Creepy vibes, unexpected twists, and a house full of secrets! The Lost House keeps you hooked till the end. A thrilling, atmospheric read perfect for mystery lovers. Thank you Netgalley I’m def going to expand more into thriller reads!

Forty years ago, Agnes's grandmother and infant aunt were found dead under the Icelandic snow. But they did not die of exposure. They had been murdered. The woman's husband, Agnes's grandfather, was the only suspect but without any evidence against him, no charges were laid and soon he and his 9 year old son moved to California. Now, a year after her grandfather has passed away, Agnes has traveled to Iceland to join Nora, a podcaster retelling the story and trying to solve the crime. Agnes hopes to clear her grandfather's name, but when a young student who resembles Agnes's grandmother goes missing the weekend of the anniversary, she and Nora find themselves trying to solve not one mystery but two. Iceland itself plays a prominent role, setting the tone of this story with its harsh weather and isolation. Agnes is a complex character: troubled woman fighting her own ghosts, trying to reconcile herself to the possibility that her grandfather was, in fact, guilty. In fact, I liked everything about this book, from the writing, to the characters, to the suspenseful plot.

WOW. 2025 got off to a really good start with thriller, suspense book. This is my third book of the year and still thinking about it.

The Lost House is one of those books that once you start, you cannot stop. Chilling, suspenseful, and unforgettable characters.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley, for the free ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

The Lost House
by Melissa Larsen
Pub Date: Jan 14 2025

The Lost House is a murder mystery set in Iceland. Forty years ago, Agnes’s grandfather was suspected but not convicted of killing his wife and baby daughter. With the anniversary date coming up, Agnes has agreed to talk to a podcaster, Nora Carver. Agnes has never been to Iceland but hopes that she can clear her beloved grandfather’s name by going there.

Set against the Icelandic winter landscape, The Lost House is a chilling thriller packed with jaw-dropping twists and turns that will leave you breathless. The setting was beautiful, the characters were well descriptive, a well told story which I'm sure you will love just as much as I did!

Many thanks to #NetGalley #StMartinPress and #TheLostHouse for providing me an E-ARC of this murder mystery.

I'll admit that after the first couple of chapters, I thought this was going to be another entry in the up=and=coming podcaster solves a crime/stumbles upon and solves a new crime trope. Fortunately, the podcaster in question, Nora, gets the plot moving before Agnes emerges as the primary protagonist. The plot centers around a mystery in Agnes's grandfather's hometown in Iceland, one that prompted his move to California where Agnes has lived her life. Soon after Agnes arrives in Iceland to be interviewed by Nora, they learn a young woman is missing and they get drawn into the search.
What I like most about this is the depth of Agnes's character and I was drawn into her story. Other characters and relationships lacked that depth however and sometimes that left me feeling lacking. The resolution was satisfying, if a little rushed. Overall it was an enjoyable read and I recommend picking it up.

In some ways, THE LOST HOUSE is precisely the atmospheric mystery that readers of Scandi-noir will immediately recognize. The isolation. The cold. The simplicity of the writing, descriptive and yet just enough, never too much. And yet.

There is an intricacy to this novel, a kind of layered mystery that feels immersive as a reader. The novel asks us how we define ourselves, if our memories of the people most dear to us can be wrong, how we can be haunted by our histories. It is not just a mystery about an unsolved murder. It is a mystery about identity and the stories that we tell about our history, about ourselves.

After a devastating accident has left her with chronic pain, the end of a relationship, and her grandfather’s death, Agnes is called back to Iceland. This is a home she has never visited but where her family fled from after the murder of her grandmother and her infant. Unsolved and yet all but resolved because everyone agrees it was Agnes’ beloved grandfather. Why flee, after all, if he was not guilty? These are infamous murders, the image of the frozen woman clutching her child in the snow having formed a kind of cult following since then.

Agnes is there at the invitation of a determined podcast host with reputation for thorough investigations but she is not quite sure what she wants. It has been a restless year for her, floating between grief and numbness, and in Iceland she finally has a purpose - sort of. Once she learns that there is a young woman missing, she becomes even more entrenched. What unfolds then is the kind of novel that you devour without hesitation.

This is a beautiful, haunting book. I felt the starkness of the landscape in my bones, felt the pain in Agnes’ shattered body, held my breath when she did. It is dark and there are few moments of levity, and yet I ended the book thinking more about resilience than anything else. Brilliantly done. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

This is a story about a cold case, redemption, and learning more about your family history than you probably should! Agnes travels to Iceland to clear her grandfathers name upon his death. He was accused of killing his wife and infant daughter, and fled to California. Although the case was never solved, since he was the husband, he was the main suspect. She accepts an invitation from a true crime podcaster to be interviewed about his case in Iceland, where it all begins. So off she goes to the frozen tundra. The location itself is a character as the author infuses the setting of a cold distant landscape into reality. The descriptions are so realistic, I got a chill just imagining it. Of course the locals are hesitant to open up to any outsiders, even one of their own, and when a local girl goes missing, the plot becomes more dramatic and suspenseful. It starts slowly and takes awhile to build up the various plot devices, but when it does, it's executed beautifully. Atmospheric and compelling, this is a beautifully written mystery with a complex main character that you can't help rooting for.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Melissa Larsen for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Lost House coming out January 14, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I’m really interested in novels from other countries. I thought the Icelandic setting was really interesting. It was a pretty good thriller. I think things got a little complicated with the family dynamic. I was a little lost in the story. It wasn’t my favorite, but I would check out more books by this author.

It has been 6+ years since I found a great mystery. Suspenseful and truly did not see any twist coming at all. This is something I think even the non-mystery readers would eat this up. Pacing was fantastic, the characters were complex and the buildup was absolutely superb!

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one too much. I DNF, I found it a bit slow for my liking. However, I did like the atmosphere of the book.

What could have been an intriguing mystery set in Iceland melted down to a predictable story focused on the MC’s personal struggles and LGBT. Not what I had expected and I would not have chosen this book to read if I had known the true focus.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars
Agnes has traveled from California to Iceland to meet with a true crime podcaster covering the unsolved murder of her grandmother and aunt, forty years earlier. Her stoic grandfather was convicted by public opinion, but he fled with Agnes’ father to the US before anything could come of it.

Agnes loved her grandfather, closer to him than her father, and is still grieving his loss. She can’t imagine he’d kill his wife and baby daughter, so she hopes to clear his name with the investigation. However, as the details of her grandfather and grandmother’s life emerge Agnes starts to realize how little she knew of them.

Then there’s a new case of a missing girl that is somehow tangled up in all of it.

Agnes was a complicated character dealing with issues besides the mystery of her grandmother’s murder. Still healing from an accident she barely survived and reliant on painkillers. I felt that she took a lot of unnecessary risks trapsing about in the cold countryside when she still had so much trouble walking. Also, not letting anyone know where she was going half the time or having a properly working phone, but I guess that fit with where she was in her life mentally.

Iceland was described vividly, cold, stark and beautiful, almost a character on its own!

The Lost House was an atmospheric and compelling mystery. Engrossing but slow going at first. I feel like things didn’t really take off in pace until after the 50% mark.

I alternately read and listened to The Lost House narrated by the talented Saskia Maarleveld. I’ve enjoyed her performances immensely and she did a wonderful job with both male and female voices and giving a subtle Icelandic accent where appropriate. I recommend either version!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A good book to read in the winter, since the atmosphere is very cold and chilly, but that is about it I would say.

It had a very slow start and didn’t get much better throughout. It was pretty boring I can’t lie, which is sad because the premise was very intriguing!

I was intrigued on the mystery but didn’t connect with any of the characters. Agnes was very different from any other main character I’ve read. I can’t really put my finger on it, but she was more mellow and harsher on life. I can’t really say I blame her. I haven’t read many characters that had her injury that really affected her life. I know it was a big part of her life because obviously it restricted her, but it was mentioned constantly, to the point where it was sort of like, okay we get it. Not to sound cruel, but I think some mention of it could have been cut out.

Everyone was suspicious to me. Which I think was sort of the point, but I still didn’t trust anyone.

I know all signs pointed to the grandpa, but it frustrated me how quickly Agnes switched to thinking it was him too. Like yes when Nora found out about a motive that proved even more that he probably did it, but there still wasn’t exact evidence and Agnes was like yep he did it! There’s proof! Like no. People can lie! Don’t trust everything you hear.

The ending happed way too quickly. I won’t say exactly what I wish was touched on because some of it will be spoilers, but everything finished in two second and so many plot points were left open. Which is frustrating to say the least.

Nora seemed to be a main character, yet by the end she was barely around. Her podcast was such a focal point and we didn’t see anything about that at the end. She was so shady and we didn’t figure out why she didn’t give some evidence to the police or what happened with her sister. An author shouldn’t introduce that into the story and not finish it. Honestly if you completely cut Nora out of the story the book wouldn’t change much. Agnes could have done everything by herself and it would have made more sense.

Unless there is going to be a second book which I do not think would be a good idea, there is no reason to keep so many things open. Sometimes open endings are good, but in this case it just seemed like bad writing.

I didn’t like the instalove at all. Any sort of romance that isn’t built up and is just thrown at you is not compelling or makes you want to root for them. I also didn’t love the constant large age differences between a lot of the characters that were just brushed aside. When the girls are 17 and 18 with someone 9-30 years older than them it is just gross and creepy! It wasn’t condemned enough in this book. Even with Ingvar it seemed like he could have been a love interest to Agnes. Which Agnes is an adult so the age gap isn’t illegal, but still weird in my opinion when he is around her dad’s age. Maybe I read too much into that part of it, but that is the vibe I got.

The title doesn’t really fit with the book in my opinion. The house was barely mentioned. I thought maybe Agnes would be living in the house, not just visiting it once or twice.

I think the focus was on the wrong things in this book, which is why it didn’t work for me.

I wish the book was more compelling and wasn’t so boring, but I had a hard time getting through it. Not the worst thing I’ve ever read, but I wouldn’t recommend it either.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press, Minotaur Books and the author for this arc!

This was a veeeeeeery slow burn mystery that was just ok for me. Nothing really stood out as captivating or twisty about the story & I was able to guess whodunnit pretty early on. Darn.

It did give off some pretty chilling atmospheric vibes and weaved together a past & present crime nicely. If you are looking for a wintery, snowy mystery that doesn’t move too fast or get too edge of your seat … this may be a good choice for your mood!

2.5* Rounded up

I really wanted to love this book. The whole premise of Agnes going to Iceland to clear her grandfather's name from a cold case that occurred 40 years prior was intriguing. Knowing a disappearance of a woman was going to happen when she arrived in Iceland was also intriguing. I can't remember the last time I struggled so much with getting into this one and multiple times considered DNFing (I don't often do that so I didn't :) ). I didn't get immersed in the story, so I found myself easily distracted and starting/stopping my reading far too frequently. I kept plugging away wanting to know how it turned out and was pleased the pace picked up significantly toward the end. It fell a little flat to me, but I was grateful for the change in pace and wished the rest of book was like this.

I also felt that Agnes was a chaotic character as there was just a LOT going on with her and at times it felt like this was a distraction from the plot. With many reading interruptions, I had to keep reminding myself who was who each time I revisited the story as I didn't naturally fall back into it. I appreciated the Icelandic setting and the cold and blizzard conditions helped convey the mood of the book. I also appreciated an early pronunciation for Ása's name (Ow-sa) and wished there had been others (e.g. Magnús).

Thank you to Melissa Larsen, Min0taur Books, and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to the Icelandic setting-perfect to read on a cold, snowy day- and the 40 year old cold case ‘investigated’ by a true crime podcast host and young woman with a familial connection. The pacing was slow and often repetitive (yes, we know her leg/ankle is VERY painful), however, I continued reading to the unsurprising ending. I was left with at least one question. What ever happened with the podcast? With Nora? She disappeared for the last third of the book.
I’m grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy of The Lost House. Releases January 14th, 2025.

I’m a sucker for Nordic Noir. For some reason I really enjoy curling up with a book set in the frigid cold of Scandinavia. There is a real influx of these books set in Iceland; the backdrop of fire and ice adds a little something extra to the genre.

Larsen goes a bit outside of the norm of the genre by bringing in an American protagonist (albeit with Nordic heritage). The Lost House is a who-done-it, cold case trope. As with any trope, the author has to make it stand out; the story needs to be unique. Larsen does a good job of this by bringing in a true crime podcast aspect.

The cast of characters was at a good level. As a reader, I felt like I got to know them all. The “who” of the who-done-it pool was large enough to keep me wondering and the protagonist Agnes, was developed to the point where she was the prototype damaged protagonist of Nordic Noir.

I enjoyed The Lost House; it was time well spent in Iceland. I think that my enjoyment revolved around the fact that Larsen followed the Nordic Noir rules. She made some good efforts to separate her book from the pack, but it could have used a bit more to stand out amongst the classics of the genre.

If you are looking for a good story with some interesting characters, then The Lost House could be a great choice. If you’re looking for something to push your limits and expand your horizons, it’s missing the little something special.

*4 Stars

Agnes Glin travels from California to Iceland to investigate the gruesome murders of her grandmother Marie and her infant daughter 40 years earlier. The case was never solved, but most people suspect that Einar, Agnes’ grandfather, killed his wife and daughter. Agnes’ beloved grandfather has died but she wants to clear his name so connects with Nora Carver, a true crime podcaster who has helped solve another case. Will Agnes be able to prove her grandfather’s innocence or will she only confirm what virtually everyone in the town of Bifröst already believes?

There are a couple of complications. Agnes has a dependence on pain medication after a major injury to her leg. Then, just as Agnes arrives in Iceland, a university student named Ása has gone missing in Bifröst after a party at Agnes’ ancestral home. Are the cases connected?

I found Agnes an unlikeable character and so had difficulty caring about what happens to her. She’s 26 years of age, but she seems very immature. Before arriving in Iceland and despite warnings from her father, it never occurred to her that her grandfather might be guilty? She’s in Iceland for two weeks in February, but doesn’t buy gloves to protect her hands from the cold? She is very self-centred, showing little consideration for other people’s struggles or emotions. She stays with Nora but not once offers to help with things like meals? Despite her life-altering injury, she doesn’t take care of herself; over and over again, she pushes her body beyond its limits and then seems shocked by the pain she experiences. She makes rash decisions without considering possible consequences; these seem choices more appropriate to a teenager. Though we are to believe she undergoes some character growth at the end of the novel, I wasn’t convinced.

The male characters feel underdeveloped, more like flat characters with one dominant trait: Óskar is hostile, Ingvar is sweet, Thor Senior is antagonistic, etc. And what’s with Óskar’s belief in a murder gene; he’s a university student so supposedly intelligent but thinks Agnes needs to be watched and calls her “’murderer’s child’”!

Pacing is an issue. Not much happens, especially in the middle of the plot. There are just a lot of conversations which are repetitive and reveal little new information. And so much else is repetitive; since so much of the narrative is Agnes’ interior monologue, there are repeated references to her injury, her struggles with opiate addiction, her fractured relationship with her father, and her feelings for Lilja. There is action at the end of the book, but readers might be tempted to stop reading before reaching the action-packed section.

There are plot issues. The author seems not to have researched Iceland’s weather very carefully because blizzards are not likely to happen so often and so conveniently in a two-week span. And where’s the reference to the Northern Lights since February is the best month to see them there? The search for Ása is so uncoordinated and no one thinks of a cellar in a farmhouse? Agnes, not once but twice, somehow finds herself at the back of houses? And what’s with the unnecessary romantic relationship, especially one which relies on the love-at-first-sight trope? Finally and most importantly, there is no great reveal because the plot is predictable. The repeated references to people’s ages give any astute reader the answer very early on.

I understand this is not the author’s first novel, but with its plot weaknesses it feels very much like a debut book.

A gripping contemporary thriller that explores themes of survival, secrecy, and the quest for truth.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Forty years ago, a young woman and her infant daughter were found buried in the cold Icelandic snow, lying together as peacefully as though sleeping. Except the mother’s throat had been slashed and the infant drowned. The case was never solved. There were no arrests, no conviction. Just a suspicion turned into a certainty: the husband did it. When he took his son and fled halfway across the world to California, it was proof enough of his guilt.

Agnes has just lost her beloved grandfather and she is determined to clear his name. She is a character with some huge flaws and she is a bit wishy washy. This is what I liked about her…I know, I know, not my usual character choice. She pulled at my heart strings a bit. I loved her mind set even if she doesn’t know where to turn in most of her choices.

I did fluctuate between 3 and 4 stars. This is more of a 3.5 star rounded up. It just was a bit slow and draggy in spots. Yes! I did figure it out pretty quickly. However, the setting and the characters kept me reading.

This is narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. She is pretty dad blame good!

Need a mystery with a great setting…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.