Where the Dead Wait A Novel
Where the Dead Wait A Novel by Ally Wilkes is set to be published by Simon and Schuster on December 5, 2023. This 400-page work delves into the life of William Day, a disgraced Arctic explorer who, after a failed expedition marked by cannibalism, seeks redemption thirteen years later when his second-in-command, Jesse Stevens, goes missing in the same frigid waters. As Day embarks on a rescue mission, he confronts the haunting memories of his past and the consequences of his actions.
Readers will find a narrative that intertwines themes of abandonment, betrayal, and the supernatural. The journey aboard the ship is complicated by the presence of a reporter intent on uncovering the truth of Day’s first expedition and Stevens’s wife, a spirit-medium whose séances add an eerie dimension to their quest. As they follow a trail of cryptic messages and unsettling discoveries, the story explores the chilling intersection of the living and the dead, creating a gothic atmosphere that resonates throughout the novel.
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“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).
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