It's been thirteen years since the disastrous end of William Day's Arctic Captaincy, and his right-hand man, Jesse Stevens, is now lost on his own Arctic exploration. Recruited by Stevens' spirit-medium wife to head a search and rescue for this missing expedition, Day must face his past failures,,,and feasts. No matter how many times he tries to convince himself they had to resort to chewing on their fallen comrades, Day knows that something dark still lurks within. This author does polar gothic horror so supremely well. The writing is so visceral and evocative that it makes you feel like you are also trapped on the boat(s) in the Arctic circle with the overwhelming feeling that something is hunting you. The pacing is a little slow at times, but it adds to the sense of dread and when we reach the various twists and turns there is a true shock and horror felt by the reader. It's a really good author that can still have me feeling uneasy and queasy even though I knew from the beginning that the first expedition party had to resort to cannibalism. I really enjoyed the side characters on the rescue Stevens trip, especially Qila, a smart, badass Native who is the companion to Mrs. Stevens. I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect thing to read when it was cold and raining, and will be an amazing read during the snowy winter.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this. I'm giving it two stars on netgalley because I thought the writing was good, the story itself was just not for me.

the cover art and the premise of the book sounded like I would like it... Gothic arctic expedition, cannibalism, that sounds like its right up my alley but unfortunately its not keeping my interest, its slow paced and nothing has happened that makes me want to keep reading. The issue might be the time period of the 1800s also.

I'm going to revisit reading this book in a few weeks and see if anything's changed but for now I don't think this book is for my personal taste.

Thanks to netgalley and Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for sharing a digital copy for me to read, as always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻

This book actually made me feel like I was watching The Twilight Zone. Set in and on a polar expedition, two seperate journeys become so haunted and mixed together that I could SEE the horror written on the faces of the characters stuck reliving the worst times of their lives. I could hear Rod Serling telling them....welcome to the twilight zone.....as they set off to on a quest to find and rescue a crew member. And let's face it.....that cover gives me a shiver every time I see it. The book did exactly what Ally Wilkes intended, it gave me nightmares. This book is for those who appreciate good writing and a great story. Some chapters are pretty graphic....just warning you to be prepared. I'm pretty sure that we will see this one as a movie in the not too distant future.

Wilkes' first book was one of my favorite books from last year and really got me hooked on polar exploration, so I was thrilled to get a copy of this. They've done it again! As always, I appreciate how the author is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about polar exploration, and a true horror writer. This book is slow and visceral, with vibrant characters and chock full of creeping dread. Sometimes I worry about horror trending more toward gross-out, and while this was gruesome it wasn't gross just for cheap shock factor. Loved this to pieces. I'm going to think about it for weeks.

After reading and enjoying the author's debut, All the White Spaces, last year, I knew I had to pick up this book as well. This time, the reader finds themselves in the late 1800s in the middle of the British expedition fad to race to the Arctic Circle and see all there is to see in the cold landscape. Our main character, Day, has recently returned from an expedition, and the gruesome events quite literally haunt him the rest of the story. When Day is tasked to go rescue another member of his former expedition crew, the plot takes off into a paranormal and chilling horror. This gothic-style polar adventure tackles the horrors from the outside and horrors from within, creating an atmosphere that was incredibly gripping. Just like any other classic gothic horror, the pace is slow, the characters tortured and often unlikeable/unreliable, and the dread slowly creeps up like a shiver along the spine. Also, there's a lot of cannibalism. If body horror/gore isn't you're thing, please keep that in mind if you're considering this book.

A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my thoughts, and to my friend Colleen for buddy reading this with me!

Fantastic Gothic Horror

William Day were on an Arctic exploration when the mission failed, now William Day is being forced to face the things he did on a failed expedition mission 13 years ago. He was on top of his career with a very respected name but after the initial expedition William returns with only a disgraced name to show. It is tragic. William struggles with guilt from abandoning crew members and I don’t have to spoil anything by sharing how they survived. Why is he returning 13 years later you might ask, well one of the men from the original voyage has gone missing in the same waters. The search mission takes many wild turns, there are voices, visions, dreams, bones. Complete perfection. I absolutely loved the location and setting and really loved how perfectly imperfect these character were.

I received an ARC. There are many layers to this book between the desperation of men, the paranormal, and mental health, each keeping my stomach clenched and heart broken.

William Day was the first mate on an arctic expedition that got frozen-in. After Bing immobile for over a year with people dying from scurvy they finally lost the captain making William day the new man in charge and Jesse Stevens is first mate. He is insecure and it causes him to make bad decisions before they get rescued he will make the worst decision of all and trying to keep the few men he had left alive. Years later after what the survivors had done became public he was still suffering from the reputation something like that brings when he gets a chance at redemption. It seems Jesse Stevens has gone missing and his wife who fancies herself a psychic would do anything to get him back and this includes sailing the arctic the place he went lost in search of him. Captain day is just as insecure on the second mission as he was on his last and although he has a whole new crew it will be old ghost that seem to also be around that provokes the outcome of this expedition. I truly believe this is the perfect horror arctic expedition stories with a narrative that mounts the tension and great characters to love and to hate this really turned out to be a truly awesome book I totally enjoyed this book and highly recommended to any horror fan it seems like horror books are just with this one being one of the best I want to think atria books and net galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.getting better!

I DNF-ed this at 11%. I was really excited for this title; the premise seemed really intriguing, but it was so slow moving that I couldn't keep my interest in the plot going. I know where Wilkes was trying to go with setting the stage, but it just went too slowly to keep me interesting. I think I needed more details on what happened before to keep my interest as the new voyage was starting.

This book feels like one of a kind. The author clearly did their research on polar expeditions and it shows. I just absolutely loved it. I saw it described somewhere as "polar gothic" and I loved that description for this book. I loved the format, the setting, the time period, the themes of betrayal and cannibalism, good and evil. It was really well-written and I loved the sort of paranormal/ghost haunting element to it. I found myself updating my friends about this book as I reading it; it was just really fun to read!

And I don't know why, but "Eat-Em-Fresh Day" absolutely killed me!! I couldn't stop giggling every time I read that.

My only complaints are:
1) It felt way too long. I had trouble keeping track of characters and the plot at times. Though, in a way, I kinda liked it because I felt like I myself was on the expedition, haha. But on the other hand, it felt like some portions of the book could have been cut for everything to flow a bit better.
2) It was sometimes difficult to know if I was in the past or present moment.

The cover and premise really grabbed me, though this one for me, I had a hard time getting into. If you enjoy historical fiction and horror, give this a try. It just sometimes was a bit choppy. 3/5 stars

William Day, Arctic explorer, returned from his expedition a disgrace. A failed journey in which the ship was lost and the remaining crew survived through cannibalism. Thirteen years later, his second in command, Jesse Stevens, had gone missing in the same waters. A chance for redemption; Day offers to go in search of the man who haunts him still. His crew contains a reporter determined to dig up the truth and Steven’s wife, a spiritual medium, seeking help from the dead. As the journey progresses, history begins to repeat itself forcing Day to face his past.

Where the Dead Wait is the second arctic horror novel by Ally Wilkes in which follows a different crew into the cold Arctic waters and the tragedies that seem to follow its Captain William Day. One of the things I like about these novels is the sense of dread that you feel as you follow the characters to certain doom. The problem with reading a book like this during winter holidays is that the sense of dread follows you into reality and tends makes you feel emotionally drained. You’re reading about freezing cold temps, scurvy, starvation, cannibalism, and despair. A warning to readers: this book is very descriptive in nature so be prepared for the graphic nature of the content. Although the writing is wonderful and the plot is exciting this one felt a little too much like the last novel for me to really love it. It’s fine to have a niche but as a reader I’m not really interested in reading similar material (arctic exploration) in which the same things happen in every novel. Overall the novel was enjoyable but I probably wouldn’t recommend reading this during the holidays unless you have something light and fluffy to read afterwards.

Where the Dead Wait is a historical horror for fans of Dan Simmons’ The Terror or spooky stories set in the polar regions or anywhere icy cold. The one thing that I enjoyed about this book was the writing—it was very beautiful. I loved the contrast of horror (graphic, at times) and gorgeous writing, especially of the Arctic landscape. I highlighted many passages! I also enjoyed reading the spooky bits on the ship, the ending, and the character, Qila. The author’s first book is also a historical Arctic horror—I remember the ending was very scary—I got goosebumps reading it. This book was also dark and creepy, so give it a try! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for allowing me the opportunity to read an early copy.

This book was like poetry. So beautifully written, so visceral. Really gross and horrifying. Wilkes took pieces of men and of horror and of polar exploration and cracked them up, then reassembled them into a very pretty, very scary work of art.

DNF @32%

I think this would make a good movie, but I don't think I would watch it. It was boring and I don't like the characters.

An ambitious, atmospheric, and at times confusing dual time line novel of failed Arctic exploration. William Day, in 1869, finds himself in command of a ship stuck in the ice, its crew bedeviled by scurvy and starving, when he makes the decision to eat one of the dead, a decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. In the 1890s, he's recruited to find Jesse Stevens, who was with him on the earlier voyage, who has now gone missing in the same place. He's forced to take Olive, Stevens' wife and a psychic and it is Olive who brings up old ghosts. This is the Arctic at its most miserable- cold, snowy, wet, barren. It's also an Arctic which zooms around in Day's mind until he's talking to dead men more than to live ones. The story moves back and forth in time, a lot to tell a tale of desperate men. It's been described as Gothic but in many ways it's more horror. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An interesting read.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

This is the perfect book for fall slipping into winter. Captain Day is a haunted man. He’s haunted by his past, by his tortured love for a man he admired, by his reputation, and perhaps by something even darker. One of the few survivors of a failed expedition to find the Northwest Passage through the Arctic, he found himself unwillingly in command and responsible for the lives of the crew. Some were sacrificed so that the others had more of a chance at survival. But someone had to bear the guilt of those choices, and that someone is Day. Once again he is sailing north, distrusted by all around him, to find a man he both loves and fears…and maybe, finally put to rest the ghosts that haunt him, or die trying. Again and again he questions what makes a man good or moral? Especially in an impossible situation. If you loved the Terror, you’ve found your next favorite. Be warned: this is dark and disturbing, but one of the best of the year.

Very unusual and gripping tale of a ‘rescue’ mission to find possible Arctic survivors has plenty of suspense, character development, and unique perspective. Very involving and hard to put down.

I was only a third of the way in when this book disappeared from my Netgalley shelf even though it's not supposed to be archived until December so I can't give a true review. But from what I read it was a bit slow but I was still intrigued. I am just sad that I didn't get to the part about the spirit medium because I was excited to see what that part would entail. Oh well, what can ya do?

I really do enjoy the way that Ally Wilkes writes her historical horror novels. She has such a way with words and descriptions, really evoking a time and place and building up suspense while crafting uniquely flowing (and sometimes grotesque in a good way) paragraphs and sentences. I also liked the themes of identity, spiritualism and seances, and the horrors of past traumas spilling over into the present. But I do think that WHERE THE DEAD WAIT is almost a little too similar to her previous novel ALL THE WHITE SPACES, with similar settings, similar conflicts, and similar themes and extrapolations. It made for a somewhat repetitive read in some ways, and while Wilkes has every right to write whatever she wants to write, I do think that it felt, in some ways, the more of the same.

I will probably read more by Ally Wilkes in the future, but I hope that horizons are more expanded as more stories come out.