I may be biased because I *adore* a moody, atmospheric thriller set in a remote, wintry location, but I absolutely loved The Lost House. It was an absolute knockout of a book, a perfectly woven tale of suspense and mystery. From the moment Agnes lands in the remote Icelandic town of Bifröst, the atmosphere is thick with tension and a sense of foreboding that doesn't let up until the final page. Larsen’s vivid descriptions of the Icelandic landscape—cold, harsh, and unforgiving—serve as the perfect backdrop for a story about buried secrets and the dark shadows of family history.

Agnes, a woman still grappling with the recent loss of her grandfather and her own personal trauma, is a deeply complex and relatable protagonist. Her journey to clear her grandfather’s name quickly spirals into something much more sinister when a local girl goes missing during her stay. The narrative expertly weaves between the original family mystery with the new case, keeping you on the edge of your seat.

The book has a tight, layered plot, but it’s the characters that truly make it so compelling. Agnes is flawed, determined, and deeply human—her quest for truth, while trying to piece together her fractured life, is both compelling and heartbreaking. Nora, the true crime podcaster who pulls Agnes into this investigation, is another likeable character, although I wish we'd gotten to delve deeper into her story. The twists in this story are jaw-dropping, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, the rug is pulled from beneath you. The tension builds with every turn, especially as Agnes uncovers the terrifying lengths to which people will go to protect their darkest secrets. By the end, I was in awe of how cleverly everything tied together.

I also loved the setting. The town of Bifröst and its chilling winter setting heightens the tension, adding to the story’s eerie mood. The layers of secrets and betrayal unfold beautifully, creating a completely immersive reading experience.

The Lost House is a five-star book through and through. I loved it. If you're a fan of dark, twisty mysteries with complex characters, this is an absolute must-read.

40 years ago a mother and baby were murdered in Iceland.
Present day Agnes the granddaughter is coming from the US to help podcaster Nora investigate their unsolved murders. She also stumbles across a new missing persons case. The cases collide and trouble arises as truths come out.
This was a great story that kept me entertained and I hope to read more by this author.
Thanks NetGalley and St. Martins press for this eARC!

I have never had such a visceral reaction to a book. I felt the bitter cold, the excruciating pain of loss and the hope for new beginnings. I loved this book so much. Thank you Melissa Larsen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Lost House.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique story! Agnes travels from California to Iceland in pursuit of the truth. She grew up with her father and grandfather who fled Iceland after her infant aunt and young grandmother were murdered. The townspeople were confident Agnes’ grandfather was the murderer since he fled the country. Agnes finds more than truth along the way - she also finds her way back to herself after a hard year. Lots of twists and turns that kept me very interested!

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of The Lost House in exchange for my honest review.

This book is exactly the type of book I love to read in the winter – a chilling, gripping thriller set in an isolated location that I can really sink my teeth into that is so atmospheric that I can’t put it down. This might be my first time reading a book by Melissa Larsen but it certainly won’t be the last.

I loved how the author was able to take so many different threads and blend them into one seamless story that kept me engaged throughout. There is the 40-year-old cold case and a current-day missing person case along with the podcast element, which I can never get enough of. On top of that, we have our protagonist, Agnes, who is just trying to find answers to what really happened to her family and find herself in the process, and then there are all are the secrets – you know I love a book with secrets!

I love books where the setting is itself almost a character and that is definitely the case here. It transported me back to Iceland as I was reading this one and I felt that cold seep into my bones. This is such a tense and suspenseful story and I loved how complicated a character Agnes was. She’s not just trying to find out what happened to her grandfather – she’s also still healing from an accident she barely survived and is addicted to painkillers. Still limping around, she isn’t the most reliable to people to be out wandering around in the snow and yet continues to take risks, often without letting others know where she is.

This layered mystery captivated me from the get-go and I cannot recommend it enough.

Agnes’s family has been haunted by their past for years. It’s rumored that her grandfather killed her grandmother and her infant aunt years ago when they lived in Iceland and then fled to America. Dealing with her own trauma and battles, Agnes decides to travel to Iceland and work with a famous podcaster to try to get to the bottom of the infamous murders and free her family from the guilt. As she talks to more people and gets to the bottom of the story, she learns the people in her life may not be who they seem to be and now she may be in danger in the future.

This book was a slow burn but so good! As the mystery of the past unfolds, there is a real time missing person case that is connected in the same area at the same time and the stories end up interweaving and it’s so interesting! There’s a lot of inner turmoil and personal trauma in this story that the characters have to overcome. I thought the story was dark, mysterious and kept me guessing every turn of the page. The author did a great job of making everyone seem suspicious, which I truly love in is book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Minotaur books and Melissa Larsen for the ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions in my review are honest, voluntary and my own.

Overall a nice mystery. A lot was kinda lost on me with being set in Iceland and the pronunciation etc but I got it after a bit.
The characters were very interesting and the plot of going into the past to find out what happened was very interesting.
I had a few inclinations of who did what about half way through. I was 50/50 correct.
Overall a ok book and story.
Nice quick read.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy.

This was a wild ride. Agnes heads to Iceland to participate in Nora’s true crime podcast. Why? Because Nora is delving into the cold case of Agnes’ murdered grandmother and infant daughter over a quarter of a century ago. The assumed suspect? Her beloved grandfather who raised her. When she arrives in the small university town of Bifrost, Agnes realizes that there is a lot more to the story than what she thought she knew. And there is a missing university student on top of it all.

A beautifully written thriller, where everyone, the characters and the readers, are questioning preconceived notions at every turn. The description of Iceland in the winter is particularly evocative - I was cold just reading the novel. Agnes, the main character, is incredibly nuanced, likable despite her demons. This was great.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

This story follows Agnes as she travels to Iceland to see her ancestral homeland and explore the circumstances under which her late grandfather fled the country after the murder of his wife and infant daughter with his young son, Magnus, her father, in tow. Magnus has always refused to speak of the events and disapproves of her choice to travel to his previous home in Bifröst, Iceland where she will be interviewed by a true crime podcaster for the fortieth anniversary of their deaths. Shortly before Agness arrives, a young woman goes missing from a party adding more tension to the local community.

I found this to be a slow-moving mystery with a few suspenseful moments and a very atmospheric setting. I think readers who enjoy Scandinavian or Nordic Noir will really enjoy this one. It was filled with a community of suspicious and gossipy characters that made a lot of assumptions, some with secrets of their own and motives to keep those secrets to the detriment of both investigations. I thought I knew who did it from the beginning, but I was second guessing myself throughout. One of the twists had me gasping aloud and excitedly exclaiming “yes!”. The only issue I had with the story was keeping all the names straight. There were several characters with the same name or similar names that I kept getting confused.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld and referenced the names using a digital review copy. This is probably my favorite narrator, and I thought she did a fantastic job with the characters, names, drama and suspense. I definitely recommend this format if you’re an audiobook listener.

Thank you to Netgalley, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for a copy provided for an honest review.

Melissa Larsen’s The Lost House is a highly atmospheric Nordic noir thriller. The main character is Agnes Glin, who begins the novel as a broken bird. She is unemployed, her beloved grandfather died one year prior, and her leg has been shattered in an accident leaving her in near constant pain and with an opioid addiction.

Agnes has been invited to Bifrost, Iceland to meet with Nora Carver, a true crime broadcaster. Nora is investigating a crime that occurred forty years’ prior involving the murder of Agnes’s grandmother and her infant daughter. Although no one was ever charged with a crime, the locals all suspect that Agnes’s grandfather committed the crime. However, a young woman who looks like Agnes’s grandmother has recently vanished after attending a party at “the murder house.” Are the past and present crimes connected?

The novel is well-written, and Larsen does an excellent job with character development, particularly in the case of Agnes, who primarily narrates the book. While the pacing of the novel is glacial up until the very end, this is consistent with investigating a forty-year-old cold case where many of the witnesses are dead or mentally incompetent. Moreover, each of the characters has secrets which makes a quick resolution impossible. 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Minotaur/St. Martin’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary advanced copy of this book.

"The Lost House" by Melissa Larsen is a mystery set against Iceland's breathtaking, otherworldly backdrop—at first, I thought, sign me up! But while the premise was intriguing and the writing was good, the story itself didn't quite pull me in the way I'd hoped.

The plot follows Agnes, who travels to Iceland to meet with a true crime podcaster about her grandfather, who is suspected of murdering her aunt and cousin. Agnes is determined to clear his name. But things take a turn when, during her stay in the small town where her father and grandfather once lived, a girl goes missing. Everyone becomes a suspect, and Agnes is tasked with uncovering her family's past and a new mystery.

The setup is fantastic: a podcaster revisiting a cold case, family secrets, and suspicious small-town locals. Plus, the beautiful Icelandic landscape is the story's backdrop. I've been drawn to Iceland for years and was thrilled at the idea of losing myself in a story set in its unique landscape. Larsen did a solid job describing the scenery—it felt icy, remote, and mysterious, a perfect match for the book's tone.

But for reasons I can't put my finger on, the book never quite sucked me in. The writing is well-crafted, and the plot is clearly thought out, but it lacks the kind of magnetism that makes it impossible to put the book down. It's not bad by any means—just not my favorite.

That said, I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it. If you're a fan of Iceland or enjoy slow-burn mysteries, this might be the book for you.

Would I recommend it? Sure, especially if you're a mystery lover with a soft spot for Iceland. Even though it didn't quite hit the mark for me, that doesn't mean it won't for you. Sometimes, it's all about the right book at the right time—and for all its atmosphere and intrigue, "The Lost House" still deserves a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I counted this as read but I mostly skimmed it and barely cared about anything going on in the story or the characters. And I normally LOVE an Icelandic story! Sorry but this book just wasn't for me.

The Lost House follows Agnes as she travels to Iceland to help true crime podcaster, Nora, uncover what really happened with the death of her grandmother. Everyone believes her grandfather did it but Agnes knows a gentle, loving man who could've never done such a thing. A young woman with an uncanny resemblance to Agnes goes missing a day before Agnes arrives. How are the two mysteries connected and can Agnes handle the truth?

The story moved at a great pace with short chapters. Agnes was one of the most unlikeable main characters I've read in a while. I found her very frustrating and although she was dealing with a lot, I was exasperated with her actions and way of thinking throughout most of the book. That said, it was an atmospheric and immersive experience that kept me reading to the end and I liked that there was two mysteries intertwined.

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen is a chilling and immersive mystery that delves deep into the complexities of grief, family secrets, and the lengths people will go to protect or conceal the truth. Set against the stark, breathtaking backdrop of Iceland, the novel follows Agnes, a determined young woman who travels there to investigate a decades-old murder that haunts her family.

Larsen's writing is atmospheric, perfectly capturing the desolate beauty of Iceland. The landscape plays an integral role in the novel, its cold, harsh environment mirroring the emotional isolation of the characters. The pace is methodical, drawing readers into a slow-burning unraveling of events, where every new piece of information feels like a crucial discovery.

The Lost House is a meticulously crafted mystery with rich emotional undercurrents. Melissa Larsen weaves a tale of dark family secrets, buried truths, and the devastating effects of unresolved trauma. It’s a novel that will resonate long after the final page, leaving readers contemplating the cost of uncovering the past—and whether some truths are better left hidden.

📚The Lost House by Melissa Larsen

CWs for addiction, murder (including death of a child), suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, kidnapping

Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5

Especially considering I listening to this audiobook with negative degree temperatures outside, the Icelandic setting was fairly atmospheric at the beginning. Sadly though, this book ended up not working for me at all. The interactions between the characters felt super forced and the random moments of intimacy felt out of place. I’m no sleuth, but it was very clear who the culprit was the second they were introduced.

I ended up listening to the audiobook after release day, but I still want to say a big thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Lost House is a very excellent book and my first time reading her book. This book had me on edge and very scary. Easy to read and easy to read. This thriller set during a bone chilling winter in Iceland. I receive this ARC from Netgalley and many thanks to Netgalley.

Thanks, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for the review copies. I liked the narrator for the audiobook, but switched to the e-book in order to skim faster The story was too slow and repetitive to hold my interest. The setting was fascinating, though!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for an early copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. I loved this book and read it in one day! I couldn't believe some of the twists! I would definitely recommend this book.

"Something terrible happened to her."
“A man happened to her."

"...We all carry our own individual truths...our own reasoning for our actions...we distort facts to suit our images of ourselves, and we do this so often that eventually, the lie becomes the truth."

Many of us are feeling the bitter cold this winter. It slows us down. Everything is an effort as the cold drains our energy. It's fascinating to read and listen to The Lost House, by vividly descriptive mystery author Melissa Larsen, bring the physicality of everything frozen around you to this Icelandic murder mystery.

Agnes, 27 years old, suffers a life altering accident leaving her popping pain pills and reevaluating her life. When a true crime podcaster invites Agnes on her podcast to discuss the unsolved murder in her family known as The Frozen Madonna Case (which would be an awesome title for this book), Agnes hops on a plane to Iceland to find out the truth of this cold case.

Forty years ago, her grandfather's wife and infant daughter were found frozen in the lake. His wife's throat was slashed and the baby drowned next to her. With the town believing her grandfather Einar capable of this brutality he took his 9 year old son Magnus (Agnes' father) and moved to California.

Visiting the family home, talking to townsfolk who still believe Einar is guilty, and hearing rumors of affairs, has Agnes ready to run back home. It gets worse when a local woman disappears and Agnes is their number one suspect.

The incomparable voice actress Saskia Maarleveld captures the chilling atmosphere surrounding the town and its people with her uncanny acting abilities. The Lost House will find you chilled to the bone.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

An absolute ride! This book had me on edge and locking all my doors. It felt so real and I couldn't read fast enough! I will be listening to the audiobook as soon as it is released!