12/31/2025 Guest Review: The No-End House by Jeremy Bates, reviewed by Sue Rovens
- Candace Nola
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
One more review for 2025 from Sue Rovens! This time Sue shares her thoughts on The No-End House by Jeremy Bates.
Check out her review below and then stop by Sue's own website to check out her books!
Enjoy!
The No-End House by Jeremy Bates
Reviewed By Sue Rovens
Jeremy Bates has been on my radar for a while now. I’ve read a few of his other books and have enjoyed them (for the most part). He’s a prolific writer, having written twenty-plus novels/novellas and doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon, which I believe is lucky for the horror connoisseurs among us.
The No-End House is a story with a great deal of promise. We are introduced to Joe Hadfield, a relatively young man who has decided to chuck it all and walk around the world after losing his wife in a horrendous accident. When we first encounter Joe, he is holed up in a hostel in Barcelona, taking a much-needed break from his travels. As luck (or fate) would have it, he meets a woman named Helen in the lobby of his temporary residence. After engaging in a couple chance encounters and hitting it off, he and Helen decide to track down a place called “the No-End house”, believing that facing this so-called ‘haunted location’ might be a fun activity for an afternoon.
What I couldn’t get past is how much I found both main characters to be so off-putting. Both Joe and Helen are in their early 40s, yet they conduct themselves as if they were decades younger, both in their language/dialogue and their behavior. These two strangers, who deliberately chose to pair up and face whatever comes their way, are among the most petty, childish, and illogical people on the planet. Still, annoying personalities aside, the plot drives itself forward enough to make the reader continue to turn the pages.
As for the No-End House itself, Mr. Bates has constructed a place which is a character of its own. Nine rooms stand between Joe, Helen, and the exit. What occurs in each space/room is a thing, an entity, a character, or a situation that will prove challenging and possibly life-threatening. However, some of the ‘horrors’ that our two leads encounter border on silly to ridiculous. As usual, no spoilers, but I found myself in the throes of numerous eyerolls and scoffs. When the ending started to ‘ramp up’, I was thrown for a few loops – too much, too quick, and not enough explanation for me.
The No-End House, in my opinion, is not scary, creepy, or horrific. Having said that, I’m glad I read it and will continue to seek out books by Jeremy Bates. As with any good writer, not every book can knock it out of the park. I only wished that this was one of them.
Recommended for those who enjoy: Haunted house tales, imaginative settings, fantastical plots, characters you love to hate.
Sue's Bio:
Sue Rovens is an indie suspense/horror author who lives in Normal, Illinois. She has written five novels and two books of short horror stories.
Track 9, her second novel, received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly (May 2018), her short story, “Coming Over”, from her book, In a Corner, Darkly (Volume 1) was turned into a screenplay and short student indie film by the theater department of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and another short story, “When the Earth Bled”, won 2nd place in the Support Indie Authors short story contest. Her three most recent books (Buried, Rage, and Sanctum) are under Plump Toad Press.
Sue owns a blog (suerovens.com) which includes interviews with authors, musicians, podcasters, and artists. She is also a current member of both the Chicago Writers Association and the Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi).
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