DNF Diaries: The Unknown

Well, I’m shocked we’re here. I consider Riley Sager one of my auto-buy authors but now I don’t know. Let’s talk about why I dnfed The Unknown.

Synopsis

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.

Why I DNFED The Unknown

This dnf hurts. Honestly, it does. I’ve followed Sager’s career from the very beginning. When With a Vengeance didn’t work for me, I chalked it up to my past record of not enjoying books set on a train. I had hope that The Unknown would redeem that. It checked a lot of my boxes. It’s a modern gothic set on a desolate island with a paranormal element. That should have worked for me.

Unfortunately, it didn’t. The main reason is I could care less about the characters. I can get behind unlikeable characters, don’t get me wrong. But these characters were unlikable and bland. Not a personality in sight. It’s hard to build tension when there’s no one to root for.

Plus, it felt formulaic. I knew what was happening before it happened. I’ve heard there is an epic plot twist at the end, but I just couldn’t push myself to get there. I quit about 220 pages in. That’s some commitment. The longer I read the less I wanted to pick up the book. Eventually, I just stopped reading altogether. When I get to that point, I know it’s time to dnf.

Will I Give It Another Chance?

Meh. Right now, I have no desire to.