Title: The Night House
Author: Jo Nesbo
Pages: 256
Published: October 3, 2023
Publisher: Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor
Rating: 3.5 stars
Synop:
After losing his parents in a tragic fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved moved in with his aunt and uncle. In Ballantyne, he became an outcast due to his bullying, thieving tendencies, and knack for troublemaking. Richard's life took a sinister turn when he convinced his friend Tom to partake in a prank phone call that turned into a horrifying incident—Tom was consumed by the phone receiver. The police got involved, thrusting Richard into a whirlwind of disbelief.
Confessing the truth to the police yielded only one believer: Karen, a classmate who joined him in pursuing the hidden truth that the authorities overlooked. Together, they traced the eerie phone number to an abandoned house in the enigmatic Mirror Forest. What they uncovered there defied logic and changed their lives forever.
With the unsettling disappearances of two more "friends," including Karen, Richard's quest to prove his innocence intensified into a race against the unknown. Yet, a lingering doubt remained: Was Richard truly a reliable narrator?
My Reaction:
This is my first book by Jo and it won't be my last. I really enjoyed the instant horror of the book and the horror spattered throughout the novel. It was creepy and the descriptions of Tom being eaten through the phone were very unsettling.
I'm very conflicted about the 15 years later section of the book - I feel like it wasn't necessary, but at the same time it hit home that Richard is an unreliable narrator.
Also, the whole town being affected by IMU didn't seem plausible to me. I know it's a novel and things aren't going to be plausible, but this seemed a little extra.
What I enjoyed:
. The random bouts of horror
. Unreliable narrator
What I disliked:
. The ending
. Book was kinda boring - it needed the random bits of horror to keep me interested in reading it
. The dialogue was a tad stale
Read this if you like:
✅ Horror
✅ Small Town Horror
✅ WTF moments
✅ Unreliable narrator
✅ Gore
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