Review of "The Night House: A Horror Story" by Jo Nesbø

I'm a big fan of Jo Nesbø's 'Harry Hole' books, about a Norwegian police detective, and I enjoyed Nesbø's update of 'Macbeth' for the Hogarth Shakespeare series. In 'The Night House', Nesbø dips a toe into the horror genre, and the novel is appropriate for both young adult and adult fans of creepy crawly stories.

*****

After losing his parents in a tragedy, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved goes to live with his Uncle Frank and Aunt Jenny in the town of Ballantyne, which Richard considers 'a little shithole with shitty little kids.'



Richard is always looking for trouble, and when a classmate named Tom, who has a stutter, mentions, "Now, in the sp-sp-spring, the river is scary and dangerous", Richard convinces Tom to come to the river with him.



At the river, Richard tosses in a Luke Skywalker action figure he stole.....



.....and then, wanting to cause more mischief, Richard convinces Tom to make a prank call from a phone booth near the main road.



The phone booth contains a phone book, and Richard randomly picks the number for someone called Imu Jonasson.



Richard then dials and orders Tom to say "Hi Imu. I'm the devil and I'm inviting you to hell. Because that's where you belong."



The phone then proceeds to consume Tom, 'as if the receiver does what some insects do with their prey: they inject something that turns the flesh to jelly, which they can then slurp up.'

Richard reports the disaster to Sheriff McClelland, who doesn't believe him, and thinks Richard must have pushed Tom into the river.



The police search for Tom to no avail, after which Agent Dale from the Federal Police shows up to investigate.



The only person who seems to believe Richard is a pretty schoolmate named Karen, who has a rebellious streak of her own.



Richard and Karen learn that Imu Jonasson, who lived in a big mansion called 'The Night House', was institutionalized, and hasn't been seen in Ballantyne for years.

Richard convinces another classmate, nicknamed Fatso, to check out 'The Night House' with him, and the boys discover that the mansion is an abandoned, creepy, mysterious place.



Afterwards, Fatso has dinner at Richard's house, after which Fatso turns into an insect and flies away.



Fatso's vanishing convinces the authorities that Richard needs serious help. Since the boy is a minor, he's sent to the Rorrim Correctional Facility for Young People, and more strange things happen.



To say more would be a spoiler, but I will say this is an entertaining story with surprises galore. I'd recommend the book to readers who enjoy light-ish horror stories.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jo Nesbø, and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars