Struggling actress Marin Keane works as a waitress to pay the bills. Her father always said she would fail as an actress and right now his words seem prescient. Her only “role” so far is in a TV commercial for a pharmaceutical company. She played a woman with a skin condition.
All that changes when she receives a call from her agent about an audition for an upcoming horror film that will be directed by Ronan Peters, one of Hollywood’s hottest directors. Rather than have her read from a script, Ronan asks her to talk about something scary that happened to her. Marin’s tale focuses on the death of her older sister Molly. Ronan is deeply moved, but Marin doesn’t believe it’s enough to get her the part.
She’s shocked when her agent calls with the news. She got the part and will be starring alongside several well established women, including Violet Wright (think Meryl Streep). The catch: Marin, the rest of the cast, Ronan, Loretta, a producer, and Brad, a production assistant, will be staying for a week on New Avalon, where the film will be set.
New Avalon has a sordid history. A century ago, in 1926, the remote island was used by a group of spiritual mediums who vanished without a trace. The only evidence they left behind were five dresses hanging in the branches of an ominous old oak tree. Ronan’s film will feature these five women and explore what might have happened to them.
Even before she arrives on the island in a boat steered by Pete, a local, Marin receives warning texts from Lindy Garrett, the woman who once had Marin’s role and was fired. Loretta claims Lindy refused to stay on the island for a week, so there was no other choice but to let her go. But Lindy’s text – “don’t step foot on that island. if you do, I swear, you WILL regret it” – seems like a warning.
Wanting the actresses to get into character, Loretta tells Marin and the others that they will occupy the small cottages where the women lived in 1926. They will also wear the dresses they wore and be without any modern conveniences, including their cellphones. Loretta holds out a bag and removes small velvet sacks, each bearing the initials of an actress. Marin’s says “LG,”presumably Lindy’s. There’s no electricity and the water must be boiled before it can be consumed. Marin realizes without their phones, and with Pete long gone, they will truly be isolated and, she can’t help but think, in danger. Loretta reassures the women that she has a phone and will be able to summon help in an emergency.
Ronan’s script is based on a diary left behind by one of the women, Daisy Rue. After reading what Ronan has written, Marin is impressed. The script is good, even great. But then the doubts creep in. Marin will play Daisy, who, it turns out, is the central character in the story. Will she be able to rise to the level being set by Violet and the other actresses? Violet is welcoming when they meet helping to place Marin at ease. Since Violet will be playing Mrs. Ruth Semple, the matriarch on the island whose relationship with Daisy is key to the story, Marin knows it’s critical that she and Violet establish a rapport.
Susie Hutchinson, once a Disney child star, ironically a star that Marin as a young girl, idolized, is cold and rude. Marin immediately thinks Susie wanted the role given to her. The two other women, Julianne Brown, a well known character actor, and Heather Benchley, who has played both cops and doctors on TV shows, are polite but not as warm as Violet.
Then there’s Ronan, wearing his signature white shirt, black pants, and scarf. He and Violet have worked together before and seem comfortable with each other. Loretta seems totally focused on her job as a producer, making sure everything comes off like clockwork.
After leaving their suitcases in the cottages and putting on the vintage dresses – Marin’s is blue – they meet in the large house where Loretta, Ronan, and Brad will be staying. On the agenda for their first night on the island – a seance. Without electricity, the parlor is filled with burning candles. Loretta has cut out paper numbers and letters and placed them in the middle of the large table where the women are asked to sit. A glass is placed in the center, and presumably will function like the planchette on a Ouija board.
Ronan stresses that since the women who lived on New Avalon often participated in seances, it’s important for the women to experience at least one. But when strange things begin to happen, Marin wonders whether they have conjured up ghosts from the past. Will they suffer the same fate as Mrs. Semple, Daisy, and the other women?
Riley’s Sager’s Unknown toggles between present time and excerpts from Daisy’s diary.
This best-selling author just keeps getting better. His mysteries are not only enjoyable for intricate plots with many twists, but for the characters he creates. This time, some of these characters are ghosts – or are they?
Unknown
Riley Sager
Top Shutterstock photo by Costin Constantinescu
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