Review: Told in dual timelines, Diane Chamberlain's latest begins in 2010 with architect Kayla Carter, a woman still reeling from - and dealing with - the death of her husband, killed in an accident while building the dream home the two of them had planned and worked on together for years. Now that same home - the first finished residence in Shadow Ridge Estates, a new upscale development blossoming in Round Hill, North Carolina - is ready for move-in for both Kayla and her four-year-old daughter ... but Kayla can't decide if her dream house has now become a nightmare, especially when a strange, vaguely threatening woman drops by her office one day, seemingly knowing a bit too much about both Kayla and her tragedy.
Round Hill in 1965, still very much segregated and racist, is the bane of Ellie Hockley's existence when - taking after her deceased favorite aunt - the young activist decides to spend one summer off college by working with a program to help register local Black residents to vote. A young, white girl from a (by comparison) privileged family in town, Ellie's parents, brother - even the boy she may or may not be in love with - are vehemently opposed to the young womans putting herself in potential danger, even as their own prejudices and bigotry rise to the surface. But Ellie remains strong in her convictions of racial equality ... even in klan country, where aything could happen to a young, pretty white girl seemingly turning traitor against her own kind ...
The Last House on the Street is the story of both of these strong women, and how (or even if) their stories might converge in surprising - even shocking - ways. This was my first time reading Diane Chamberlain, after years of hearing so many great things about her work, and while I think I had a stronger connection to Ellie and her story, the book's trips back to 2010 were no less compelling, and 1965 Charmberlain does an intense job of revisiting a volatile, gut-wrenching time in this country's history that - sadly - still resonates today. I had some concerns that the 1965 story was told from the "white" point of view, but Chamberlain gives both Ellie and her story a dignity and earnestness that easily had you watching even the most shocking happen through the young girl's eyes; so much so, by halfway through the book, whenever I had to put it down I found myself constantly wanting to pick iit up again, whenever life intervened. Even if you can kind of guess where you think the ending is going, there are still surprises waiting - making this a compelling, dramatic read that already has me going over Ms. Chamberlain's backlist for more. (4.5/5 stars)
NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
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