~Book Review~
The Night House by Jo Nesbo

There are some great horror elements in this book, parts of the concept are great and I appreciated SOME of the storytelling style which has an easy to read flow. However, I struggled with the execution. I have no issues with the fantastical stuff being exactly that but when the more procedural, realistic things that are meant to keep the story grounded started bordering on far fetched it felt a little off and made me start to worry that this story was going to go in a certain direction and I was completely right. What a cop out! The author was clearly trying to give a new spin on an outdated and overdone trope and it just does not work. The pacing is really bizarre meaning this book requires a lot of investment from the reader and I was left feeling really let down in the end.

At least the cover is pretty.

There were parts of this I really enjoyed, but overall it wasn't for me. I did not enjoy the writing (or maybe the translation?), and unfortunately I thought it dragged on a little too long before anything truly thrilling happened. I don't mind reading a book where the main character isn't likeable, but Richard was definitely not a very fun character to read about.
What I really liked was the Stephen King/RL Stine vibes.

Richard Elauved has just lost his parents and has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in a small remote village.
He isn't accepted by his classmates and no-one believes him when his one friend disappears. Only one person, who encourages him to follow the clues.
He does but that is when he starts hearing the voices!

So, The Night House….
I really rate Jo Nesbo but I wasn’t gripped by this one. I’m not a huge horror fan which might not have helped.

The story is told in three parts. In part one, we meet 14 year old Richard who’s two friends are missing. His explanation to the police is that Tom was eaten by a telephone and Jack was turned into an insect.

Part two, fast forward 20 years and Richard has become a famous author, he attends his school reunion which turns into another nightmare.

I won’t comment on part three, other than to say it’s twisty!

It was a good read but for me it just wasn’t great. I also guessed the twist early on.

A fab read for horror fans!

WHEN THE VOICES CALL, DON'T ANSWER...

Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle after the deaths of his parents. His aunt and uncle live in the remote small town of Ballantyne, where not all is as it seems.

Richard is an outcast and his classmate Tom goes missing after a prank call in a telephone booth where the receiver sucked Tom in bit by bit till there was nothing left of him, not even a drop of blood.

Karen, the one person who believes him, encourages Richard to pursue the clues that the police refuse to investigate. He traces the number that he and Tom prank called to an abandoned house in the woods. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And that’s when the voices start.

Ok so I saw the cover of this book and was like this is a bit of me and the first chapter had me sucked in like Tom into the telephone. This book is what I love about reading. It’s so descriptive that your imagination plays out the events happening in the book. I love horror and this book is not only pretty perfect for spooky season but for all year round. It was sort of reminiscent of Goosebumps but for adults and then the second part of the book was when they are all grown up and well let’s just say if you like descriptive horror and gore then this is perfect for you. Part 3 just brought the whole book to an end and it all came together perfectly.

I'm usually a devotee of Jo Nesbo's books but I didn't find this to be typical of the genre. I persevered thinking the book would improve as it went along but I found the story confusing and I didn't really enjoy it.

Would like firstly to say thank you to the publisher for providing me with a proof copy. This title gripped from the very first page and didn't let go, it was read in a day which shows to me how good it was. The first part of the book is a usual spooky things happening and no one will believe the main character. The next chapter is a complete switch the main character in the first scene is now the author of this part. The third section has a further twist all together. Once you get further into the book your brain begins to work overtime to work out what is actually going on here. It makes your heart beat faster a true roller coaster ride. We also have many themes running through the novel of loss and betrayal. I have never picked up a book by Jo Nesbo that didn't keep me reading. Give this a read its a winner

Norwegian Jo Nesbo’s new novel is a departure from his crime novels, which feature the beloved character Harry Hole, and is set in a different genre, horror. The fantastically graphic cover is the first indication of Nesbo’s shift, but the content mirrors it in its creepy nature.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2023/10/12/the-night-house-jo-nesbo/

Hmm not sure how I feel about this book. I’ve read several Jo nesbo books and thoroughly enjoyed them and many Stephen king books and loved them. This one felt too much like a YA novel, certainly in the first two parts - and then the third part was a complete turnaround and I don’t think I really got it. It was also an abrupt ending when my kindle said there was nearly an hour left in the book! I’m sure I’ll reflect more on the overall story over the next few days - but I wasn’t blown away.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I struggled to get into this at first as it’s very young adult at the start but I’m glad I persevered. Nothing is as it seems

A new and different direction for Jo Nesbo with a horror novel set in a small town. Although this was an interesting novel I prefer Nesbo's Harry Hole series although The Night House was still an entertaining read; a 3.5 star read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the Arc of The Night House by Jo Nesbo in return for my honest review. This is a really creepy story written in 3 parts, part one was defiantly the creepiest for me, I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going but it kept me intrigued enough to keep reading. A perfect read for the spooky month of October.

Really disappointed with this. It's great to see bestselling authors who have built up a following branching out into horror, a testament to the genre's ongoing rise, but The Night House felt like more of a return to what horror used to be decades ago, rather than anything new or fresh. Some of the ideas in Part Three were interesting, and I can tell that Nesbo was really thinking of how to keep the reader on their toes as the story unfolds, but the writing was just such a slog to get through, and none of the characters captivated me at all. Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘When the Voices Call, Don’t Answer’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Random House U.K. Vintage Harvill Secker for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Night House’ by Jo Nesbø. It was translated from the Norwegian by Neil Smith.

This is a dark coming-of-age story in the tradition of Stephen King. As such, it is quite different to Nesbø’s Harry Hole police procedurals. While a relatively short novel, he manages to incorporate a great deal of plot and weirdness into its three parts.

Some plot details for context: following the deaths of his parents in a house fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outsider. While playing near the edge of the woods with his classmate Tom, they come across a phone booth. Richard dares Tom to make a prank call. However, something strange happens and Tom is sucked into the receiver as if it is devouring him.

Richard tries to explain to the local sheriff what happened and he responds “I remember what you said, Richard. But telephone receivers don’t eat people.” Richard’s schoolmate Karen encourages him to pursue clues that the police refuse to investigate. As is often the case in this type of tale, Richard ends up unleashing eldritch horrors. In Parts 2-3 the narrative moves forward in time, though the weirdness persists.

Having long enjoyed Jo Nesbø crime fiction I was intrigued by ‘The Night House’. I found it a gripping tale, though I will note that it contains scenes of strong visceral horror. I appreciated its surreal dreamlike atmosphere that was interspersed with depictions of ordinary life. Richard’s journey also addresses issues linked to the nature of good and evil.

Richard was not a particularly likeable character, especially in the opening when he taunts Tom by throwing his Luke Skywalker action figure into a river. No wonder the sheriff and Agent Dale of the Federal Police are suspicious of his account of Tom’s disappearance. Is he even a reliable narrator? Yet his early life has clearly left him damaged, so can there be a path to redemption?

Overall, I found ‘The Night House’ a genuinely unsettling work of horror fiction that proved a perfect read for this time of year as the nights draw in. Given some of its themes I would classify it as literary horror rather than pulp horror even with its hungry telephone box.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Teenager Richard witnesses his classmate get sucked into a telephone receiver yet no one believes him. When someone else disappears as Richard is investigating the horror that is plaguing his town, it becomes clear that he is up against something much darker than he could have imagined.

The Night House is the perfect book for spooky season.

It was so incredibly creepy throughout. Even though I love a horror story, I still had to make sure to read during daylight hours. The idea of someone being sucked into a telephone is so absurd yet it grabbed my attention and I was instantly hooked. I loved how unpredictable the entire story felt.

This was such an intense read because of the vivid descriptions. The book is fairly short and it was very fast-paced, making it thoroughly addictive.

I can't recommend this enough for a really original horror book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Jo Nesbo should write more horror novels, could not put it down. Don't read in the dark. Good characters very well plotted. You are not sure what is real and what is not. Just the book for spooky season. I received this book from Random House UK and Netgalley for a review

At first, the story reminded me of a classic Goosebumps book - and what's not to love about that! It wasn't what I expected and seemed to be written in quite a simplistic tone, which did make me wonder whether it was aimed at younger readers. However, it did fit with the teenage narration and fit in nicely with some of the plot twists!
Structure-wise, I can't say too much more without spoiling the book. But honestly, the structure and plot twists were what spoiled the book for me. They didn't really seem to make sense and the three parts the novel was written in didn't tie together cleverly enough for me. It felt as though Nesbo had tried to weave three novels into one, not very successfully. Hopefully this works more for teenage readers.
Back to positives though, there were some decidedly scary moments, particularly gory ones! Not only do we start with poor Tom being eaten by a phone, there are surreal, monstrous characters, creepy settings galore and some tense chase scenes! Those were definite highlights for me.
All in all, a scary tale with plenty of blood and gore, but not a solid enough storyline for me.

This story keeps you guessing from start to finish as to what is happening and is all as it seems.

This will keep you gripped from start to finish.

I was so excited to read this book and I really enjoyed the first part. It reminded me of the horror stories I used to read as a teenager, really far fetched and gory. The second part was good but I soon lost interest and just couldn’t get into the third part. It seemed it was just a constant rehashing of the original story, making you wonder what was real and what was just made up or a twisted version of reality.
However I just couldn’t finish it. I didn’t want to keep going over things and work it out, it was just too much.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

I really enjoyed this book and the writing style was very faced paced. I did not see any of the plot twists coming it had me on the edge of my seat from page one.
3.5