The No-End House is a chilling and atmospheric horror story that pulls readers into a maze of psychological terror and surreal horror. The story centers around a mysterious haunted house attraction that promises to push visitors to their mental and emotional limits. But this isn’t just any haunted house — each room becomes more unsettling, more impossible, and more personal than the last.

The protagonists, determined to make it through all the rooms, soon finds themselves questioning what’s real and what isn’t — and whether they’ll ever truly make it out. I’ll admit, some of the rooms pushed me to my limit as a reader; they were so bizarre and unsettling that I started to wonder if this book was even for me. It definitely veered outside my usual taste — but by the time everything came together, I was hooked and glad I stuck with it.

The author does a great job capturing that claustrophobic, disoriented feeling of being trapped in a nightmare you can’t wake up from. While it might not be for everyone at first glance, fans of psychological horror, and eerie mind-bending narratives will find something deeply compelling here. If you’re someone who appreciates stories that challenge your sense of reality, this one’s for you. And if you’re unsure at first — like I was — stick with it until the end…

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Super creepy and totally worth the listen. The No-End House plays out like a haunted house story on steroids—each room gets weirder, darker, and more psychological. The narration really pulls you in, and there’s this slow, unsettling dread that builds the whole time. Definitely one of those stories where the less you know going in, the better. If you’re into eerie, mind-bending horror with a touch of existential dread, queue this one up.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7597718736?book_show_action=false

The No End House
by Jeremy Bates
Narrated by Joe Hempel

Get read for giant moths, dinosaurs and a stolen organ. This is one of those wtf did I just read kind of books. If you enjoy those, this one’s for you!

Joe is grieving his wife’s death when he agrees to a “haunted house” challenge with a woman he just met, Things get WEIRD real fast! The ending was perfect and left me so unsettled.

Thank you to Tantor Audio for the audio ARC.

I really enjoyed this one! The narrator did a fantastic job bringing both of our main characters to life.

The story follows Joe, who has been traveling the world on foot after experiencing a tragic loss back home. His journey brings him to Barcelona, where he meets Helen at the hostel he’s staying at.

One night, Joe overhears some of the other guests talking about a creepy mansion that hosts a mysterious challenge known as The No-End House. Intrigued, he tells Helen about it, and the two decide to check it out.

From the unsettling host and the sketchy contract to the bizarre characters inside the mansion, everything about this place screams that it might be the biggest mistake Joe has ever made.

Poorly written characters, a nonsensical plot and use of language that is out of place in works published in 2025. Great conceit, poor execution.

This was fun! I could see the Stephen King mixed with Saw comparisons, but only just barely. I think the marketing name checking those two is really doing the book a disservice, because a lot of people are going to be super disappointed when it turns out to be a lot less dark than the comparisons imply. You can see that in several other reviews. If you've ever seen the movie House or are aware of the Creepypasta that this is for sure inspired by, then you'll know what to expect. A lot of fun, almost campy stuff in this. I'm pretty sure that the merchant from Resident Evil is in this. It's wild, but pretty silly. If it wasn't for the profanity, I think it could pretty easily be a YA book, but I enjoyed it. Thanks for the ARC!

Gothic quarter Barcelona, Spain. Joe is backpacking across the world. After his wife dies in a tragic accident, he decides that he needs a change of scenery. While in Barcelona he over hears a coupld of fellow backpackers discussing an escape room type of house, but he decides that he isnt interested. At the bar of his hostel he meets Helen, a mysteriously attractive newly transplanted American in Barcelona for work. He and Heken strike up a friendship and she convinces him to sign the contract to do the No-End House challenge. What secrets does the house hold, who far can they be pushed to win? This was a creepy, spooky exciting ride of a book. The audiobook was great. Narrotor Joe Hempel was phenomenal.

Thank you to Tantor Audio / Kensington Books for the ALC / ARC.

Joe Hadfield is walking across the world to cope with his wife’s horrific death, which sounds like a metaphor but is very literal. He’s in Barcelona when he hears about an underground escape room attraction promising a cash prize to anyone who finishes all nine rooms. Joe, a man allegedly over forty with working brain cells, is skeptical but not skeptical enough to say no when a mysterious, slightly chaotic woman named Helen insists they do it together. They barely know each other, which is fine, because this isn’t a romance.

At first, the house hits right. It’s eerie, tense, and designed to mess with your head. The rooms twist your fears into reality. The vibe is psychological terror meets weird art installation with just enough gore to make you flinch. Joe’s trauma bubbles up, Helen’s secrets linger, and you think, okay, this might be something.

But then... things get weird.

Like shrooms-as-dinner weird. Like inexplicable time loops and random horror archetypes thrown in like someone dared the author to make you say “wait, what?” every five pages. There’s a Jason Voorhees-type slasher cameo. There’s a prehistoric interlude. At one point, it starts to feel like a "Goosebumps" fever dream that took a wrong turn into adult horror and then forgot which genre it was aiming for.

The scares dissolve into chaos. The house’s logic unravels. The puzzles get less interesting, the stakes blur, and instead of dread, you’re left with confusion wrapped in a monster suit. Joe and Helen’s chemistry never really clicks. Their banter feels pasted in from a different, less trippy book. And when they do connect emotionally, it’s usually right before something ridiculous bursts into the room.

Joe Hempel’s narration is the real MVP. He keeps the pacing taut, the tension believable, and Joe’s downward spiral emotionally grounded even when the plot is eating itself. His performance sells scenes that otherwise wouldn’t land. It’s a good match for the material, even if the material eventually forgets what tone it’s supposed to be in.

Ultimately, “The No-End House” feels like two books duct-taped together: one, a dark psychological horror about guilt and loss. The other, a theme park ride through a surreal fever dream of genre clichés. Neither is bad, exactly, but together they trip over each other until the whole thing wobbles.

This is a 3-star read. Interesting concept, solid narration, and some haunting early moments... but it couldn’t survive its own genre meltdown.

Thanks to RBmedia and NetGalley for the early audiobook access. Because if you’ve ever wanted to hallucinate your way through a haunted house with a near-stranger and deeply questionable life choices, this book absolutely delivers.

Mind games, questioning what you’re actually seeing and going through. A loop that feels like it doesn’t end.
This book gave me a bit of Phantasma vibes. But with bringing your internal secrets and fears to life.
I would’ve liked the characters to have a bit more self of being and development but besides that, it’s okay.

Joe Hadfield is trying to heal from the death of his wife, while on holiday in Barcelona he hears about a haunted house scape-room challenge where those who make it through win $5000. So he and a woman who meets there join the challenge.

Most of the book was entertaining and I really liked the scape room aspect, many of the rooms had great challenges with real life consequences for both of them. However around 60% in things got way too crazy and unbelievable, like dinosaurs? really? Jason Voorhies? possible time travel??
I wish the author would have kept going with the classic paranormal elementes.

That would have done for a better book in which they end up loosing their souls, some organs and things like that, because this was a bit too much for my taste. Still it was a fun and fast read.

Thank you Netgalley, RBmedia and Tantor Audio for an ALC of this book. All opinions are my own.

(Advance Listening Copy (ALC) courtesy of NetGalley and RBmedia/Tantor Audio.)

What a wild ride!

I kept a running star rating in my head as I was listening to this one and it bounced from 5⭐ to 2⭐ to 3.5⭐ up to 4⭐ then down to 3.25⭐ and then any number of incremental .25⭐ steps up and down, until finally, at the end of the chaotic rollercoaster, I landed on 3⭐.

We went from body horror so visceral that at times I felt queasy listening to it (which depending on how you enjoy your horror, is either a warning OR a feature!) to an absolute fever dream of surreal locales and bizarre plot, to a by-the-numbers psychological thriller in the last 5%.

I cannot definitively tell you what <u>really</u> happened during <I>The No-End House</I>… but it was never boring, and instead a bit unhinged <u>in an amazing way</u> that charmed me and kept me hanging on to the very end.

It had some of the best dream sequences I’ve ever read, and the flashbacks worked phenomenally. They broke up the tension, deepened our understanding of Joe, and kept the pace dynamic without ever feeling like filler.

My one major critique comes around the 50% mark, when the writing, which had been sharp and streamlined up to that point, started to lose its grip in places. Several sections felt like heavy info-dumps, mostly through Helen’s dialogue. She stopped being quippy and bantering, and started sounding a bit as if she was quoting Wikipedia.

(Given how bizarre and twisty the story gets, though, this may have been intentional meta choice.)

This book is not for everyone, and that's okay. If you enjoy your plots a bit chaotic, your narrators a bit unreliable, and your endings open to interpretation? This is for you. It's a fascinating read and incredibly fun to discuss.

AUDIO-SPECIFIC:
Solid production. The narrator was a great fit, with steady pacing and a strong read for Joe. I think part of what kept me invested in him was the narrator's voice. His accent work was a bit hit-or-miss, though. It didn't usually take me out of the narrative, except for the German accent which was rough. I'd love to listen to the performer read other works though.

TL;DR – A creeping, visceral horror… except the parts that aren’t.

I received this book as an arc and at first this seemed to be going okay but then the main character meets a random woman who took him to a haunted house and proceeded to gaslight him the whole time. I liked the concept but I feel like it didn’t take the turn I thought it would and then the ending was just so confusing!

As an escape room fan and frequent participant in lock room challenges, I was very excited about this book and its premise. The first 50 or so percent were very good; the banter between Joe and Helen was sweet. I really liked them as a pair of protagonists. They were also very funny and entertaining, I laughed often in the first half, but after the Jurassic section it all fizzled out for me. Apologies, but I’m not an eight year old boy and I don’t get excited about dinosaurs.
The “rooms” of the No-end House were interesting and progressively challenging, there were some goofy elements and historical periods presented in an original way. I really liked Hellen’s back story, it gave her depth and it made her more of a badass character. Joe was okay; I found it very charming that the narrator’s name was also Joe. He did a really good job narrating the male and female parts; also some of the accents were done pretty well.
What get me off the high ride here, besides the dinosaurs, is the how the relationship between Joe and Helen progressed and the strong words they tell each other at some point. I didn’t find it genuine and I feel like this made them sound more like a teenagers that a 40 year old grownups.
The last room was underwhelming and honestly pretty disappointing. It was more of an action packed final act. I prefer more of a psychological and emotional impact, which didn’t deliver. This was less of a horror, more of a high stakes action, adventure thriller with fantastical elements. I wish we got more of a history and origin of the house, but by the end it wasn’t really needed. You get no hard answers and I was okay with that. I liked the ending, I wasn’t sure where this was going, since there were some 27 min left from the final room, but I’m glad it went that way.
Overall, this was pretty good and entertaining, with a bit of a nonsense in the middle, but a good ending. I feel like this book deserves more love and I hope it will reach its audience. 3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia | Tantor Audio for providing me with the ALC.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced audio preview! While the characters themselves seemed a little ridiculous, the premise and action were a lot of fun. I tend to enjoy books and movies where there is one challenge after another, and this kept up the suspense by providing new and horrible things happening to the main characters. (There should have been a better explanation of why they would even agree to take on this house) Since it was an audiobook,I got to feel entertained, because the narration was perfect for staying in the action.

I was very excited for this book, especially given the description. However, I found the two main characters, Joe and Helen, to be too comical and far too ordinary to be interesting. I don’t know why Joe let himself be so easily talked into going into this haunted house that he was so set against going into. And I didn’t buy the fact that he would just so seamlessly let this woman be barely knew sign him up to take a walk through nine haunted rooms. Also, none of these rooms were scary. I found nothing about this book to be terrifying or horror-like. The dialogue contributed to this feeling, especially since it was very cringey and awkward.

As for the audio, I have listened to several books where Joe Hempel has been the narrator and he’s done fairly well. I like him as a narrator, but I do think he does better with books that are actually scary. While his voice here captured the awkward dialogue well (whether that was intentional or the dialogue was too unnatural to be read in any other way I’m not sure), I had a hard time appreciating his talents as a narrator with this particular story. Again, this might have been because the story did not present itself to be scary or thrilling whatsoever. Overall, I thought this book was a bit of a let down and the narrator’s talents are better served in books where the scare factor is much higher.

Backpacking through Spain, Joe meets a woman and together they agree to take on a locked room challenge at an old estate in Barcelona. The escape room actually consists of nine different rooms with nine different horrors. This book takes off like a rocket, but somewhere around midway, the author seems to lose steam. I enjoyed the story, even though it went in directions that I really would not have deemed horror novel stuff, I’m just a little disappointed because it was a good story that had the potential to be an excellent story

*I received an arc of the audiobook from NetGalley*

Outline:

This book follows Joe, a man in his 40’s, who is walking around the world after the death of his wife. In Barcelona, he meets Helen at the hostel he is staying at. Together, they decide to take part in a haunted house competition in the Gothic quarter. All they have to do is complete the challenges set for them in 9 rooms. Easy?
Far from it.
Neither of them could predict the mind-altering nature of the No-End house.

My review:
The characters of Joe and Helen started out as believable and well rounded, but the same could not be said for the rest. A certain little person’s portrayal (I will not use their name for spoilers) specifically felt rather offensive and unnecessary. Besides the main two, no one had any depth.
The plot began pretty intriguing, if you ignored the big flaws. Neither Joe nor Helen really needed the prize money, and it was an incredibly small amount, even before they knew the danger they would face.
The ending annoyed me. I won’t say what it was, but it was unclear and I found myself not caring what was or wasn’t true.
Given that the book began with vibes similar to the film ‘Hostel’, the fairytale elements actively annoyed me. It was around the 50% mark that this book lost me. I completed it anyway but it was a slog

For the audiobook version, I found the narrator to be a believable voice for the character, and his overall performance to be of a high quality.

As a whole, the writing was immersive with some visceral descriptions that left me feeling as uncomfortable as the characters, but this was overshadowed by the sub-par plot.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this is a DNF for me at 48% in. The premise of this book sounded really interesting and started off good with getting into the competition for the escape room really gearing up like it was going to be like a slasher horror. What this ended up being was a bad acid trip (or mushroom trip). Insectoid like monsters, traveling back in time, just a hodgepodge of things that were thrown in there that really took me out of the story. If the author would have stuck to a more escape room story with people hunting the characters down and delving more into their stories it would have kept my interest, but this was just a little too out there for me.