The beginning of this book started off really strong. I was totally getting 90s horror vibes from my childhood. Richard Elauved moves to a small town to live with his aunt and uncle after the tragic death of his parents. When a classmate goes missing, Richard is left with a story no adult would ever believe. About halfway through the book, the point of view changes to that of adult Richard, and the rest of the book honestly felt like I was stuck in a fever dream.

Entertaining and plot twists throughout. I found this book to be unique in the best possible way!

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review "The Night House” prior to publication. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

This was my first book by Jo Nesbo and my first Nordic thriller, and unfortunately it didn't work for me.

The main issue was the writing. I’m not sure if it’s the author’s style that I didn’t connect with or the translation, but it felt very literal (not nuanced), was a bit dry at times, and “told” more than “showed”. I didn't like the MC in the first part of the book, and I went in with the wrong expectations. I thought it would be a dark, atmospheric, horror novel and instead it was suspenseful fiction with a few thriller/horror scenes.

On a more positive note, I can honestly say I didn’t anticipate the direction the story went in. It was clever and a risk that many readers seemed to enjoy.

Even though this wasn't my favorite, I'm eager to read other books in this genre.

Thank you to Knopf for the arc!

This book was amazingly disturbing! I loved the premise of the three different story lines. Even though I should know the way the book ended going by what happened in part 3, my brain can’t comprehend if it was the actual truth or was he part of some type of experiment! Regardless I loved it and wouldn’t change a thing!

Until I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, my only contact with Jo Nesbø was his train-wreck police detective Harry Hole. Now that I've read this novel, I can honestly say I've been missing a lot.

Book cover: The Night House by Jo Nesbø
As with all the best horror, it's very difficult to tell you about this book without ruining it. So, rather than go into plot details, I'll start by saying nothing in this book is as it appears to be. That's in the way of a slight warning, because as you read the first section you might be tempted to put it aside for reasons I can't go into for the reason cited above. You’ll have to take my word for it.

Stories of haunted houses, evil houses, and their like are a staple of the genre, and lately it seems every other book has a nasty structure of one kind or another at its center. That Nesbø is able to overcome that subject glut and provide us with a truly original take is a testimony to his skill as a writer.

I could say that this is a novel suitable for all ages, but that applies only for younger readers who don't mind having their britches scared off. On the other hand, the grown-ups are likely to want to read it with the lights on, too. It's the story of a young person's worst nightmare—seeing some horrible thing happened that's so bizarre no one believes it, and the young reporter becomes the target of suspicion. Life goes downhill from there.

This is a tale of ancient evil, which isn’t unusual. What’s unusual is that just when you’re ready to chalk the story up as similar to others of its kind, it twists like an eel and goes off in a completely different direction. It’s about having the courage to confront our nightmares, and accepting that when things get really bad we don’t have to go it alone. It’s about friendships, and how they can be just as strong long after we think they’re gone as they were when we first made them.

If being creeped out while watching people discover they’re a lot stronger than they give themselves credit for is one of your favorite things to do, you're going to love The Night House.

I'm a big fan of Jo Nesbø's 'Harry Hole' books, about a Norwegian police detective, and I enjoyed Nesbø's update of 'Macbeth' for the Hogarth Shakespeare series. In 'The Night House', Nesbø dips a toe into the horror genre, and the novel is appropriate for both young adult and adult fans of creepy crawly stories.

*****
After losing his parents in a tragedy, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved goes to live with his Uncle Frank and Aunt Jenny in the town of Ballantyne, which Richard considers 'a little shithole with shitty little kids.'

Richard is always looking for trouble, and when a classmate named Tom, who has a stutter, mentions, "Now, in the sp-sp-spring, the river is scary and dangerous", Richard convinces Tom to come to the river with him. At the river, Richard tosses in a Luke Skywalker action figure he stole, and then, wanting to cause more mischief, Richard convinces Tom to make a prank call from a phone booth near the main road.

The phone booth contains a phone book, and Richard randomly picks the number for someone called Imu Jonasson. Richard then dials and orders Tom to say "Hi Imu. I'm the devil and I'm inviting you to hell. Because that's where you belong." The phone then proceeds to consume Tom, 'as if the receiver does what some insects do with their prey: they inject something that turns the flesh to jelly, which they can then slurp up.'

Richard reports the disaster to Sheriff McClelland, who doesn't believe him, and thinks Richard must have pushed Tom into the river. The police search for Tom to no avail, after which Agent Dale from the Federal Police shows up to investigate.

The only person who seems to believe Richard is a pretty schoolmate named Karen, who has a rebellious streak of her own. Richard and Karen learn that Imu Jonasson, who lived in a big mansion called 'The Night House', was institutionalized, and hasn't been seen in Ballantyne for years.

Richard convinces another classmate, nicknamed Fatso, to check out 'The Night House' with him, and the boys discover that the mansion is an abandoned, creepy, mysterious place. Afterwards, Fatso has dinner at Richard's house, after which Fatso turns into an insect and flies away.

Fatso's vanishing convinces the authorities that Richard needs serious help. Since the boy is a minor, he's sent to the Rorrim Correctional Facility for Young People, and more strange things happen.

To say more would be a spoiler, but I will say this is an entertaining story with surprises galore. I'd recommend the book to readers who enjoy light-ish horror stories.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jo Nesbø, and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for a copy of the book.

I really wanted to like this book but the main character was just so hard to like. He’s such a bully.
Also the writing felt really dry. Not sure if it’s the translation but didn’t like it one bit. Not a book for me. Hopefully others like it more than I did.

I could not get into this at all. This book was a highly anticipated read for me, but it just fell flat. It read like a young adult novel and the MC was just so unlikeable. I know this is the first horror book from this author, and I hope they will try again, cause I will definitely pick it up. This one just didn’t do it for me, unfortunately.

The Night House is one of those books that you need to suspend belief but in a good way! This book is weird, but it has a certain creep factor to it that you actually get goosebumps while reading! I really enjoyed it. I hope to see more horror like this from the author in the future!

The Night House is my introduction to Jo Nesbo and I was extremely happy with this introduction. The story is quick paced and moved through each of the three parts with the same attention to detail and pacing. When I moved through the climax of Part 1, I was confused how the story seemed to wrap up but there was still quite a bit of book left. Nesbo weaves parts 1-3 together so well that it it doesn't feel disjointed or jarring to the reader.

Richard was a vivid character and made the story feel real. The slight variations in the character in each part of the story are even better the longer I have thought about it. The slight characteristic changes helped keep the story grounded even when the story began to feel too off kilter.

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Writing Style: 4
Cover: 5
Enjoyment: 5

So, this was my very first Jo Nesbø book. What a ride.

This book is told in three parts and first person pov via our main character, Richard. Firstly as a teenager, and then an adult. Setting is Ballantyne (likely the one in North Carolina) and an unnamed Big city. We get some school scenes, some library scenes, some wooded scenes. There's just something about library settings in books that I adore. Gives me the cozy feels, and nostalgia, and Autumnal, and horror. I'll assume any typos are in part of this being a translation. After I read Part One I was like 'okay, okay', but in a good way, in an anticipatory way, and then after finishing the Second I was all, '.....wtf did I just read?', with the third and final reaction at book's end being, 'well, okay, then.' Heh, just...what a cuckoo book with an unreliable narrator.

Chef's kiss for that full-circle. Bonus points for including Kafka and explaining it's Dr Frankenstein, that that isn't the monster's name.

[ Huge thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC! ]

I had a ton of fun with the first part of this book. I love stories that get weird and embrace the whacky so I thought that this one would be perfect for me. I'd be hard pressed to name another book that starts out as wild as this one does. It kicks off super quick, and the author does a great job developing the characters alongside the plot. When I reached the end of part one, I was thinking that this would be an easy 4-star read. And then I read the rest of the book.

Unfortunately, the further I progressed the faster the plot rocketed downhill. The plot started turning in what felt like sudden and unpredictable ways, but not in a fun way. Though I would still say that my reading experience was a positive one, since I enjoyed the first part so dang much, I was so disengaged with the characters and the plot by the end of the book that I was just ready for it to be over.

This was my first experience with this author though so I'm still interested in reading more of his work, despite this being a pretty meh read for me.

Trick me once, trick me twice, but don't do it more than that Jo Nesbo. What a crazy story this was. What an incredible way to explain PTSD. Right when you thought you got hold off what was going on, Nesbo slapped you once again. This book was not some children's book to keep them away from the scary house of the neighborhood. It was heavy; it was shocking; it was depressing.

Richard was one of those troubled children. He didn't have many friends at the school. We could call him a bully. He dragged his "friends" into places and situations they didn't want to be in. And none of those situations ended well. Richard saw some crazy stuff happening while having no one to believe him. Everything after than point was one big horror story that would keep you awake at night.

There were so many twists and turns. It was an incredible take on trauma and how to cope with it. It showed while reaction to trauma varies by age it fundamentally has the same impact on a person.

If I’ve learned one thing from watching horror movies it is that you don’t answer the phone if you’re alone or being chased by a masked slasher. Have you checked the children? The call is coming from inside the house. What’s your favorite scary movie? Nothing good has ever come from answering the phone.

Night House started with an eerie phone call and I thought that creep factor was going to stick around throughout the entire book. Sadly, it did not. What we get is a few parts that make you want to never answer the phone. (This is me in everyday life before reading this)

This was wild but wasn’t fond of the ending. I found myself enjoying Part 1 a lot more than the others. It was ok but one I thought I was going to enjoy a lot more than I did. I hyped this up to be something that I was going to absolutely worship and tell everyone to read but I just set myself up for a tad bit of disappointment.

The Night House was a fine read but it could have been better. While I was expecting a Phantasm rip-off with a killer phone instead of a sphere, we don't get much of that. I was expecting pure hair-raising terror and all we got was an ankle-biter of a dog. It was still a wild time but not as wild as it could have been.

I was familiar with Nesbo as a writer of thrillers/police procedurals. So I was blown away by this horror novel in the vein of King or Koontz. He writes very vivid characters in impossible situations. Richard is a teenager whose parents died in a house fire and has to start over at a new school. He loses two of his friends to remarkable circumstances and is sent to a detention center. Even 15 years later at his high school reunion, the horror continues. I wasn't able to put this book down.

I really didn’t care for this one. I had high hopes because Nesbo is so so good at crime fiction, but this just felt amateurish and unoriginal.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Jo Nesbo book, and I'm sorry to say that it will most likely be my last. From the reviews I've read this may not be his usual fair, but it interested me because it had a good creepy quality to it that made it a potentially a perfect read for the fall season.

However....it was way over the top. The story is about Richard who has just moved to town and is living with his foster parents. Strange things start happening and all signs of wrong doing point towards someone who is a legend around town. Things happen and twists and turns come up and there you have it. The story itself is divided into three parts. The first read like a juvenile horror story, the second and third part are where the major twists are, so I won't say anything more to preserve some suspense.

Perhaps this may not have been the best to start with for this author, but I still was underwhelmed by such a big name author.

This is my first book by this author and I was buddy reading with some friends and I’m glad I did because I needed someone to bounce the intense insanity that is this book is off of. And I mean that in the best way. This was delusion at its highest form and I was along for the ride every moment.
After his parents deaths, Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in a remote town called Ballantyne where he quickly earns a reputation as an outcast. When one of his classmates, Tom, goes missing, after a prank gone wrong, everyone is quick to point fingers at Richard and no one wants to believe his story that the phone in the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked him into the receiver like something out of a movie. The only one who believes him is Karen, a fellow outsider who encourages Richard to keep looking into what happened when the police refuse to investigate. Richard traces the number that they prank called to an and abandoned house in Mirror Forest where he catches a glimpse of a face in the window. Soon, he’s hearing a whisper in his ear…
Then once another classmate disappears after hanging out with Richard, he has to find a way to prove his innocence and protect his sanity as he fights against the dark magic that is possessing Ballantyne. But, is Richard the most reliable narrator?
This is a story within a story and the way it is done is mind boggling and so well done. This is sure to be a classic for thriller readers for years to come.
Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

3.5 stars

(Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review)


“The Night House” hit the ground running as a fun campy “popcorn horror movie” style of narrative. Clearly drawing inspiration from classic horror novels and films, there was a lot to enjoy going in.

However, as the book progresses, the narrative mood shifts. While I felt the shift technically worked and the story came to an interesting conclusion, it didn’t quite hit the mark I hoped it would.

I was so sold on and enjoying the initial vibes of the story, I would have personally enjoyed that choice to remain solid throughout the entire storyline.

I particularly found the creative ways Nesbø painted the visual descriptions of some of the more graphic horror moments incredibly entertaining.

Overall, I enjoyed the journey and would recommend it to fans of classic and campy horror.

I felt the writing wasn’t up to Nesbo’s typical standard. Seemed pretty campy and not particularly well written, but maybe that’s just me. We will still purchase as they have huge readership in my library