My Rating: 4 stars
Diane Chamberlain is quite a prolific writer, with over two dozen novels to her name, yet so far, I've only read three of her novels. However, with that said — seeing that I've enjoyed all 3 of the novels that I've read, Chamberlain has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I'm hoping I'll be able to find the time to explore more of her backlist at some point!
Chamberlain's latest novel, The Last House on the Street, follows a similar pattern as her previous novels in that it features a dual timeline narrative with two strong yet flawed female protagonists and its center. The first timeline starts off in the year 2010, in the small town of Round Hill, North Carolina, where a young architect named Kayla Carter is trying to piece her life back together after her beloved husband Jackson dies in a freak accident while working on their dream house. Kayla knows that she needs to stay strong for her 4-year-old daughter Rainie, and even though it pains her to move into the house that she feels took her husband from her, she also doesn't want to throw away all the hard work that her husband (who was also an architect) put into designing it. As she is about to move in though, a red-haired woman repeatedly tries to dissuade Kayla from moving in, and soon, all sorts of strange things start to happen. The story then jumps back in time to 1965, where 20-year old Ellie Hockley, a privileged white girl who lives on a street in Round Hill that is named after her family, decides to join SCOPE, an organization whose purpose is to persuade the black population to register to vote once the Voting Rights Act is signed into law. Raised in the Deep South, in a little enclave that was essentially isolated from the rest of the world, Ellie is shocked to realize how much her family as well as the entire community as a whole opposes her participation in the civil rights movement, but she comes to realize that this is her passion.
The story alternates between the perspectives of these two courageous women (Kayla and Ellie) who couldn't be more different in terms of personality, but share the common struggle of having to stand up for what they believe in, even with the odds stacked against them. I couldn't help but be drawn to both women and found myself rooting for them throughout the story, even during those moments when they made decisions that frustrated me. Chamberlain does a wonderful job telling both women's stories, but what I loved the most was the way the two timelines merged near the end, in a way that was both unique and satisfying. With these types of dual timeline stories, I usually prefer one timeline over the other, but I actually liked both this time around — though character-wise, Ellie was definitely my favorite.
Just as she does with her previous works, Chamberlain once again presents an emotionally resonant story that defies categorization into any particular genre. While there were elements of suspense with the "mystery" that unfolded in Kayla's timeline, the historical elements were also strong, especially in Ellie's timeline with the civil rights movement and everything that went on during that time period.
This was definitely a worthwhile read and while I don't want to say too much so as not to give away the story, I will say that if you liked Chamberlain's previous book Big Lies in a Small Town (which came out back in 2020), you will probably like this one as well, since both were written in a similar vein (though they cover different time periods). Also, this story is extremely timely given the social justice theme that it covers, though a word of warning that some parts will be difficult to read (especially in Ellie's timeline given the historical context with the civil rights movement and the injustices that occurred during that time).
I personally can't wait for Chamberlain's next book, though of course, there are plenty of backlist options for me to explore in the meantime.
Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley
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