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The Lost House
Author: Melissa Larsen
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: January 14, 2025

This story revolves around Agnes who travels to Iceland to solve a decades-old unsolved murder of her murdered grandmother and baby. As the only child in America of an Icelandic grandfather and father, Agnes’s family is small and buried in secrets. Additionally, Agnes carries a lot of her own secrets. It is through the encouragement of a true crime podcaster that she returns to Iceland to solve the mystery. Her grandfather is publicly accused but never tried for the murders and Agnes can’t believe her grandfather and father would have hurt anyone. But she wants answers after her grandfather dies and she is gravely injured in an accident. There are many sub-stories to the main plot and there are a multitude of possibilities. The author captures the rugged and harsh terrain of Iceland during the long winters and how ill-prepared a California girl is for the blizzards. This is a dark story with a shocking ending. Well done but I would not call this book uplifting. I like to think I survived The Lost House. #TheLostHouse @melissalarsenauthor @minotaur_books #netgalley @netgalley #murder #lostGirls #Iceland #snow #freezing #blizzards #evil #crimepodcast @stmartinspress

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.

I liked it fine. The main character did annoy me with her reactions and choices but overall thought it was a solid thriller that was enjoyable.

This book pleasantly surprised me! I went in not really expecting much, as most mystery/thriller novels feel the same to me (and I normally love them either way, but count on them being average). This was a really great story that was excellently planned out.

Agnes was a great character to read about! She's frustrating enough that you want to shake her sometimes, but she has a backstory that makes you pity her a bit AND understand where she's coming from. She's not perfect, nor does she try to be, but she is human and she's doing her best (especially now that she is either temporarily or permanently disabled from an accident and also dealing with someone doing a podcast about her grandfather who may or may not have killed his wife and child).

Nora is also an interesting character, and I wish we had learned a little bit more about her and her sister's backstory. It was thrown in there very quickly and then not addressed again, even though it would have made for some more interest.

This story has some great twists and turns, most pieces are thought out well, and I think this is a perfect story for this time of year when things feel a bit cold and gloomy, as the setting fits that perfectly. If you like mysteries that are also a bit of a thriller, give this one a chance!

3.5 stars rounded up. I enjoyed the originality of this book and the setting in a small town in Iceland. I always enjoy podcast elements in a book, so I am wondering if I would have enjoyed this more as an audiobook. I also really enjoyed the backstory of the main character and her challenges. I think the pacing was off in this book in my opinion. The way the reader receives information in the beginning is a bit disjointed, which could be in part due to Agnes as a character, but it wasn't as enjoyable to read that way. I will say, I didn't see the main culprit coming, which is always a plus in a mystery, but this book was a bit slow for me up until the last 25%. I think if you enjoy more detective like mysteries rather than a mystery/thriller, you will really enjoy this book.

This is my first book by this author. I look forward to reading more.

This book was slow to start for me but it did pick up and the ending was great. The author definitely wrapped it up great.

A murder was committed in 1979 in a small town in Iceland. A woman and her baby girl. The baby was frozen and the mother's throat was slit. Everyone suspected the husband did it. He took their son and left.

In 2019 Agnes goes to Iceland to meet a podcaster, Nora, who is investigating the deaths of Agnes's grandmother and aunt all those years ago. A girl has gone missing and of course there has been a search for her now. The house that Agnes's grandfather and father lived in has become a place for people to hang out and gawk about what happened back in 1979. That is where the other girl went missing from too.

You get a lot with this story. A murder or two. A missing young woman. A drug addiction. A kidnapping. You uncover the truth as you read but that last part is the best. When most of the actual action and the reveal happens.

The setting of this story is great and the timeframes. It goes back to what happened in 1979 only a few times to keep you knowing what happened and then who did it. You meet several of the townspeople and most are very likable. This book was good but not great. I do say it's worth reading, You may love it more than I did. I did like it. It kept me guessing for sure. Parts kept me on edge too. I believe it was well written. It was a quick read for me.

Thank you #NetGalley, #StMartinsPress, #MacmillanAudio, for this ARC. This is my true thoughts about this book.

3 stars

Absolutely loved this book by Melissa Larsen - the Iceland setting was beautiful and chilling. A perfect winter read for those who love dark suspense.

📚 “How sad it is, she thinks, to compare personal tragedies and lose.”

👍 A great murder mystery set in Iceland. I can’t think of any better setting for a winter read. The character development was excellent! I loved the dual timeline of investigating a cold case, when another girl had recently gone missing.

I had a good idea of where this was going early on, but Larsen's writing and plotting never made me feel like I was smarter than the protagonist or bored me while we got to the resolution (which, while I was right about the perpetrator, still held some surprises).

The big reason to read this one is for the atmosphere. It's a dark, cold story that is perfectly reflected in its setting and characterization. This is not a brisk, fun, beach read; it's best read at night, under a huge blanket, the winter wind wailing outside your window.

This was a solid book. A small town mystery is uncovered by a podcaster and a young woman who has connection to the mystery. While uncovering secrets of the past mystery, this duo find themselves in the middle of a new mystery. You get two mysteries in one! Some of the book was slow for me, still a good read. Thank you, NetGalley.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press, Melissa Larsen and Netgalley.
Poor Agnes...
I felt sad for Agnes but holy shit did I love her attitude!
This takes place in Iceland. One of my favorite parts of the world that I'll never see. "Bummer!"
This book checked nearly all of my boxes on what I want in a mystery.
Sorry guys and gals, but that's my big review!

I loved the setting of this book, the harsh weather and remote town in Iceland made for a spooky atmospheric read. It was too much of a slow burn for me. I was dying to know what happened and wish we had gotten there sooner.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a true winter read since the setting was in Iceland!! The Lost House was a great thriller. Forty years ago, a woman and her baby daughter were found buried in the snow in Iceland, lying together as if they were sleeping. Except the mother’s throat was cut and the infant was drowned. The case was never solved, and no one was ever arrested. Everyone thought the husband did it, especially when he moved to California with his son. Now years later, his granddaughter wants to clear her grandfather's name and start investigating the crime. Once she arrives, she discovers another girl is missing. There were lots of dark themes in this book but it turned out to be a really good true crime story. Overall, I enjoyed it.

3.5 stars
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy. It was a good read.

Atmospheric, twisty and suspenseful!

Agnes, anxious to escape her messy life, travels to Bifrost, Iceland, the home of her father and grandparents. There, with the help of Nora Carver, the host of a True Crime podcast, she hopes to, once and for all, clear her grandfather’s name in the murder of his wife and baby daughter from decades ago. But shortly after arriving in this bitter cold landscape, a local girl goes missing, sending the podcast investigation into a tailspin.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved the cold setting, it was the perfect backdrop for a winter read.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 14, 2025

I tried. I did finish the book but it took a lot of back and forth between the book and the audiobook. Usually, I get a sense of darkness and tension rom this setting. This time I found myself fighting boredom. There was an old and a new mystery. Neither were approached in a way that had any real tension. No one seemed terribly concerned with the presently missing woman and no one even seemed a little reliable when discussing the past. I pushed through.

Billed as a cold case mystery set in a small Icelandic town, this book started out strong. I really liked the cold setting of Iceland; however, I felt too much time was spent setting up the main character as an unreliable narrator that the story suffered. Things become repetitive and it was hard to care about the other characters. Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

This book was so atmospheric with the description of the harsh Icelandic landscape. Snow, wind, ice, and bodies give the story an overall sinister and spooky vibe with a great storyline and a mystery to solve.

The novel was done in a podcast style with plenty of suspects and had a great premise, but I found it to be a tad too slow for my liking.
I am not a fan of a slow burn in thrillers, waiting for the plot to unfold. But that is a "me " issue and not the book. This story has a lot of positives.

Also, I have heard the audiobook is excellent, so I may try that when it comes out.

Overall, despite my personal issue, this is a fantastic mystery set in one of the most inhospitable places.

I would definitely recommend it to those who are patient and love to solve a mystery.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

was immediately hooked to this chilly story, the setting is one of my favorites and I enjoyed the overall mystery of it.
Even though the story and some of the characters were interesting and I ate this book up, it was very predictable.
I didn’t really care much for the MC, it was very repetitive and it didn’t help that I figured out “the twist” pretty early on.
Even though there wasn’t really a shock factor, I did enjoy the majority of the story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the ARC, opinion is my own.

Great ice-chilling vibes for winter reading!! THE LOST HOUSE, a Nordic noir mystery/crime thriller, is an atmospheric, dark and sinister tale, unsettling in all the right ways. Melissa Larsens’ story of a 1979 double murder dubbed “the frozen Madonna and child” (locals accused her husband of the crime) + a new missing persons case, both taking place in Bifrost, Iceland, 40 years apart.

Set during winter in an isolated snow covered landscape completely covered in darkness 17 hours per day, Larsen fully sets the mood and tone for this eerie tale. Our main character Agnes travels from California to Bifrost on the fortieth anniversary of her family’s unsolved double murders, where during a party at the “murder house,” Asa, a young female college student goes missing. She thinks the missing girl and her grandmother/infant aunts’ cold case are related. She wants to discover the truth behind the murders in ‘79 to prove her beloved late-grandfathers innocence. It’s there in Bifrost that Agnes meets up with Nora. She’s a true crime podcaster from California who wants Agnes’ take on her family’s cold case (and has actually helped police solve a cold case). It’s every bit small-town drama, rumors and exposing decades old secrets. This is one of those stories that will stay with me a long time.🥶 4.5 stars — Pub. 1/14/25

I received an arc copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Lost House is a chilling Arctic noir. After an accident that leaves her trying to stop taking painkillers, Agnes travels to the small Icelandic town where her grandmother is believed to have been killed by her beloved grandfather. The unsolved murder of the famous “Frozen Madonna” memorialized with her baby draws Agnes to meet with a true crime podcast host with hope of clear in her recently deceased grandfather’s name. When she arrives, a college student has just disappeared in the snow and could be tied to the 40-year-old case.

There’s nothing quite like a thriller set against the cold and vast Icelandic countryside. The Lost House is a chilling tale, following Agnes, the granddaughter of a suspected murderer. As part of a true crime podcast, two seemingly unconnected mysteries are being looked into, one recent and one in the past and I was addicted watching the story unfold. This book kept me guessing, right until the very end! It was incredibly atmospheric, haunting and eerie and an enjoyable winter read.

Thank you @minotaur_books and @netgalley for the gifted ARC.