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.

2.5*
Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book because the cover was so pretty. I was let down. The biggest issue was the writing style. Maybe it was a translation problem, I can't really say, but the writing was really basic and wooden; short choppy or awkward sentences and very unnatural dialogue. I would never have guessed that this was an author with over a dozen books under his belt. That was the first problem. The second was that I didn't like the main character Richard, he was mean and rude. Obviously that was the point and he did have a second or two of self awareness throughout the story, but it wasn't enough to capture my attention. None of the other characters were really fleshed out either.

Now the twists. They were trying to be unique and interesting, but sadly fell flat. The first one was okay, it got me a little bit, but the second one was so over used and predictable. He was just "crazy" the whole time living in a mental hospital. Because that's never been done before. I really don't like when mental health is used in horror or thrillers as a scapegoat. Most schizophrenics like his dad are not violent. There's something to be said about kids converting trauma into stories which could have been interesting if it wasn't filled with so much harmful language around mental health.

This was my first book written by Jo Nesbo. Our story follows Richard who is sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle after his parents perish in a fire. Right off the bat he is tagged as a trouble maker yet he seems to have some strange things happening to those around him. I overall liked this book and would recommend it to other readers though I tended to be a little confused with the way the storyline went..

The Night House makes for a spooky Halloween read. Told in three parts, the author will keep you guessing as to what exactly is going on. This twisty story is told in a different way as you enter a place of nightmares.

This one was just okay for me. It read a bit like a YA "horror," which is fine, I just like my books to be darker and more scary. Richard was not a very likable character, which made it a bit hard to connect with him. The story is told in three parts. I really enjoyed the first part. The second part was boring. The third part had a great twist that I wasn't expecting, but at the same time, it kind of made you wonder what you read parts 1 and 2 for.

Thank @netgalley, and @aaknopf for the #gifted earc of this book!

*2.5 stars
A multilayered psychological horror told in three parts.
In part one we follow 14-year-old Richard, who recently moved to a small town with his aunt and uncle after tragically losing his parents in a fire. Richard gains a reputation of being an outcast and when a boy goes missing, suspicion falls on him. Richard claims he saw the boy get sucked into a telephone, of course no one believes him.
The story that follows includes two missing kids, an unreliable narrator, and multiple twists and turns.

Sadly, I found this completely uninteresting. It was hard to empathize with Richard and also with the story, because he was quite the bully. I kept getting pulled out of the story because there were so many things that just didn’t make sense.
Overall I appreciated the concept and idea behind this, but the execution just wasn’t for me.

I'm going to be honest here, this book took me the better part of October to finish because I had to keep putting it down and coming back to it. There was just a lot happening and NONE of it was particularly good or interesting. In fact, the first two parts of the book felt like a bad acid trip.

To begin with, and I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here from the amount of other people who have said this, but the sheer amount of fat-shaming, homophobia and sexism happening in this book is appalling. The writing also seemed a bit .... immature. Like the author was aiming for a younger target audience, but considering the nature of this novel HAD to market it for adults instead.

Added to that, Richard was the kind of character that is just so irredeemable that as a reader, I just didn't care what happened to him which added to my overall dislike of the book. After all, it's hard to be invested in a story when you hate the main character.

But then the ending and that "twist?" After all of the time I spent slogging through this story in the hopes it would get better, it felt more like a slap in the face than anything else. There were also some other issues that I don't feel comfortable mentioning (and are spoilers) that made this entire thing unpalatable for me.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

I loved this book. It was so twisty, and kept my interest from start to finish. It was creepy, fun, really everything I was looking for it to be. I will definitely be reading more of Jo Nesbos work and hope that there are more books like this. I am at 4.5 stars,

I’ve actually been putting off reading this for a while. I’ve really enjoyed the Harry Hole books (plus Nesbo’s standalones) so the negative reviews had me nervous.

Luckily I was in for a pleasant surprise and really enjoyed it. The book is divided into three parts. Things get pretty crazy in part 1 and then really ramp up into part 2. Part 3 is more of enlightenment more than anything else but I absolutely enjoyed the way Nesbo put it all together.

This isn’t a scary book, but there are some creepy scenes thrown in. Nesbo is already an auto read author for me and I’m happy to say I’ll include any future horror from Nesbo in that category.

I expected this book to go a certain way, which it did...until it didn't. Mind blown! Is it the truth to say it is a story within a story within a story? I think so. Plenty of horrific, edge-of-the-seat things going on, and some gruesome aspects as well. Definitely a book for a horror lover. Another thing I didn't expect was the incorporation of childhood trauma and mental illness, and what can manifest from it. This was done in a subtle way so it's not a preachy, in-your-face message. This was a really good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book.

This book held my attention initially and then fell into the abyss. The book starts with a young boy named Richard who has recently moved in with relatives after the death of his parents. We know nothing of his backstory. Immediately we come to know that Richard is a very insecure bully. He's a highly unlikely character. However instead of causing the reader to feel curious; Nesbo makes us loath him and roll our eyes. Richard later explains two strange events that happen around him including a phone booth telephone gradually eating his friend to death.

I found myself wondering at the psychopathy of the main character and hoped for a book that would invoke strong feelings of unease. (Think The Push, American Psycho, or Behind Closed Doors) Instead the book went on forever without giving the reader hints as to what might be going on with Richard. We finally learn what's going on with Richard at 85% of the book.

The book would've been much more successful if Nesbo had switched POVs with another character from Richard's past who could've hinted at the personality or psychopathy of Richard. Instead the reveal takes too long and it's simply lackluster. I read the reveal chapter and thought "That's it?!"

"The Night House" by Jo Nesbo is Jo's first foray into the horror genre. It's a short book and a spin on the classic coming of age novel told in three parts. As other reviewers have stated, definitely has a YA feel to it. The main character Richard Elauved is not particularly likeable.

A good read for the Halloween season!

This was my first Jo Nesbo and I really, really wanted to like it .... but I just didn't.

This story is about a young teenager named Richard who lives with his aunt and uncle. He's a bully and so his classmates don't like him and he has few friends. The story starts off strong, with Richard's classmate being devoured by a public pay phone and Richard being interviewed by the police because they can't believe his strange tale. Unfortunately, it just goes downhill from there...

I felt like we got three books in one - but not in a good way. The first part was very young adult-y horror, the second part tries to explain the events of the first part, and part 3 ... well, I did like part 3 a lot.

I can't say whether fans of Nesbo's other books would like this but I also can't really recommend it, unfortunately.

Richard Elauved is only fourteen years old when he moves in with his aunt and uncle after a tragedy kills his parents. Some people would consider Richard a wise ass, trouble maker sort of kid. One day he dares another child of making a prank phone call. Imagine his surprise when the phone devours the boy. Shortly after that incident he watches another boy he enjoyed picking on turn into an insect. Of course the police aren't buying his stories and since he was the last person with either of these boys before they vanished they are demanding answers to their whereabouts.

That's all I'm willing to say plot wise. This was my first Nesbo book and I am thrilled to say it was a success. I'll admit that this story grew on me the longer time I spent with it. I was initially afraid that this would read too young adult but that wasn't the case at all. I really enjoyed Richard as a character. Flaws and all. He often came across as a bully but it was obvious that deep down he was really just an insecure kid that had experienced tragedy at too far a young age. He's even the first to admit that he can be a bit of an a-hole. Yet something about him endeared himself to me. The book is broken down into three sections and after the initial set up in section one Nesbo flips the script in the later sections with reveals the reader (me!) never saw coming. A very clever ending made this entire reading experience worthwhile. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for my complimentary copy.