Release date: January 23 2024
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 464
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis

The Terror meets Yellowjackets as a disgraced Arctic explorer sets out on a voyage to track down his former crewmate, only to be confronted by the ghosts of his cannibalistic past; from the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of All the White Spaces. Perfect for fans of Michelle Paver and Stephen Graham Jones.

William Day should be an acclaimed Arctic explorer. But after a failed expedition to find the fabled Open Polar Sea, in which his men only survived by eating their comrades, he returned in disgrace. A cannibal. A murderer.

Thirteen years later, his second-in-command, Jesse Stevens, has gone missing in the same waters. Perhaps this is Day’s chance to restore his tarnished reputation by bringing Stevens – the man who’s haunted his whole life – back home. But when the rescue mission into the frozen wastes becomes an uncanny journey into his own past, Day must face up to the things he’s done.

Aboard ship, Day must also contend with unwanted passengers: a reporter obsessively digging up the truth about the first expedition, and Stevens’s wife, a spiritualist whose séances both fascinate and frighten. Following a trail of cryptic messages, gaunt bodies, and old bones, their search becomes more and more unnerving, as it becomes clear that – for Day – the restless dead are never far behind.

Review

Ally Wilkes’s All the White Spaces was one of my favourite reads of 2022 so Where the Dead Wait was one of my most anticipated releases for 2024. The story follows William Day who is haunted by a failed expedition to the Arctic. Hailed in the papers as a cannibal and murderer, his reputation has never recovered. Thirteen years since the failed expedition, Day’s second in command Jesse Stevens has gone missing on another voyage in the Arctic. Day sees his chance to restore his reputation but will he be able to face the ghosts of his past?

I was completely and utterly captivated by this book. Wilkes has such a compelling writing style and I was immediately sucked in. This is the sort of book that will have you staying up long past your bedtime because you just have to know how it is going to happen. Wilkes is a master at creating a tense, unsettling atmosphere and I loved the way that continued to grow as the story progressed. Much like All the White Spaces this story has plenty of dark, shivery, creeping moments that will send a shiver up your spine and leave you on the edge of your seat.

Where the Dead Wait is a slower-paced read, which perfectly allows the tension to build. Wilkes does a brilliant job of bringing the sights and sounds of the Arctic as well as life on board a ship to life. The story feels so detailed and the time period well researched that I almost felt like I was there. This is an incredibly well-executed story full of complex, fascinating characters that explores the depths of the human psyche.

Where the Dead Wait is an addictive, thought-provoking read and Ally Wilkes has definitely solidified themselves as an auto-buy author for me. If you’re looking for a dark and bloody horror novel that will keep you glued right until the very last sentence, you won’t want to miss Where the Dead Wait.