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.

The opening of this book comes with soo much promise and each part of the story winds around the last to form a 3 part examination of peoples treatment of each other and themselves. We meet the main character as a troubled foster youth, caught up in a horrible tragedy. As the plot moves forward it dabbles in magic and unrequited love. Although the protagonist starts as a typical bully they resolve in the end to be the very definition of the sympathetic character. So even though its not easy to get into this books major struggle because the boy is so hateful, it’s the trick ending that leaves you sad for his plight. It’s a quick read and not the most rewarding for horror fans looking for one of those epic good and evil struggles. Comparing this to the classics could leave a reader wondering if the authors intent was to give them a good scare or just make them marvel at the move from enjoying a haunting to questioning the nature of dreams, nightmares and the therapy they can give.

I didn't really enjoy this one. It felt a bit like too many twists that just felt like twists for the sake of twists that were not actually beneficial to the story. The characters were so dislikeable it was hard to read. Overall, the twists at the end of the book made me wonder why I had spent the time reading the story

I've been curious to read anything by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø for quite some time, so when I heard about The Night House, it seemed like an easy place to start. After all, I have a love of horror, and it also prevented me from worrying about stepping into the middle of a series or anything like that. But now that I've finished, I'm not sure that I made the right call as to where to begin. The Night House starts simply enough, with a cruel-minded young boy named Richard bullying a "friend" of his into making a prank call - a prank which goes nightmarishly awry as the phone itself starts to twist and distort, devouring his friend in front of his eyes. (Unlike a lot of horror novels, The Night House doesn't make you wait long for its first scare.) That kicks off an increasingly unsettling series of events, as Richard continues to be at the center of surreal experiences, all of which seem to be linked to a strange house on the hill. That's about all I want to say about The Night House, except to say that the book isn't what you expect; there came a point where I realized we were building up to what felt like a climax, but at entirely the wrong percentage through the book, and that's when The Night House twisted underneath me into something else entirely...and then, a little later, did it again. The result is a really odd book, and I'm not sure I was entirely satisfied with the ending, which felt a little too clever for its own good and a little too familiar. There are plenty of comparisons I want to make, but they'd risk spoiling a book that's not even out yet; ultimately, though, the ending of The Night House is less interesting than the ride there, and it all feels a little too neatly tied up and a little too "look at what I did" for my taste. I didn't dislike the book, per se; I ripped through it pretty quickly, and there are some truly unsettling scares here. But I'm not sure that horror is Nesbø's genre, in the end; I think I feel like I still need to check out a different book to see what all the fuss is about. *** ½

A departure for Jo Nesbo from his typical dark Harry Hole series. While this is a horror type novel the thrills are not overly terrifying, in fact some of the thrills were comical. There may be some allegory with the nefarious roles some of the objects of terror play. There was a typical Nesbo twist but I felt some of the characters and plot points were underdeveloped Overall an entertaining read that will keep readers interested to see what will be revealed,

A bit weird and pretty strange.
The Night House is like the campy horror novels from the 80s that I loved to read as a kid.

This is my first Nesbø read and I was n0t a huge fan of it to be honest. While this was not the best book I have read, but it was not the worst, I do not feel like it was Horror. Definitely not adult horror, this reads like a teen horror.


Anyways, thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating 2.5 rounded to 3

Dark and weird. Reminiscent of old Stephen King but lacking the mythology and connectivity throughout

My husband read this book and absolutely loved it!! He has been a huge fan of Jo Nesbo and will continue to be an automatic reader. I was so excited to be able to share this arc with him. Thank you NetGalley!

Definitely a different story than what I was expecting. It’s written in three parts, with each part changing up the direction of the story arc. The first section, as narrated by a teenager, portrayed the horror of the story in a way reminiscent of Harry Potter or A Series of Unfortunate Events-like one of those books written for one age group but enjoyed by many. Part two follows him into adulthood, beginning on an even keel and then flipping everything upside down…much like part three. You end up with more questions and it could be this way or it could be THIS way..

Well written, an enjoyable and fast read! Thanks to Jo Nesbø and Knopf for making this advance copy available on NetGalley! A great pick for a seasonal Halloween read.

I'm not really sure how to feel about this book. I feel like it had such a good start, but landed short with a lot. And just when you think its wrapping up... BAM a twist that no one sees coming. Then AGAIN!

I'm a fan of twists, don't get me wrong- but I felt like this was a bumpy road. I loved the first half, I really did. I wish the story explained it in more detail, and if it was just that, I'd proably give it a 4 stars.

It lost a star because I felt like there was just too much going on. When you think you figured it out, the book twisted everything you knew and chucked it out the window.

It was good non the less, just may be a hit or miss for some people.

I’ve loved every one of the Harry Hole novels, though I’ve not read any of Jo Nesbo’s books. When I saw the blurb for The Night House, I thought I’d take a chance on the book, especially as it wasn’t his usual crime novel.

Richard Elauved is a fourteen year old, sent to live with relatives in the small town of Ballantine after his parents die in a fire. Right at the opening of the book, he forces a “friend” Tom (Richard is pretty much a loner) to make a prank phone call, only to find that Tom is being eaten by the phone receiver. Then another “ friend” disappears while in Richard’s company. From there, Part One of The Night House relates what happens to Richard and the events that occur at the terrible house. Then we get to Part Two, which throws a monkey wrench into the story, as does Part Three, even more so.

I must admit I have negative feelings about The Night House. At the beginning of the book, I just couldn’t stand Richard’s character, and hated the juvenile style of writing. But then, as I continued into Part Two, I found there’s a reason for all this. By that time, however, I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue but I did. Then I got to Part Three, with its overarching explanation for all the prior events. It just fell flat on its face, leaving this reader very annoyed.

My disappointment in The Night House won’t keep me from reading any further novels by Mr. Nesbo. I’m glad he had the courage to branch out into horror, but, for me, his foray into the genre didn’t really work.

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of the novel.

Reading this book is a lot like getting pied in the face. You might get a chuckle out of it and it might tickle your sweet tooth but in the end it’s just a big mess that’ll never fully clean up. Toss in some vaguely ridiculous and reductive mental health plot points and you’ve got quite the recipe. Night House is popcorn horror at best, never quite sure what it wants to be or where it’s going but you might get a kick out of some of the set pieces.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Knopf and Netgalley**

The synopsis of the book sounded intriguing but just wasn’t for me, perfect for a different audience that enjoys horror books set with younger main characters. At first the book was giving me IT and Stranger Things Vibes but just wasn’t hitting what I enjoy in thriller/horror books.

This should have been a movie.

Putting aside the excessive amount of homophobia, misogyny, and fatphobia that made this book hard to read at times, the story moves too fast to really sink into the world and horror. It reads in bits like a middle grade book in it's prose and plotting (but I would not recommend it as middle grade). I would much rather see the body horror described on the screen than with descriptions on the page (I also think the twists could work better on screen)

**********Spoilers ********

Richard was the absolute worst at the start/middle of the book and made it actively difficult to read this book. In those sections his behavior towards others is deplorable, but the third section just makes the rest not work as well.

I would love to see a review of this from someone with schizophrenia/associated mental illnesses, because maybe it addresses those themes well. But for me, on first reading, those themes are so fully disguised that I spent a lot of time wondering what the "horror" in this book was actually about.

Was it a twist on bullying, where the bully becomes the victim, either by disbelief and rejection(first section ) or the vigilante actions of their victims later on(second part)?

Maybe I would change my mind rereading the book knowing the ending, but I frankly had a horrible time reading it.

This was the first book by Nesbo I’ve ever read and I really enjoyed it! I am, however, glad I had not read any of other works before reading this one. I was able to go into this book without any expectations of how it would compare to his other books.

This was a very entertaining story within a story within a story. I’m usually able to guess where a thriller/mystery book is going before it gets there, but there were 2 separate twists I didn’t see coming and that kept me on my toes. The characters remained consistent throughout the book, but each part took you deeper into them. The entire story flowed naturally into each part despite the unusual twists it took. The book was part Stephen King, 80s horror movie, creature feature, and psychological journey all in one for me.

I did wish the book had been just a little longer so some parts could have more detail, but I can see how it would’ve changed the pacing of the book. This was a quick, fast paced read that can be finished in one sitting.