Nicola Laughton always believed she’d die first. Being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a child, Nicola realized her beloved husband Anton would outlive her, but all that changes on a snowy night with a slick road and a truck traveling too fast in I’LL BE WAITING by Kelley Armstrong.

Nicola is devastated by Anton’s death. She held him in her arms while someone filmed his dying words to her: “I’ll be waiting." Now seven months later, Nicola struggles to move on, seeking solace from mediums who promise to connect her to Anton. She knows they are all fakes, but she presses on until her family and friends offer to have one final séance with a reputable parapsychology professor. They decide to hold the séance at a rambling house on Lake Erie that Anton’s family once owned. Upon arrival, strange occurrences start happening, including noises in the basement, a creaking dumbwaiter, large fly swarms, and a missing neighbor. As the seances begin, Nicola is pulled back to a time in her childhood, where a séance with her friends ended in bloodshed and horror. Back then, she had a different name, and some entity in the house knew it. Has she summoned her dead husband, or has she summoned someone from her bloody past with a grudge to settle?

I’LL BE WAITING is a chilling paranormal thriller set at an isolated lake house with invited and uninvited guests. From the swarming midges to a missing neighbor, there is an ominous feeling to the setting where Nicola tries to summon her dead husband. A lot happens in this novel, and the author does a masterful job of weaving Nicola’s terrifying past into her present situation. As the story unfolds, more questions arise, and readers will start to doubt everything. Is Nicola a reliable narrator? Was her husband involved in her tragic past? And who is haunting the house if not Anton? There are revelations that propel the story in new directions, and the ending is brutal and satisfying. Filled with ghosts, grief, seances, brutal slayings, and a tough protagonist, I’LL BE WAITING is reminiscent of a horror movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat, rooting for the final girl, and waiting for the next twist.