

Of course, the novel is much more than that description and any further exploration of exactly how the story of these characters unfold would be spoilers. This all seems rather straightforward, aside from maybe getting the perspective of Olivia the Cat. Dee finds herself focused on Ted as the possible kidnapper.

Outside of Ted’s house, we are told of a girl who disappeared maybe a decade prior to the start of the novel, and how her sister Dee obsessively is trying to find the sister she called Lulu. Through Ted’s daily routines, we learn about his past, including his trouble childhood, and his connections to the woods just at the end of his street and his suspicions of a murderer living in his neighborhood. His habits keep him fairly regimented, as we “meet him” on the anniversary of “Little Girl with Popsicle.” Ted isn’t the only voice we hear in the narrative, Lauren and Olivia both give us their perspective.

Ted Bannerman is a reclusive man, he lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three.Ī teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time.Ī man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory.Īnd a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.Īn 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. publication of Catriona Ward’s The Last House on Needless Street.

Some books arrive with a great deal of preamble…pre-publication buzz from industry giants like Stephen King and Paul Tremblay, massive promotion, and being considered a launch title for a brand new imprint from the genre’s largest publisher.
