The Night House by Jo Nesbo is a modern take on the classic horror novel. In some ways, this reminded me a lot of Stephen King’s classic, It. Our narrator and protagonist is fourteen-year old Richard Elauved,. Richard is an orphan, sent to live with his aunt and uncle after the death of his parents in a tragic fire.
This story has lots of layers, and I don’t want to give away too much by sharing what those are. Let’s just say that Richard may not be the most reliable narrator.
In The Night House, there are disappearing children, a haunted house, an evil mad man, and other creepy crawlies.
Recommended for fans of Stephen King, and those looking for a horror novel with a psychological twist combined with many unexpected plot twists.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.
There once was a Maltese named Indy,
Prancing about, oh so trendy.
His tongue sticking out,
As he'd scamper about,
Spreading joy that's simply unending!
This poem was written with assistance from ChatGPT. 🤣
Last week, I had the the pleasure of attending WordCamp US, in National Harbor, Maryland.
WordCamp US was held at the Gaylord National Convention Center.
This was an enormous venue, and I found myself disoriented quite a few times. However, there was plenty of space and lots of offerings like coffee shops and cocktail bars.
Since I’ll be writing up my experience at WordCamp for work, I won’t be repeating that here.
Around National Harbor
A walk along the harbor trail after dinner.The view from my hotel room.A nice sitting area at the convention center.A view of the ferris wheel from the other end of the harbor.Another shot of the ferris wheel.
I didn’t spend much too much time exploring National Harbor, mostly walking to and from the convention center to my hotel, which was at the other end of the harbor. I did enjoy my meals at Rosa Mexicano, Bombay Street Food, and some passed appetizers at Succotash.
These are all from an exhibit on Ay-o’s art, called “happy rainbow hell”.
These are part of the Buddhism Meditation Room.
I got a little lost in the National Museum of Asian Art. I ended up on a subfloor that didn’t have any exhibits, and seems to exist to connect various museums. It seems I could have popped over to the National Museum of African Art if I had turned the other way.
Alas, I came out near the Smithsonian Castle, which is temporarily closed.
This was the only place that wasn’t free. And unfortunately, I didn’t have time to really experience the whole thing, as I only had a hour before I needed to get on my way to the hotel and then to the airport.
This place has a high production value, and reminds me of a well done escape room or even a theme park ride. There’s even an optional a spy mission that you can do as you progress through the museum. It’s worth the price if you’re interested in spy stuff and you have at least 2 hours.
In the end, I ran out of time before making it to the National Gallery of Art. I guess this means I’ll have to go back?
All in all, I had a lovely time in National Harbor and Washington, D.C.
I love me a good mystery novel. West Heart Kill, my friends, is not that.
West Heart Kill is set at a hunting lodge in the 70s. The bodies start piling up, and our ace detective, Adam, just happens to be there for the holiday celebrations.
I knew from the first few pages that I did not like the writing style of this book. I thought it might grow on me, or prove interesting in other ways. Perhaps there would be some decent characters, or an interesting plot twist. Well, turns out the joke’s on me, the writing style is the plot twist.
The novel is written, in part, in the second person, 4th wall breaking, POV, that on certain TV shows, I love. For a mystery novel, not so much. This alternates with some bits written in the third person following our detective Adam. And then, interspersed within all this, are some reflections on the history and tropes of mystery novels.
The character list is lengthy, and even with a list of who’s who, it’s hard to keep them straight. The novel is too set on its inventive writing style to devote much time to character depth, or arc. The writing style detracts from the overall story. Which may or may not be a good thing, given that the story isn’t very interesting, the characters are all pretty ugly and unlikeable, and in the end, it doesn’t really matter who killed who, I was just glad it was over.
⭐
Rating: 1 out of 5.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.
