Dead Weight

by Hildur Knútsdóttir

Overview

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.

Trying to do the right thing, Unnur reunites the lost pet with its owner—a young woman named Ásta who is in desperate need of some help. Unnur reluctantly agrees to take in the cat until Ásta is able to care for it again herself.

Soon, Ásta becomes a fixture in Unnur's life and the two form an unlikely friendship. But like a black cat, trouble is tailing Ásta, and Unnur is the only one there when things take a violent turn.

Nothing tests a friendship like blood on your hands.

Also by Hildur Knútsdóttir:
The Night Guest

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250329301
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/26/2026
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112

About the Author

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

Mary Robinette Kowal, translator of Dead Weight, is the author of The Spare Man, Ghost Talkers, The Glamourist Histories series, and the Lady Astronaut Universe. She is part of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and a four-time Hugo Award winner. Her short fiction appears in Uncanny, Tor.com, and Asimov’s. She lived in Iceland while performing for LazyTown (CBS) as a professional puppeteer. The Night Guest was her first work of translation.

Editorial Reviews

“Mesmerizing and brutal—I couldn’t put this down. Dead Weight has everything I’ve come to love about Knútsdóttir’s style: it’s eerie, captivating, and oh, so satisfying.” —Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

“Utterly captivating. Dead Weight had me by the throat from the first page to the last. I cannot recommend it enough!” —Katee Robert, New York Times bestselling author

“A gut-punch of a story as stark, brutal, and brooding as a lava field with a burning heart of female friendship and tenacity.” —Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author

“An unflinching tale of friendship and sacrifice—and the terrible things women sometimes have to do in order to survive. With its sharp, elegant prose, Dead Weight is as hopeful as it is haunting. I inhaled it in a single, feverish sitting.” —Monika Kim, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Brilliant, gruesome, and toe-curlingly tense, Dead Weight is a deliciously dark story about female friendship and the invisible ties that bind us. With prose that both seethes with rage and overflows with affection for its subjects, Knútsdóttir has truly outdone herself. I am almost afraid to admit to how seen I felt by this novella and its unforgettable protagonist. I didn't want it to end.” —Melissa Larsen, USA Today bestselling author of The Lost House

“Strange, breathless, insistent, and obsessive...will leave you with a chill that lingers like a blood stain.” —Ai Jiang, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Linghun

“An endearing page-turner. I spent the whole book anxious. Dead Weight lures you in with a sweet side before pulling your nerves taut.” —Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author

“Dead Weight is an impossibly suspenseful, gruesome, and heartwarming story of friendship and love, and it’s a breath of fresh air in this era of increasing isolation and violence. I really can’t recommend it highly enough.” —Alex Grecian, New York Times bestselling author of Red Rabbit

“Terrifying, horrible, unspeakable, yet so very immediate and relatable. Forget being able to put Dead Weight down—I had to remember to breathe.” —Ryka Aoki, author of Light From Uncommon Stars

Praise for The Night Guest:

“A truly gripping read you can devour in one sitting.”—The New York Times

"From its opening pages, Hildur Knútsdóttir's eerie and elegant The Night Guest wraps its icy fingers around you and pulls you in. It's so atmospheric, so well-crafted, and 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

"A genuinely heart-pounding read."—Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

"You can speed through this book in a single spooky night and be satisfied with the chills it leaves behind.”—The Wall Street Journal

“This is psychological horror at its finest.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"The Night Guest pulls us by our throats down Reykjavik midnight streets in an unraveling nightmare. This book moved, thrilled, and terrified me. I would walk those nightmare streets again and again with Knútsdóttir. I absolutely loved it."—CJ Leede, USA Today bestselling author of Maeve Fly

"Like the flashes of a waking nightmare, Knútsdóttir’s artful spiral of terror will have fans of Ling Ma, Paula Hawkins, and other flawed female narrators demanding more."—Booklist

"A beautifully written story: visceral, layered, and haunting. I loved every moment."—Sunyi Dean, bestselling author of The Book Eaters

From the Publisher