I'm not really sure what I just read. This was a really creepy, fun, fast-paced thriller with short chapters. I was never sure what was going on and I'm still not. This is not the book for you if you need to understand the plot. It's very entertaining and unsettling in a fun way though if you're okay with uncertainty.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

this was SO close to being a perfect book for me, I loved the writing, the pacing, the premise, the discussion of women not being believed in healthcare. it was so unsettling and creepy. I was just left a littttle unsatisfied in the end - I wish we got to see more of what exactly Iðunn was doing and more of an explanation as to what was going on. would love to read more from this author!

Haunting and gruesome descent into madness for an ordinary woman. While our MC navigates the mental health care system and HR at her work, she spends her nights prowling the streets as a somnambulant predator. This darkly funny novella is an entertaining horror bite that is perfect for fans of witty social-commentary and a bit of gore.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir is an eerie little splinter of psychological horror, one you can finish in a single sitting. (Providing you don’t mind potentially settling into a brief, murderous psychosis. NBD, right?)

This Reykjavík-set novella (we love a short book) opens with Iðunn, a woman in her late 20s with major sleep issues, sitting in yet another doctor’s office. She can fall asleep, sure, but when she wakes up she feels even more exhausted, in a way that can’t be fixed with a simple Ambien perscription. It’s as if she’s been running sprints and lifting while she sleeps, somehow. Sometimes she even discovers mysterious bruises down her arms and legs in the morning, with no recollection of how she might’ve gotten them. Even so, doctor after doctor dismisses her chronic fatigue since her blood tests look normal.

She tries adjusting her diet, buying a step-counting watch to focus on an exercise routine, taking different vitamins and sleeping pills, but all to no avail — she continues waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries, and a deepening sense that something troubling transpires after she closes her eyes. It all comes to a head when she falls asleep with her shiny new watch on one evening, and wakes up the next day to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps. Overnight. With no memory of it. Personally I would love if I could get all my cardio in while not being conscious of it, but Iðunn is, understandably, perturbed.

The sparse chapters and updates to her nights out explain so much with short, ominous sentences — describing her wounds or the wet, soggy detritus that still clings to her with spare language. Lots of literary jump cuts and fragmented thoughts. I loved the rhythm of it.

Since it’s such a short book I obviously don’t want to give away too much and ruin the surprise of what horrors are in store for you, but here are a few random things to note:

There are so many similarities in theme and tone to Rachel Yoder’s novel Nightbitch here. If you enjoyed that book, pick this one up with haste.

At one point Iðunn walks over 47,325 steps in one night, which equates to over 20 miles, give or take. (My 10,000 steps per day goal pales in comparison, damn.) And Reykjavík is tiny! Send me your sneaker recs ASAP, girl.

The Night Guest works as a novella, but I would’ve loved to see more of how it digs in to the idea of women suffering under the patriarchy to the point of violence, especially in the case of their symptoms not being taken seriously in a medical setting: “Hysterical women. I seriously wanted to lecture him about all the diseases women have had that have been misdiagnosed over the years — and how medication (not to mention everything else in the world) is designed for the male body-but I just didn’t have the energy for it. Or maybe I was chicken. Or maybe that’s the same thing because it’s a lot easier to gather your courage when you’re not dead tired.” We get a decent taste of these themes, but I wanted a meal.

Dead pet warning — all that’s described is the aftermath of what happens to them so it’s not incredibly graphic (definitely no Nick Cutter-style animal gore here, thank Christ), but it’s never my favorite thing to come across so be aware if that’s a no-go for you.

The mystery of Iðunn’s sister and her untimely death is hinted about early on, in a way that gave me shades of the 2003 Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters (and its 2009 remake, The Uninvited). Their relationship is like that of a twin who unknowingly absorbs the other in the womb. Freaky. Into it.

Shout out to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In typical novella fashion, readers are thrown right in when they crack open The Night Guest. Knútsdóttir created such an exquisitely eerie tale of a young woman who greets each morning after waking feeling drained. As time goes on her symptoms, and evidence of restless nights, intensify. Readers will not only be pulled in by their desire to figure out what is going on, but also by the format that is seemingly used to convey a sense of urgency. Urgency for the protagonist and the reader alike.

I found myself stealing minutes here and there throughout the day to read just a little more. I had to know if my prediction of what was happening was correct. FYI…I was wrong. I will be recommending this book to all fans of horror literature. Especially those who may not have the time to dedicate to something hefty and time consuming (like my fellow busy mothers).

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

4.25

"The Night Guest" by Hildur Knútsdóttir is an unsettling and atmospheric horror novel that taps into the primal fear of losing control over one’s own body. The story follows Iðunn, who wakes up to discover she's walked tens of thousands of steps while sleepwalking, but with no memory of her actions. This leads to growing terror as she struggles to understand the cause of her sleepwalking and the increasingly bizarre injuries she wakes up with. The novel masterfully creates a sense of creeping dread, amplified by Iðunn’s isolation and the dismissal she faces from medical professionals. It explores the horrifying loss of autonomy in a deeply personal way, combining mystery and suspense that keeps readers on edge. Fans of psychological horror will appreciate the unnerving atmosphere and the eerie ambiguity surrounding Iðunn’s condition.

TRIGGER WARNING: Deceased cats

I have such mixed feelings about this book! The whole time I couldn’t stop reading. It was incredibly creepy, sometimes even downright terrifying and the author does such a good job really making you feel for this character and making you HAVE to find out what’s going on. The mystery and the horror is incredible….up until the last two chapters. I mean…what?! The ending felt incredibly rushed, The way it ended was very confusing. It might just be because I’m unfamiliar with Icelandic myths and folklore but I was very confused. I have somewhat of an idea what was going on but not nearly enough explanation or even strong hints. I’m so upset cause this was a 5 star read until that ending. 3.5/5 stars.

An unputdownable novella! Once I dug into it, I couldn't stop, I needed to know what was happening. It would have been a solid 5 star read if not for the ending. I wish it had been 50 pages longer so that we could have seen more concrete resolution. Normally I don't mind an ambiguous ending but the ambiguity combined with how quickly things wrap up just didn't quite work for me.

I saw so much early buzz for this book online and I'm so glad I did! I read this one as quick as I could and I've already told everyone about it. What a fascinating story that I could not stop thinking about. This genre-bending book will hook readers who love a suspenseful, questionable narrator. I love books where the reader is figuring out what's going on in real-time with the narrator. This one totally delivers!

I've decided to stop sleeping."

We are so very vulnerable when asleep.
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir (translated by Mary Robinette Kowal) plays fully to that concept.
Thank you to @tornightfire for my gifted copy for review!
Iōunn sleeps but is not at all rested. She has injuries she can't explain, dirt on her body and damage to her clothes, missing shoes. A fitness watch shows thousands of steps she can't account for.
There's no obvious medical reason for her fatigue, and it seems to be beyond average sleepwalking. What has Iōunn been up to in the dark hours of the night?
This is a seriously eerie book. It's a quick read, but it's at-times spare prose packs impact. The haze of our protagonist's sleep deprivation brings us an unreliable narrator and a trance feeling in parts.
Recommended!
Released on Sept. 3.

I was initially excited for this one, but when I discovered it involved cats being hurt, I was disappointed and chose not to finish.

3.5 stars
This was a very quick, but increasingly suspenseful, read. The main character, Iðunn, is having trouble sleeping and can't figure out why she's constantly exhausted when she wakes up. But the doctors have no answers, and her progression of symptoms and injuries becomes more disturbing as the story unfolds. She is so confused about what is happening to her. And I don't blame her one bit; I was equally confused and slightly spooked as well, based on her escalating injuries. Was she dealing with hardcore sleepwalking, dissociative identity disorder (a.k.a. multiple personalities), or perhaps something much more sinister or even paranormal? My mind reeled at the possibilities.

It felt like there was also a social commentary aspect that ran through the fabric of the story. Possibly a bit of a discourse on the vagaries of modern life, as seen through the lens of one increasingly troubled young woman dealing with elements and people in her life that refused to stay separate? Iðunn seemed to be fairly isolated even within the bustling city of Reykjavík and her own workplace.

I wasn't able to put the book down once I started; I simply had to know what was happening to Iðunn. And - I have to be completely honest here - even after finishing the story, I'm still not totally sure I understand what was going on. The ending is eerily strange and intentionally abrupt. I recommend reading this book if you're looking for a quick thriller and a mysterious page-turner (I read it in just a couple hours). It's kept me thinking about it long after finishing those last few lines...

Thanks to NetGalley, author Hildur Knútsdóttir, and Tor Nightfire publishing for providing me with a digital ARC of the new English translation to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for the early review copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Let me first start with a trigger warning that is very important to some readers: ANIMAL MURDER/DEATH.

Now that that's out of the way, I enjoyed this book. It was definitely unsettling. I love an unreliable narrator and feeling like someone is slowly going crazy and I'm just going along for the ride.

Surprisingly, I found the end to be kind of melancholic... I felt sad instead of being horrified. Which I actually don't mind. If anything I think I enjoyed that about the ending.

My only complaint is that there were events that happened that didn't get explained, or recollected enough for me. I was left with questions and wanting to know more about some things that happened and why.

Overall this was a quick spooky read!

I was thoroughly impressed with this book. It was a quick and easy read that managed to capture me as a reader instantly. It was scary and intense. I felt like I had to find out what was happening to the FMC and why. I highly recommend this one!

Iðunn is at another doctor, and when they dismiss her symptoms, she tries to follow everyone’s advice. Eat better. Exercise. Take vitamins, etc. One morning after falling asleep with her smart watch on, she wakes to find she’s walked 40,000 steps during the night. She starts waking with injuries, and no one believes her that something weird is going on. She can’t remember the nights, but she’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

I knew this book was short, but I didn’t realize how close I was to the end until I finished it. It went so quickly and had me engaged in the mystery the whole time. It’s paced well and holds the tension perfectly. I was invested in Iðunn and honestly could have kept going with her for a bit to see more fallout from the twists and turns. Definitely recommend for a summer, popcorn thriller.

This book leaves something (everything) to be desired. Would not recommend. I'm not even quite sure what I just read. There are multiple chapters that are three words long. Tons of empty pages to add length to the book. No clear resolution to the conflict. Not a book I will find myself thinking about in the future.

A really great thriller that borders on unhinged females vibes. The pacing was great and it kept me entertained!’

This one had so much promise, but kind of drifted off and lost me at the end ( much like the MC’s sanity). Overall an interesting quick read with a thrilling premise, if you like a Scandi styled thriller/horror this is a good pick for you.

I admit I didn’t understand the ending at all. Also I felt it was a slow storyline. Maybe I missed something?

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

This book is short and attention grabbing. I was instantly pulled in and interested and it stayed that way right up until the end, but the end just did not do it for me. So ultimately, a fantastic book with a disappointing ending. The book is really creepy and you just don't really know what is happening (just like Iðunn throughout the book) which adds to the intrigue and excitment but, in the end, you are left with nothing explained and no real answers as to what was happening in this book. It truly was so good but the ending was too abrupt and left too many things unexplained.