📚 “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.

While we just celebrated the Winter Solstice, there is still time to enjoy this Nordic noir slow burn thriller this winter. There’s 3 stories to follow:

1. Forty years ago, a woman and her infant are found frozen and suspicious landed on the husband, who then fled Iceland to California with his surviving son. // 2. Agnes, the granddaughter of the suspected murderer, leaves California and heads to Iceland for the first time to find once and for all who was really responsible. Agnes has troubles of her own that gives character development. // 3. Coincidentally during Agnes’ visit, a local girl goes missing. Is there a connection?

Each character played a part, exuding Icelandic approach. You feel the winter darkness throughout the novel... solid twist towards the end!

The Lost House takes place in Iceland and I loved how Larsen truly transported me. The scenery she created was astonishing and a character in and of itself. It's also a mystery that's a two for one - Agnes' family tragedy from forty years ago implicating her grandfather as a murderer and the current mystery of a missing local girl.

There is a lot of history woven into the pages of The Lost House and it was important to keep names and timelines straight, which felt somewhat challenging at times with the audio. This may have been a better choice for a physical/ebook read rather than the audio, though I did think the narrator did a good job. It was just a complex story with a lot of moving pieces and characters and backstories. The audio was also fairly long, clocking in at 10 hours, which could give another push for reading rather than listening.

The writing was really well done with this one but it was a slower plot. There wasn't a ton of action - just researching and conversation and Agnes struggling with her pain and addiction.

Overall, I enjoyed this story but I'm not sure it will stick with me. Thank you to MacMillan Audio, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the copy.

Thank you to the publisher for a free Netgalley of this one. 3.5 rounded to 4.

Ok. Let me start by saying overall I enjoyed this story. The plot was interesting and I flew through this.
What I really liked:
- The setting-- winter in small town Iceland... hooked
- The plot-- the back story of the main family was interesting
- The ending-- some called it a twist, I did not think it was a twist so much. But it was extremely well done. I was happy with how the mystery ended.

What I did not like:
- Too many side stories-- there were quite a few small stories on the side that just felt unnecessary. Even the mystery portion with Asa felt unnecessary. Though I liked how it ended, I felt there could have been other ways to get to the same ending.
- Nora-- her character felt off and honestly immature for someone who runs a hugely popular true crime podcast. I felt like she never fully fit into the prompt.

Overall, I recommend this mystery novel. Worth picking up and reading. Def will read the author's backlist book and look forward to future releases.

4 Very Chilly Stars

Set in Iceland in the winter, this one kept me chilled the entire time! A young woman, Agnes, returns to her roots in Iceland. Her family fled forty years ago to California under the suspicion of a family murder (her grandmother and infant aunt were found murdered and frozen in the snow.) The town was convinced that Agnes’ grandfather had killed them both.

Agnes is the spitting image of her grandmother and the older folks in town are shaken to see her. Another young woman is missing, and the whole town is caught up in the mystery. Could the disappearance be related to the old mystery?

Agnes is in town to record a podcast about the murders of her family members with a true crime podcaster, Nora. Agnes suffered a debilitating leg injury in California and isn’t really recovered, still reliant on pain pills. She trudges around cold, icy Iceland, and I wondered if she would make it out. The author does a great job of creating an atmospheric read.

As she meets various townspeople, I was suspicious of everyone! Agnes didn’t believe that her grandfather was guilty, but everyone else had no doubts. In this slow burn, the twists kept coming, and there was a very tense ending. A great January read!

Agnes grew up in California unaware of her family history in Bifrost, Iceland. Her father, Magnus, and her grandfather, Einar, left their homeland forty years ago when Magnus was nine, cutting off all ties and communication. When her grandfather died, she finally learned the reason: they left under a cloud of suspicion. Einar stood accused of killing his wife and their baby daughter, Agnes. Although the crime remained unsolved, Einar was still believed to be the person responsible.

Grieving the loss of her grandfather, Agnes decides to accept a true-crime podcaster’s invitation to join her in Bifrost to look into—and possibly solve--“The Frozen Madonna Case” (the sensationalized name for the murders). There is no reason not to go: her father isn’t speaking to her, she has broken up with her partner, and she is suffering the after-affects of a fall (a shattered leg and an addiction to pain medications). Complicating matters, a young woman has gone missing. Will this journey give her any answers, and if so, will she be able to accept what she may find out?

Agnes is the proverbial “fish out of water”. She enters a less than welcoming community (they know who she is); doesn’t speak the language (Icelanders speak English); and it is winter (extremely cold temperatures, snow, ice, and four hours of sunlight). The only person she knows is Nora—the podcaster. However, she is now distracted by the case of the new, missing girl. Agnes must dig deep to start her own investigation. Along the way, she may also find a way to find the missing girl.

I think you will enjoy this twisty and action packed thriller.

I would like to thank Minotaur and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

100% Icelandic winter
That's why I chose it, and it delivered. It makes me want to see the landscape in person.

The murder of a mother and infant rocked Bïfrost in 1979. Granddaughter, Agnes, has flown to the island to partner on a 40th anniversary podcast about the unsolved deaths.
I was all in until the last third of the book. The brilliant, fast-paced writing began to unravel and ended with loose ends sticking out all over.