Imagine if you will, a story, where a boy or girl or man or woman or some other person (it doesn’t really matter) is terribly afraid of everything, especially things changing. They live in a town where nothing has changed in a very long time and this person has done everything they could to avoid uncertainty. They lived in a quiet, safe place and worked in a quiet, safe space surrounded by thousands and thousands of stories.
The town where they lived was a beautiful place, built right beside a lovely, seemingly-endless forest. In the town, there was an envelope factory, and a toy factory, and a garbage dump, and an ice cream store, and everyone there was quiet and serene. The town, where it was situated, allowed everyone to feel that the world, with all its troubles and complications, had entirely forgotten about them.
And then one day everything in town slowly began to disappear, one small thing after the other. And then the story of the town itself soon began to change…
Over the last several months, it’s been a very exciting, terrifying, and fascinating time for the town of Question Mark.
April 21, 2023
After losing a shoe and seeing a street sign has gone missing, high school student Violet Bookman begins an Instagram account to try to document everything strange that's disappeared. When she's not riding around town on her bicycle, she likes to spend time with her twelve-year-old neighbor, Nanako, a cellist who invents her own board games.
But when Nanako's cat, Mr. Business, goes missing, Violet searches all over town, from British Soldier Field—where the British soldiers once disappeared in the woods in the 1760s—to the envelope factory to the garbage dump to the clock tower.
May 5, 2023
On her search, Violet meets Bruno Ellis, an enormous Streets and Sanitation worker, who may have been a professional wrestler and whose career may have come to a tragic end. His cat has also gone missing.
She also meets Ms. Holly Peterson, the new 3rd grade teacher, who sometimes wanders alone at night, looking for the ghost of her younger brother.
Along the way, Violet discovers that a corporation named New Tomorrow Industries is building a gigantic hole on the outskirts of town.
Violet also thinks she sees a peacock in the woods but isn’t sure. She also discovers that someone is leaving messages in code on various buildings in town stating, “Everything Begins at the End.” In discovering one of these hidden messages at the clock tower, she realizes the hands on all four faces of the clocks on the tower appear to tell different times.
May 12, 2023
Violet meets Officer Ron Dublowski, a police officer who has realized, a little too late, that he would much rather be a music producer than a cop. Ron's dream is to attend the Randy Simms School of Music in Columbus.
Tragically, this week ends with the collar belonging to Mr. Business, the beloved pet Violet has been searching for, being found by Officer Dublowski. Nanako's family holds a funeral while Violet refuses to give up hope.
May 19, 2023
Violet finally learns the name of the strange music she's been hearing in the woods, “Abime des oiseaux…” She visits Ms. Twombley at the Question Mark Public Library, looking for answers. Ms. Twombley remembers that there is a book that mentions a British soldier also hearing music in the woods.
While searching for the source of the music, Violet and Nanako find teeth that seem to belong to several pets in the woods. Where will this strange clue lead her? And what, or who, will disappear next?
May 26, 2023
Violet gives a presentation about everything that has disappeared in town at the library. However, no one but Ms. Twombley, the librarian, showed.
With Ms. Twombley's help, Violet is able to locate a copy of the musical composition, Quatuor pour la fin du temps, "Quartet for the End of Time," which seems to be the music she has been hearing. Inside is a note that reads, “Music is the key to opening the shaft of the abyss.” First she tries playing the music at the enormous hole that New Tomorrow Industries is digging and sees a ghostly figure. Then she speaks with Ms. Peterson, the third grade teacher, who says she has been dreaming about the ghost of a British soldier.
Meanwhile Officer Ron Dublowski has been facing his own troubles. Coming back several days late from a CPR class outside of town, Ron's wife Beth returns but tells Ron she wants a separation. Overcome with grief, Officer Ron drives out to British Soldier Field, where he encounters Violet who has gone there to play Quatuor pour la fin du temps. Instead she plays a Japanese Breakfast song for him and the two begin to feel more hopeful, in spite of all the disappearances.
Finally, Violet gets a clue from Ms. Twombley who remembers a newspaper story about the remains of a British soldier being recovered when the Question Mark video store was being built. Where will this latest clue lead and what strange new mystery might she uncover at Question Mark Video?
June 2, 2023
Following Ms. Twombley's advice, Violet visits the Question Mark video store and meets disaffected video clerk, Dash Holland, twin brother of Parker Holland, who claims to have seen the ghost of the British soldier in a video from the 90s.
Violet rents the video and watches it and receives an eerie message from a ghostly figure that warns, “Beware the endless circle.” Violet first tries exploring “the infinite circle,” a burial mound built by the Adena or Hopewell people in 1000 BC. There she sees a strange light. When she asks Officer Ron about the light, he warns her to stay away from that area as various local criminals, including the Towns brothers, have been known to use that part of the woods for illicit activities.
At the same time, Officer Ron is struggling to manage his duties as a parent and police officer now that he and his wife Beth are separated.
Following a clue from a map she found in one of Reginald Willey's books, Violet discovers a place in the woods called "Le Circuluis Nonfinis," which Ms. Twombley helps her translate as "The Endless Circle." There she and Nanako find the peacock Violet spotted weeks before and realize there is a tag on its foot that says, "Foreverland Pet Refrigeration." Back at Nanako's, the pair discover there is a code in the Foreverland website that mentions an accident involving time. Where will this new clue lead the intrepid Violet?
June 9, 2023
Violet investigates Foreverland Pet Refrigeration and finds the building has been boarded up. Feeling overwhelmed by the escalating circles of overlapping mysteries, she breaks down. Ms. Peterson appears just in time to remind her that there are some challenges we choose, while other challenges choose us.
The next day, the ice cream cone statue in front of Mr. Freeze-E goes missing and the whole town is shaken, especially Officer Ron, who is facing the end of his marriage and this latest disappearance, feels equally overwhelmed with both.
On Monday, Violet returns to “le circuluis nonfinis,” or the hidden meadow, to search for the peacock. This time she discovers the peacock's tag has a name on the other side: “T. Zisk,” which suggests the mayor's deceased husband was once the owner of the mysterious peacock. Violet follows the clue to the mayor's office and leaves a note for her. Later that day, Violet finds a letter from Mayor Zisk, warning her that both of them will be in danger if Violet keeps searching for the truth. Undeterred, Violet returns to the hidden meadow and encounters a strange person in a beekeeper's outfit, photographing a number of circles that have been drawn on the trees in chalk. Violet wonders if these circles are the endless circle she has been warned about.
June 16, 2023
While searching for the peacock in the woods, Violet meets Everard Bright, a professor from Cincinnati studying cults, who warns that members of the Order of the Arranger, a cult from California, may be living in town. Violet and Bruno continue to search the woods for the missing pets and come upon a strange discovery: in the hidden meadow, several floating purple lights appear. When Violet returns to her bicycle, she finds someone has let the air out of her tires.
Ron continues to struggle to balance his life as an officer of the law with being a single father. That balance isn't helped when Miss Mozart, a local celebrity cat, goes missing.
Searching for answers about the purple lights in the woods, Violet begins to suspect that two workers at Mr. Freeze-E Ice Cream may be linked to the Order of the Arranger after one of the workers puts several suspicious bags in the back of a black van and drops them off at the town dump.
When Violet's dad reads her grades for the final quarter, he asks her to please let her pursuit of the truth of the disappearances in town go. Violet refuses, and instead finds an odd code on the Order of the Arranger website. Her next step is to see if she can make a connection between the suspicious bags, the code, and the suspected cult members at Mr. Freeze-E.
June 23, 2023
Finally solving the coded message from the suspicious workers at Mr. Freeze-E’s, Violet is heartbroken to learn that the body of one of the missing cats in town has been discovered dead and missing its head. Although it is not Mr. Business, it’s soon revealed the cat belongs to Department Streets and Sanitation worker, Bruno Ellis. Together, Violet and Bruno confront the suspected cult member who claims not to have been involved in the cat’s demise, although he warns of something frightening living out in the woods.
At Question Mark Foods, Officer Ron runs into his estranged wife, Beth, and the two have a much-overdue conversation about the struggles they face in their marriage.
On Thursday, Violet discovers the two strange workers from Mr. Freeze-E have quietly disappeared and that Tanner Pratt, elderly citizen, has offered a warning about the future of the town in his recent presentation. Finally, while doing research at the library, Violet makes the joyous discovery that Ms. Twombley is pregnant.
June 30, 2023
Searching for clues regarding what might be living out in the woods and causing things to disappear, Violet follows the white pollen that has been floating all over town and discovers several scientists from the Experimental Crop Station in gas masks and hazmat suits have taped off a large section of the woods. Returning to the woods to find out what the scientists might be hiding, she runs into Ms. Peterson who shows her a large purple light glowing from underground.
Using these clues, Violet discovers a report from Nanako’s dad, Dr. George Yakamoto, describing how an enormous fungus, Armillaria Quaestio, has been living in the forest, hidden for thousands of years. The report includes a map and also suggests the fungus may be eating insects and small animals.
Meanwhile Officer Ron makes a strange discovery of his own, tracking down the suspicious black van used by the suspicious Mr. Freeze-E employees to the Question Mark Motel. There he finds both employees have gone missing, leaving piles of white dust and a part of a coded message.
Finally, Violet follows the map of Armillaria Quaestio through the woods and meets Dr. Allison Andrews, who says that the fungus is entirely harmless but also suggests something called Cucumis Quaestio may have escaped from the Experimental Crop Station and might be responsible for the disappearances in town.
July 7, 2023
Violet begins working at the Question Mark Public Library and uses that time to learn all she can about the strange purple glow in the woods. After work, she rides out to the woods and plays a familiar piece of music on her phone and Mr. Business appears. She pulls him to her chest, but there is a flash of purple light that immediately frightens Mr. Business away.
Violet returns to the woods the next night and plays the music again but this time a large, floating purple orb of light appears and attacks her.
Officer Ron is deeply upset to discover the town’s fireworks have been stolen. The next day he runs into his estranged wife, Beth, and finally asks when she plans to return home. Eventually she reveals that she needs to become a new person without him and will not becoming back. Emotionally reeling, Ron attends a meeting of the Circle of Concerned Families and Friends, looking for meaning and purpose.
Violet, still recovering from her confrontation with the purple light, receives a cryptic message from Mayor Zisk. Unsure how to proceed, Violet makes a connection with a young boy named Quentin Quinn at the library. Violet sees the purple light near the garbage dump, uncertain if it may be responsible for all the town’s recent disappearances…
July 14, 2023
While searching for the floating purple light, Violet speaks with Officer Ron and learns both of them live with hearing loss. Violet finds the purple light menacing two girls and chases it off, coming to recognize that the strange creature seems to be attracted to certain kinds of music.
Before she can warn the rest of the town of the danger the purple light poses, six-year-old Quentin Quinn goes missing. Violet learns that the boy had been trespassing at Question Park and petting zoo with his older brother and his friends, and may have been dared to enter the House of Dazzling Glass. But it appears Quentin never came out.
Violet rushes to the abandoned amusement park) and enters the House of Dazzling Glass, only to exit a day later, with no sense of how much time had actually passed, which leads to a terrible fight with her father.
While at work at the library, Violet learns the mayor’s deceased husband was co-owner of the park at the time of his death, and held a number of other strange investments as well. She also discovers someone named Marcy Towns disappeared inside the House of Dazzling Glass in 1998. When Violet confronts Marcy, she finds out it was only a hoax and that Marcy hid in a cave in the woods for two days in order to sell her story to the newspapers.
After several days without any clues or leads to the missing boy’s whereabouts, Chief of Police Gus Holt calls in the FBI from nearby Columbus, prompting a sense of escalating fear and imminent danger.
July 23, 2023
Following a clue from Marcy Towns as to the whereabouts of Quentin Quinn, Violet searches the Ghost Gap, a little-known cavern deep in the woods. Instead of finding the missing boy, Violet discovers the strange purple light hiding at the bottom. Sensing the light is weak, Violet offers the creature her father’s flashlight which it quickly consumes.
The next day, a fire engulfs the New Tomorrow particle accelerator construction site. Violet rides over and uncovers a message from the Order of the Arranger, presumably warning of the approaching end-times. Officer Ron and Chief Holt suspect the fire has been started using the town’s missing Fourth of July Fireworks, though no arrests are made.
At the Question Mart, Violet meets FBI Agent Adam Oberman, a young investigator who confesses his ambivalence about working for the FBI. Admitting he would rather have pursued a life in musical theater, Violet feels a connection and decides to tell him everything she’s learned about the town.
With help from Ms. Peterson, Violet records a Morse code message in the woods, which may have been sent from Quentin Quinn. Decoding the message, Violet learns it is a clue involving the missing library book, Moonlight Woods. At the library, she finds a digital copy, which leads her in search of a crystal cave somewhere in town. What danger will this latest clue lead her to?
July 28, 2023
While searching for Quentin Quinn, Violet follows the clue in the book Moonlight Woods out to an abandoned pyrite mine in the woods, only to be terrified by the appearance of an unfamiliar face. Returning the next evening with Bruno Ellis, the pair discover a backpack belonging to the missing boy. After hours of questioning by the FBI and QM Police, Violet is released only to find out that New Tomorrow Industries is planning a test of their particle accelerator on Saturday the 29th. She also learns that the Order of the Arranger is involved in some kind of struggle against New Tomorrow and that confrontation now seems all but inevitable.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron finally works up the nerve to sit across from Ms. Holly Peterson at Bingo but is unable to make his feelings known. Then, while enjoying his day off by watching an old favorite on TV, he hears a strange voice coming from his television.
After missing several days of work, Violet is fired from the library but receives a message left on her bicycle, telling her everything will be okay. Returning to the library to apologize to Ms. Twombley, she has a strange interaction with Tanner Pratt, who suggests she is the key to solving the town’s many disappearances. How will the town be changed by the approaching confrontation between the past and the future? And how will Violet finally make the invisible secret hiding in the woods visible?
August 1, 2023
After searching the woods for clues of Mr. Business and Quentin Quinn, Violet returns home and finds her father playing “Afraid,” one of her mother’s favorite songs on piano. Violet’s father informs her that will be going to Cleveland on Monday to visit her grandmother for a few weeks. She protests and runs to her room where she receives a mysterious call from Agent Oberman, summoning her to the woods the following afternoon.
At the woods, Agent Oberman tells her he believes that things are indeed disappearing in town and shows her an evidence bag that once contained Quentin Quinn’s shoes. Just then New Tomorrow Industries tests their particle accelerator. The sky is momentarily frozen and turns pink. Returning to town, Violet finds all the clocks have stopped.
Before leaving for Cleveland, Violet goes back to the woods once more and plays a recording of her best friend Nanako on the cello. Mr. Business finally reappears! Violet follows him deeper to the woods and, at the endless circle, Violet recalls all the secret messages she has received so far. She decides to play her mother’s favorite song, “Afraid,” and a strange, circular, white light appears. She is able to quickly make a recording before it fades.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron learns that ex-con Judah Towns has been released from prison early and has joined the church group, The Circle of Concerned Family and Friends. When Ron asks the leader of the group, CM Waldorf, about this arrangement, Waldorf responds by suggesting men like Judah will be needed for some kind of upcoming confrontation. The next day, Officer Ron is suspended without pay for posting police business on social media.
September 1, 2023
After discovering a strange circular white light in the woods, Violet leaves Question Mark to visit her grandmother in Cleveland. Returning after three weeks, she considers the series of strange disappearances that have affected the town and is disappointed to discover Mr. Business and Quentin Quinn are both still missing. She also learns that the FBI has largely given up on the case.
Beginning her final year of high school, Violet notices her French teacher, Mr. Lefebvre, seems much more amiable and spots a mysterious love letter on his desk. After learning her best friend Nanako is leaving town to go to a music conservatory on the East coast, Violet decides to turn her full attention to finding the truth about the town’s disappearances. While visiting Gary Dublowski, she receives another message from Quentin Quinn, describing a town of missing things. Could this be the clue she’s been waiting for?
Meanwhile, Town Librarian Greta Twombley discovers that pages are missing from a book in the Reginald Willey Archive, and a code has been left in their place. Ms. Twombley is also having trouble with her pregnancy. The baby seems to disappear and reappear within her.
Finally, returning from a three week suspension for posting police business on social media, Ron Dublowski rejoins the Question Mark Police Department determined to be a new Ron and to let his feelings for Ms. Holly Peterson be known. Unfortunately, due to his lack of confidence and several calls to the police department for missing keys, Ron is unable to truly reinvent himself. What major event will it take for Ron to become the person he’s always been meant to be?
September 8, 2023
Violet begins her senior year of high school and discovers a piece of paper bearing a code belonging to the Order of the Arranger, a dangerous cult from California that is seeking to bring about the end of the world. Before she has time to make sense of this impending threat, the British statue from British Soldier Field goes missing, which leads to an argument between Violet and Officer Ron Dublowski.
The next day, Violet meets Iris, another high school senior who has just moved to town and who has a fascination with the occult. Violet explains everything she knows about the strange events in town and Iris enthusiastically agrees to help her solve the ongoing mystery.
After starting a new job at the Question Mark Car Wash, Violet receives a strange message in French, pointing her and Iris back to the white circular light in the woods. While searching for the light, they run into Professor Everard Bright who warns that the Order of the Arranger is looking for something similar, a void in time, a kind of portal to release the Arranger and bring about a new age of darkness.
Officer Ron, disillusioned by the disappearance of the British soldier statue, begins investigating a pair of footprints in the woods and, with his son Gary’s help, soon begins to suspect ex-convict Judah Towns may somehow be involved. But is Ron truly ready for the danger that may lay ahead?
September 15, 2023
Violet and Iris sneak into the Eastwood Circle pool and Violet receives another message in French, which sends them to visit the Infinite Circle, where they learn the white circle Violet saw may have existed for hundreds of years, even before the disappearance of the Hopewell people in 400 AD.
As Violet continues her investigation at the library, she is threatened by a masked member of the Order of the Arranger who demands to know the location of the opening to other dimensions. While continuing their search, Violet and Iris find a strange, lumbering man in the woods who drops a page written in French. With Agent Oberman’s help, they learn the page is actually from a Bible belonging to French missionary Jacques Blanchet and that Blanchet’s remaining letters are now in the trunk of a 1972 Chevelle that will be part of Friday night’s car contest. In order to learn the truth of the white circle, Violet and Iris must win the car in a battle of endurance.
Meanwhile Officer Ron keeps tabs on the Towns brothers while finally gaining the courage to go on a walk with Ms. Peterson. But a recent announcement from cult theorist Everard Bright may upend everything…
September 22, 2023
In the middle of Buck Walters’ car contest, an explosion momentarily interrupts the proceedings. Unwilling to let go of the car, Violet and Iris see the town’s water tower has collapsed. QM Police immediately suspect the involvement of the Order of the Arranger.
On Sunday, after losing the car contest, Violet learns of a bird named Pierre at Meow’s the Time pet store that speaks and writes in French. With Iris’ help, Violet follows a clue from Pierre to a strange-shaped tree in the Question Mark woods. Aided by Bruno Ellis, the three discover a long-buried diary from French missionary Jacques Blanchet that details the mysterious disappearance of the French colony in 1748.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron continues to get to know Ms. Peterson, taking her on a true crime tour of Question Mark, all the while trying to learn what the Towns brothers are doing out in the woods. While listening to CDs, he receives a message from Quentin Quinn who suggests a tree with old shoes may be a point of contact between the world of Question Mark and the world of missing things. Little does he know that Holly Peterson has seen the very same tree herself and is struggling to understand its meaning.
While looking for more evidence to the existence of the glowing white circle, or what Blanchet referred to as the void, Violet encounters the purple light monster. For a moment, the creature seems to recognize her and then floats away, leaving behind a nest of shiny objects, including an antique ruby ring, which Violet believes may have belonged to one of the missing French colonists.
Where will this latest clue lead?
September 29, 2023
Violet and Iris bring the ruby ring from the missing French colonist to Jock Reynolds and discover Elodie Reinhold is one of his ancestors. As a reward for solving this centuries-old mystery, Jock gives each of them a fighting kite and a few pointers.
The next day, Violet is approached by Dash Holland from Question Mark Video, who has an unsettling mystery of his own. The ghost of the British Soldier, which video store workers call Wheezy, has asked to speak to someone who knows how to talk to ghosts. Using Iris’ ouija board, Violet, Iris, and Dash discover that the ghost’s name is William Headley and that he was captured by the French after his entire regiment disappeared in the woods. Before being executed, he gave an jeweled hair comb shaped like a bird belonging to his fiancé to a French nun in the hopes that she would hide it. The ghost believes it is the hair comb that is keeping it trapped in the video store and asks the group to find it.
As Violet and Iris search for the comb, they learn that, along with Bruno Ellis, they are the new owners of the Upside-Down House, according to Buck Walters’ will, after solving the mystery of the French colony’s disappearance. Violet and Iris explore the strange house and find the jeweled comb in the basement among several boxes of other British artifacts. They return the hair comb to the video store and the ghost of William Headley vanishes and later turn over ownership of the house to the town historical society.
Meanwhile Officer Ron grows closer to Holly Peterson, showing her his favorite place in town, the garbage dump. Holly reveals that the ghost of her brother has appeared to her recently and that both of them are haunted by a tree full of old shoes that seem to appear and disappear. Ron catches an old episode of The Green Fog and wonders if the tree appears only when the moon is full.
Violet receives a message stuck in the spokes of her bicycle and she and Iris head to the endless circle where they meet Theophilus Willey, a descendent of town founder Reginald Willey, who has also been working to uncover the mystery of the circular light in the woods. With Violet and Iris’s help, the trio decode a passage from Willey’s writing and using several pieces of music, each with their own specific musical key, they are momentarily able to make the white light visible. Violet decides they must find a way to close the void for good. Theophilus mentions a musical composition his great-great-uncle was working on entitled Question Mark, OH, Question Mark which may be the answer.
October 6, 2023
After locating Reginald Willey’s unfinished musical composition, which he wrote as a means to close The Void once and for all, Violet enlists Nanako Yakamoto’s help to complete the song. Before playing the composition, they are joined by archeology student Patsy Elske and several other citizens including Bruno Ellis, Jock Reynolds, Dash Holland, and Ms. Twombley, who all take part in a commemoration of everything that has been lost in town from its earliest beginnings. Once the ceremony concludes, Nanako plays the completed melody, which everyone hopes will save the town from further disappearances.
Later that evening, Violet, Iris, and Nanako discover the song has had the opposite effect: The Void is now fully visible and does not go away. Violet calls Officer Ron for help. Once he arrives, he makes the critical decision to inform the rest of the town.
Within two days, ever-enterprising Mayor Zisk launches Visit The Void, turning the odd phenomenon into a money-making tourist attraction. Violet and Iris are shocked to find out the ploy actually works, as long lines of visitors come to town to visit the strange anomaly.
One day later, terror strikes the town as the Greenberg Yarn factory explodes and the sinkhole reopens, twice as large as before. Violet rides to the scene and sees a message from the Order of the Arranger, wondering how this fits into their plan of unleashing an otherworldly being intent on bringing about a new dark age.
Elsewhere, Officer Ron and Holly Peterson continue their search for the disappearing tree. While on duty, Ron witnesses an entire factory, complete with smokestacks, appear and then disappear and wonders what its connection to the odd tree might be.
While staring at the rubble of the yarn factory, Violet receives a phone call from Quentin Quinn in code, warning her that something terrible is coming and suggesting she speak to William Higgland Jr., owner of the video store and a former Order of the Arranger member. What devious scheme will Violet uncover?
October 13, 2023
After following the message from Quentin Quinn, the missing boy, Violet seeks out William Higgland Jr. and learns of the Order of the Arranger’s plans. Violet discovers a post complete with a map that seems to suggest that the Order intends to perform a ritual in order to release the Arranger, a ritual which may or may not include murder.
Violet looks for further clues and is attacked by three members of the cult. Q-eey, the floating purple light, saves her at the last moment. The next day Violet returns to thank the strange creature for its help and Dr. George Yakamoto from the Experimental Crop Station uses the opportunity to trap Q-eey and return it to the laboratory from where it escaped.
The next day, Violet is researching the crop station at the library when Ms. Twombley realizes she is going into premature labor and asks for Violet’s help. Driving her to the nearby town of Marietta, Violet is one of the first to receive the good news of Winnifred Twombley’s birth.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron continues to investigate the Order of the Arranger on his own, following several new arrivals in town, but without much luck. His relationship with Holly Peterson grows even closer as she shares with him several disturbing dreams she has had about a group of children trapped inside of a mountain. She tells him that she believes one of the reasons she’s come to town is to help these lost children move on.
Finally, with Professor Bright and Iris’ help, Violet finds the Order’s secret meeting place at the Question Mark Motel. There, in room 0, the trio uncovers several photographs, including one of Professor Bright and one of Violet, and a coded message, which suggest the ritual will take place on Saturday, October 14th, the day of the eclipse. Violet decodes the phrase “blood of the child” and worries it may refer to Winnifred Twombley or even herself. That evening, she is visited by the specter of Bill Twombley, who asks her to please watch over the child. But will Violet be able to keep the Order from completing their despicable task?
October 20, 2023
As the [solar eclipse unfolds above them, Violet and Iris learn a body has been discovered in the Question Mark Woods. A police report and announcement from Mayor Elizabeth Zisk confirm that car wash owner and town council member, Tom Childs, has been murdered. Due to his vacancy on the council, a special election is scheduled for November 7th.
Violet seeks out William Higgland, a former Order of the Arranger member, and learns that the next step in the cult’s plans is to seat the Seven Lords, whatever that might mean. Rushing to get answers from Professor Bright, Violet finds he has been attacked by the Order, after learning of their intention to fill the town council vacancy with one of their own members.
Owen Brandt, the conservative QM HS Assistant principal, immediately announces his intention to run and is soon followed by Gerald Ames, the mild-mannered librarian assistant, each with their own clashing visions for the town and its future.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron Dublowski and Ms. Holly Peterson look for answers regarding the increasingly strange dreams she is having. After one such incident, Holly reveals a burn on her wrist. Ron attempts to comfort her. Later, while watching an episode of The Green Fog, Ron wonders about the nature of ghosts in a conversation with his son, Gary, who suggests these supernatural beings might only be individuals trapped in time. Upon seeing ex-con Judah Towns, Ron decides to try to help the young man move forward from his own troubled past.
As Violet struggles to understand the Order the Arranger’s next steps, Ms. Twombley, the town librarian, asks Violet to watch baby Winnifred, warning Violet not to take her eyes off the baby. When Violet’s back is turned, the baby seems to disappear and then reappear. Violet finds a small piece of fabric in Winnifred’s hand, which immediately turns to dust. How might the baby’s strange condition fit into the ongoing disappearances and reappearances the town is now facing?
October 27, 2023
As the town continues to grieve the loss of Tom Childs, Violet and Iris uncover a ghostly factory, floating over the Question Mark Video Store and later near the Quantum Dynamic Solutions Eightcellerator construction site. Violet learns that Iris’ father Gavin is an avid amateur paranormal investigator who runs his own blog, dedicated to ghosts called Spirits of Ohio. Iris suggests that the apparition is connected to the Ames Rifle factory fire that claimed the lives of ninety-nine children in 1866. Gavin mentions that the ghosts of the factory speak in a language where past and future collide together.
Violet and Iris find the ghost factory in the Question Mark Motel, and along with Ms. Holly Peterson, they go inside, seeing a tree covered in burned clothes and shoes. As they delve deeper into the factory’s past, they learn that although the factory owners claimed no remains were ever found, other stories surrounding the appearance of ghostly children present a different possibility. In order to resolve this collision of past and future, Violet and Iris must find where the remains have been hidden. Soon a ghostly message from the children reveals that a compass will lead them to the answer.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron and Holly Peterson’s relationship continues to develop, as they share an intimate moment at the town dump. Shortly after, Officer Ron’s keys go missing. He spends some time riding his bicycle investigating town newcomers and sees Town Council candidate Owen Brandt vandalizing his competitor's yard signs. Still keyless, Ron is assigned to desk duty on the job. Frustrated, he soon discovers that Hilda Durn, elderly resident, has been stealing other town resident’s keys and going in and arranging their belongings at night, in order to keep the town safe. Officer Ron vows to keep her secret.
As the mystery of the ghost factory deepens, Armillaria Quaestio, the gigantic fungus that lives underneath the woods, makes a reappearance and engulfs the historic Lindholm house. While searching for the location of the childrens’ remains, Violet and Iris encounter Agent Oberman, who has been looking into evidence of temporal distortion in town, echoing Mr. Englebrecht’s notion of past and future colliding. Moments later, they receive another ghostly message, beseeching them to explore the ruins of Samuel Lindholm’s house for the missing compass. What new hidden dangers will Violet uncover next?
November 3, 2023
After locating the missing compass from Samuel Lindholm’s ruined house, Violet and Iris head deep into the woods where, with Holly Peterson and Officer Ron’s help, they discover a ghostly tree full of burned shoes and clothes, which marks the final resting place of the children who died in the Ames Rifle factory fire. Officer Ron alerts the police and medical examiner and Holly decides to hold an impromptu memorial service the following day. The floating factory soon disappears and, several days later, Holly begins night school for ghosts and disappeared persons, along with Gary Dublowski’s technical help.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron begins to follow town council candidate Owen Brandt after finding him knocking down his opponent’s signs. Eventually this leads to a pointed confrontation in which Brandt threatens Officer Ron’s job. While on a patrol, Officer Ron also discovers The Void has begun to make a loud hum, and although Mayor Zisk promises otherwise, this new shift seems to mark a decidedly dangerous escalation in The Void’s appearance.
On Halloween, Violet returns from a disappointing day at school to find that Jock Reynolds of the Historical Society has left a strange gift for her: a disappearing box, one of prankster Buck Walter’s final creations. Violet stares at the object for a while before putting one of her mother’s pens inside and closing the box. Moments later, Violet opens the box and finds a compact disc with her mother’s writing on it. What might this latest clue from beyond reveal about the nature of time and disappearances in town?
November 10, 2023
After following a crime report on the town’s website, Violet and Iris are horrified to find Professor Everard Bright, beloved cult theorist, dead by apparent bee sting at the Question Mark Motel. While Iris pretends to faint, Violet sneaks inside the room and spots a final clue to decode. As the town confronts this latest murder, Violet shows Officer Ron the deciphered message and Officer Ron reasons the hideout of the Order of the Arranger must be the Hall of Dazzling Glass at the nearby abandoned Question Park.
At the park, Violet and Officer Ron discover Glenn Warner of the Office of Vital Records and Art Compton, manager of Question Mark Foods, hiding within the mirrored attraction, with several maps and explosive materials. After handcuffing both suspects, Officer Ron travels deeper into the maze and finds town council candidate, Owen Brandt, who has been wounded and deeply frightened, muttering something about a ghost tiger, a possible reference to the park’s missing tiger, Sheba. All three suspects are booked for trespassing as the QM Police gathers additional evidence.
The entire town waits as the results of the election for town council are announced. Violet is pleased to learn Gerald Ames, assistant librarian, has won Tom Childs’ vacant seat, but expects something terrible to happen. Instead, returning home from a long day at school, she finally works up the nerve to listen to the CD from her mother and discovers the first track is David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” which returns Violet’s sense of hope.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron attempts to support ex-convict Judah Towns, as he recognizes both feel trapped by their past mistakes.
As Violet and Iris feel a sense of normalcy returning to the town, they spot Mayor Elizabeth Zisk’s car at the Question Mark Motel. Once she departs, they watch Gerald Ames exit the same motel room, and dispose of a note. Reading between the lines, they learn the Mayor and Gerald Ames seem to have been meeting in secret for some time. What might this latest development mean for the future of the town?
November 17, 2023
On the way home from school, Violet discovers A. quaestio, the gigantic underground mushroom, has broken through the center of town and is engulfing the town square and destroying the Mayor’s beloved fountain. Later that day, while doing homework in her room, Violet notices a flash of purple light. Going outside to investigate the next day, she puts on a mask and discovers the fungus has released a strange wave of spores from the center of town and that most of the townspeople including Violet’s father, Iris, Bruno Ellis, Ms. Holly Peterson, Ms. Twombley, and baby Freddie, are now all unconscious.
Violet locates Officer Ron, who has been out of town looking into allegations surrounding the mysterious CM Waldorf. Together they find Mayor Zisk in tears at her ruined fountain. Violet hurries to the library and discovers a similar incident happened before in Question Mark in 1993 after a poisonous explosion at an illegal pyrite mine owned by Thompson Zisk. Violet heads alone to the mine and locates several crates of hazardous materials and then receives a message from Quentin Quinn, warning her that history is repeating itself and the answer may lie at the Cell-Con plant, the cell phone factory formerly owned by Thompson Zisk.
At the abandoned factory, Violet and Officer Ron find an old safe containing several documents that reveal a second incident occurred in 1998 after a chemical spill at the Cell-Con plant, leading to several dozen people becoming immobile. Decoding a private letter to Mayor Elizabeth Zisk, Violet also learns that Thompson Zisk claimed to have buried hazardous waste somewhere in town and may have also burned down his own factory in order to destroy evidence and sever ties with his failing business.
Following these clues to the town dump, Violet and Officer Ron make another unbelievable discovery that may explain strange symptoms currently affecting town members, but will this discovery come too late?
November 24, 2023
After locating the APEX shipping container full of hazardous waste, Violet and Officer Ron hurry to the Experimental Crop Station where Dr. Allison Andrews and her remaining team are able to quickly create an inoculation. Violet is overjoyed once her father regains consciousness and Officer Ron tends to his ex-wife, children, and Holly Peterson, who, in return kisses him in the school gym in front of the entire town.
Violet receives another startling message from Quentin Quinn, and inspired by a note in the town roundup, decides she will do everything she can to find the missing boy. Following his clue, she begins to search places in town where time seems to have stopped, beginning with the clock tower. Although she finds no sign of the missing boy, a strange interaction with newly-elected town council member Gerald Ames gives her pause.
With information gleaned from the public library, Violet attempts to find an old well, which has been said to appear and disappear, but again with no clue to Quentin’s whereabouts. Instead she finds Bruno Ellis sitting on a rock, overcome with grief for his decapitated cat, Ajax. Violet comforts him and invites Bruno and several other townspeople to her house for Thanksgiving, where Mayor Zisk makes a surprise appearance. At the end of the evening, Quentin Quinn’s mother, Gloria, comes bearing another message from the missing boy.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron comforts his son, Gary, who is struggling with the ongoing uncertainty in town, and offers his daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Parker, a place to stay. Getting a lead from Judah Towns about illegal happenings at the pyrite mine, Officer Ron must face his fear of being underground in order to dig deeper into the Circle of Concerned Families and Friends plot.
On Friday, Violet asks Bruno for help and the pair sneak into the abandoned Foreverland pet refrigeration building, where they make a startling discovery: three carefully frozen bodies, all belonging to the Applenight family. Moments later, Bruno notices a strange light coming from the lower level and Violet and Bruno continue their investigation, which may lead to some shocking truths about Bill Twombley’s disappearance and the nature of how time works in Question Mark.
December 1, 2023
Investigating Foreverland Pet Refrigeration for answers to the disappearance of Quentin Quinn, Violet and Bruno Ellis follow the strange light into the lower level and discover the silhouettes of three human beings etched into the concrete floor, all surrounding an ominous-looking power source. Bruno momentarily switches the machine on and, for a split second, Violet believes she sees Bill Twombley as time collides with itself once again.
On the way to alert the QMPD, Violet and Bruno are attacked by members of the Order of the Arranger moments later, demanding to know how to open The Void. Violet bravely fights the masked assailants off as Bruno once again comes to her aid.
With FBI Agent Adam Oberman’s assistance and the use of his recently-compiled time map, Violet searches the town for other places where time seems to stand still. Violet and Agent Oberman head to the Ames Tannery and find a bewildering scene: once-dead animals seem to come alive. Both Violet and Agent Oberman quickly retreat, finding no other clues leading to the whereabouts of Quentin Quinn.
Together they also search the ruined fairgrounds on the outskirts of town where 42 people were killed in a blizzard during the Winter Carnival in 2019. Violet notices that all of the blue spots on Agent Oberman’s map seem to correspond to a tragic event in town. As they stare over the fair’s wreckage, Violet receives another message from the missing boy.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron speaks with Judah Towns about his connection to the mysterious C M Waldorf and the Circle of Concerned Families and Friends and learns Waldorf is involved in a scheme to sell drugs in order to finance the acquisition of important religious relics. Traveling to nearby Marietta, Officer Ron attempts to follow the ghostly figure he spotted at the pyrite mine but is unable to trace his whereabouts. With Detective Barry McDonnell’s help, Officer Ron learns it is none other than Jules Friend, an out-of-work actor who once appeared on The Green Fog.
As Violet’s search to find Quentin Quinn grows closer to answers, what new secrets will be revealed?
December 18, 2023
Violet continues to search for the missing boy, Quentin Quinn. At the Question Mark Public Library, Violet learns of an incident from 1981 where several birds vanished in the woods. Following the map in the newspaper article, Violet discovers a strange well, once mentioned in town lore, which is said to appear and disappear. She returns with Agent Oberman, who, facing his fear of the dark, climbs down and returns with Quentin Quinn. The boy is alive and healthy, but after being lost in time, appears to have aged ten years. He tells Violet that he wanted to warn the town about the dangers of The Void.
The next day, Violet visits The Void and meets Dr. Amodeus Harrington-Willey, a theoretical physicist and another descendent of town founder, Reginald Willey. Dr. Willey claims that The Void is a hole in time from some point in the future, that is made out of sound, and that it is emitting a repetitive musical pattern. Dr. Willey also observes other low-frequency sounds being emitted throughout town and asks Violet for her help in locating their point of origin. After a short search, they discover the low-frequency sounds are being broadcast from the home of Tanner Pratt. There they meet Amodeus’ odd cousin, Theophilus Willey, who is attempting to bypass the lock on the door. Together all three inspect the premises and find Tanner’s house is filled with maps and sound equipment and that he has been broadcasting “Quartet for the End of Time” at a sub-audible level. Violet also discovers a coded piece of music which she quickly figures out is The Key to The Void.
The next day, the Order of the Arranger attempts to blow open The Void in order to release the otherworldly creature they believe will bring about a new age of darkness. In the midst of these escalating difficulties, Violet learns that Iris is close to executing her plan of revenge, which may involve shooting the person responsible for her older sister Riley’s addiction. Violet is once again attacked by members of the Order, who desperately want to know how to open The Void and Iris and Quentin Quinn come to her aid. Quentin tells Violet that he has had a vision of the entire town on fire and worries it may have something to do with the upcoming New Tomorrow Eightcellerator test.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron continues to question his future as a police officer after Holly Peterson announces her intention to leave Question Mark at the end of the school year. Officer Ron works with former television star Kid Fog and current Marietta detective Barry McDonnell to track several stolen artifacts to the Marietta docks and learn from Jules Friend of another upcoming shipment. There they outsmart CM Waldorf and intercept the shipment and are able to arrest Waldorf in the act. Detective McDonnell gives Officer Ron a commemorative Green Fog mask which causes Ron to begin to believe in his abilities as a public servant.
Back in Question Mark, New Tomorrow Industries CEO Alastair Applenight arrives for the second Eightcelerator test, which will be overseen by his AI creation, JULIA. It’s soon revealed that the three bodies Violet discovered in the Foreverland refrigerated unit belong to Applenight’s deceased father, wife, and daughter, who he plans on reviving as part of something called Project Tomorrow.
On the day of the test, there is a white flash of light from the New Tomorrow facility which causes several New Tomorrow guards to be turned into piles of white dust. Time immediately becomes unwound and both Officer Ron and Violet encounter loved ones from the past. After seeing her mother, Violet realizes the CD her mother left her contains a hidden message and tries to locate the missing file.
The next day, Iris refuses to speak to Violet at school. After following her to the Moonlite Grove RV Park, Violet learns that the person she holds responsible for her mother’s death, Titus Towns, has been released from prison. She realizes that he is the one Iris has been preparing to shoot as part of her revenge plan. After confronting her best friend with the information, Iris is unswayed and carries the rifle out into the woods.
The following day, Violet and Quentin Quinn learn from Dr. Harrigton-Willey that The Void is human-made and that someone used large amounts of iridium in its creation. Violet hurries to the library to learn all she can about iridium and, while there, notices Gerald Ames returning a book about the end of time to a bookshelf. She takes note of some suspicious orange mud on his shoes and learns that the Order of the Arranger is planning on opening The Void the next day at the Lost Lake Drive-In.
Asking Bruno for help, they make their way into the terrifyingly dangerous drive-in and find themselves surrounded by members of the Order, who demand to know the secret of opening The Void. Violet, who knows opening The Void will only lead to devastation, hesitates, and Bruno is shot by a member of the Order. She quickly turns over the key to The Void–the musical composition from Tanner Pratt–and a member of the Order plays the music on a French horn. Moments later there is an ear-shattering sound and The Void is opened, releasing a powerful wave of energy and light from the future, which overloads the nearby power station, causes several fires, and mass flooding. As the members of the Order run and the flames grow closer, Violet refuses to leave Bruno’s side. Officer Ron helps to evacuate the town as an emergency town announcement orders all citizens to leave.
How will Violet and Bruno survive?
Will Officer Ron ever return?
And how will the town of Question Mark ever be the same?
February 2, 2024
After being evacuated and spending six weeks in Cleveland, Violet Bookman returns to find her beloved town of Question Mark partially-demolished by fire, flood, and the strange pulse of energy that was unleashed from The Void by the Order of the Arranger. Lost-Lake Drive-In has temporarily closed, Moonlite Grove RV Park has been destroyed, and Professor Chik N Crunch has been replaced by the somewhat suspicious Holy Romaine Empire. Violet recognizes that in order to stop the entire town from disappearing, she must act swiftly and figure out a way to stop time from destroying everything she loves.
Once high school resumes, Violet attempts to reconnect with her best friend Iris, but Iris is still upset from their argument before the fire regarding Titus Towns. She goes to check on Bruno Ellis, her ally and a Department of Streets and Sanitation worker who, before the fire, accompanied her to Lost Lake and who is now recuperating from a gunshot wound. Violet knocks, receives no answer, and leaves a scarf her grandmother helped her knit.
The next day, Violet and Iris are able to resolve their argument when Violet explains that there may be another way to hold Titus Towns accountable for the emotional and psychological damage he has caused to Iris’ older sister: Violet’s mother was local newspaper reporter who accumulated evidence about the Towns brothers and all Violet and Iris need to do is locate the file and turn it over to the police.
On the way to ask Ms. Twombley at the library for help, Violet and Iris discover a message in chalk on the side of the library, which when decoded, warns: Everything ends at the beginning. While searching for an answer to the clue, Violet encounters Officer Ron Dublowski, sitting in front of the Holy Romaine Empire, bemoaning the loss of his favorite restaurant.
Later, she and Iris learn that New Tomorrow Industries owns the parent company of the Holy Romaine Empire and that New Tomorrow has begun preparing for something universe-altering on May 4, 2024.
Where does the clue Violet discovered actually lead? And what other new threats will reveal themselves?
February 9, 2024
Following a clue that states, “Everything ends at the beginning,” Violet and her best friend, Iris, locate another hidden message, this time carved into a cornerstone of the Willey Envelope factory which claims: “Time can be fixed. Seek the music.” The next day, Violet rushes out to The Void, believing that the clue refers to the strange, repetitive music The Void seems to be emitting and interviews Dr. Amodeus Harrington-Willey. She learns about the spiral-model of time, in which certain questions, certain events recur again and again.
Riding home, she spots a strange figure in a golden spacesuit standing behind Tanner Pratt’s house and wonders about the figure’s connection to the ongoing disappearances in town.
Days later, Violet has a strange encounter when the stereo in her living room begins to play certain songs, one after the other. Believing it to be a message from her deceased mother, Violet is unsure how to proceed until she receives a second series of songs on her phone. Hurrying to her father’s music store, Bookman’s Music, she learns how her parents met and discovers the deep sense of loss her father has also been facing. While there, she listens to a song her father’s band recorded in the 1990s and finds another clue from her mother, urging her to: “go to the place where everything changed for me.”
Meanwhile, Officer Ron struggles with the many changes occurring in his personal life: from his uncertain relationship with Ms. Holly Peterson–who has begun applying to teaching jobs in other parts of Ohio–to his daughter, Lindsay,–who seems to be growing up much too fast–to his son, Gary–who seems to prefer the company of technology over human friends. Even Judah Towns, a young ex-convict who Ron has befriended and who informs Ron about the existence of Spotify, seems to reinforce the feeling that everything Ron has known and has loved is susceptible to change.
After spending time at her dad’s music store, Violet finally finds the courage to ask her dad about her mother and discovers that her mom used to hang out at a cavern in the woods nicknamed the Ghost Gap as a teenager. Violet explores the Ghost Gap and thinks she spots the strange purple light creature before it disappears. Searching the cavern, she finds an old lockbox containing photos of her mother as a teen and a newspaper article from the high school paper written by her mother.
What might this latest clue from Violet’s mom mean? How does it connect to the appearance of the golden figure? And who else in town might be in search of the source of the hidden music?
February 16, 2024
After locating one of her mother’s high school newspaper stories about Reginald Willey Day back in 1988, Violet rushes to the QM public library and tries to decipher the meaning of her mother’s latest clue. While there, she encounters Gerald Ames, the suspicious assistant librarian, who seems to be inspecting a page from one of town founder Reginald Willey’s biographies. Gerald writes something down on a piece of paper and then quickly discards it. Becoming curious, Violet retrieves the paper and finds it is a code that states: Time is a clock, just like any other. It can be fixed.
Asking Dr. Amodeus Harrington-Willey for help, Violet and the physicist explore the town clock tower and find it has been broken into. After a violent confrontation with two members of the Order of the Arranger, Violet and the doctor locate another code, inscribed on a plaque within the tower: In order to fix Time, you must listen to all the notes.
Violet celebrates her eighteenth birthday and receives a message in a very difficult code and wonders who her new secret admirer might be. The next day she asks her father about her mother’s missing files, and he suggests they look at her old newspaper office, The Question Mark Sentinel. While there, Violet makes a number of significant discoveries: she learns her mother was reporting on overdose deaths in town before the fatal accident that claimed her life, she learns that Officer Ron’s father died in an accident while on duty as a police officer, and she learns that the golden man–the strange figure she saw near Tanner Pratt’s house–had been spotted in town as far back as the 1930s. She also finds a code from her mother in her mom’s last published story, telling her to go ask editor-in-chief Ben Fortune for help.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron ventures to the Holy Romaine Empire and, with Holly Peterson’s assistance, confronts his fear of healthy food. There the two contemplate their future together. Later, at a Valentine’s dinner, Holly asks Officer Ron if he would join her in leaving town. Ron, surprising himself, quickly agrees.
Violet seeks out Ben Fortune and he advises her to try to pick up her mother’s overdose investigation, even suggesting that she go to talk to local drug dealer, Titus Towns. Will Violet be able to confront her greatest personal challenge and find closure regarding her mother’s death? And what of the odd newspaper story detailing the dismissal of Mayor Vreelander? What other dramatic difficulties might soon befall the citizens of Question Mark?
February 23, 2024
After the cunning and complicated Elizabeth Zisk is removed as mayor of the town of Question Mark by the Town Council, Violet immediately asks Ms. Twombley, the head librarian for help. Ms. Twombley uncovers some information regarding Appendix Nine of the town charter, which can reinstate a mayor once they have been removed. However Appendix Nine has been locked in the town vault for the last one-hundred-seventy years and the only way to open the town vault is to locate the missing town key.
Violet receives a plea from former Mayor Zisk, who has taken a job at Holy Romaine Empire, and who reveals Thompson Zisk, her long dead husband and a former mayor, was in fear of being removed and had also been searching for the missing town key. He believed a pair of mayoral cufflinks–passed down from mayor to mayor–may have included an important code, but after the fire that claimed his life and led to the ruin of the Cell-Con cell phone factory, Thompson Zisk was buried with these important cufflinks.
Asking Officer Ron for help, the two travel to St. Casimir’s Non-Denominational Cemetery and retrieve the cufflinks. Iris helps decode the message, which leads Violet and Iris to the Question Mark Falls the following day. There, behind a curtain of ice-cold water, they find another message inscribed directly into the cliff face, warning them about the danger of individuals who want to wield the power of the few over the power of the many and suggesting that the town key may have been stolen by former industrialist, Lawrence Ames.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron receives a coded message of his own inside a file folder of newspaper clippings, outlining several corruption cases within the police department. There is also a clipping detailing his father’s accidental death while on duty. Decoding the message, Ron finds someone is trying to warn him about a much larger criminal plot involving the QMPD and possibly the death of his father.
With helpful information from Holly Peterson, Violet and Iris travel to the decrepit Ames mansion, avoiding dangerous pitfalls and traps in order to retrieve the missing town key. But where will their search for the town key lead them? And once found, what will the town need to do in order to reinstate Elizabeth Zisk?
March 1, 2024
After learning that Mayor Zisk has been removed from office, Violet and Iris follow a clue inscribed into a cliff behind the Question Mark Falls to the abandoned mansion of industrialist Lawrence Ames. There they narrowly avoid a series of winding passages and traps. Finding themselves lost, they eventually discover the Ames library. Violet remembers a clue from her trip to the cemetery and removes a book from the shelf entitled He Saw and Conquered Destiny and finds a hidden room filled with an altar and several strange objects, including the missing silver town key.
Violet and Iris quickly return the key to Elizabeth Zisk and, with Town Council member Tom Weathers’ help, the town vault is opened and Appendix Nine, regarding the reinstatement of a town mayor, is initiated. The appendix states that the town now has twenty-four hours to sign a petition declaring their desire to reinstate Elizabeth Zisk.
Violet and Iris urge the citizens of Question Mark to sign the petition and with only moments to spare, townspeople of all kinds rise to the occasion and reinstate Mayor Zisk. Officer Ron is given an award for his bravery in digging up the mayoral cufflinks and Violet is rewarded with a coded message from Reginald Willey, also discovered in the town vault, which suggests: Listen to all the notes and find the proper key. With Dr. Amodeus Harrington-Willey and Theophilus Willey, Violet follows the strange musical pattern out to the disappearing well but does not find any other clue.
On Thursday, February 29, Reginald Willey Day is celebrated across town. At the celebration, Violet notices the golden man skulking behind the pharmacy and follows him to an abandoned radio station. While directing traffic around the parade, Officer Ron has his own strange encounter with Judah Towns, who warns the officer that his investigation into a larger criminal conspiracy has been noticed by the Circle of Concerned Families and Friends. Judah urges Officer Ron to look into something called the Circle of Recognition.
As Violet continues her search into the strange musical signals being broadcast across town, what explosive new truth will she learn about the nature of the town’s disappearances and how quickly time may be running out?
March 8, 2024
After following the golden man to the abandoned radio station in town, Violet, along with Dr. Amodeus and Theophilus Willey discover the station’s transmitter is broadcasting a low-frequency signal, with the exact same musical pattern as The Void. Using this information, Dr. Willey follows other musical signals with the same pattern around town and makes a terrifying discovery: there are seven Voids–or holes in the fabric of time–located around Question Mark: one near the endless circle, the second by the disappearing well, the third by the Falls, the fourth by the Question Mark Motel parking lot, the fifth by the House of Dazzling Glass in Question Park, the sixth by New Tomorrow Industries Industrial Park, and the seventh near Foreverland Pet Refrigeration.
Dr. Willey surmises that these holes in time are responsible for the huge number of disappearances and the odd way that time has been working in town. Using the musical key of E minor, Theophilus makes another discovery: there is a hidden workshop beneath the Question Mark Public Library–where library founder Reginald Willey Jr., following his father’s research into the nature of the Void–was attempting to build a machine to fix time in town.
Seeing the enormous scale of the machine, Violet recalls a clue from Reginald Willey’s grave at St. Casimir’s Non-Denominational Cemetery and, escorted once again by Amodeus and Theo, she finds a secret staircase in Reginald Willey Jr.’s crypt, leading them to a vast underground machine.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron Dublowski struggles to identify who is responsible for the drug activity in town and learns that Judah Towns has been beaten and hospitalized in nearby Marietta. Officer Ron travels to Marietta where Judah reveals Lucas Winn, leader of the Circle of Concerned Family and Friends, may not be who he appears to be.
As time continues to tick away, what other challenges must Violet face before she and her allies are able to use Reginald Willey Jr.’s machine to keep everything in town from disappearing? And who else might be interested in such a powerful device?
March 15, 2024
Following a clue from Reginald Jr. Jr.’s observatory at St. Casimir’s, Violet and Iris locate a hidden control room beneath the Question Mart and discover that Reginald Willey Jr. and his son, Reginald Jr. Jr., built a gigantic underground pipe organ underneath the town in order to fix the problems of Time. There they find another coded message instructing them to find the final song and to use it to fix time.
Days later, while babysitting Freddie, the baby disappears and returns with an envelope containing another message: this one presumably from Reginald Willey in the past. It reveals that the final song is nearby but is invisible. While searching for the invisible song at the library, Violet encounters Bruno Ellis, former wrestler and Department of Streets and Sanitation worker, who has received an invitation to the Wrestling Hall of Fame in Cincinnati. Bruno explains, through several handwritten notes, that he is too afraid to go on his own.
Officer Ron Dublowski learns that his ex-wife Beth is planning a commitment ceremony with her partner, Val, and finds the news challenging. Meanwhile his daughter, Lindsay, seems to be growing up much too fast, while his son, Gary, continues to struggle with bullies at school. With Ms. Holly Peterson, Ron finally begins to imagine a future away from Question Mark and all its extraordinary challenges.
Violet and Iris continue to search the town for the invisible song and find Theophilus Willey has taken a third shift position at the Willey Envelope factory in order to help locate the invisible composition. Together they discover a clue on the base of Rebecca Willey, wife of Reginald Willey Jr., that suggests that somehow “the final song is behind the town.”
After school on Friday, Violet returns home and discovers Bruno Ellis standing at her back porch. Asking if Violet and her father would join him on his trip to Cincinnati, Violet quickly agrees. Along with Iris, Violet, her father, and Bruno travel to the strange city in order to face Bruno’s complicated past. But what will our heroes find when they return? And how long before the town of Question Mark is lost entirely to the future?
Only eight weeks remain…
March 22, 2024
As time continues to unravel in the town of Question Mark, Violet struggles to solve the mystery of the missing final song which is said to fix Time. In the midst of this search, Bruno Ellis, Department of Streets and Sanitation worker asks for help in facing a complicated chapter in his past. So Iris, Violet, and Violet’s father escort Bruno to the Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony in Cincinnati where Bruno is able to reunite with the widow of Bob Bancroft, the man he accidentally killed during a wrestling match in the 1980s, and finally find closure.
Returning to town, Violet finds a local dentist office has gone missing. The next day, a strange green cloud appears in the sky, directly above the Experimental Crop Station. As Violet stares at the strange sight, Dr. Allison Andrew of the ECS appears and asks for Violet’s help, warning her that the crop station was forced to conduct an emergency venting of an experimental seed. The next day, Violet awakes to find her father and several townspeople transformed into odd plant-people wandering the town. She quickly calls Officer Ron, who has been asleep and is unchanged, and the two hurry out to the ECS, where they learn from Dr. Andrews that the same townspeople who fell unconscious in November after the giant underground mushroom released its spores, have now, somehow, become pollinated. Dr. Andrews claims all the antidote has been used to inoculate the ECS staff and that it will take time to synthesize any more. Violet brings the empty vial to Ms. Twombley’s house and attempts to get Baby Freddie to travel to the future to obtain more. After several attempts, Freddie returns with the antidote, which Violet quickly shares with Dr. Andrews and Officer Ron. One by one, the affected townspeople are returned to normal. After Holly Peterson recovers, Officer Ron promises to leave town as soon as he has closed the case of his father’s death and its connection to the Circle of Committed Family and Friends.
The following day, as Violet and Iris return to looking for the final song, they encounter Titus Towns, the man responsible for Violet’s mother’s death and Iris’ older sister’s drug addiction. Iris decides to take action although Violet pleads for her not to do anything. What new dangers will unfold as Violet moves closer to her pursuit of the one song that can save everything?
March 29, 2024
After once again saving the town from another terrifying catastrophe, Violet learns Titus Towns has returned to Question Mark and that her best friend, Iris, may be planning to enact revenge upon him by shooting the ex-con with her sister’s rifle. As Violet searches town for Iris, she finds Titus picking through the rubble of the Moonlite Grove RV Park, hoping to find some historical artifacts he had been helping to sell on the black market. Titus catches Violet spying on him and angrily charges at her but he is shot in the left knee by Iris. Quickly, Violet sends Iris away and asks the wounded Titus who was responsible for Violet’s mother’s death. He mentions someone named Travis Hartford who lives at Shady Village before he gets into his banged-up Firebird and drives off.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron receives another coded message and learns that his father, Big Ron, was involved in a criminal conspiracy alongside Marietta police officer Bob Dupree and Question Mark police officer Troy Holland, estranged uncle to Dave and Tim Holland. Following a lead from Mabel Vickery Dupree, Ron interviews Bob Dupree, who is living in an apartment on the edge of town under the assumed name of Lucas Winn, supposed leader of the Circle of Concerned Family and Friends, a right-wing Christian nationalist group. Officer Ron learns that the Circle is a front for various fraudulent internet charities and that the goal of the Circle is to create a Christian-only internet, capable of spreading disinformation with the intent of turning the entire town of Question Mark into its holy kingdom.
With the new clue from Titus, Violet and Officer Ron seek out the mysterious Travis Hartford at the Shady Village retirement home. Disfigured by a fire, Hartford claims to be a former Department of Streets and Sanitation employee and Cell-Con worker who was injured in the 1998 conflagration that led to the death of then-mayor Thompson Zisk. Both Violet and Ron are deeply disappointed until Violet learns that, after Troy Holland was sentenced for corruption, he was horribly burned while in prison. She also recognizes both men’s initials begin with T.H. and rushes to share all she has learned with Officer Ron.
Is Troy Holland actually the man behind the Circle of Commited Family and Friends and its vast internet conspiracy? And how might the strange painting on the Circle’s final web page play into Violet’s search for the invisible song that can finally fixe Time?
Only six weeks remain…
April 5, 2024
After realizing that Travis Hartford, leader of the criminal ring–The Circle of Concerned Family and Friends–is actually disgraced Question Mark police officer Troy Holland, Officer Ron and Violet travel to the Shady Village retirement community and bring Holland to justice. While inspecting Holland’s room, Violet makes a startling discovery: among the many historical artifacts Holland had been selling on the internet, there is a painting by Rebecca Willey which seems to contain a hidden message on the back.
Rushing the painting to Dr. Amodeus Harrington-Willey, Violet makes another important discovery: the invisible final song, consisting of exactly twenty notes, is written on the back! As they are transcribing the musical composition, Amodeus recognizes Violet’s grandfather’s watch as the one that seemed to have gone missing from his family many years ago and that the watch contains the final clue to where the musical composition needs to be played: the Willey Clocktower.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron, after closing the case of his father’s death and the criminal conspiracy of Troy Holland and the Circle, has another momentous challenge to face: to decide to leave town with Holly Peterson or to stay in town and continue his uninspired career as a police officer. After discussing with Holly, Ron decides, for the first time in his life, to begin a new life somewhere else and to embrace the uncertainty of the future.
With Theo Willeys’ help, Violet discovers a hidden room inside the abandoned Willey Clock Tower that contains an organ connected to pipes that run throughout the town. There, she plays the final song. Immediately, the seven Voids slowly fade until they are gone and Time is finally fixed.
Violet finds herself finally able to begin to accept her mother’s death and travels to the woods near the bridge to leave the Disappearing Box containing some of her mother’s belongings there. When she gets home, she discovers a strange new message from a kind of secret admirer, written in an entirely different code–Playfair–and wonders who might have sent it?
As Question Mark struggles to return to normal, the threat of the Order of the Arranger and upcoming New Tomorrow accelerator test put the sense of momentary joy in peril. What unseen threats still loom over this quiet Ohio town?
April 12, 2024
After closing the Seven Voids and saving her town, Violet encounters Q-eey–a strange escaped specimen from the Experimental Crop Station. The creature tries to communicate with her and later leads Violet and Iris to a place in the woods near the bridge where the Order of the Arranger have left several bones, several ritual markings, and a message to its members.
On the day of the total eclipse, the town of Question Mark goes dark and over thirty bodies are removed from St. Casimir’s cemetery–including the body of Lawrence Ames–while a groundskeeper is found dead, apparently murdered.
The next day, while attempting to communicate with Q-eey again, scientists from the Experimental Crop Station arrive and recapture the creature and bring it back to their laboratory. Seeking out Dr. Allison Andrews, Violet and Iris learn that the Experimental Crop Station plans to sell Q-eey to New Tomorrow Industries as a possible power source for their particle accelerator. Following a map and detailed instructions from Dr. Andrews, Violet and Iris help the creature escape and watch as it flies far and away from the Question Mark woods.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron has a heart-to-heart with Gary and Lindsay about his plans to leave Question Mark. Gary, only nine-years-old, takes it badly, and uses his amnesia machine to wipe Ron’s memories in order to prevent him from leaving.
Just as things seem to be returning to normal, Violet hears a strange frightening melody from the Willey Clock Tower and the sky turns red. Immediately, Time seems to have broken down again as buildings and cars and even Violet’s bicycle appear and disappear.
With only four weeks remaining, how will the town of Question Mark ever survive this latest disaster?
April 19, 2024
Violet finds the town of Question Mark thrown into chaos as the entire town appears to be pulled between the past, present, and future. All the stop signs in town disappear. Buildings vanish and then reappear. Fire hydrants disintegrate and then return, spraying water everywhere. Violet and Iris return to the Willey Clock Tower and discover someone has destroyed the magnificent organ keyboard, which has once again plunged the town into another time-related catastrophe.
Violet is visited once again by Bill Twombley, building inspector, who asks for her help in freeing himself from the power generator at Foreverland Pet Refrigeration. Violet is joined by Bruno, Ms. Twombley, and Baby Freddie and together they make their way to the basement of the never-to-be-opened pet freezing facility and find Mr. Twombley stuck in time. He asks Greta to take the baby far from town as he is certain the town is in danger and then tells Violet to consult one of Reginald Willey’s manuscripts entitled the Clock Without A Face. A moment later, Bruno unplugs the machine and Mr. Twombley disappears forever. Violet searches the book at the library and finds a letter warning about the dangers of technology and advising Violet to find the most complicated music inside everyone, even those we consider to be our enemies.
The next day, Violet receives an instant message from someone she has a crush on and is attacked in the woods by a member of the Order of the Arranger, who steals her backpack and every clue she has found thus far. Violet returns to the library the next day, feeling defeated. There she discovers Nanako Yakamoto, one of her oldest friends, has returned to town. The pair is reunited and Nanako attempts to cheer Violet up by playing a board game she has invented. While there, they notice Gerald Ames lurking in an aisle and decode a note he throws away, which seems to suggest that Gerlad may, in fact, be the leader of the Order of the Arranger known as O. When they confront Gerald, he frowns and warns that the following day, everything in town will be going back into the past.
How will Violet face this latest confrontation with the Order of the Arranger? With only three weeks left, who or what will be lost?
April 26, 2024
After learning of the Order of the Arranger’s plan to drag the entire town of Question Mark back into the past, Violet, Iris, and Officer Ron attend Nanako Yakamoto’s cello concert in the town square. Before the concert begins, the Willey Clocktower begins to ring and all three run toward the disturbance. There they find the Order of the Arranger has replaced Reginald Willey Jr. Jr.’s pipe organ with a musical instrument made of human bones, all overseen by Gerald Ames, who reveals himself to be the terrifying leader of the Order known as O. From out of the darkness, Lawrence Ames, dead for over a century appears, and begins to play, causing a tremendous disturbance in time. Violet, Iris, and Officer Ron, all escape as the clock tower begins to collapse.
Outside they find an enormous chasm has opened in the middle of the town square. Mayor Zisk struggles to avoid falling inside. When Gerald sees Mayor Zisk in danger, he hurries to rescue her and realizes the mistake he has made. Turning to face his great-uncle, he tackles Lawrence Ames and both disappear into the chasm.
As the town works to make repairs over the next several days, Dr. George Yakamoto from the Experimental Crop Station arrives and uses classical music to cause the underground fungus to rise toward the surface and close the gaping chasm. Small purple lights rise from the fungus, giving the town a brief moment of hope.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron and his son Gary face a more personal challenge: Ron’s ex-wife’s forthcoming commitment ceremony. Both father and son struggle to accept the small and larger changes in their lives.
At the same time, Ms. Peterson seeks out Violet and warns her that a strange golden figure in town may pose the greatest threat. While searching for clues at the ruined Moonlite Grove RV Park, Violet sees the golden figure, and then spots the figure again the following day, unable to stand in the alley behind the pharmacy. Who is the mysterious figure and what grave danger do they pose for the future of Question Mark? Only two weeks remain…
May 10, 2024
Following the golden figure as it skulks about town, Violet discovers it has been living at the Pine Ridge Apartments. Violet sneaks inside and discovers several blueprints and vials of medication, suggesting that the golden figure is working to complete a machine and that they also seem to be very ill.
Soon after, New Tomorrow Industries CEO Alastair Applenight arrives in town to oversee the forthcoming final test of the Eightcelerator particle accelerator. Violet receives a coded message warning her of the danger of the test. Violet enlists the Model UN club at her school to try to disrupt the test but is unsuccessful. Finding another coded message in a town announcement, she and Officer Ron hurry to the Question Mark Motel and find Darby Cline, an employee of New Tomorrow, who explains Applenight’s plan to open a portal to the future and to turn everything in town into light. She suggests Applenight’s AI program modeled on his deceased sister, JULIA, may be the key to shutting down the test. Moments later, security guards from New Tomorrow arrive and disintegrate Darby. Officer Ron holds the two goons at gunpoint, but not before shooting himself in the foot.
Meanwhile, Officer Ron experiences several anomalies with Time in his own home as his daughter seems to move inexplicably farther and farther into the future. He realizes his son Gary’s latest machine, which sends messages to the future, may be responsible. He also encounters the mysterious golden figure at the town dump and decides to finally–after months of indecision–give Chief Holt his thirty days notice.
On the day before the particle accelerator test, Violet asks all the citizens in town to convince new Tomorrow’s AI JULIA to let go and to override the test. Eventually JULIA shuts down but Applenight intervenes in the final moment and initiates a manual override. The test proceeds and a blinding white engulfs the town, causing it to begin to be pulled into the future.
Just then, the escaped Experimental Crop Station specimen known as Q-eey appears and surrounds Violet and the entire town, protecting Question Mark and absorbing the beam of light. The town reappears two days later, and Violet realizes Q-eey has sacrificed itself to save everyone. In the midst of so much confusion, Violet also realizes it is the final weeks of high school and she is still unsure about her future. She learns head librarian Greta Twombley and her daughter Freddie are planning to move to Chicago and after her graduation, she says goodbye to her close friend, Iris, who is moving to Columbus to start over. As she is riding back home with her father, Violet glances out the window and sees the golden figure once more.
With only one week remaining, what final mysteries will Violet uncover about who the golden figure is and their plans to upset Time one final time?
May 20, 2024
With help from Dr. Amodeus Harrington-Willey—descendent of town founder, Reginald Willey—Violet learns that the music that had been coming from The Void is a code. Using a cipher from Olivier Messiaen, composer of Quartet for the End of Time, she and Nanako learn the code states: “Everything will be okay,” which is a message Violet has seen left in a number of places in town and even on certain websites.
After receiving another coded message from her mother, Violet searches the town for new clues and finds a startling new message: “Everything must begin again.” The next day while following a cat that looks like Mr. Business, Violet finds herself inside an abandoned house with several suspicious objects, including a comic that seems to have been an inspiration for the golden figure’s suit and a number of notebooks. She realizes she has stumbled upon the childhood home of Sebastian Marlow, a citizen who went to prison for robbery and had been building a golden suit in order to try to travel through time. She also discovers someone else seems to have visited Marlow’s home recently as well.
As Violet moves closer to uncovering the golden figure’s identity, Ms. Peterson approaches Violet and asks for help. The two travel out to Question Mark woods and enter the cave behind the Falls. Ms. Peterson asks Violet to help her say goodbye to her deceased brother; Violet carefully places Ms. Peterson’s umbrella in the cave, signifying that she no longer feels she needs her brother’s protection. But the final gesture comes with one final warning: the next day the town will end.
After attending the elementary school pageant, Violet hears the same strange music she first noticed more than thirteen months before, and follows it to the defunct bowling alley. There she confronts the golden figure and discovers it is none other than a future version of Gary Dublowski, who reveals he has spent the last one thousand years traveling through time to try to return to the year 2023, just before his mother left and his life was forced to change. Gary reveals his attempts to go back to the past have caused abruptions in time–seven in all–which led to the creation of the Voids and which upset the chronological order of Time. These abruptions unleashed particles from the future into town, which caused the disappearance of pets, signs, shoes, even statues, and essentially led to the destruction of Question Mark. Convinced he must undo his mistakes, Gary has created a machine to reset the Time in town to thirteen months prior and initiates a five day countdown until everything and everyone will disappear on Monday, May 20th.
Sending out a warning to the entire town and returning with Officer Ron the following day, Violet discovers the future version of Gary has disintegrated. She enlists the help of Dr. Amodeus Willey and even nine-year-old Gary, but neither can shut the machine down.
Just as everything seems lost and the town begins its final evacuation, Violet sees a town announcement about a cat being discovered in town and her Nanako race to discover Mr. Business has finally been recovered. But Nanako suggests that the cat no longer belongs to her and she and Violet decide to leave Mr. Business in the care of Bruno. Eventually, seeing all that has changed in the last year, Violet recognizes the end of Question Mark has come. She and Nanako put together a loss memorial for the town and all the remaining citizens attend, even Mayor Zisk who thanks Violet for her help.
On her final day in Question Mark, Violet rides around town once more and realizes her future is open and full of possibilities. She says goodbye to Nanako and receives a final gift which Nanako tells her to open when she gets to where she is going. In a motel room in Columbus, Violet sits holding the box, appreciating the gravity and uncertainty of the moment. She discovers it is a game Nanako has made, celebrating the beautiful uncertainties of Question Mark and when Violet’s father asks what’s in the box, Violet invites him to play.