart-breaking book -- Paul Burston, author of The Closer I Get

I wanted to savour every single brilliant sentence. Exquisitely and chillingly written - at points it literally made all the hairs on my arms stand up. What a read -- Nikki Smith, author of All In Her Head

This book won't just stay with you, it'll knock you off your axis. An exquisite, heart crushing masterpiece. Worth all the buzz and then some -- Victoria Selman, author of Snakes and Ladders

The kind of story that novels were made for. A thrilling yet tender vortex of a book that you'll want to share with every reader you know the second you finish -- S.R. Masters, author of The Killer You Know

I absolutely loved it. Genuinely disturbing - a relentless creeping dread of madness and murder that begins on the first page and keeps building to the last gasp -- Peter McLean, author of Priest of Bones

What an incredible read: complex and clever, dark but not without vital rays of hope. Beautifully written. Gothic thrills at their finest -- Adam Christopher, author of Empire State

I finished The Last House on Needless Street in twenty-four hours and emerged out of it in some sort of a dreamlike fug. It's gripping, beautifully complex and vivid. I absolutely adored it -- Liv Matthews, author of The Prank -