As a huge Nesbo fan, I was looking forward to reading his entry into horror, a genre that is not his usual fare. I was instantly engrossed in this tale about a weird child and his unwilling involvement in supernatural events. Richard just lost his parents and is an outcast in the town he moved to with his aunt and uncle. A phone booth eats his buddy Tom and things get crazier from there. Obviously, no one believes him. Without getting into spoilers, the plot is like a Matryoshka doll containing three parts. The first one reminded me of the creepiest Bradbury. The second one was more King and I thought I knew what it would be like but I was surprised by how it developed. The third one was not really the most original concept but, in the author’s hands I enjoyed it. If Nesbo borrows from the masters of the genre, he gives it his own spin. The characters are well defined and I enjoyed the different ways that they’re presented (read this book and you’ll understand what this means). Richard was especially believable, funny and easy to root for, despite not being too lovable. Spooky, fun and especially well written, this is a treat for spooky season (or any other time of year), like a poisoned apple or a candy with a blade inside. Excellent!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor!

Not what I expected for an adult horror novel. The storyline was a bit confusing and just didn't pull together for me.

I loved the cover of this book.

Thank you for the arc read!

This may be the most confusing book I have ever read. Part one is like an R.L. Stine Fear Street novel, then Part two is as if Stephen King had written Alice in Wonderland, and finally Part three makes the previous two parts completely irrelevant. Luckily it was a quick read.

The Night House hooked me from the start. I couldn't put it down. I always enjoy Jo Nesbo's books.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

I really wasn't sure what I was getting myself into when I started reading The Night House. Mystery, horror, sci fi, fantasy? Turns out it is of all those. Split into 3 parts, the first part I couldn't get thru fast enough. It was so good! Richard's friends go missing, he was the last one seen with them, but the story he tells is too incredible for the police to believe. Then it goes into part two, which at first had me a bit confused.. and then I was alot confused. But not in a bad way, just as a "wow that's not at all what I thought was happening". Even though it was a much shorter part, I didn't find it was amazing as the first. Finally in part three, everything comes together and all makes sense again. Overall I did enjoy The Night House and would recommend! Characters were great; the use of those characters throughout the 3 parts exciting and clever. A unique story line, very old school horror!

Wasn't great, but wasn't bad.

In the wake of his parents' tragic deaths in a house fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects the new, angry boy is responsible for his disappearance. No one believes him 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. He traces the number that Tom prank called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in the Black Mirror Wood. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear . . .

You know who I am. She's going to burn. The one you love is going to burn. There's not a thing you can do about it.

When another classmate disappears, Richard must find a way to prove his innocence--and preserve his sanity--as he grapples with the dark magic that is possessing Ballantyne and pursuing his destruction.

Then again, Richard may not be the most reliable narrator of his own story . . .

I went into this book thinking it was going to be like a goosebumps book. It is advertised as horror, not children's, but the main character in part 1 was 14 years old. So I was not very invested since I am an adult and don't love reading a child's story. But it was a good spooky tale. I was especially fascinated by the black/white word magic hynosis part. Then part 2 got really ridiculously out there... part 3 was a good and satisfying ending for the most part. Although the "it was all in my mind" thing has been done a lot. But I think I'd read it again, knowing the ending now, because in a second or third reading, you notice a lot more things and they make more sense when you already know where the author is going with it all. Overall it was an enjoyable, spooky, psychological, thrilling story..

This book was totally different from Jo’s Harry Hole series. It was more like a retro 80’s horror flick. It was full of screwed up delightful characters and had me quickly flipping the pages. I hope Jo puts out more books like this.
Thanks NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for this ARC that will be released October 3, 2023!

I wanted to love this book so so so much based on the aforementioned cover and the synopsis. But in the end, it was just not for me. I usually like the unlikeable morally grey character because they usually add a bit of ✨je ne sais quoi✨ to the story but, in this book the MC just seemed to be deeply troubled and rude just to be troubled and rude and that didn’t help to really escalate the plot at all.

Because of my evident dislike super early on in the book, I’m not sure if it would have been better to DNF and not rate or struggle through and give a bad rating. I did choose the latter so it is what it is, but all that being said, I have read rave reviews of this author’s series so I definitely may try one of those in the future!

This book hits shelves on Oct 3rd and is a book that would be great to read reviews about prior (if you have a trusted book reviewer that reads similarly to you) because after reading other reviews of this book (after writing mine) the reviews are pretty polarizing. People either really loved it or totally disliked it!

2.25⭐️

Special thanks to Knopf the publisher and netgalley for the advance copy to read and review before it’s publication!

Old school horror returns! I had high hopes for this novel when I saw the amazing cover, and I am happy to say the inside did not disappoint. I am unfamiliar with Jo Nesbo's other works, but I will soon be checking those out.

Jo Nesbo, the hugely successful Norwegian thriller writer, is trying his hand at horror. Because he can.

Troubled teen Richard has been shipped off to live with his aunt and uncle, following the unfortunate death of his parents. Richard is quickly established as an outcast, but when he is witness to the strange deaths of not one, but two of his schoolmates, things get even more difficult.

There were big Stephen King vibes in the first part of The Night House. No spoilers, but a horrific, weird death happens very early in the book, establishing the tone for gore and fun pretty quickly. I really enjoyed this first part, and I raced through it.

However, things change direction in parts two and three. Again, no spoilers, but while I found the “twists” surprising, they felt a little lazy. In part three especially, the phrase “jumping the shark” sprang to mind.

Overall, this was a pretty fun, quick read (the chapters were mercifully short). I don’t think Nesbo will be setting the horror world aflame just yet, but the enthusiasm is undoubtedly there!

This is my first Nesbo book and it wasn't for me. I loved the cover and the description, but reading it fell flat. I felt disjointed as I was going through the different parts of the story, and then the whole story was chalked up to a mental health diagnosis it was kind of a let down.

I know this one has an audience, so don't let my disappointment deter you!

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for my eArc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Let me start with the obvious, can't believe Jo Nesbo wrote this book. This is more in the alley of Stephen King. This book is divided in to 3 parts. First part covers Richard's heroics in dealing with a mentally unstable guy, but with a little bit of black magic sprinkled in. The second part reveals that the first part is actually the book that Richard imagined while he was in school. But after some time, it gets predictable as to what's going on. The last part talks about the actual story of what happened in real life to Richard. I have enjoyed the first part of the story, but no so much the remaining ones.

I am not sure what to say without ruining this whole story. I will say I had a lot of fun reading this horror story. It's classic but has some unique ideas, some twists and turns.
The basic idea is Richard's friends start going missing and his story about what happened to them is too fantastic for the police to believe... Is Richard a child serial killer or is really unusual things happening??

The best part of this book was the cover, unfortunately. I have tried a couple other books by this author, but did not care for the writing. I thought this might be a change in style, but it wasn't. The writing felt intended for a younger audience. I appreciate the nostalgic feel and the premise, but in the end, I can't fully get behind it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Night House by Jo Nesbo!

This is my first book from this author, and I ended up enjoying this book! I was questioning a lot in the first half of the book, but the twists and turns the story went through kept me engaged. There were also several scenes that were horrifying, which is what I was looking for!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, a vintage and Anchor for this opportunity to read, rate and review this arc which will be available October 3,2023!

I am actually quite disappointed by this book. I was super excited when I got the arc as Jo is one of my fav thriller authors but then I read it and que disappointment.

It felt rushed, choppy and almost like the heart wasn’t in it. The premise was so cool but fell so flat.

I am so sad to say that I think this is one of my more disappointing reads of the year. That being said I had REALLY high hopes and the cover is out of this world!
When I heard Nesbo was writing a classic horror novel I was pumped, but...this just was not flushed out to my satisfaction. At under 300 pages, I felt that more could've easily been added.
Part 1 was weird and cool and creepy, but a little bit juvenile. Then you get to Part 2 and realize why it felt that way, but then it takes another twist, and ANOTHER one in Part 3. I didn't so much mind the whiplash, as the fact that a lot of things happened, but none of it really made sense it an un-satisfying way. I don't necessarily need my horror stories to make full sense, but with so many twists and then the way it all wrapped up due to a mental health diagnosis was just not it for me.
There were a lot of fun horror tropes going on: haunted house, paranormal, horror-movie type camp, break from reality - and I just wanted more of that then all the weird transitions.
Also, Richard was a little asshole and pretty hard to like.

overall rating: 2.5/5, rounding down to 2 stars

summary:
14-year-old Richard Elauved, has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in a small town after the death of his parents, where he quickly earns the title of outcast from his peers. after a prank phone-call goes terribly wrong and his classmate Tom goes missing, everyone points their fingers at Richard and don't believe his story the the phone sucked Tom into it--i mean who would, that's something out of a horror movie, right? well, all except for one person, Karen, who is a fellow outsider. after tracing the number that Tom prank called to an abandoned house, Richard sees a terrifying figure in the window and starts to hear voices in his head.

after another classmate disappears, Richard must find a way to prove his innocence and grapple with the dark forces surrounding this small town.

but not everything is as it seems...

review:
this book was written for a certain type of person, and unfortunately that person is not me. i was looking forward to this. the premise sounded so interesting and i love a good spooky read. but, something about it just fell flat for me. i don't know if it was Jo Nesbo's writing itself or if it was because this is a traslated book, but it just didn't click for me.

the book is told in 3 parts and each of the parts are written differently. part 1 reads very young, almost in the same vain as R.L. Stine, and then the maturity ages over the parts. part three was my least favorite, but i can understand why some people loved it so much.

in conclusion, good idea but bad execution. it was definitely something different for me, but it didn't click like i was hoping for it to.

*thank you to netgalley and knopf for sending me an e-arc to review*