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Synopsis:

From the internationally best-selling author, a twisted, multi-layered spin on the classic horror novel

In the wake of his parents’ tragic deaths in a house fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects the new, angry boy is responsible for his disappearance. No one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver like something out of a horror movie. No one, that is, except Karen, a beguiling fellow outsider who encourages Richard to pursue clues the police refuse to investigate. He traces the number that Tom prank called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in the Black Mirror Wood. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear . . .

You know who I am. She’s going to burn. The one you love is going to burn. There’s not a thing you can do about it.

When another classmate disappears, Richard must find a way to prove his innocence–and preserve his sanity–as he grapples with the dark magic that is possessing Ballantyne and pursuing his destruction.

Then again, Richard may not be the most reliable narrator of his own story . . .

Review:

Jo Nesbo has found international fame with his Harry Hole thriller series. (I have thought about trying them more than once but my twelve-year-old brain cannot get passed the name “Harry Hole”. Immature, I know.) The Night House is billed as a stand alone horror novel, and I was interested without reading anything about it. The cover of a bloody phone dangling in front of a creepy old gothic house. This was enough for me. 

The story starts with Richard Elauved hanging out with his friend Tom. They are just goofing around, being boys, when they find a telephone booth. Richard dares Tom to make a prank call. While Tom is on the phone, he literally gets sucked into the telephone. Tom’s disappearance and the unbelievable story that Richard tells about his demise, mixed with the fact that Richard is adopted and not from the town, makes it hard for anyone to believe Richard. The adventure of Richard trying to prove his innocence mixed with a large amount of strange and gruesome things happening to Richard’s friends, makes for a horror story that really is captivating.

Then this story folds in half.

Then this story folds in half again.

The Night House is very good. There are some elements that are a well worn when it comes to horror tropes, but I feel like Jo Nesbo uses them with an innocence and sincerity, like someone who does not read horror or watch 100 horror movies a year. The tone of this story, which grows weirder and weirder as it goes along, does not waver. Richard is a character that feels trustworthy, even when everyone around him shows him evidence that he is wrong. Jo Nesbo has written a character that starts as a bully and a jerk, but he is someone that you are cheering for. You want him to succeed in his situation because you cannot help but like him.  I do not know if Nesbo has more of these types of characters in his writing, but I am certain that it is now time to find out. I look forward to diving into the Harry Hole stories based on the strength of his writing in The Night House.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.