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A century ago they vanished. Now it is happening again
In 1926, five women disappeared from New Avalon, a remote island on Lake Faraday in Vermont. They were spiritual mediums living in a commune, and the only trace they left behind was five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree, one for each missing woman. Some said they left. Some said they were murdered. Most believed a séance gone wrong summoned something that took them one by one.
A hundred years later, struggling actress Marin Keane lands a role in a major motion picture about the unsolved mystery. The catch: the role requires a weeklong research trip to the island itself, with no phones, no devices, no electricity, just like 1926. On the boat with her are her idol, legendary actress Violet Wright, and the white-hot director Ronan Peters, along with the rest of the cast, all of them ready to immerse themselves in the island's haunted history.
Not long after arriving, they realize all is not right with New Avalon. Strange noises in the night. Mysterious symbols left behind by the island's previous occupants. And when a sudden health emergency strands them on the island, the disappearances begin again. Marin turns to the diary of Daisy Rue, one of the vanished women, hoping it holds the key to what really happened, and to keeping the island's terrible history from repeating itself.
I have been a Riley Sager fan since Final Girls, and The Unknown is exactly the kind of story he does best: a locked-room mystery with a supernatural edge, wrapped in an atmosphere so thick you can almost feel the island's fog. The premise hooked me immediately, five women vanished in 1926, five dresses on an oak tree, and a modern film crew walking into the same trap. I started it one evening and did not stop until I had the answers, or thought I did.
What impressed me most is the pacing. Sager lets the dread build slowly, quietly, in the spaces between scenes, until you realize you have been holding your breath for chapters. Marin is a compelling anchor, an actress who knows what it is to disappear into a role, which makes her unease feel earned. The cast around her, particularly the intimidating Violet Wright and the magnetic Ronan Peters, keeps the dynamics tense, and the diary of Daisy Rue adds a second timeline that deepens the mystery without ever slowing the present one.
I will admit the supernatural elements had me questioning what was real right alongside Marin, which is exactly the effect the author is going for. The twists landed hard, and I did not guess the ending, which is rare for me in this genre. Fans of With a Vengeance or Lock Every Door will feel right at home here, and newcomers can jump in without having read anything else.
It is not perfect. One particular turn in the middle felt like it could have been trimmed, and a couple of the secondary characters never quite get enough depth to matter. But the atmosphere, the chills, and that finale more than make up for it. The audiobook adds another layer, with Sager himself among the narrators, which felt like a fitting touch for a story about a movie being made. If you want a thriller that will make you check the shadows before bed, this is it.
Dive into The Unknown by Riley Sager, the supernatural thriller where a cursed island in Vermont repeats the disappearances of 1926 on a modern movie set.
With the free trial, you can discover this audiobook without commitment. The 11 hours and 33 minutes of this story are brought to life by a full cast including Riley Sager himself, Maggie Grace, Patricia Santomasso and Erin Lin.
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