The Last House on Needless Street - Catriona Ward

Written by Catriona Ward
Read by Christopher Ragland
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release date: September 28, 2021
Duration: 11:49:54

In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three.

A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time.

A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory.

And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.

An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.

Publishers Weekly…Ward keeps readers deliciously off-balance throughout this multifaceted tale of isolation, mental illness, and child abuse. Ted Bannerman still lives in the house he grew up in, and often spirals through upsetting thoughts about his childhood while obsessing over the things he’s buried in the nearby woods. His companions are Lauren, a teenage girl with anger issues who Ted refers to as his daughter and whom he does not allow to interact with anyone but himself, and Olivia, a devoted cat who feels she has a mission from God to protect Ted. His only confidant is the “bug man,” a therapist from whom he struggles to hide his true feelings. When Dee Walters becomes convinced that Ted kidnapped her little sister from the beach 11 years earlier, she moves in next door to investigate, throwing off Ted’s routines. Meanwhile, Lauren’s anger becomes increasingly difficult for Ted to manage. There’s a creeping sense of something off with every member of the cast, even as Ward immerses the reader in each of their hyper focused points-of-view. Subtle clues scattered throughout make terrifying sense in retrospect as the bigger picture slowly comes into focus. This masterful horror novel packs an emotional wallop that lingers.

“Christopher Ragland delivers a story featuring three unreliable narrators, all keeping secrets. The shifting tale suggests that no one can be trusted. Ted is a broken man who spends his nights drinking and struggling with his fractured memory; his daughter Lauren, who isn’t allowed outside; and their family cat, Olivia, who reads the Bible and prays. Ragland’s boyish voice adds to the unsettling nature of the story. His performance of Olivia the cat stands out as he perfectly captures the unique voice of a devout cat with aspirations of fame. Ragland’s story is a discomforting listen that is difficult to pause.”….Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2021,