The Night Guest

"From its opening pages, Hildur Knútsdóttir's eerie & elegant The Night Guest wraps its icy fingers around you & pulls you in. It's so atmospheric, so well-crafted, & so truly, deeply unsettling that by the end, you feel every bit as haunted as its sleepless heroine. If you're a horror fan—or just a fan of great writing in general—you need to have this one on your radar!"—Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs

°°°

Hildur Knútsdóttir's The Night Guest is an eerie & 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 & blood tests haven't revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends & 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, & 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?

Hildur Knútsdóttir was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1984. She has lived in Spain, Germany, & Taiwan & studied literature & creative writing at The University of Iceland. She writes fiction both for adults & teenagers, as well as short fiction, plays, & screenplays. Hildur is known for her evocative fantastical fiction & spine-chilling horror. The Night Guest is her first book translated into English. She lives in Reykjavík with her husband, their two daughters, & a puppy called Uggi.