Diane Chamberlain grabs our attention in the first few pages of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET when Kayla Carter is confronted by a hostile woman masquerading as a prospective client. She knows more than is comfortable about Kayla and the recent death of her husband, Jackson, as well as her young daughter and the secluded new house they are preparing to move into. Her tone is threatening and leads Kayla to have serious doubts about the house that she and her husband, both architects, had built as the home of their dreams.

Located in the small town of Round Hill, North Carolina, it is literally the last house on a street that has only one other house on it. It’s on a large piece of property, filled with huge windows and surrounded by a forest. The couple imagined that they would be living in the midst of nature, but now Kayla feels strangely nervous. When she goes through her husband's documents and finds a letter from her father telling Jackson that perhaps this is not the best location for them to build their home, she has even more questions.

"Once I started this book, my phone went ignored as I read page after page. I was consumed by the dual stories.... One cannot read this touching, tragic and terribly realistic novel without reflecting on our history of civil rights issues and where we are today."

Along with Kayla's first person narrative, which takes place in 2010, we hear from a woman who grew up in that other house on Kayla's street. Ellie Hockley tells readers about her experiences in 1965 when she decides to work with activists encouraging people to register to vote just before President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act into law. Ellie's family, her best friend Brenda, and her boyfriend Reed are shocked that she would be involved in something like this. In fact, as we learn, the KKK had more members in North Carolina at this time than in all the other states combined. While not considered the "Deep South," it was certainly not entirely open to desegregation and equal rights. Ellie must convince the local Black minister organizing the activists of her sincerity as almost all the white activists are from the North.

Chamberlain's writing is compelling, and her two protagonists are sympathetic. While our heart breaks for Kayla and her loss, and we fear for her safety, we also greatly admire Ellie as she bucks everything that the white people in her town stand for, including the beliefs of her parents, her friends and practically every acquaintance. She knows no white person who supports her efforts. The fact that she is living with Black families and working alongside Black folks is repugnant to them, yet she perseveres.

Once I started this book, my phone went ignored as I read page after page. I was consumed by the dual stories. I wanted to know how Ellie ended up living in San Francisco for 45 years after her 1965 account, having never returned to Round Hill in all that time. What caused her to leave town at the age of 20? She only comes back when her brother is dying of congestive heart failure, which is when she meets Kayla. Chamberlain reveals the answers to our questions carefully, and while some of our suspicions are confirmed, she leaves one horrifying twist to almost the very end.

One cannot read this touching, tragic and terribly realistic novel without reflecting on our history of civil rights issues and where we are today. Referenced here are Andrew Goodman, James Earl Chaney and Michael Schwerner, three civil rights activists who were brutally murdered in their early 20s for their part in trying to register Black people to vote. In the Author's Note, Chamberlain writes, "How wonderful it would be to be able to say that the Voting Rights Act...put an end to voting discrimination." She goes on to say that since the 2013 Supreme Court decision to do away with the oversight of state voting laws, legislators in at least 43 states are trying to pass (and are succeeding) "laws that will make voting more difficult, particularly for people of color. It's distressing that politics continues to play such a pivotal role in what should be a basic American right."

Don't miss this brilliant novel. It's historical fiction with several mysteries embedded in the plot; a love story; a remarkable view of the Deep South and the bigotry and prejudice that were a core part of the lives of most Southerners; an indictment of those in law enforcement who all too often were members of the KKK; and a story of family and friendship.