An Icelandic night may hide secrets and affairs – or even bodies – in this gruesomely cathartic horror thriller from the author of The Night Guest.
Unnur was living a normal, if lonely, life until a black cat showed up at her door.
When she tracks down the cat’s wayward owner, she finds a young woman just as lost and in need of help. Like a gust of cold air in a Reykjavík night, Ásta and her pet slip into Unnur’s life.
It’s unexpected, but welcome. Unnur likes the company, and she begins to rely on Ásta in turn. But like a black cat, trouble has been tailing her new friend, and Unnur is the only one there for Ásta when things take a violent turn.
The two women quickly learn: nothing tests a friendship like blood on your hands.
Also by Hildur Knútsdóttir:
The Night Guest
A satisfying thriller of female rage & friendship
"Book rating: 4/5 ⭐️ Genre: thriller/novella Themes: domestic abuse, animal cruelty, friendship, retribution, murder 📖 Read if you like: Morsel Have you ever imagined how you would commit the perfect murder should the need arise? Well Unnur certainly has and this is the story of how it came in use. This novella is the sort of female rage that creeps up on you. An accumulated effect of the ways men make women feel small whether it is with depreciating comments in the workplace, secrets and lies in relationships, or fists and fear behind closed doors and the way women fight back. One night a cat sneaks into Unnur’s apartment and it will change her life. When she reunites the cat with its owner Ásta, she inadvertently becomes the keeper of said cat along with its new kitten until Ásta can take them home again. As Ásta continues to visit the cats it becomes clear that the girl is in desperate need of both friendship and help. What starts off as a benign if somewhat unusual situation takes a violent turn when Ásta’s boyfriend enters the picture. As their past and current dynamic become clear, Unnur will be ready to defend her friend. This book tackles a lot of tough topics including psychological and domestic abuse. Unnur is in a liaison with a married man who has her on a carefully crafted leash and Ásta has been dating a controlling man who is not afraid to exact his will with violence since she was thirteen. There is a lot of trauma to unpack and the characters were given real backstories that lead to these situations. Even though it was short, it left an impact and begged to be finished in a single seating. It was unsettling, but realistic with a sort of horror that crept up on me. I am not necessarily a cat person, but I liked the symbolism here and the fated interaction. I always enjoy the Icelandic landscape for storytelling and this thriller morphed into a quiet gut punch. I laughed at the dark humour and got behind these women. Thank you to @MacmillanAudio for an ALC #MacAudio2026 🎧The narration was perfect for Unnur as she goes through an emotional revelation and Ásta was given a fey like quality. I didn’t love the male interludes and thought it lacked a little of the Icelandic melody, but the tones was soothing and easy to listen to."