A Sea of Unspoken Things

A Sea of Unspoken Things (2025) is a domestic mystery by best-selling American writer Adrienne Young. Young’s other notable works include Spells for Forgetting (2022), The Unmaking of June Farrow (2023), and Fable (2020), which is part of the World of Narrows series for young adult (YA) readers. Young usually writes works of fantasy and magical realism, but A Sea of Unspoken Things is a realistic novel without fantastical elements. However, like Young’s other novels, it features strong, complex female characters and focuses on the impact of interpersonal relationships. Set between a small, remote logging town in northern California and the bustling city of San Francisco, A Sea of Unspoken Things follows protagonist James as she attempts to uncover the truth about her twin brother Johnny’s death. The novel explores themes related to Fraught Family Relationships, The Impact of Place on Identity, and The Weight of Buried Secrets. 

This guide refers to the 2025 hardcover edition by Penguin Random House. 

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of graphic violence, sexual content, animal cruelty and death, emotional abuse, substance use, sexual harassment, and death.

Summary

James Golden, a woman in her late thirties, is returning to her hometown in California near Six Rivers National Forest after the death of her twin brother, Johnny. A successful artist living in San Francisco, James left the small town when she was 18. She is coming back to settle Johnny’s affairs, though she suspects his death wasn’t the result of a tragic hunting accident, as the authorities claim. As twins, James and Johnny shared a psychic bond, and she suspects that he was murdered because she sensed his fear at the moment of his death. Under the guise of organizing Johnny’s work for the owl study he was a photographer for, James begins investigating his death.

James and Johnny grew up mostly alone: Their mother abandoned them when they were young, and their father left town for another job when they were teenagers. When they were high school seniors, they went on a camping trip with their friends Micah and Griffin, and Griffin died during the trip. Though the death was ruled an accident, James knows that it wasn’t: Johnny intentionally pushed him off a cliff because Griffin had pointed a gun at James after she rejected his sexual advances. Terrified by her brother’s capacity for violence, James left for college soon after, ending her budding romance with Micah.

Back in town, James reconnects with Micah, who is now a fly-fishing guide in Six Rivers. Though they haven’t seen each other in two decades, their connection resurfaces. James also visits Amelia Travis, the local ranger, who says that Johnny was undoubtedly mistaken for an animal and shot. Amelia says that the bullet came from an antique firearm, making it difficult to trace. James then heads to the town’s diner, which is run by Sadie Cross, a woman who used to date Johnny. Sadie is standoffish at first, considering James an outsider because she left; however, Sadie gradually warms to her and introduces James to her son Ben. 

James then heads to the high school where an old friend, Olivia, is now the art teacher. Both James and Olivia dreamed of making it big in the art world. While James achieved this goal, Olivia’s hopes faded, and she remained in Six Rivers. Johnny used the school’s darkroom for his photography work and was also an unofficial mentor for its art students, including a talented young artist named Autumn.

When James goes through Johnny’s personal effects in his cabin, she has vivid, psychic reactions to his belongings. When she develops his final roll of film, she sees a picture of a pink backpack, which strikes her as odd. By all accounts, Johnny was out in the forest alone, though the backpack suggests otherwise. 

James continues to investigate. She finds a note from Autumn thanking Johnny for changing her life, and James wonders if the two were having an inappropriate relationship. She learns that Autumn was dating Ben before she left town to attend art school and discovers that Ben has not seen Autumn since August. In fact, no one in town has seen her. James then discovers the pink backpack from the photograph in Johnny’s cabin—it is moldy and weather-beaten, and it belonged to Autumn. As suspicions rise, Amelia officially declares Autumn a missing person and questions Ben. However, the timeline of her disappearance exonerates him. James notes Sadie’s strange reaction to this news: She is relieved but also seems surprised. 

Amelia’s investigation does not turn up concrete evidence of foul play, and it seems that Autumn’s disappearance and Johnny’s death are not related. James and Micah, however, do not believe this. They suspect that Autumn’s killer also killed Johnny because he was on the verge of discovering their identity. 

As James prepares to leave Six Rivers, she visits Olivia one more time. She finds a stack of Olivia’s photographs and recognizes them from Autumn’s Instagram account. She realizes Olivia and Autumn were friends outside of school, and James discovers that Olivia was planning to drive Autumn to college in San Francisco. When James questions Olivia about Autumn, Olivia confesses: Jealous of Autumn’s talent and future, Olivia killed her. She is arrested for the murder, though Amelia is still sure that Johnny’s death was an accident. 

At Johnny’s memorial in Sadie’s diner, James and Micah notice a photograph of Sadie with an antique gun—it is the same kind used to kill Johnny. Micah realizes that Sadie suspected Ben of killing Autumn and thought Johnny did, too; so, Sadie murdered Johnny to prevent him from exposing her son. When confronted, Sadie admits that this is the truth. Amelia arrests her for Johnny’s murder in front of the town.

At the novel’s conclusion, James has moved back to Six Rivers to pursue a relationship with Micah. She is pregnant with their child and feels at peace with her choices.