About halfway through this I was at 2 stars ... then when I realized what was happening, it shot up to 4. So by the end I'm going with a solid 3.5. This was more disturbing than creepy and I think I'll be thinking about the last 1/3 of the novel for a long time.

No polite way to say this: One of my most anticipated reads completely failed me.

The book is separated into three parts.

Part 1: Total middle-grade level story. Not even YA. I’m talking silly horror like something from one of the Goosebumps novels my son used to read. Even the writing felt childish. Richard, our POV character is 14 years old, with the emotional intelligence of a 10 year old, and the likability of a tick you find sucking blood from your body. This encompasses the first TWO-THIRDS of the book. I almost gave up at about 20% in. I should have.

Part 2: We advance 15 years to an adult but no more mature or likable Richard. Here the story tries to redeem the childishness of part one. Content had the feel of a fever dream, like I’d been dropped into the middle of a party with a bunch of people who made me feel homicidal toward humanity. The point, I think, was to throw us, the readers, off balance. I only found it irritating.

Part 3: This is the last 15 percent of the book, and the only section I found reasonably interesting. I don’t want to say why because it would be a spoiler. But it was too little, too late.

Had the story begun with the tone of part 3, expanding it and weaving in SMALL bits of parts one and two, I might have loved it. As is, while I appreciate what the author was attempting here, it didn’t work for me at all.

*Thanks to Knopf for the free copy.*

The Night House by Jo Nesbø is a grown up Goosebumps, Tales from the Crypt horror story with an 80s- 90s vibe. An unreliable narrator and unimaginable events cause fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved and his friends trouble especially when no one believes him.

Richard Elauved lives with his aunt and uncle in the remote town of Ballantyne, after his parents died in a tragic fire. He is a bit of an outcast and bully. He bullies mostly for fear of rejection. When he and Tom are out playing near the river something horrible happens. Tom gets sucked into a phone when the two make a prank call. No one believes him but a fellow student named Karen. The adults of the town and police suspect foul play and think Richard had something to do with it. Karen, Richard and another young man begin to research the person on the other end of the prank call. When another friend goes missing after leaving Richards house the town takes action.

The tale that unfolds started off with a bang, dragged a little in the middle but picked up steam at the end. The first part reminded me of the R.L. Stine books my kids read and was told from fourteen-year-old Richard’s perspective. In the second part, it changes to adult Richard’s perspective. Despite the odd happens in the middle of the book, it didn’t really pick up again until the end with plenty of unexpected turns and twists.

Overall, this was a fun, creepy and twisted horror story. Just enough gore combined with plenty of suspense. The last section of the story was twisted, and I kept fully engaged. I closed the book on a book high. Perfect for fans who want a scare but prefer light to middle-grade horror.

The Night House by Jo Nesbo is a modern take on the classic horror novel. In some ways, this reminded me a lot of Stephen King's classic, It. Our narrator and protagonist is fourteen-year old Richard Elauved,. Richard is an orphan, sent to live with his aunt and uncle after the death of his parents in a tragic fire.

This story has lots of layers, and I don't want to give away too much by sharing what those are. Let's just say that Richard may not be the most reliable narrator.

In The Night House, there are disappearing children, a haunted house, an evil mad man, and other creepy crawlies.

Recommended for fans of Stephen King, and those looking for a horror novel with a psychological twist combined with many unexpected plot twists.

★★★

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.

As a fan of this authors other work, this was an exciting new release. This cover is fantastic and really caught my eye, however I was somewhat let down by my actual reading experience. The POV of the main character was so frustrating which I think really added to the vibes of this book. I felt a visceral hate for this character and had to stop and remember this is a fictional 14-year-old. The twist in this book really threw me and I appreciated the change of pace! Definitely did not see it coming.. While not my favorite from the author, it was a quick read..

If you’re looking for a spooky season book, look no further than The Night House. Reminiscent to Stephen Kings novels that are filled with a mix of fantasy, horror, and psychological thrillers, this book had me hooked. Not only was it a gripping horror, Nesbo also does a fantastic job tying in the mind blowing effects of PTSD. The story follows a young boy who experiences horrific things, such as witnessing someone being eaten whole by a phone booth. Of course no one believes him, and the craziness only heightens from there. There are several twists and turns that I didn’t see coming either. Thank you to netgalley for an ARC of the Night House in exchange for an honest review, this was fantastic!

This was so fun! I don’t know how else to explain it. You’re reading this book and all the crazy, unbelievable stuff happens, but perfectly in sync with the horror genre. And then the end twist comes and everything makes sense, and finally you understand it’s not just some crazy stuff that happens.. I loved it.

Heavy themes of bullying and mental health. A lot of gore and bloody scenes.. and in the end it’s like watching a horror movie with an explanation in the end..

Thank you PRH audio and Penguin Random House for my review copies.

A dream within a dream within... a reality? The Night House is a horror story in 3 parts. Which one is real and which is not is up to the reader to discover. A little bit teen slasher, a little bit magical fantasy, and a little bit the horror of life lived, The Night House can appeal to both fans of horror and psychological thrillers. As a fan of Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series, a Nordic noir this is not. I appreciated the deviance for his typical genre and found this fast-paced read compelling. More please!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This was such a strange book. I was drawn to The Night House because of the awesomely creepy cover. It’s such a great cover! The synopsis also had me intrigued. This was my first time reading a Jo Nesbø book. I found the writing was pretty good, but the story was very odd and I was not a fan of the ending. The story took a turn that I was not expecting.

The Night House is told in three parts. The first part takes place when the main character, Richard, is young. I loved this first part. It was strange and eerie, and it felt like a coming of age horror story. I don’t want to give too much away but the 2nd and 3rd parts are wild and the story really takes a turn by the end.

I would like to read more from this author since I enjoyed parts of this story. You might like The Night House if you like strange books with horror and fantasy elements and unreliable narrators.

3/5 stars

THE NIGHT HOUSE was so frustratingly gratuitous that it simply could not be enjoyed. It did, however, help me learn something very valuable about myself, which is that I probably just don't like horror with main characters in that awkward tween age category. 14 year olds are SUCH pills, dude.

My official first book by this highly acclaimed author and I’m so glad it was this one. I absolutely loved the nonsense slasher film vibe this book had. The uncertainty of not knowing what’s real is the best.

Although this horror story is marked adult fiction, I would hand it to an interested teen. The main character is fourteen, which is maybe why I double-checked the genre/rating while reading. I enjoyed it and don't want to spoil it for you, but think of an unreliable narrator when you start getting into it.

Richard, a 14 year old who moves in with his aunt & uncle makes a prank phone call with his friend which leads to his friends disappearance. When another one of his friends disappear, the eyes are on him as the suspect and he must find a way to prove his innocence and preserve his sanity.

While Nesbø is known for his detective novels, The Night House is a coming-of-age horror novel. At only 256 pages, it was a quick read (or listen in my case). I had fun reading this one and thought some aspects of it are cool! I did go in knowing that Part 1 was quite different than Parts 2 & 3 and I think that helped me not get surprised by the tone switch. Overall the novel reminded me a bit of R.L. Stine books with some added layers and clever uses of repetition. There are definitely some themes that were handled in a manner I didn't particularly care for but as with any translated literature I understand that my sensitivities might be different.

The audio was fantastic as is the cover, obviously. If you're looking for quick horror read for October, this definitely fits the bill. Thank you so much to Knopf and PRH Audio for the ARC and ALC of this one.

“H-h-h-he said that you and I . . .” He cupped his hand over the speaking end of the receiver to stop the person at the other end from hearing. “W-w-w-we’re going to—”
“Tom!” I cried. “Your hand! Drop the phone!” Tom looked down and only now realized that his fingers were halfway through the holes in the receiver.

The Night House was a standalone story with horror and psychological thriller elements divided up into three parts. Told all from Richard's point-of-view, the first part brings readers in when he's fourteen and has recently moved in with his aunt and uncle, now his foster parents, from a big city to small town Ballantyne. He's not part of the popular crowd and as such, has a bit of edge to him, where he does a little bullying himself, except with classmate Karen, who he has a bit of a crush on. When him and Tom, a boy who is on the outskirts himself because of his stuttering, come upon a phone booth on the edge of the woods, the story takes a horrific turn as Tom is gruesomely sucked into the phone receiver after dialing the number for a Imu Jonasson.

“I know. But sometimes if you tell a lie enough times, it becomes a bit true anyway.”

This first part takes up more than half the book and follows Tom as he's accused and looked upon as Tom's murderer and when another classmate goes missing, an FBI agent becomes involved. The only one who believes Tom is Karen and she starts her own investigation into what is happening. Tom goes from finding Imu Jonasson's “Night House” in the woods to ending up at a correctional facility for young people, where he learns that Imu Jonasson was also a patient, learning about black word and white word magic, and then eventually escaping with a set of psychotic twins. The first part wraps up with a battle scene to save Karen's life and sort of happy ending that leaves you wondering where the next forty percent of the book is going to go.

Something moved up by the window. I looked up. A face. Pale. The expressionless face of a man, as motionless as a painting. A face I had never seen before, yet which still gave me a strange feeling of looking in a mirror.

The second part spins the whole story on it's head and jumps fifteen years in the future to Richard coming back to Ballantyne for his highschool reunion. He's a famous young adult author after the great success of one of his books “The Night House”, which has also been optioned as a movie. Readers start to get a sense of unreliable narrator with a little bit of Wizard of Oz-ness, as characters appear with slightly different roles than had been presented in, what we now know, was Richard's book we were reading. There's a break through scene where Richard has an emotional breakdown with Karen and he tells her about why he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, his parents died in a fire. After this story and the reunion party moves to a new Night House, the story starts to spin back to where readers thought it originally was and I got a sense of King's It and the horror comes back into play, only to be spun once again in part three.

“As far as I know, Imu Jonasson hasn’t lived in Ballantyne since he was committed to an institution. And that was decades ago.”
“Did he do something wrong?”
“Oh yes, but not before something wrong was done to him.”

There were a couple clues in part two about where part three was headed and the story ultimately turns into more of an emotional psychological thriller. The last fifteen percent was more emotional than I expected and I want to say that if you find yourself getting very dizzy from the first two parts, hang on because the third part will complement the first two and make the ride worth while (I can see some horror readers being disappointed). I did feel myself gripping the sides of the book, ready to be spun again, but the ending left with a looking good moment, for now. The first part's horror was engrossing even when it felt the wheels were coming off and the second part's wheels did come off but spun just in time to the emotional third and last part ending. I enjoyed the meaning behind the name Imu and the context of how it ultimately tied into Richard's character and once again, the story reminding us that true horror comes from human nature.

He laughed. “You should never trust your memory. It only ever gives you what it thinks you need. So . . . well, in that sense maybe it’s just as well to trust it after all.” He laughed again.

I have heard so many great things about Jo Nesbo, and so I was very excited to read this! I love the writing story, and he was able to take you from place to place in a way that didn’t feel odd. With that being said I will definitely be checking out more of Nesbos books, but this one is an in between for me. I felt sorry for Richard, and he really captured my interest. I think the book was interesting enough to keep me wanting to read, and it was a fairly quick one. I just didn’t really feel horror scared. Overall I liked it!

What in the heck did I just read? It has been a while since I read a book by Jo Nesbo, but this is really not what I thought I was diving into when I began this book. I went in blind, without even reading the synopsis and ... wow. I don't even know what to say really - it was a wild ride. In the end, I appreciated the twists and the way the outrageous things that happened in the Part One and Two were rife with symbolism in retrospect.

Also, I will never get the vision of a man with his arm up to his shoulder in a meat grinder out of my mind. So there's that as well.

The Night House

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This cover drew me in immediately but I have to say that that I didn’t love this book as much as I was hoping to. The middle of the book seemed slow to me and the action was mainly in the beginning and the end. One of the reasons I kept reading was so that way I could figure out the ending of the book. Overall, I think this is a book that some people are going to love and then other people just aren’t. Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.

This is one of my favorite books I've read this year! It's creative, unique, creepy and I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend this! Special Thank you to Jo Nesbo, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for allowing me to read this book.

I am a huge Horror fan. I am also a Jo Nesbo fan, however, this is not your. If you pick this up expecting a novel along the lines of his Harry Hole, you will likely be disappointed. I was intrigued by the premise of this book, and decided to take a chance. I am still not sure how I feel about it.

This book is told in 3 parts. Part I, is very good. Richard, a teenaged boy, who's also kind of a bully, convinces his friend to make a prank phone call, and then everything spirals downward from there. The phone EATS the boy. Boom. Disappeared. The Police are not convinced Richard didn't have something to do with the disappearance. Then another one of Richard's classmates go missing, and the suspicion rises. Only Richard's crush -Karen- seems to believe him and encourages him to solve the mystery of the phone call. Then Richard is sent away to an institution and the story takes a weird turn into black magic and a fight for his life.

Part II, was good, but very confusing. 15 years have passed and Richard is at his school reunion. Richard appears to be an unreliable narrator, as no one seems to remember the past the way he did. Was it all a dream? Or is something darker at play? The entire time I was reading this part, I was unsure if Part I was real or made up, or if Part II was some sort of dream.

Part III was also confusing, as it is set in an institution, but I don't know the timeline of when this supposedly occurred. It seems like another dream, or even a dream within a dream. Either way, it was a bit hard to follow and there wasn't a great resolution to the story.

I would say, overall I like this story, and I THINK I understand it? Although, my brain felt a bit like it did after watching the movie Inception. I generally don't like stories with an unreliable narrator, however, I did like the plot of Part I. I may recommend this book to a few people, just to see if they interpret it the same way. I think other horror fans will probably like it.

✨ Review ✨ The Night House by Jo Nesbo, Narrated by Michael Crouch

This book reeled me in and didn't let me go until I had finished it. It's short - which helped pack it all in for a quick listen over several sittings.

The book starts with a prank call, and the phone eating one of the boys making the call. It kicks off a mystery here, one that the character spends the rest of the book searching for answers for in different forms. The book is disorienting and kind of trippy, but in an engaging way.

While it's hard to talk about the storyline without giving things away, I did really enjoy it overall, though I had a couple of qualms - I was a little uncomfortable with the use of mental health as a device in the story, and there was also a line about Indians in a sort of "cowboy and soldiers" sort of way that didn't need to be present.

The audio narrator was EXCELLENT and kept me hooked into the story. I read this book with a friend, but yet, I couldn't help rushing ahead to the finish!

The beginning is pretty gruesome, but then I think it settled down quite a bit for the majority of the book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: horror
Length: 6 hours 23 minutes
Pub Date: 03 Oct 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ horror set in the 70s/80s
⭕️ trippy, disorienting storylines
⭕️ telephones that eat people

Thanks to Knopf, PRHAudio and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!