Spiritualists, Spooks, and Stranded Actors: Agatha Christie's verdict on "The Unknown"

There is nothing a retired purveyor of poisons enjoys more than a mystery set in the glorious year of 1926. It was, of course, a vintage year for dramatic disappearances—including, if memory serves, a brief, highly publicized eleven-day holiday of my own. In his tenth novel, The Unknown, Mr. Riley Sager takes us to a remote Vermont commune where five spiritual mediums vanished a century ago. It is a delightfully spooky setup, though I must say, five ladies disappearing at once does strike me as rather greedy.

The tale centers on Marin Keane, a struggling actress who lands a film role about the mystery and is promptly whisked away for a "research trip" on the isolated island of New Avalon. Along with a legendary grand dame and a director, she is stranded after an emergency, only for history to inconveniently repeat itself. Now, in my day, if one wanted to dispatch a cast of characters on an island, one simply invited them to a lovely mansion under false pretenses—none of this exhausting "method acting" and movie-budget fuss. Marin begins reading the 1926 diary of one Daisy Rue to uncover the truth of five dresses found hanging from an oak tree. I do admire Mr. Sager's dramatic flair, though hanging dresses on branches feels more like a laundry day gone wrong than a chilling occult signpost. The narrative hops back and forth across a century, weaving dual timelines with the sort of breakneck speed that would make poor Hercule Poirot dizzy. He relies heavily on the campy, theatrical atmosphere of modern thrillers, complete with mysterious symbols and spooky noises in the night. It is a far cry from the tidy, logical parlor games of the Golden Age, opting instead for cinematic thrills, shifting suspicions, and twists layered like a poorly baked Victoria sponge. Yet, there is an undeniable, addictive charm to this island entrapment.

Ultimately, The Unknown is a splendidly fun, atmospheric romp for the modern reader who prefers their puzzles wrapped in cinematic fog and supernatural whispers. While it lacks the quiet precision of a well-placed arsenic drop, it delivers more than enough twists to keep you guessing until the final page. Do pick it up—preferably the first edition with its hued edges, which are almost as sharp as my own wit.