The Last House on Needless Street

This spectacular gothic fantasy is one of the most extraordinary thrillers of the year so far... Splendidly sinister and twisty, it comes to a magnificent Grand Guignol finale * Daily Mail * This is Stephen King country, and Catriona Ward's novel is at the horror end of the thriller scale. But this is not horror as you know it... for all the deliberate echoes of Psycho and The Shining, Ward's ambition is closer to William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. The reader is in her hands but never feels manipulated - this is horror with integrity * The Times * 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 This is the most gloriously complex, shifting story, deeply disturbing yet also, somehow, heartwarming ... Ward has created something exceptionally unsettling here, as many-layered and sinister as the Russian doll that sits on Ted's mantelpiece * Observer * The book sits in that twilight margin between psychological thriller and Gothic horror, with Ward, twice the recipient of the August Derleth Award, beautifully wrongfooting the reader every step of the way * Financial Times * This psychological thriller about a recluse and a missing girl has been praised by Stephen King and compared to Shirley Jackson. Unmissable * The i * Full of twists and turns, this high-concept gothic horror is going to be huge * Guardian * 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, bestselling author of <i>Chocolat</i> The new face of literary dark fiction -- Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of <i>Behind Her Eyes</i> A sleek thriller, a horror tale in the dark-blooded vein of Shirley Jackson, and a story of a makeshift family that cracks like ice, like a broken heart, when you look closely. I can't recall another novel in recent years that dares so much and succeeds so wildly -- A.J. Finn, bestselling author of <i>The Woman in the Window</i> This page-turner is an absolutely gripping tale * Closer * 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 <i>The Mercies</i> 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 <i>NOS4R2</i> 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 <i>Elizabeth is Missing</i> 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 <i>The Whisper Man</i> 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 <i>The Watchmaker of Filigree Street</i> 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 <i>Pine</i> How can a book be utterly terrifying and filled with kindness at the same time? Just brilliant. What a book -- Elizabeth Haynes, author of <i>Into the Darkest Corner</i> Brilliant. This is a book everyone is going to be talking about. Dark, clever and utterly page-turning -- Cass Green, author of <i>In a Cottage in a Woods</i> 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 <i>We Begin at the End</i> This immersive modern gothic reads like a timeless classic as it lures you hook and sinker into its world -- Essie Fox, author of <i>Somnambulist</i> 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 <i>The Heatwave</i> 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 <i>Dirty Little Secrets</i> 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 <i>A Headful of Ghosts</i> There's a well deserved buzz surrounding this novel, it's a bold, clever piece of storytelling. There's a dexterity and sleight of hand to Ward's tale that is breathtakingly clever. Poignant and thought provoking * NB Magazine * If you like your thrillers full of twists and tinged with the Gothic then you're going to love The Last House On Needless Street. Expect the unexpected and also don't expect to take a breath until you've finished this chilling but gripping story * Red Magazine * Gripping * Bella * Absolutely brilliant. This is extraordinary, high-wire-act horror, audacious as hell -- Christopher Golden, author of <i>Red Hands</i> The most extraordinary book. It's mesmerising, original, and challenging. A work of genius -- Mark Edwards, author of <i>The House Guest</i> 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 <i>When She Was Bad</i> 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 <i>The Ritual</i> 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 <i>The Old Religion</i> Breathtakingly brilliant. Dark and relentlessly twisty, the best thing I've read this year -- Lisa Hall, author of <i>The Party</i> 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 <i>The Explorer</i> 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 <i>The Ancient</i> A taut, dark, twisting exploration of the human condition. At once gripping and heartbreaking -- Rebecca F. John, author of <i>The Haunting of Henry Twist</i> 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 <i>Bad Sister</i> 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 <i>Eden</i> An extraordinary, disturbing, original and powerful book. A bloody marvel -- Anna Mazzola, author of <i>The Story Keeper</i> Astonishing - terrifying, tragic, mind-bending, heart-breaking and bleakly beautiful. Everything about it shines -- Kate Griffin, author of <i>Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders</i> Jaw-droppingly original, deeply disturbing and one hundred percent heartbreaking. Psychological horror at its very best -- SJI Holliday, author of <i>Violet</i> 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 <i>The Lamplighters</i> Unusual, sad and ultimately redemptive, it's a book to surprise and delight -- Rhiannon Ward, author of <i>The Quickening</i> Terrific. An utterly mesmerising feat from a powerhouse writer who elevates the British horror genre -- Irenosen Okojie, author of <i>Speak Gigantular</i> Incredible. Just incredible. Throughout, I didn't know where to put my heart. A breathtaking, fiercely beautiful novel -- Rio Youers, author of <i>Halcyon</i> Dark and creepy, sad and wonderfully strange. It kept me glued and guessing right up to the end. I loved every inch of it -- Mike Mignola, creator of <i>Hellboy</i> Exceptional. Uplifting, terrifying, beautiful, and mesmerisingly dark -- James Brogan, author of <i>Hekla's Children</i> My mind is blown. What a brilliant, breathtaking, heart-breaking book -- Paul Burston, author of <i>The Closer I Get</i> A splendidly sinister sojourn that slapped me with an ending i didn't manage to predict no matter how many times I thought I had it figured out -- Robert Scragg, author of <i>What Falls Between the Cracks</i> 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 <i>All In Her Head</i> 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 <i>Snakes and Ladders</i> 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 <i>The Killer You Know</i> 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 <i>Priest of Bones</i> This book was like an onion. Layer after layer after layer and then you're crying and somebody's got a knife. A brutal, twisty, puzzle box of a book. I stayed up way past my bedtime -- T. Kingfisher, author of <i>The Twisted Ones</i> 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 <i>Empire State</i> 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 <i>The Prank</i> A brilliantly immersive story, with a great cast of characters. So good -- Guy Morpuss, author of <i>Five Minds</i> I absolutely LOVED this book and want everyone to read it -- Sophie Flynn, author of <i>All My Lies</i> I've read nothing like The Last House on Needless Street, and I don't think I'll read anything as good for a long time. Absolutely stunning -- Christopher Hooley, author of <i>Death, Just Grinn and Bear It</i> Wonderful, long-awaited, Stephen King seal of approval-bearing, and impossible to review without spoilers -- Janice Hallett, author of <i>The Appeal</i> I read this in 1.5 nail-biting days. Full of twists and turns, sorrow and humanity. It blew my socks off -- Alice Ash, author of <i>Paradise Block</i> I read this book with one eye closed, I was so scared of what would happen next. And I loved it for that -- V.L. Valentine, author of <i>The Plague Letters</i> What did I just read?! One perfect sentence after the other... this is a story I wish I knew how to write - and I'm thrilled that Ward pulled off this trick of a book -- Rachel Howzell Hall, author of <i>Land of Shadows</i> A superior British horror tale * The Times *