Typically I tend to read books by Riley Sager pre-release for review purposes, as why would you not, but recently I have been hit or miss with Sager books over the years, so I waited on The Unknown. That was stupid. The Only One Left is one of my favorite books in recent memory and I believe Riley returns to form, at least what I want to read, with his latest novel.
Struggling actress Marin Keane is shocked when she lands a role in a major motion picture about the unsolved mystery of New Avalon, an island on sprawling Lake Faraday in Vermont. She’s even more surprised when she learns that the role requires a weeklong research trip to that very spot.
Because New Avalon isn’t your ordinary island. A century ago, it was a commune for spiritual mediums—until they all vanished in 1926. The only trace of them was five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree in the middle of the island, one for each missing woman. Some locals say they simply left. Others think they were murdered. But the prevailing opinion, thanks to a diary left behind by one of the vanished, a young woman named Daisy Rue, is that a séance gone wrong conjured something supernatural that took them all one by one.
Not long after arriving, Marin and her castmates, including legendary actress Violet Wright and white-hot director Ronan Peters, begin to realize all is not right with New Avalon. They hear strange noises in the night and notice mysterious symbols left behind by the island’s previous occupants. And after a sudden health emergency leaves Marin, Ronan, and the other actors stranded on the island, the disappearances begin again.
Is it the work of someone trying to derail the movie? Or is the island’s alleged supernatural past catching up with the present? As fear and suspicion mount, Marin turns to Daisy’s diary, hoping it holds the key to figuring out what really happened to the women of New Avalon—and how to keep the island’s terrible history from repeating itself.
I have read my fair share of books based around making movies, it’s not a brand new concept, but what Sager does with The Unknown is something special. It’s fresh and unique in a sub-genre that has been played over and over. The author not only tackles the production of a horror film, but also deals with some of the horrors the surround the world of making movies and what disgusting things can go on behind the scenes. The author takes a known concept and crafts a story with more meaning than just cheap thrills. A story that feels timely and poignant.
In The Unknown, Sager weaves together two timelines, which sometimes can be hard to follow but not in this case, to slowly build the story until it hits the accelerator about halfway thought the book. The sense of unease is as thick as the fog on the water surrounding this mysterious island. Horror stories taking place on a remote island always have their own sense of frights, but when this island itself has a mysterious past it just adds to the fear factor.
I think I have whiplash from the incredible twists and turns that take place in The Unknown. I wasn’t able to figure the first mystery, which lead into another, and just when you thought it was straight to the end, another. Typically, that might be a bit much for me, but I was left with my jaw on the floor with this one. The story was not what I expected, in such a good way. There are twists, horrors, and even some heartfelt and timely moments that made this story so much more than just a thriller for thrilling sake.
The Unknown is a twist-filled atmospheric novel that surprised me. Riley Sager takes a well-trodden horror concept of making a film and crafts a story that is something truly unique. I didn’t fully know what to expect when opening The Unknown, but what I got was something I will not forget anytime soon.
The Unknown is available at bookstores everywhere from Dutton Books. The audiobook, narrated by Maggie Grace, Patricia Santomasso & Erin Lin, is available via Libro.fm!
