The Night House by Jo Nesbo was weird, but in the best way!

We follow a boy named Richard who has experienced the tragic death of his parents in a house fire. After moving from the city to the country with his aunt and uncle he develops a reputation for bullying at school. While he isn’t well liked, he’s not harmful, at least that’s the case until one of his friends is devoured by a telephone. Of course no one believes him, except a quirky girl named Karen. When another one of Richards friends go missing, we have to wonder who is really to be believed in this story?

This book has several overlapping plots, so paying attention to small details is important. I loved being able to connect dots from one section to the next; as the story is broken down into three parts. The horror wasn’t over the top, it was often lighthearted and fun. Very different from most things I have read before. Fire, bugs, books and magic are just some of the things we come across. The characters are written well and serve their purpose in this horror story. It reminds me of something that would appear on The Twilight Zone and I can’t help loving it just a little more for that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

"From the internationally best-selling author, a chilling fresh spin on the classic horror novel - When the voices call, don't answer.

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 Mirror Forest. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear...

She's going to burn. The girl you love is going to burn. There's nothing 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..."

So THIS is why we got ride of all telephone booths!

“If people didn't already dislike me, I soon made sure that they did. It's the same sort of reflex that made people like Karen and Oscar Jr. smile and be nice so that everyone liked them, only the opposite. It wasn't that I didn't want to be liked, it was just that I knew they weren't going to like me anyway. So I kind of preempted them: I got them to dislike me on my terms.”

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

“I’m scared of heights. I'm scared of darkness. I'm scared of water. I'm scared of fire. And I'm scared of telephones. But most of all, I'm scared of being scared.”

This was my first Jo Nesbø book and I’ve heard he does great crime story tales but this story was so not that. I was expecting detective stuff and got a horror novel instead… and I ain’t mad! I’m also not mad at the page length of this book. It totally shows that you can really pack a punch in a tale and not need it to be so lengthy.

I was pretty much gripped from the first line of this book. There were parts that had me chuckling which is good when interpreted with horrific imagery and chilling vibes. There are three parts to this book and I could see how the shifts between parts could leave a reader discombobulated and yelling “What the heck is going on?” but to me that was what so fun about this ride! There were twists and turns but once you get to the end and see how it all comes together, it leaves you satisfied. At least it did for me because I see from other reviewers that they didn’t appreciate all the confusion 😂I like to be jostled every now and then. Especially with the ending lines of this story… I don’t want to give it away but just know that I couldn’t help but laugh (in a good way).

This was written very well and again I’m thoroughly impressed that it didn’t take that many words to really deliver an enthralling, unpredictable horror story.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love the cover. Unfortunately, I did not like the writing style and characters in this story at all.

This was my first book by Nesbo and I had high hopes based on the cover and summary. Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. I think it was definitely a case of "it's not you, it's me" because most of the book was fine. The main thing that threw me off was how sometimes the writing felt like a middle school horror story (like R. L. Stine), except for how gory it was. Overall, I gave this 3/5 ⭐. Could have been better, could have been worse.

If the new kid in town with a bad reputation told you that his friend was devoured by a telephone booth, would you believe him? Yeah, neither did anyone else in Ballantyne.

Richard recently moved to this small town after his parent's died in a house fire. He's an outcast with very few friends. Unfortunately, two of those friends go missing and Richard was the last person to be seen with them. When Richard tells the police the truth of what happened, it's too fantastical to be believed. Dark magic seems to be at play and Richard is determined to prove his innocence.


I think the cover's great. It pulled me in right from the beginning because it reminded me of an old R.L. Stine Fear St. novel.

I loved all the similarities I saw between The Night House and IT -- a teenage outcast meets a small town supernatural horror. It was split into 3 parts and each time I thought I figured out what was happening. I was wrong, and that's pretty darn cool. You should either go into this story almost completely blind OR understand that it's not a straight forward tale.

Initially, I think I felt a little let down by the conclusion. But the longer I sit with the story, the more I appreciate it.

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??