Far more cerebral than I was expecting, making it all the more interesting to read, The Night House is a book I’ll long remember. Spooky, fun, heartbreaking, and strangely hopeful, I’ll be sure to pass on a recommendation for it to many of my closest friends and family. Well done!

What a wild ride! This page turner is full of twists and turns that you'll never see coming! I'd love to see it made into a movie. It definitely has strong coming of age adventure vibes like the classics It and The Body from The King 👑. Loses a star because of fatphobia throughout, otherwise would've been a Five Star Read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to the author, Net Galley, and Knopf for this ARC.

This was a lot to unpack in a relatively short story. Phew. This was my first Jo Nesbo book so I am unfamiliar with the writing style and author choices, but am not sure I would read another one if the others are similar to this.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @ 20%

this main character is insufferable and utterly intolerable for me. he reminds me of holden caufield and as much as im curious about the plot, its not enough for me to keep reading.

the book is also v reminiscent of a stephen king meets malice house.

Nesbos writing is sharp and atmospheric, drawing readers into a web of secrets and lies. The plot is intricately woven, with unexpected twists that keep you guessing until the final page. The protagonist's complex character adds depth to the narrative, making the story as much about personal redemption as it is about solving the crime.

"The Night House" excels in creating a tense and immersive reading experience. Nesbos skillful storytelling and well-developed characters ensure that this novel will linger in the minds of readers long after they turn the last page.

I wanted to love this but it didn’t hit the mark for me. The cover gave me all the right feels but the content did not deliver. Love this author though!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ebook. It was interesting in the beginning, then lost me in keeping me hooked. I liked the writing and will check out other books too. The plot and execution was good.

Okay, so sometimes in books insults and events that were not cool with will come up. The question then becomes “is it the author or the character?”, when the character, “did it contribute to developing the character?”….sure, it did. Is character building so great if it’s pulling you out of the story so much though?

I will say that this story kept my interest and was a relatively fast read, always wanting to know what happened. That’s something I certainly look for with a desire to feel engaged, however I also left feeling like I overlooked something and felt I was left with a few loose ends. There are aspects I enjoyed, including the pacing, I just didn’t walk away totally fulfilled. 2-2.5

This was my first foray into the author's work, and while I had certain expectations based on Nesbo's reputation for thrillers and crime novels, this book took me into full-fledged horror territory.

The novel was okay overall. One of its strengths was the nostalgia it evoked, which added a layer of personal resonance to the experience. The way the story taps into memories and past emotions was well-executed and provided a nice touch of sentiment.

However, the book didn’t quite live up to my hopes. Some parts of the story felt a bit silly and detracted from the overall impact. The shift from Nesbo's typical thriller style to horror didn’t always work seamlessly, and there were moments where the horror elements seemed a bit over-the-top or out of place.

On the positive side, the shorter length of the novel was a benefit, allowing it to be a quick read without dragging on.

Jo Nesbo is truly a fantastic writer with a gift. Many times I found myself biting my nails in intrigue to see what would happen next. I love thriller / horror and mysteries and this was no exception to my never ending list of books I love within the genres. Highly recommend!

It’s the outpouring of an unwell mind, and I found no one to empathize with. Too odd for words, yet I don’t feel it was a waste of time to read. I did want to know how things turned out for the main character.

DNF'd at 10%. Way too much fat shaming and I understand the language was juvenile given the age of the main character, but I could just not get over it.

I love when authors branch out of their usual genre. Jo Nesbø writes Nordic noir, famously the Harry Hole series. The Night House is a fast paced horror novel that I read in record time. Unfortunately, not everything worked for me.

I flew through this one. It’s an immersive read that will keep you saying things like “what is happening?” For some reason, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief and the action in the very first chapter threw me off.

The Night House has a theme on bullying that happens in most horror books that involve children. There’s a lot fat phobic language I struggled with. While I understand it was there as a plot device, it was jarring.

I found the plot of this book very interesting. Told in three parts, you following Richard on what’s really a mental journey, and you never really know what’s real. Over the last few days, I’ve found myself thinking about this book a lot more than I thought I would.

The Night House is out 10/3/23, and honestly I might pick it up for the cover alone. I’m digging the 80’s/90’s horror covers we’re getting this year. Thank you to @netgalley for my copy!

Wow, I actually found this so delightful. Just when I thought it was over there was a part two that flipped the whole thing on its head and then just when that was over part three came and really twisted it around! The twists and turns kept coming and it was honestly just an overall delight of a horror story. I couldn’t ask for much more. Short and sweet, engaging story, keeps you guessing, suspense and gore….yes please.

With a cover like this I expected some scares. Instead I got a completely bizarre sometimes nonsensical book that started out so strong and had me hooked, then grew gradually weaker until the end when I just kind of went, "...meh?"

When Richard is fourteen, his parents die in a house fire. He is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in a small town called Ballantyne. He is an outcast from the start, but manages to convince one kid to hang out with him. But when Tom disappears, everyone thinks Richard has tossed him in the river. No one believes him that they made a prank phone call from a telephone booth and then the receiver ate Tom right up. Richard begins seeing things and hearing voices, then a second classmate vanishes. Richard is unable to convince everyone that Fatso, as he was rudely nicknamed, morphed into a giant bug and flew away after having dinner at Richard's house one evening. Richard is sent away to a correctional facility, where strange events continue to happen.

I love love love unreliable narrators, but Richard was on a whole other level, to the point this just bordered on absurd. Richard was awful and unreliable, which is also not typically a deal-breaker because some of my favorite characters have been not-so-great people. They're just that well written. And it's not that Richard isn't well-written, he's just such a little jerk. He's mean and always looking for trouble, nevermind the homophobia and misogyny. He was just so mean that when everything started happening, it was hard to feel bad for him. I kept reminding myself his parents had died, but eventually I just did not care because he's unlikable and not in a fun way.

The first part of the book was the best and I was so into the story, had no idea where it could go. Part two is told with Richard as an adult. Not the worst, but the feel of the story shifted and I wasn't as into it. Part three...I don't even know. It felt like a big letdown but I can't even explain why because, spoilers.

Overall I can't say I really recommend it, unless you want a bizarre read that leaves you thinking, "...WHAT? OH. Oh. Well...eh."

The Night House starts strong, reminding me of an upgraded 90s era YA horror. Then, part 2 happens.

I was excited for a book that would help get me in the mood for spooky season! I fell in love with the cover, and I was familiar with the author but had never read any of his other books as they typically aren't in my preferred genres. All that being said, I was looking forward to this one.

The Night House started out strong with its unnerving horror hook and the nostalgic feel of a 80s coming-of-age story. It only gets more surreal and exciting as it works through the part 1.

And, unfortunately, this was the only part of the book that I really enjoyed. I only got more confused and lost in part 2, and disappointed by the 3rd and final part. I found the ending to be trite and cliche, and I was hoping for something a bit more fresh or shocking. The "twist" didn't really feel like a twist at all which makes for a highly anticlimactic experience.

All this being said, I didn't HATE this book, I just wish it had handled parts of the story differently.

I was really hesitant to read The Night House because I am such a huge fan of Jo Nesbo's crime and Police Procedural novels and I had heard a few negative reviews of this book which takes a completely different approach into a more horror / YA genre. In the end, I didn't hate it but I didn't quite love it either. Told in three parts I did think that the way the story was split was really interesting. I enjoyed Part 1 and was imagining it being a nod to Stephen King's IT, a coming of age story which uses horror to explore the challenges faced by the young characters. Then, when I started reading Part 2, I realised that this section of the book explains a lot of the things that happened in the beginning of the story. Then, Part 3 explains a lot of the unanswered questions from Part 2. Essentially it's a story which is layered to gradually reveal more and more of the plot. I thought Richard as the main protagonist was brilliant, obviously you need to suspend belief quite a bit if you want to really get into this story, but no matter what your opinions are of the story, I'm sure everyone would agree that Richard had a lot to deal with at such a young age and everything that happened to him was quite disturbing. The thing I didn't quite understand was who this book was aimed at - is it supposed to be an Adult Horror or is it aimed at a more YA audience? For me the tone of the story felt YA but there were some quite dark scenes and events that could be a major trigger for some people. Still, definitely worth a read for any 90's horror fans!

This book had an intriguing premise that drew me in and I was really liking it through part one. Parts two and three was where it lost me. I did not like the ending so it lowered my overall enjoyment of the book.

I was hoping for a little bit more when I picked up the book but unfortunately the plot was not for me. I love a good horror story and I hope other readers love it but I couldn’t get into it like I’d hoped.
Thank you for the arc!