"An eerie novel that will keep you up late into the night."-Eowyn Ivey
"Freyja tingles the senses like an incipient freeze."-Janelle Brown
The unsolved case of a young girl's disappearance reopens after twenty years in this atmospheric novel of suspense set in Reykjavk and the Icelandic coast.
Unnur has secrets. A single mother to a beloved daughter, she lives a deliberately quiet life in Reykjavk, where she works at a bakery under an assumed last name. She has spent years pushing away haunting half remembrances of the last summer of her childhood, when her otherworldly friend Freyja disappeared from a black-sand beach in the remote Dark Valley. Unnur's safety-and her daughter's-now hinges on discretion. Yet when her ex-husband returns to Iceland and brings with him a new girlfriend who seems to know more about Unnur than she's letting on, Unnur may finally have to face the chilling possibility that she is responsible for her friend's presumed death.
As a cold case investigation reopens and the intricate threads of past and present begin to tangle, Unnur must race to recover the broken memory of what happened all those years ago, or risk losing her daughter. Steeped in Icelandic folklore and myth, Freyja is at once a gripping story of a child's disappearance, a testament to the power of a mother's love, and an enthralling tale of redemption and forgiveness from a gifted new voice.
About the Author :
Margret Ann Thors is an Icelandic-American writer based in Reykjavk, Iceland. She received her MFA from Columbia University and teaches at the University of Iceland. Her writing has appeared in Glamour, Creative Nonfiction, s Pressan, Storychord, and other outlets. Freyja is her debut novel.
Review :
Named a Most Anticipated Book by Literary Hub and Debutiful“Eerie and beguiling . . . Thors brilliantly rides the line between realism and myth . . . This will stay with readers.”—Publishers Weekly“Perfectly unsettling. Readers will cheer Unnur’s steel-spined determination to unveil Freyja’s fate and reclaim her past. A must-read for fans of Yrsa Sigurdordottir’s haunting thrillers.”—Booklist“The threatened mother’s raw emotion and the book’s atmospheric pull are difficult to resist. A nifty generational thriller in which the past eerily overlaps the present.”—Kirkus Reviews“An eerie novel that will keep you up late into the night. Unnur is desperate to escape the past and protect her young daughter, but she will learn that memory is fickle and changelings lurk in the shadows. Margrét Ann Thors beautifully evokes Iceland, with its cold winds, wave-battered cliffs, and mysterious folk tales. Gripping and heartfelt.”—Eowyn Ivey, New York Times bestselling author of The Snow Child and Black Woods, Blue Sky“Mythic and atmospheric, Freyja tingles the senses like an incipient freeze. I love an icy noir that builds complicated relationships and unique settings, and Freyja fits the bill perfectly. A twisty, compelling read.”—Janelle Brown, nationally bestselling author of What Kind of Paradise
“Freyja is such an elegant and confident debut. Margrét Ann Thors depicts a mother’s love as both fierce and fearsome, making the story feel mythic and grounded at once. An Icelandic tale, a haunting mystery, and a paean to the messy bonds of family.”—Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women
“A haunting, hypnotic novel that circles the slippery nature of memory and the fierce, disorienting terrain of motherhood. For readers of The School for Good Mothers and The Push, Freyja unfolds in a world where the past refuses burial and the land itself feels alive with old, watchful secrets. Margrét Ann Thors writes with a sharp, unflinching clarity about guilt, love, and the devastating cost of what we cannot remember. I couldn’t look away.”—Chelsea Bieker, bestselling author of Madwoman and Godshot
“A spectacularly eerie crime novel that draws on the mysteries of Icelandic folklore to deepen the uncertainties at its heart, Freyja had me turning pages late into the night!”—Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites
“A dark, glittering jewel of a debut. Steeped in lyricism and Icelandic folktales, Margrét Ann Thors has written a tightly wound, gripping novel about the intricate ways memories and myths entwine. Freyja is a singular novel about motherhood, grief, and the search for home not only in a place, but in the ones we love.”—Crystal Hana Kim, author of The Stone Home
“I was overwhelmed by this book—by sentences so sharp they could draw blood, by sheer adrenaline, by the wind and rock of Iceland, by the exploration of memory and grief, and most of all, by the unflinching deep dive into what motherhood means. There’s plenty of terror—and even more love—in these pages.”—Gin Phillips, author of Ruby Falls“A spectacular novel that deftly defies genre, Freyja is a gripping mystery and a literary tour de force. Margrét Ann Thors masterfully chronicles a mother’s love for her child, memories impossible to repress, and the torment of guilt. Set in a backdrop rich with folklore, it’s a page-turner, but try to resist turning the pages too quickly, lest you miss the grace of the prose and profound psychological insights. Original, stunning, and unforgettable.”—Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of Counting Backwards
“In haunting, razor-sharp prose, Thors conjures a vivid portrait of motherhood and myth, testing just how far the ties that bind us to our families, our histories, and our cultures can be stretched until they snap. Like the Icelandic winter storm, Freyja will chill you to the bone, and have you grasping in the cold, dark night for a guiding hand—though you probably shouldn’t trust whatever reaches for you, all the same.”—Melissa Larsen, USA Today bestselling author of The Lost House“A thrilling mystery under a cold Icelandic sun. Heavy with a dark, haunting atmosphere. This beauty is an absolute page-turner—I was hooked from the very first page!”—Satu Rämö, author of the international bestseller The Clues in the Fjord
