With its intriguing premise, Gothic vibes, the behind-the-scenes look at reality television and the paranormal mystery The Invisible World by Nora Fussner is an interesting read.
As the novel begins, we follow the crew of a paranormal television show “Searching for . . . the Invisible World” to Ninebark, Pennsylvania, where they will be filming a part of their latest season. Aspiring artist Eve Hawthorne-Malone and her husband Ryan’s new home, which they suspect is haunted after a spate of eerie occurrences. Sandra, the producer of the show, has a predefined approach to filming and presenting the show- a fact that Eve is unaware of and thus is a tad disillusioned when her efforts to share her thoughts and past experiences, which she feels might be connected to present events aren’t met with the level of interest she had anticipated. Her husband Ryan also believes he can manipulate the creators of the show in his own way. What the producers, the crew and the investigators weren’t prepared for were strange occurrences they experienced while filming, including the disappearance of one of their own. The narrative follows these characters through the paranormal investigation behind the events.

The narrative is presented through transcripts of interviews of their hosts and details of the investigations conducted by Paranormal Investigators of Pennsylvania (PIP)- a ghost hunting operation with whom the production company collaborates including séance sessions with a local psychic- throughout spanning five days and nights the crew spent onsite. The author seamlessly weaves several sub-plots into the narrative and draws you in and keeps you invested in the plot as it is gradually unraveled. Eve’s personal journey is deeply embedded into the narrative of the plot. There are several characters to keep track of and a lot of drama going on behind the scenes.

There is a lot to like about this debut novel. The narrative does suffer from minor repetition, but that does detract from the overall reading experience. However, I found it difficult to connect with any of the main characters and the personal drama often overshadowed the paranormal mystery at the core of this novel. I also felt that certain aspects of the plot were left unexplained, resulting in a somewhat ambiguous ending.

Many thanks to Vintage Anchor for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The bullheadedness of a vivid nightmare. The individual characters were keenly developed.
Many thanks to Vintage Anchor and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story had what sounded like an interesting premise, but I found the execution rather dry and incoherent. The narrative is broken up with trancripts for the paranormal TV show. I usually enjoy this type of format, but it often confused me and threw me out of the story.

There were a lot of characters, and I never got a good feel for them. I didn’t feel like there was much room for character depth or motivations. It just seemed like a bunch of random events strung together with little purpose or resolution. I was disappointed in a few dropped subplots and ultimately, it just never pulled me in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

This could have been amazing, but it ultimately fell flat for me. A horror book REALLY has to capture me to get me.

I grew up watching Ghost Adventures, so I can say with confidence that The Invisible World is a fun romp "in search of" the other side for any who have had a hunch about the existence of the paranormal. Nora Fussner builds an ensemble class of both believers and non-believers all caught up in an about-to-be-canceled show filming in a small town. Amidst the hustle and bustle of camera crews, we follow a number of competing perspectives: Ryan and Eve, the couple who successfully applied to be on the show when their house started having strange occurrences; Sandra, the producer of the show who is burnt out and a bit too married to her strict schedule; and Caitlin, Charles, and Allen, who are paranormal investigators the show often hires as consultants.

I really enjoyed the book's formatting - it has a mixture of transcribed video, interviews, and traditional narration. However, the many perspectives give the book a lack of focus that ends up leaving more questions than answers about who/what is causing the paranormal activity to occur. Perhaps that is the intention, but it left me feeling dissatisfied! I did, however, really enjoy the perspectives of the paranormal team and the random crew members. Sandra, Eve, and Ryan all ended up being frustrating whenever we got their POV.

This is not your average haunted house story. It is your better than average haunted house story. Readers of literary fiction will absolutely love this spin on the haunted house trope for its deep character development and character-focused orientation.

The novel is simple enough in its premise: a couple invite pandemonium into their house when they have a television crew for a “ghost hunter” style show come to their home to document their haunting. The events take place around this misfit cast of producers, camera operators, show staffers, the homeowners, and the carious psychics they call on to flesh out the dramatics of the show. It is the interplay of their individual needs, desires (met and unmet) that form the basis for this novel. Underlying all this is the omnipresent question: Is the haunting real? Or a figment of everyone’s desires? Every actor here has a vested interest in the reality of this haunting, leading the reader on a pursuit for the truth and an authenticity which may be impossible to find. This is, after all, the premise of such television shows.

Fussner’s prose was also an incredible appeal; it is literary in its language, its unfolding. Fussner’s choice of words draws a performative veil over the novel, intriguing this reader at least. I was hooked from start to finish.

This is a good debut for Nora Fussner, she has built up an atmosphere of suspense that is on par with some of the current masters of the horror/thriller genre. This book follows a found footage format that makes you feel like you are behind the scenes on a reality TV show. The Invisible world is a paranormal investigation show, like ghost hunters, they go into everyday America’s homes and try to capture the unseen. The show is called out to go a quick half episode with Eve and Ryan, who say they are being haunted by an unknown entity in a house that has no history with death. On the first night of shooting something unexplained happens, and a camera man goes missing. In hopes of capturing more of the paranormal experience on camera, the crew stays on for a few more nights of filming. What unfolds in the pages is both creepy and believable. Each night of filming will draw you deeper and deeper into the mystery of the invisible world. The characters are both frustratingly annoying and deeply moving so you almost get the feeling that you are actually reading found footage transcripts involving real people. There is more depth to this story than “things that go bump in the night”.

This started off strong but really lost momentum in the middle and went on WAY too long -- I was skimming the last 20% just to figure out the plot's resolution, which was frankly disappointing. It was explained too much to be an ambiguous mystery and too little to be satisfying. I didn't really feel anything for the characters other than irritation, especially the protagonist couple.

Perfect for everyone who has enjoyed a ghost hunting show! A reality TV show where supposedly haunted houses are featured and the crew of skeptics gets shaken up when some real unexplained things happen. This is a great spooky novel for those not into terrifying horror but still like a little scare.

Not much I can say about this one without spoilers but I really enjoyed it! This book was a lot of fun. I loved the set up of the show and the progression we saw from all the characters. The multi perspective narrative really worked here and the look in to all the characters lives was really interesting. Overall a great debut from Nora Fussner and I'm excited to read what they write next.

Do you ever watch Ghost Hunters or other shows where they investigate the paranormal? This book is about a show just like that. They’ve traveled to a new location where Eve claims she is experiencing unexplained phenomena.

Normally this show creates a staged event, because none of them have actually ever seen a ghost. But at Eve’s house they start experiencing real activity, like shelves collapsing, and electronics malfunctioning. A crew member even goes missing.

It’s a quick fun read if you’re just looking for a short horror book about ghosts. There is very little character development and although there is so much potential, most of it is not followed through on.

There are ghosts, though and I do love a good ghost book.

I was definitely drawn in by the premise of The Invisible World - a reality show investigating paranormal activity. Unfortunately the execution didn’t work for me and at 30% I decided to DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

I really like paranormal reality shows like 'Ghost Adventures' so the premise of this book intrigued me and it didn't disappoint. I like how the ending isn't typical and leaves you questioning, which I think works for a book with this premise. I like the writing style and I think it's unique. There are creepy moments which I enjoyed. Overall, if the storyline interests you, I'd recommend you give it a shot. Special Thank You to Nora Fussner, Vintage Anchor and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a little too slow for my liking and hard to follow. I wish I had liked it more than I did but sadly I did not.

Shows on hauntings and ghosts are popular reality TV. Hoping to cash in on this popularity is a social media influencer, Eve Hawthorne, and her husband, Ryan. The Hawthornes have sunk their savings into an older house that seemed interesting. They began experiencing unusual occurrences and decided to contact a ghost-hunting reality show. As the show begins developing the story, it becomes apparent that this story revolves around Eve. She seems to be working very hard to have the publicity appearing on the show will bring. Has Eve created these odd occurrences or is there an entity trapped in their house?

Nora Fussner exposes the monetization of reality television combined with the artificial world of social media influencers. The characters are well-crafted and relatable. The portrayal of reality TV shows as scripted is not a new notion but the author takes this idea in interesting directions. There are some surprises along the way, and the book is an easy story to read that will keep your attention.

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me.

The story started out well enough. I was definitely intrigued by the happenings inside the house. I wanted to know what Eve was hiding and what kind of paranormal craziness we'd find inside.

Then we quickly veer off into the reality TV show's cast, separate paranormal investigators, and a LARGE cast of characters, all seemingly with their own private agendas (and personal drama!). I struggled to keep up with all the names, job titles, and relationships.

Honestly, I found I didn't even care. None of these characters were likable, including our main couple.

We don't get closure at the end. We're left with questions, which I suppose was intended to mimic this sort of reality TV show, but I wasn't a fan.

I just couldn’t get into this book for some reason. I liked the premise of the haunted house and paranormal TV series, but I felt like that action was minimal and the characters weren’t engaging at all. I didn’t understand why Sandra immediately disliked Eve and a lot of the crew ran together for me. Maybe it’d work better for someone SUPER into paranormal TV shows- I like them, but I’m not like a super fan and I just didn’t feel that into this book.

<Spoilers> This was an interesting story. I liked the plot - the behind the scenes of a paranormal investigation TV show that (unexpectedly for the crew) stumbles into things they cannot explain. There were definitely some super creepy elements that I loved...but I was also kind of confused by other parts. I think that was intentional - to mirror the confusion of those in the house having different experiences and questioning whether or not what they believed was real or not. Personally, I would have loved to know if Eve was really behind everything (no, I don't think so?) and what happened to Ronnie (and why no one reacted strangely to his return?). Definitely left me with questions - but I do like that I'm still thinking about this and trying to work all the details out after having finished (just like the characters!).

Eve and Ryan are living in a house that gives new meaning to Bump in the Night. Suspecting a haunting they get a reality TV show called Searching for the invisible world involved and this is where our story begins.

Sandra the shows overworked producer and her crew come in not to so much help Eve and Ryan but make good TV with the help of PIP a local ghost hunting team.

The story flows along giving you bits of paranormal or unexplainable occurrences just enough to keep you wondering what the heck is going on.
There are so many characters that at first it was confusing keeping up with each, which you need to do because this “haunting” is affecting everyone, each in their own time and each differently.

If you are a fan of ghost hunting reality TV and its inner workings, there is a lot of that here.
It was fascinating all be it slow and kept me coming back to learn about what could possibly be causing all of this paranormal activity.

But at about 75% it was getting repetitive and starting to flounder in too many directions, it felt like being lost in a sea of red herrings.
Then it ended with very little by way of interesting or compelling explanation of what was really happening.
The conclusion didn’t align with many of the things that took place in the earlier parts of the book and felt rather disconnected.

It was a slow burn that had no fire
3 stars

“The Invisible World” by Nora Fussner is what paranormal should be, vivid and spooky as it explores the reality of paranormal investigation shows and how your point of view determines your belief. The novel immediately pulls you into the world of the tv show, heightening the feel of the reality show with interspersing the events of around the characters with interviews and what shows on the film that the show captures. The use of multiple characters helps increase the pace of the book and the tension as the reader has to determine what is real and what is not. 

Especially as the reader interacts with Eve, you soon realize that more is going on than is expected. Is the activity in the house paranormal or is it created by Eve? Are psychic talents at play?  But as we encounter Caitlin, Sandra and the other characters, the questions arise about the reality of the events and the terror increases. I love the way that perceptions and the truth are questioned in a vivid and compelling way. The resolution of the story gives the reader some answers to the questions raised by the story. 

One aspect that didn’t work for me as well was that because there were so many different point of view characters, I did struggle to connect to the characters. For me, I prefer to have a tighter point of view and this was third person which limited how much emotional content the reader encounters. The story is still vivid and spooky. And the exploration of the paranormal in the context of a reality show is brilliant.

If you like vivid and spooky, I would recommend trying out “The Invisible World.” I especially suggest it if you are interested in the paranormal or ghost investigation shows. It explores those aspects brilliantly and the different point of views adds to the illustration that each character actually experiences something different, just like real life. The resolution is thoughtful and compelling. Overall, this is a very different book about the paranormal and the kid in me who loved ghost stories loved this book.