whimsydearest

All Rob wanted was to escape her past and live an ordinary life in the suburbs. However, when her oldest daughter, Callie, begins collecting animal bones and whispering to imaginary friends, she recognizes that there is the same darkness inside Callie that resides within herself. To protect the rest of her family, she decides to take Callie to revisit her childhood home of Sundial and confront the dark secrets that lie buried there. Sundial  by Catriona Ward is a twisty-turvy and unnerving domestic thriller that’ll leave you squirming in your seat. I was first drawn in by the gorgeous cover and wanted to love this one so badly. However, the book ended up as a bit of a mixed bag for me. What I loved about it? There’s something raw and visceral about the prose, and Ward does an excellent job of placing us inside of the characters’ heads. The beginning of the book starts off so strong. It felt like a contained, intimate portrait of motherhood, and that’s the aspect of the story that g...

  The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward is a truly dark and unnerving psychological thriller told from three main perspectives. - Ted: a man who lives in a boarded-up house with his cat and his daughter who occasionally visits. - Olivia: a highly intelligent cat who loves the bible. - Dee: the sister of a missing girl who's convinced that Ted kidnapped her sister, so she moves into the house next door to spy on him. Now, story’s pacing might not be everyone’s copy of tea. This book is a true slowburn. The story goes from mundane everyday tasks like eating and house repairs to jarringly messed up. On one hand, I found this juxtaposition created a sense of uncanniness and unease throughout the novel. On the other hand, I also found the story boring in parts. I think it’s also important to note that a lot of information is withheld from the reader upfront, but half the fun is trying to unravel what’s going on. The story is filled with twists and turns. Some reveals I saw ...