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The Unknown
In 1926, five women disappeared from a remote island in Vermont. Now, one hundred years later, it’s happening again.
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.
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.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 4, 2026
About the author
Riley Sager
22 books62.9k followersRiley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, most recently WITH A VENGEANCE and MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. His books have been published in more than 40 countries and have sold over 5 million copies worldwide. His latest novel, THE UNKNOWN, will be published in August.
A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is "Rear Window." Or maybe "Jaws." But probably, if he's being honest, "Mary Poppins."
A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is "Rear Window." Or maybe "Jaws." But probably, if he's being honest, "Mary Poppins."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,980 reviews
August 11, 2026
This is Riley Sager at his very best!
The Unknown is perfectly spooky, "makes your skin crawl" creepy, and has you questioning what you know to be real v. what you're scared *could maybe* be real the entire time 👻 I absolutely loved the dueling timelines (with the specific time periods we see in this book) and the perfectly creepy setting that Sager conjures up in The Unknown, as he typically does.
This is THE BOOK rec if you're looking for a spooky, witchy, supernatural read this fall!
The Unknown is perfectly spooky, "makes your skin crawl" creepy, and has you questioning what you know to be real v. what you're scared *could maybe* be real the entire time 👻 I absolutely loved the dueling timelines (with the specific time periods we see in this book) and the perfectly creepy setting that Sager conjures up in The Unknown, as he typically does.
This is THE BOOK rec if you're looking for a spooky, witchy, supernatural read this fall!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
➳ 4.5/5 stars
The Unknown by Riley Sager was genuinely one of my most anticipated reads of this year. I’m not exaggerating when I say I almost screamed when I received the e-ARC. I truly did not expect it at all, and that’s what made it so special. One moment I was just going about my day, and the next I was sitting there in complete disbelief, smiling like an idiot. Cloud nine doesn’t even begin to cover it. Getting this ARC felt surreal, and I was incredibly grateful, especially because this book had already been living rent-free in my head long before I even opened the first page.
Going in, I knew I would love it. I just had that feeling. And thankfully, I was right. This book wasn’t just good, it was marvelous. Everything worked. The storyline, the atmosphere, the setting, the characters each piece fit together so perfectly that I was completely locked in. It was sharp, eerie, and so well paced that I kept thinking, how is this getting better with every chapter? And let me say this: my brain is pretty desensitized at this point. Not a lot rattles me anymore. But this book? It gave me chills. Actual chills. I caught myself looking around my room, half-expecting something to be lurking in the shadows.
I didn’t expect anything less from Riley Sager, honestly.. He’s an author I trust, someone whose work I’ve loved consistently, so my expectations were high, and somehow, he still exceeded them. The tension, the unease, that creeping sense of dread… it all landed exactly where it should have. This book didn’t just deliver; it overdelivered. And I’m so glad it did.
➳ ABOUT THE BOOK
Riley Sager’s novel revolves around a film being made by a director named Ronan Peters . His idea is unsettling from the very start. He gathers five women to act in his movie and takes them to an isolated island called New Avalon not exactly to shoot, but more like to rehearse and immerse themselves in the story. The catch is that New Avalon already has a dark past. Decades ago, five women disappeared there overnight. Just vanished. No bodies, no clues, nothing. One of them, Ruth Semple, even owned the island, which only made the mystery deeper and more disturbing.
Because there were no answers, people created their own. Rumors spread that these women were witches, that they practiced seances, tried to contact spirits, and accidentally summoned something evil. The island slowly gained a paranormal reputation, and the story became more legend than fact. Years later, Ronan Peters decides to turn this chilling mystery into a movie, and that’s where things start getting really unsettling.
As the story progresses, the creepy factor doesn’t just build, it creeps. Slowly. Quietly. Until you’re sitting there questioning everything. I genuinely reached a point where I wondered if what was happening was actually real.
The plot twists? Completely unpredictable.
And I don’t say that lightly. I didn’t guess a single one. Not even close. I was shocked again and again, right up until the very last page. I was hooked from page one, and honestly, I finished the book in two or three days because I physically could not put it down. Every chapter ended with that feeling of okay, just one more, and suddenly hours had passed.
What made it even more haunting was how history began to repeat itself. The women involved in the film started experiencing the same things the women from past had experienced, seeing the same visions, feeling the same presence, reliving the same fear. It felt like déjà vu wrapped in dread, as if the island itself was pulling them into the past. New Avalon felt alive, paranormal, and deeply unsettling, as though the spirits of what happened before were still watching, still waiting.
I truly loved almost every aspect of this book. The atmosphere, the tension, the slow unraveling of the truth, it all worked so well. That said, there was one particular turn the story took that I didn’t fully love. It wasn’t bad, and I understand why it was there, it helped move the story forward, but I personally felt the book could have done without it. That single moment is the only reason I didn’t give it a full five glorious stars. Still, I’m not really complaining. The overall experience was intense, gripping, and unforgettable. This book had me chilled, intrigued, and completely consumed, and honestly, that’s exactly what I wanted.
➳ FINAL THOUGHTS
That being said, I’ve always been a fan, actually, a big fan of Riley Sager’s work, and this book just solidified that love for me. I know I might sound a little biased, but honestly, I don’t even care. I’ll let you be the judge. What I do know is that I genuinely want people to read this book. Like, really read it. For me, it felt like an absolute piece of art, and I loved every single second I spent with it.
This is one of those books that completely pulls you in and refuses to let go. It immerses you so deeply that your mind stays stuck in the story even after you close the book. And I’m not exaggerating when I say it occupied my thoughts for days. I was obsessed. Genuinely obsessed. Capital letters, no shame O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D. I was in love with this book.
Every character felt layered and intentional. Each one had their own story, their own creep factor, their own flaws, and somehow, Riley Sager wrote them all perfectly. His writing has always felt less like reading and more like someone sitting across from you, telling you a story. It’s flowy, easy to read, and incredibly immersive. It never felt like I was reading a book. It felt like I was inside it, living alongside the characters, seeing everything unfold in real time.
Maybe it was the writing, maybe it was my mood, or maybe I really am biased, but this book felt real. It was exactly what I needed at the right moment. And yes, I loved almost every single aspect of it. I’m really not complaining. There was one particular turn, one twist, that I didn’t enjoy as much because it wasn’t what I expected, but even then, it didn’t ruin the experience for me. Especially because there were so many other plot twists that completely caught me off guard.
And that final twist near the very end WOWW. I won’t spoil anything, don’t worry, this review is entirely spoiler-free. But that moment genuinely blew my mind. I just sat there, staring into space, trying to process what had just happened.
⚘ "Overall, if you’re looking for a book that will hook you, consume you, and stay with you long after you’ve finished it, this is the one. If you want something that will completely mess with your mind, in the best way possible, this book is an absolute, undeniable catch." 💌
— Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
౨ৎ pre-read:
⤿ started - 26 January , 2026
ahhh, did I just get the ARC for my most anticipated read of the year??? YES OMGGGGG I’m crying 🤧🤧
The Unknown by Riley Sager was genuinely one of my most anticipated reads of this year. I’m not exaggerating when I say I almost screamed when I received the e-ARC. I truly did not expect it at all, and that’s what made it so special. One moment I was just going about my day, and the next I was sitting there in complete disbelief, smiling like an idiot. Cloud nine doesn’t even begin to cover it. Getting this ARC felt surreal, and I was incredibly grateful, especially because this book had already been living rent-free in my head long before I even opened the first page.
Going in, I knew I would love it. I just had that feeling. And thankfully, I was right. This book wasn’t just good, it was marvelous. Everything worked. The storyline, the atmosphere, the setting, the characters each piece fit together so perfectly that I was completely locked in. It was sharp, eerie, and so well paced that I kept thinking, how is this getting better with every chapter? And let me say this: my brain is pretty desensitized at this point. Not a lot rattles me anymore. But this book? It gave me chills. Actual chills. I caught myself looking around my room, half-expecting something to be lurking in the shadows.
I didn’t expect anything less from Riley Sager, honestly.. He’s an author I trust, someone whose work I’ve loved consistently, so my expectations were high, and somehow, he still exceeded them. The tension, the unease, that creeping sense of dread… it all landed exactly where it should have. This book didn’t just deliver; it overdelivered. And I’m so glad it did.
➳ ABOUT THE BOOK
Riley Sager’s novel revolves around a film being made by a director named Ronan Peters . His idea is unsettling from the very start. He gathers five women to act in his movie and takes them to an isolated island called New Avalon not exactly to shoot, but more like to rehearse and immerse themselves in the story. The catch is that New Avalon already has a dark past. Decades ago, five women disappeared there overnight. Just vanished. No bodies, no clues, nothing. One of them, Ruth Semple, even owned the island, which only made the mystery deeper and more disturbing.
Because there were no answers, people created their own. Rumors spread that these women were witches, that they practiced seances, tried to contact spirits, and accidentally summoned something evil. The island slowly gained a paranormal reputation, and the story became more legend than fact. Years later, Ronan Peters decides to turn this chilling mystery into a movie, and that’s where things start getting really unsettling.
As the story progresses, the creepy factor doesn’t just build, it creeps. Slowly. Quietly. Until you’re sitting there questioning everything. I genuinely reached a point where I wondered if what was happening was actually real.
The plot twists? Completely unpredictable.
And I don’t say that lightly. I didn’t guess a single one. Not even close. I was shocked again and again, right up until the very last page. I was hooked from page one, and honestly, I finished the book in two or three days because I physically could not put it down. Every chapter ended with that feeling of okay, just one more, and suddenly hours had passed.
What made it even more haunting was how history began to repeat itself. The women involved in the film started experiencing the same things the women from past had experienced, seeing the same visions, feeling the same presence, reliving the same fear. It felt like déjà vu wrapped in dread, as if the island itself was pulling them into the past. New Avalon felt alive, paranormal, and deeply unsettling, as though the spirits of what happened before were still watching, still waiting.
I truly loved almost every aspect of this book. The atmosphere, the tension, the slow unraveling of the truth, it all worked so well. That said, there was one particular turn the story took that I didn’t fully love. It wasn’t bad, and I understand why it was there, it helped move the story forward, but I personally felt the book could have done without it. That single moment is the only reason I didn’t give it a full five glorious stars. Still, I’m not really complaining. The overall experience was intense, gripping, and unforgettable. This book had me chilled, intrigued, and completely consumed, and honestly, that’s exactly what I wanted.
➳ FINAL THOUGHTS
That being said, I’ve always been a fan, actually, a big fan of Riley Sager’s work, and this book just solidified that love for me. I know I might sound a little biased, but honestly, I don’t even care. I’ll let you be the judge. What I do know is that I genuinely want people to read this book. Like, really read it. For me, it felt like an absolute piece of art, and I loved every single second I spent with it.
This is one of those books that completely pulls you in and refuses to let go. It immerses you so deeply that your mind stays stuck in the story even after you close the book. And I’m not exaggerating when I say it occupied my thoughts for days. I was obsessed. Genuinely obsessed. Capital letters, no shame O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D. I was in love with this book.
Every character felt layered and intentional. Each one had their own story, their own creep factor, their own flaws, and somehow, Riley Sager wrote them all perfectly. His writing has always felt less like reading and more like someone sitting across from you, telling you a story. It’s flowy, easy to read, and incredibly immersive. It never felt like I was reading a book. It felt like I was inside it, living alongside the characters, seeing everything unfold in real time.
Maybe it was the writing, maybe it was my mood, or maybe I really am biased, but this book felt real. It was exactly what I needed at the right moment. And yes, I loved almost every single aspect of it. I’m really not complaining. There was one particular turn, one twist, that I didn’t enjoy as much because it wasn’t what I expected, but even then, it didn’t ruin the experience for me. Especially because there were so many other plot twists that completely caught me off guard.
And that final twist near the very end WOWW. I won’t spoil anything, don’t worry, this review is entirely spoiler-free. But that moment genuinely blew my mind. I just sat there, staring into space, trying to process what had just happened.
⚘ "Overall, if you’re looking for a book that will hook you, consume you, and stay with you long after you’ve finished it, this is the one. If you want something that will completely mess with your mind, in the best way possible, this book is an absolute, undeniable catch." 💌
— Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
౨ৎ pre-read:
⤿ started - 26 January , 2026
ahhh, did I just get the ARC for my most anticipated read of the year??? YES OMGGGGG I’m crying 🤧🤧
Read
July 12, 2026I’m kind of obsessed with Riley Sager
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
My absolute favorite kind of mystery—locked room, except make it a locked island, drenched in gothic atmosphere, paranoia, and enough supernatural unease to make you question every shadow in the room. And from one of my favorite thriller authors? Even better. This book didn’t just deliver one compelling psychological spiral—it served up two eerily layered, paranormal-laced timelines in a single story, then sat back and let readers absolutely lose their minds trying to piece everything together.
And trust me, I did.
This was the kind of novel that practically demands you become a conspiracy theorist by chapter three. Every new revelation sent me spiraling into increasingly unhinged theories, only for the author to casually dismantle them with twist after twist after twist. By the final third, my brain was no longer functioning normally. It was doing full Exorcist-level acrobatics. Reagan herself would have looked at me and said, “You okay?” My head was spinning, my soul temporarily left my body, and I was metaphorically crawling backward through my house trying to process what had just happened.
In other words: I had a fantastic time.
Before even diving into the plot, I have to applaud how addictive this reading experience was. Fast-paced, sinister, immersive, and dripping with dread, this story wastes absolutely no time pulling you into its chilling premise. While one of the earlier twists didn’t hit quite as hard for me as I hoped, the final cascade of reveals more than made up for it. The conclusion was sharp, satisfying, and deliciously unsettling in exactly the right way.
One small challenge was occasionally keeping track of the mirrored characters across both timelines. With names like Katrina, Jonquil, and Phoebe paralleling Susie, Heather, and Julianne, there were moments where certain personalities felt like eerie reflections of one another—particularly the sharper, more antagonistic female dynamics. At times, it almost felt like one character was being reimagined through another lens, like some sinister alternate-universe casting choice. But rather than feeling accidental, the story ultimately reveals intentionality behind these parallels, which made me appreciate the structural intelligence even more. By the end, I was genuinely in awe of how cleverly it all connected.
Now, onto the premise—because wow.
This plot is spooky. Blanket-fort, lights-on, every-floorboard-creak-is-suspicious spooky.
In 1926, five women vanished from a remote Vermont island called New Avalon, disappearing one by one without explanation. Each time, the missing woman’s clothing was found hanging ominously from an oak tree. No bodies. No answers. Just an enduring mystery soaked in folklore and fear.
Naturally, a century later, a filmmaker decides this is the perfect material for a movie.
Director Ronan Peter becomes obsessed with the haunting case and sets out to create a film based on the disappearances, using the diary of Daisy Rue—potentially the final girl of the original tragedy—as his blueprint. Enter Marina, an unexpected lead actress better known for eczema cream commercials than prestige horror, who is suddenly thrust into a career-defining opportunity when she’s cast alongside major star Violet Wright.
But this isn’t a normal production.
The actresses are isolated on the same island. They wear replicas of the vanished women’s clothing. They live in recreated primitive conditions—cottages, no electricity, no outside communication—all in pursuit of authenticity.
Which, naturally, is a horrifying idea.
As Marina begins receiving cryptic warnings and the eerie similarities between Daisy’s diary and present events become impossible to ignore, fiction and reality begin collapsing into one another. Women start disappearing. Clothes appear on trees. And Marina realizes she may not just be playing the role of the final girl—she may actually be becoming her.
It’s eerie, cinematic, psychologically rich, and absolutely binge-worthy.
Overall, I had an incredible time with this one. A brilliantly executed concept, genuinely creepy atmosphere, layered storytelling, and an ending that rewards your investment. This is exactly the kind of ambitious, unsettling thriller that reminds me why I love this genre so much.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for sharing one of the year’s most anticipated thrillers with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
And trust me, I did.
This was the kind of novel that practically demands you become a conspiracy theorist by chapter three. Every new revelation sent me spiraling into increasingly unhinged theories, only for the author to casually dismantle them with twist after twist after twist. By the final third, my brain was no longer functioning normally. It was doing full Exorcist-level acrobatics. Reagan herself would have looked at me and said, “You okay?” My head was spinning, my soul temporarily left my body, and I was metaphorically crawling backward through my house trying to process what had just happened.
In other words: I had a fantastic time.
Before even diving into the plot, I have to applaud how addictive this reading experience was. Fast-paced, sinister, immersive, and dripping with dread, this story wastes absolutely no time pulling you into its chilling premise. While one of the earlier twists didn’t hit quite as hard for me as I hoped, the final cascade of reveals more than made up for it. The conclusion was sharp, satisfying, and deliciously unsettling in exactly the right way.
One small challenge was occasionally keeping track of the mirrored characters across both timelines. With names like Katrina, Jonquil, and Phoebe paralleling Susie, Heather, and Julianne, there were moments where certain personalities felt like eerie reflections of one another—particularly the sharper, more antagonistic female dynamics. At times, it almost felt like one character was being reimagined through another lens, like some sinister alternate-universe casting choice. But rather than feeling accidental, the story ultimately reveals intentionality behind these parallels, which made me appreciate the structural intelligence even more. By the end, I was genuinely in awe of how cleverly it all connected.
Now, onto the premise—because wow.
This plot is spooky. Blanket-fort, lights-on, every-floorboard-creak-is-suspicious spooky.
In 1926, five women vanished from a remote Vermont island called New Avalon, disappearing one by one without explanation. Each time, the missing woman’s clothing was found hanging ominously from an oak tree. No bodies. No answers. Just an enduring mystery soaked in folklore and fear.
Naturally, a century later, a filmmaker decides this is the perfect material for a movie.
Director Ronan Peter becomes obsessed with the haunting case and sets out to create a film based on the disappearances, using the diary of Daisy Rue—potentially the final girl of the original tragedy—as his blueprint. Enter Marina, an unexpected lead actress better known for eczema cream commercials than prestige horror, who is suddenly thrust into a career-defining opportunity when she’s cast alongside major star Violet Wright.
But this isn’t a normal production.
The actresses are isolated on the same island. They wear replicas of the vanished women’s clothing. They live in recreated primitive conditions—cottages, no electricity, no outside communication—all in pursuit of authenticity.
Which, naturally, is a horrifying idea.
As Marina begins receiving cryptic warnings and the eerie similarities between Daisy’s diary and present events become impossible to ignore, fiction and reality begin collapsing into one another. Women start disappearing. Clothes appear on trees. And Marina realizes she may not just be playing the role of the final girl—she may actually be becoming her.
It’s eerie, cinematic, psychologically rich, and absolutely binge-worthy.
Overall, I had an incredible time with this one. A brilliantly executed concept, genuinely creepy atmosphere, layered storytelling, and an ending that rewards your investment. This is exactly the kind of ambitious, unsettling thriller that reminds me why I love this genre so much.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for sharing one of the year’s most anticipated thrillers with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Read
August 13, 2026DNF -@ 60% NO RATING
Maybe my tastes have changed since Riley Sager burst onto the scene, but I am no longer the right audience for his work.
I pushed through last year’s “With a Vengeance” and wished I hadn’t-I am not making the same mistake twice….
Many readers have loved this, but no book is for every reader.
I am moving on.
Thank You to the Chandler Public Library for the loan of this title.
Maybe my tastes have changed since Riley Sager burst onto the scene, but I am no longer the right audience for his work.
I pushed through last year’s “With a Vengeance” and wished I hadn’t-I am not making the same mistake twice….
Many readers have loved this, but no book is for every reader.
I am moving on.
Thank You to the Chandler Public Library for the loan of this title.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
REVIEW TO COME
July 25, 2026
I read this in April. I needed to update it. So, with that said, just know this is Sager’s BEST YET!
His books are usually a hit or miss for me. I was a little leery going in. But folks, THIS WAS AMAZING!!!
Creepy, isolated island, based on actual events (not really though) ouija boards, ghosts, dread…… and it’s sooooooo freaking good!
The sprayed edges edition looks stunning and will be out September 1st! Add this to your TBR! It’s a MUST READ!
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out 8/26
His books are usually a hit or miss for me. I was a little leery going in. But folks, THIS WAS AMAZING!!!
Creepy, isolated island, based on actual events (not really though) ouija boards, ghosts, dread…… and it’s sooooooo freaking good!
The sprayed edges edition looks stunning and will be out September 1st! Add this to your TBR! It’s a MUST READ!
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out 8/26
August 14, 2026
Happy Publishing Day!!
I'm the odd one out :x
TW/CW: Language, death of parents, drinking, bullying, toxic family relationships, anxiety, grieving, depression, sexual assault, suicide, gaslighting, cheating, love bombing, underage sexual abuse, child abuse, alcoholism
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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.
Release Date: August 4th, 2026
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 384
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Some creepy parts
2. Love the cover
3. Plot up to the sexual assault section
What I Didn't Like:
1. Boring
2. So many dreams
3. Men writing women's trama
4. The ending
5. Cheesy language
6. Using mental health as a plot device
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
Here I am; my [looks up author's books] 10th book from him. I wasn't excited to read this as 9 other books from him have only reached the 3 or 1 star mark for me. Maybe this one is the winner though. *throws up hands*
For some reason this reminds me of All About Eve in the scene where Eve stands outside the theater in hopes of meeting Margo.
This sounds like the cheesiest line ever.
Another broken female character who has no friends or family.
Why would Marin wait until she's on the island before mentioning that she won't do nudity? Is this normal for an actress to say after the fact of being hired?
Love the idea of a bunch of random women going to an island to be alone. I find it odd that no one would say they were gay along with saying they are witches.
Can we slap Marin because she already knows why the directer wants them on the island living the life of the missing women. It's already been explained to her!
Sorry, no. Brad saying they have to put their phones into the bag that has their initials on them is so sus to me. He says "so we can keep track of who each phone belongs to" but if you know what your phone looks like why would you need to know who it belongs to? It's almost like so Brad and everyone else working on this project knows who's phone is who's. Hmmm because you can throw 5 phones in a bag and still have the women know their own phones.
It drives me up the wall that Marin just doesn't question the lady who she replaced. She seems unconcerned about a woman who literally left off saying to not go on the island. I understand there is so much going on but I'm going to sit there and text her back.
Brad says they couldn't change the bag but he'll know it's Marin. Again please why👏🏻does👏🏻Brad👏🏻need👏🏻to👏🏻 know👏🏻who's👏🏻phone👏🏻is👏🏻who's??? You literally could put them in one bag and set them out and they could grab their own phones.
Look at Riley aka Todd putting in the swear words in his books. Stand back two f-bombs on one page. *gasp*
I don't like the assumption the author through Marin saying that directers or people in power only abuse their power when the woman are attractive. Abuse of power has zero to with looks and more about having that power to have anyone you want despite your looks or who you are. This level of thinking is like people saying if you're dressed slutty you're more likely to be sexually assaulted vs someone in sweatpants and a tee shirt. This is a problem with men writing like this from a female perspective - they can never get it.
Mrs. Semple's father's fear of the weapons he made and ghosts sound like the Winchester family and the fear of ghosts also.
Of course Loretta took the bag with the phones in it. This is the plan. I refuse to believe that Brad really was sick they just needed a reason to get off the island. The going home after an injury made me think of The Haunting the scene where Mary gets snapped by the piano string and Todd takes her to the hospital.
Why would Mrs. Semple, a rich woman only own one boat when it's her lifeline off the island and incase a storm destroys it.
Trying to understand why Ronan would drop his phone in the bag when he's not the one who's fully pretending to be one of the women that disappeared. He is the director of a major movie and an important director of other ones it seems weird that he could just be out of service for a week. His claim is that he had no way to charge his phone but weirdly there were solar chargers available so I don't know why he just wouldn't use one to charge his phone also. Just feels like a stupid plot hole that makes no sense. I don't understand how the women didn't question this more or find that odd.
Why??? So this random director takes his shirt off because she has a small scrap that is bleeding. Oh and he has the hot body of Superman. Gag. Now he is carrying her and I just want to throw my Kindle and poke my eyeballs out. First it was handymen and now a hot directer. Is he going to be the killer since 97% the killer is the man our innocent main character falls for.
Middle of the Night is used 10 times in this book and I'm convinced the author is trying to brainwash us into reading that book.
They search the island looking for Susie but no one goes through the house to see if she's there.
Wish it was explained why Marin decided to sleep in her cottage vs going to the main house with more people. She seems like the kind of person to go and she wasn't one of the people protesting to not trust the others, so her staying in her cottage makes zero sense. Also don't they have curtains? Why go to the trouble to put a chair under the door but let someone see through the windows? It just seems to me that whoever wants them is trying to lure them outside to follow them through the woods.
I get that Marin was only 4 when her sister died but what I find odd is that Marin never learned to swim even by the age of 4. So what..the whole family was swimming but Marin had to sit outside of the pool. She never begged to get in or even got curious. They just kept telling her no she wasn't allowed to swim?? Did they think she was too young to learn because if that was the case then that's weird. Was she in floaties til 4? What constitutes not able to swim?
Imagine that you are on an island and everyone is disappearing. You can't get ahold of anyone outside this island. Now would your first thoughts be about having sex with your director or "directing" that attention to getting home safely??? I personally would not even be in the same head space to that idea/feeling. Also what is this weird insta-love infatuation. A few days ago Marin never even thought of him in that way and suddenly everytime she looks at him with googly eyes she's just so overwhelmed with lust.
Oh gross Ronan throwing himself onto Marin would be terrifying being so alone when she clearly told him no. Being so helpless. She can have an interest in him romantically but it doesn't mean he gets to just throw himself on her and sexually assault her. I hope he disappears next.
I still refuse to believe this crew would have one boat only in case of an emergency. What if something happened and they all had to leave the island? Why would they all just wait for the one boat? Or for Pete to come back at the end of 5 days. Also also also like Pete doesn't think it's weird that he hasn't heard from anybody on the island to even have the common sense to come and check on everyone. It's just so hard to not believe that maybe those people are in on it.
Daisy and Miss. Semple do a seance and they're the last two people on the island. If we go back to the beginning when they're talking about the diary it's mentioned that the last five pages were ripped out so wondering what was on them.
Honestly, I am pretty annoyed at the situation that women are behind trying to get revenge on Ronan. It's not actually the revenge part that annoys me it's that a man wrote this book about women seeking revenge against a man taking advantage of a woman when this author used a woman sounding name and hid their gender & photo on books so they could sell more books because they failed under their real name, Todd, at being a successful writer. You can't be the solution if you're also the problem.
What am I reading right now? I feel like I was driving down the road and someone just grabbed the wheel and we are off the road at this point heading towards trees. So the women want Ronan to admit to killing Elise because she overdosed after he filmed them having sex without her consent. Why is this author writing this? I am literally confused on why this particular author chose this subject matter and it's actually giving me the ick.
So did she kill herself because he ruined her career in Hollywood? Or did she kill herself because he violated her? Book sets it up like it's one thing and then a few pages later it makes it sound like it's this other thing. I personally feel like it could be a combination of everything but the tone of the book is implying it's only one thing every page. I don't know.
Please tell me how Susie recording herself trying to persuade Ronan to have sex with her was a way of trapping him? I really don't know how that works. If he can consensually have sex with her on camera and she knowingly set the camera up unless she was going to say that he's the one who set the camera up in her cottage and edit it so that it looked like he recorded it. I'm confused. I guess so then that will also make her a hypocrite because she would be doing the same thing to him that he had done to her friend with no consent?
What do they want him to confess? They literally have the video of him recording the sex act and winking at the camera. So they want him to admit he was recording her without her knowledge? What's that going to do? Men have done worst things in Hollywood and still gotten away with it. It's not like it's going to tarnish his reputation because he recorded a sex video and leaked it.
Oh look at that Marin found the missing pages of Daisy's diary. Daisy killed the other girls on the Island. She also killed her father because he was a drunk and was raping her at night.
Another thing that has been bothering me as I'm reading this book has been daisies journal entries. She's supposed to be a young woman but her entry is reading like she's a 12-year-old writing in it. Maybe even younger. I don't know it just feels like a child writing it. Perhaps it is something to do with her stunted mentally because of the whole issue with her father assaulting her that she's resulted mentally to a child. I don't know but when she Converses with others it doesn't come off that way so why would her journal entry sound so childish?
I'm on page 334 and I will bet apples to oranges the author is going to have a real ghost show up. Or knowing the author the still living 100+ year old Daisy.
Was just hoping it was going to rain for this seance and now it is.
Romin just admitting to the things he's done because Violet is possibly pretending to be possessed after hearing that it's all fake and they did it to get him to confess would not make a normal sane person therefore confess. How convaluted. Even with the ice pick.
I think actually it'll be better he was murdered because he died a good man. You made him a good person in those people's eyes.
Soooo Daisy is actually Azra and she killed Mrs. Stemple. There was no other girls on the island just the two of them. Yeah, why not make Daisy come off like she's "crazy" because that's not something women have had to overcome when dealing with abuse. Using it as a plot device and villainizing mental health.
Daisy only got the extra personalities when she got to the island? Is that normal to gain 3 other personalities in a day? Why did she gain them? Wouldn't she have had them in jail? So she had no other personalities possibly other than Daisy before the island.
Marin putting it together that Violet actually killed Ronan because there is no Daisy. Yeah okay. How would Violet just know you know when you first get there? So ridiculous.
Elise was actually Violet's daughter - a fact that somehow Marin was able to piece together because of a locket. *rolls eyes* She gave her up for adoption since her and some director were cheating with one another and she fell pregnant. She managed to hid a whole pregnancy from her husband and give birth in secret with no one ever noticing any of this. I guess her husband never noticed her behavior change or her not leaving the house.
I don't understand how there wouldn't be a history of Azra being real and not Daisy. There would have been papers written talking about how Azra killed her dad. They wrote these things down in the paper in 1926. Outside the journal there were people back then to say she was really Azra and people of now could see her real name.
Yeah okay the police can't just believe a person's story when there is an accident. They will do an autopsy because he died of suspicious circumstances. His parents sued the production company so there is zero way they wouldn't want an autopsy.
I also find it outlandish that Violet and Loretta would just ride to land with Marin and an SD card proving that Violet murdered Roman and let her keep it to hang over their heads for rest of their lives.
Well at least there wasn't 100 weird twists that made your head spin at the end.
Final Thoughts:
I've said this a thousand times about Riley Sager every time I read his books I feel like he's just taking from other movies and other books that exist.
This book was just okay. Honestly, I was just bored. It's boring. It's slow. Yeah, some creepy things happen but for the most part the same thing happening in the diary is then repeated back to you with a different cast of characters in a different time period. It's repeative. I feel like even though the cast is different they do almost the expect same thing as their group before them.
Overall though I cannot take this book seriously. A man writing about a woman being sexually assaulted and used feels so cliche like he's just reading a book about what women would say and feel. I kept chuckling after every stupid thing he wrote about how women have to apologize to men because that's what they've been doing since the end of time. Yes, Todd tell me more about what women have to do since you know in your basic white man body. Tell me about how hard we have it as women.
I love that the author ends with that women are always treated like they are crazy and not justified - to only turn around and make Daisy just that. Plus also again saying that people with mental health are dangerous and violent. 2 for 1 sale of throwing mental health under the bus and women so delicate they can't handle themselves that they just become hysterical.
Sigh I am tired of the author making these women suffer so much. He writes women as broken and "crazy". It's always the same formula.
I hated this book which sucks because I was actually enjoying it up to the point of sexual assault. Men writing about the woman experience is like a white man writing about what it's like to be Black. No thanks.
The acknowledgements were stupid. The author should have included a note on why he picked this heavy subject to write about. See a woman would have talked about facts and stats of how it's difficult to navigate being a woman but not Todd. He gives us nothing. Just writing a cash grab book about the sexism and sexual abuse women face everyday and dipping out without a single reasoning behind his book subject.
I think it's time to stop writing from a female pov. The author isn't good at it.
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley and Dutton for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I'm the odd one out :x
TW/CW: Language, death of parents, drinking, bullying, toxic family relationships, anxiety, grieving, depression, sexual assault, suicide, gaslighting, cheating, love bombing, underage sexual abuse, child abuse, alcoholism
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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.
Release Date: August 4th, 2026
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 384
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Some creepy parts
2. Love the cover
3. Plot up to the sexual assault section
What I Didn't Like:
1. Boring
2. So many dreams
3. Men writing women's trama
4. The ending
5. Cheesy language
6. Using mental health as a plot device
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
Here I am; my [looks up author's books] 10th book from him. I wasn't excited to read this as 9 other books from him have only reached the 3 or 1 star mark for me. Maybe this one is the winner though. *throws up hands*
Maybe she also harbors dreams of being in the movies. I suspect I looked just like her a few days ago, when I stopped near the stage door of a Broadway theater on my way to work, angling for a glimpse of the blockbuster actress starring in a play I can’t afford to see. On her way into the theater, the actress locked eyes with me, smiled, gave me a little wave.
For some reason this reminds me of All About Eve in the scene where Eve stands outside the theater in hopes of meeting Margo.
“In my opinion, having a vivid imagination is a good thing,” Ronan said. “That’s why we’re holding these auditions at the last minute, as I’m sure you’ve heard. The original actress who was cast suffered from a lack of imagination . And seeing how I’m making a horror movie, which I’m sure you also know, I need someone who has the opposite problem.”
This sounds like the cheesiest line ever.
Another broken female character who has no friends or family.
Why would Marin wait until she's on the island before mentioning that she won't do nudity? Is this normal for an actress to say after the fact of being hired?
Love the idea of a bunch of random women going to an island to be alone. I find it odd that no one would say they were gay along with saying they are witches.
Can we slap Marin because she already knows why the directer wants them on the island living the life of the missing women. It's already been explained to her!
Sorry, no. Brad saying they have to put their phones into the bag that has their initials on them is so sus to me. He says "so we can keep track of who each phone belongs to" but if you know what your phone looks like why would you need to know who it belongs to? It's almost like so Brad and everyone else working on this project knows who's phone is who's. Hmmm because you can throw 5 phones in a bag and still have the women know their own phones.
It drives me up the wall that Marin just doesn't question the lady who she replaced. She seems unconcerned about a woman who literally left off saying to not go on the island. I understand there is so much going on but I'm going to sit there and text her back.
Brad says they couldn't change the bag but he'll know it's Marin. Again please why👏🏻does👏🏻Brad👏🏻need👏🏻to👏🏻 know👏🏻who's👏🏻phone👏🏻is👏🏻who's??? You literally could put them in one bag and set them out and they could grab their own phones.
Look at Riley aka Todd putting in the swear words in his books. Stand back two f-bombs on one page. *gasp*
I don't like the assumption the author through Marin saying that directers or people in power only abuse their power when the woman are attractive. Abuse of power has zero to with looks and more about having that power to have anyone you want despite your looks or who you are. This level of thinking is like people saying if you're dressed slutty you're more likely to be sexually assaulted vs someone in sweatpants and a tee shirt. This is a problem with men writing like this from a female perspective - they can never get it.
Mrs. Semple's father's fear of the weapons he made and ghosts sound like the Winchester family and the fear of ghosts also.
Of course Loretta took the bag with the phones in it. This is the plan. I refuse to believe that Brad really was sick they just needed a reason to get off the island. The going home after an injury made me think of The Haunting the scene where Mary gets snapped by the piano string and Todd takes her to the hospital.
Why would Mrs. Semple, a rich woman only own one boat when it's her lifeline off the island and incase a storm destroys it.
Trying to understand why Ronan would drop his phone in the bag when he's not the one who's fully pretending to be one of the women that disappeared. He is the director of a major movie and an important director of other ones it seems weird that he could just be out of service for a week. His claim is that he had no way to charge his phone but weirdly there were solar chargers available so I don't know why he just wouldn't use one to charge his phone also. Just feels like a stupid plot hole that makes no sense. I don't understand how the women didn't question this more or find that odd.
Why??? So this random director takes his shirt off because she has a small scrap that is bleeding. Oh and he has the hot body of Superman. Gag. Now he is carrying her and I just want to throw my Kindle and poke my eyeballs out. First it was handymen and now a hot directer. Is he going to be the killer since 97% the killer is the man our innocent main character falls for.
Middle of the Night is used 10 times in this book and I'm convinced the author is trying to brainwash us into reading that book.
They search the island looking for Susie but no one goes through the house to see if she's there.
Wish it was explained why Marin decided to sleep in her cottage vs going to the main house with more people. She seems like the kind of person to go and she wasn't one of the people protesting to not trust the others, so her staying in her cottage makes zero sense. Also don't they have curtains? Why go to the trouble to put a chair under the door but let someone see through the windows? It just seems to me that whoever wants them is trying to lure them outside to follow them through the woods.
I get that Marin was only 4 when her sister died but what I find odd is that Marin never learned to swim even by the age of 4. So what..the whole family was swimming but Marin had to sit outside of the pool. She never begged to get in or even got curious. They just kept telling her no she wasn't allowed to swim?? Did they think she was too young to learn because if that was the case then that's weird. Was she in floaties til 4? What constitutes not able to swim?
Imagine that you are on an island and everyone is disappearing. You can't get ahold of anyone outside this island. Now would your first thoughts be about having sex with your director or "directing" that attention to getting home safely??? I personally would not even be in the same head space to that idea/feeling. Also what is this weird insta-love infatuation. A few days ago Marin never even thought of him in that way and suddenly everytime she looks at him with googly eyes she's just so overwhelmed with lust.
Oh gross Ronan throwing himself onto Marin would be terrifying being so alone when she clearly told him no. Being so helpless. She can have an interest in him romantically but it doesn't mean he gets to just throw himself on her and sexually assault her. I hope he disappears next.
I still refuse to believe this crew would have one boat only in case of an emergency. What if something happened and they all had to leave the island? Why would they all just wait for the one boat? Or for Pete to come back at the end of 5 days. Also also also like Pete doesn't think it's weird that he hasn't heard from anybody on the island to even have the common sense to come and check on everyone. It's just so hard to not believe that maybe those people are in on it.
Daisy and Miss. Semple do a seance and they're the last two people on the island. If we go back to the beginning when they're talking about the diary it's mentioned that the last five pages were ripped out so wondering what was on them.
Honestly, I am pretty annoyed at the situation that women are behind trying to get revenge on Ronan. It's not actually the revenge part that annoys me it's that a man wrote this book about women seeking revenge against a man taking advantage of a woman when this author used a woman sounding name and hid their gender & photo on books so they could sell more books because they failed under their real name, Todd, at being a successful writer. You can't be the solution if you're also the problem.
What am I reading right now? I feel like I was driving down the road and someone just grabbed the wheel and we are off the road at this point heading towards trees. So the women want Ronan to admit to killing Elise because she overdosed after he filmed them having sex without her consent. Why is this author writing this? I am literally confused on why this particular author chose this subject matter and it's actually giving me the ick.
So did she kill herself because he ruined her career in Hollywood? Or did she kill herself because he violated her? Book sets it up like it's one thing and then a few pages later it makes it sound like it's this other thing. I personally feel like it could be a combination of everything but the tone of the book is implying it's only one thing every page. I don't know.
Please tell me how Susie recording herself trying to persuade Ronan to have sex with her was a way of trapping him? I really don't know how that works. If he can consensually have sex with her on camera and she knowingly set the camera up unless she was going to say that he's the one who set the camera up in her cottage and edit it so that it looked like he recorded it. I'm confused. I guess so then that will also make her a hypocrite because she would be doing the same thing to him that he had done to her friend with no consent?
What do they want him to confess? They literally have the video of him recording the sex act and winking at the camera. So they want him to admit he was recording her without her knowledge? What's that going to do? Men have done worst things in Hollywood and still gotten away with it. It's not like it's going to tarnish his reputation because he recorded a sex video and leaked it.
Oh look at that Marin found the missing pages of Daisy's diary. Daisy killed the other girls on the Island. She also killed her father because he was a drunk and was raping her at night.
Another thing that has been bothering me as I'm reading this book has been daisies journal entries. She's supposed to be a young woman but her entry is reading like she's a 12-year-old writing in it. Maybe even younger. I don't know it just feels like a child writing it. Perhaps it is something to do with her stunted mentally because of the whole issue with her father assaulting her that she's resulted mentally to a child. I don't know but when she Converses with others it doesn't come off that way so why would her journal entry sound so childish?
I'm on page 334 and I will bet apples to oranges the author is going to have a real ghost show up. Or knowing the author the still living 100+ year old Daisy.
Was just hoping it was going to rain for this seance and now it is.
Romin just admitting to the things he's done because Violet is possibly pretending to be possessed after hearing that it's all fake and they did it to get him to confess would not make a normal sane person therefore confess. How convaluted. Even with the ice pick.
It won’t bring Elise back. It won’t lessen the pain Ronan caused her when she was alive. All it will do is create even more pain. For Ronan’s family. For his fans. For his friends and colleagues.
I think actually it'll be better he was murdered because he died a good man. You made him a good person in those people's eyes.
Soooo Daisy is actually Azra and she killed Mrs. Stemple. There was no other girls on the island just the two of them. Yeah, why not make Daisy come off like she's "crazy" because that's not something women have had to overcome when dealing with abuse. Using it as a plot device and villainizing mental health.
Daisy only got the extra personalities when she got to the island? Is that normal to gain 3 other personalities in a day? Why did she gain them? Wouldn't she have had them in jail? So she had no other personalities possibly other than Daisy before the island.
Marin putting it together that Violet actually killed Ronan because there is no Daisy. Yeah okay. How would Violet just know you know when you first get there? So ridiculous.
Elise was actually Violet's daughter - a fact that somehow Marin was able to piece together because of a locket. *rolls eyes* She gave her up for adoption since her and some director were cheating with one another and she fell pregnant. She managed to hid a whole pregnancy from her husband and give birth in secret with no one ever noticing any of this. I guess her husband never noticed her behavior change or her not leaving the house.
I don't understand how there wouldn't be a history of Azra being real and not Daisy. There would have been papers written talking about how Azra killed her dad. They wrote these things down in the paper in 1926. Outside the journal there were people back then to say she was really Azra and people of now could see her real name.
Yeah okay the police can't just believe a person's story when there is an accident. They will do an autopsy because he died of suspicious circumstances. His parents sued the production company so there is zero way they wouldn't want an autopsy.
I also find it outlandish that Violet and Loretta would just ride to land with Marin and an SD card proving that Violet murdered Roman and let her keep it to hang over their heads for rest of their lives.
Well at least there wasn't 100 weird twists that made your head spin at the end.
Final Thoughts:
I've said this a thousand times about Riley Sager every time I read his books I feel like he's just taking from other movies and other books that exist.
This book was just okay. Honestly, I was just bored. It's boring. It's slow. Yeah, some creepy things happen but for the most part the same thing happening in the diary is then repeated back to you with a different cast of characters in a different time period. It's repeative. I feel like even though the cast is different they do almost the expect same thing as their group before them.
Overall though I cannot take this book seriously. A man writing about a woman being sexually assaulted and used feels so cliche like he's just reading a book about what women would say and feel. I kept chuckling after every stupid thing he wrote about how women have to apologize to men because that's what they've been doing since the end of time. Yes, Todd tell me more about what women have to do since you know in your basic white man body. Tell me about how hard we have it as women.
I love that the author ends with that women are always treated like they are crazy and not justified - to only turn around and make Daisy just that. Plus also again saying that people with mental health are dangerous and violent. 2 for 1 sale of throwing mental health under the bus and women so delicate they can't handle themselves that they just become hysterical.
Sigh I am tired of the author making these women suffer so much. He writes women as broken and "crazy". It's always the same formula.
I hated this book which sucks because I was actually enjoying it up to the point of sexual assault. Men writing about the woman experience is like a white man writing about what it's like to be Black. No thanks.
The acknowledgements were stupid. The author should have included a note on why he picked this heavy subject to write about. See a woman would have talked about facts and stats of how it's difficult to navigate being a woman but not Todd. He gives us nothing. Just writing a cash grab book about the sexism and sexual abuse women face everyday and dipping out without a single reasoning behind his book subject.
I think it's time to stop writing from a female pov. The author isn't good at it.
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley and Dutton for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4-4.25! I think this might be Riley’s best yet.
FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW
An island on Lake Faraday in Vermont, women have been disappearing. It used to be a commune for spiritual mediums back in 1920s until they all vanished, leaving only 5 dresses hanging from branches of an old oak tree. A diary left behind by one of the women revels that a séance gone wrong had conjured something supernatural that took all the women. When a struggling actress lands a role in an upcoming major motion picture that would take place on that island, she uses that dairy to figure out what has really happened.
This is one of my most anticipated books of 2026 and it did not disappoint.
This is featured on BOTM for August as an add-on. Grab your first copy for $5 using this link: https://www.mybotm.com/bgnrjn6qk0o
Easy to sign up & cancel any time! BOTM is my favorite subscription and you can get some books before their release dates.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Dutton Publisher and the author, Riley Sager for an early copy.
Publication date: August 4, 2026
FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW
An island on Lake Faraday in Vermont, women have been disappearing. It used to be a commune for spiritual mediums back in 1920s until they all vanished, leaving only 5 dresses hanging from branches of an old oak tree. A diary left behind by one of the women revels that a séance gone wrong had conjured something supernatural that took all the women. When a struggling actress lands a role in an upcoming major motion picture that would take place on that island, she uses that dairy to figure out what has really happened.
This is one of my most anticipated books of 2026 and it did not disappoint.
This is featured on BOTM for August as an add-on. Grab your first copy for $5 using this link: https://www.mybotm.com/bgnrjn6qk0o
Easy to sign up & cancel any time! BOTM is my favorite subscription and you can get some books before their release dates.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Dutton Publisher and the author, Riley Sager for an early copy.
Publication date: August 4, 2026
August 5, 2026
Making a film on a haunted island, New Avalon, sounds pretty entertaining and I was entertained! The creepfest is great, not heart pounding terrifying but definitely creepy. For a moment towards the end I thought I was going to be dissapointed, but Riley did me good!
August 6, 2026
In preparation for filming a movie based upon the disappearances of people (similar to Roanoke) on a small Vermont island, the Director decides to do some method acting on said island. Not long after arriving, a similar series of events begins to plague the cast. The past timeline is filled in by one of the previous inhabitants diary.
I found between the past timeline and original timeline there was a bit of repetition. There didn’t seem to be anything driving the plot forward, besides replicating the events of the past. I unfortunately found myself to be a bit bored. Things do pick up and once the reveals are made, it gets back on track from a pacing perspective. The atmosphere and supernatural elements give it a nice spooky undertone, but how it was used I’m still undecided upon. It didn’t necessarily work for me, and then the final twist was just, OK? There were two reveals both would’ve been fine on their own, but together didn’t work for me.
Overall, this definitely was good but I can’t say necessarily that I enjoyed it, being that I was bored for a good 75% of it. I would rate the last quarter four stars and the rest three stars…..
3.5 rounded down
I found between the past timeline and original timeline there was a bit of repetition. There didn’t seem to be anything driving the plot forward, besides replicating the events of the past. I unfortunately found myself to be a bit bored. Things do pick up and once the reveals are made, it gets back on track from a pacing perspective. The atmosphere and supernatural elements give it a nice spooky undertone, but how it was used I’m still undecided upon. It didn’t necessarily work for me, and then the final twist was just, OK? There were two reveals both would’ve been fine on their own, but together didn’t work for me.
Overall, this definitely was good but I can’t say necessarily that I enjoyed it, being that I was bored for a good 75% of it. I would rate the last quarter four stars and the rest three stars…..
3.5 rounded down
Read
August 8, 2026add this to your fall TBR!!! review to come.
┊pre-read┊started august 4th
so excited for my first Riley Sager novel! i've been craving something spooky and hope this hits the spot. 🖤
i may have to finally read The Only One Left if i enjoy this.
starting this one with my fable book club
┊pre-read┊started august 4th
so excited for my first Riley Sager novel! i've been craving something spooky and hope this hits the spot. 🖤
i may have to finally read The Only One Left if i enjoy this.
starting this one with my fable book club
August 22, 2026
——✮∙˙ 4.85 stars ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
╰► 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!
✧ genre: thriller ⋆ horror ⋆ mystery
✧ setting: new avalon
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
⋮ ✦┆ i’m always so intrigued by books centered around “years later” or “centuries later” so i could honestly cry due to the fact that one of my most anticipated releases of this year didn’t disappoint!
when i saw one of my friends reading it i was like “oh my gosh it’s out already?” so, 10 minutes later, me and my mom went to barnes & noble and got our own copy :)
this was my third riley sager book, and i’m genuinely so fascinated by his ability to create such amazing thrillers. there were many times in this book where i was seriously scared and had to turn the light on 😭
something that really intrigued me about this book was the plot. the synopsis made it sound so amazing—and amazing it was. honestly, i was in love with the whole concept of it! the haunting vibes were all there for me and i just had such a great time 🤗
from the very start of the book i was already hooked. it was interesting to see how marin got the part in the movie and how things developed after that.
the eerie vibes they all felt from that island, i also felt (mostly because i was listening to creepy music 🤫) but seriously, the first half of the book seriously had me wondering what the fuck was going on and the second half had me mind blown.
a certain part of the plot was pretty easy to guess, but after that, it’s twist after fucking twist and my jaw was literally on the floor. completely unpredictable.
⋮ ✦┆definitely definitely recommend! it’s the perfect book for when spooky season rolls around and you should for sure add it to your tbr!!
── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──
ᝰ.ᐟ🕯️ ⌗ pre read┆started august 11 | finished august 15 ˎˊ˗
ONE OF MY MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASES OF THIS YEAR!!! after reading the only one left earlier this year and loving it i just wanted to read more riley sager 😝 i requested this on netgalley and got declined for it, so i waited very very impatiently 😭
this is another buddy with my mom because we’ve both been waiting for this one 🤗
╰► 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!
✧ genre: thriller ⋆ horror ⋆ mystery
✧ setting: new avalon
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ ii. my thoughts ⋆｡°💭
⋮ ✦┆ i’m always so intrigued by books centered around “years later” or “centuries later” so i could honestly cry due to the fact that one of my most anticipated releases of this year didn’t disappoint!
when i saw one of my friends reading it i was like “oh my gosh it’s out already?” so, 10 minutes later, me and my mom went to barnes & noble and got our own copy :)
this was my third riley sager book, and i’m genuinely so fascinated by his ability to create such amazing thrillers. there were many times in this book where i was seriously scared and had to turn the light on 😭
something that really intrigued me about this book was the plot. the synopsis made it sound so amazing—and amazing it was. honestly, i was in love with the whole concept of it! the haunting vibes were all there for me and i just had such a great time 🤗
❝ . .❞
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ iii. plot ⋆｡°🎬
from the very start of the book i was already hooked. it was interesting to see how marin got the part in the movie and how things developed after that.
the eerie vibes they all felt from that island, i also felt (mostly because i was listening to creepy music 🤫) but seriously, the first half of the book seriously had me wondering what the fuck was going on and the second half had me mind blown.
a certain part of the plot was pretty easy to guess, but after that, it’s twist after fucking twist and my jaw was literally on the floor. completely unpredictable.
⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ iv. overall ⋆｡°⌛️
⋮ ✦┆definitely definitely recommend! it’s the perfect book for when spooky season rolls around and you should for sure add it to your tbr!!
── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──
ᝰ.ᐟ🕯️ ⌗ pre read┆started august 11 | finished august 15 ˎˊ˗
ONE OF MY MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASES OF THIS YEAR!!! after reading the only one left earlier this year and loving it i just wanted to read more riley sager 😝 i requested this on netgalley and got declined for it, so i waited very very impatiently 😭
this is another buddy with my mom because we’ve both been waiting for this one 🤗
August 6, 2026
I haven't had the best luck with Riley Sager in the past, and while I thought The Unknown might finally break that streak, it wasn't the winner I was hoping for.
I'll admit my FOMO got the better of me with this one. With so much hype surrounding it, I couldn't resist seeing what all the fuss was about.
With its isolated island, limited suspect pool and eerie atmosphere, The Unknown had all the ingredients of a closed-circle mystery I was excited to sink my teeth into. Throw in a filmmaking angle and dual timelines, and it had so much going for it on paper. I especially enjoyed seeing the past and present gradually echo one another as the mystery unfolded.
Unfortunately, those strengths could only carry the novel so far, and I never felt like the story made the most of its strongest ideas. The mystery never quite held my attention, the characters felt fairly flat, the pacing was slower than I expected, and I found parts of the story repetitive. I kept waiting for everything to click into place, but instead I spent most of the book feeling underwhelmed.
Sorry to be the buzzkill because I'm genuinely glad to see this book finding its people, and I can absolutely understand why others are loving it. It simply didn't come together for me.
I'd still be open to giving Riley Sager another chance in the future, but I won't be rushing to pick up whatever he releases next.
2.5⭐️
I'll admit my FOMO got the better of me with this one. With so much hype surrounding it, I couldn't resist seeing what all the fuss was about.
With its isolated island, limited suspect pool and eerie atmosphere, The Unknown had all the ingredients of a closed-circle mystery I was excited to sink my teeth into. Throw in a filmmaking angle and dual timelines, and it had so much going for it on paper. I especially enjoyed seeing the past and present gradually echo one another as the mystery unfolded.
Unfortunately, those strengths could only carry the novel so far, and I never felt like the story made the most of its strongest ideas. The mystery never quite held my attention, the characters felt fairly flat, the pacing was slower than I expected, and I found parts of the story repetitive. I kept waiting for everything to click into place, but instead I spent most of the book feeling underwhelmed.
Sorry to be the buzzkill because I'm genuinely glad to see this book finding its people, and I can absolutely understand why others are loving it. It simply didn't come together for me.
I'd still be open to giving Riley Sager another chance in the future, but I won't be rushing to pick up whatever he releases next.
2.5⭐️
August 18, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 this book was SPOOKY!!! I literally was scared reading it at bedtime in the dark!! I love when a book can do that!
August 15, 2026
GO TO LOVE A GOOD CREEPY MYSTERY BOOK…
In The Unknown struggling actress Marin Keane lands a major film role about New Avalon. It’s a remote Vermont island where five spiritual mediums vanished in 1926, leaving only their dresses hanging on an oak tree. When Marin and a group of actors go there to research. The cast start disappearing and it looks like what happened in the past is about to happen all over again.
Mr “I cant stop writing women as my main protagonist” Sager is back with a new release, and I have to say I had a good time until the reasoning of the twist was exposed.
The story is told in a past and present timeline, and I will say I did enjoy Daisy’s past dairy entry more entertaining than the present.
The characters were not particularly fleshed out enough for me to care about them, but they were entertaining and gave great popcorn thriller vibes.
I wasn’t sure where the story was heading, but I suspected what the twist would be and was correct but not in its entirety. I won’t say why as it will spoil it but I really need this author to stop writing about women! Like RIGHT NOW!
˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔WHAT I LIKED˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔
➽ Atmospheric vibes
➽ Supernatural themes
➽ The uncertainty of the casts situation
˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔
➽ Quite slow in parts
➽ One-dimensional characters
➽ The ending took suspension of disbelief to another dimension
Minus some bits that irked me this is a good Halloween read. It gives the perfect, isolated, spooky mystery vibes. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job.
3.5 ⭐
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔pre read˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔
I'm intrigued.... I think.... 💭💭💭
Lets see how this one plays out!?
❤️❤️❤️
In The Unknown struggling actress Marin Keane lands a major film role about New Avalon. It’s a remote Vermont island where five spiritual mediums vanished in 1926, leaving only their dresses hanging on an oak tree. When Marin and a group of actors go there to research. The cast start disappearing and it looks like what happened in the past is about to happen all over again.
Mr “I cant stop writing women as my main protagonist” Sager is back with a new release, and I have to say I had a good time until the reasoning of the twist was exposed.
The story is told in a past and present timeline, and I will say I did enjoy Daisy’s past dairy entry more entertaining than the present.
The characters were not particularly fleshed out enough for me to care about them, but they were entertaining and gave great popcorn thriller vibes.
I wasn’t sure where the story was heading, but I suspected what the twist would be and was correct but not in its entirety. I won’t say why as it will spoil it but I really need this author to stop writing about women! Like RIGHT NOW!
˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔WHAT I LIKED˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔
➽ Atmospheric vibes
➽ Supernatural themes
➽ The uncertainty of the casts situation
˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔
➽ Quite slow in parts
➽ One-dimensional characters
➽ The ending took suspension of disbelief to another dimension
Minus some bits that irked me this is a good Halloween read. It gives the perfect, isolated, spooky mystery vibes. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job.
3.5 ⭐
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔pre read˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔
I'm intrigued.... I think.... 💭💭💭
Lets see how this one plays out!?
❤️❤️❤️
August 20, 2026
4.5⭐️- I just stayed up way too late finishing this book but I loved it! This was such classic Riley Sager, which was definitely needed after With a Vengeance last year. It was giving ALL of the Summerween energy. Creepy island, missing girls, a touch witchy/supernatural. There were so many twists towards the end that I did not see coming. This one is a must read if you can squeeze it in before summer ends, but if not it would also work on a spooky season TBR as well. Riley Sager delivered with this!
Read
August 24, 2026I liked it!!
I know Riley Sager has had the reputation as of late that his books are predictable and underwhelming (I've only read one of his, but my husband has read at least 4!), and I heard that this new one, The Unknown felt more like his older books which people generally liked better.
I loved the atmospheric writing and setting. I think the middle dragged a bit, but overall, the story held suspense and intrigue without going completely off the rails. The ending was surprising to me! I think it you like Ruth Ware's atmospheric writing in The Death of Mrs Westaway, you'll like this one.
I know Riley Sager has had the reputation as of late that his books are predictable and underwhelming (I've only read one of his, but my husband has read at least 4!), and I heard that this new one, The Unknown felt more like his older books which people generally liked better.
I loved the atmospheric writing and setting. I think the middle dragged a bit, but overall, the story held suspense and intrigue without going completely off the rails. The ending was surprising to me! I think it you like Ruth Ware's atmospheric writing in The Death of Mrs Westaway, you'll like this one.
July 29, 2026
This was my first experience reading Riley Sagar, and I’m super impressed. I had heard great things about this author, and am so happy to have finally taken the plunge.
The story is set in two timelines, 1926 and present day, and it centres around a low budget film crew in 2026, re-enacting a mystery, which happened on a small island on Lake Faraday, in Vermont, one hundred years ago.
New Avalon was a spiritual commune for mediums, and where five women vanished, with only their dresses found, hanging from the branches of an old Oak tree. The rumours amongst the locals, is that the women were murdered, though some say they just left…one hundred years later, history seems to be repeating itself.
Reading this supernatural, gothic-esque, thriller was like watching a movie, and I could feel myself on this island, experiencing everything, the actresses and film crew were going through. The ending was a complete surprise, which I never expected, but came together perfectly. Highly recommended.
5 ⭐️
Thanks to Riley Sagar, Dutton, and NetGalley for providing me with this free ARC, with which I leave a voluntary review.
Available: 4 August 2026
The story is set in two timelines, 1926 and present day, and it centres around a low budget film crew in 2026, re-enacting a mystery, which happened on a small island on Lake Faraday, in Vermont, one hundred years ago.
New Avalon was a spiritual commune for mediums, and where five women vanished, with only their dresses found, hanging from the branches of an old Oak tree. The rumours amongst the locals, is that the women were murdered, though some say they just left…one hundred years later, history seems to be repeating itself.
Reading this supernatural, gothic-esque, thriller was like watching a movie, and I could feel myself on this island, experiencing everything, the actresses and film crew were going through. The ending was a complete surprise, which I never expected, but came together perfectly. Highly recommended.
5 ⭐️
Thanks to Riley Sagar, Dutton, and NetGalley for providing me with this free ARC, with which I leave a voluntary review.
Available: 4 August 2026
May 6, 2026
The Unknown – is it unknown actor Marin Keane who lands a role in a major motion picture to be filmed on New Avalon, a small island in Lake Faraday, Vermont or the events that take place in 1926 when five women disappear? Do they simply leave or are they murdered as locals believe? One thing becomes crystal clear in the present day when Marin, the director Ronan Peters, legendary actress Violet Wright and others arrive on the island, that all is most definitely not well. Perhaps the islands truth lies in the diary of Daisy Rue, who is present during the events of 1926.
Right from the beginning there’s an aura of foreboding surrounding the island with a strong sense of dread. The author creates a very atmospheric and ominous novel, it’s as if New Avalon is watching and waiting and so it’s little wonder that Marin Keane is full of anxiety, she stressed, vulnerable and certainly naive as things turn out. There are plenty of warning signs not least in the supposedly protective Daisy wheels carved all over the island. I would run a mile never mind take part in a seance as the characters do!
As the novel progresses, there are multiple sinister happenings, which are horrifying harbingers of what is to come. At times the pace slows but that only serves to highlights events when things really ramp up. There’s acute tension between characters with short sharp sentences to highlight their increasing terror and panic. It’s eerie, spooky, creepy, chilling and unpredictable and I enjoy how it all plays out.
Overall, it’s a suspenseful and compelling read from a very talented author. I look forward to reading what his creative brain conjures up next.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
Right from the beginning there’s an aura of foreboding surrounding the island with a strong sense of dread. The author creates a very atmospheric and ominous novel, it’s as if New Avalon is watching and waiting and so it’s little wonder that Marin Keane is full of anxiety, she stressed, vulnerable and certainly naive as things turn out. There are plenty of warning signs not least in the supposedly protective Daisy wheels carved all over the island. I would run a mile never mind take part in a seance as the characters do!
As the novel progresses, there are multiple sinister happenings, which are horrifying harbingers of what is to come. At times the pace slows but that only serves to highlights events when things really ramp up. There’s acute tension between characters with short sharp sentences to highlight their increasing terror and panic. It’s eerie, spooky, creepy, chilling and unpredictable and I enjoy how it all plays out.
Overall, it’s a suspenseful and compelling read from a very talented author. I look forward to reading what his creative brain conjures up next.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
August 23, 2026
Lawd have mercy, that was a loooooong 368 pages! 😫
August 14, 2026
2 stars, very “meh'. I skipped a lot of the middle and feel like I missed nothing except boredom. The twists felt like total cheats and were very unsatisfying, as was the limp and ridiculous ending. Think this story just tried way too hard to be topical and “meta” and failed miserably at both. Didn’t even find a single character to invest in either, which made it really hard to care about the mysteries in either timeline. Shame, as I’ve enjoyed a few of the author’s previous books, but I can’t recommend this one to anyone, except maybe M. Night Shyamalan film fans (IYKYK)
August 17, 2026
3.5 rounded to 4 for GR. liked it, but didn't love it. deff one of his better books in awhile but i think i wish i read this in October for maximum vibes.
the spooky haunted setting was my fave part and i liked the twists but overall something just felt off. maybe it was the pacing?? or a lot of telling/explaining vs showing? be prepared bc this was a slooooww burn!
Sager’s books are always a fun time and worth picking up, but this falls to the upper middle of the pack for me. big thanks to Dutton for the gifted copy, the special edition is STUNNING and arguably his prettiest book to date!
the spooky haunted setting was my fave part and i liked the twists but overall something just felt off. maybe it was the pacing?? or a lot of telling/explaining vs showing? be prepared bc this was a slooooww burn!
Sager’s books are always a fun time and worth picking up, but this falls to the upper middle of the pack for me. big thanks to Dutton for the gifted copy, the special edition is STUNNING and arguably his prettiest book to date!
August 6, 2026
You know who got his groove back?! Riley mother effin Sager! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Bravo! This one was great! There were moments where I kept freaking myself out while reading. 😅
More of a 4.5 star! Goodreads, I beg you give us the half star option
More of a 4.5 star! Goodreads, I beg you give us the half star option
May 25, 2026
An isolated island with no electricity, a secret diary and group of women that held seances? Say LESS!
I loved the setting of this, loved the dual timeline and the IMMEDIATE sense of dread. Very atmospheric and creepy which I love in my books. A tad repetitive in places because you already know the story of the disappearing women, then it’s retold via Daisy’s diary and the present day actresses are also talking about it but apart from that I really enjoyed it! Also loved the ending!
I loved the setting of this, loved the dual timeline and the IMMEDIATE sense of dread. Very atmospheric and creepy which I love in my books. A tad repetitive in places because you already know the story of the disappearing women, then it’s retold via Daisy’s diary and the present day actresses are also talking about it but apart from that I really enjoyed it! Also loved the ending!
August 25, 2026
4.5 rounded up.
So, there's one thing y'all should know about me, and that's that I am a huge chicken. 😅 I scare very easily. Like, I'm talking to the point that I can't even watch most Criminal Minds episodes without triple-checking that I locked the front door and running up the basement stairs so the monsters don't get me for the next 3 months. 🫣
I wish I was joking, but alas, I am really not. 🤣 What scares me the most, however, is anything related to the supernatural. No clue why, but it's been this way since I saw The Amityville Horror in grade 5.
Needless to say, this book freaked me out, especially when I was reading at night. Even if you aren't bothered by the supernatural, Riley Sager does an excellent job of creating a seriously creepy atmosphere.
Seriously though, if someone wanted me to go 2 miles out to sea to a mostly abandoned island where 5 women mysteriously vanished and there's a creepy ass forest? Nah. They'd no longer have to worry about me because I'd be peacing out. ✌🏻
I also loved, loved, loved how this book ended! I am someone who really likes clear endings. I want everything tied up in a nice little bow because books with overly ambitious endings make me want to cry.
There aren't necessarily a ton of twists throughout the book, but there are several more toward the end, and all of them took me by surprise! Whenever there are possible supernatural elements, I'm never quite sure what direction the author is going to take to explain the mystery. Even though the story went in the general direction I expected, the who, what, why, and how all took me completely off guard.
Without spoiling part of the twist, Riley Sager tackles one that is always hit or miss for me, mostly depending on how successfully it's executed. In this story, I think the author ✨ nailed it. ✨
Another thing I really liked about this story is the characters. I thought the main characters were well fleshed out and dynamic. Quite a few times, I found myself asking whether a specific character was a hero or a villain. How much can you believe? Who can you believe? The answer isn't always clear.
Additionally, I thought the dual timelines, one of which is Daisy's diary from 100 years ago, were really well done. They each added different elements to the story and helped fuel the intrigue, especially during the parts where things slowed down a little.
The only reason this isn't 5 stars for me is that some elements felt like they were being repeated almost identically across both timelines. It didn't happen for long, but it was a little annoying while it lasted. Thankfully, the timelines eventually branch off in their own directions, which made things much more interesting.
Overall, I thought this book was super solid. The writing was good, the atmosphere was deliciously creepy, and the twists were genuinely shocking to me! So, if you're a fan of the supernatural, dual timelines, slow burns, and questionable characters, I think this one is absolutely worth checking out!
If you're a scaredy cat like me, though, I highly suggest sticking to reading this with company or during the day, so you aren't sitting there wondering if that pile of clothes hanging in the corner is actually a demon.
Unfortunately, yes, I am speaking from experience. 😂
So, there's one thing y'all should know about me, and that's that I am a huge chicken. 😅 I scare very easily. Like, I'm talking to the point that I can't even watch most Criminal Minds episodes without triple-checking that I locked the front door and running up the basement stairs so the monsters don't get me for the next 3 months. 🫣
I wish I was joking, but alas, I am really not. 🤣 What scares me the most, however, is anything related to the supernatural. No clue why, but it's been this way since I saw The Amityville Horror in grade 5.
Needless to say, this book freaked me out, especially when I was reading at night. Even if you aren't bothered by the supernatural, Riley Sager does an excellent job of creating a seriously creepy atmosphere.
Seriously though, if someone wanted me to go 2 miles out to sea to a mostly abandoned island where 5 women mysteriously vanished and there's a creepy ass forest? Nah. They'd no longer have to worry about me because I'd be peacing out. ✌🏻
I also loved, loved, loved how this book ended! I am someone who really likes clear endings. I want everything tied up in a nice little bow because books with overly ambitious endings make me want to cry.
There aren't necessarily a ton of twists throughout the book, but there are several more toward the end, and all of them took me by surprise! Whenever there are possible supernatural elements, I'm never quite sure what direction the author is going to take to explain the mystery. Even though the story went in the general direction I expected, the who, what, why, and how all took me completely off guard.
Without spoiling part of the twist, Riley Sager tackles one that is always hit or miss for me, mostly depending on how successfully it's executed. In this story, I think the author ✨ nailed it. ✨
Another thing I really liked about this story is the characters. I thought the main characters were well fleshed out and dynamic. Quite a few times, I found myself asking whether a specific character was a hero or a villain. How much can you believe? Who can you believe? The answer isn't always clear.
Additionally, I thought the dual timelines, one of which is Daisy's diary from 100 years ago, were really well done. They each added different elements to the story and helped fuel the intrigue, especially during the parts where things slowed down a little.
The only reason this isn't 5 stars for me is that some elements felt like they were being repeated almost identically across both timelines. It didn't happen for long, but it was a little annoying while it lasted. Thankfully, the timelines eventually branch off in their own directions, which made things much more interesting.
Overall, I thought this book was super solid. The writing was good, the atmosphere was deliciously creepy, and the twists were genuinely shocking to me! So, if you're a fan of the supernatural, dual timelines, slow burns, and questionable characters, I think this one is absolutely worth checking out!
If you're a scaredy cat like me, though, I highly suggest sticking to reading this with company or during the day, so you aren't sitting there wondering if that pile of clothes hanging in the corner is actually a demon.
Unfortunately, yes, I am speaking from experience. 😂
August 18, 2026
Suspenseful, atmospheric, and genuinely creepy at times. Although I guessed some of the twists, there were many more surprises in store. A fantastic, hard to put down book. Perfect for the upcoming fall weather!
August 23, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Okay, THIS is the Riley Sager book I’ve been waiting for! 🙌 I can honestly say this is Sager’s best book in quite some time and, in my opinion, easily one of his top three books. I have a feeling The Unknown is going to be showing up on a LOT of best-of-2026 lists!
In 1926, five women mysteriously disappear from New Avalon, a remote island in Vermont that was once home to a commune of spiritual mediums. The only trace left behind are five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree (this very much gave me Lost colony of Roanoke vibes!). According to a diary left behind by one of the women, a séance may have gone terribly wrong and summoned something supernatural. A hundred years later, struggling actress Marin Keane lands a role in a movie about the infamous disappearances, sending her and the cast to New Avalon to recreate the events of that long-ago tragedy. But when they become stranded on the island and history begins repeating itself, Marin starts to wonder whether they're making a movie about the past…or stepping directly into it.
The atmosphere in this one was INCREDIBLE. A creepy, isolated island, an old unsolved mystery, séances, missing women, strange happenings, and that constant feeling that something is lurking just out of sight—Sager absolutely nailed the spooky vibes. There were several times I was reading this late at night thinking, Maybe I should turn another light on… 😂
I especially loved the past and present perspectives and how the two timelines slowly began to connect. And honestly, I had absolutely no idea where this story was headed for most of the book. I did manage to figure out one of the people involved, but surprisingly, that didn't take away from my enjoyment at all because there were still plenty of twists and turns I didn't see coming.
This felt like vintage Riley Sager to me—the kind of atmospheric, twisty, bingeable thriller that makes you say just one more chapter until you suddenly realize it's WAY past your bedtime.
For me, this is easily one of Sager's best, and probably lands somewhere in my personal top three from him. If you're looking for something creepy, atmospheric, mysterious, and perfect for spooky season, add this one to your TBR immediately.
I have a feeling The Unknown is going to be one of those books we're still talking about when everyone's putting together their Best Books of 2026 lists. 👻🕯️🏝️
Okay, THIS is the Riley Sager book I’ve been waiting for! 🙌 I can honestly say this is Sager’s best book in quite some time and, in my opinion, easily one of his top three books. I have a feeling The Unknown is going to be showing up on a LOT of best-of-2026 lists!
In 1926, five women mysteriously disappear from New Avalon, a remote island in Vermont that was once home to a commune of spiritual mediums. The only trace left behind are five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree (this very much gave me Lost colony of Roanoke vibes!). According to a diary left behind by one of the women, a séance may have gone terribly wrong and summoned something supernatural. A hundred years later, struggling actress Marin Keane lands a role in a movie about the infamous disappearances, sending her and the cast to New Avalon to recreate the events of that long-ago tragedy. But when they become stranded on the island and history begins repeating itself, Marin starts to wonder whether they're making a movie about the past…or stepping directly into it.
The atmosphere in this one was INCREDIBLE. A creepy, isolated island, an old unsolved mystery, séances, missing women, strange happenings, and that constant feeling that something is lurking just out of sight—Sager absolutely nailed the spooky vibes. There were several times I was reading this late at night thinking, Maybe I should turn another light on… 😂
I especially loved the past and present perspectives and how the two timelines slowly began to connect. And honestly, I had absolutely no idea where this story was headed for most of the book. I did manage to figure out one of the people involved, but surprisingly, that didn't take away from my enjoyment at all because there were still plenty of twists and turns I didn't see coming.
This felt like vintage Riley Sager to me—the kind of atmospheric, twisty, bingeable thriller that makes you say just one more chapter until you suddenly realize it's WAY past your bedtime.
For me, this is easily one of Sager's best, and probably lands somewhere in my personal top three from him. If you're looking for something creepy, atmospheric, mysterious, and perfect for spooky season, add this one to your TBR immediately.
I have a feeling The Unknown is going to be one of those books we're still talking about when everyone's putting together their Best Books of 2026 lists. 👻🕯️🏝️
August 22, 2026
4-4.25
Getting braver with my reads! Normally I'd hesitate to pick this up anytime other than broad daylight—and even then, with caution—but this one really surprised me. I quite liked it! I was completely drawn in from the start and just had to keep listening. The twists were great, and I really enjoyed the unexpected directions the story took.
Getting braver with my reads! Normally I'd hesitate to pick this up anytime other than broad daylight—and even then, with caution—but this one really surprised me. I quite liked it! I was completely drawn in from the start and just had to keep listening. The twists were great, and I really enjoyed the unexpected directions the story took.
July 29, 2026
I’m gonna be the odd one out here - I know. I have enjoyed previous books by this author but unfortunately this one just didn’t connect for me. I felt like the pacing was off, the characters were super naive to the point that the mystery felt forced. I wanted more thickening of the plot before 80% when things really went down. I know there were some other twists thrown in, but they didn’t hook me. I do really appreciate the way Riley captures scenery and creates such an atmospheric feel. I still appreciated the ending, it just dragged too much before getting there. I didn’t want to feel as bored as I was. There are gonna be a lot of people who love this book, it just wasn’t for me!
Thank you NetGalley, Dutton Publishing and author for this gifted arc copy!
Thank you NetGalley, Dutton Publishing and author for this gifted arc copy!
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