Join Nesbo is always a go to author for me! And this book is why! I just loved how this kept me on my toes from beginning to end!

I always enjoy Nebo's writing and this was no different. This was a quick read. The action starts basically immediately and doesn't let up. The first part felt a bit like I was reading a YA horror novel, which I didn't love, but it was still very fast-paced and engaging.
In the later parts, this book kind of stopped working as well for me. It relies on a twist I don't like, not once, but twice. I just felt very overdone and unoriginal and that left me disappointed. I also just didn't find this scary at all. I prefer a growing sense of dread as the tone in my horror novels and this didn't have that. It also didn't have imagery I find particularly scary. If you want more gory horror, this also isn't that.
I think this book is fine in that I was reasonably entertained throughout, but don't go in expecting anything super horrifying or any new takes on the genre.

This book was not what I thought it would be and not Jo Nesbos usual type of book. It started off good but quickly lost my attention and I DNF

I'm a HUGE Nesbo fan (primarily harry)! So had to give this a try. Unfortunately it just wasn't my genre. But if it's yours I'm sure it's amazing because Jo Nesbo!!!!

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

Having initially read Nesbø's The Snowman, I was expecting something more along the lines of that, but whoa did this take me by surprise. After only a few pages in it was obvious I was in for a totally different ride. The death count starts immediately and in spectacular fashion reminiscent of 80s horror. If you loved the Goosebumps book series as a kid then this is like adult Goosebumps on steroids. This book is fast-paced, action-packed and full of twists and turns. Fans of Stephen King, Peter Straub & Dean Koontz should add this to the top of your TBR immediately.

I really enjoyed the first part of this book. It jumps quickly into the story and is a different type of horror story which I was really excited to read. Sadly, the book lost me towards the middle when it switched to Part 2. I was disappointed the way the story turned. I think I would have enjoyed this more as a short story of Part 1. I did really enjoy the creativity of the phone that is featured on the beautiful cover.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!

This started out with a bang and was a great classic horror novel. I loved the gore and anticipation of what twists and turns were coming. I got a bit lost at times, especially with what felt like a huge twist midway, but it was a fun read for spooky season. I’d love to see this adapted.

I really wanted my first jo nesbo book to be fun, but this was not it! MC sucks to read from and not in a fun way lol. DNF

This book taught me things I didn’t expect. The first being that I’m not a fan of the “untrustworthy narrator” trope. That being said, the untrustworthy narrator was so well executed that, by the end, I was applauding the author for being able to keep so many balls in the air and managing to catch them all on that last page. Well done Jo Nesbø!
The premise was really interesting and I was really into the intricacies of the main character being a bully. I found myself wondering if Richard deserved for me to be pulling for him. No one likes a bully, after all.
I won’t give anything specific away, but this felt very much in Steven King’s wheelhouse, albeit far less wordy—which I’m not mad at— and suitable for a younger audience. If you like twists and turns, and an untrustworthy narrator, RUN to The Night House!
Thanks so much to the author, the publisher, and Net Galley for the ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are mine.

I was completely enthralled in this book in Part 1. Was it believable? Not at all! But it was interesting and a really different kind of story. It felt like a new Ray Bradbury or Joe Hill type of story.

But then Part 2 happened and kind of ruined it for me. It became boring, slow, and made the first part seem like a fever dream (which I guess it’s supposed to do). It just kind of negated everything I loved in the first part.

And then Part 3 came along and confused the heck out of me until the very end. I DO like how it ended - it came full circle and I liked that about it. It had that “insanity” vibe just perfect.

This was good enough to keep my attention and made me want to know how it ended, but it wasn’t great. There is another book that this resembles, but I won’t ruin it for you by saying the name.

It's difficult to write about this book without giving away too much of the plot. Suffice it to say - it was creative and clever until it wasn't. This is very different from any of his other books - but still dark and well-written. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Night House by Jo Nesbo in exchange for an honest review. This book was a twisty turny story that has you questioning everything. I love books with an unreliable narrator as it makes a questionable viewpoint and leaves you wondering if it all happened that way.

Neil Smith brings Jo Nesbo’s freaky horror book to the English language. The Night House shows that Nesbo is a professional at scares.
After his parents' tragic deaths in a fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote town of Ballantyne. Richard is an outcast people don’t trust so when his friend Tom goes missing, everyone suspects he is responsible for his disappearance. But Richard knows what he saw: when making a prank call, Tom was sucked through the phone body part by body part. Only Karen, another outcast, believes that Richard didn’t hurt Tom, and the two set out to find out about the curse of the Night House.
This book was straight-up creepy! It made my skin crawl in a good way. There were great elements of horror and callbacks to other horror classics (these were used sparingly and not overdone). The characters are flat and very stereotypical but there is a twist in the story that explains this. I loved how Nesbo added elements to the story where the reader began to ask if this was really happening or if something was happening in Richard’s head.
But the latter two sections of the story were a letdown. There are two big twists; honestly, it only needed that second one. It is better to reflect on what is going on in the first part. The first twist could have played out well too until it got silly. And the ending? It breaks all kinds of ethical and moral codes that turn my stomach just thinking about it. So, I’ll switch gears. The only other issue with the novel is that the Night House doesn’t feature as much as the title would have suggested.
The unethical (in several ways) ending left a bad taste in my mouth which makes it hard for me to rate this book. I’ll sum it up this way; there is some great horror but too many twists.

The Night House is a creepy addition to the fall season, The book is divided into 3 parts, each part is different and at times it was difficult to make connections between the parts. Some of the plot twists were interesting but I didn't care for the characters.

When I tell you this book had me questioning a lot of what was going on….

This book follows Richard who goes to live in a small town with relatives after losing his parents. He witnesses his friend getting swallowed up by a telephone and no one believes him but fellow classmate, Karen. He then goes on a mission to prove that he isn’t lying and some weird things happen along the way.

I’ll say that this book was entertaining since I wanted to get to the end quickly and find out the truth. It felt more like a mindf**k if anything because you think you know what’s happening, and then BOOM you get thrown into a whole new direction.

Overall the writing style was really easy to fall into and the characters were not too unlikable, but still made you question them along the way. Not a bad scary book but I wouldn’t call it my favorite of the year.

Thank you To NetGalley and the publishers for sending me this ARC for an honest review

This cover alone is enough to draw me in. I was completely along for the gory, creepy ride until we reached part two of this book. Then we ran smack into my least favorite horror movie trope and this book lost me. I hung in to the end but this book didn't thrill me. The writing was very middle-grade, even if the content sometimes crossed over into horror topics. It was reminiscent of a Goosebumps book, really, up until part two. I have read and enjoyed other Jo Nesbo books, but I feel that detective books are where he shines. I can appreciate what he was trying to do with this book, but it didn't work for me.

*Thank you NetGalley for my eARC of this novel*

I find myself wanting to like the idea of this book so much more than its execution. The cover of this book intrigued me very much, with the description being even more of a pull, however the story just didn’t seem to hold up. Between the twist in the middle and the ending it just felt half baked. There needs to be added emphasis in parts that were just barely glossed over and not in the “mysterious way” but actual functionally the plot.

I can appreciate the time, effort, and the reimagining that had to be done to complete this story. However, I will say there is a lot of material that was underutilized.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf for accepting my request to read and review The Night House.

Stars: 2

A three part book that still feels incomplete. My entire reading time was spent in a state of confusion. I read the that first chapter three or four times attempting to grasp as well as find a starting point to the story. At the completion of the book I was disappointed and confused. Two words: Convoluted mess.

Is this a dream trope? Mental patient trope? Sci Fi trope? I couldn't tell you and I read the book. (Judge for yourself with the synopsis.)

A few sentences make a sequence that reads well. But, the next five pages translate to blah blah blah. Trying to follow along all I managed to do was frustrate myself.

This was not written with me in mind. I wouldn't know who it was written for. Should I rethink requesting horror? Maybe I don't understand the written genre. (I love horror movies.)

Richard is only 14 years old when his parents are killed in a fire and he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He has a rough time with his new life, town and school. He doesn't really fit in and starts causing major trouble. Stealing, pranks...just being a juvenile asshole. So, when he ropes another local teen into joining in on a prank and the kid disappears, most people think Richard had something to do with it. Richard has a wild, horrific story about what happened to Tom, but nobody believes him.

Because really.....telephone booths at the edge of the woods don't make kids disappear, right? The logical explanation is that the weird, new kid pushed him in the river, or did something to him. Local law enforcement is pretty much convinced that Richard killed Tom.

So, he forms a friendship with another local outsider to follow clues and investigate what happened to Tom.

I have read a couple of Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole Detective novels and enjoyed them. When I saw he had written a horror novel, I had to give it a read. This book is completely a departure from the gritty investigative Harry Hole novels.

This story is bizarre, yet completely sucked me in. It wasn't really that scary, but I found myself wanting to know WTH was going on. Creepy more than scary. Can you imagine being an outsider, and having something so fantastical and horrific happen right in front of you....and nobody believes you. Yikes!

I hope he writes more horror. I really enjoyed this book! The story was so weird, but engaging.

I kept thinking as I read that the story would make a really good creepy movie. I'd watch it!!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Knopf. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**