Newlyweds Nicola and Anton know that death is always lurking nearby. Her cystitis fibrosis is already overdue to kill her. However, neither expect the auto accident that kills Anton first. His final words to her, “I’ll Be Waiting for you”.
Nicola misses Anton desperately and goes to medium after medium trying to speak to him again. However, all the seances are easily determined by Nicola to be fake. Her family tries to help by finding a legitimate parapsychology professor to conduct one last weekend of seances. If Anton doesn’t appear, Nicola agrees to stop wasting her money on frauds.
The weekend is held at a rural house where Anton’s relatives once lived. In addition to the parapsychologist, Nicola brings a young friend and her brother’s husband to act as skeptical observers. Nicola soon hears Anton’s voice. But other disturbing actions seem malevolent. Has calling for Anton brought forth other entities too? Why is Nicola having nightmares about an earlier traumatic experience revolving around a seance?
I’ll Be Waiting begins as a mystery, quickly evolves into two mysteries, and then becomes a horror novel all in 336 pages. The mysteries are intriguing. What did Anton mean by his penultimate words of apology? What happened in high school to Nicola that led to a quick family move and a name change? Are ghosts real? Can a seance contact them? What else can seances summon?
Now that I’ve finished this book, I can see why it has such mixed reviews. Fans of mysteries will not want to suspend reality enough to enjoy the melodramatic conclusion. Horror fans will feel the mysteries drag the pacing down to a crawl. Readers will really have to like both genres equally to enjoy I’ll Be Waiting. Luckily, I fit within that small box so I loved it! I hope you will too. 5 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced review copy.