The Unknown Review: When Every Horror Trope Ends Up in One Novel

⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5 Stars)

There are certain books that you count down the days until release, and for me, The Unknown by Riley Sager was one of them. Sager has written some thrillers I’ve genuinely enjoyed, so I went into this one expecting to be completely consumed. Unfortunately, while it held my attention just enough that I wanted to see how everything unfolded, I never reached the point where I couldn’t put it down.

In the end, I’m settling on 3 stars. I finished it, but it felt more like obligation than obsession.

A Promising Premise

One of the things that initially intrigued me was the concept of blending a historical mystery with a present-day thriller. The dual timeline had the potential to create an eerie connection between past and present, and I appreciated the ambition behind that structure.

Unfortunately, the execution never quite came together for me.

Rather than feeling fresh, the story often felt like it was checking boxes on a paranormal thriller bingo card:

A creepy, isolated island.
A dark tragedy “inspired by real events.”
Ouija boards.
Ghosts.
An overwhelming sense of dread.
A protagonist haunted by both literal and figurative demons.

Individually, none of these elements are bad. Together, however, they made the novel feel more like a collection of familiar horror tropes than a story with its own unique identity.

What Didn’t Work for Me

The Pace

The biggest issue was simply that I found the novel…boring.

That’s a difficult word to use because things are constantly happening, but very little of it created any urgency. I kept waiting for the story to grab me, yet I never felt compelled to keep reading “just one more chapter.”

Female Trauma Written Without Much Nuance

One thing I’ve started noticing more frequently in thrillers is the recurring formula of the isolated, emotionally damaged woman carrying the weight of the entire story.

Once again, we have a female protagonist with virtually no meaningful support system: no close friends, little family, and significant emotional trauma driving every decision she makes.

While trauma can absolutely create compelling characters, it often feels like female pain has become shorthand for depth. I wanted more complexity beyond another broken woman forced to confront supernatural and psychological horrors largely on her own.

Mental Health as a Plot Device

This was probably my biggest frustration.

Too often, mental health is used to make readers question whether a character can trust their own experiences. It’s a common thriller device, but it’s becoming an increasingly tired one.

Instead of adding meaningful commentary about mental illness, it often felt like the story simply used it to manufacture uncertainty. I would have preferred the mystery to stand on its own without relying so heavily on this trope.

The Dialogue

There were several moments where the language felt surprisingly cheesy, pulling me out of scenes that should have felt tense or unsettling.

When you’re trying to build dread, dialogue needs to reinforce the atmosphere. Instead, there were moments that felt more melodramatic than frightening.

The Ending

Without spoiling anything, the ending simply didn’t land for me.

After spending so much time building mystery and atmosphere, I wanted a payoff that felt earned. Instead, I closed the book feeling more disappointed than surprised.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t hate The Unknown. In fact, it held my attention enough that I wanted answers, and that’s ultimately why it earns 3 stars instead of 2.

But for a novel I had been anticipating all year, I expected so much more.

The premise is strong. The atmosphere is undeniably creepy. Fans who enjoy ghost stories, isolated settings, and supernatural mysteries will probably find plenty to enjoy here.

For me, though, it leaned too heavily on familiar horror clichés, repetitive dream sequences, and well-worn psychological thriller tropes without offering enough originality to make them feel fresh.

Sometimes the unknown is terrifying.

This time, it was just…forgettable.