Knútsdóttir writes a psychological thriller that keeps you rushing to turn the next page until you finish the short novel in one sitting.

The story is told by our main character, Iðunn, who goes to the doctor to try and find out why she wakes up completely exhausted, her limbs sore as though she just ran a marathon, but with absolutely no reasoning behind it. At the doctors now, Iðunn worries she'll get the same diagnosis she received by a male doctor and that in fact there is nothing wrong with her:

"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."

The first half of the story is thrilling and interesting in showing how easily society, including our friends and family, can also easily dismiss a women's worry for her health. All the while Iðunn battles with confronting her own self that maybe they are right everything is fine. However, as more bizarre events transpire she finds that there has been something unsettling happening while she's sleeping.

I for one do enjoy the occasional open ended stories, however this ending was a bit too abrupt for me. There were just so many questions I had that I really wish we would have looked more into. Overall though, I enjoyed this read. The author uses short chapters sometimes just a sentence or word to create more tension. And the critiques of patriarchy in the medical field in contract with how society can judge a woman's health with hysteria or madness within a horror story was appreciated.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC!

3.5 stars. This probably would have been a 4 or 5 star if it wasn’t for that ending. When I finished reading it, I literally said wtf. I don’t know if I’m a bit dense or just not thinking enough but that ending was very confusing and a big let down. I’m all for open ended interpretations but i wanted to know what was going on so bad.

I will say this author knows how to keep you wanting more. From the sense of dread to the fast pacing. It was so good up until the ending. It kept me on the edge of my seat. The animal killing did not bother me as much as others, maybe because I already knew it would happen from the other reviews.

This was sooo unsettling and a perfect horror novella! So many potential theories and themes…this would make a fantastic book club book for great discussion. I can’t wait to check out more by this author!

A realistic horror that kept me questioning what would happen next. This book reminded me a lot of Come Closer by Sara Gram. The possession at the center of the story slowly takes over the whole character and leaves you wondering how did we get here and will they be okay. Highly recommend for anyone who likes their horror to be grounded in reality.

Thank you Netgalley, Hildur Knutsdottir and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Nightfire for the eArc of The night Guest.

This is my first read from Hildur and I really enjoyed this fast paced Horror/ Mystery. Hildur is convinced there is something wrong with her, even though she sleeps fitfully, she always wakes up tired. After a suggestion of wearing a fitness watch, she alarmingly discovers that she is waling at night, to the same place. Further more, strange things start to happen.

The Night Guest is a fast paced engaging read which keeps you on you toes. Even though this is a novella, you get a very good sense of dread in the situation that Iðunn finds herself in. The descriptive gore, the terror is very well placed and you can't help turning pages to find out what is going on.

Will be looking forward to reading more of Hildur's books in the future.

4 stars

This was a short, enjoyable read and was shocking! The main character has chronic fatigue and difficulty sleeping despite all her blood work coming back normal. Slowly as each chapter progresses more and more of the situation is revealed and what you are left with is shocking.

The Night Guest is a spine-tingling novella about a woman living in Reykjavík with a puzzling health problem. The protagonist, Iðunn, is suffering from a strange ailment. She wakes up every morning extremely exhausted. Oddly, she awakens with bruises and scratches all over her body and sometimes blood all over her bed. She is not sure why this is happening to her and the doctors are equally as confused. Then, Iðunn decides to purchase a smartwatch and accidentally leaves it on overnight. When she wakes up, she has logged over 40,000 steps. The story then follows Iðunn's attempts to discover what is happening to her. This novella starts with an extremely interesting premise. As a reader, I am compelled to read further to solve this mystery. The story is well written with interesting commentary about grief, trauma, and chronic illness. However, the ending of the story seemed abrupt with little resolution. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to others. I just wish that is was a little bit longer to help wrap up the ending.

The Night Guest was creepy!! I appreciate the slow tension and the twist was great. Loved the short chapters too.

Chilling and surprisingly funny in parts. I loved this eerie tale. Clever and unique, it was hard to read at night because I’d get so spooked. Ideal fall reading.

Holy butts this was so freaking good.

I requested this because I wanted to read a sleeping horror and this is 100000% it. As someone who doesn't sleep well, this rattled me.

3.5 rounded up. Took me approx 3 hrs to read this book. Even though the story did hook me in at the start, it then proceeded to unreel and leave me motionless throughout the rest of the story. It wasn't what others described; haunting, thrilling, terrifying, dark, heart-pounding, and unsettling. I was unmoved. And nothing was explained at the end.

‘Have you tried exercising, vitamins or a better diet?’: a familiar refrain often heard by women seeking medical attention for exhaustion. In her first book translated into English, Hildur Knútsdóttir draws on female experience to create a chilling feminist horror that cuts dangerously close to the bone.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2024/09/30/the-night-guest-knutsdottir/

A dark, psychological horror.

The Night Guest starts like every other horror that has sleepwalking. We have our main character worried about strange bruises and muscle aches. And from there, you slip steadily into something dark and quietly horrifying.

While I really enjoyed the horror, I loved the conversation this book had about women's pain being brushed away by doctors.

This novella was a fantastic introduction to this author and you can bet I'll read more from them.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this Earc. All opinions are my own.

I have super mixed feelings about this one.

This is a read (or listen like I did) in one sitting book - it has VERY short chapters (sometimes just one sentence) and moves very quickly. The basic premise is super interesting - our main character finds herself tired ALL the time but has no reason why. She has no medical issues but finds herself waking up physically exhausted, sometimes with bruises or even blood on her with no clue how it got there.

She starts tracking her steps and goes to sleep with one number of steps - and wakes up with significantly higher steps. Is she sleepwalking? And if she is, where is she going and what is she doing?

This was so interesting and I kept listening because I had to know what was happening and where this novel would go. It was fast paced and gave me a sense of thrill and dread....so I highly enjoyed these aspects of the novel.

What I did not enjoy and what took this book down a few stars were two things:
1) The animal death - not to spoil but you must go in knowing you are going to experience (in a little graphic detail) some animal death. This reader has a big problem with that, especially when I don't see how it really made an impact in the story.
2) The ending....what? I really was waiting for the OH MY GOSH moment at the end when everything would be revealed and explained and I found myself scratching my head and being let down.

This is just me. I have seen some great reviews - it's such a fast read that if you are interested, it's worth the couple hours it will take you to get through this. But then you have to DM me and talk to me about that ending.

So overall, I was very interested and intrigued but ultimately let down in the end.

Super creepy. Very atmospheric. A great horror read that pulled me in and kept me guessing. I loved the wording and the pacing. Will definitely recommend this one!

This book spooked me in the BEST way! I felt like I was the one living this nightmare. Read this book ASSP!!!! It will stick with you forever.

I really enjoyed The Night Guest! I ended up reading this one in one day! You fly through trying to figure out why this character cannot get a good night's sleep! I think this a great recommendation for people who enjoy pink horror!!

this was a four stars for me 💗

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

(4.5/5 rounded to 5) While I definitely desired more, I was so invested in this story I was ultimately very satisfied. The narration was propulsive and I couldn’t put it down. I devoured this in one sitting. Will be a go-to recommendation for those who want accessible translated fiction or ‘sad hot girl’ horror book recommendations. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this for review!

Iðunn, wakes up exhausted every day. She wakes each morning with aching muscles and body pains. Everything hurts. Each doctor after doctor she goes to find nothing wrong with her. She suspect some frightening diseases, but when her blood work all comes back fine, it’s not a relief as she knows something is wrong… and no one can tell her what. Even friends and family make the suggestions that she should take better care of herself. She decides that perhaps they are right. She gets several things including a watch that counts steps. Then one night she forgets to take her watch off. When she wakes in the morning, she sees her watch has walked over 40,000 steps last night. How could that happened? What causes it? What is happening to her? Why does she have bruises and wounds? Why doesn’t she remember what happened?

The tension builds in the book that get more and more disturbing, and as the clues to Iðunn’s nightly experiences pile up, I find myself increasingly at a loss to explain it all. Is it psychosis, as one doctor believes? Is it something otherworldly acting upon her? I Socially, Iðunn is a little awkward, always feeling like an outsider. We learn much more about her background and why her family and social life are the way they are — but I appreciated the way the information unfolds and offers an unexpected twist, so I won’t reveal it here.

Eventually, Iðunn takes even more drastic measures to figure out what’s going on at night and to make it stop. Her efforts to stop it fail in more spectacular, dramatic ways and she progresses from waking up sore to waking up bloody and injured — still without knowing why. The tension builds in a way that gets to be more disturbing.. It is a disturbing, yet very effective horror novel.

I truly enjoyed reading The Night Guest, its fast pace and suspense kept me hooked. I think this book had such great potential and it was so strong but near the end it felt quite rushed to me. I was a bit disappointed in the ending, and felt like there were some questions that were left unanswered.