Where the Dead Wait, Ally Wilkes
Where the Dead Wait, Ally Wilkes
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Where the Dead Wait

Author: Ally Wilkes

Narrator: Joshua Riley

Unabridged: 15 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/05/2023


Synopsis

“Haunting...Ominous.” —The New York Times Book Review

A “wonderfully chilling” (Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author) polar gothic about a Victorian explorer in search of his lost shipmate–and redemption–from the Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of All the White Spaces.

William Day should be an acclaimed Arctic explorer. But after a failed expedition, in which his remaining men only survived by eating their dead comrades, he returned in disgrace.

Thirteen years later, his second-in-command, Jesse Stevens, has gone missing in the same frozen 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 becomes an uncanny journey into his past, Day must face up to the things he’s­ done.

Abandonment. Betrayal. Cannibalism.

Aboard ship, Day must also contend with unwanted passengers: a reporter obsessively digging up the truth about the first expedition, as well as Stevens’s wife, a spirit-medium whose séances both fascinate and frighten. Following a trail of cryptic messages, gaunt bodies, and old bones, their search becomes more and more unnerving. The restless dead are never far behind in this “breathtaking achievement” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

About Ally Wilkes

Ally Wilkes, the Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of All the White Spaces and Where the Dead Wait, grew up in a succession of isolated—possibly haunted—country houses and boarding schools. After studying law at Oxford, she went on to spend eleven years as a criminal barrister. Ally now lives in Greenwich, London, with an anatomical human skeleton and far too many books about polar exploration. You can follow Ally on Twitter @UnheimlichManvr or on Instagram @AV_Wilkes.


Reviews

My thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler books, Ally Wilkes and Netgalley. Well, one thing I've learned about Ally Wilkes is that a person needs patience. Thankfully I'm old! Ha! Patience is often rewarded. Or so I've discovered. My first book from Ally was also a bit of a slow burn, but damn I just really......more

Goodreads review by Debra

Abandonment. Betrayal. Cannibalism. William Day hoped to be a celebrated arctic explorer, but his expedition ended in failure and the survivors only survived by eating the dead. Now he is disgraced and the subject of rumors and disgusted looks. It has been thirteen years and his second-in-command, J......more

Goodreads review by Becky

Review in the October 2023 issue of Library Journal Three Words That Describe This Book: Historical Horror, oppressive dread, strong sense of place Draft Review: After finding success with Antarctic Horror, Wilkes returns with the story of Willam Day, failed Arctic explorer whose 1869 crew resorted to......more


Quotes

"Riley captures the desperation and fear of men faced with the reality of their mortality with his powerful performance. The story alternates between the original failed mission and the eerily similar rescue attempt of Stevens. Riley never fails to project the frightening feelings of a crew on edge."