The Unknown; In Broad Daylight

 

Okay, first up is the latest by Riley Sager, which was really good. 

Marin is an aspiring actress working as a waitress in New York. The only thing she's done is a commercial. Her agent sends her on a casting call for a part in a movie that's being directed by Ronan Peters, a renowned director, and starting two time Academy award winning actress Violet Wright. Marin doesn't think she stands a chance, but to her shock she lands the part. 

Ronan is a "method" director and wants the actresses to immerse themselves in the experience. The movie is a psychological horror based on a true story. In 1926, five women disappeared off an island known as New Avalon. One of the women, Daisy, kept a diary, and the screenplay is based off of that. Ronan wants the women to stay on New Avalon to bond and get in touch with their characters. 

The original five women were mystics or physics of some sort and Daisy's diary talks about "the Darkness" they communicated with during a seance, who gave the name of Azra. Their first night there, the 2026 women conduct a seance. One of the film crew becomes ill and the producer takes him back to the mainland on their boat. Only after they're gone does Marin realize that she had their cell phones and without a boat, they are trapped on the island. Then the actresses start disappearing one by one, in the same order as the 1926 counterparts they're playing. 

The twist at the end wasn't quite as twisty as some of his previous books, but it was still good. 

This one got better as it went along. I wasn't impressed with MacLean's writing style, and then I discovered he wrote a book a few years ago that I read and enjoyed about Charles Starkweather. Since this was his first book, I gave him a pass. His writing has improved since the 1980s. 

The small community of Skidmore, Missouri was terrorized for decades by Ken McElroy. McElroy raped and impregnated young teenage girls (and burned one father's house down when he dared object), stole with impunity, threatened people with intimidation tactics and guns, and actually shot a man, all without consequences. The police seemed helpless to do anything. McElroy knew how to skirt the edge of breaking the law, but then he got into an altercation with a much liked and elderly grocery store owner named Bo Bowenkamp. McElroy pulled a shotgun on Bo one night on the loading dock of his store. Bo's quick reaction saved his life, but he did end up in the hospital with substantial wounds to his neck. Unlike McElroy's other victims, Bo refused to back down and the case went to trial, where McElroy was found guilty. He was released on bond and continued to terrorize Skidmore until he was sentenced. 

One of his conditions for being out on bond was not to brandish firearms, and he did just that one day at the tavern in Skidmore, bragging about how he was going to kill Bo. Four men went and signed an affidavit that he'd broken the conditions of his bond and the hearing was set for July 10, 1981. The townspeople decided to form a caravan to show support for the four men as well as keep them safe during the drive to the courthouse, but when they showed up in town they learned the hearing had been delayed for 10 days. Frustrated, the men gathered at the Legion Hall to discuss what to do and they decided to keep an eye on him. Follow him everywhere. Patrol the backroads he used. In other words, use his own intimidation tactics against him. 

McElroy showed up in town and went to the tavern, and the men went in too. Estimates put about 60 men in the building. When McElroy and his wife, Trena, left, the men followed him out and surrounded his pickup. Some of the men went across the street to strategic locations. Someone yelled to shoot him, and shoot him they did. McElroy died in his pickup and sat there for over an hour until his brother heard what happened and called his lawyer, who called the local police, who claimed they had no knowledge of the incident but would go investigate. 

A wall of silence went up in Skidmore that day. Of the 45 or so witnesses interviewed, no one saw a thing. Everyone, even the mayor, claimed they heard the shooting start and hit the ground. No one was ever prosecuted, although there was a strong suspect that Trena named. No homes were searched and no weapons were ever found. Most of the residents shrugged and went "he's dead and gone. I don't know anything and I don't want to know". 

I can't begin to imagine the terror those townspeople felt, and the frustration and helplessness as the law and the courts failed them time and again. It's a wild story. There's a made for TV movie about it that came out in 1991 but of course you can't find the darn thing anywhere. It's too bad, it sounds like it was well done and had an excellent cast.