The Last House on the Street: A Novel

Description

A community's past sins rise to the surface in New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain's The Last House on the Street when two women, a generation apart, find themselves bound by tragedy and an unsolved, decades-old mystery.

1965

Growing up in the well-to-do town of Round Hill, North Carolina, Ellie Hockley was raised to be a certain type of proper Southern lady. Enrolled in college and all but engaged to a bank manager, Ellie isn't as committed to her expected future as her family believes. She's chosen to spend her summer break as a volunteer helping to register black voters. But as Ellie follows her ideals fighting for the civil rights of the marginalized, her scandalized parents scorn her efforts, and her neighbors reveal their prejudices. And when she loses her heart to a fellow volunteer, Ellie discovers the frightening true nature of the people living in Round Hill.

2010

Architect Kayla Carter and her husband designed a beautiful house for themselves in Round Hill's new development, Shadow Ridge Estates. It was supposed to be a home where they could raise their three-year-old daughter and grow old together. Instead, it's the place where Kayla's husband died in an accident--a fact known to a mysterious woman who warns Kayla against moving in. The woods and lake behind the property are reputed to be haunted, and the new home has been targeted by vandals leaving threatening notes. And Kayla's neighbor Ellie Hockley is harboring long buried secrets about the dark history of the land where her house was built.

Two women. Two stories. Both on a collision course with the truth--no matter what that truth may bring to light--in Diane Chamberlain's riveting, powerful novel about the search for justice.
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384 pages

Average rating: 8.08

113 RATINGS

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3 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

KristinJG24
Apr 09, 2024
7/10 stars
Nice blending of past and present. A little predictable, but overall a good read.
JHSiess
Feb 03, 2024
10/10 stars
In 1965, twenty-year-old Ellie Hockley has been dating Reed, who is earning fast promotions at the local bank, for four years and everyone, including Reed, expects them to marry. Round Hill, North Carolina is a close-knit community in which the residents are all acquainted and knew each other's business. Her parents are unaware that while serving as a reporter and photographer for the University of North Carolina's newspaper, Ellie was assigned t...read more
AbbeyLileTaylor
Aug 29, 2023
8/10 stars
Diane Chamberlain is one of those authors that will never disappoint you. When you pick up one of her books, you KNOW you're going to enjoy it. So I was not surprised in the slightest when I got through "The Last House on the Street" in one. single. day.

Ellie's story was a beautiful telling of who you can love and who you can trust. Chamberlain wrote so beautifully and heartbreakingly about the struggle between whites and blacks in the South, mi...read more

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