What do you think?
Rate this book
No One Gets Out Alive
Darkness lives within...
Cash-strapped, working for agencies and living in shared accommodation, Stephanie Booth feels she can fall no further. So when she takes a new room at the right price, she believes her luck has finally turned. But 82 Edgware Road is not what it appears to be. It's not only the eerie atmosphere of the vast, neglected house, or the disturbing attitude of her new landlord, Knacker McGuire, that makes her uneasy - it's the whispers behind the fireplace, the scratching beneath floors, the footsteps in the dark, and the young women weeping in neighbouring rooms. And when Knacker's cousin Fergal arrives, the danger goes vertical.
But this is merely a beginning, a gateway to horrors beyond Stephanie's worst nightmares. And in a house where no one listens to the screams, will she ever get out alive?
Cash-strapped, working for agencies and living in shared accommodation, Stephanie Booth feels she can fall no further. So when she takes a new room at the right price, she believes her luck has finally turned. But 82 Edgware Road is not what it appears to be. It's not only the eerie atmosphere of the vast, neglected house, or the disturbing attitude of her new landlord, Knacker McGuire, that makes her uneasy - it's the whispers behind the fireplace, the scratching beneath floors, the footsteps in the dark, and the young women weeping in neighbouring rooms. And when Knacker's cousin Fergal arrives, the danger goes vertical.
But this is merely a beginning, a gateway to horrors beyond Stephanie's worst nightmares. And in a house where no one listens to the screams, will she ever get out alive?
640 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2014
567 people are currently reading
19499 people want to read
About the author
Adam L.G. Nevill
76 books5,364 followersADAM L. G. NEVILL was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is an author of horror fiction. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. He has also published three collections of short stories, with Some Will Not Sleep winning the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection, 2017.
Imaginarium adapted The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive into feature films and more of his work is currently in development for the screen.
The author lives in Devon, England.
Imaginarium adapted The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive into feature films and more of his work is currently in development for the screen.
The author lives in Devon, England.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,008 reviews
August 1, 2025
I picked up No One Gets Out Alive as Book #14 for my TBR-Haul Project. I was excited to get to it and to be checking off another backlist Horror novel from my TBR.
I originally hauled this in January 2019, with every intention of reading it quickly. Then I held it in my hands, read some reviews and I was seriously intimidated.
My edition of this book comes in at a whopping 628-pages, which is pretty chunky for a Horror novel known to be a terrifying, emotionally-exhausting mindfuck.
But one of my intentions with this TBR-Haul Project is to read books like this. Books I've been too nervous to pick up before and in this case, rightly so.
It did take me a full 2-months to read. Not because it was bad, or I wasn't enjoying it, but because the content is heavy AF. We're talking every trigger warning EVER.
I finished reading it on January 29, 2023 and am just now feeling like I am able to talk about it. I needed some serious time to process Stephanie's journey.
There are so many important topics explored in this one, such as the cycle of poverty, urban isolation, sexual exploitation and the exploitation of victims by society and the media in the aftermath of violent crimes.
Personally, I feel like Nevill did a phenomenal job of digging into such meaty subject matter.
This story follows Stephanie Booth, who is down on her luck. After the death of her father, she knows she can't continue living with her toxic, abusive step-mother. Therefore, she's forced out of the only home she's ever known.
Unfortunately, Stephanie has no other family to lean on and she's recently split with her boyfriend, Ryan. In short, Stephanie doesn't have a safety net and is on her own.
Working temp jobs doesn't provide her with a steady enough income to build a safe life for herself, so she is flailing. In search of cheap lodgings, she discovers a flat for rent on a message board at a grocery store. The cheapest one she's ever seen. Even though it seems too good to be true, Stephanie can't afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The flat is located at 82 Edgehill Road in North Birmingham. An address you'll never forget after you read this.
She is given a tour of the building by the creepy Landlord and ignoring all her intuitions, throws caution to the wind and accepts the flat.
After just one night, she is regretting her decision and kicking herself for not listening to her instincts. That's the thing with poverty though, it robs you of your choices. Now she has to deal with the fact that she is a girl on her own in the presence of an unhinged male stranger. You see, Knacker the landlord, lives in the building as well.
It's more than him though, Stephanie hears voices, crying women, scratching at the floors and the distinct sounds of violence coming from behind walls and closed doors.
Still she can't get out. Knacker refuses to return her deposit so she can leave and she doesn't have the funds to secure another place. She stays, hoping her temp work will provide her with enough money to be able to find other lodgings.
As time wears on, the happenings inside the house escalate quickly. Stephanie begins to abandon hope. She's trapped in a horrible spiral of increasing misfortune. Will she be able to make it out alive?
Y'all, I can't go too much further into this without getting into the spoiler zone, so I will sort of leave it here. Let's talk about my experience with this story though.
I went into this not really knowing anything besides what is included in the brief Publisher's blurb. I recommend that. If you are concerned with triggers, just know everything is included in here, so if that makes you nervous, you may want to steer well clear.
This book will not be for everyone. There is an overriding feeling of fear that I found to be emotionally impactful. Stephanie's time in the house is marked by sustained terror, where she is constantly anticipating violence against her. It's tough to read, not gonna lie.
I think for those who can handle it though, it is well worth the read. I thought it was so impressive how Nevill could not just sustain that feeling of dread, but how he was able to build and build and build on it, until you feel like you might not be able to take any more.
Then just when your head and heart are about to explode, there is a marked shift in the narrative, where we begin to explore a new side to this type of violent experience.
I was really impressed with this one. When I was reading it, I was completely invested in Stephanie's experience and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. The way it is told, it's so easy to picture yourself in Stephanie's shoes, like what would I do?
It's eye-opening in a lot of ways, particularly about how Stephanie's status in society sort of stripped her of options. Even she recognized this; pondering how her life had gotten to this point.
It was sad and heavy, but an important thing to consider, because this is reality for a lot of folks. Maybe not this exact set of events, but certainly the scenario that lead Stephanie to this point and trapped her there.
On this bright and shining note, I will end this review by saying, anyone who thinks they can handle this type of narrative, should check it out. I think, as horrifying as it is, there is a lot to be taken from this.
Stephanie's story is going to live in mind for a long time to come.
I originally hauled this in January 2019, with every intention of reading it quickly. Then I held it in my hands, read some reviews and I was seriously intimidated.
My edition of this book comes in at a whopping 628-pages, which is pretty chunky for a Horror novel known to be a terrifying, emotionally-exhausting mindfuck.
But one of my intentions with this TBR-Haul Project is to read books like this. Books I've been too nervous to pick up before and in this case, rightly so.
It did take me a full 2-months to read. Not because it was bad, or I wasn't enjoying it, but because the content is heavy AF. We're talking every trigger warning EVER.
I finished reading it on January 29, 2023 and am just now feeling like I am able to talk about it. I needed some serious time to process Stephanie's journey.
There are so many important topics explored in this one, such as the cycle of poverty, urban isolation, sexual exploitation and the exploitation of victims by society and the media in the aftermath of violent crimes.
Personally, I feel like Nevill did a phenomenal job of digging into such meaty subject matter.
This story follows Stephanie Booth, who is down on her luck. After the death of her father, she knows she can't continue living with her toxic, abusive step-mother. Therefore, she's forced out of the only home she's ever known.
Unfortunately, Stephanie has no other family to lean on and she's recently split with her boyfriend, Ryan. In short, Stephanie doesn't have a safety net and is on her own.
Working temp jobs doesn't provide her with a steady enough income to build a safe life for herself, so she is flailing. In search of cheap lodgings, she discovers a flat for rent on a message board at a grocery store. The cheapest one she's ever seen. Even though it seems too good to be true, Stephanie can't afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The flat is located at 82 Edgehill Road in North Birmingham. An address you'll never forget after you read this.
She is given a tour of the building by the creepy Landlord and ignoring all her intuitions, throws caution to the wind and accepts the flat.
After just one night, she is regretting her decision and kicking herself for not listening to her instincts. That's the thing with poverty though, it robs you of your choices. Now she has to deal with the fact that she is a girl on her own in the presence of an unhinged male stranger. You see, Knacker the landlord, lives in the building as well.
It's more than him though, Stephanie hears voices, crying women, scratching at the floors and the distinct sounds of violence coming from behind walls and closed doors.
Still she can't get out. Knacker refuses to return her deposit so she can leave and she doesn't have the funds to secure another place. She stays, hoping her temp work will provide her with enough money to be able to find other lodgings.
As time wears on, the happenings inside the house escalate quickly. Stephanie begins to abandon hope. She's trapped in a horrible spiral of increasing misfortune. Will she be able to make it out alive?
Y'all, I can't go too much further into this without getting into the spoiler zone, so I will sort of leave it here. Let's talk about my experience with this story though.
I went into this not really knowing anything besides what is included in the brief Publisher's blurb. I recommend that. If you are concerned with triggers, just know everything is included in here, so if that makes you nervous, you may want to steer well clear.
This book will not be for everyone. There is an overriding feeling of fear that I found to be emotionally impactful. Stephanie's time in the house is marked by sustained terror, where she is constantly anticipating violence against her. It's tough to read, not gonna lie.
I think for those who can handle it though, it is well worth the read. I thought it was so impressive how Nevill could not just sustain that feeling of dread, but how he was able to build and build and build on it, until you feel like you might not be able to take any more.
Then just when your head and heart are about to explode, there is a marked shift in the narrative, where we begin to explore a new side to this type of violent experience.
I was really impressed with this one. When I was reading it, I was completely invested in Stephanie's experience and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. The way it is told, it's so easy to picture yourself in Stephanie's shoes, like what would I do?
It's eye-opening in a lot of ways, particularly about how Stephanie's status in society sort of stripped her of options. Even she recognized this; pondering how her life had gotten to this point.
It was sad and heavy, but an important thing to consider, because this is reality for a lot of folks. Maybe not this exact set of events, but certainly the scenario that lead Stephanie to this point and trapped her there.
On this bright and shining note, I will end this review by saying, anyone who thinks they can handle this type of narrative, should check it out. I think, as horrifying as it is, there is a lot to be taken from this.
Stephanie's story is going to live in mind for a long time to come.
February 20, 2025
Creepy Book Alert!
First disclaimer - Adam Nevill is my favourite horror Author of all-time. Second Disclaimer - Many of his books have been in my Top 20 Reads of the year for many years.
Do check out all his books as I recommend them all and have many reviews on Goodreads for you.
This has also been made into a movie but read the book first. This book is incredibly creepy and disturbing like all his many books.
Freaking fantastic bit of fiction this was. I am still recovering from reading it. This nearly popped my mind right open with parts of it, I felt genuinely scared, creeped out and downright horrified by this book that defies all logic and takes you to places you don't want to visit again.
Oh God, I felt I was THERE so many times. I yelled at this book, I told characters to RUN, I was on edge, heart pounding, blood pressure up, in this nightmare of fiction that was just really something quite special. I absorbed this book!
Darkness lives within . . . Cash-strapped, working for agencies and living in shared accommodation, Stephanie Booth feels she can fall no further. So when she takes a new room at the right price, she believes her luck has finally turned.
But 82 Edgware Road is not what it appears to be. It's not only the eerie atmosphere of the vast, neglected house, or the disturbing attitude of her new landlord, Knacker McGuire, that makes her uneasy - it's the whispers behind the fireplace, the scratching beneath floors, the footsteps in the dark, and the young women weeping in neighbouring rooms.
And when Knacker's cousin Fergal arrives, the danger goes vertical. But this is merely a beginning, a gateway to horrors beyond Stephanie's worst nightmares. And in a house where no one listens to the screams, will she ever get out alive?
So that's the official blurb for the book BUT it does not really do it justice. Stephanie takes a room in this large rambling house and before long (the first night!) strange happenings are going on all around her, it's terrifying stuff, voices in the dark, shadows across the walls, noises from the plughole in the shower, temperatures dropping, women screaming, unholy sloshing noises in the corridor that defy logic.
This is when Stephanie should have RUN, and I mean RUN LIKE THE HOUNDS OF HELL ARE AFTER YOU.
She doesn't though, which will frustrate the reader a lot, because any sane person would have been running like the Roadrunner out of this awful hell hole of a house. I was terrified for her, I yelled at her, I was wanting to slap the woman, to go and get her myself. But for the sake of the book, she needs to stay....and experience the true evil within the walls of this house.
There really is nowhere to hide, nowhere.
The characters of the landlord Knacker and his disgusting, vile cousin Fergal are so realistic that I could SMELL the dirt, filth and stench described that wafts around Fergal all the time, this man who reaches nearly seven foot tall, skinny and seeming to never bathe or shower, ever. Evil personified, just evil readers. Knacker talks with a cockney accent and it is written how it sounds in the book, he's a little bad man thinking he's bigger than he is, but he's still someone to be feared. He's creepy, he's slimy and awful. You get used to the way his speech is written, it actually grows on you, because it suits him. I think of things like polythene being written as spoken "polyfeen". It puts you IN the situation. "At least that's wot I fink" (my words).
I am not going to give away a thing about what Stephanie has got herself into, or what the evil in this house is, or how freaking dark it gets, and let me tell you, Stephanie sees the doors of hell wide open in this place. Oh my goodness was it tense at times, I was so immersed in her fear and terror that I FELT it, it's not easy to convey that to a reader in a book. But Adam Nevill achieved it, freaking fantastic.
There are supernatural things, evil things, things you can't imagine in your wildest dreams, ancient evil that hungers for power and blood and control. Human beings so distorted by the evil that they too begin to resemble monsters. Hideous. The events in this book will keep you awake at night, looking under the bed, into the wardrobe, watching the shadows. It really is fantastic reading.
Stephanie grows in strength and I loved that it happened like that, she annoyed me at first staying in this place and not leaving like anyone else would, but she is changed forever by this place, she doesn't give up without a fight, it's interesting to watch her character development.
Just at the point where the book reaches it's most tense and dark moments and leaves you gasping for clean air, wanting to shower the gross things off your body, wanting to smell clean air, because the stench of evil things is in your nose and sinuses it reaches a climax that will just knock your socks off and push up your blood pressure.
I was like "oh my God, somebody call a Priest, what the?, is it? what are you doing in there? get out! run! get him! arghhhhh!"
THEN...the calm descends for a bit and you can rest a while, but don't be fooled by the brief lull in the second half of the book. The author is just letting you get your breath before the rest comes.
The second half has a different focus and feel, for a while it's like two authors wrote the book, but don't give up on it, don't be too dismayed for it gets dark again in time, and answers you have wanted are revealed at last. As for Stephanie, has she escaped the evil? Is she alive, it says no on gets out alive right? You will have to read it.
My only criticism with this whole book is that the last half of it at times was too long and drawn out, it could have been condensed by about 4-5 chapters and been just as powerful. I hope some readers don't lose focus at that point because the end few chapters are really great. This is a skilled author, who has put so much into this book to thrill the reader and truly take you on a journey that you have never been on before.
It's a thriller, it's got a crime element to it, it's got the supernatural aspect many love, it's certainly is up there with some of the best horror books I have read, it's a lot of things. But it was a bloody fantastic read, I took a while to read this one as it's a long book. But by golly it took me on an incredible journey. It's not many books that make all my senses be engaged with the book, but this one did.
I won't forget this one, my images of Fergal, Black Maggie (hang on Maxine who is she? you never mentioned her!), Knacker, the GIRLS, the beings, the house, the walls will stay with me for a very long time. If you like books that combine the modern day with the taint of ancient evil, this one is for you. If not, read it anyway. I so dare you, double dare in fact.
I nearly rated this four stars simply because the last half was too long and dragged in places BUT the rest of it is so amazingly done, and overall the book made such a powerful imprint on my psyche that I am giving it the awarded five star rating. Freaking fantastic.
I need a shower now, got some dust and stench from the house on me I think now. Need to be CLEANSED of this book. PLEASE enjoy ALL of his books if you love horror. His writing is very unique.
Ho Ho Ho. (You will get that bit when you read it)
But wait? What's that whisper coming from the plug hole, Oh my God…
I received a copy of this novel from Adam who knows I’m his No.1 fan (he has lots of fans however!) in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks.
Thanks so much for reading my review of this book. Join me as a friend or follower and feel free to browse my shelves for your next great book! I love to connect with other readers.
First disclaimer - Adam Nevill is my favourite horror Author of all-time. Second Disclaimer - Many of his books have been in my Top 20 Reads of the year for many years.
Do check out all his books as I recommend them all and have many reviews on Goodreads for you.
This has also been made into a movie but read the book first. This book is incredibly creepy and disturbing like all his many books.
Freaking fantastic bit of fiction this was. I am still recovering from reading it. This nearly popped my mind right open with parts of it, I felt genuinely scared, creeped out and downright horrified by this book that defies all logic and takes you to places you don't want to visit again.
Oh God, I felt I was THERE so many times. I yelled at this book, I told characters to RUN, I was on edge, heart pounding, blood pressure up, in this nightmare of fiction that was just really something quite special. I absorbed this book!
Darkness lives within . . . Cash-strapped, working for agencies and living in shared accommodation, Stephanie Booth feels she can fall no further. So when she takes a new room at the right price, she believes her luck has finally turned.
But 82 Edgware Road is not what it appears to be. It's not only the eerie atmosphere of the vast, neglected house, or the disturbing attitude of her new landlord, Knacker McGuire, that makes her uneasy - it's the whispers behind the fireplace, the scratching beneath floors, the footsteps in the dark, and the young women weeping in neighbouring rooms.
And when Knacker's cousin Fergal arrives, the danger goes vertical. But this is merely a beginning, a gateway to horrors beyond Stephanie's worst nightmares. And in a house where no one listens to the screams, will she ever get out alive?
So that's the official blurb for the book BUT it does not really do it justice. Stephanie takes a room in this large rambling house and before long (the first night!) strange happenings are going on all around her, it's terrifying stuff, voices in the dark, shadows across the walls, noises from the plughole in the shower, temperatures dropping, women screaming, unholy sloshing noises in the corridor that defy logic.
This is when Stephanie should have RUN, and I mean RUN LIKE THE HOUNDS OF HELL ARE AFTER YOU.
She doesn't though, which will frustrate the reader a lot, because any sane person would have been running like the Roadrunner out of this awful hell hole of a house. I was terrified for her, I yelled at her, I was wanting to slap the woman, to go and get her myself. But for the sake of the book, she needs to stay....and experience the true evil within the walls of this house.
There really is nowhere to hide, nowhere.
The characters of the landlord Knacker and his disgusting, vile cousin Fergal are so realistic that I could SMELL the dirt, filth and stench described that wafts around Fergal all the time, this man who reaches nearly seven foot tall, skinny and seeming to never bathe or shower, ever. Evil personified, just evil readers. Knacker talks with a cockney accent and it is written how it sounds in the book, he's a little bad man thinking he's bigger than he is, but he's still someone to be feared. He's creepy, he's slimy and awful. You get used to the way his speech is written, it actually grows on you, because it suits him. I think of things like polythene being written as spoken "polyfeen". It puts you IN the situation. "At least that's wot I fink" (my words).
I am not going to give away a thing about what Stephanie has got herself into, or what the evil in this house is, or how freaking dark it gets, and let me tell you, Stephanie sees the doors of hell wide open in this place. Oh my goodness was it tense at times, I was so immersed in her fear and terror that I FELT it, it's not easy to convey that to a reader in a book. But Adam Nevill achieved it, freaking fantastic.
There are supernatural things, evil things, things you can't imagine in your wildest dreams, ancient evil that hungers for power and blood and control. Human beings so distorted by the evil that they too begin to resemble monsters. Hideous. The events in this book will keep you awake at night, looking under the bed, into the wardrobe, watching the shadows. It really is fantastic reading.
Stephanie grows in strength and I loved that it happened like that, she annoyed me at first staying in this place and not leaving like anyone else would, but she is changed forever by this place, she doesn't give up without a fight, it's interesting to watch her character development.
Just at the point where the book reaches it's most tense and dark moments and leaves you gasping for clean air, wanting to shower the gross things off your body, wanting to smell clean air, because the stench of evil things is in your nose and sinuses it reaches a climax that will just knock your socks off and push up your blood pressure.
I was like "oh my God, somebody call a Priest, what the?, is it? what are you doing in there? get out! run! get him! arghhhhh!"
THEN...the calm descends for a bit and you can rest a while, but don't be fooled by the brief lull in the second half of the book. The author is just letting you get your breath before the rest comes.
The second half has a different focus and feel, for a while it's like two authors wrote the book, but don't give up on it, don't be too dismayed for it gets dark again in time, and answers you have wanted are revealed at last. As for Stephanie, has she escaped the evil? Is she alive, it says no on gets out alive right? You will have to read it.
My only criticism with this whole book is that the last half of it at times was too long and drawn out, it could have been condensed by about 4-5 chapters and been just as powerful. I hope some readers don't lose focus at that point because the end few chapters are really great. This is a skilled author, who has put so much into this book to thrill the reader and truly take you on a journey that you have never been on before.
It's a thriller, it's got a crime element to it, it's got the supernatural aspect many love, it's certainly is up there with some of the best horror books I have read, it's a lot of things. But it was a bloody fantastic read, I took a while to read this one as it's a long book. But by golly it took me on an incredible journey. It's not many books that make all my senses be engaged with the book, but this one did.
I won't forget this one, my images of Fergal, Black Maggie (hang on Maxine who is she? you never mentioned her!), Knacker, the GIRLS, the beings, the house, the walls will stay with me for a very long time. If you like books that combine the modern day with the taint of ancient evil, this one is for you. If not, read it anyway. I so dare you, double dare in fact.
I nearly rated this four stars simply because the last half was too long and dragged in places BUT the rest of it is so amazingly done, and overall the book made such a powerful imprint on my psyche that I am giving it the awarded five star rating. Freaking fantastic.
I need a shower now, got some dust and stench from the house on me I think now. Need to be CLEANSED of this book. PLEASE enjoy ALL of his books if you love horror. His writing is very unique.
Ho Ho Ho. (You will get that bit when you read it)
But wait? What's that whisper coming from the plug hole, Oh my God…
I received a copy of this novel from Adam who knows I’m his No.1 fan (he has lots of fans however!) in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks.
Thanks so much for reading my review of this book. Join me as a friend or follower and feel free to browse my shelves for your next great book! I love to connect with other readers.
December 23, 2022
5🌟
Bloody fuckin scary.
June 2022:
Still scary
Bloody fuckin scary.
June 2022:
Still scary
September 26, 2021
DNF at page 398
I can’t do it anymore 🤮 this book is making me feel sick but not in a good way. Not my kind of horror, sorry!
Reading vlog: https://youtu.be/6NaOItAWp7Q
I can’t do it anymore 🤮 this book is making me feel sick but not in a good way. Not my kind of horror, sorry!
Reading vlog: https://youtu.be/6NaOItAWp7Q
March 27, 2016
This was one of those books that--in my opinion--could easily have been shortened by 200-300 pages, and been even BETTER in regards to sustaining the tension throughout the entire novel. A great, supernatural tale that really grabs you....once you get through the beginning.
I have to admit that the first 200 pages almost caused me to give up (and there are over 600 pages here). While it started out promising enough, I didn't need over 200 pages of our main character, Stephanie, going on about how she needed to get out of the house she was renting at....and then staying there the night, anyway. Repeat this sequence until nearly 300 pages have passed.
HOWEVER, after that point, the action and the horror really took off in a more tangible direction! At this part of the book, I couldn't tear myself away.
We then get to more of the "supernatural" involvement, and the root of the nature of evil that has taken over this house. I loved the "background" digging and additional touches that Stephanie goes through. While I first found her character to be annoyingly weak, I was very impressed with the way Nevill had her "grow" emotionally as a character, while retaining the believability of her being able to do so. The change was done in such a way that it seemed only natural, and by the end of the story, I honestly LIKED a character that I couldn't stand in the beginning.
While there was still a lot of "excess" information and scenes that I felt we could have done without, I think that this is one of my favorites of Nevill's, right behind HOUSE OF SMALL SHADOWS.
Recommended.
I have to admit that the first 200 pages almost caused me to give up (and there are over 600 pages here). While it started out promising enough, I didn't need over 200 pages of our main character, Stephanie, going on about how she needed to get out of the house she was renting at....and then staying there the night, anyway. Repeat this sequence until nearly 300 pages have passed.
HOWEVER, after that point, the action and the horror really took off in a more tangible direction! At this part of the book, I couldn't tear myself away.
We then get to more of the "supernatural" involvement, and the root of the nature of evil that has taken over this house. I loved the "background" digging and additional touches that Stephanie goes through. While I first found her character to be annoyingly weak, I was very impressed with the way Nevill had her "grow" emotionally as a character, while retaining the believability of her being able to do so. The change was done in such a way that it seemed only natural, and by the end of the story, I honestly LIKED a character that I couldn't stand in the beginning.
While there was still a lot of "excess" information and scenes that I felt we could have done without, I think that this is one of my favorites of Nevill's, right behind HOUSE OF SMALL SHADOWS.
Recommended.
October 4, 2021
I love Adam Nevill’s book, The Ritual! I loved the movie. I didn’t love this book as much. It says I read it and loved it in 2018 and I don’t remember that at all!! Must have been a ghost.
This book was another Netflix movie I watched. The movie was different but I loved it. I mean the creepiness in the show and the monster! Holy shit snacks!!
And I will continue to read his books because I know he’ll have more I love like The Ritual 😉
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾🎃
This book was another Netflix movie I watched. The movie was different but I loved it. I mean the creepiness in the show and the monster! Holy shit snacks!!
And I will continue to read his books because I know he’ll have more I love like The Ritual 😉
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾🎃
July 14, 2025
This is one of my favorite horror books. The creepy atmosphere lingers throughout. You always feel like the characters are in danger.
Even though I’ve read this book many times, it still keeps me on the edge of my seat.
It’s a big book, but it’s worth it!
Even though I’ve read this book many times, it still keeps me on the edge of my seat.
It’s a big book, but it’s worth it!
November 5, 2019
I got more than halfway through and just couldn't bring myself to finish. Clearly I'm just not the right reader for this book, considering most of the reviews I read for this one were positive, but this was SO long and slow. The book is more than 600 pages, and at more than halfway through I kept waiting for it to pickup, and it just wasn't happening. On to the next one.
August 6, 2024
4.5 stars out of 5
Shocking, atmospheric, and downright terrifying. The location of 82 Edgehill Road is filled with mean and sadistic images. I mean it, this book had me held in its grips, and I believe for myself up to about page 500 this was garnering 5 stars. The ending I feel was a bit drawn out. I can’t believe it took me this long to read a novel by Adam Nevill, he is an amazing horror author. I’ve read time and again… “Nevill writes the scariest horror in the game as of now.” And look at the Netflix films that pop up. Nevill plays very well with the shadows, and dark. A lot of, “oh… what the hell was that, or is something watching me?”
No One Gets Out Alive is filled with evil spirits, cruelty, and paranoia. The impending doom is plagued and scattered throughout 82 Edgehill’s hallways, and are reek with dampness and decay. The claustrophobic atmosphere sucks you right in and as a reader you are hooked. I don’t very much like to give away too much about plots’ in my reviews, but if you want evil then this novel is the right fit for you.
I can’t wait to dip into more of Adam Nevill’s novels please add some recommendations if you’d like. I haven’t watched the Netflix film yet, let me know if it’s worth watching, I enjoy reading so much more than tv. thanks!! 🙏
Shocking, atmospheric, and downright terrifying. The location of 82 Edgehill Road is filled with mean and sadistic images. I mean it, this book had me held in its grips, and I believe for myself up to about page 500 this was garnering 5 stars. The ending I feel was a bit drawn out. I can’t believe it took me this long to read a novel by Adam Nevill, he is an amazing horror author. I’ve read time and again… “Nevill writes the scariest horror in the game as of now.” And look at the Netflix films that pop up. Nevill plays very well with the shadows, and dark. A lot of, “oh… what the hell was that, or is something watching me?”
No One Gets Out Alive is filled with evil spirits, cruelty, and paranoia. The impending doom is plagued and scattered throughout 82 Edgehill’s hallways, and are reek with dampness and decay. The claustrophobic atmosphere sucks you right in and as a reader you are hooked. I don’t very much like to give away too much about plots’ in my reviews, but if you want evil then this novel is the right fit for you.
I can’t wait to dip into more of Adam Nevill’s novels please add some recommendations if you’d like. I haven’t watched the Netflix film yet, let me know if it’s worth watching, I enjoy reading so much more than tv. thanks!! 🙏
May 24, 2015
‘And what will I do if I turn the light on and someone is standing there?’
In No One Gets Out Alive, Adam Nevill explores the plight of a lonely desperate young woman, she takes a room at 82 Edgehill Road in Birmingham because it's cheap as chips at 40 quid a week. She's got a temp job handing out samples at the bullring shopping centre and it’s time for a fresh start. She's got nothing else, there's no one to help her and against her better judgement it's time for the first night in her new home.
The first chapter catapults the reader straight into an atmosphere fraught with tension, noises, voices, creaking floorboards, scratching, and the mattress at her feet dipping as if the sudden weight of someone sitting.
No One Gets Out Alive is a hell of a lot more than a haunted house story, there's a small character base which keeps things tight and personnel. The landlord 'Knacker' McGuire with his intimidating cousin Fergal hasten plans to return 82 Edgehill Road to its former glory after an enforced hiatus. They bring Intimidation, both scary and manipulative, she’s got lots of reasons to think twice about ever having set foot in this wretched place.
Stephanie Booth soon realises that she's made the biggest mistake of her life, this house has an evil history full of malevolence and anguish. Soon enough escape is but a dream in a world of nightmares. There’s not just the supernatural to be scared of, there’s the living and unconsciousness won’t save you.
‘But if it’s not alive, what use is a knife?’
This story is a long one at over 600 pages but it certainly didn't feel like it. Adam Nevill avoids slow burning horror by jumping straight in at the deep end and keeping your nerves shredded as the tension just doesn't let up for two thirds of the story. The house itself and the horrors within almost take on the role of a terrifying character, a horrific environment that is completely gripping along with the effect it all has on Stephanie.
Two thirds of the way through, the author rather cruelly brakes sharply after keeping you dangling over the precipice with no respite for most of the story. I was left feeling like I was starting a new story and a few curses passed my lips. It left me thinking whether it would have been better just ending it there and that continued for some time as I started to skip through, getting bored. The story did come back to life eventually and the nerves strung out once again with a taught satisfactory ending.
So in conclusion I really enjoyed No One Gets Out Alive, so much so that I was annoyed with the time lapse in the story that destroyed the apprehension. But on reflection that's probably a positive reaction regarding the vast majority and the nail biting tension contained within.
So this one is definitely my favourite so far from Adam Nevill, an intensely dark and dirty atmosphere that will play on your mind at night, listening to the sounds of your house, that creaking floorboard, a whisper. There is no way out and No One Gets Out Alive.
Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
In No One Gets Out Alive, Adam Nevill explores the plight of a lonely desperate young woman, she takes a room at 82 Edgehill Road in Birmingham because it's cheap as chips at 40 quid a week. She's got a temp job handing out samples at the bullring shopping centre and it’s time for a fresh start. She's got nothing else, there's no one to help her and against her better judgement it's time for the first night in her new home.
The first chapter catapults the reader straight into an atmosphere fraught with tension, noises, voices, creaking floorboards, scratching, and the mattress at her feet dipping as if the sudden weight of someone sitting.
No One Gets Out Alive is a hell of a lot more than a haunted house story, there's a small character base which keeps things tight and personnel. The landlord 'Knacker' McGuire with his intimidating cousin Fergal hasten plans to return 82 Edgehill Road to its former glory after an enforced hiatus. They bring Intimidation, both scary and manipulative, she’s got lots of reasons to think twice about ever having set foot in this wretched place.
Stephanie Booth soon realises that she's made the biggest mistake of her life, this house has an evil history full of malevolence and anguish. Soon enough escape is but a dream in a world of nightmares. There’s not just the supernatural to be scared of, there’s the living and unconsciousness won’t save you.
‘But if it’s not alive, what use is a knife?’
This story is a long one at over 600 pages but it certainly didn't feel like it. Adam Nevill avoids slow burning horror by jumping straight in at the deep end and keeping your nerves shredded as the tension just doesn't let up for two thirds of the story. The house itself and the horrors within almost take on the role of a terrifying character, a horrific environment that is completely gripping along with the effect it all has on Stephanie.
Two thirds of the way through, the author rather cruelly brakes sharply after keeping you dangling over the precipice with no respite for most of the story. I was left feeling like I was starting a new story and a few curses passed my lips. It left me thinking whether it would have been better just ending it there and that continued for some time as I started to skip through, getting bored. The story did come back to life eventually and the nerves strung out once again with a taught satisfactory ending.
So in conclusion I really enjoyed No One Gets Out Alive, so much so that I was annoyed with the time lapse in the story that destroyed the apprehension. But on reflection that's probably a positive reaction regarding the vast majority and the nail biting tension contained within.
So this one is definitely my favourite so far from Adam Nevill, an intensely dark and dirty atmosphere that will play on your mind at night, listening to the sounds of your house, that creaking floorboard, a whisper. There is no way out and No One Gets Out Alive.
Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
April 15, 2017
3.5 stars
This is my Book Of the Month- May 2016, with GR group- Literary Horror
This is an insane ride. My first read by Adam Neville and this won't be the last.
This book is about Stephanie who is making end's meet by doing menial jobs, has recently split from her boyfriend and is living on shared accommodation in cheap conditions. She comes across an add of cheap weekly accommodation available and makes the monumental mistake of moving into 82 Edgware Road
The main sense I had about 82 Edgware Road is- it is an entity on its own to be aware of!
The house is full of foreign presence and you get a fair share of creepy and spooky experiences. Even though Steph is just 20 yrs old, all her actions were pretty sensible. I really admired how she did not stop trying to get out of the house till the very end.
The first 60% of the book is really good. It is further divided into 2 parts:
Part 1: The supernatural . This gives true meaning to the fear of darkness as most of these things happen in night or in complete darkness
Part 2: The 2 landlords are completely creepy
This makes you question what is more horrifying, these supernatural forces or the human atrocities.
There is an incidence which escalates out of control and we go though some heart stopping moments. At this stage of the story, it was like the finale scene of the book and it would have actually made for a good ending. But this was just around 60% of the book.
The last 40%: The story moves forward by 3 years [which as per me was not required or should have been another novel (a sequel) altogether]
We have another 30 chapters or so to read,
The end is decent but the book would have easily been a 4 star+ for me if it would have ended after the first 60%.
This is my Book Of the Month- May 2016, with GR group- Literary Horror
This is an insane ride. My first read by Adam Neville and this won't be the last.
This book is about Stephanie who is making end's meet by doing menial jobs, has recently split from her boyfriend and is living on shared accommodation in cheap conditions. She comes across an add of cheap weekly accommodation available and makes the monumental mistake of moving into 82 Edgware Road The main sense I had about 82 Edgware Road is- it is an entity on its own to be aware of! The house is full of foreign presence and you get a fair share of creepy and spooky experiences. Even though Steph is just 20 yrs old, all her actions were pretty sensible. I really admired how she did not stop trying to get out of the house till the very end. The first 60% of the book is really good. It is further divided into 2 parts:Part 1: The supernatural . This gives true meaning to the fear of darkness as most of these things happen in night or in complete darkness
Part 2: The 2 landlords are completely creepy
This makes you question what is more horrifying, these supernatural forces or the human atrocities.
There is an incidence which escalates out of control and we go though some heart stopping moments. At this stage of the story, it was like the finale scene of the book and it would have actually made for a good ending. But this was just around 60% of the book. The last 40%: The story moves forward by 3 years [which as per me was not required or should have been another novel (a sequel) altogether] We have another 30 chapters or so to read,
The end is decent but the book would have easily been a 4 star+ for me if it would have ended after the first 60%.
November 12, 2014
Being a avid fan of Horror books and supernatural , I really didn't enjoy this book at all. Ive read a couple of Adam Nevill books, so im not a stranger to his works, but I seriously felt bored with this book .
After I read his last book " house of small shadows" I was gravely disappointed of how the book flitted from one thing to the other so quickly and did not have any stable foundations or concrete stability , so I said to myself no more, but then I got wind that Adam had published another book No one gets out alive , so I thought , oh go on then, I'll give it a go, it might be alright. How wrong was i? It starts off with promise ( just like house of small shadows does) and then slowly starts the same boring Groundhog Day theme once again! It's like one of those bad horror flicks that you watch and think .... It just has to get better and it never does, and then you sit there thinking what the hell did I just watch ! 564 pages out of 628 and it did not get any better. Normally when im on the last couple of chapters of a book, I want to hurry up and finish it , excited to see how it ends, but with this there was no great need to rush the last couple of chapters as I was completely fed up with it and had become bored with it . Think I'll give Adam Nevill a rest now and move on . Lesson learned
After I read his last book " house of small shadows" I was gravely disappointed of how the book flitted from one thing to the other so quickly and did not have any stable foundations or concrete stability , so I said to myself no more, but then I got wind that Adam had published another book No one gets out alive , so I thought , oh go on then, I'll give it a go, it might be alright. How wrong was i? It starts off with promise ( just like house of small shadows does) and then slowly starts the same boring Groundhog Day theme once again! It's like one of those bad horror flicks that you watch and think .... It just has to get better and it never does, and then you sit there thinking what the hell did I just watch ! 564 pages out of 628 and it did not get any better. Normally when im on the last couple of chapters of a book, I want to hurry up and finish it , excited to see how it ends, but with this there was no great need to rush the last couple of chapters as I was completely fed up with it and had become bored with it . Think I'll give Adam Nevill a rest now and move on . Lesson learned
December 3, 2021
This was pretty good for me. Might be my favorite so far of Nevill's. Yeah, it could have been trimmed down, but it was still enjoyable. Filled with gross horror, ghosts, and lots of creepiness.
May 15, 2022
I enjoyed Nevill's The Ritual and subsequent movie adaptation, so was excited to see another of his books had also been turned into a film when browsing the horror section at my local bookstore.
I like a good book vs movie comparison and the cashier said their were noticeable changes to the film but wouldn't spoil anything, so I was keen to get started.
The set up is quite clichéd for the genre as a young women has put herself in a dangerous situation and through questionable decisions makes her own situation worse.
I really liked cash strapped Stephanie Booth who takes a room at 82 Edgehill Road, but as the saying goes that when something is so too good to be true that there clearly must be something wrong as the asking price for the room was just way to low.
I appreciate the desperation that Stephanie was feeling when weird stuff started to happen, I personally would have been out of there like a shot.
The apparent supernatural elements are nicely entwined of the real horrors that humans are capable of. Landlord Knacker is a real piece of work and his motives are just vile.
The author does portray a real uneasy for the main protagonist that makes the first half both gripping and uncomfortable to read.
I found the second half didn't quite match the strong opening but I was still invested in seeing how the story would play out.
I'm definitely curious to see how this was adapted and adding to movie to my watch list.
I like a good book vs movie comparison and the cashier said their were noticeable changes to the film but wouldn't spoil anything, so I was keen to get started.
The set up is quite clichéd for the genre as a young women has put herself in a dangerous situation and through questionable decisions makes her own situation worse.
I really liked cash strapped Stephanie Booth who takes a room at 82 Edgehill Road, but as the saying goes that when something is so too good to be true that there clearly must be something wrong as the asking price for the room was just way to low.
I appreciate the desperation that Stephanie was feeling when weird stuff started to happen, I personally would have been out of there like a shot.
The apparent supernatural elements are nicely entwined of the real horrors that humans are capable of. Landlord Knacker is a real piece of work and his motives are just vile.
The author does portray a real uneasy for the main protagonist that makes the first half both gripping and uncomfortable to read.
I found the second half didn't quite match the strong opening but I was still invested in seeing how the story would play out.
I'm definitely curious to see how this was adapted and adding to movie to my watch list.
May 12, 2015
I stuck with this book for 200 pages but unfortunately those pages crawled with almost nothing happening. And what little did happen just made the main character grow increasingly unsympathetic because she was so whiny and passive. If you're looking for a book that is all atmosphere and little story, this is for you.
May 22, 2016
This was disappointing, for me, compared to Nevill's other works. I would have enjoyed more of the supernatural and less of the (too) realistic horror. Ew.
September 21, 2014
Adam Nevill’s latest fiendish work has reached new heights of terrifying. Famous for his skin-crawl-inducing paranormal horror, which so far has come in various gruesome flavours: Scandinavian pagan folklore, Lovecraftian madness, creepy dolls and Victorian taxidermy, all enough to rob me of any decent sleep, his books always had a classic horror elegance to it - but they are positively cushy compared to the brick-sh**ting real-life horror he’s unleashed on us now.
Fret not, the paranormal element is still well and truly present. But as I agonised, glued into protagonist Stephanie’s skin, my nails bitten to the quick, flippin' ghosts, unsettling as they were, were the least of my problems. If anything, they pointed to the bigger problem: Knacker McGuire and his psychotic cousin, the token Evil Private Landlord of an unregulated rental market we’ve all had to deal with in our student years at some point (and some of us, beyond), and which, more often than not, is run by deluded psychopaths keen on milking the naivety or desperation of the modern destitute, knowing full well they cannot be beaten by lawyers tenant can’t afford or Small Claims Courts, which are notoriously incapable of enforcing their rulings.
This book, my dears, is not about charming-albeit-evil Victorian dolls scratching on your bedroom door with ancient, cracked porcelain hands in the dead of night. This one’s Eden Lake meets Silent Hill.
Let me call it Landlord Horror. The sheer every-day survival terror you will only experience when your options have become severely limited by crippling poverty. OK, maybe the landlords we had to deal with weren’t as bad as Knacker. But what unites the real and this fictional one is that, if you’re as poor as protagonist Stephanie, with an irregular pittance of an income from a job that works you into exhaustion, no security net, scraping by on pennies day by day, with friends and family either too far, too indifferent or too alienated to help, you are completely at the mercy of whoever owns the roof of the house you’re sleeping under. And you better just hope and pray Knacker McGuire isn’t that man.
Nevill paints the picture of Stephanie’s bleak existence and her helplessness masterfully. She’s so used to encountering dodgy characters that she probably thought she could handle this one. And it’s not that she has much choice. Desperation makes her rush into a rented room agreement. And once Knacker, oscillating between creepy and sleazy and downright antisocial, has his hands on her deposit, she is stuck – without that money her options are hardly more than the streets. Desperation is what makes her rationalise the warning signs until it’s too late. Lack of sleep saps her of energy, because late at night she hears crying and voices in other tenants’ rooms – tenants she only seems to encounter briefly in dimly lit staircases and who don’t seem to want to speak to her.
In short, it doesn’t take long for her to feel like she is losing her mind, and to learn that Knacker and Fergal are capable of worse things than just making her feel severely uncomfortable.
And when Knacker’s cousin Fergal – who makes Knacker look like a school boy in comparison - arrives on the scene, and a dark presence inflicts violence in the rooms around her, things begin to spiral out of control.
And the comparison to Silent Hill? You’ll see what I mean when you get there. If you want your cosmic horror element, Knacker and co are just the gateway: it will billow into this before long and will fully fledge in the second half of the book, which will hound you with paranormal terror that is inescapable and won’t stop at anything before it breaks you.
Again, I’d be a party pooper if I gave the story away, of how bad things get. I don’t see why I should ease the way for you, dear reader, by preparing you. You must suffer the horrors as I have, because, let’s face it, we love it – why else would we be reading this?
Let me just say this: considering that around the time I started reading this book, I found out I have to move house myself, and reading about the depressing, existential anxiety-inducing familiarity of trying to find a place that is a) not a hovel, b) in my price range (which is virtually impossible in Witneyshire), and c) not run and occupied by a Knacker McGuire, made my stomach churn, and this book seemed to hit all my fear buttons with a hammer. It made me want to clamber for the property ladder just to not have to rent anymore.
Give Mr Nevill this: he might well be the modern Dickens who opens up the public eye to the need to regulate and restrain private landlords. True, this is a horror novel, but the terror lies in familiarity with exaggerated features.
This here novel definitely comes as a cautionary tale: read the small print of your contract. More so, insist on a contract. And don’t move into the first place on offer. Small Claims Courts cannot fight hell.
Fret not, the paranormal element is still well and truly present. But as I agonised, glued into protagonist Stephanie’s skin, my nails bitten to the quick, flippin' ghosts, unsettling as they were, were the least of my problems. If anything, they pointed to the bigger problem: Knacker McGuire and his psychotic cousin, the token Evil Private Landlord of an unregulated rental market we’ve all had to deal with in our student years at some point (and some of us, beyond), and which, more often than not, is run by deluded psychopaths keen on milking the naivety or desperation of the modern destitute, knowing full well they cannot be beaten by lawyers tenant can’t afford or Small Claims Courts, which are notoriously incapable of enforcing their rulings.
This book, my dears, is not about charming-albeit-evil Victorian dolls scratching on your bedroom door with ancient, cracked porcelain hands in the dead of night. This one’s Eden Lake meets Silent Hill.
Let me call it Landlord Horror. The sheer every-day survival terror you will only experience when your options have become severely limited by crippling poverty. OK, maybe the landlords we had to deal with weren’t as bad as Knacker. But what unites the real and this fictional one is that, if you’re as poor as protagonist Stephanie, with an irregular pittance of an income from a job that works you into exhaustion, no security net, scraping by on pennies day by day, with friends and family either too far, too indifferent or too alienated to help, you are completely at the mercy of whoever owns the roof of the house you’re sleeping under. And you better just hope and pray Knacker McGuire isn’t that man.
Nevill paints the picture of Stephanie’s bleak existence and her helplessness masterfully. She’s so used to encountering dodgy characters that she probably thought she could handle this one. And it’s not that she has much choice. Desperation makes her rush into a rented room agreement. And once Knacker, oscillating between creepy and sleazy and downright antisocial, has his hands on her deposit, she is stuck – without that money her options are hardly more than the streets. Desperation is what makes her rationalise the warning signs until it’s too late. Lack of sleep saps her of energy, because late at night she hears crying and voices in other tenants’ rooms – tenants she only seems to encounter briefly in dimly lit staircases and who don’t seem to want to speak to her.
In short, it doesn’t take long for her to feel like she is losing her mind, and to learn that Knacker and Fergal are capable of worse things than just making her feel severely uncomfortable.
And when Knacker’s cousin Fergal – who makes Knacker look like a school boy in comparison - arrives on the scene, and a dark presence inflicts violence in the rooms around her, things begin to spiral out of control.
And the comparison to Silent Hill? You’ll see what I mean when you get there. If you want your cosmic horror element, Knacker and co are just the gateway: it will billow into this before long and will fully fledge in the second half of the book, which will hound you with paranormal terror that is inescapable and won’t stop at anything before it breaks you.
Again, I’d be a party pooper if I gave the story away, of how bad things get. I don’t see why I should ease the way for you, dear reader, by preparing you. You must suffer the horrors as I have, because, let’s face it, we love it – why else would we be reading this?
Let me just say this: considering that around the time I started reading this book, I found out I have to move house myself, and reading about the depressing, existential anxiety-inducing familiarity of trying to find a place that is a) not a hovel, b) in my price range (which is virtually impossible in Witneyshire), and c) not run and occupied by a Knacker McGuire, made my stomach churn, and this book seemed to hit all my fear buttons with a hammer. It made me want to clamber for the property ladder just to not have to rent anymore.
Give Mr Nevill this: he might well be the modern Dickens who opens up the public eye to the need to regulate and restrain private landlords. True, this is a horror novel, but the terror lies in familiarity with exaggerated features.
This here novel definitely comes as a cautionary tale: read the small print of your contract. More so, insist on a contract. And don’t move into the first place on offer. Small Claims Courts cannot fight hell.
August 13, 2021
This was just okay for me. It really had some great and scary moments, especially at the beginning but then it just...kept...going. And going and going.... It needed to end way before it did. Because it became silly and unbelievable - if that can be noted for a horror book 😜 The silliness was too much to bear at times.
I really had a hard time caring about Stephanie, so that's another issue, because she was so whiny and stupid. I cared more for Ryan and Josh. And actually all of the side characters were very well written. Knacker and Fergal were fabulous as villains. If it had ended at the part where "Stephanie's" story ends I would have been pretty happy actually. The whole Black Maggie part that kept going didn't have to be in the story at all. Because, like I said before, I didn't care.
And what was with the last part where Amber becomes this multi-millionaire? Seriously? It made her that much more irrelevant. The beginning was awesome, but the last half not so much for me.
I really had a hard time caring about Stephanie, so that's another issue, because she was so whiny and stupid. I cared more for Ryan and Josh. And actually all of the side characters were very well written. Knacker and Fergal were fabulous as villains. If it had ended at the part where "Stephanie's" story ends I would have been pretty happy actually. The whole Black Maggie part that kept going didn't have to be in the story at all. Because, like I said before, I didn't care.
And what was with the last part where Amber becomes this multi-millionaire? Seriously? It made her that much more irrelevant. The beginning was awesome, but the last half not so much for me.
October 1, 2018
Wow, Adam Nevill is the only writer ever I have given 5 stars to for every single book of his I have read. This one is no exception. It is a tough read, beginning quite spookily, and then plumbing such depths of depravity that I nearly gave up out of disgust and despair ... Then Nevill takes one of those unique genre-bending twists he is so famous for, and you realise that the ride is only beginning ... One helluva read that will make you leave the lights on for days afterwards, wondering about every little sound around you, in case it is an ancient forgotten god arisen from the dead earth to demand worship at an unspeakable altar.
May 9, 2016
I liked this book and it did have some creepy moments but it didn't scare me as bad as the previous 2 adam Nevill books I read (the ritual and last days). but I really, really like him! on to the next one!
August 19, 2018
With some of the most scariest scenes of horror, I can see this novel No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill adapted into a TV film.
I'VE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE AGAIN CAN YOU HELP ME?
Stephanie Booth takes a new room at vast neglected house at 82 Edgehill Road.
The air in her room was so cold she shivered. Then creepy things started to storm around the room. Stephanie could hear sobbing from the fireplace and scratching from beneath her bed. The Mattress dipped as someone sat down. A face was moving closer to her own then she snapped on the lamp.
Was this stephanie's first experience with the supernatural?
I'VE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE AGAIN CAN YOU HELP ME?
Stephanie Booth takes a new room at vast neglected house at 82 Edgehill Road.
The air in her room was so cold she shivered. Then creepy things started to storm around the room. Stephanie could hear sobbing from the fireplace and scratching from beneath her bed. The Mattress dipped as someone sat down. A face was moving closer to her own then she snapped on the lamp.
Was this stephanie's first experience with the supernatural?
March 28, 2017
I thought I had picked up a supernatural, haunted house novel but what I barely managed to finish reading was more like bad crime writing fused with elements of torture porn. After unnecessarily repeated descriptions of the ghostly phenomena occurring in the house, the novel took a sick turn to violence, prostitution, rape, and kidnap, none of which remotely matched the novel's back cover description. Once that terrible segue ended I was appalled to discover the "book within a book" trope that was poorly executed. The story of "Amber" and "Josh" that followed was boring and unbelievable. I sped-read/skimmed the final half of the novel.
November 29, 2018
This is hands down the most insane novel I've ever read. Cannot recommend it enough for Horror fans. Read it, read it, read it!
RTC but right now I'm off to read everything Adam Nevill has ever written.
RTC but right now I'm off to read everything Adam Nevill has ever written.
October 30, 2014
I’ll begin with an admission; this is the first book by Adam Nevill that I’ve read. I’ve been aware of his work for a while, but for reasons I don’t think I can really quantify, I’ve never picked up any of his books. When the opportunity came along to review his latest release I knew that now was finally the time for me to remedy this gross oversight.
Stephanie Booth has reached as close to rock bottom as you can get. Her career is going nowhere; she can hardly afford to pay her bills and has been reduced to renting a room in a seedy, tumbledown property that has seen better days. Ever prepared to focus on the bright side of things, she wants to make a new start, but sadly her new landlord has other ideas.
There is an inner strength to Steph’s character that I latched onto straightway. Initially this could just be viewed as her optimistic outlook in life, but as she is dragged kicking and screaming through the emotional ringer, this morphs into a much more steely resolve. Somehow Steph manages to dig deep and find the will to keep going. Her evolution from innocent to victim, to something else entirely is remarkable. The best part is that Nevill doesn’t take anything for granted during this transformation. There are moments when Stephanie is ready to give in, to just roll over and admit defeat. The writing deftly exposes all these flaws and failings like a raw nerve, never shying away from the possibility that Steph may just accept her fate. There are a number of moments when things get particularly dark and she considers some exceptionally bleak options.
Of the other characters, Knacker McGuire and his cousin Fergal are standouts. Obnoxious, evil, almost caricatures of the worst humanity has to offer, they are loathsome in every respect. It is interesting to observe the dynamic that exists between the two. Their relationship seems initially to be very straightforward but with each passing chapter more and more subtle complexities are exposed. It’s an impressive skill that Nevill manages to find moments in the narrative that make you nearly feel sorry for them both.
The locations described in the novel are also a key component of the plot. Almost the entire story unfolds in only a couple of places. 82 Edgware Road in particular is almost a character in it’s own right. When it comes to genuinely creepy fiction, for me it’s always about the little details. Nevill does a first rate job of slowly establishing a sense of growing malevolence around the property Steph finds herself stuck in.
The thing I really enjoyed was the ambiguity that surrounds the situation Stephanie finds herself in. Nevill plays with the reader’s expectations. Is she genuinely experiencing something otherworldly and supernatural, or is everything driven by the deterioration of her mental state?
There is a wonderful, unexpected moment about two thirds of the way in where the plot veers off on a tangent that I genuinely wasn’t expecting. I love it when an author throws me a literary curve ball like this and demands I take notice of their work.
One word of caution the plot of this novel pulls no punches. There are some exceptionally brutal moments. People are beaten, tortured and there are multiple violent, graphically depicted deaths. If you are in any way squeamish you’ll probably want to give this a miss. Not me though, I couldn’t look away, I had to keep reading. This is uncompromising, savage and utterly enthralling stuff. When an author can make you audibly wince but you still can’t stop reading you know you’re on to a winner.
This is like a traditional ghost story on crack that’s been amped up to the nth degree. I finally get what all the fuss is about. Adam Nevill knows what it takes to shock and, based on the evidence of No One Gets Out Alive, he is more than happy to deliver. This is a cracking read that makes me more than a little glad that I don’t live in rented accommodation.
This most definitely won’t be the last book of Adam Nevill’s I’ll be reading, consider me a fully-fledged convert. If No One Gets Out Alive is a good example of his work, wild horses won’t stop me from reading more. The only question I have is what book from this author’s back catalogue should I read next?
No One Gets Out Alive is published by Pan Macmillan and is available now.
Stephanie Booth has reached as close to rock bottom as you can get. Her career is going nowhere; she can hardly afford to pay her bills and has been reduced to renting a room in a seedy, tumbledown property that has seen better days. Ever prepared to focus on the bright side of things, she wants to make a new start, but sadly her new landlord has other ideas.
There is an inner strength to Steph’s character that I latched onto straightway. Initially this could just be viewed as her optimistic outlook in life, but as she is dragged kicking and screaming through the emotional ringer, this morphs into a much more steely resolve. Somehow Steph manages to dig deep and find the will to keep going. Her evolution from innocent to victim, to something else entirely is remarkable. The best part is that Nevill doesn’t take anything for granted during this transformation. There are moments when Stephanie is ready to give in, to just roll over and admit defeat. The writing deftly exposes all these flaws and failings like a raw nerve, never shying away from the possibility that Steph may just accept her fate. There are a number of moments when things get particularly dark and she considers some exceptionally bleak options.
Of the other characters, Knacker McGuire and his cousin Fergal are standouts. Obnoxious, evil, almost caricatures of the worst humanity has to offer, they are loathsome in every respect. It is interesting to observe the dynamic that exists between the two. Their relationship seems initially to be very straightforward but with each passing chapter more and more subtle complexities are exposed. It’s an impressive skill that Nevill manages to find moments in the narrative that make you nearly feel sorry for them both.
The locations described in the novel are also a key component of the plot. Almost the entire story unfolds in only a couple of places. 82 Edgware Road in particular is almost a character in it’s own right. When it comes to genuinely creepy fiction, for me it’s always about the little details. Nevill does a first rate job of slowly establishing a sense of growing malevolence around the property Steph finds herself stuck in.
The thing I really enjoyed was the ambiguity that surrounds the situation Stephanie finds herself in. Nevill plays with the reader’s expectations. Is she genuinely experiencing something otherworldly and supernatural, or is everything driven by the deterioration of her mental state?
There is a wonderful, unexpected moment about two thirds of the way in where the plot veers off on a tangent that I genuinely wasn’t expecting. I love it when an author throws me a literary curve ball like this and demands I take notice of their work.
One word of caution the plot of this novel pulls no punches. There are some exceptionally brutal moments. People are beaten, tortured and there are multiple violent, graphically depicted deaths. If you are in any way squeamish you’ll probably want to give this a miss. Not me though, I couldn’t look away, I had to keep reading. This is uncompromising, savage and utterly enthralling stuff. When an author can make you audibly wince but you still can’t stop reading you know you’re on to a winner.
This is like a traditional ghost story on crack that’s been amped up to the nth degree. I finally get what all the fuss is about. Adam Nevill knows what it takes to shock and, based on the evidence of No One Gets Out Alive, he is more than happy to deliver. This is a cracking read that makes me more than a little glad that I don’t live in rented accommodation.
This most definitely won’t be the last book of Adam Nevill’s I’ll be reading, consider me a fully-fledged convert. If No One Gets Out Alive is a good example of his work, wild horses won’t stop me from reading more. The only question I have is what book from this author’s back catalogue should I read next?
No One Gets Out Alive is published by Pan Macmillan and is available now.
November 2, 2023
This was my first exposure to Adam Nevill — the so-called “British Stephen King” — and I must say I’m impressed. This book had everything I wanted from a haunted house story and then some.
No One Gets Out Alive was packed with tension and creepiness from the very first page. No long wait to get to the frights here! Our poor protagonist Stephanie is immediately in over her head, trapped by her poverty in a nasty place packed with things that go bump in the night.
But amazingly, from a chilling start Nevill continued to add layer upon layer of mystery and dread, with surprising twists and unnervingly long scenes of tension that gave me a visceral reaction at times.
In fact, visceral is a word I would say captures most of the experience of reading this book. Nevill delves into some of the darkest depths of human depravity, but in a way that I noticed shines a worthwhile allegorical light on some very real terrors — the powerlessness of being in extreme poverty; the vulnerability of women to violence and exploitation, and the extremes they may have to resort to merely to survive; the dangers of social isolation; even the problem of media sensationalism.
Sprinkle in an unexpectedly well-developed big bad monster and some existential cosmic horror and you have a recipe for my ideal scary story!
I didn’t even mind the book’s length. At the risk of a mild spoiler, there is a massive turn about a third of the way through that opens new angles on the themes of the story, and my wife can attest that this sudden surprise got a vocal reaction out of me (in a good way!). The chapters leading up to the conclusion could maybe have been consolidated just a bit, but I was nonetheless enthralled to learn how things were going to shake out, and the finale was breathtaking.
My only real reservation with recommending this as a nearly perfect horror novel (at least in my opinion) is, again, the subject matter that might be too heavy for many readers (esp. victims of sexual abuse). But if you have the stomach for it and you really want a story that will chill and thrill, this was excellent. 4.5 stars from me.
No One Gets Out Alive was packed with tension and creepiness from the very first page. No long wait to get to the frights here! Our poor protagonist Stephanie is immediately in over her head, trapped by her poverty in a nasty place packed with things that go bump in the night.
But amazingly, from a chilling start Nevill continued to add layer upon layer of mystery and dread, with surprising twists and unnervingly long scenes of tension that gave me a visceral reaction at times.
In fact, visceral is a word I would say captures most of the experience of reading this book. Nevill delves into some of the darkest depths of human depravity, but in a way that I noticed shines a worthwhile allegorical light on some very real terrors — the powerlessness of being in extreme poverty; the vulnerability of women to violence and exploitation, and the extremes they may have to resort to merely to survive; the dangers of social isolation; even the problem of media sensationalism.
Sprinkle in an unexpectedly well-developed big bad monster and some existential cosmic horror and you have a recipe for my ideal scary story!
I didn’t even mind the book’s length. At the risk of a mild spoiler, there is a massive turn about a third of the way through that opens new angles on the themes of the story, and my wife can attest that this sudden surprise got a vocal reaction out of me (in a good way!). The chapters leading up to the conclusion could maybe have been consolidated just a bit, but I was nonetheless enthralled to learn how things were going to shake out, and the finale was breathtaking.
My only real reservation with recommending this as a nearly perfect horror novel (at least in my opinion) is, again, the subject matter that might be too heavy for many readers (esp. victims of sexual abuse). But if you have the stomach for it and you really want a story that will chill and thrill, this was excellent. 4.5 stars from me.
March 23, 2023
The "Ghost Story Junkie" is a happy camper wit this one. I have read this author before and have always loved everything he writes. This one is as terrifying as what I consider my favorite of his...Last Days. Adam Neville has the ability to capture and put onto paper, horror that is far scarier than anything I have ever read. The lead character, Stephanie, is a young woman with no social life to speak of who gets trapped in what seems at first to be a dreary lodging house for the poorest of the poor, but there are beings, things, in this disgustingly dirty depraved old Victorian house that Stephanie cannot ignore. The landlord quickly goes from incredibly creepy to over the hill psychopathic. Stephanie s struggle is to escape not just everyday horror but horror founded on and stoked by the most revolting of things. Stephanie is not without faults. She has plenty of chances to make better choices, but she doesn't, and her stupidity somewhat overshadows some of the early suspense. It's the kind of book that stays with you even after you're done reading it. The old house seems to take on the role of a character in its own right.
April 14, 2022
4.5 stars. (I am changing my rating from a 4.25 to a 4.5 because I think about this book all the time.) I FINISHED THIS WHOPPER! This is probably the biggest book I've read in a hot second because my brain is not able to concentrate this year on longer tomes, but I'm glad I read this. I can see why it's so well-loved. There are three things that set this apart from normal horror novels and it's the fact that it takes three well-known tropes that rarely connect and blends them together: haunted houses with demonic spirits, serial killers, and old gods worshiped with dark and sinister ways. This hit all the check boxes for me, but it was very monotonous at the beginning because those nine days in hell are SO repetitive. Full review to come later.
August 6, 2021
I read a lot of horror books, yet never really feel scared. This book, though not scary, made me very anxious, which is awesome. Almost a slow burn, but thank god never actually slips all the way into one. A clever ghost story, that genuinely gets under your skin.
October 8, 2023
This was genuinely scary. The mixure of ghosts with literal psychopaths in a home cut off from the rest of society isn't anything new, but something about the characters and the seemingly hopeless situation that the main character finds herself in really worked for me.
The author's masterful use of descriptions allowed me to really feel like I was trapped in the house with Stephanie, seeing and experiencing all the terrifying things she did.The way he described the smell of one of her captors was so graphic that I swear I could smell him through the page. 🤢
The overall tone of the story was a lot heavier than I expected it to be. That isn't a bad thing; I just wasn't expecting it to hit that hard. The last part of the story dragged on a little longer than it needed to, but I really enjoyed it overall. 4 stars
The author's masterful use of descriptions allowed me to really feel like I was trapped in the house with Stephanie, seeing and experiencing all the terrifying things she did.The way he described the smell of one of her captors was so graphic that I swear I could smell him through the page. 🤢
The overall tone of the story was a lot heavier than I expected it to be. That isn't a bad thing; I just wasn't expecting it to hit that hard. The last part of the story dragged on a little longer than it needed to, but I really enjoyed it overall. 4 stars
Read
September 15, 20154.5 stars
And he does it again! I have yet to read a novel by Adam Nevill I didn't absolutely love.
It's nighttime and it's very quiet. I'm sitting at the table in the breakfast room and all I can hear is the tick tick tick of my neon pink pig barbeque clock (don't ask) coming from the pantry room off my kitchen. I'm in the middle of page 400 something of this book and suddenly the phone rings and I actually felt myself jump out of my chair. I'd say that's a pretty good indicator of the book's intensity -- it grabbed hold of me and just wouldn't let me go.
82 Edgehill Road, London is an older Victorian home where a young woman named Stephanie has taken a room. The rent is dirt cheap, which is good, since Stephanie works temping when the agency actually has any jobs for her. Stephanie lost her mom at an early age, and that was bad enough, but her father remarried and stepmom turned out to be something of a lunatic who has it in for Stephanie for no good reason. After Stephanie's father dies, she stays with her stepmother, but things got so bad that she had to leave. Now she's on her own, having left her boyfriend, and finds herself at the point of poverty. The price of the room is unbelievably low, so 82 Edgehill Road becomes her new home. Right away she notices something is wrong -- from under the bed she hears the sound of plastic crinkling, she hears women crying, a voice coming through the fireplace, and when someone unseen joins her in her bed, she decides she can't spend another day in the house. Sadly, she's forked over what little money she has for the room and the landlord refuses to refund her deposit; soon we discover that he's doing everything he can to keep her from leaving. She tries to get help from friends, but everyone's been hit hard economically and no one has enough cash to help her out. Her situation gets increasingly worse, but when she meets the landlord's disgusting psychopath of a cousin, living in the house turns into something akin to a nightmare. So Stephanie is stuck while the strange occurrences continue and escalate, and as time passes the situation gets beyond bad to the point where for Stephanie, death just might be preferable.
The supernatural terrors of this novel are creepy enough, but Nevill adds in some very real-life horrors that intensify Stephanie's experiences. The media (and some social media-ites as well) and its relentless attacks on her character point to the tabloid-ish tendencies to blame the victim:
"It was the media that had driven her into what two doctors had called 'emotional breakdowns', not the house... Her best defence had been the screaming of her own story straight into the maelstrom of competing voices; the opinionated and ill-informed voices that always knew better.. But she would never forgive the world for what it had done, nor trust it again. Because of how it had interpreted her without restraint or remorse, for the purposes of its own entertainment."
There were times in the first half of the novel where I found myself wondering whether this house was actually haunted or whether Stephanie's own mental state brought on her terrors; it's to Nevill's credit that he can keep his readers guessing at every turn. What I really loved about this novel is that this story is just downright scary in a very "old-school" kind of way, while staying very much grounded in modern times. So if you need splatter, gore and sick pornography to get your horror jollies, you just won't get it here. Part one was definitely the best of the book, although obviously it remains creepy enough for me to jump out of my chair while reading part two.
Super super super book -- any novel that can make me jump from the ringing of a telephone is one well worth reading. Huzzah. Keep them coming!
And he does it again! I have yet to read a novel by Adam Nevill I didn't absolutely love.
It's nighttime and it's very quiet. I'm sitting at the table in the breakfast room and all I can hear is the tick tick tick of my neon pink pig barbeque clock (don't ask) coming from the pantry room off my kitchen. I'm in the middle of page 400 something of this book and suddenly the phone rings and I actually felt myself jump out of my chair. I'd say that's a pretty good indicator of the book's intensity -- it grabbed hold of me and just wouldn't let me go.
82 Edgehill Road, London is an older Victorian home where a young woman named Stephanie has taken a room. The rent is dirt cheap, which is good, since Stephanie works temping when the agency actually has any jobs for her. Stephanie lost her mom at an early age, and that was bad enough, but her father remarried and stepmom turned out to be something of a lunatic who has it in for Stephanie for no good reason. After Stephanie's father dies, she stays with her stepmother, but things got so bad that she had to leave. Now she's on her own, having left her boyfriend, and finds herself at the point of poverty. The price of the room is unbelievably low, so 82 Edgehill Road becomes her new home. Right away she notices something is wrong -- from under the bed she hears the sound of plastic crinkling, she hears women crying, a voice coming through the fireplace, and when someone unseen joins her in her bed, she decides she can't spend another day in the house. Sadly, she's forked over what little money she has for the room and the landlord refuses to refund her deposit; soon we discover that he's doing everything he can to keep her from leaving. She tries to get help from friends, but everyone's been hit hard economically and no one has enough cash to help her out. Her situation gets increasingly worse, but when she meets the landlord's disgusting psychopath of a cousin, living in the house turns into something akin to a nightmare. So Stephanie is stuck while the strange occurrences continue and escalate, and as time passes the situation gets beyond bad to the point where for Stephanie, death just might be preferable.
The supernatural terrors of this novel are creepy enough, but Nevill adds in some very real-life horrors that intensify Stephanie's experiences. The media (and some social media-ites as well) and its relentless attacks on her character point to the tabloid-ish tendencies to blame the victim:
"It was the media that had driven her into what two doctors had called 'emotional breakdowns', not the house... Her best defence had been the screaming of her own story straight into the maelstrom of competing voices; the opinionated and ill-informed voices that always knew better.. But she would never forgive the world for what it had done, nor trust it again. Because of how it had interpreted her without restraint or remorse, for the purposes of its own entertainment."
There were times in the first half of the novel where I found myself wondering whether this house was actually haunted or whether Stephanie's own mental state brought on her terrors; it's to Nevill's credit that he can keep his readers guessing at every turn. What I really loved about this novel is that this story is just downright scary in a very "old-school" kind of way, while staying very much grounded in modern times. So if you need splatter, gore and sick pornography to get your horror jollies, you just won't get it here. Part one was definitely the best of the book, although obviously it remains creepy enough for me to jump out of my chair while reading part two.
Super super super book -- any novel that can make me jump from the ringing of a telephone is one well worth reading. Huzzah. Keep them coming!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,008 reviews