diff --git a/org-roam-mode.el b/org-roam-mode.el
index 7d8018b..d6d6927 100644
--- a/org-roam-mode.el
+++ b/org-roam-mode.el
@@ -658,17 +658,26 @@ This is the ROW within FILE."
        (end-of-line)
        (point)))))
 
-(defun org-roam-unlinked-references--rg-command (titles)
-  "Return the ripgrep command searching for TITLES."
+(defun org-roam-unlinked-references--rg-command (titles temp-file)
+  "Return the ripgrep command searching for TITLES using TEMP-FILE for pattern.
+This avoids shell escaping issues by writing the pattern to a file instead
+of passing it directly through the shell command line."
+  ;; Write pattern to temp file to avoid shell escaping issues with quotes,
+  ;; spaces, and other special characters in titles
+  (with-temp-file temp-file
+    (insert "\\[([^[]]++|(?R))*\\]"
+            (mapconcat (lambda (title)
+                         ;; Use regexp-quote instead of shell-quote-argument
+                         ;; since we're writing a regex pattern, not a shell argument
+                         (format "|(\\b%s\\b)" (regexp-quote title)))
+                       titles "")))
+
   (concat "rg --follow --only-matching --vimgrep --pcre2 --ignore-case "
           (mapconcat (lambda (glob) (concat "--glob " glob))
                      (org-roam--list-files-search-globs org-roam-file-extensions)
                      " ")
-          (format " '\\[([^[]]++|(?R))*\\]%s' "
-                  (mapconcat (lambda (title)
-                               (format "|(\\b%s\\b)" (shell-quote-argument title)))
-                             titles ""))
-          (shell-quote-argument org-roam-directory)))
+          " --file " (shell-quote-argument temp-file) " "
+          (shell-quote-argument (expand-file-name org-roam-directory))))
 
 (defun org-roam-unlinked-references-section (node)
   "The unlinked references section for NODE.
@@ -679,9 +688,13 @@ References from FILE are excluded."
                                 (shell-command-to-string "rg --pcre2-version"))))
     (let* ((titles (cons (org-roam-node-title node)
                          (org-roam-node-aliases node)))
-           (rg-command (org-roam-unlinked-references--rg-command titles))
-           (results (split-string (shell-command-to-string rg-command) "\n"))
-           f row col match)
+	   ;; Create temp file for the regex pattern
+           (temp-file (make-temp-file "org-roam-rg-pattern-"))
+           (rg-command (org-roam-unlinked-references--rg-command titles temp-file)))
+      ;; Use unwind-protect to ensure temp file cleanup even if errors occur
+      (unwind-protect
+          (let* ((results (split-string (shell-command-to-string rg-command) "\n"))
+                 f row col match)
       (magit-insert-section (unlinked-references)
         (magit-insert-heading "Unlinked References:")
         (dolist (line results)
@@ -705,7 +718,9 @@ References from FILE are excluded."
                           (org-roam-fontify-like-in-org-mode
                            (org-roam-unlinked-references-preview-line f row))
                           "\n"))))))
-        (insert ?\n)))))
+            (insert ?\n)))
+	;; Clean up temp file - this runs even if an error occurs above
+        (delete-file temp-file)))))
 
 (provide 'org-roam-mode)
 ;;; org-roam-mode.el ends here
diff --git a/tests/test-org-roam-mode.el b/tests/test-org-roam-mode.el
index cacfce4..fdef91c 100644
--- a/tests/test-org-roam-mode.el
+++ b/tests/test-org-roam-mode.el
@@ -30,9 +30,9 @@
     (setq org-roam-directory "/tmp/org roam"))
 
   (it "returns the correct rg command for unlinked references"
-    (expect (org-roam-unlinked-references--rg-command '("foo" "bar"))
+    (expect (org-roam-unlinked-references--rg-command '("foo" "bar") "/tmp/regex")
             :to-equal
-            "rg --follow --only-matching --vimgrep --pcre2 --ignore-case --glob \"*.org\" --glob \"*.org.gpg\" --glob \"*.org.age\" '\\[([^[]]++|(?R))*\\]|(\\bfoo\\b)|(\\bbar\\b)' /tmp/org\\ roam")))
+            "rg --follow --only-matching --vimgrep --pcre2 --ignore-case --glob \"*.org\" --glob \"*.org.gpg\" --glob \"*.org.age\" --file /tmp/regex /tmp/org\\ roam")))
 
 (provide 'test-org-roam-mode)