Although I did not love this book, I did enjoy the twists and turns a good bit. I also was delighted to read something so eerie and horror-ful in October- it definitely helped set the mood for Halloween! I have not actually read Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole books and although I did not love the Night House, now I definitely want to check out his other novels! I'm more of a mystery than horror person anyways. Three and a half stars, rounding up because the aggravating writing in the first section is very intentional. Keep going! All will be revealed.

First things first: don't go into The Night House expecting it to be in any way like Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole crime series. The (freaking incredible) cover of this book is not lying: This is, in fact, a horror novel about a kid-eating payphone. Or is it?

At the beginning of the book 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.

Part I of this book reads like a love letter to vintage YA horror, reminding me strongly of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series. It was silly and creepy and campy, and I was riveted and happy to just go along for the ride. In Parts II and III, things get very twisty and bizarre, and there is some genre-jumping. While I appreciated the twists and the unpredictability, the execution was a bit muddled. I also felt -- and maybe this was due to the translation -- that the writing was too much telling and not enough showing, which made the story lack tension for me. Even the sections where Richard is an adult read as very YA.

Ultimately, I'm not sure all three of the sections worked together as well as they could have. I had a different expectation in mind for this book, and the direction Nesbø took in Part III wasn't entirely satisfying for me.

If you're a fan of Catriona Ward's books, you'll probably enjoy The Night House as this has very similar vibes to her work. As for me, I think I enjoyed the idea of this book much more than its execution. Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the complimentary reading opportunity.

I've been a long time fan of Jo Nesbo but didn't know he also write in the horror genre as he's most known for his action thriller series. I'm glad I came across this novel because Nesbo is a VERY capable horror author. The horror spreads to every single page and you find yourself never wanting to put the book down. A very rewarding read.

This book is about a young malcontent named Richard Elauved in a town called Ballantine. And a phone booth that eats people. Well, it ate Tom, that’s for sure. And then things get a whole lot worse.

Honestly it’s hard to say a lot about this book without giving too much away. If you know anything about Jo Nesbo you know she is a clever writer and that is on display here. If you like horror and a good coming of age story, you’re probably going to find a fair amount to like here. Or maybe not. Some people won’t like it. I liked it.

Jo Nesbo has made a name for himself writing wildly successful dark crime thrillers. That’s not exactly my genre, but when I heard that he was taking a stab at a horror novel, and promising a unique twist, I made the leap.

And at first, I was pleasantly surprised.

The Night House opens with Richard, a first person narrator who would fit in alongside the narrators of The Wasp Factory or The Butcher Boy: dangerous, bullying, violent, and vulnerable. But Richard is immediately put off balance after he bullies another student into making a prank phone call and then watches the phone receiver (quite literally) eat the other boy in a scene that is incredibly well drawn and perfectly filtered through Richard’s very unique sensibilities.

Things get weirder from there. Another boy is transformed into a bug, and soon the police are involved, and all eyes are on Richard. Eventually he is shipped off to an institution.

Oh, and there’s a creepy old house in the woods that Richard believes is at the center of all of the strange goings on.

I was pleasantly engaged with this delightful batshittery, but then part one ends, and we shift into a new narrative in which all of part one is revealed to be the dark children’s book the now adult Richard has written, and we meet all of the characters from part one, but now in their supposedly “real” forms, as opposed to the way they have been artistically transformed through Rihard’s creative process.

I think that The Night House could have pulled this off, and there’s another version of this book that is a meditation on trauma and art, but Nesbo isn’t really interested.

Instead, this second story almost immediately goes off the rails, sliding into a kind of free-for-all of surreal horror. But unlike the horror of the first section, there doesn’t appear to be anything at stake. I’m no longer reading to find out what’s going on or if Richard is successful, but rather to see what trick the writer plays next.

The answer, unfortunately, is that the final trick is almost unforgivable, barely rising above the cliché of “It was all a dream,” and shockingly close to the classic I am the Cheese.

This is especially disappointing to me because there are genuinely great passages within The Night House, and Nesbo is clearly a capable writer, but in the end, this felt like horror written by someone with only a vague idea of what that designation might mean. In another situation, that blindness might make for something unique and fascinating. Unfortunately, here it’s a misfire.

I found this to be a really odd book. I don't love books with unreliable narrators, and this was my least favorite one I've read in a while. The marketing made it sound like a horror novel, which it really turns out not to be. I feel like it probably could have been a short story, rather than a novel. Getting dragged through the narrator's delusions for over half the book gets kind of boring after a while. I liked that the narrator had a happy ending and managed to get over what had happened to him as a child (at least somewhat), and was possibly going to have a career and a future with Karen. However, if I had known it was going to be more of a psychological novel than a horror novel, I probably would not have read it. This was the first book I've read by Jo Nesbo, and it didn't make me want to ready any more of his novels. It was okay, but not great.

I love horror and looked forward to reading this book. I was in for a surprise. Not only was it a horror story, but it was also a love story, a mystery story, and a look at how trauma can affect a person's life.

A young man moves in with his grandparents after losing his mother and father in a fire. As he tries to adjust to a new school and new friends he experiences one horror after another. When he tries to explain what happened to his friends he is not believed. He is a suspect in their disappearance. Struggling to come to grips with what has happened he finds himself in even more trouble.

This is an engrossing read. I highly recommend this book to mystery and horror fans as well. But be ready for some surprises.

This was my first read from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

There are three main parts to this story and each part felt like its own isolated horror story even though they all revolve around the same MC. I didn't love our MC, in fact, I didn't even like him. He was quite a jackass IMO. But I felt like a lot of that was the point. Normally I don't know if I would have put up with the MC but I was enjoying the horror descriptions so I kept reading. By the end I was ok with the MC. I think the author made the right choice for the story. Overall a decent thriller to add to my October reads.

"If you have to be fucked up, you might as well be properly fucked up."

The Night House by Jo Nesbø is a classic style horror novel that has been translated by Neil Smith. The audio is narrated by Michael Crouch with the flair of an 80s style horror flick. If you're a lover of writing style's like Stephen King with layers to the narrative, than you'll enjoy this!

The book is told in three distinct parts. Each section is as weird and outlandish as the next, that is, until all the pieces come together. I felt like I was thrust into a fever dream of nightmares only to come out the other end whole and slightly disturbed.

Nesbø shows his talent as an author with this novel. He embraces the elements that craft a horror novel and builds on an ever evolving narrative. The characters are not what I'd call likable but they are hard to turn away from. The atmosphere breathes urban legend at its core and touches on a more psychological horror it its heart.

Released on the 3rd, I recommend adding this twisted dark rabbit hole to your spooky tbrs!

As someone who very much enjoyed Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series, I was excited to get my hands on a copy of The Night House.
Unfortunately the author's first stab at a horror novel left me a little dazed, confused and a little furious.
Part one of the story was super fun, campy, very reminiscent of horror movies I watched as a teen.
Part two sent my head spinning, as I found the abrupt change in plot disorienting at first, but grew to appreciate it along the way.
Alas, where it really went of the rails for me was when part 3 tried to clear things up in a tidy package, but to me it just felt cheap and convenient, which is all I can say without spoiling the ending (even tho I really have some strong opinions about the theme and how I think it is best avoided in this day and age).
I would have enjoyed the book a lot better if part 3 had never happened to be honest. I believe there was a great book in there somewhere. Maybe next time!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. This is the first Nesbo book I've read and I guess he is just not for me. There are supernatural elements to the mystery and the twists do not exactly make sense if you are not realizing that. Might be a great read for science fiction or supernatural fans, but only getting 2 stars from me.

As I read this book my review was going to be about how this reminded me of the great coming of age horror novels I’ve read and loved in the past. Then there was the twist which made it more intense and elevated the genre and THEN there was another twist that made this a horror book that will be sure to stick with me. A great novel that I plan to recommend to others.
Thanks to #Netgalley and Knopf for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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So for my first ever Jo Nesbo - I am pretty pumped, because I enjoyed this horror! I felt that it was perfect for spooky season! Isn’t this cover amazing?!
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The Night House has some major 80’s vibes and takes off right from the start and very rarely loses any momentum. This story is written into three parts. The first part revolves around Richards childhood era, where children go missing in some pretty sketch ways. The second is 15 years later, where Richard is attending a reunion. Part three, throws in a nice twist, which I cant say much else in order to avoid any spoilers. Throughout the entire book, Richard is so unreliable you never know what is actually true or not.
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I love the twist that Nesbo put into this one, I like the way that it ended. I found this story to be addicting and and a super fast paced read. Just be aware, you’re going to be a tad confused at some points, but in the end it will all make sense. Also it can be a bit choppy at some points, Nesbo kind of jumps from one thought to the next, but again, it all makes sense in the end. It can be grotesque at points - not over done, but still giving that horror feel.
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Definitely recommending this one as a spooky season read for all my horror fans. I found this one to be a fun one. The Night House was just released on 10/3, be sure to grab it!! Huge thank you to Netgalley, Jo Nesbo, Knofp books, Pantheon Books and Vintage and anchor books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first Jo Nesbo book I’ve read. It had an early Stephen King feel to it. There were some areas that felt underdeveloped and I wonder if some of it is translation. While nothing was terribly surprising, the mood was creepy enough and the story was paced well. Interested in seeing other books by the author.

The Night House is an eerie story where the action starts right away with classic
campy horror vibes. The atmosphere is thick with suspense and never lets up. Readers are drawn in to the dark secrets of Ballantine. The protagonist, Richard Elauved, is a complex character whose troubled past and outsider status make him puzzling. Despite his past, I didn’t have much sympathy for him because of his cruelty.

Richard witnesses a classmate get sucked into a phone in a telephone booth at the edge of a forest and it only gets more wild from there. He teams up with another outcast, Karen, in pursuit of the truth. Nesbø kept me guessing and questioning the reliability of the narrator and the true natures that unfold.

I think it is better to go into this book not knowing much so I won’t give more detail in this review. The narrative twists and turns and the tension never fades.

This book is available now, released October 3rd! If you like a different take on horror, I would recommend The Night House. It is a quick read and one that will keep you guessing until the end.

This story is told in three parts in first person by Richard. Each part changes the perspective of the story in some way, sometimes by age and others by setting, but they all have commonalities and connections casting doubt upon the reader’s perception of what is true and what is not. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, a new part would begin, and everything would turn on its head. 😂

I think I loved the culmination of the whole even more after I finished reading. I honestly don’t want to go into it too much because I don’t want to give anything away. If you enjoy haunted houses, horrific consequences and hallucinations that will make you scream, “Wait! What?!?” then I recommend this horror novel by one of my favorite Nordic Noir writers.

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

The Night House tells the story of Richard as he grows up in a new town after his parents death. I won't say more because this book is best approached blind and willing to suspend disbelief.

I absolutely adored this story from beginning to end. The nods to classic horror fiction were amazing and I just loved how it all played out. The pacing and writing style were done in a way that it was impossible to get impatient or bored with the story. The characters were dense and made you root for the heroes. I loved how this one was so unpredictable and kept you on your toes. The ending is amazing and is done in a way that you are thankful and hopeful for Richard. I just loved this book and it is a must read for Halloween. It isn't scary in the conventional sense but it is eye opening, hopeful, and daring.

There are times when our mind can play tricks on us—like when we see or hear things that don’t seem to be there. It throws us off-balance and makes us feel just a little out of sorts. But the teenager in Jo Nesbo’s The Night House knows what he saw—though no one will believe him.

Review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

Horror from the first word! Felt like a Stephen King more than a Nesbo. Good story and characters - perfect for a scary night story.

I was hooked from the very beginning! It was so creepy, mind-altering, and just plain fun to read. I haven't read a great horror story like this in a while, I was impressed with the author's ability to create such a real situation and turn it on its head with the paranormal and spooky. I clung to Richard in each part of the book. It was fascinating, sad, weird, and eerie all wrapped up in a cute like bow. I didn't know what was real or what was a delusion, but I loved it that way. I'm still thinking of it days later and that is fantastic.