This was not what I expected at all.
I did not enjoy my time reading this at all. I was ready to be over so fast.
I spent a a lot of the book annoyed with the POV of the boy.

This book was definitely odd. I went into it thinking it would be more of a traditional horror story- it was anything but that. Part 1 was fine- spooky but read like a Middle Grade Stephen King. I wish that there had been more focus on the scary stuff- telephones eating people, the thing in the house, who Imu was (was it even anyone?). This is one of those rare books that could have used an extra 100 or so pages, particularly in Part 1 and 2.

Weirdly, Part 2 was my favorite. Loved the twist at the end, liked the reunion schtick, all good stuff. This actually would have been a great book if rearranged a bit, with Part 2 as the main part and Part 1 as flashbacks to the narrators childhood. Flesh out the white magic words and black magic words a bit, throw in some more back story about Imu or the concept of it, and have the narrator trying to navigate a high school reunion while remembering back to a hazy childhood. All the pieces are there. The execution though...

Part 3 could have just been left out. Just this girl's opinion.

I have to be honest and this had all the tropes I hated. Every twist made me dislike the book more. I had no connection to anyone so I just left annoyed. I am so so sick of the fat kid in books and then add them being gay and used as negative aspects.

3.75⭐
A+++ for the cover art!
A solid B for the story.
This had a lot of fun, 80's throwback, coming of age horror to begin with. Then naturally, an expected jump to adulthood with a twist... only there's a second turn of events, that I wasn't expecting which made the story more enjoyable, bringing everything full circle.

Thanks to NetGalley for.the eARC!

Richard's parents die in a fire, and he moves to a small town to live with his aunt and uncle. He struggles to fit in, and then strange things happen to his classmates. Is Richard behind it, or is something more sinister going on?

Overall, I give The Night House 3 coffees. It is a bit different from Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, but a similar style. It starts slow and builds. By about the mid to two-thirds point, you want to keep reading to find out what the twist is.

Unfortunately, in The Night House, the twist is a trope that has been overdone and not much of a twist or original.

Nesbo does a great job setting the scene. I feel like I am in a small town and meeting all these interesting characters. The first two-thirds of the book has a creepy atmosphere and leaves you feeling unnerved. It does not carry through to the final third. The setting for the end of the book felt forced and sterile.

There were two interesting climaxes, but the resolution left me feeling unfulfilled. It was too much of a cheap trope.

The characters feel well-developed, and I wanted to know more about them. The characters were detailed, and the dynamics and growth were great. Richard seemed like a reliable narrator, but was he? I do love a good, unreliable narrator.

Nesbo references literature (Lord of the Flies, Metamorphosis) and movies, mostly classic monsters such as Frankenstein and Swamp Thing. It was an interesting way to show Richard’s interest and thoughts. A few things felt like foreshadowing, but you aren’t really sure where it is going to go.

I would recommend this book if you like unreliable narrators and great characters. However, without giving any spoilers, the ending may annoy you.

I just finished The Night House and my brain is spinning from all of the twists!

The Night House has Hell House vibes, but with a super unreliable teen narrator. It's scary right from the start and then kinda gets confusing...which I blame partially on the translation and partly on the unreliable narrative. Every time I thought I had the story figured out another twist would come. The further into the book I got the quicker the twists came...you're left with whiplash at the end going "wait, what just happened?!"

It made me want to go wandering the woods to look for gothic houses!

It's a quick creepy read perfect for this spooky season!

Thank you so much to @netgalley for the chance to review The Night House by Jo Nesbo. Spooky, moving between paranormal and darkness that young men can possess, was a fun read. It was spooky, and left me guessing the entire time. There are prank calls, voices, and a missing classmate, and newly orphaned 14 year-old Richard has to navigate a new life in a remote town.

I thoroughly enjoyed this!

First off, props for such a great and creepy cover! I must say as far as inventive deaths go, being slurped up by a telephone receiver is going to stick in m y mind for a long time! So there is that and other creepy black magic and then because Richard may or may not be a reliable narrator, it is hard to know what the truth is, especially with the twist that turns everything on its side and then another twist and nothing is what it seems.

This was a good horror book and I shall have bad dreams about that slurping telephone! Now even more reasons not to answer the phone!

This is my first Jo Nesbo book and I did enjoy the writing style and the cover of the book really drew me in! I absolutely love how the book started, I was absolutely hooked from the first chapter. Like other reviewers have said, it did not end the way that I expected to, and it really dragged on the last couple of chapters. I’m not quite sure why the author took it in a different direction at the end when it really could’ve been a great book if that twist didn’t happen. I am looking forward to starting the Harry Hole series!
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first book by this author. It was creepy and definitely held my interest. Richard has been orphaned by a tragic fire and is living in a new place with his aunt and uncle. He doesn't fit in and strange things keep happening around him. It leaves the reader questioning what is real and isn't. The ending was definitely a surprise.

This was… something. It was wild, but kind of predictable? An unreliable narrator has you never quite knowing what is actually happening, and there is some weird AF stuff that is on these pages. Honestly, I was kind of let down by the second half. I enjoyed the first part and when it moved into the predictable area is when it started losing me. This was a fairly quick read though, and it was a good choice for spooky season.

This is a horror novel in three acts, you could say. The first act is basically a novel, written in first-person, with a decidedly young adult feel to it -- it took me back to my tween and teen years of reading Fear Street and Christopher Pike books. The second and third acts each give us a new pivot, resetting the story and reintroducing us to the characters.

The cover is excellent, definitely attention-getting. I'm glad I stuck with the story for the payoff, but without having that framework in mind, I can see how readers might tire of the YA-ness of the first part. All in all, it's an enjoyable enough read, solidly in the horror genre, but that requires patience.

I CANT SHUT UP ABOUT THIS BOOK! I’m OBSESSED!!
This book was not what I expected at all, and I really feel like you should go into it as blind as possible. I read the blurb/description and that’s all I knew. So I’m not going to spoil anything in my review. This is definitely one of those books that is enjoyed best if you let it take you on a ride. And what an intense and thrilling ride it is. After I’d finished the book I had a huge adrenaline rush that eventually calmed to just feeling like gently crying . 10/10 reading experience. I absolutely loved this book. Spooky scary thriller with big emotions.

The Night House gives off some Stephen King I.T. vibes, some 80s/90s horror vibes for sure. The writing is captivating, the plot moves at breakneck speed. Being a horror novel, I was bracing myself for something really bleak. But instead there were moments I teared up at, and moments that made me smile. And terrifying, thrilling moments of course. This is a very unique story, the plot was constantly changing I never knew where it was going next. I can’t say I had any favorite characters because things changed my perceptions of characters several times. Except Feihta, because he’s a treasure.
This book contains one of my least favorite tropes but it was done so well I ended up loving it. As soon as I finished I wanted to read it again. I’ve been thinking about it for days and days and talking about it to anyone who will listen! I can not recommend this book enough!

I’ve been wanting to give Jo Nesbo a try for a while now based on my following of Crime by the Book on instagram who highly recommends Nesbo, an internationally decorated Norwegian writer. According to her page, this was Nesbo’s first stab (pun intended) at horror when his typical appears to be along the lines of mystery and police procedurals, which the latter is a little more up my alley but I dabble in horror when it’s a well known author. Also, the description of this book grabbed my attention immediately and it seemed like a perfect fit for the Halloween spooky season fast approaching.

This book was just alright and I struggled a little bit to finish and truly understand what was happening and why. The story gets started immediately with the action, horror and mystery of it all and then slows back down significantly. The MMC Richard (my husband’s name) is a very troubled and unlikable orphan child that no one believes when he says the pay phone ate his friend whole and that Imu, the intended recipient of their prank call, is real and is causing this all. Later on in the story when he is older, he becomes a little more likable but not enough for me to be invested in the story. I can see how others who frequent this genre would enjoy this book more than myself though.

The translation appeared to be flawless and I was really impressed by that.

Because this was Nesbo’s first in the horror genre, it won’t prevent me from reading more from him in the future. Especially his earlier mysteries.

Thank you to Knopf, Jo, and NetGalley for the digital advance review copy!

I was so excited about this book. I mean just look at that amazing cover. Sadly I didn't end up enjoying it much. I was honestly confused for most of the book just waiting for it to make sense. Unfortunately it never really did.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Night House was a fun and quick read that reminded me of a cross between Stephen King and Josh Malerman. The first section of the book is when the main character is a teenager and a bit of a bully. The year isn't given but the Nintendo is about to be released soon so probably 1982 or 83. The few kids that will hang out with him keep disappearing (in very bizarre ways) and the police department has questions.
In the second part of the book, it is 15 years later and the main character is at his class reunion where the rest of the class remembers the past a bit differently.
I won't tell you about the third part of the book because it would be a spoiler, but there are definitely a few twists and turns.
There were a few timeline inconsistencies that didn't line up for me and everything goes a bit off of the rails in the second part for awhile, but I guess both of these things could be explained away in the third section. Overall, a good read for spooky season.

3.5 stars.
I almost loved this book. The main character starts off as the antagonist. I absolutely hated him, which I loved. He reminded me how awful teenage boys can be. And then to have a kid get devoured by a phone in the opening chapter really set my expectations. It was dark, creepy, and unsettling. Part one was an easy 5 stars.

Part two was okay. Part three was really interesting but it definitely undid all of the horror elements. lt felt like waking up and realizing it was all just a nightmare. A bit anticlimactic if you're looking for something to really scare you.

Thanks NetGalley and PRH for the arc!

I had read Nesbo many years ago and wasn’t a fan so I wasn’t sure if hat to expect when I picked up this book.
Oh boy, every time you think you have figured it out there’s a twist followed by a twist. Quick read and I wouldn’t say it’s horror as much as suspense.
Overall good read!

Grateful for the opportunity to dive into the ARC of this book, though it didn't quite captivate me enough to reach the final page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor as well as the author for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
#NetGalley #KnopfPantheonVintageandAnchor #TheNightHouse #JoNesbo
Author: Jo Nesbo
Publisher: Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
Trigger Warnings: PTSD, bullying, some gore,
Find my other reviews at horrorcornerbooks.wordpress.com

So, this is the first book I’ve read by this author. After I finished I went looking for more of his books and was surprised to find that he normally writes crime fiction. This was such a solid horror book that I wasn’t expecting it to be new territory for him. I’m hoping he will continue on this path as I had a ton of fun with this book. Richard Elauvad is new in town. After a tragic fire takes his parents, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. After some of the kids at his school disappear, all while with him, everyone naturally assumes that he is involved. He’s a bully after all. Right? Everyone treats him like the outcast he is except Karen. Richard needs to clear his name somehow. Desperate times call for desperate measures, it would seem. Then again, maybe things aren’t what they seem.

As previously mentioned, this isn’t one of Mr. Nesbo’s popular Harry Hole books. This is a horror novel that isn’t afraid to go for the throat. Divided into three parts, we are slowly introduced to Richard Elauvad. The horror starts almost immediately and creates more questions than answers, but the imagery and the author’s creative scene setting make the horror elements visceral and push the questions to the back of the reader’s mind. We may have the main character’s point of view but that doesn't mean we have any idea what’s going on.
The second part is more drama than horror but the character development remains strong and we’re given some answers, although not in the way we expected. The less revealed about the third part, the better. It just needs to be read. Mr. Nesbo is very talented in character development as well as imagery. Also, this book has a gorgeous cover!

There is some room for improvement here. Remember the loose threads I mentioned earlier? Some of them are never sewn back in. Most aren’t major but it would have helped flesh out the horror. The text could have used some editing, even though the book is relatively short. I did find myself getting frustrated with the pacing from time to time.

All in all, I loved this book and definitely hope the author writes more horror. I recommend this book to anyone who loves horror and twisty stories.