“The Unknown”
By Riley Sager
@riley.sager
Bestselling author Riley Sager’s milestone 10th novel published in 10 years couldn’t have arrived at a better time. This paranormal thriller is tailor-made for spooky season, complete with cold cases, conjured spirits and missing Hollywood starlets.
In 1926, five women mysteriously vanished from New Avalon, an isolated Vermont island home to a commune of spiritual mediums. According to local legend, a séance gone wrong summoned something supernatural, causing the women to disappear one by one. The only trace left behind was five dresses hanging from an old oak tree — one for each missing woman.
Nearly a century later, struggling actress Marin Keane is surprised to land a role in a movie about the unsolved case, starring alongside legendary Violet Wright. She’s even more surprised when the eccentric director announces he’s taking the cast back to the remote island for an ambitious week of method-acting training. Quickly after arriving, Keane and her castmates start to sense that something is still not quite right on New Avalon.
Keane plays off the strange noises coming from her cabin and mysterious symbols carved in the woods as an elaborate production prank. But when a sudden change of plans leaves the actors stranded, things take a more sinister turn. One by one, the five women begin to disappear, eerily mirroring the events that made the island infamous nearly a century ago.
Sager is known for the kind of plot twists you won’t see coming, and “The Unknown” is no exception. When Keane uncovers a diary belonging to one of the original women, the past and present begin to braid together. One question hangs over New Avalon: Is history repeating itself?
Light up, light a few candles and get reading.
If you enjoyed this read and want to continue the spooky theme, we suggest picking another one of Sager’s 10 thrillers off of the shelf. “Final Girls,” “The House Across the Lake” and “Lock Every Door” are a few of our favorite selections!
