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Freyja
The unsolved case of a young girl’s disappearance reopens after twenty years in this moody, atmospheric debut of suspense set in Reykjavík and the Icelandic coast.
Unnur has secrets. A single mother to a beloved daughter, Lilja, she lives a deliberately quiet life in Reykjavík, working at a bakery under an assumed last name and pushing away haunting visions of the last summer of her childhood. Her safety—and Lilja’s—now hinges on discretion. But 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 what happened long ago on a black sand beach in the remote Dark Valley—and the possibility that she might be responsible for the disappearance of her otherworldly friend Freyja.
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.
Unnur has secrets. A single mother to a beloved daughter, Lilja, she lives a deliberately quiet life in Reykjavík, working at a bakery under an assumed last name and pushing away haunting visions of the last summer of her childhood. Her safety—and Lilja’s—now hinges on discretion. But 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 what happened long ago on a black sand beach in the remote Dark Valley—and the possibility that she might be responsible for the disappearance of her otherworldly friend Freyja.
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.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 4, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
August 11, 2026
"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."
In 1991, a little girl Freyja disappeared from the beach. She was Unnur's best friend bring raised by Elias. Twenty years later, Freyja has moved to a different town under an alias working at a bakery and raising her daughter Lija by herself. Her husband appears with his new girlfriend and her little girl named Freyja. She seems to know a lot about Unnur. When she begins to receive odd items from her past, she thinks she knows who is behind it all. This is unsettling as we weave through the story in Unnur's head, compounded by the fear and safety of her daughter.
Outstanding debut! I can't say enough about this Nordic Noir steeped in folklore and mythical tales. When the mystery was solved, I just sat there thinking about all the other things and people, piecing it together. This is great! Thank you NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review.
In 1991, a little girl Freyja disappeared from the beach. She was Unnur's best friend bring raised by Elias. Twenty years later, Freyja has moved to a different town under an alias working at a bakery and raising her daughter Lija by herself. Her husband appears with his new girlfriend and her little girl named Freyja. She seems to know a lot about Unnur. When she begins to receive odd items from her past, she thinks she knows who is behind it all. This is unsettling as we weave through the story in Unnur's head, compounded by the fear and safety of her daughter.
Outstanding debut! I can't say enough about this Nordic Noir steeped in folklore and mythical tales. When the mystery was solved, I just sat there thinking about all the other things and people, piecing it together. This is great! Thank you NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review.
November 17, 2025
I LOVED this book. The writing is phenomenal - it's thrilling, addictive, and utterly unputdownable.
I've read and enjoyed a handful of other books by Icelandic authors (big fan of Hildur Knutsdottir) but this book had a little something extra because it was written by an American-Icelandic author, so it included the the author's unique perspective and experience of both cultures. On its face, this book is a mystery about lost children but it's also SO so much more. The book includes background about the history of Iceland and it's relationship with America and American soldiers. It also delves into the beliefs and history of folklore once a central to the lives of native Icelanders, while also recognizing that times change and strict adherence to ancient beliefs today is less common. An American in Iceland might deem these ancient beliefs and folklore to be fairy tales, but to undermine their role and importance to Icelandic culture would be a mistake.
This story alternates between 1990 and 2018. The 1990 chapters reexamine Unnar's (main character) childhood in Iceland following her traumatic forced relocation by her aunt to live at a farm with strangers in the Dark Valley. This is where she meets and loses Freyja and the story begins.
In 2018, Unnar is single after a divorce and living with her daughter in Reykjavik. This is where her ex-husband introduces her to his new (morally questionable) girlfriend, Loa, and her daugher, Freyja, and a new Freyja disappears.
After the release of a book about Freyja's disappearance in 1991, Unnar is taunted by someone who knows about her past in the Dark Valley and her connection to Freyja before she went missing. After Loa's daughter goes missing and Unnar is framed, Unnar realizes that the present day disappearance of Freyja is intrinsically connected to the disappearance of her Freyja from the Dark Valley. One mystery cannot be solved without solving the other and if she cannot prove who is framing her for Loa's daughters disappearance, she may never see her daughter again.
This story is a melding of two worlds for Unnar: the Dark Valley and the Bright Valley. Folklore and logic. Two Freyjas. Two continents. Two cultures. Two sisters. Pagan beliefs and Christianity. Good and evil. Life and death.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you love dark mysteries, Nordic settings, and folklore. It's packed full of twists and turns, unexpected discoveries, found family, history, suspense, trauma, grief, unconditional love, forgiveness, and growth. It also had a great ending (imo). This book is a MUST READ for mystery lovers. I will be recommending to everyone I know. I can't wait to read the author's next work.
(I also personally loved the connection to Connecticut because I also live in Fairfield County.. and visited Iceland but that is less unique to just me.)
Thank you, NetGalley and Spiegel and Grau, for the eARC!! <3
I've read and enjoyed a handful of other books by Icelandic authors (big fan of Hildur Knutsdottir) but this book had a little something extra because it was written by an American-Icelandic author, so it included the the author's unique perspective and experience of both cultures. On its face, this book is a mystery about lost children but it's also SO so much more. The book includes background about the history of Iceland and it's relationship with America and American soldiers. It also delves into the beliefs and history of folklore once a central to the lives of native Icelanders, while also recognizing that times change and strict adherence to ancient beliefs today is less common. An American in Iceland might deem these ancient beliefs and folklore to be fairy tales, but to undermine their role and importance to Icelandic culture would be a mistake.
This story alternates between 1990 and 2018. The 1990 chapters reexamine Unnar's (main character) childhood in Iceland following her traumatic forced relocation by her aunt to live at a farm with strangers in the Dark Valley. This is where she meets and loses Freyja and the story begins.
In 2018, Unnar is single after a divorce and living with her daughter in Reykjavik. This is where her ex-husband introduces her to his new (morally questionable) girlfriend, Loa, and her daugher, Freyja, and a new Freyja disappears.
After the release of a book about Freyja's disappearance in 1991, Unnar is taunted by someone who knows about her past in the Dark Valley and her connection to Freyja before she went missing. After Loa's daughter goes missing and Unnar is framed, Unnar realizes that the present day disappearance of Freyja is intrinsically connected to the disappearance of her Freyja from the Dark Valley. One mystery cannot be solved without solving the other and if she cannot prove who is framing her for Loa's daughters disappearance, she may never see her daughter again.
This story is a melding of two worlds for Unnar: the Dark Valley and the Bright Valley. Folklore and logic. Two Freyjas. Two continents. Two cultures. Two sisters. Pagan beliefs and Christianity. Good and evil. Life and death.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you love dark mysteries, Nordic settings, and folklore. It's packed full of twists and turns, unexpected discoveries, found family, history, suspense, trauma, grief, unconditional love, forgiveness, and growth. It also had a great ending (imo). This book is a MUST READ for mystery lovers. I will be recommending to everyone I know. I can't wait to read the author's next work.
(I also personally loved the connection to Connecticut because I also live in Fairfield County.. and visited Iceland but that is less unique to just me.)
Thank you, NetGalley and Spiegel and Grau, for the eARC!! <3
August 6, 2026
(4.25 stars)
Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and Spotify Audio for the opportunity to read and listen to advance copies of Freyja, a wonderful debut by Margret Ann Thors.
If you’re a fan of Nordic Noir, or if you’ve never even heard the term, I recommend checking out Freyja. It’s filled with Icelandic atmosphere and folklore, all wrapped in an intriguing and twisty mystery that stretches over decades.
The story bounces between 1991 and 2018. As a young girl, Unnar is left at a remote farm by her aunt. There she encounters another girl, close to her age, Freyja, and they become friends. In 2018, Unnar is living in Reykjavik, working at a bakery, when her past catches up with her. I don’t want to say more. You should read this one for yourself!
I loved the atmosphere and could picture the scenes, having recently returned from a visit to Iceland. You don’t need to have been there to soak up the sense of place, however. The narrator, Colleen Prendergast, did a good job with most of the voices (and a great job pronouncing the Icelandic names and place names), but I wasn’t a fan of the voice she used for Unnar’s 7-year-old daughter.
Highly recommended.
Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and Spotify Audio for the opportunity to read and listen to advance copies of Freyja, a wonderful debut by Margret Ann Thors.
If you’re a fan of Nordic Noir, or if you’ve never even heard the term, I recommend checking out Freyja. It’s filled with Icelandic atmosphere and folklore, all wrapped in an intriguing and twisty mystery that stretches over decades.
The story bounces between 1991 and 2018. As a young girl, Unnar is left at a remote farm by her aunt. There she encounters another girl, close to her age, Freyja, and they become friends. In 2018, Unnar is living in Reykjavik, working at a bakery, when her past catches up with her. I don’t want to say more. You should read this one for yourself!
I loved the atmosphere and could picture the scenes, having recently returned from a visit to Iceland. You don’t need to have been there to soak up the sense of place, however. The narrator, Colleen Prendergast, did a good job with most of the voices (and a great job pronouncing the Icelandic names and place names), but I wasn’t a fan of the voice she used for Unnar’s 7-year-old daughter.
Highly recommended.
August 9, 2026
5 stars—I LOVED this one! Freyja follows Unnur, a single mom living a quiet life in Reykjavík with her 7-year-old daughter, Lilja. She works at a bakery under an assumed last name and has spent years trying to bury the memories of one summer from her childhood—when her best friend, Freyja, mysteriously disappeared from a black-sand beach in Iceland’s remote Dark Valley. 👀🌊🖤
Twenty years later, Unnur’s past comes roaring back when the cold case surrounding Freyja’s disappearance is reopened. 😳🔍 Even worse, Unnur’s memories of that night are broken and unreliable, leaving her with the terrifying possibility that she may have had something to do with what happened to Freyja. 😬🫣 When her ex returns to Iceland with a new girlfriend who seems to know a little too much about Unnur’s past, things get even more unsettling. 👀❄️
Y’all… the ATMOSPHERE! 🙌🏻🌊❄️ Between the black-sand beaches, rugged Icelandic coast, folklore + mythology, missing girl, buried memories, and past + present slowly colliding, I was completely hooked. 🤯📖 I especially loved the Icelandic folklore woven throughout and how it constantly had me questioning what was memory, myth, or reality. 👀🧚🏻♀️✨
Absolutely loved this debut + can’t wait to see what Margrét Ann Thors writes next! ❤️📚🙌🏻 Do rec the audio! 🎧 Pub. 7/4/26
Twenty years later, Unnur’s past comes roaring back when the cold case surrounding Freyja’s disappearance is reopened. 😳🔍 Even worse, Unnur’s memories of that night are broken and unreliable, leaving her with the terrifying possibility that she may have had something to do with what happened to Freyja. 😬🫣 When her ex returns to Iceland with a new girlfriend who seems to know a little too much about Unnur’s past, things get even more unsettling. 👀❄️
Y’all… the ATMOSPHERE! 🙌🏻🌊❄️ Between the black-sand beaches, rugged Icelandic coast, folklore + mythology, missing girl, buried memories, and past + present slowly colliding, I was completely hooked. 🤯📖 I especially loved the Icelandic folklore woven throughout and how it constantly had me questioning what was memory, myth, or reality. 👀🧚🏻♀️✨
Absolutely loved this debut + can’t wait to see what Margrét Ann Thors writes next! ❤️📚🙌🏻 Do rec the audio! 🎧 Pub. 7/4/26
August 7, 2026
In this debut novel set in two time periods in Iceland, Margret Ann Thors has created a suspenseful story of memory vs truth, guilt and its cost over time, and unresolved childhood issues that have been hidden well into adulthood and resulted in altered behavior. The story is narrated by Unnur and action is divided between Reykjavik in 2018 and Dark Valley, on the coast, in 1991.
to be continued…
Thanks you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
to be continued…
Thanks you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
November 23, 2025
Freyja is a novel with a mystery at its center about a girl who disappeared many years ago. Unnur is the protagonist, who is a loving mother to her daughter Lilja. She also knew Freyja as a girl when she was taken to live in a home in the Dark Valley. What follows is the slowly unfolding story of what happened with Freyja’s disappearance in the past, as well as Unnur’s plight dealing with her ex-husband’s request for joint custody of their daughter after returning to Iceland. Stranger still, he brings along a new girlfriend, whose daughter bears the same name as the girl who vanished many years ago.
This author does an incredible job weaving a story about a woman whose nebulous past collides with her present life. It makes the reader question what is real and what is myth. The setting is eerie and mystical, with a unique location for the main events of the story. Most of all, the author really makes you feel for Unnur, despite questioning her sanity and honesty. This book would make an incredible mini-series or movie.
My thanks to the publisher for sending me an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Everything stated in my review is my own opinion written in my own words.
This author does an incredible job weaving a story about a woman whose nebulous past collides with her present life. It makes the reader question what is real and what is myth. The setting is eerie and mystical, with a unique location for the main events of the story. Most of all, the author really makes you feel for Unnur, despite questioning her sanity and honesty. This book would make an incredible mini-series or movie.
My thanks to the publisher for sending me an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Everything stated in my review is my own opinion written in my own words.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Appreciation to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for the ARC provided in return of an honest review of this book which is due out in August 2026.
Iceland is, to me, a mysterious island, full of lore, darkness, tales of the sea. This book accounts for that in many ways. The story is about single mother Unnar, who is raising a young daughter. The reader goes from present day Unnar back to Unnar's past where during her last summer in the Dark Valley something terrible happened that even Unnar can't seem to remember.
As many novels do, the chapters bounce between present and past. Many characters are introduced which tie the two together, further weaving the mystery and the thrill into the plot. What happened so long ago? Who is responsible? Will Unnar and/or her daughter be affected?
The locations of this book and descriptive writing of locations are phenomenal. As a reader, oftentimes I felt I was there. But the characters? Sadly, notsomuch. And it got more convoluted when having to jump 30 years backwards or forwards with Unnar.
It was a good book as a thriller, not great. 3 stars.
Iceland is, to me, a mysterious island, full of lore, darkness, tales of the sea. This book accounts for that in many ways. The story is about single mother Unnar, who is raising a young daughter. The reader goes from present day Unnar back to Unnar's past where during her last summer in the Dark Valley something terrible happened that even Unnar can't seem to remember.
As many novels do, the chapters bounce between present and past. Many characters are introduced which tie the two together, further weaving the mystery and the thrill into the plot. What happened so long ago? Who is responsible? Will Unnar and/or her daughter be affected?
The locations of this book and descriptive writing of locations are phenomenal. As a reader, oftentimes I felt I was there. But the characters? Sadly, notsomuch. And it got more convoluted when having to jump 30 years backwards or forwards with Unnar.
It was a good book as a thriller, not great. 3 stars.
December 5, 2025
This was interesting because the plot kept changing every time you would think something happened. This led it to be changing when we changed years. We'd go from feeling worried that Unnur was the killer and then go to someone different, it was quite different book. I liked it in the end, it finally made sense.
December 16, 2025
An eerie Icelandic mystery, perfectly haunting for the winter months. Years ago, a young girl named Freyja mysteriously vanished one night. Now, her friend Unnur—herself a single mother—is being forced to face the circumstances behind Freyja’s disappearance when a mystery note is slid under her door. And her ex’s strange new girlfriend only adds to Unnur’s worries…
This was an interesting story, and my favorite part was definitely the inclusion of Icelandic mythology within the plot. Sadly, the rest of the book didn’t hold up as much as many of the characters felt strange and disjointed from one another. The entire mystery surrounding Freyja was interesting at times, though unfortunately felt unsatisfying by the very end. Ultimately, not sure I’d recommend this one as a thriller/mystery (but potentially as a palate cleanser).
Enormous thanks to Spiegel & Grau for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review. “Freyja” releases on 8.4.26!
This was an interesting story, and my favorite part was definitely the inclusion of Icelandic mythology within the plot. Sadly, the rest of the book didn’t hold up as much as many of the characters felt strange and disjointed from one another. The entire mystery surrounding Freyja was interesting at times, though unfortunately felt unsatisfying by the very end. Ultimately, not sure I’d recommend this one as a thriller/mystery (but potentially as a palate cleanser).
Enormous thanks to Spiegel & Grau for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review. “Freyja” releases on 8.4.26!
November 20, 2025
I really loved the prose. It was poetic and vivid, and so easy to read. My problem really comes with the plot. I love trying to figure out the mystery as I’m reading, using the information stated in the book to figure out the ending. Meaning things need to be set up in the book before hand. And the only time any evidence of this a third person being at the beach for Freyja’s death was that there were Polaroids taken from a third POV, and like sure maybe that’s enough for some people, but the fact that Unaar didn’t even remember until the very end, and there felt like there was really no set up for the plot reveal, it lowered my overall enjoyment of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2026
*RECEIVED AN ARC FROM SPEIGEL & GRAU*
This book has everything I want in a psychological thriller - strong character building, a haunting childhood, neighborhood lore, and some psychosis. While a book about missing children is always hard to read, this one did it in such a delicate way that left you feeling for so many of the characters. The dark and moody atmosphere mixed with anxiety so palpable you can slice through it makes for an engaging and emotional read I didn’t want to put down.
This book has everything I want in a psychological thriller - strong character building, a haunting childhood, neighborhood lore, and some psychosis. While a book about missing children is always hard to read, this one did it in such a delicate way that left you feeling for so many of the characters. The dark and moody atmosphere mixed with anxiety so palpable you can slice through it makes for an engaging and emotional read I didn’t want to put down.
Read
August 14, 2026Long fly from dark
all the flood come again
mix with fear
mystery
clear wide space
return hunted name
hazy claud
non blood there
foggy part of mad suttinon
clear sad at iceland
all the flood come again
mix with fear
mystery
clear wide space
return hunted name
hazy claud
non blood there
foggy part of mad suttinon
clear sad at iceland
August 4, 2026
Do I have a new favorite author?
Unnur lives a deliberately small life in Reykjavík: a single mother working at a bakery under an assumed name, pushing away the memories of the last summer of her childhood. When her ex-husband returns to Iceland with a new girlfriend who seems to know far too much about Unnur's past, the quiet she's built starts to crack. Steeped in Icelandic folklore, it braids past and present as she races to recover a broken memory before it costs her everything.
I absolutely loved this one. It's beautifully written and immersive from the very first pages, so much so that at several points I had to put it down because my stomach was in knots. The dual timelines work wonderfully, and I loved inching closer to the solution without ever seeing it coming (the mystery is genuinely not obvious). The way Icelandic folklore is woven through the whole thing gives it a fantastic texture, and it left me wanting to book a trip to Iceland.
I can't wait to see what Thors writes next. For a debut, this is a remarkable one. Freyja is about to become my entire personality.
Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unnur lives a deliberately small life in Reykjavík: a single mother working at a bakery under an assumed name, pushing away the memories of the last summer of her childhood. When her ex-husband returns to Iceland with a new girlfriend who seems to know far too much about Unnur's past, the quiet she's built starts to crack. Steeped in Icelandic folklore, it braids past and present as she races to recover a broken memory before it costs her everything.
I absolutely loved this one. It's beautifully written and immersive from the very first pages, so much so that at several points I had to put it down because my stomach was in knots. The dual timelines work wonderfully, and I loved inching closer to the solution without ever seeing it coming (the mystery is genuinely not obvious). The way Icelandic folklore is woven through the whole thing gives it a fantastic texture, and it left me wanting to book a trip to Iceland.
I can't wait to see what Thors writes next. For a debut, this is a remarkable one. Freyja is about to become my entire personality.
Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What a beginning! It's one thing to have an unreliable narrator. It's another to have one that knows she is and is tormented by it. When she was a child, Unnar lost her best friend Freya to the sea. Was she killed? Probably, but the body was never found. Did Unnar risk her life trying to save her? Did she drown her in a fit of rage? Unnar remembers both. How much was planted in her young mind by endless police interrogations? Is there any other possible explanation? Now a young mother with a child of her own, she still doesn't know. When her ex-husband moves back to Iceland with a new flame who also has a daughter, the old tragedy is brought into the present when Unnar discovers that the rival's daughter is named Freya.
There's something deliciously sinister hanging over this book from the first page, and I loved it. If feels like everyone is being manipulated by an unseen hand. It quickly becomes apparent that Loa, the evil new girlfriend has it in for Unnar, but why? Could she possible tie in with the original Freya? But how? The two girls were isolated from the world. They only had each other. Thor is a master at playing with Unnar's mind and keeping ours whirling. This is an excellent psychological thriller. Highly recommended!
p-h, s-n, v-s
There's something deliciously sinister hanging over this book from the first page, and I loved it. If feels like everyone is being manipulated by an unseen hand. It quickly becomes apparent that Loa, the evil new girlfriend has it in for Unnar, but why? Could she possible tie in with the original Freya? But how? The two girls were isolated from the world. They only had each other. Thor is a master at playing with Unnar's mind and keeping ours whirling. This is an excellent psychological thriller. Highly recommended!
p-h, s-n, v-s
July 19, 2026
I was very interested in this book’s mix of mystery, Icelandic folklore, and a unique, well-developed setting. Combine this with an unreliable narrator, and you get a story that opens a bunch of different possibilities, before all coming together in the end. I personally enjoyed how much the Icelandic setting and culture was woven into the story and how the pacing of the book moved with the landscape of the past and present storylines.
There’s just enough uncertainty sprinkled throughout to keep you guessing until the end. It’s a standout debut and worth the read for lovers of the mystery and thriller genres.
Thanks NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the e-ARC and the opportunity to give an honest review.
There’s just enough uncertainty sprinkled throughout to keep you guessing until the end. It’s a standout debut and worth the read for lovers of the mystery and thriller genres.
Thanks NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the e-ARC and the opportunity to give an honest review.
August 19, 2026
Two girls, one goes missing, and the other can’t remember what happened. Years later, Unnur returns to Iceland from the US, now a mother and a divorcee, still questioning her own memory and what really happened all those years ago.
I really liked the Icelandic setting and the folklore elements, which gave the story something a little different. It’s definitely a slow burn, though, and I didn’t find it particularly gripping. The whole “suddenly remembering what happened” twist felt a bit old and predictable to me, and it didn’t quite work. Still, the atmosphere was great.
I really liked the Icelandic setting and the folklore elements, which gave the story something a little different. It’s definitely a slow burn, though, and I didn’t find it particularly gripping. The whole “suddenly remembering what happened” twist felt a bit old and predictable to me, and it didn’t quite work. Still, the atmosphere was great.
July 18, 2026
Icelandic thriller with folk horror and mommy issues--say less.
When the unsolved case of a missing girl in a remote area known as the Dark Valley of Iceland is reopened, Unnur must grapple with her past that she has worked very hard to keep hidden. She soon learns that in order to keep herself and her loved ones safe, she is going to have to go back to a moment she remembers little about but has continued to haunt her since.
Honestly, I requested this book because my baby girl's name is also Freyja. (We mixed the English and Swedish spelling and ended up with the Icelandic one), and I am so glad I did. This book was not only very entertaining (I loved looking up all the different Icelandic folklore that was mentioned), but it also hit me personally in a very touching way with the mother-daughter relationship aspects throughout the book. They tugged at my heart strings and made a lot of the main character's emotions relatable. The prose is incredibly beautiful, so much so that some times it felt like I was reading poetry. I highlighted man lines that felt touching.
This was a great, beautiful, dark debut and I cannot wait to see what Thors puts out next.
When the unsolved case of a missing girl in a remote area known as the Dark Valley of Iceland is reopened, Unnur must grapple with her past that she has worked very hard to keep hidden. She soon learns that in order to keep herself and her loved ones safe, she is going to have to go back to a moment she remembers little about but has continued to haunt her since.
Honestly, I requested this book because my baby girl's name is also Freyja. (We mixed the English and Swedish spelling and ended up with the Icelandic one), and I am so glad I did. This book was not only very entertaining (I loved looking up all the different Icelandic folklore that was mentioned), but it also hit me personally in a very touching way with the mother-daughter relationship aspects throughout the book. They tugged at my heart strings and made a lot of the main character's emotions relatable. The prose is incredibly beautiful, so much so that some times it felt like I was reading poetry. I highlighted man lines that felt touching.
This was a great, beautiful, dark debut and I cannot wait to see what Thors puts out next.
December 17, 2025
This debut novel captivated me from the opening lines. It made me forget to and postpone sleeping, eating, breathing. The more the mystery unraveled the further my jaw dropped, and the more literary focused passages on myth and motherhood are so elequently woven in.
August 7, 2026
“And so we wonder at the architecture of snowflakes.”
Freyja is a bright spot in what's been a rather lackluster thriller landscape this year. It’s moody and atmospheric, with the island nation itself serving as the shifting topsoil where the story's roots grow from.
It's a point of fact that the Icelandic national identity plays a huge role not only in terms of characterization but also as both an irritant and balm to the story itself.
Freyja is split into two time periods: 1990 to 1991 and then 2018. Our protagonist, Unnur, is a half-American, doesn't speak Icelandic, and is raising her 75% Icelandic daughter mostly alone. The last point wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for the previous two, which are negative points against any mother in Iceland. Unnur spends most of her days anxious, if not downright frightened–spooked by memory lapses and things from the past she can’t explain.
This story has a great amount of twists and turns as the plot deepens and dives further into Unnur’s past and the memories that are fighting their way to the surface. A fantastic, well-written novel with lovely prose. 5⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley and the folks at Spiegel & Grau for the early copy.
Freyja is a bright spot in what's been a rather lackluster thriller landscape this year. It’s moody and atmospheric, with the island nation itself serving as the shifting topsoil where the story's roots grow from.
It's a point of fact that the Icelandic national identity plays a huge role not only in terms of characterization but also as both an irritant and balm to the story itself.
Freyja is split into two time periods: 1990 to 1991 and then 2018. Our protagonist, Unnur, is a half-American, doesn't speak Icelandic, and is raising her 75% Icelandic daughter mostly alone. The last point wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for the previous two, which are negative points against any mother in Iceland. Unnur spends most of her days anxious, if not downright frightened–spooked by memory lapses and things from the past she can’t explain.
This story has a great amount of twists and turns as the plot deepens and dives further into Unnur’s past and the memories that are fighting their way to the surface. A fantastic, well-written novel with lovely prose. 5⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley and the folks at Spiegel & Grau for the early copy.
August 17, 2026
Atmospheric and filled with tension, I liked Unnur immediately, even if she did appear to be an unreliable narrator. When she was a child, her friend Freyja disappeared, and now the police have reopened the cold case to find out what happened and who is to blame. The plot thickens when Unnur's ex-husband introduces his new girlfriend, who I disliked immediately. Does she know what happened between Unnur and Freyja, and if so, why isn't she telling? Margrét Ann Thors has written a gripping, dual timeline mystery that had me flying through the pages because I had to know the truth. In addition to the mystery, this is also a story about a mother's love, and the constant changes that parents find themselves dealing with.
Thank you NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the DRC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the DRC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Firstly, thanks to Goodreads Giveaway and Spiegel & Grau for the Advanced Readers Copy. The following review are my own thoughts and opinions.
I found this book hard to get through. The first chapter, a flashback to when the FMC was a child, hinted at murder. Maybe an accident. She can't actually remember. But then it was kind of slow, filled with the mundane flashbacks and mundane current day life.
It did finally come together and get exciting to read in the final 3rd of the book. But until that point, it was a lot of filler that didn't really explain anything or lead up to much.
I'm usually a pretty quick reader, but I struggled with this one. The summary of this book seemed suspenseful and exciting, and unfortunately, for me, it was mostly boring.
I found this book hard to get through. The first chapter, a flashback to when the FMC was a child, hinted at murder. Maybe an accident. She can't actually remember. But then it was kind of slow, filled with the mundane flashbacks and mundane current day life.
It did finally come together and get exciting to read in the final 3rd of the book. But until that point, it was a lot of filler that didn't really explain anything or lead up to much.
I'm usually a pretty quick reader, but I struggled with this one. The summary of this book seemed suspenseful and exciting, and unfortunately, for me, it was mostly boring.
July 14, 2026
thank you to netgalley, the author, and spiegel & grau for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
release date: august 4, 2026
as someone who is going to iceland for the very first time next month, i was so excited to read a novel with the plot based there. from my short research of the country and from this book, iceland is truly a beautiful and mystical place. much like freyja, the fmc's close childhood friend. this book was truly moving. even though the thriller aspects will keep you on your toes and you won't ever predict the next obstacle, this book is truly about grief and found family. i loved the few chapters on freyja as she is such an anomaly! i wish there were more passages about her and the time spent on the farm, just so we had more freyja time.
this was a slow and steady read, but if you can keep up with it, you won't be able to put it down.
release date: august 4, 2026
as someone who is going to iceland for the very first time next month, i was so excited to read a novel with the plot based there. from my short research of the country and from this book, iceland is truly a beautiful and mystical place. much like freyja, the fmc's close childhood friend. this book was truly moving. even though the thriller aspects will keep you on your toes and you won't ever predict the next obstacle, this book is truly about grief and found family. i loved the few chapters on freyja as she is such an anomaly! i wish there were more passages about her and the time spent on the farm, just so we had more freyja time.
this was a slow and steady read, but if you can keep up with it, you won't be able to put it down.
August 6, 2026
And eerie Icelandic thriller steeped in folklore. It was okay. The descriptions of Iceland were great. The thriller was twisty but in large part due to jumping timeline, similar names and the folklore. It was a bit confusing instead of twisty at times. And I didnt really love the characters themselves.
August 17, 2026
The lure of an atmospheric mystery set in Iceland drew me in. Started out strong, but I found my attention wandering at times as the story progressed. The mystery wasn't as tightly wrapped up as I would've liked -- it reminded me a little of the first Thursday Murder Club. I enjoyed getting to learn about Icelandic mythology, history, and landscapes.
August 13, 2026
I really liked this in the beginning then it started spinning off the rails, the structure got weird, the characters started to act unnaturally, the descriptions were silly, it just needed more finesse
Want to Read
November 24, 2025A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
August 20, 2026
4.5 ⭐️!
March 31, 2026
The characters were all very thinly drawn. There were some interesting aspects to the mystery but the reveals were anticlimactic and because of the characters it was hard to be that invested. I liked the setting though.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, Spiegel & Grau, and Margrét Ann Thors for the arc in exchange for an honest review! Freyja is set to release on August 4!
I'm not always a fan of unreliable narrators, but my favorite type of unreliable narrator of all is when the narrator is an adult and the unreliability relates to childhood memories. There's always a question of is it trauma, is it childhood imagination, or is it a injury-induced amnesia? And, every time I see it in a thriller it absolutely slaps. Even more so when, like in this, the character is a mom and the memories appear to be paralleling in her child. As a mom, it is absolutely nightmarish/terrifying, but it makes a super compelling story and I just love it.
Unnur is our main character here and the story covers two points of time in her life. The first begins in 1990 when she was 11; and the second in 2018 when she is in her late 30's with a 7-year-old daughter. Unnur and her ex-husband Nói haven't been together for more than five years, and during that time Nói has been living in Europe. He's supposed to come for a visit, his first in two years, to finalize their agreement giving Unnur full custody of their daughter. Instead he surprises them by showing up a night early, with his girlfriend Lóa and her daughter (also about 7 years old) Freyja and announces that they are staying and he can have his lawyer, which Unnur was not aware he had, draw up joint custody paperwork.
That first night, Unnur feels like they really all hit it off and that this could be a good co-parenting adventure that will be good for her daughter. Until Lóa starts making comments and Unnur starts to see things that make her think Lóa could potentially be her missing friend Freyja (who Unnur doesn't THINK she would have killed, but she may have). The next day, she also discovers that Lóa is a detective who, on the cusp of the release of an anonymously written thriller inspired by Freyja's disappearance back in the 90's, is starting a new initiative to re-examine cold cases on the disappearances or deaths of women and girls. She starts making comments to Unnur that make Unnur think that not only does she realize Unnur's connection to the long-missing Freyja, but that Lóa actually knows what happened. Items connected to Unnur's life with Freyja start appearing or disappearing, photographs of them from a distance that she didn't know were ever taken appear in her mailbox.
Above all, though, someone starts to mess with Unnur's relationship with her daughter and endangering her daughter. First, Unnur gets a call that Lillja is in the hospital with a cracked skull needing 12 staples after she was discovered alone on the street by the airport after school. Then, someone calls child services on Unnur for an unstated reason. It's clear to Unnur that Lóa has to be connected to this, but she doesn't understand how or why and there isn't really anything she can do about it.
The story, across both timelines, is attention grabbing and sinister with sprinkles of Icelandic mythology and lore as well as tie-ins to American/Icelandic history throughout. I loved Unnur as a character and everything she was trying to do for her daughter, and how ultimately familial relationships tie everything together.
I will say that I don't think I have hated a character so seemingly unreasonably as I hated Nói by the end of this lol. And it can all be summed by Unnur's characterization of him at the end as a "good-enough father." There isn't anything outright hostile as a dad that he did, but he could have stopped everything that happened to Lillja if he gave even half as much of a shit as Unnur did about their kid. And yes, child services is all up about Unnur and Nói gets praised for doing a pickup. Like, at least vet your girlfriends, man!
One trigger warning I think is worth mentioning that would not be apparent on the face of the book is that there is a fairly graphic on page animal injury and death.
I'm not always a fan of unreliable narrators, but my favorite type of unreliable narrator of all is when the narrator is an adult and the unreliability relates to childhood memories. There's always a question of is it trauma, is it childhood imagination, or is it a injury-induced amnesia? And, every time I see it in a thriller it absolutely slaps. Even more so when, like in this, the character is a mom and the memories appear to be paralleling in her child. As a mom, it is absolutely nightmarish/terrifying, but it makes a super compelling story and I just love it.
Unnur is our main character here and the story covers two points of time in her life. The first begins in 1990 when she was 11; and the second in 2018 when she is in her late 30's with a 7-year-old daughter. Unnur and her ex-husband Nói haven't been together for more than five years, and during that time Nói has been living in Europe. He's supposed to come for a visit, his first in two years, to finalize their agreement giving Unnur full custody of their daughter. Instead he surprises them by showing up a night early, with his girlfriend Lóa and her daughter (also about 7 years old) Freyja and announces that they are staying and he can have his lawyer, which Unnur was not aware he had, draw up joint custody paperwork.
That first night, Unnur feels like they really all hit it off and that this could be a good co-parenting adventure that will be good for her daughter. Until Lóa starts making comments and Unnur starts to see things that make her think Lóa could potentially be her missing friend Freyja (who Unnur doesn't THINK she would have killed, but she may have). The next day, she also discovers that Lóa is a detective who, on the cusp of the release of an anonymously written thriller inspired by Freyja's disappearance back in the 90's, is starting a new initiative to re-examine cold cases on the disappearances or deaths of women and girls. She starts making comments to Unnur that make Unnur think that not only does she realize Unnur's connection to the long-missing Freyja, but that Lóa actually knows what happened. Items connected to Unnur's life with Freyja start appearing or disappearing, photographs of them from a distance that she didn't know were ever taken appear in her mailbox.
Above all, though, someone starts to mess with Unnur's relationship with her daughter and endangering her daughter. First, Unnur gets a call that Lillja is in the hospital with a cracked skull needing 12 staples after she was discovered alone on the street by the airport after school. Then, someone calls child services on Unnur for an unstated reason. It's clear to Unnur that Lóa has to be connected to this, but she doesn't understand how or why and there isn't really anything she can do about it.
The story, across both timelines, is attention grabbing and sinister with sprinkles of Icelandic mythology and lore as well as tie-ins to American/Icelandic history throughout. I loved Unnur as a character and everything she was trying to do for her daughter, and how ultimately familial relationships tie everything together.
I will say that I don't think I have hated a character so seemingly unreasonably as I hated Nói by the end of this lol. And it can all be summed by Unnur's characterization of him at the end as a "good-enough father." There isn't anything outright hostile as a dad that he did, but he could have stopped everything that happened to Lillja if he gave even half as much of a shit as Unnur did about their kid. And yes, child services is all up about Unnur and Nói gets praised for doing a pickup. Like, at least vet your girlfriends, man!
One trigger warning I think is worth mentioning that would not be apparent on the face of the book is that there is a fairly graphic on page animal injury and death.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Freyja, by Margrét Ann Thors, from Spiegel & Grau/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.
⭐ 2.4 ⭐
Oh, how I so wanted to like this a lot more than I did.
That’s because I’m a _huge_ fan of Nordic Noir. Which, up until last night when I looked it up, I would’ve termed Scandinoir, both because I’m at least somewhat of a typically undereducated U.S. citizen when it comes to matters of world geography and culture, and because I like the way that portmanteau looks and sounds.
Turns out that Scandinavia is within the Nordic region (see Nordic Visitor: https://www.nordicvisitor.com/blog/no...) Which I needed to know not only for all purposes book-related, but also because Dear Leader seems hell-bent for leather again this week on the United States acquiring Greenland.
Greenland.
For God’s sake.
Greenland.
Sigh.
Also I wanted to love it because my heart is cold and bleak, kinda like my ancestral DNA. For years I thought I was part Viking, only to have Ancestry disabuse me of this notion in October of 2025. I nearly cried when I saw the change from Norway to The Netherlands. But, on the up side, that notification also included data that the 56 percent of me that is Scot includes 5 percent from the Hebrides and Western Highlands (and I can still lay claim to some fae! Southern Wales = 1 percent). Plus, this means I’m still extra-legit when it comes to loving the North Sea. And death metal.
Back to the book. I wonder if something was lost in the translation, maybe? Because it just dragged. Draaaaaaaaagggggged. As in, I kept putting it down and having to force myself to return to it. Plus I hated all the characters, especially the main one, and it got all convoluted-y. And if you’re new here, permit me to explain how I feel about “convoluted-y”.
I loathe it. With a passion.
And, again, it’s a shame, because I had held this book out to be an early read this year, one I could devote an entire uninterrupted afternoon to enjoying. Wish now I’d just gone ahead instead and finally ordered prints of photos in order to update our Marriage Album (vs a Wedding Album, we just kept adding to it and things evolved over the course of 27-plus years….). Going to do that here momentarily, for the first time since September of 2024. Yeah, I’m a little behind. So be it.
Note To Future Kristi: Don’t bother with anything else by this author in the future. The partial additional star was only because you liked the descriptions of Iceland.
DESCRIPTION
The unsolved case of a young girl’s disappearance reopens after twenty years in this moody, atmospheric debut of suspense set in Reykjavík and the Icelandic coast.
Unnur has secrets. A single mother to a beloved daughter, Lilja, she lives a deliberately quiet life in Reykjavík, working at a bakery under an assumed last name and pushing away haunting visions of the last summer of her childhood. Her safety—and Lilja’s—now hinges on discretion. But 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 what happened long ago on a black sand beach in the remote Dark Valley—and the possibility that she might be responsible for the disappearance of her otherworldly friend Freyja.
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.
Received a complimentary copy of Freyja, by Margrét Ann Thors, from Spiegel & Grau/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.
⭐ 2.4 ⭐
Oh, how I so wanted to like this a lot more than I did.
That’s because I’m a _huge_ fan of Nordic Noir. Which, up until last night when I looked it up, I would’ve termed Scandinoir, both because I’m at least somewhat of a typically undereducated U.S. citizen when it comes to matters of world geography and culture, and because I like the way that portmanteau looks and sounds.
Turns out that Scandinavia is within the Nordic region (see Nordic Visitor: https://www.nordicvisitor.com/blog/no...) Which I needed to know not only for all purposes book-related, but also because Dear Leader seems hell-bent for leather again this week on the United States acquiring Greenland.
Greenland.
For God’s sake.
Greenland.
Sigh.
Also I wanted to love it because my heart is cold and bleak, kinda like my ancestral DNA. For years I thought I was part Viking, only to have Ancestry disabuse me of this notion in October of 2025. I nearly cried when I saw the change from Norway to The Netherlands. But, on the up side, that notification also included data that the 56 percent of me that is Scot includes 5 percent from the Hebrides and Western Highlands (and I can still lay claim to some fae! Southern Wales = 1 percent). Plus, this means I’m still extra-legit when it comes to loving the North Sea. And death metal.
Back to the book. I wonder if something was lost in the translation, maybe? Because it just dragged. Draaaaaaaaagggggged. As in, I kept putting it down and having to force myself to return to it. Plus I hated all the characters, especially the main one, and it got all convoluted-y. And if you’re new here, permit me to explain how I feel about “convoluted-y”.
I loathe it. With a passion.
And, again, it’s a shame, because I had held this book out to be an early read this year, one I could devote an entire uninterrupted afternoon to enjoying. Wish now I’d just gone ahead instead and finally ordered prints of photos in order to update our Marriage Album (vs a Wedding Album, we just kept adding to it and things evolved over the course of 27-plus years….). Going to do that here momentarily, for the first time since September of 2024. Yeah, I’m a little behind. So be it.
Note To Future Kristi: Don’t bother with anything else by this author in the future. The partial additional star was only because you liked the descriptions of Iceland.
DESCRIPTION
The unsolved case of a young girl’s disappearance reopens after twenty years in this moody, atmospheric debut of suspense set in Reykjavík and the Icelandic coast.
Unnur has secrets. A single mother to a beloved daughter, Lilja, she lives a deliberately quiet life in Reykjavík, working at a bakery under an assumed last name and pushing away haunting visions of the last summer of her childhood. Her safety—and Lilja’s—now hinges on discretion. But 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 what happened long ago on a black sand beach in the remote Dark Valley—and the possibility that she might be responsible for the disappearance of her otherworldly friend Freyja.
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.
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