Title: The Night Guest
Author: Hildur Knútsdóttir
Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1X5NLC4/
Releases: September 3rd, 2024
Summary
Hildur Knutsdottir’s The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.
Iðunn is in yet another doctor’s office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something’s not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven’t revealed any cause.
When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.
Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .
What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?
My Review
3/5 Stars
Iðunn has been in and out of the doctor’s office but can’t figure out why she’s always so tired. She thinks it’s an illness, but when that’s cleared, she takes up exercising with the hope that it’ll give her some energy. In the process, she buys a smartwatch to track her progress, and that’s when she realizes that when she’s asleep, she’s not actually asleep.
This was an interesting read. It was suspenseful and creepy, and for that reason, I found it hard to put down. I admit though that I was disappointed in the end of the book. I feel as if a lot of questions aren’t really answered as to the why’s of what Iðunn is experiencing.
I loved the writing style of this though. It really was easy to breeze through the book in one setting because I could see this playing out in my head. It has some pretty dark moments, but for the most part, most of the gore scenes take place “offscreen” so to speak. For that reason, I’d consider this to be on the lighter side of horror.
Major trigger warning for animal abuse/death, but if you’re looking for a quick read to give you the chills, this book is good for that.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy.
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