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PREVIEW — THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET BY DIANE CHAMBERLAIN
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET
by
Diane Chamberlain (Goodreads Author)
4.40 · Rating details · 985 ratings · 723 reviews
From bestselling author Diane Chamberlain comes an irresistible new novel that
perfectly interweaves history, mystery, and social justice.
When Kayla Carter's husband dies in an accident while building their dream
house, she knows she has to stay strong for their four-year-old daughter. But
the trophy home in Shadow Ridge Estates, a new development in sleepy Round Hill,
Nor From bestselling author Diane Chamberlain comes an irresistible new novel
that perfectly interweaves history, mystery, and social justice.
When Kayla Carter's husband dies in an accident while building their dream
house, she knows she has to stay strong for their four-year-old daughter. But
the trophy home in Shadow Ridge Estates, a new development in sleepy Round Hill,
North Carolina, will always hold tragic memories. But when she is confronted by
an odd, older woman telling her not to move in, she almost agrees. It's clear
this woman has some kind of connection to the area...and a connection to Kayla
herself. Kayla's elderly new neighbor, Ellie Hockley, is more welcoming, but
it's clear she, too, has secrets that stretch back almost fifty years. Is Ellie
on a quest to right the wrongs of the past? And does the house at the end of the
street hold the key? Told in dual time periods, The Last House on the Street is
a novel of shocking prejudice and violence, forbidden love, the search for
justice, and the tangled vines of two families. ...more
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Hardcover, 352 pages
Expected publication: January 11th 2022 by St. Martin's Press
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125026796X (ISBN13: 9781250267962)
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Aug 20, 2021 MarilynW rated it really liked it
Shelves: netgalley, netgalley-2021
The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain
2010 What had been an exciting chapter in their lives changes into a sad step
forward for Kayla Carter when her husband dies while building their dream house
in Shadow Ridge Estates, Round Hill, North Carolina. Now Kayla and her four year
old daughter are moving into the huge, finished home and Kayla feels dread and
sadness rather than the excitement she would have felt if her husband was still
alive. What had seemed like a happy place before, now The Last House on the
Street by Diane Chamberlain
2010 What had been an exciting chapter in their lives changes into a sad step
forward for Kayla Carter when her husband dies while building their dream house
in Shadow Ridge Estates, Round Hill, North Carolina. Now Kayla and her four year
old daughter are moving into the huge, finished home and Kayla feels dread and
sadness rather than the excitement she would have felt if her husband was still
alive. What had seemed like a happy place before, now seems closed in by the
surrounding woods, too big, too full of memories, even though the place hasn't
been lived in yet.
1965 The same location and Ellie is a young college student, ready to tackle the
social ills of the time. The SCOPE project needs white volunteers to live with
black families to help prepare them and their neighborhoods to get out and vote.
Everyone in Ellie's family and community is against Ellie volunteering for this
project but Ellie is not to be deterred despite being admonished that her
joining the project is destroying her family, the family business, and the
community. Ellie follows her heart when doing do isn't allowed and she and those
dear to her pay the price.
It's hard when a dual timeline story has a timeline that is much more appealing
than the other timeline. I preferred the 1965 timeline to the 2010 timeline and
felt jarred whenever we were taken to 2010. Meeting Ellie and other characters
from 1965, in 2010, feels anticlimactic and lessens the tension of the events of
1965. What happens in 1965 is heartbreaking so maybe it's best that the later
timeline allows me to stand back from the 1965 events, but that earlier timeline
is the one that captured my heart. I do love how Chamberlain has taught me so
much about past events that I wasn't aware of, in this book, and other books
I've read by her.
Expected publication: January 11, 2022
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. ...more
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Sep 30, 2021 Mary Beth rated it really liked it
4.5 Stars!
This book is a historical fiction novel. Its about the Scope Project which I
never heard of before, and I learned a lot from it. There are dual timelines.
The timelines are 2010 and then goes back to 1965.
2010
Kayla is at work and her new administrative assistant comes into her office and
tells her that a lady told her that she has an eleven o'clock appointment with
her but she is not on her calender. Kayla tells her to send her in her room.
The lady's name is Ann Smith and she looks li 4.5 Stars!
This book is a historical fiction novel. Its about the Scope Project which I
never heard of before, and I learned a lot from it. There are dual timelines.
The timelines are 2010 and then goes back to 1965.
2010
Kayla is at work and her new administrative assistant comes into her office and
tells her that a lady told her that she has an eleven o'clock appointment with
her but she is not on her calender. Kayla tells her to send her in her room.
The lady's name is Ann Smith and she looks like she is 65 or 70 with vivid red
hair and she is wearing sunglasses and is wearing red lipstick.
Kayla introduces herself and Ann tells her that she wants an addition on her
house and wants to add a sunroom. She tells her that she has just lost her
husband and wants to make some changes to her house.
Kayla lost her husband, Jackson recently and Ann tells her you understand how it
feels to lose your husband. Kayla wonders how this lady knows that she lost her
husband. Kayla's husband died falling off the staircase while he was building
their new home. Then Anna Smith asks her how she can live in the house that her
husband died in. She also tells her that she would not want to move into Shadow
Ridge Estates. Its no place for a little girl.
Kayla is shocked! She wonders how this woman knows so much about her and even
knew about her daughter Rainey. Then the lady asks her do you know what keeps me
up at night. I am thinking about killing someone. Kayla tells her to leave.
1965
This is about The Scope project and its about college students living with black
families and they go out canvassing trying to get the blacks to register to
vote.
I love this author! I loved all the books that I read by her. I did not know
anything about the Scope Project and learned so much from it. I loved the 1965
timeline the best. My favorite characters were Ellie and Win. I loved how Ellie
fought for what she believed in even though everyone was against her, including
her parents.
I loved the creepiness of the background. This was an emotional read and it
punched me right in the gut and tore at my heartstrings.
I want to thank Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for the copy of
this book in exchange for an honest review.
Available Jan. 11th 2022 ...more
flag 193 likes · Like · see review
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Mary Beth Thank You so much, Angela! Hope you enjoy it too. 💕
22. November, 20:27 Uhr · flag
Rae Great review Mary Beth! Sounds like this will be a good one to read in 2022.
I too do not have much knowledge of the Scope Project and always like lea Great
review Mary Beth! Sounds like this will be a good one to read in 2022. I too do
not have much knowledge of the Scope Project and always like learning something
new while reading a good book. I've got this one on my radar. ...more
10 hours, 57 min ago · flag
Jul 11, 2021 Michael David rated it it was amazing
Shelves: widget-received
A story that will stick with me for a long time.
It’s 2010, and Kayla’s husband dies just before they move into their North
Carolina dream home in the gorgeous Shadow Ridge Estates. Kayla and her young
daughter proceed with moving in. The house is newly built, and backs into the
woods. Kayla is instantly uneasy as she is confronted by an older, mysterious
woman telling her she shouldn’t be living there. Kayla doesn’t know what the
lady’s deal is.
Then, she meets neighbor Ellie Hockley, a 65-year o A story that will stick with
me for a long time.
It’s 2010, and Kayla’s husband dies just before they move into their North
Carolina dream home in the gorgeous Shadow Ridge Estates. Kayla and her young
daughter proceed with moving in. The house is newly built, and backs into the
woods. Kayla is instantly uneasy as she is confronted by an older, mysterious
woman telling her she shouldn’t be living there. Kayla doesn’t know what the
lady’s deal is.
Then, she meets neighbor Ellie Hockley, a 65-year old who returns to her home
after years of staying away. Ellie’s family refused to sell their house to the
new home developers, and thus theirs is the only old house on the street. Ellie
is initially welcoming, but quickly becomes a bit cold when she learns something
about Kayla that brings back painful memories.
Back in 1965, Ellie was a young woman who crusaded for Civil Rights,
specifically the right for Black people to vote. What kept her away from home
for 45 years? And what does the last house on the street have to do with it?
Told in dual timelines, both equally enthralling, I could not put this down.
Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors, and she really knows how to
pack an emotional punch. I felt so much while reading this: anger, frustration,
heartache. As one can imagine, 1965 in a Southern state does not make for an
easy read.
My heart broke at what some of these memorable and highly believable characters
went through, and my blood boiled reading about the ignorant and hateful people
who put them through it.
As always, Chamberlain writes with sensitivity, but doesn’t shy away from tough
topics. She brilliantly ties the past to present and gives care to every
character and thread. This is not an easy read, but it is important and still
relevant today.
I was crying by the end. I’m tearing up as I write this review and reflect on
what I read. I will continue to tear up when I think about this book long after
I have read it.
I’ve been writing/editing this review for awhile now, and I’m having a hard time
articulating what this story meant to me. Even though my review doesn’t do the
book justice, just know that I highly recommend it.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, who kindly provided me with a widget of the ARC
through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date:
1/11/22.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com ...more
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Aug 16, 2021 Paromjit rated it it was amazing
Shelves: mystery, historical-fiction, netgalley
Diane Chamberlain's latest haunting novel resonates so strongly with our
contemporary realities where once again widescale attacks are taking place on
what every citizen should be able to take for granted, the basic right to vote.
In a dual line narrative, the author takes us back in time to 1965, a turbulent
period of American history, to the dangerous and courageous fight for civil
rights and efforts to increase voter registration within black communities in
the hostile and racist American Sou Diane Chamberlain's latest haunting novel
resonates so strongly with our contemporary realities where once again widescale
attacks are taking place on what every citizen should be able to take for
granted, the basic right to vote. In a dual line narrative, the author takes us
back in time to 1965, a turbulent period of American history, to the dangerous
and courageous fight for civil rights and efforts to increase voter registration
within black communities in the hostile and racist American South. Architect
Kayla Carter is a widow, mother to a young 3 year old daughter, Rainie, she and
her husband, Jackson, designed their dream home in the beautiful Shadow Ridge
Estates in North Carolina. However, Kayla is in two minds when it comes to
moving in, Jackson died in an accident whilst working on their home, and the
house will always hold memories of his tragic death.
She is left feeling uneasy and threatened when a odd older woman, who seems to
have far too much knowledge about her, tells her not to move into the house, but
why? Kayla then meets her neighbour, 65 year old Ellie Hockley who has come
back, after a 45 year absence, due to family circumstances. At first the two
women get on well until painful memories from the past are reawakened in Ellie
after she learns more about Kayla. In 1965, privileged white student Ellie was
home for the summer, best friend Brenda is pregnant, planning to marry Garner
Cleveland and Ellie for four years has been with Reed Miller. Inspired by her
late Aunt Carol, Ellie shifts her life in a completely different direction that
is destined to reshape her and to have lifelong repercussions. Despite advice to
the contrary, she becomes a civil rights activist and volunteer for the Summer
Organisation and Political Education (SCOPE) project.
The dual narratives come to connect the tragic past with the present, Ellie with
Kayla, in this enraging, suspenseful, and unforgettable story of race, family,
love and horrifying brutality. Whilst it is a blend of fact and fiction,
Chamberlain does take some liberties with history in her vibrant retelling. She
immerses the reader in the riveting and timely narrative with her wonderful
characterisations that bring the 1960s battle for civil rights vividly alive.
Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC. ...more
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Aug 20, 2021 Dorie - Cats&Books :) rated it really liked it
Shelves: family-drama, edelweiss, mystery
This novel is told in alternating time lines, 2010 and 1965.
2010
Kayla has recently lost her husband who was killed following an accident while
building their dream house. He and Kayla are both architects and they had chosen
this beautiful site in the woods for their modern home designed with enormous
windows to make it feel as though you are really immersed in the forest.
Kayla has a 3 year old daughter, Rainie, who is very excited to be moving into
their new home. They had been living with her This novel is told in alternating
time lines, 2010 and 1965.
2010
Kayla has recently lost her husband who was killed following an accident while
building their dream house. He and Kayla are both architects and they had chosen
this beautiful site in the woods for their modern home designed with enormous
windows to make it feel as though you are really immersed in the forest.
Kayla has a 3 year old daughter, Rainie, who is very excited to be moving into
their new home. They had been living with her father while the home was
completed. Kayla knows that she will always feel the shadow of her husband
everywhere in the home and is hoping she will learn to love it.
What Kayla wasn’t expecting was a threatening woman showing up in her office
warning her to abandon the house, sell it or tear it down. She tells Kayla that
the woods are haunted and that bad things will happen to them if they move
there!! The woman is so strange!! Even after Kayla makes the woman leave, she is
left very shaken.
We have no idea who this woman is or what her motives are????
When they move into their new home the trees no longer look welcoming, they look
foreboding. Their home is the only new home in what will be an estate of about a
dozen homes. There is one old house, at the other end of the estate and Kayla
meets Ellie. Ellie had lived here while growing up and is back to take care of
her dying brother and elderly mother. Ellie becomes a good friend.
But strange and frightening things DO BEGIN TO HAPPEN and Kayla isn’t at all
sure she wants to stay here!!!!!!!
1965
Ellie is a college student, attending school with her best childhood friend
Brenda. Brenda meets a young man, they fall in love and she becomes pregnant.
This is not at all the path that Ellie is interested in. She wants to do
something good in the world, help with something significant.
When she is home from college for the summer she learns of an organization
called SCOPE, (Summer Community Organization and Political Education project).
500 volunteers from Northern and Western universities are being sent into 75
rural counties with the aim of educating Black citizens about their right to
register and vote. President Johnson is about to sign the Voting Rights Act
ensuring Black Americans the right to vote.
Against her parents wishes, Ellie signs up for the program. Her eyes are quickly
opened as she gets to know and live with Black families. She is appalled at
their living conditions. She loves the team that she works with and soon becomes
fast friends with Win, a Black student whom she is paired with to canvas the
neighborhoods. She learns about the KKK and how powerful they are with ties to
local sheriffs and other government officials.
There is a lot to like about this novel but it was not what I was expecting from
this author!! It is COMPLETELY different from her last two novels.
The writing was, as always, very, very good. I usually have no problems with
dual timelines but in this case I felt as though the 1965 timeline was much
stronger than the 2010 timeline and it didn’t flow as well as I would have
liked.
Still this was a good read with a strong message about the civil rights that are
still being fought for today!!
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, through
Edelweiss.
This novel is set to publish on January 11, 2022 ...more
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Jul 05, 2021 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing
Shelves: netgalley
Loved it!!! Could not put it down. Review to follow in a day or two.
I’m back: .....[with basic general details -- but no spoilers -- all the best
parts are left out of this review]
There was an instant ease I fell into while reading “The Last House on the
Street”. It’s a page turner told in duel time lines. (1965 and 2010).
Both storylines are emotionally powerful and intimate….and blend beautifully
together.
Themes cover racial prejudice, interracial relationships, forbidden love,
resentments, sm Loved it!!! Could not put it down. Review to follow in a day or
two.
I’m back: .....[with basic general details -- but no spoilers -- all the best
parts are left out of this review]
There was an instant ease I fell into while reading “The Last House on the
Street”. It’s a page turner told in duel time lines. (1965 and 2010).
Both storylines are emotionally powerful and intimate….and blend beautifully
together.
Themes cover racial prejudice, interracial relationships, forbidden love,
resentments, small town community, love, loss, death, activism, social justice,
family, friendships, heartbreak, warmth, and humor. It’s the type of novel that
keeps you reading well past midnight.
The dramatic tensions and mystery kept growing to the very end. Its a story that
could have ended several different ways…(readers ‘will’ think about this long
after the final page). I respect the ‘ending-choice’ that Diane Chamberlain
made. It was a wise choice….but it was still a little fun for me to explore
alternate endings.
When Ellie Hockley grew up in North Carolina, a Southerner from Round Hill;
Derby County, her Aunt Carol, a bold, blunt, activist, left a great impression
on her.
Aunt Carol was the only person in the family who seemed to understand Ellie. Or,
as Aunt Carol told Ellie, one time, Ellie was the only person who seemed to
understand ‘Aunt Carol’”.
The year was 1965. Ellie was twenty years of age. She was home from the
University of North Carolina for spring break. Ellie was in a five year
pharmacology program. She still had two years more to go.
Everyone was sitting in the living room. Daddy was reading the newspaper.
Ellie’s older brother, Buddy,(mechanical genius), was tinkering with some small
mechanical part from a car. Mama sat between Ellie and Brenda, (Ellie’s longtime
best friend and dorm mate; practically a second daughter to Mama), admiring
wedding dresses in a magazine.
Brenda, pregnant, would soon be marrying the love of her life: Garner Cleveland.
Garner’s best friend was Reed Miller.
Reed Miller had been Ellie’s boyfriend for the past four years. Reed was crazy
about Ellie…..(wonderful, well-respected, smart, twenty-two year old,
successful, handsome man).
Reed graduated early and was working a desk job at a bank. He was going to be
the bank manager one day.
Ellie & Reed, and Brenda & Garner spent years double dating.
During this spring break…..Ellie had a ‘moment’….she could suddenly see ‘her’
future …. and it wasn’t at all what she wanted.
Her Aunt Carol, once an army nurse, and a champion of civil rights, was no
longer alive…but Ellie wanted to follow more in her Aunt’s ‘fight-for-justice’
footsteps. Ellie had no interest in marriage.
Usually during summer breaks - home from college, Elli worked at the local
pharmacy owned by her father. But this summer hundreds of white students from
Northern and Western colleges were spending their summer in the Southern states
registering Negroes to vote.
The students would canvass door to door, (live with assigned families in the
area), and do all they could to get folks registered to vote. The program was
called SCOPE, (Summer Community Organization and Political Education project).
Five hundred volunteers were being sent into seventy-five rural counties with
the aim of removing racism from American politics.
It was exactly the type of program that Aunt Carol would’ve signed up for to
help.
Most white families from lily white Round Hill, didn’t like the idea of crazy
white kids from New York, or wherever descending on Derby County.
Nobody in Ellie’s family was an advocate for justice. Neither was Brenda, or
Garner. Reed admired Ellie’s humanity - but he didn’t want to be away from Ellie
an entire summer.
Being a white Southern girl, wanting to help Black folks vote was not an every
day occurrence — it could also be dangerous. Ellie would need to be watchful.
North Carolina had more Ku Klux Klan members than all other states put together.
White supremacist terrorist hate groups primarily targeted African-Americans.
However, “The thing the Klan hates more than a Negro man is a white person who
tries to ‘help’ a Negro”.
Ellie’s, parents, Buddy, Brenda, Reed, ….even Reverend Greg Filbern, from
Darville, pastor of a Negro Church,(AME church in Turner’s Bend), in Derby
County, on other side of town from Round Hill, tried to discourage Ellie in
joining SCOPE.
Ellie joins anyway - determined to make a difference….to be on the right side of
human rights.
In the year 2010….
Kayla Carter, an architect, had been designing a dream home for seven years —
along with her husband Jackson, who was also an architect.
Jackson died from an accident while building their new home.
Kayla had many reservations about moving forward- moving into the house without
her husband. She was still grieving. But she had a three year old daughter:
Rainie, to think about….and her father, who lived near by. Kayla and Rainie
would move into that large home. Kayla would have her sixty-five year old fit
and healthy father nearby. And Rainie would grow up with a Grandfather in her
life
The house was spectacular. Large. A contemporary home on four wooded acres.
It had floor to ceiling windows and was considered the best and largest of the
lot in the new development (in Shadow Ridge Estates), surrounded by gorgeous
thick greenery of trees.
Those woods were filled with Kudzu back in 1965. Children played in those woods.
They thought they heard strange noises coming from the Kudzu plants. Those vines
are treehuggers—bad for the ecosystems…
it was easy to imagine how kids thought the area was haunted.
Memories don’t die easily ….and even people still living in the area in 2010,
thought the area might be haunted. Some tragic history lived in those
woods….history that Kayla was unfamiliar with.
These two stories emerge…..
We meet a wonderful extended cast of characters in both time periods.
Diverse students - interesting families - in 1965 - horrific prejudice -
and some very emotional heartache.
We meet interesting neighbors - puzzling neighbors - Kayla was bumping up
against mystery and history that she had no prior knowledge of in 2010. Secrets,
rather withheld information, doesn’t rise to the surface easily….but when it
does….it’s quite emotional.
Wonderful novel. I’ve come to admire and love Diane Chamberlain more and more
each time I read her books. I could be friends with this woman. She’s wonderful.
She is a best-selling author, having published thirty novels in more than twenty
languages.
I say that’s a woman to admire.
Diane Chamberlain is a great gift to many readers for many years!!
Funny, I think the last time I read one of her books… I was going to be a
retired reviewer. I failed - I’m still hanging around.
Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press (a wonderful publishing company with a
staff with hearts bigger than the whole wide world),
and a special thanks to Diane Chamberlain. ...more
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Aug 17, 2021 Jayme rated it really liked it
Shelves: general-fiction, netgalley, buddy-read
1965
Ellie Hockley is a naive 20 year old, “coming of age” during the time when
President Lyndon B Johnson is about to sign into law the Voting Rights bill Act,
with the aim of registering more black voters and removing racism from American
Politics.
She joins a program called SCOPE-Summer Community Organization and Political
Education Project, despite protests from her family and friends. Many White
Volunteers spent the Summer, living with Black host families so they could
canvas their neighbor 1965
Ellie Hockley is a naive 20 year old, “coming of age” during the time when
President Lyndon B Johnson is about to sign into law the Voting Rights bill Act,
with the aim of registering more black voters and removing racism from American
Politics.
She joins a program called SCOPE-Summer Community Organization and Political
Education Project, despite protests from her family and friends. Many White
Volunteers spent the Summer, living with Black host families so they could
canvas their neighborhoods and educate them on the importance of registering to
VOTE, and following through with their vote on Election Day.
It’s sad that I grew up in the United States and am just learning about this
actual project from a story.
What is even sadder is that 56 years later, we are actually suppressing Voter’s
rights, and making it HARDER to vote, instead of easier, and that Racism still
exists. 💔
2010
Kayla Carter and her husband, Jackson, both architects, designed their dream
home, and built it on a prime lot, nestled in the Woods of the new Shadow Ridge
subdivision, on the outskirts of Round Hill in North Carolina. But, Jackson died
in an accident prior to its completion, and now Kayla and their 4 year old
daughter, Rainie will be moving in without him.
Just prior to moving day, a mysterious older woman named Ann Smith, warns Kayla
that she shouldn’t move in, and makes some threatening comments about wanting to
kill someone. And, she may not be the only one that doesn’t approve of the last
house on the street.
But why?
Who is she?
And, how do these two timelines intersect?
Diane Chamberlain has an engaging writing style, and I always love when a book
has me “googling” for more information on a topic. But, I am a bit of an outlier
by not finding it to be a 5⭐️ read…….
With the exception of learning about SCOPE, and being reminded about how cruel
human beings can be to one another, (KKK) the fictional aspect of the 1965
timeline was MOSTLY predictable. And, I wasn’t SOLD on the motivation behind the
“scare tactics” in 2010-the weaker of the two timelines. The threats were not
well fleshed out, and it seemed like 2010 was included primarily to bring
resolution to the events from 1965.
Still, it is an important and timely read, which would be a great book club
selection as it offers much for discussion! 3.75 ⭐️ rounded up!
Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy. This title will be available
on January 11, 2022 and it was my pleasure to offer a candid review! ...more
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Dec 13, 2021 Peter rated it really liked it
Shelves: mystery, netgalley
Culpability
The Last House on the Street is an engaging, thoughtful and reflective murder
mystery that the past cries out to be solved.
As two architects, Kayla Carter and her husband, Jackson, designed and built
their dream home in the exclusive Shadow Ridge Estates in Round Hill, North
Carolina. Backing onto woods, as the last house on the street, they had the
prime location in the new housing estate and within walking distance of the
Hockley’s home that stood for a very long time. Just before Culpability
The Last House on the Street is an engaging, thoughtful and reflective murder
mystery that the past cries out to be solved.
As two architects, Kayla Carter and her husband, Jackson, designed and built
their dream home in the exclusive Shadow Ridge Estates in Round Hill, North
Carolina. Backing onto woods, as the last house on the street, they had the
prime location in the new housing estate and within walking distance of the
Hockley’s home that stood for a very long time. Just before the house move,
Jackson died in an accident at their new home, leaving Kayla unsure whether she
now wanted to move or not. She is torn between the house bringing up terrible
memories of Jackson’s death and memories of how passionate they were as they
designed the house for each other and their daughter Rainie. Before Kayla moves,
a strange woman warns her off moving into the house. Warnings aside, Kayla and
Rainie move in and things start happening, leaving Kayla wondering if someone is
playing tricks on them or do ghosts from the past have an issue with her house
being close to woods that harbour secrets. These issues Kayla discusses with her
father, who lives close by, and Ellie Hockley, who has returned to Round Hill
for the first time since she left forty-five years ago.
In 1965 a young twenty-year-old Ellie Hockley felt compelled to join the SCOPE
project to encourage black voters to register to vote when President Lyndon B
Johnson would sign the Voting Rights Act. The SCOPE project was an incredibly
ambitious scheme to recruit white college students (typically from Northern
states) to live with Southern black families and encourage them to prepare to
vote. As one of the only Southern students enrolled in the programme, Ellie
faces incredible pressure from her family and friends and breaks off her
relationship with long-term boyfriend Reed Miller. The hidden discrimination,
even within families, is strikingly drawn in this novel. The incitement to the
conflict that typically followed crowd gatherings, like the KKK (or Maga crowd),
is startling how it can draw seemingly ordinary people into unconscionable
actions.
Contemplating the two timelines illustrated in the novel, we cannot help but
consider how much things have changed from 1965 to 2010 and how much they have
remained the same. The step forward to racial equality in the US is a torturous
one, and reflecting the 1960s onto today’s world shows the open disparity in the
treatment of blacks and whites. A story with voter suppression as its central
theme and the brutality handed out to prevent blacks voting may not be as brutal
today, but it certainly has the same objective, albeit more covertly. Recently
there have been excellent books, like “Sing, Unburied Sing”, “The Prophets”, and
“The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” from black writers who convey a perspective
and a deep pain that cannot be tapped into by white authors. However, I
appreciate how Diane Chamberlain provides the view of white people who have
taken up the cause for equality, regardless of race, colour or creed.
I thoroughly enjoy reading a book that, on its face, is a fascinating story with
drama, suspense and mystery, but layered on top of historical events that
educate and inform. Diane Chamberlain is building a reputation as an author that
can uniquely deliver this with the right balance between storytelling and fact.
The more intriguing timeline is 1965 with the dangerous situation Ellie
encounters; although there are moments, I had difficulty accepting the choices
made. The 2010 timeline with Kayla seems to be of secondary concern and mainly
used to tie up several mysteries from the past without a strong theme of its
own.
I enjoy Diane Chamberlain’s writing and her desire to share her perspective on
racial discrimination in the US. I would recommend reading this book, and I want
to thank St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing a free ARC in return for
an honest review. ...more
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Kerrin Excellent review!
21. Dezember, 12:15 Uhr · flag
Peter Kerrin wrote: "Excellent review!"
Thank you very much, Kerrin, really appreciated. Kerrin wrote: "Excellent
review!"
Thank you very much, Kerrin, really appreciated. ...more
21 hours, 12 min ago · flag
Jul 13, 2021 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it it was amazing
Diane Chamberlain is unique, fantastic storyteller, directing us to marvelous
journeys at different eras : she’s the queen of historical fictions and I
honestly enjoy to read her well constructed characters written with emotional
depth, broadening my horizon by learning about different historical facts
occurred in different states.
This book divided into two time zones: 1965 and 2010 and introducing us
marvelous two characters: Ellie Hockley and Kayla Carter.
Their stories intercepted at the tr Diane Chamberlain is unique, fantastic
storyteller, directing us to marvelous journeys at different eras : she’s the
queen of historical fictions and I honestly enjoy to read her well constructed
characters written with emotional depth, broadening my horizon by learning about
different historical facts occurred in different states.
This book divided into two time zones: 1965 and 2010 and introducing us
marvelous two characters: Ellie Hockley and Kayla Carter.
Their stories intercepted at the trophy home in Shadow Ridge Estates , located
in Round Hill, North Carolina, a haunted place holding tragic memories.
Kayla and her husband Jackson are both architects, have been designing their
dream house for 7 years. But now her husband lost his life while he was building
the house and she has to stay strong for her four years old daughter Raine even
though she misses him a lot, suffering from grief and she has second thoughts to
move to new house which will mean she will start fresh by letting her husband
go. Her emotional wounds are still too fresh. They are still bleeding.
But she stays strong and as she takes her first step to the new development
along with her daughter and 65 years old father, she gets impressed by the
place. It looks amazing , a beautiful place, on four wooded acres, largest lot
in Shadow Ridge Estates, surrounded by woods. But some many tragic things
happened in the woods that merge two time lines and stories of Kayla and Ellie.
When we go back to 1965, we learn more about Ellie: the lovely neighbor of
Kayla, we realize more about how those tragedies occurred, what kind of
political, social circumstances created those incidents.
Ellie is twenty, enrolled to 5 years long Pharmacology program, coming home for
spring break. She reunites with her best friend Brenda who is expecting and
planning to marry with her love of her life Garner.
Ellie is also dating with Garner’s best friend Reed Miller for 4 years. He is
handsome, trustworthy, caring 22 years old man, working at the bank, planning to
be manager in near future. The four friends are inseparable. But as Ellie
witnesses changes of socio-political atmosphere and its effects on their small
town, she realizes she doesn’t want to live the life that’s planned for her!
She wants to be part of a program SCOPE for removing racism from American
politics by assigning 500 volunteers at the seventy five rural counties. She’s
part of conservative family and as a white girl advocating voting rights of
colored people can attract the attention of several white supremacist groups
including Ku Klux Klan members in NC who are targeting African Americans.
Two time zones are fascinatingly well constructed. Tension is palpable! The big
mystery of the story hasn’t been revealed till the end. The sensitive issues
including racism, interracial relationship, activism, grief are realistically
and objectively approached!
The both story lines picked my interest and make me up all night till my eyes
hurt. It was remarkable, unputdownable, powerful, sentimental, thought provoking
masterpiece I highly recommend to bookworms which earned my five blazing,
intense, heartfelt, family, friendship, inequality stars!
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this amazing
digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions. ...more
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Nov 07, 2021 Susan rated it really liked it
Shelves: net-galley
Location, Location.
Moving into a new neighborhood can be a tricky thing when someone doesn’t want
you to.
It’s 2010 and Kayla had a mysterious woman come unannounced to her office
warning her off moving into her new house. A modern masterpiece SHE designed to
her specifications. Why would she not want to live there?
Well, let’s see.
To do that, we have to go back to 1965 and explore Ellie’s family and a program
called SCOPE. Ellie has developed a passion for community service and decides
that she’ Location, Location.
Moving into a new neighborhood can be a tricky thing when someone doesn’t want
you to.
It’s 2010 and Kayla had a mysterious woman come unannounced to her office
warning her off moving into her new house. A modern masterpiece SHE designed to
her specifications. Why would she not want to live there?
Well, let’s see.
To do that, we have to go back to 1965 and explore Ellie’s family and a program
called SCOPE. Ellie has developed a passion for community service and decides
that she’s joining a volunteer group to sign up Black voters in rural areas.
It’s a different time and she’s taking a stand for equality.
These two stories are connected but I don’t want to say more as the discovery
was eye opening and you will want to experience it for yourself. A heartfelt
book full of longing for a better world, I was taken with the subject matter and
the dedication of the characters. In particular, it was fun to read about this
period in the sixties which I remember, but was too young to participate in -
beyond being a kid.
I can’t believe that I’ve never read this author before!
Thank you to NetGalley, Diane Chamberlain, and St. Martin’s Press for my
electronic review copy set to publish on January 11, 2022 ...more
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Aug 30, 2021 Christine rated it really liked it
Recommended to Christine by: widget St. Martins Press
Shelves: net-galley, contemporary-fiction, mystery, asked-to-review, ebooks,
widget
4.5 stars rounded to 4 stars
Diane Chamberlain, one of my go-to authors, has done it again. With The Last
House on the Street, she has crafted another intriguing family drama laced with
mystery and set in an important historical era. This fast-paced read held my
interest all the way, and I read it in record time (for me).
The story is primarily set in North Carolina in dual timelines. Our protagonists
are Ellie during 1965 and her boyfriend Reed’s daughter Kayla in 2010. Both
women are highly lika 4.5 stars rounded to 4 stars
Diane Chamberlain, one of my go-to authors, has done it again. With The Last
House on the Street, she has crafted another intriguing family drama laced with
mystery and set in an important historical era. This fast-paced read held my
interest all the way, and I read it in record time (for me).
The story is primarily set in North Carolina in dual timelines. Our protagonists
are Ellie during 1965 and her boyfriend Reed’s daughter Kayla in 2010. Both
women are highly likable and well-developed, and I connected easily with both.
Ellie has a keen interest in civil rights. In 1965, as a 20-year-old, she joins
a group whose mission is to canvass Black neighborhoods encouraging the people
to register to vote. In 2010 Kayla has just moved into her self-designed dream
house with her young daughter after the untimely death of her young husband. The
house is the last house on the street that Ellie grew up on. There is something
unsettling about Kayla’s new home and the woods it abuts. They seem to be
haunted. I was equally interested in both threads throughout most of the novel
though the 1965 tale grabbed me more towards the end. Of interest, many of the
same characters take part in both timelines.
Several mysterious happenings are weaved together to make this a compelling
read. Ms. Chamberlain even throws in yet another mystery at 91%. I was unable to
guess the outcome of anything until everything was revealed in the closing
chapters. The story is full of family strife, suspense, and traumatic events.
Themes include rascism, hatred, tragedy, betrayal, friendship, love, healing,
and hope.
I must admit my knowledge base has a big gap when it comes to the civil rights
struggles back in the 1960s. Ms. Chamberlain clearly did her research as she
wrote the 1965 timeline showing us up close what those civil rights efforts were
like. Things were very harrowing for the volunteers as well as for the southern
Black population. I soaked up the knowledge like a sponge and learned a lot.
This is a trademark of the Chamberlain books I have read. She always has as
background an intriguing well-researched historical aspect that I never fail to
learn from.
This book has a lot of heart and a hopeful ending. I highly recommend it to
everyone.
I want to thank Net Galley, Ms. Erica Martirano of St. Martins Press, and Ms.
Diane Chamberlain for an advanced copy of the book. Opinions are mine alone and
are not biased in any way. ...more
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Nov 16, 2021 Catherine (semi-hiatus while moving) Woodward rated it really liked
it
Shelves: netgalley, 4-stars
**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Diane Chamberlain for an ARC
of this book!**
Moving, thought-provoking, and soul-stirring...with just a hint of mystery!
Diane Chamberlain has a gift for intertwining the past neatly with the present,
and in The Lase House on the Street, she explores the idea that the more things
have changed, the more they have unfortunately stayed the same.
It's 2010 and Kayla is recovering from the loss of her husband in a tragic
accident. The two were architec **Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press,
and Diane Chamberlain for an ARC of this book!**
Moving, thought-provoking, and soul-stirring...with just a hint of mystery!
Diane Chamberlain has a gift for intertwining the past neatly with the present,
and in The Lase House on the Street, she explores the idea that the more things
have changed, the more they have unfortunately stayed the same.
It's 2010 and Kayla is recovering from the loss of her husband in a tragic
accident. The two were architects, and Kayla arrives at the home they were
supposed to share together with young daughter Rainie, ready to embark on the
crusade of single parenthood. Her neighbors seem a bit hesitant to have her move
in, however, and one woman in particular warns her that moving in could be
dangerous. Another resident, Ellie, welcomes Kayla with open arms and offers her
tea and yoga sessions...although it's clear her past is far from buried and
there are secrets just WAITING to be uncovered...
We then jump back to 1965 in North Carolina, where Ellie has an opportunity to
step outside of her personal comfort zone and across the lines drawn between the
North and South. Her best friend Brenda is pregnant with boyfriend Garner's baby
and is ready to settle into domestic bliss, but Ellie is searching for a higher
cause, and finds it through SCOPE, an organization comprised mostly of
Northerners who are waiting on President LBJ to pass the Voting Rights Act, and
are encouraging black Americans to register to vote as soon as they are able.
Ellie's parents and brother are of course adamantly opposed to her
participation, but Ellie hears the voice of her progressive Aunt Carol in her
mind and can't miss the opportunity to expand her horizons and hopefully inspire
positive change. When she meets her fellow crusaders and begins to bond with
them, however, she forms a connection that will change everything. As she learns
to duck when a truck goes by, to hide in the shadows, and gets a firsthand look
at the ugliness of hate groups such as the KKK...and for the first time, she is
forced to reevaluate her life, what she has, and what she's willing to risk to
follow her heart's desires.. Will her summer with SCOPE change her life forever?
Can she protect those she loves, or can a force stronger than sheer will tear
her whole world to pieces?
Chamberlain has chosen an interesting time to explore the issues present in this
book, as voting rights have been thrust into the national spotlight yet again
with our most recent presidential election. The fact that we are still lamenting
a broken system while so many of us feel powerless to change it speaks to just
how devastating it is to so many Americans. My only frustration with Chamberlain
in this novel is that the SCOPE group (which I had never heard of until reading
this book, sadly!) fell into a bit of the 'white savior' narrative and felt at
times a bit stereotypical. Ellie is praised again and again for how 'good' and
virtuous she is by different characters, and it felt a little inauthentic at
times. I know standing for these causes at the time (especially in the deep
South) was a statement in and of itself, but the adulations did feel a bit
redundant to me after a while.
I also think there is something problematic with presenting racism (in today's
more informed world) as solely 'belonging' to outright hate groups like the KKK.
A deepening conversation across the country points to the INSTITUTION of racism,
which is a systemic problem, rather than simple bigotry, and unfortunately is
upheld in so many different areas, from gentrification of cities to
gerrymandering...which again, hinders voting rights. In this respect, I applaud
Chamberlain for focusing on voting rights in the narrative, I just wish there
was more of a balanced perspective from ALL of the characters.
All of that being said, there is a lot of heart and food for thought in this
narrative and a bit of mystery to keep you guessing until the end. The tragic
ending might be a bit predictable in some regards, but the resolution felt
fitting. Fans of Picoult (and obviously Chamberlain) will enjoy the balance in
this one between what has been and what can be, and I appreciate Chamberlain's
willingness to explore this time period and hopefully someday, her 2010 timeline
will feel as 'in the past' as the initial civil rights push of the 60's...but
until then, as Ellie and her compatriots sang:
The truth will make us free, the truth will make us free,
The truth will make us free someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
We’ll walk hand in hand, we’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
4 stars ...more
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Aug 22, 2021 Ceecee rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Two timelines....
In 2010, Kayla Carter and young daughter Rainie are about to move into a newly
built property in Round Hill, North Carolina. It’s a house that already has
devastating tragedy associated with it as her husband Jackson suffers a fatal
fall whilst working there. When malicious and threatening ‘Ann Smith’ visits her
she makes Kayla feel even more fearful of moving in than she already is as it
seems there is resentment of the building of properties on that particular part
of Round Hi Two timelines....
In 2010, Kayla Carter and young daughter Rainie are about to move into a newly
built property in Round Hill, North Carolina. It’s a house that already has
devastating tragedy associated with it as her husband Jackson suffers a fatal
fall whilst working there. When malicious and threatening ‘Ann Smith’ visits her
she makes Kayla feel even more fearful of moving in than she already is as it
seems there is resentment of the building of properties on that particular part
of Round Hill.
In 1965 twenty year old Ellie Hockley ,also from Round Hill, takes the decision
to join the SCOPE project (Summer Community Organization and Political
Education) where white volunteers live with black families and visit others in
the vicinity to encourage them to register to vote once LBJ signs the Voting
Rights Bill. Two storylines- how do they connect?
First of all, I’ve read quite a lot about the civil rights movement but didn’t
know about Scope so I’m really glad to have learned something ‘new’. The novel
starts well and I think the 1965 storyline is very good although apart from
Scope it doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know about the situation in
the 1960’s. However, this part of the story is written extremely well and it’s
very compelling and absorbing. Ellie is very likeable, her motives are good,
she’s brave and she has to be as she faces tremendous opposition from family and
friends. Her mother, Miss Pat, is something else although several characters
hold views that are utterly appalling. As the storyline progresses we learn more
about her reasons for volunteering as she confesses all to Win, a fellow
volunteer who is one of the stand out characters of the book. These sections are
full of danger, it’s creepy, chilling, tense, full of sickening bigotry and
physical threats. The narrative takes you on an emotional rollercoaster and
makes you feel a whole range of feelings from shock to anger, to wanting to weep
with frustration and sheer sadness. Ellie’s story for me is what carries the
book and keeps me reading on.
However, I don’t feel the same about Kayla’s story I’m sorry to say. I don’t
feel the creep, it doesn’t jump out at the pages and speak to me. Saying
something is creepy is not the same as making a reader feel it. I’m not at all
convinced by the scare tactics of 2010 as they feel contrived and directed at
the wrong person in particular the actions of the Ann Smith character don’t feel
plausible. Some of what happens in this timeline becomes predictable, there
isn’t much surprise when all the dots are joined and then it’s all sown up too
neatly after all that build up. To be honest, I’d have preferred the book
without Kayla's story as the same thing could have been achieved by focusing on
Ellie in the same date.
Overall, though because the 1965 storyline is a very powerful one that carries
the day and is the reason for my four star rating.
With thanks to NetGalley and Headline/Headline Review for the much appreciated
arc in return for an honest review. ...more
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Dec 10, 2021 Melissa (LifeFullyBooked) rated it really liked it
Another deeply moving and meaningful book from Diane Chamberlain.
This is a dual timeline novel. It alternates between Kayla in 2010, a young
widow who has just moved into a house with her four-year-old daughter that she
and her late husband had designed. While at work one day, a woman comes into her
office and knows far too much information about Kayla and her property and warns
Kayla away from living there among other dire proclamations. The second timeline
is 1965, where Ellie is a college stu Another deeply moving and meaningful book
from Diane Chamberlain.
This is a dual timeline novel. It alternates between Kayla in 2010, a young
widow who has just moved into a house with her four-year-old daughter that she
and her late husband had designed. While at work one day, a woman comes into her
office and knows far too much information about Kayla and her property and warns
Kayla away from living there among other dire proclamations. The second timeline
is 1965, where Ellie is a college student. She learns about the SCOPE project
(Summer Community Organization and Political Education) whose main purpose is to
help Black people register to vote. Ellie is passionate about joining the cause,
much to the dismay of her parents and her close friends. Despite their ardent
disapproval, Ellie becomes firmly committed to the mission of the group and
becomes close friends with Win, a young Black man she is assigned to canvass
with. In 2010, Kayla becomes acquainted with Ellie, who has just returned to
town to care for her ailing mother and brother. The two timelines will intersect
in ways no one can imagine.
I became completely captivated by the narrative from the beginning. I was
incredibly curious as to the identity of this mystery woman trying to warn Kayla
away and what her motive might be. I was caught up in learning about the
tremendous obstacles in place to keep Black citizens from registering to vote.
Even the white college students' lives were in danger for helping the cause. The
fact that this occurred within the lifetime of many people alive today is
astounding to me, and it makes this fictional account all the more important for
the education of readers about bigotry and deeply held prejudice.
I was in tears by the end, as the 1965 timeline drew to a close. The 2010
storyline was definitely the weaker of the two, as Kayla is not as developed and
well-drawn as Ellie. I never really felt her fear or her loss like I did that of
Ellie.
I both listened to the audiobook narrated by Susan Bennett and read a print
copy. Bennett does an amazing job with her narration. I love alternating between
the two formats because it means I can always be reading regardless of what I'm
doing at the moment.
Regardless, this is a wonderfully written book. Fans of Diane Chamberlain and
those who have never read her books before should definitely pick it up when
released in January 2022.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my
own.
...more
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Oct 17, 2021 Linda rated it really liked it
Shelves: history, fiction, net-galley, historical-fiction, mystery-thrillers
What we see often is only a fractional part of what really is.
Deception comes in all sizes. Some from the little lies we tell ourselves to
make us feel like we're standing on more solid surfaces. Some lies erupt after
being marinated over decades and passed on from generation to generation. These
are the ones that sink beneath the surface and decay holier ground.
Diane Chamberlain presents a split storyline that pivots from 1965 and lands on
happenings in 2010. It settles itself near Greenville, What we see often is only
a fractional part of what really is.
Deception comes in all sizes. Some from the little lies we tell ourselves to
make us feel like we're standing on more solid surfaces. Some lies erupt after
being marinated over decades and passed on from generation to generation. These
are the ones that sink beneath the surface and decay holier ground.
Diane Chamberlain presents a split storyline that pivots from 1965 and lands on
happenings in 2010. It settles itself near Greenville, North Carolina with a
base located in the small community of Round Hill. Believe me. Prepare yourself
to be tussled in both directions.
In more present days, Kayla Carter is a successful architect who is bogged under
the weight of moving into her dream house in Round Hill. She and her husband,
Jackson, designed and carried out the plans to the nth degree on this
jaw-dropping property. But Jackson won't be guiding the moving van in front of
this luxurious piece of real estate. Jackson died in a freak accident on the top
floor. Kayla is torn as to the rationale for still residing in that house with
its sad memory. But she justifies it with the hard work put into it by Jackson
himself. She and her three year old daughter, Rainie, eventually move in with
the support of her father, Reed.
Chamberlain adds a thread of mystery when a red-haired woman with reflective
sunglasses visits Kayla at her office. Ann Smith seems to threaten Kayla if she
intends on residing in that house. But within moments, this strange woman flits
out of the office leaving Kayla with more questions than answers.
We now take a step back in time to 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement. We
have the honorable Freedom Riders and those who worked diligently to secure the
voting rights of the Black community in the deep South. There were an array of
individuals who came from the North with a multitude of intentions varying from
strong intent to mild curiosity. Some made successful inroads while others
merely disrupted and endangered the lives of these families who opened their
homes to them. It's still a heavy moment of deep reflection.
And here is where we are introduced to Ellie Hockley, a student attending the
University of North Carolina. Ellie has a strong desire to become part of the
SCOPE Project working in the Black community. But Ellie's naivete will draw the
walls in closer and eventually bring the house down. Ellie will become the
bridge between these two time periods in this novel.
The Last House On the Street had a remarkable opportunity to stick solo with the
1965 storyline. The 2010 thread added present day tension and mystery and served
as a connecting point. Although a fictional work, this novel had a thunderous
avenue to gear readers into the lead up to the Voting Rights Act that LBJ
insisted on treading water for far too long. Through the characters of Ellie and
Win and the community at large, we would have had a vehicle of more profound
understanding. But it's still a top-shelf, eye-opening read.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks
to St. Martin's Press and to the talented Diane Chamberlain for the opportunity.
...more
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Jul 29, 2021 Diane Chamberlain rated it it was amazing · (Review from the
author)
It's been so heartening to read your wonderful reviews of The Last House on the
Street! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I know that the
ARCs don't include my Author's Notes, so I thought I would share a bit of them
here:
I was fourteen years old during the summer of 1964 when I heard the news about
three young civil rights workers who were murdered in Mississippi. Andrew
Goodman, James Earl Chaney and Michael Schwerner were spending the summer in the
South to register Black It's been so heartening to read your wonderful reviews
of The Last House on the Street! Thank you for taking the time to share your
thoughts. I know that the ARCs don't include my Author's Notes, so I thought I
would share a bit of them here:
I was fourteen years old during the summer of 1964 when I heard the news about
three young civil rights workers who were murdered in Mississippi. Andrew
Goodman, James Earl Chaney and Michael Schwerner were spending the summer in the
South to register Black voters. Their disappearance and tragic end may not have
been the first time I’d heard about student civil rights workers, but it was the
first time their work had an emotional and intellectual impact on me. The junior
high school I attended in Plainfield, New Jersey was well integrated, and I was
awakening to the injustices faced by people who looked like my classmates. It
was impossible to grow up in Plainfield during that era and be blind to the
inequities, even in the North. I was moved by the courage and passion of those
young civil rights workers who were willing to face danger to do what they felt
was right.
When I reached high school age, I often found myself in the library stacks lost
in books and articles about racial injustice. At some point, I stumbled across
information on the SCOPE program. The memory of that program stayed with me and
inspired Ellie’s story in The Last House on the Street.
Although much of story related to the SCOPE program is based on truth, I took
liberties with specific facts related to it. For example, while the program was
publicly announced by Hosea Williams in late April, Ellie learns of it a few
weeks earlier. The orientation dates, however, are accurate, as is the
orientation setting of Morris Brown College in Atlanta. Hosea Williams and
Andrew Young were at the orientation and Reverend Young’s conversation with the
young female civil rights workers is based on reality. Martin Luther King Jr.
did indeed deliver a speech at the orientation.
The most dangerous work in SCOPE took place in the deep south, but I wanted to
write about my adopted home state of North Carolina, where SCOPE’s work was
limited to the “Black Belt” counties of Martin and Warren. However, since I was
creating my own fictional world, I invented Derby County and its various towns
so that I was not constrained by real events. It is true that the KKK had a very
strong and growing presence in North Carolina in 1965, inspired in great part by
the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It’s also true that the registrars’ offices in
those counties shut their doors prior to the August passage of the Voting Rights
Act, which left the SCOPE students having to focus on community work other than
actual registration.
How wonderful it would be to be able to say that the Voting Rights Act signed by
President Lyndon Baines Johnson in August 1965 put an end to voting
discrimination. As President Johnson signed the bill, he stated that the right
to vote was “the basic right without which all others are meaningless.” The
Voting Rights Act struck down literacy tests and other regulations that blocked
the right to vote and also provided federal protection to people as they
registered. Most importantly, it required that states known for impeding voting
rights had to “pre-clear” any changes to their voting laws with the federal
government. In 2013, however, a Supreme Court decision did away with that
pre-clearance requirement. As a result, as I write these notes in April 2021,
legislators in at least forty-three states are considering over three hundred
and fifty bills that will make voting more difficult, particularly for people of
color. Several bills have already been signed into law. It’s distressing that
politics continue to play such a pivotal role in what should be a basic American
right. ...more
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Judy Odom Thanks for sharing your notes. I think they can be the best part of
the book as it brings everything together. I love all your books and The Last
Hous Thanks for sharing your notes. I think they can be the best part of the
book as it brings everything together. I love all your books and The Last House
on the Street is no exception. ...more
25. Dezember, 05:39 Uhr · flag
Franci Neill I'm beginning my ARC right now and these notes will add so much to
my reading experience. Thank you so much!! I'm beginning my ARC right now and
these notes will add so much to my reading experience. Thank you so much!!
...more
9 hours, 0 min ago · flag
Jul 10, 2021 Carolyn Walsh rated it it was amazing
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC
of the latest compelling book by Diane Chamberlain. I have read several of her
previous books with much pleasure. This enthralling story is told in dual
timelines and immerses the reader in modern times and takes one back in history
to 1965 to the turmoil and strife of the Civil Rights movement. Central to this
well-written, atmospheric novel is how some people strive to move on in life aft
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC
of the latest compelling book by Diane Chamberlain. I have read several of her
previous books with much pleasure. This enthralling story is told in dual
timelines and immerses the reader in modern times and takes one back in history
to 1965 to the turmoil and strife of the Civil Rights movement. Central to this
well-written, atmospheric novel is how some people strive to move on in life
after profound loss and tragedy, and how others may retain long-held hatred,
secrets, and vengeance.
In 1965, Ellie is attending University with her best friend, Brenda. Brenda has
a quiet wedding to the love of her life as she is pregnant, and wants to finish
her year. Ellie is studying to be a pharmacist like her father, who has given
the family a comfortable lifestyle in a small town in North Carolina. Ellie's
boyfriend, Reed, has a promising career in banking, is handsome and popular, and
considered a great marriage prospect. Ellie decides marriage to Reed and working
in a pharmacy is not in her immediate future and joins the Civil Rights movement
to advise black communities on registering to vote and the advantages this will
entail. Her parents and brother react strongly against her decision. She loses
Brenda's friendship. She travels through poor, black southern communities,
facing hardship but exhilaration that she is doing important work. She makes new
friends, falls in love, and experiences shocking prejudice. It ends very badly
for her and she leaves the state.
Moving forward by forty-five years, we meet Kayla, a young architect. She and
her architect husband designed an ultra-modern dream house that is almost ready
to move in. However, her husband died in a tragic fall while inspecting the
unfinished house, and Kayla is now a widow with a young daughter. She now
regards the beautiful home as ominous and sinister, but it is a monument to her
late husband. It sits surrounded by trees on the edge of a dark, eerie forest at
the end of a gloomy street. At present, there is only one older house, but a
new, contemporary housing development is being constructed. Now, she feels some
apprehension about moving in with her small daughter. While working at her
office, an odd woman visits, frightening her. The stranger knows the details of
Kayla's life and warns her not to move into the new home. The madwoman tells her
that she has an obsession to commit murder. Soon some grisly acts of vandalism
occur at the still-empty home. Her kindly father dotes on his granddaughter and
he cares for her while Kayla is at her work. He has some reservations about her
living there. Many townspeople feel the woods are evil and haunted and she fears
may be perilous to her young child.
While visiting a woman at the nearest house and being welcomed as a new friend,
she encounters an acquaintance of that woman. This woman addresses Kayla
sharply, demanding she tear down the treehouse in the wooded area and abandon
plans to have a fence installed. She learns her new friend has moved in
temporarily to care for her aging mother and fatally ill brother.
This gripping story involves romance, tragic deaths, prejudice, intrigue, and a
decades-old mystery with its shocking conclusion. The storytelling is brilliant.
Highly recommended! ...more
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Oct 31, 2021 Liz rated it liked it
Shelves: netgalley
This is the fifth book by Diane Chamberlain that I’ve read. Her MO is to write
historical fictions that take place in North Carolina.
In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act and the SCOPE project took place
over the summer to register blacks in six southern states. This book, told in a
dual timeline, covers the project in North Carolina. Elly is a 20 year old white
woman, a sophomore in college, when she decides to sign up as a volunteer.
The second timeline of the story takes place in 20 This is the fifth book by
Diane Chamberlain that I’ve read. Her MO is to write historical fictions that
take place in North Carolina.
In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act and the SCOPE project took place
over the summer to register blacks in six southern states. This book, told in a
dual timeline, covers the project in North Carolina. Elly is a 20 year old white
woman, a sophomore in college, when she decides to sign up as a volunteer.
The second timeline of the story takes place in 2010. Kayla is a young, recently
widowed architect when a strange woman comes to her office and knows more about
her than she should. And tells her not to move into her newly completed house.
As is so often the case with dual storylines, the historical one is much more
interesting than the latter. It details the breadth of the bigotry of the day,
the prevalence and hatred of the KKK. I’ll never think of the hymn The Old
Rugged Cross the same way again.
I was engrossed by Ellie and her story, but Kayla seemed more like a plot device
than a real person. It didn’t take long to determine how the story would play
out. It’s that obvious. But I did enjoy learning about the SCOPE project. This
was probably my least favorite of Chamberlain’s books just because it was so
obvious. I would have also liked for her to have woven a little more historic
facts into the story, but that’s a personal preference of mine.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.
...more
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Nov 30, 2021 Tina rated it really liked it
Shelves: audiobooks, thriller-mystery, read-in-2021, arc-copy, netgalley-2021,
historical-fiction, women-s-fiction-romance-chick-lit, suspense
This a hard hitting Historical Fiction. This book is told by two timelines (1965
in Ellie's point of View and 2010 in Kayla's Point of View). This book shows how
hard blacks and some whites how to fight for Civil Rights for the Blacks in the
South. I grow up in the North Carolina where Southern views where, and I also
felt like Ellie did lucky I was not alive during 1965. It was a hard time in our
history, and I hope no one forgets it. This book is one of those books I will
not forget it for a l This a hard hitting Historical Fiction. This book is told
by two timelines (1965 in Ellie's point of View and 2010 in Kayla's Point of
View). This book shows how hard blacks and some whites how to fight for Civil
Rights for the Blacks in the South. I grow up in the North Carolina where
Southern views where, and I also felt like Ellie did lucky I was not alive
during 1965. It was a hard time in our history, and I hope no one forgets it.
This book is one of those books I will not forget it for a long time. The ending
had a twist, but I had already figured out the twist, but I do not think that
took away from me enjoying this book. I do feel that some of the 2010 parts did
not need to be there. I listen to the audiobook from this book, and I think the
narrator did a great job. I really enjoyed this audiobook. I was kindly provided
an e-audiobook of this book by the publisher or author (Diana Chamberlain) via
NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I
want to send a big Thank you to them for that. This book is schedule to be
release on January 11-2022. ...more
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Lindsay - Traveling Sisters Book Reviews Wonderful review! Can’t wait to start
this!
27. Dezember, 15:48 Uhr · flag
Tina Lindsay - Traveling Sisters Book Reviews wrote: "Wonderful review! Can’t
wait to start this!" Thank you, and I hope you love it when you get to read i
Lindsay - Traveling Sisters Book Reviews wrote: "Wonderful review! Can’t wait to
start this!" Thank you, and I hope you love it when you get to read it. ...more
27. Dezember, 19:08 Uhr · flag
Aug 10, 2021 Denise rated it it was amazing
A not-to-miss read in 2022! I don't think there is a Diane Chamberlain book that
I haven't loved, and this one is no different. Although for a myriad of reasons,
it is definitely one of the more moving and powerful books that she has written.
In typical Chamberlain fashion, she masterfully weaves the past and present and
sets them on a collision course in the last house on the street....
1965, Ellie, a white, college co-ed from North Carolina, defies her family and
becomes involved in the fight f A not-to-miss read in 2022! I don't think there
is a Diane Chamberlain book that I haven't loved, and this one is no different.
Although for a myriad of reasons, it is definitely one of the more moving and
powerful books that she has written.
In typical Chamberlain fashion, she masterfully weaves the past and present and
sets them on a collision course in the last house on the street....
1965, Ellie, a white, college co-ed from North Carolina, defies her family and
becomes involved in the fight for civil rights, causing ripples in her family
and in her town that will not soon be forgotten or forgiven.
2020. Kayla, a recently widowed architect, and her young daughter, move into the
home Kayla and her late husband painstakingly designed. But then disturbing
things begin to happen, and it's obvious that someone is sending her a warning.
Small town secrets don't remain hidden forever, but this small town doesn't want
to give up its proverbial skeletons.
Ellie and Kayla meet and don't realize initially how their pasts intersect. My
heart was breaking as the two started to connect, as I knew there couldn't be a
happy ending to their story. I sympathized with both women and couldn't put the
book down trying to figure out how Kayla's house and the woods and lake behind
it would reveal what happened to make Ellie so determined to stay away for so
many years. I wanted Ellie to get her truth, and I wanted Kayla to find her
peace. The two women ultimately change each others lives in a way that will
break your heart but still leaves you feeling hopeful.
Even though I put most of the pieces together before the end, it was still
gut-wrenching and suspenseful. An eye-opening, timely tale of love, hate, race,
family, and forgiveness that deeply moved me. A truly amazing must-read! All the
stars! ...more
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Sep 12, 2021 Christina rated it really liked it
This is a really moving historical story about the Voting Rights Act that every
white person should read. Though I knew the basics about the Voting Rights Act,
this story really brought that era to life and made me consider things in a much
more personal way - the way all good fiction does.
This is a story of two alternating timelines, focusing primarily on Ellie, a
white girl who, in 1965, decides to join the Civil Rights group SCOPE to help
fight for voting rights for African Americans. Ellie This is a really moving
historical story about the Voting Rights Act that every white person should
read. Though I knew the basics about the Voting Rights Act, this story really
brought that era to life and made me consider things in a much more personal way
- the way all good fiction does.
This is a story of two alternating timelines, focusing primarily on Ellie, a
white girl who, in 1965, decides to join the Civil Rights group SCOPE to help
fight for voting rights for African Americans. Ellie is the only Southerner in
the group. Through her decision, Ellie learns little by little that her beloved
white family members and friends do not accept and love people of other races
the way they accept and love her. The story alternates with 2010, when new
resident Kayla meets an older Ellie and learns her story.
I thought this story was written with a lot of pain and heart. It is, of course,
written by a white person (and primarily from a white girl’s perspective) - so
as an emotional and educational tool for white reader about the era, I think it
does its job more than ably and in a way that really makes you connect with
Ellie and the other characters in her life. It is harder for me to say how this
book would be received by Black readers, and how real it might feel to them, but
I’m interested in seeing more reviews about that.
Really appreciated this look at an important historical era that is often
overlooked by history and the American educational system. The end of the book
is especially sobering. 4+ stars.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. ...more
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Dec 08, 2021 Barbara rated it really liked it
This dual timeline story takes place in Round Hill, North Carolina, and
alternates between 1965 - when the civil rights movement rocked the south; and
2010 - when ghosts of the past come home to roost.
*****
In 2010, Shadow Ridge Estates is a new housing development on a picturesque
block in Round Hill, North Carolina. The biggest and most beautiful home on the
street, designed by architects Kayla and Jackson Carter......
nestles among a copse of trees at the end of the road.
The Carters built the
This dual timeline story takes place in Round Hill, North Carolina, and
alternates between 1965 - when the civil rights movement rocked the south; and
2010 - when ghosts of the past come home to roost.
*****
In 2010, Shadow Ridge Estates is a new housing development on a picturesque
block in Round Hill, North Carolina. The biggest and most beautiful home on the
street, designed by architects Kayla and Jackson Carter......
nestles among a copse of trees at the end of the road.
The Carters built the house for themselves, their 4-year-old daughter Rainie,
and any future children they might have.
The house was almost complete when Jackson Carter fell down a set of steps and
sustained a fatal injury. Jackson's wife Kayla was grief-stricken, but decided
she and little Rainie would take up residence in the house anyway, to honor
Jackson's memory.
Kayla is almost completely moved in when she gets a visit from an obviously
disguised woman who tells Kayla it's bad luck to live in the house.
Kayla and little Rainie move in anyway, and sinister things start to happen -
like bogus phone calls and trash being strewn across the lawn.
The only OLD house that remains on Kayla's street is a deteriorating southern
home owned by disabled, seventyish Buddy Hockley, who refuses to sell.
Right now Buddy lives in the house with his elderly mother and his sister Ellie
Hockley - who returned from San Franciso after 45 years to care for her family.
The story skips back and forth between 2010 and 1965, when then 20-year-old
Ellie Hockley was a pharmacology major at the University of North Carolina.
Ellie was home for summer break when she became aware that the SCOPE project was
sending college students to the South to help Negroes (the polite term for black
people in 1965) register to vote.
Having been influenced by her liberal Aunt Carol (who married into the family),
Ellie decides to join SCOPE. Ellie's mother, father, brother, and godfather are
APPALLED and try every which way to stop her, saying things like: Negro people
are happy with the way things are; there will be strong backlash from white
people; she might get hurt; and so on. Ellie's mother even tells her the Ku Klux
Klan is really just a social club, because people like to belong to something.
Ellie feels compelled to join SCOPE anyway, and the program - which involves
singing freedom songs; staging demonstrations; and going door to door in Negro
neighborhoods to convince people to register to vote - exhilarates her.
Ellie makes new friends, including young black college students. Any co-mingling
between blacks and whites - especially black males and white females - horrifies
racist southerners, and SCOPE workers are taught to run and hide from vehicles
driven by white men, who might shoot them.
After a month, there's a terrible tragedy in the SCOPE program, and Ellie is so
upset she moves to San Francisco.
Now that Ellie is back in North Carolina, she aims to learn the whole truth
about what happened in 1965. However there are people in Round Hill who want to
hide the facts, and this has consequences for both Ellie and Kayla.
The book provides a visceral picture of white resistance to civil rights, and
the behavior of Klan members is stomach-churning at times. Sadly, some of the
activities depicted are similar to what's happening in the country today,
showing we still have a ways to go.
This is an excellent dual historic/contemporary novel, highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley, Diane Chamberlain, and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the
book.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com ...more
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Dec 18, 2021 Darla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: mystery, audiobook, historical-fiction
Listening to Susan Bennett read this book to me was like the secret sauce that
takes that special dish from really good to amazing. As many other reviewers
have noted, there are two timelines for most of the book: 1965 and 2010. Without
a doubt, the most action and character development occurs in 1965. But, the
tension in 2010 centers around the unanswered questions from 1965. The way Diane
Chamberlain brought the plot full circle worked for me so I gave it 5 stars.
There are some very difficult Listening to Susan Bennett read this book to me
was like the secret sauce that takes that special dish from really good to
amazing. As many other reviewers have noted, there are two timelines for most of
the book: 1965 and 2010. Without a doubt, the most action and character
development occurs in 1965. But, the tension in 2010 centers around the
unanswered questions from 1965. The way Diane Chamberlain brought the plot full
circle worked for me so I gave it 5 stars. There are some very difficult scenes
in this book, but I appreciate the raw honesty that exposes the evils of racism
past and present. It is a difficult mirror to gaze upon. May God give us wisdom
to see ourselves as we are and make the necessary changes to love our neighbors
as we ought.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an
honest review. ...more
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Nov 11, 2021 Sandra Hoover rated it it was amazing
Shelves: mystery-thriller, mystery-suspense-mag, arc-publisher,
romance-suspense, womens-fiction, publisher-smp, jan-2022
The Last House on the Street is another stunning historical mystery like I've
come to expect from author Diane Chamberlain who continues setting the bar high
in the genre with her uncanny ability to deliver volatile, dual timeline stories
rich in history in a highly emotionally charged story. In The Last House on the
Street, ghosts of the past live on to haunt dreams of not only those left
behind, but also those who dare reside in their space in the future. The result
is a heart-wrenching story The Last House on the Street is another stunning
historical mystery like I've come to expect from author Diane Chamberlain who
continues setting the bar high in the genre with her uncanny ability to deliver
volatile, dual timeline stories rich in history in a highly emotionally charged
story. In The Last House on the Street, ghosts of the past live on to haunt
dreams of not only those left behind, but also those who dare reside in their
space in the future. The result is a heart-wrenching story of prejudice,
violence, racism and an interracial relationship with revelations reaching years
into the future which Diane Chamberlain delivers with all the dignity, grace,
and historical authenticity it deserves.
In 2010, Kayla Carter and her four year old daughter prepare to move into their
dream home surrounded by dark woods at the end of the street in Shadow Ridge
Estates - the first new house completed in the new upscale housing development
and also the house responsible for taking her young husband's life in a tragic
accident. Needless to say, she has mixed feelings about the house she and her
husband designed together - feelings escalated by strange warnings that it would
be in her best interest to stay away. The house with all the glass windows with
panoramic views of the surrounding woods now feels a bit too open, too exposed,
too threatening. And yet, it's their new home, and there's little choice but to
live there.
The only other house on the street is the Hockley house, an original pre-1965
home whose owner refused to sell to developers, occupied by the elderly Hockley
mother and her terminally ill son and now daughter Ellie who just returned to
the home she was forced to flee heartbroken and in fear forty five years ago. As
a young, privileged white student of the 1960's, a period of racial unrest in
the South, Ellie spurned her parent's expectations for her of marriage to a
young, upcoming banker, turning her back on them to become an activist for black
voting rights by joining the SCOPE project (Summer Community Organization and
Political Education). As a participant, seventeen year old Ellie left her
privileged life and home behind to live and work in poverty stricken black homes
in rural communities while helping canvas the neighborhoods with educational
material about voter registration rights. Unfortunately, her actions angered
white supremacists, drawing unwelcome attention not only on her and her family,
but also on the very people she hoped to help protect and educate. And when
Ellie crosses a forbidden line with a black student, the hatred, anger and
violence spill blood on everyone involved with far reaching effects for their
families for generations to come.
Through dual timelines, readers learn the past tragedy that forever links these
two families as Kayla and Ellie finally discover and come to terms with the
tragic mystery of what lies within the woods at the end of the street as well as
the true story of the roles their own families played in it. This highly
atmospheric story unfolds at a relentless pace as it alternates chapters of past
and present rich in ominous vibes and heart shattering revelations.
Chamberlain's brilliant characterizations left me feeling a personal connection
to each character as I raced through pages hoping for a better outcome than I
knew in my heart was coming. Chamberlain doesn't just recite historical facts,
she renders a story that breaths life back into it in a manner that makes it all
too real and ugly and tragic.
The Last House on the Street is a volatile story of hatred, prejudice, and
social injustice, but it's also a story of courage, love and understanding. It's
a coming of age story of a young girl who had no idea the horrors hidden in
Pandora's Box when she cracked open the lid or of the havoc it would wreak on
those she loved with life altering ramifications reaching years into the future.
The Last House on the Street is an extraordinary must read for fans of
historical mystery fiction. I also highly recommend it to fans of mystery and
suspense. This book richly deserves to be the buzz of 2022.
4.5 Stars
Special thanks to St. Martins Press for an arc of this book.
Review published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine
Review posted at Cross My Heart Reviews ...more
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Jul 15, 2021 Rose rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2021-best-reads, netgalley, fiction, my-reviews, historical-fiction
I have just finished reading The Last House on the Street , by Author Diane
Chamberlain.
This is the second book that I have read by the author, previously reading Big
Lies in a Small Town, which I also thoroughly enjoyed.
Diane Chamberlain’s writing style is very deep and engaging.
It took me awhile to read this book, since my life had lots going on at the
time, and I did not want to rush it. It caught my attention immediately and
normally I would have probably not put it down and read it in one d I have just
finished reading The Last House on the Street , by Author Diane Chamberlain.
This is the second book that I have read by the author, previously reading Big
Lies in a Small Town, which I also thoroughly enjoyed.
Diane Chamberlain’s writing style is very deep and engaging.
It took me awhile to read this book, since my life had lots going on at the
time, and I did not want to rush it. It caught my attention immediately and
normally I would have probably not put it down and read it in one day.
It is set in two different time frames, and is interesting, sad, and eye
opening.
It is a book not to be missed.
Thank you to Goodreads, the Author and St. Martin's Publishing Group for my
advanced copy to read and review
#NetGalley ...more
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Aug 21, 2021 DeAnn rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2021, netgalley-2021
3.75 voting rights stars (rounded up for the SCOPE project)
This one features a dual storyline, one from 1965 and one from present day. I
really enjoyed the earlier storyline, more than the modern storyline. Ellie is
our main character, and she is a young college -aged woman in North Carolina. I
loved learning more about the summer project she signed up for – The Summer
Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) Project. White college
students were recruited to help register voters pr 3.75 voting rights stars
(rounded up for the SCOPE project)
This one features a dual storyline, one from 1965 and one from present day. I
really enjoyed the earlier storyline, more than the modern storyline. Ellie is
our main character, and she is a young college -aged woman in North Carolina. I
loved learning more about the summer project she signed up for – The Summer
Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) Project. White college
students were recruited to help register voters prior to President Johnson
signing the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965. This story seems especially
timely since the Supreme Court recently ruled to gut most of this act.
While Ellie was passionate about this volunteer work, her family and friends
were against it and tried every possible way to get her back home. I loved
reading about this important community activity. I didn’t love the attitudes of
many people about the work and goals of the project and the racism. In fact,
many of the volunteers were threatened and violence was not uncommon.
The modern-day story features Kayla, an architect who recently lost her husband.
She is getting ready to move in to her recently completed home with her small
daughter. The house is the last one on the street and surrounded by woods. It
now feels like there are too many trees to Kayla and it is especially difficult
because her husband died in an accident at the house. There is a mystery
surrounding the woods.
The two stories eventually intersect, and we ultimately learn what happened with
Ellie and that summer she worked on the voting rights project and why she fled
North Carolina 45 years ago. Overall, I liked this book and the writing was
quite good, but I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I did with some
earlier Diane Chamberlain books.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the copy of this one to read and review. Set
to publish next year, 1.11.2022. ...more
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Dec 20, 2021 Carole rated it it was amazing
Shelves: netgalley-books
I will remember The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain for a long
time. The story takes place in North Carolina during two periods of time. In
1965 Ellie plans to spend her college summer break to help in the registration
of black voters, which will turn her family and friends against her. In 2010
Kayla, a young architect, is moving into her dream home that she and her late
husband designed. The paths of the two women will cross when Kayla moves down
the road from Ellie and it seems t I will remember The Last House on the Street
by Diane Chamberlain for a long time. The story takes place in North Carolina
during two periods of time. In 1965 Ellie plans to spend her college summer
break to help in the registration of black voters, which will turn her family
and friends against her. In 2010 Kayla, a young architect, is moving into her
dream home that she and her late husband designed. The paths of the two women
will cross when Kayla moves down the road from Ellie and it seems that there is
much opposition to the move. Ellie’s past appears to be related to the land that
Kayla’s new home occupies. Horrific crimes of the sixties will affect both
women. The poverty, bigotry, cruelty and violence of that time will bring their
lives full circle in the new millennium. This is a very difficult read but
remembering the past can help bring better attitudes in the present. Diane
Chamberlain has written about a very painful subject with her usual sensitivity.
Highly recommended. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and the author
for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. ...more
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Allison Keith Excellent review, Carole. This sounds like a wonderful read.
22. Dezember, 14:50 Uhr · flag
Carole Allison wrote: "Excellent review, Carole. This sounds like a wonderful
read."
Thank you, Allison. Diane Chamberlain books are always thought-provoking.
Allison wrote: "Excellent review, Carole. This sounds like a wonderful read."
Thank you, Allison. Diane Chamberlain books are always thought-provoking.
...more
22. Dezember, 18:03 Uhr · flag
Nov 20, 2021 Theresa Alan rated it it was amazing
This historical mystery takes place in 2010 and 1965. The 2010 is less
depressing, even though it’s about a widower who is about to move into the house
that killed her husband. Both Kayla and her husband were architects, and they
designed their dream house in a heavily wooded area at the end of the street.
They would be the first ones to move into the area, which, once vacant except
for one house, is now being developed, with construction all around them.
Jackson died when the house was partiall
This historical mystery takes place in 2010 and 1965. The 2010 is less
depressing, even though it’s about a widower who is about to move into the house
that killed her husband. Both Kayla and her husband were architects, and they
designed their dream house in a heavily wooded area at the end of the street.
They would be the first ones to move into the area, which, once vacant except
for one house, is now being developed, with construction all around them.
Jackson died when the house was partially finished by slipping on some screws
and falling down the stairs that didn’t yet have a handrail. So the house has
hard memories for Kayla, but she and her three-year-old daughter are planning to
move in anyway. It doesn’t help Kayla feel good about her decision when a
strange woman comes to her office and warns her away from the house. How does
this stranger know so much about Kayla?
The alternating part of this book happens when twenty-year-old Ellie decides to
use her summer to help educate black folks in preparation for when Lyndon
Johnson passes the Voting Rights bill Act. None of her North Carolinian family
and friends think this is a good idea. They think that if black people haven’t
registered to vote it’s because they’re lazy, not that there are so many
obstacles in their way. What’s painful about reading that half of the book is
that Ellie doesn’t want to believe the people she cares about are racist, and
also that we’re still battling whether it should be easy to vote like it is here
in Colorado where we’ve had vote by mail since 2013, or whether people should
have to wait in line for hours on a November workday. Also, all the opposition
Ellie and her fellow activists face from the Klan and the community in general
is so appalling, especially because we still have to put up with a lot of that
same idiocy today.
I enjoyed the mystery and Kayla and Ellie. Thanks to NetGalley for the
opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES JANUARY 11, 2021.
...more
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Oct 26, 2021 Terry rated it liked it
Racism makes my blood boil. This book made my blood boil at times. It also made
my heart break at times, spilling extra blood to boil, I suppose. I chose to
read this because the author is one that my Goodreads friends rave over, but I'd
never read anything by her so wanted to check her out. Many thanks to St.
Martin's Press and NetGalley for making this available to me.
The book is told in dual timelines with dual narrators. Kayla is our present day
(2010) narrator. She's recently widowed with a Racism makes my blood boil. This
book made my blood boil at times. It also made my heart break at times, spilling
extra blood to boil, I suppose. I chose to read this because the author is one
that my Goodreads friends rave over, but I'd never read anything by her so
wanted to check her out. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for
making this available to me.
The book is told in dual timelines with dual narrators. Kayla is our present day
(2010) narrator. She's recently widowed with a young daughter. Her husband died
while they were building their dream house at the end of what used to be Hockley
Street in Round Hill, North Carolina. The book literally begins with a strange,
creepy woman coming into her work office to warn her off from moving into the
house. This strange woman never reveals her face, has bright red hair, sloppy
fingernails, and knows way too much about Kayla and her daughter. The past
timeline is set in 1965 in the same town. It's narrated by Ellie, a young woman
who grew up in the only house on Hockley Street. She is grieving for her passed
aunt and still carries the trauma and guilt from a childhood accident that took
her young friend's life. She decides to become a part of the civil rights
movement that helps black citizens to register to vote. This ends up becoming a
completely life-changing thing.
The main characters are likeable without a doubt. However, I did not feel that
they were completely three-dimensional. They both almost feel too good to be
true, plenty of virtues but not enough flaws. Given that they are both the
narrators and we're seeing things through their eyes, this works alright. Not
everyone is extremely self-aware after all. Of the two narrators, I thought that
Ellie seemed disproportionately more well-rounded than Kayla. Her story was
really the heart of the book, although my interest was piqued by the strange
beginning to the book.
The story is interesting. It felt like a quick read. My only complaint with the
story itself was that at times it felt disjointed going between narrators. It
ends up tying together beautifully, however. This author did a wonderful job of
making me feel invested in what's happening, especially with Ellie. It's
amazing, and not in a good way, to see how ugly American race history was only
half a century ago still - And we still have a long way to go to really turn it
around, I think. In that sense it could be an eye-opening read for younger
readers. This makes the setting in North Carolina, right between North and
South, ideal. The author made a good choice here.
My heart was heavy and sad by the end of the book. The author did a good job of
hitting me right in the feelers. The mystery Kayla was experiencing
was...necessary to tie the story together. We do find out who the strange,
creepy woman is. If it weren't for how it ends up tying the story, I'm not sure
I would have even included it, though, to be honest. This woman's reasoning
makes sense, but at the same time isn't the brightest.
People seem to really enjoy this author. I did, as well, although perhaps not as
much as others. I'd certainly be willing to pick up more books by her, although
I don't believe I'll be the devoted reader some others are. For this reason, I'd
recommend this book to most readers. People really seem to enjoy her books, so
odds are, Reader, that you will too. I'd also recommend it because it's such a
good reminder about how we've only just begun to make some strides with regards
to racism. What we've accomplished is just a drop in a vast pool. ...more
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Oct 18, 2021 Judy rated it it was amazing
Diane Chamberlain's newest novel is quite a page-turner! I've loved most of the
books she's written, and this one is no exception. The book is told in two
different timelines, 2010 and 1965, and the past has definitely intruded on the
present.
In 2010, Kayla and her 3-year-old daughter, Rainie, are soon moving into the
house she designed with her husband, Jackson, who tragically died while the
house was being built. Kayla is ambivalent about moving into this dream home she
and her husband worked Diane Chamberlain's newest novel is quite a page-turner!
I've loved most of the books she's written, and this one is no exception. The
book is told in two different timelines, 2010 and 1965, and the past has
definitely intruded on the present.
In 2010, Kayla and her 3-year-old daughter, Rainie, are soon moving into the
house she designed with her husband, Jackson, who tragically died while the
house was being built. Kayla is ambivalent about moving into this dream home she
and her husband worked so hard on because it won't be the same without him and
because he died there. A mystery woman came to Kayla's office and tried to talk
her out of moving into the house. She was threatening and warned Kayla to tear
the house down or sell it, and that bad things would happen if she moved in.
Kate goes ahead with her move with some trepidation. Sure enough some bad things
start happening. What is going on?
In 1965 Ellie is a pharmacology student at UNC-Chapel Hill with her best friend
Brenda. Brenda gets pregnant and marries. Ellie wants to finish school, she
doesn't want the same life as Brenda, and her boyfriend Reed is supportive.
Ellie, during summer break, becomes involved in the SCOPE project where white
students, the majority from Northern states, work to educate black residents
about their right to vote and to encourage them to register. President Johnson
is soon to sign the Voting Rights Act which will allow black citizens to vote.
During this time, the students will live in the black community and stay with
black families. Ellie sees first-hand the horrendous living conditions, the lack
of electricity, running water, a decent wage - true poverty. She is resolute in
her belief that being able to vote will allow conditions to improve, and she is
determined to help make that happen. Ellie also becomes involved in something
else that triggers tragic events.
This book is heartbreaking. The themes are prejudice and racism, friendship,
betrayal, hope, healing, and grief - all told in a sensitive and caring manner.
I couldn't put the book down. I had not been aware of the SCOPE project, and
learned a great deal. I shudder at some of the occurrences in this story,
knowing that similar events actually did happen during the 60's while
integration was happening and civil rights was front and center both politically
and socially. The sad thing is that racial prejudice still exists today. I hope
that someday people can put aside differences and just see each other as fellow
human beings who can live peaceably together and treat each other the same.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book
will be published January 11, 2022. ...more
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ABOUT DIANE CHAMBERLAIN
Diane Chamberlain
10,940 followers
Diane Chamberlain is the New York Times, USA Today and (London) Sunday Times
best-selling author of 27 novels. The daughter of a school principal who
supplied her with a new book almost daily, Diane quickly learned the emotional
power of story. Although she wrote many small “books” as a child, she didn’t
seriously turn to writing fiction until her early thirties when she was waiting
for a delayed Diane Chamberlain is the New York Times, USA Today and (London)
Sunday Times best-selling author of 27 novels. The daughter of a school
principal who supplied her with a new book almost daily, Diane quickly learned
the emotional power of story. Although she wrote many small “books” as a child,
she didn’t seriously turn to writing fiction until her early thirties when she
was waiting for a delayed doctor’s appointment with nothing more than a pad, a
pen, and an idea. She was instantly hooked.
Diane was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey and lived for many years in
both San Diego and northern Virginia. She received her master’s degree in
clinical social work from San Diego State University. Prior to her writing
career, she was a hospital social worker in both San Diego and Washington, D.C,
and a psychotherapist in private practice in Alexandria, Virginia, working
primarily with adolescents.
More than two decades ago, Diane was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which
changed the way she works: She wrote two novels using voice recognition software
before new medication allowed her to get back to typing. She feels fortunate
that her arthritis is not more severe and that she’s able to enjoy everyday
activities as well as keep up with a busy travel schedule.
Diane lives in North Carolina with her significant other, photographer John
Pagliuca, and their odd but lovable Shetland Sheepdog, Cole
...more
BOOKS BY DIANE CHAMBERLAIN
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