THE NIGHT HOUSE is an out-of-the-box story from Jo Nesbo, one of the masters of Nordic Noir. His thriller/detective books are nearly flawless. THE NIGHT HOUSE is not quite so pristine and I see how some readers may not enjoy this one - but I liked it a lot.

The story is told in three parts and there's not much I can say that wouldn't amount to spoilers, so I will describe it as full of twists, turns, grotesque moments, lore, bullies, trauma and a resounding hope for things to get better.

I enjoyed all the characters, but wish a couple of them had been more fleshed out in the end.

This book was the perfect start to fall and Halloween anticipation.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an e-copy of THE NIGHT HOUSE to review.

I rate THE NIGHT HOUSE four out of five stars.

I’ve never read anything by this author so I had no expectations, I only knew I loved the cover. This is a short book which is good because you won’t be able to stop reading. Three terrible parts to a story that are all connected. This is horror and creativity at its best. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

Ok so I can’t start off this review without mentioning cover for The Night House. It’s simply a stunning horror cover that’s chef kiss of horror covers. That being said I had really high hopes for this one. This was actually my very first Jo Nesbo novel and I got to say I was let down a bit.

Let’s start with what I did like, I really enjoyed a good chunk of the story. It gave me Stephen King and R. L. Stine vibes kind of. I’m going to say though this doesn’t really read like adult horror it reads more like YA horror. I’m a fan of YA horror too so I did enjoy those aspects. That being said I thought this was going to be more of a scarier and creepier book but it just wasn’t. It did have some good parts and there were plenty of wtf moments.

Now for what I didn’t like in this one. There was quite the fat shaming, misogyny, derogatory remarks that were all throughout this book most of which were made by the main character. I really was disgusted to the point one time with all the comments that I almost abandoned the book. However I did push on and finish this one and while for the most part I enjoyed the actually story but I couldn’t overlook all those comments. Not my favorite but it was ok. This being my first Jo Nesbo novel I’m not sure I’ll read more by this author.

This was the first book I've read by this author and I wasn't sure what to expect. I loved the first part. Part two threw me for a loop but I still enjoyed it. Part three felt a bit forced to me. Overall I still enjoyed this book and a few parts creeped me out!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC

I really enjoyed The Night House by Jo Nesbo. I can’t really write a review for it without giving away some of the surprises.
The book is broken up into three parts. The first part was pretty good, the second part was not my favorite, but the third part I loved and it absolutely redeemed the whole book for me. Go in expecting nothing and enjoy!

This is not your typical horror story. There is a story within a story with some odd goings on. A 14 yr old outcast orphan is having a very unusual life. No one believes him with the exception of one person. Many twists and odd happenings, but the plot moves quickly and the resolution is satisfying.

Thank you,NetGalley!

This book did not work for me, it would of worked better as a short story or novella not a whole novel. It was boring and I hated the main character.

The Night House by Jo Nesbo is a mind bending horror. Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me.

The opening scene of this book sucked me in immediately. I loved the graphic nature of the scene. The writing was easy and fast paced. It really set the book up for success.

At about the halfway point I had a hard time getting through this book. It started of so strong for me and then it felt rushed. I’m not sure if that was do to the translation or not. Also the ending and the twist was not my favorite thing.

I can see this book working for a ton of people. I think it just wants for me. I have no doubt this book will be very successful. I still recommend anyone that loves horror to give it a shot.
2/5

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the cover of this book and the concept in the description. I wanted to love it but sadly I did not. It read like it was a short story in a book of stories or a middle grade book. I hate books filled with hate and revenge which I saw alot of in this. I did not hate the characters. I just did not care for them at all. I did not enjoy going through the story. by the time the plot was getting into motion I just had no connection to the characters or the town. I do not think this one was for me.

This book has 3 sections. The first section is amazing, and the author probably should have quit while he was ahead. Luckily, it's the longer of the 3 sections. Great horror with some pretty inventive ideas and monsters. It is neatly wrapped up, bow tied, and delivered.

Then the next section continues the story but invalidates what came before, which is as disappointing as a story ending with, "and then he woke up". That's not the actual situation, but it feels like that.

And then it happens again, with the final section.

I wish I could like it more, but it is a very disappointing denouement. It would have easily been a 5-star book if the author had known when to stop.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the digital ARC of The Night House by Jo Nesbo. The story is about Richard who moves to a small town with extended family after suffering a tragedy. As the new kid, he has a hard time fitting in and when two boys go missing that he was last seen with, the town is immediately suspicious of him. None believes his wild stories about what happened to them. It's up to Richard to clear his name and discover the truth of the unbelievable disappearances. But can we really trust him?
I enjoyed the majority of the book. It is fairly short so it is a pretty quick read. The pacing was constant throughout the story and was right to the point. There are plenty of twists I was not expecting! I am not sure how I feel about the ending and how it was all wrapped up. The final twist was unexpected for sure, but I am still on the fence if it was one I can say I really enjoyed. But overall I thought it was fun and imaginative! Solid 3.5/5 stars

Wasn’t really a fan of this book. Started out really good then I kinda just dragged on. The middle wasn’t really great feel like nothing happened.

I’ve read Nesbo’s Harry Hole series before and enjoyed them. I am really glad that I tried this standalone “The Night House” which is more of a thriller and more to my personal taste lately. Found it very enjoyable and well paced, hard to put down. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary DRC, my pleasure to read and review it

This book had a lot of potential that sadly did not fulfill. Felt more like a Goosebump novel, very juvenile, but without the scares & wit. Also, the story built up to have no real connection to the ending.

I got 30% of the way through this book and sadly I think it's a case of it's me and not the book. I really loved the gothic horror aspect of the house and mysterious disappearances, but I couldn't connect with the story as much as I wished to. I still highly recommend to anyone looking for an old-school horror genre vibe.

This book was a rollercoaster but more in the sense that all the cool stuff happens out of the gate and you round the last loop to discover you're only halfway done with the ride and the rest of the track resembles a train track instead of adrenaline high you signed up for.

Part 1
Well laid out, descriptive, and captivating in all the right places. I want the rest of this book. I want them to get out of the hospital only to discover its not over and they have one last stretch to discovering the truth of the it all which will be just as gruesome and freaky as part 1. Then it all wraps up with bonds forged in terror, and man that was a crazy year. Unfortunately that is only wishful thinking.

Richard, his classmates and family are all well crafted. They feel like people I went to school with, and I definitely see how the author laid the foreshadowing for the big reveal in part 3, it's a start that sucks you in from the first chapter.

Part 2
At first, I was annoyed at how "meta" this part was. As the situation in this part escalated I kept trying to reason out what was happening and try and make sense of the discrepancies in memories and such. It gave the vibes of It but less space alien and more 'we forgot to salt and burn the bones haunted house'. This left me hopeful that we just time jumped to realizing they hadn't rid them self of it as adults and banning together to defeat the . . . nope. Just another spoiler alert for part 3. As with part 1 the characters aged up was really perfection. Aren't high school reunions all the same?

Part 3
The whole end of this book is a disappointment for me. It felt lackluster in the sense, of why did I even read the first two parts? Where those were vibrate and made you feel apart of the scenes, this section focused on telling the reveal and wrapping up how everything really happened. It was very day in the life, beat you over the head with all the foreshadowing that was laid and parallels with more of that great meta

This type of ending just might not be my cuppa tea. If you enjoy bait and switch reads, you'll likely enjoy the full book. It is very much a psychological horror thriller type read that will leave you looking back at the first two parts to see if you noticed the cracks.

The Night House starts off strong, I really enjoyed part one and it honestly could have stopped there. Part two and three were pointless and made the whole reading experience way too confusing and weird. Don’t get me wrong, I like confusing and weird but it has to be done correctly. The way this book is written and the twist just make it like it was pointless to read. Like I stated, part one was the best and if it would have stopped at that, this would have gotten a much higher rating. I am giving it points for having at least an interesting plot, decent characters, and the cover alone gives it some points.

Jo Nesbo is one of my favorite authors. He usually writes thrillers about insane criminals sought by the alcohol addled policeman ,Harry Hole. This book is entirely different. You need to hang up your hat and don your willingness to believe in magic and the impossible because this is a horror story written by a master of his craft.
Young Richard Elauved, is an orphan whose parents were killed in a fire. He is sent to live with his small town aunt and uncle. When weird things begin to happen and people go missing, Richard comes under suspicion. At first it feels like a magical setting fit for young readers, and THEN the story blossoms into a full fledged horror tale that is impossible to figure out. Needless to say that Nesbo’s writing is eerily descriptive. I loved reading a book by an author I adore that took me to a totally unexpected place.
Four stars for a completely creative, original and captivating story. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf publishers for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available on October3, 2023 right in time for the spooky season!

Well paced and full of detail. Claustrophobic and thrilling I felt like I was right inside of the book.
Thank you Netgalley for an awesome arc in exchange for my honest opinion

I really wanted to like this book more than I did.

I think this book had a lot of promise but, in the end, it felt very confusing at times and just fell flat for me.
Overall, I really liked the first twist between Parts 1 and 2. However, I just felt that the "horror" aspect of the book was lacking. I am a lover of both Horror movies and books and this one just felt too weird and had me with one eyebrow raised at all times.

It was still a pretty easy and quick read and I would actually recommend this book for anyone looking to just read something a bit campy and unrelatable.