What the heck was that? Jo Nesbo introduced me to his famous detective Harry Hole in thirteen well-written and satisfying crime novels, so successful that they have been published in fifty languages and sold over fifty million copies around the world. Reading his novels in proper sequence demonstrated Mr. Nesbo's development as a complex and innovating author as he progressed through this series.

So I jumped at the chance to read his newest effort even though he was applying his writing skills to a new genre. Would it be a logically written novel that would capture the minds of his existing audience or would it prove to be a compendium that was more confusing than compelling? Some authors can make this quantum shift but others miss the mark in a stupendous fashion. Ultimately it is each reader who has to make that decision. Here are my observations.

PART ONE:
Our main character is a fourteen year old boy named Richard who loses his parents in a house fire and is moved to a small town to live with a new foster family. He has a hard time fitting in and quickly brands himself as an outcast. Two of his classmates disappear in mysterious manners, in ways that defy logic but point directly back to Richard. It was here that I almost tossed the book away. There was no logic that tied the events together and I wasn't interested in young teens doing strange things.

PART TWO:
Fifteen years later Richard returns to town for his high school class reunion. The main problem is that his recollection of events don't gel with the memories his classmates have. During the celebration that first evening Richcard's mind becomes disoriented and he finds himself pursued and persecuted by his previous "friends". In the fugue state that follows Richard sees his old aquaintances in a new light, one that includes him being captured and killed.

PART THREE:
And finally Richard awakens in an instutionalized setting and the author explains who he is, where he lives, and what he does on a daily basis. At this point I'll leave the rest up to you the reader. The author obviously took on a grand task outside of his comfort zone. Whether he hit or missed the mark ultimately rests with each reader. I personally was disappointed.

Whew -- I had no idea what to expect coming into this one, and boy was I surprised. This was better than I thought it would be, and had several twists and turns that I did not see coming. Horror? Yea, some. Psychological drama? Yes. This was kind of hard to put a label on, and I realize it is quite different from the author's normal genre.

I was pleasantly surprised by this creepy, creepy book.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

From the striking cover to a renowned crime writer turning their eye to horror, I wanted to like this book so much. Unfortunately, from out of the gate the characters are flimsy and the horror elements lacking originality. Some readers may be turned off by the fatphobia and homophobic elements displayed by the main character, and while I understand they do not represent the views of the author necessarily, they also add nothing to the story/character development. Rather they hang in the air awkwardly with the reader searching for some kind of understanding or payoff that is never fully realized.
The story does go to some interesting places and Nesbo isn't afraid to plot-twist the living bejesus out of readers. One of the downsides of this swing-for-the-fences approach is that a certain crime novel turned feature film (which I won't name for spoilers) trod a lot of the same ground and did it more interestingly and with shades of subtlety.
Readers who enjoy unreliable narratives, creepy small towns, and copious plot twists, as well as regular readers of Nesbo, may find themselves enjoying The Night House, but for casual horror fans, it misses the mark.

This was my first Jo Nesbro experience and it did not disappoint! I've had most of his books on my TBR for a very long time and I am actually very happy to have started with The Night House. We follow our main character, Richard, as he moves to a small town after losing both of his parents. Usually this is where I would find sympathy for a character but, Richard makes that very difficult. Richard is the meanest bully around and no one is safe around him, literally.

Unbelievable things are happening to those around Richard and we go on a quest with him as he begins to unravel what's really happening in the small sleepy town he now lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the horror scenes in this book. They really reminded me of the old horror movies that I loved watching growing up, a little silly and out there but creepy nonetheless. Overall, I enjoyed this book and found that even though it was hard to root for our main character, I wanted to know what happened next and felt the ending did a nice job wrapping up this story. I would 100% recommend to a friend looking for something during spooky season as this was a fun, fast, and enjoyable read!

Seeing that this book is by such a lauded author, I had high hopes. However, these characters were annoying and I really did not enjoy most of this book.

Fourteen year old Richard has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle after his parents died in a house fire. Richard has a reputation of being angry and an outcast, so when a boy goes missing, everyone assumes he has something to do with it. He tries to tell them that the boy got sucked into the telephone receiver in the booth by the edge of the woods but no one believed him except Karen. He finds out where the phone number that the kid prank called leads, and it’s to an abandoned house in the Black Mirror wood. There he sees a terrifying face and he starts to hear whispers in his ear.

The Night House is a good book for spooky season! It’s a fast spooky read that reminds me of a scary story you’d tell when you’re camping. There are definitely some oddities in this book but it all comes together at the end. If you feel like you’re a bit confused, keep going, it’ll all make sense. Oh! And the cover is just too good.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC and giving me the chance to read and review it honestly.

An interesting read. I loved the concept, it would make a good scary movie.
There were so many “what just happened” moments. I love that in a book.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this one.

ARC review - I went into this book having skimmed the synopsis and having zero expectations, and I LOVED it! I read it so quickly, it was an easy read and the story moved fast.

We follow a young teenage boy, Richard, who is sort of an outcast but also a bully. Typically, I don’t like a kids POV and at the beginning I was not a fan of Richard, but the further I got into the story the more I enjoyed his growth. He is unfortunately around two other kids who die unbelievable deaths, and no one believes him. That’s about as far as I can go without any spoilers!

The gore wasn’t too detailed and gruesome, I could’ve handled more, however I still felt like I was captivated enough and could picture everything that was happening.

This was a 4 star read for me! Thank you NetGalley for this ACR, I really enjoyed it’

Thanks netgalley for the chance to read this book early! This was my first jo Nesbit book I’ve read. It was fun and creepy and very unbelievable but that’s what made it fun. There are three parts to the book all make you second guess and question what’s really going on the entire time. After the second part I thought I knew what was happening and then the third part came and made you question yourself again. I read this in one sitting and didn’t entirely like or dislike this one.

This was so creepy, so weird and easy to get lost in! I loved this book. The story within a story worked so well and never took me out of it. Because I didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t, it made me keep reading and I couldn’t slow down. In the end I couldn’t put this down till I was done. It was thrilling and exciting from the beginning and never let up. Jo Nesbo is a great writer and I’m excited to read more. Thank you Jo Nesbo, NetGalley and Knopf for this awesome, creepy and weird book!

THE NIGHT HOUSE/Jo Nesbo
This is a completely different vibe from Nesbo, author of the Harry Hole detective series, which are absolutely superb. Here he changes genre and writes a horror story. It’s dark ,macabre, with lots of terrifying scenes. He divides the book in three sections , and everything comes together in the analytic conclusion. Not a fan of horror stories and honestly read it only because it was Nesbo. I miss Harry Hole.

The Night House - Jo Nesbø

Available: 10/02/23

What a fun read it was following the story of 14-year-old outcast Richard Elauved! Living in the small town of Ballantyne, Richard witnesses his classmate getting sucked into a phone receiver in a telephone booth. As he begins to investigate the mystery, things slowly descend into chaos.

This book takes some trippy turns and twists. Some are predictable, others not. Like Richard, the reader can’t distinguish reality from fiction. The reader follows Richard on the wild ride. I really enjoyed the Inception-like imagery and light horror elements. I only wish the story was a bit more fleshed out. I felt very distant from Richard and all the other characters but, not too much that it hindered my reading experience.

If you enjoyed Goosebumps as a child, you’ll like the vibe of this novel. An excellent addition to your spooky reading.


Thank you @aaknopf for the #gifted e-galley!

A huge shout of appreciation to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read this in advance!

Poor Richard has had a rough life and things are about to get worse. Disappearing classmates, a spooky house, and clueless adults around him who are blind to the mysterious happenings. This story felt like a classic Stephen King novel or an episode of Stranger Things, it feels like a very 80’s inspired horror/thriller. Until…

The story changes…
The author is well known for his Harry Hole series and if you are expecting anything similar to that in this book then you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you are looking for a wild ride with a bit of gore (content warning) and a touch of ‘what the hell is happening’ this is a clear option.

The characters are interesting and certainly develop as the plot thickens. Who do you trust?
It’s funny because there were times reading this when I envisioned cartoon characters instead of actual people. I put this down to the outlandish events and descriptions that seemed too strange to be anything other than a cartoon…from the twilight zone?

My favorite aspect of this story is how unique and creative it is. I indeed had no idea where it was going for a good majority of it. At the same time, I felt a bit confused sometimes or even annoyed, as if we kept ending up in the same conflict over and over. I do think that the payoff in continuing to the end is worth it. While it isn’t anything groundbreaking it sure was fun!

This book is fine but I was expecting a bit more. I think for me it was the writing. It felt juvenile and was distracting me from the story. But I think it's a "me" thing so if someone else enjoys it, that's great.

Twist after twist after twist! Love it! I have to admit I have never read Jo Nesbø although I have seen one Harry Hole film--not sure why, just never got around to it. But, I am definitely going to be reading more. I know this is a stand alone, but I really enjoy the writing style. I also liked his characters because they seemed real.

This story is incredibly imaginative and I am not sure I've ever read anything quite like it. If you enjoy horror and the supernatural, this book is definitely a must-read.

"the night house" is a pretty typical horror novel. nesbo has the novel split into two sections, with both narratives coming together in the end. for me, this novel was incredibly hard to follow. i never knew what was really going on due to the supreme lack of detail. the second half felt like a punch in the face and the twist is a bit archaic, underwhelming, and offensive to those with mental health issues.

if you're looking for a paranormal, intense horror, this is not for you. if you have a mental illness, like i do, this is not for you. i really expected something different from this book, and i'm disappointed in the way nesbo constructed this text. it feels half baked and juvenile.

First I want to thank Netgalley and Knopf publishing for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Well this book was definitely interesting and gets your attention right from the start. Then it just gets a little to bizarre for me. The book is creepy and will make you want to turn the page, but it got too outlandish for my taste. The book is made up into three parts, the first part is the longest and part two and three are significantly shorter. I was about to give up on the book when part one ended and things started to make sense..so I kept reading. The ending did tie things up and the book finally made some sense, but I am on the fence on if I actually enjoyed this book or not.

This book is a short read, so if you like scary and spooky reads, this could work for you as it has those elements. The reading was well done and the author keeps you in suspense to figure out what the heck is going on. These things are why I gave it three stars. If I had enjoyed the actual story more and did find a lot of things so outlandish about the book, I would have rated it higher.

My reading theme so far this year has been horror. I can certainly say for the last few years I’ve consumed much more horror content than ever before and I'm thriving. The Night House by Jo Nesbø is the 7th book I’ve finished while heading towards my goal of 15 books read in 2023 and, as you might have guessed, it’s a horror. And while the title didn’t send shivers down my spine or have me sleeping with a night light, it was a decent horror all the same.

The Night House tells the story of Richard Elauved, a fourteen-year-old boy, who has recently moved to the small town of Ballantyne after losing both of his parents in a terrible house fire. His foster parents do what they can to make him feel welcome, but Richard seems determined to embrace his new position in Ballantyne as an outcast. After one of Richard’s only friends goes missing everyone suspects Richard has something to do with the disappearance, especially considering he is telling everyone that his friend was eaten by a phone booth.

The horror in The Night House starts right away and gives the reader an idea of what they can expect. The story is very well paced and I often found myself wishing I could read ahead to see how each chapter was going to end (of course I didn’t, what kind of person do you think I am?). On quite a few occasions the book reminded me of Stephen King’s IT. Oftentimes in stories like this when a young person is claiming to have seen something unbelievable it’s the adults that come off silly and ignorant for not believing and that’s pretty much the case here. That being said, most of Jo Nesbø’s characters in The Night House, both young and adult alike, end up redeeming themselves in some way so you don’t have to spend too much time wishing they weren’t so darn thick.

One criticism I have for The Night House is the way that the author describes anyone overweight as though they themselves are just as horrific as the man-eating phone booths. It left a sour taste in my mouth that Richard continuously calls one of his friends “Fatso.” I previously mentioned IT, which uses this same trope for the character Ben. Much like animals in horror films and books being killed, the “fat people are disgusting and terrifying” trope in horror feels overused and unnecessary.

What I enjoyed most about this book were the different themes that reappeared throughout its entirety. The Night House tackles guilt, forgiveness, loss, love, grief, bullying, mental illness and more in some truly unique ways. But it’s not forced on you all at one time. And the more you discover about each of Ballantyne’s unique resident’s, the more you’ll see how these themes relate to and affect Richard and his own personal struggles as well.

The Night House by Jo Jo Nesbø is a very good read and one that I would definitely recommend to my fellow horror fans. Without spoiling anything it’s difficult to go into detail, but you won’t be disappointed when you get to the real juicy stuff, I promise. And while I found some parts of the book slower than others, it has memorable characters, nice spooky feels and an unexpected ending. I received an advanced copy of the book, but definitely pick this one up when it officially releases (expected September 26th, 2023).

I just concluded my last book of the evening (lies) it’s only 10:21pm and that mean I have one last one in me before my head hits the pillow.

I know, I know, you think I’m crazy but after a wild birthday weekend the only way I know how to reset and recharge is when I sit down in my reading room with my books.

I saved the best for last (for the night)

Drumroll please…..

The Night House

I bounce around from thrillers to romcoms, I know, wild and drastically different but I love both so much!

A good friend of mine hooked me on Jo Nesbo a few years ago and I haven’t been the same since . I absolutely adore these books and The Night House, is no different! This book right here is literally and literary, everything.

I had to catch my breath a few times but never once lost interest. I was completely invested in the storyline from page one. I mean, this is to be expected, it’s Jo Nesbo, we are talking about.

I felt the electricity in my soul and my just couldn’t believe what I was reading . This book has bestseller written all over it.

Don’t believe me, I dare you, instead, find out for yourself. Here’s a teaser:

In the wake of his parents’ tragic deaths in a house fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects the new, angry boy is responsible for his disappearance. No one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver like something out of a horror movie. No one, that is, except Karen, a beguiling fellow outsider who encourages Richard to pursue clues the police refuse to investigate. He traces the number that Tom prank-called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in the Mirror Forest. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear . . .

She’s going to burn. The girl you love is going to burn. There’s nothing you can do about it.

When another classmate disappears, Richard must find a way to prove his innocence—and preserve his sanity—as he grapples with the dark magic that is possessing Ballantyne and pursuing his destruction.

Then again, Richard may not be the most reliable narrator of his own story . . .

This book was written SO well! It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. The plot twists were amazing and had me questioning what was real. I read this in one sitting! The ending was so awesome and completely unexpected. I wish I could read this for the first time again!