After his parents die tragically, 14 year old Richard is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in a small, remote town where he has a difficult time fitting in and often finds himself in trouble. When a fellow classmate goes missing, Richard cannot get the police to believe his outlandish story about what happened and he quickly becomes a suspect. With the encouragement of Karen, a fellow loner, Richard sets about investigating the strange happenings in this little town. This is such a hard book to review without giving too much away. I went into it thinking it would be a typical horror type novel but there ended up being more to it than I expected and I really enjoyed it. There will definitely be readers who don’t care for the ending but overall it was an interesting, slightly weird story.

I seriously didn’t know what was coming…

What you need to know… In the wake of his parents' tragic deaths in a house fire, Richard has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town where he quickly earns a reputation as an outcast. When Richard and his friend Tom decide to make a prank call from a weird phone booth at the edge of the woods the unthinkable happens, Tom is sucked into the receiver. Obviously, no one believes him, that is, except his only friend Karen, who encourages him to pursue the clues of Tom’s disappearance all of which lead up to a horrifying discovery.

THAT’S IT. Go in with nothing else. The more blind you are going into this book, the better.

This entire book blurs the lines between truth and reality. I have waited several weeks to process what I read and I honestly keep coming up short, this book triggered a rollercoaster of emotions.
Told in three parts, each with a completely different vibe and revelation.

Part One: OMG! A hungry phone? Unbelieving adults? Yes, please! 📞😱👀

Part Two: Stop! What is happening? ✋🤨🤔

Part Three: Whaaat! Noooooo! I’m crying. 🤯😭😭

There, that’s it, that’s the emotions of Rachel while reading The Night House.

I have read Nesbø’s books in the past, so I knew what I was in for, and I do love his mystery thrillers, but I was really hoping for him to lean more into the horror, nonetheless, I am super excited about him tapping into this genre.

*I got a free copy from publisher

I really loved this! It was interesting, creepy, suspenseful, and original. I couldn’t put it down. I recommended it for Library Reads. It’s the perfect book for this time of the year.

I have read Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series and thoroughly enjoyed them. So, I chose this book to see how Nesbo would handle a completely different genre. I was disappointed in this story. I did not like the main characters and felt the horror portrayed was trite and tacky. I will continue to read any book Nesbo writes featuring Harry Hole; however, I don't think I will read anything else he writes in this genre.

Richard’s parents died in a house fire. Fourteen year old Richard is sent live with his Aunt and Uncle in a small town called Ballantyne. He is an outcast at school. He is bored and friendless. He goes to a birthday party where he steals a Luke Skywalker figure. He and Tom walk through a forest to a bridge where atom says he can’t go on it — that he must stay away. They both cross the bridge after Richard throws the Luke Skywalker figure into the river. They keep walking through the forest until they approach the main road. Surprisingly there is a phone booth. Richard is still bored and decides to pick a number out of the phone book. He has Tom called and Tom ends up being eaten by the phone. Richard tries to save him but he can’t. When he goes home and tells his aunt and uncle what happened, they don’t believe him. They call the police who also don’t believe the story. The police think he drowned Tom. Things go from bad to worse.

The author has written the story into three parts. The second part has him going to a class reunion where he apologizes for writing the book that includes his classmates. The third part has more crazy, creepy part of Richard’s life. I liked the first part of the book as it was the most interesting of the novel. The second and third part disappointed me. At tomes I was confused reading it. Perhaps this is due to being translated? I don’t know. There is the supernatural element throughout the novel. This was suppose to be a horror novel but I don’t think that it’s a true horror novel — just a lightweight horror novel.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Night House by Jo Nesbo

This is my first Jo Nesbo book and I know it’s not his standard book. A Norwegian friend of my boys suggested I try some of his books. But I already have so many books to read, I just couldn’t add another author. Then I saw this one and thought, “why not?” Although I know he was suggesting I read his Harry Hole series.

Anyway…

The book started pretty okay. I knew this was going to be a horror book and was prepared for some crazy horror - I mean just look at the cover. I am more of a realistic type reader and struggle with paranormal, supernatural, and fantastical things. I bring that up because the type of horrific events that happened to the characters in part one had me wondering if I was going to be able to make it through the story.

But…

When you get to the second and third parts it makes much more sense. I’m glad I didn’t give up. There were times about halfway through I caught myself skimming. The story got a little wordy and way too detailed descriptively that I got bored and resorted to looking ahead, reading the dialogue, and backing up to read a little from a paragraph if I felt I missed something. I did this a lot less in the third part.

Overall, I was happy that I read the book. I think it’ll be a hard one to recommend because you just have to make it to the end. The story really makes little sense without the second and third part.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title for review.

Very strange story from Jo Nesbo. At first I thought this was a young adult novel, but then it introduced more adult themes. Unsure if this suffered from translation issues or if this is just an odd book. Unsatisfying story with a predictable and silly ending. This book feels very much like an outlier among Nesbo's Harry Hole sereis and more crime driven stand alone books.

This book was so fantastically written, scary, gripping, suspenseful. I read it in one short weekend while on a camping trip and it was the perfect amount of spooky and gripping to keep me turning the page. If you are a fan of fight club and shutter island, buckle up for this ending cause holy cow!

So so good, 10/10 would recommend.

This one hurts.

Let's start with what I liked. This cover. Need I say more? Gorgeous. The premise on the surface. Loved. Prank calls ending with your friend getting sucked into the phone? Yes! Sadly, this is where it ended for me.
This book is broken up into 3 parts. The first part reads like YA horror. It started off strongly with some bizarre things happening to our MC's friends, then it started to meander a bit. I was okay with things still, but it was becoming a bit mediocre. At about 60% you get to part 2 and things change. You think "are you kidding me?". It reads very fever-dreamish, and I felt duped. At this point I am far enough into the book I will finish it. Around 85% you get to part 3. Insert expletives here. I'm sure Nesbo thought he was being very clever. It felt like a cheap cop out to me. In the end, I felt like I wasted my time taking this novel seriously

This is my first Jo Nesbrø read, and it was full of twists and turns. This is a fun spooky season read, as we follow the main character as they try to prove their innocence in crime that feels supernatural. 3/5

A tense thriller for fans of the genre. This book grabbed me immediately and didn't let go until the last page.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just was sooo hard to get into and felt like it dragged on and on for me. It just wasn't holding my attention.
This a probably a me problem and not a book problem.

There were a few plot twists. The author was def trying to be creative and used the small town and new kid on the block as a creep effect.
*heads up there are some phobic elements (fat and homo) from the main character-Richard.
I was not a fan of him and did not like him at all he was a jerk in my opinion. I mean maybe that is part of the reason I couldn't get into this book, idk. But I do know that not liking a main character can make you dislike other things that you might not normally be annoyed with.

So like I said I just couldn't get into this book, even though this book was not for me.... I feel like if you read the blurb and you think it sounds good by all means def go give it a try.

I was given the opportunity to read this book from NetGalley. The above is my review/opinion it is honest, my own and voluntary.

Sadly, The Night House was a complete flop for me. I get it. The format, and certain aspects, were creative and I give props for that, but in order to get there, it had to utilize certain plot devices that are a huge turn off for me. It hurts me to rate this low, but I rate based on my reading experience and this was not a good one.

In this story we meet 14-year old, Richard Elauved, who moves in with his Aunt and Uncle after his parents pass away in a tragic house fire. As if the loss of his parents wasn't bad enough, the move puts Richard in a new school, and at 14, it's not comfortable to be the new kid. Ballantyne is a small town as well, and since Richard is from a city, its a big change for him.

Although he is an outsider, Richard does make a couple of friends. Unfortunately, one of these friends, Tom, goes missing after he and Richard are hanging out one afternoon. Richard claims Tom got sucked through an old phone receiver, but of course, no one believes him, except for Karen. One of the few other friends he has made. Karen is an outcast as well and instead of laughing at Richard's story, she encourages him to pursue it, and to hunt down the clues the police refuse to investigate.

After another classmate disappears after spending time alone with Richard, it's more important than ever for Richard to prove he's innocent. Richard would never hurt anyone, would he?

This story could essentially be broken down into three parts. For me, the first most closely resembled what I thought I had signed up for and although I thought Richard was a jerk, some of the plot developments were interesting. By Act II, I was sort of ticked that it took a particular sharp turn, then by Act III, I was over it completely.

Needless to say, I can appreciate the thought that Nesbø put into the construction of this story, and I do feel like it is a bit of a clever take on some classic themes. It does feel like Nesbø's read some R.L. Stine. If he hasn't, I would be surprised, because this does mirror some of the early Goosebumps tone quite a bit in the first section. From there it gets progressively more Adult, but I digress.

In spite of the fact that this wasn't a hit for me, I know a lot of Readers will have fun with it. If the plot devices suit your tastes, you could end up loving it. I encourage everyone who thinks it sounds interesting to give it a go.

Thank you to the publisher, Knopf, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Regardless of the outcome, I'm glad I gave it a shot!

My thanks to Knopf, Jo Nesbo and Netgalley.
So, I've always said that out there books are never too far out there..well I suppose that I've finally found a story that says I'm a tall, scrawny assed liar!
This was just too effing ridiculous! It was a weird story that became too much.
I'm putting this down to a brain fart.
I've still every intention of reading other Nesbo books, but this was really a waste of time.

This was my first read by this author. I enjoyed that the events started right away and that the narrator was established to be unreliable; this, I believe, built up anticipation. There were three twists, which were predictable but not any less entertaining.

The Night House by jo Nesbo is a horror story that starts with a very interesting scene and sets up a very engaging storyline.
"No one believes him (fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved) 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."
I zoomed through first half of the book at a fast pace, but then it all came to a screeching halt and shifted lanes on me. And I found myself missing the story before the surprise shift.
It is overall an enjoyable book, and I still enjoyed it a great deal.
Thanks to #NetGalley, #Knopf, and Jo Nesbo for the ARC of #TheNightHouse.

First of all, obsessed with the cover. I’m a sucker for cool covers. I love how this story is shorter and doesn’t have a lot of filler to it. Well developed spooky haunted house book!

This is the first Jo Nesbo book I have read and could very well be the last. I am not a fan of science fiction and this book is filled with that. I thought the beginning was decent but confusing but when Part 2 and 3 came into play, I was not engaged. The story centers around a character who is troubled but one doesn't understand how much. The story was disjointed and hard to follow. I am definitely not a fan.

Fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved finds himself uprooted and sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote and isolated town of Ballantyne after his parents die tragically in a house fire. In his new home, Richard becomes an outcast and is blamed when a classmate named Tom goes missing. He claims that a mysterious telephone booth near the woods is responsible for Tom's disappearance, sucking him into the receiver like a scene from a horror movie. However, nobody believes his story, except for Karen, another social outcast, who encourages Richard to investigate when the police refuse to take action. Following the number Tom called from the phone booth, Richard stumbles upon an abandoned house in the Black Mirror Wood and catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. Soon, he starts hearing eerie whispers in his ear.

This relatively short novel, spanning 224 pages, delivers a compelling and engaging narrative with different writing styles across its sections. It captivates readers with its eerie and enigmatic atmosphere right from the start, blurring the lines between reality and the unknown. The story weaves multiple layers, with a story within a story, keeping readers intrigued and engaged. Richard's character development is well-executed, and the setting offers a perfect blend of fun and creepiness throughout the narrative. Jo Nesbo's writing is a standout feature of this captivating book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book is in three parts, with the first part taking the majority of the novel. I flew through Part One, and thought about finishing up the novel right away, but I instead waited until the next morning to pick it up again. Besides, my heart was beating so fast after that thrill ride that I needed rest. When I did start Part Two, I was initially confused by what was going on. But Nesbø’s storytelling is so detailed that I understood quickly. Part Three tied everything together beautifully. We meet 14-year-old Richard Elauved, who has recently moved to live with his aunt and uncle in the town of Ballantyne after his parents' tragic deaths in a house fire. He quickly becomes an outcast at school, and he is the prime suspect when his classmate Tom goes missing. Because, you see, Richard was with Tom when he disappeared -- and no one believes him when he insists that Tom was eaten by payphone. When another classmate disappears in Richard's presence, Richard must set out to prove his innocence by any means necessary -- even if it means venturing into the Night House...and venturing deeper into his own mind. There was plenty of gruesome and scary scenes but also a psychological factor that really added to the reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor