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.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read The Lost House by Melissa Larsen. This atmospheric thriller draws you into a world filled with secrets, betrayal, and a lingering sense of unease. Larsen’s vivid prose sets the stage beautifully, making the titular house feel like a character in its own right—both haunting and mesmerizing.

The story unfolds through a compelling mix of past and present, as the protagonist unravels the mysteries surrounding the house and its previous occupants. The pacing builds steadily, with twists that keep you guessing and a finale that lands with impact. Larsen skillfully balances the psychological tension with emotional depth, making this more than just a standard mystery.

While some may find the slower build-up challenging, it’s worth sticking with for the payoff. The layers of intrigue and the richly drawn setting make The Lost House a gripping read for fans of suspenseful, character-driven mysteries. If you enjoy stories that blend psychological drama with a touch of the gothic, this one is sure to captivate.

This is my first book by author Melissa Larsen, but one thing I can confidently say is that this author can bring a story right off the pages and make you feel like you're right there with the characters. I have read many great stories where the author brings them to life, but this story somehow also managed to make me feel the cold, wintery weather of Iceland, as well as the unease and trauma that surrounds the story.

This story starts with a house party, and a young woman, named Asa, who is fairly intoxicated and stumbles into the night. She runs into someone and then isn't seen again. Once Agnes makes her way to Bifröst, Iceland, the missing woman is making headlines and is drumming up bad memories for the townspeople. They all remember Agnes' grandmother, Marie, and how she and her baby were murdered 40 years earlier.

This story is well-written and pulls the reader into the story. However, this story is a very slow burn, and because of that, I had a harder time staying engaged and wanting to come back to it. There were times when I felt I had been reading for a while and I would have barely made any progress in the actual storyline.

If you enjoy Nordic thrillers that have a slow burn, with a lot of build-up and tension, then you may enjoy this.

This thriller masterfully weaves together a decades-old cold case, a dark family legacy, and a gripping modern-day mystery. The story follows Agnes, a determined and complex character, as she seeks to clear her grandfather's name and uncover the truth behind a brutal murder that occurred forty years ago.
One of the standout features of this novel is its thoughtful exploration of family dynamics, trauma, and the power of secrets. Agnes's character is richly drawn, and her emotional journey is both heartbreaking and compelling. Melissa’s use of multiple timelines and perspectives adds depth and complexity to the narrative, making it difficult to put down.
Overall, this is a gripping and unsettling thriller that will appeal to fans of true crime, mystery, and suspense.

When a young woman and her infant daughter were murdered, the entire Icelandic town was convinced the husband did it. Forty years later, the husband is dead and his granddaughter, Agnes Glin, is headed to Iceland to clear her grandfather's name after Nora Carver, a true crime podcaster, invited Agnes to the town of Bifröst to be featured on her podcast. When a local girl goes missing the same weekend Agnes arrives, Agnes and Nora's investigation is flipped on its head and Agnes finds herself drawn into the town and its secrets.

I absolutely loved this story. It was a slow burn with twist after twist. Each of the suspects seemed just as likely as the last and I was left guessing until the very end. The setting of the book was immaculate - I could imagine myself in the freezing Icelandic weather under the cover of near darkness a lot of the time.

It took me a bit to like Agnes, but I think a lot of that was due to her character's growth over the story. She started out a bit lost in life and by the end of the novel, truly seemed like she had found her way. I feel like Nora wasn't nearly as involved in the novel as I expected. Outside of a handful of conversations, she felt like a background character. (During the last couple of chapters, I started to wonder where she had gone and then - bam - a single paragraph devoted to her.)

The podcast was also not as much of a factor as I had expected. It felt like there was really only a handful of podcast interviews and it was more of Nora and the interviewee having a simple conversation. I personally love mixed media books and was hoping for just a bit more of that in this one, but regardless, I was a big fan!

4 stars!

Thank you to Minotaur Books, Melissa Larsen and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This was my first Melissa Larsen book and I was very impressed. Her writing style is to the point and direct, but still delivers the right amount of suspense. No spoilers, but the story was well throughout and a good review/twist! I would highly recommend this!
I would read more books by Melissa Larsen!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Agnes leaves California to return to her ancestral home in Iceland to investigate a murder in her family. Her grandfather was accused of killing his wife and baby, and later fled with his son, Agnes' father, to the USA to start over. When Agnes meets with a podcaster who plans to dig into the case and determine the truth, another young woman goes missing.

The book is a slow burn mystery thriller that is well written and has solid characters. I love a writer who can pull you in and keep you glued to the pages! The ending was such an unexpected twist! This is a great read that is very different and satisfying! Highly recommend!

I really struggled to engage with this book. I switched between the audio and ebook and neither of them clicked. The book moved very slowly, too slowly for a mystery in my opinion. I started to get bored during many different parts of the book. It felt like nothing was actually happening through the majority of the book and I was able to guess the ending pretty early on. The book was very repetitive which only added to my frustration. All that being said, the setting of this story is CREEPY!! Seriously, the perfect setting for any thriller/mystery. A dark, snowy and remote town in Iceland gives the chill factor. The descriptions were incredibly well done, making me feel like I jumped right into the book. I feel like some of the pieces were there to make for a creepy read, but unfortunately other parts fell flat. Very mixed reviews on this one, so I would love to hear your different thoughts!

Agnes just lost her grandfather, who decades earlier fled from Iceland with his young son when his wife and daughter were murdered. When Nora, a podcast personality, wants to interview Agnes, she packs up and heads to Iceland, where a girl has coincidentally gone missing. Together they work to uncover secrets, both past and present, to help solve these cases.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copies.

The Lost House was a pretty good mystery-thriller. The story follows, Agnes, who travels to Iceland to be interviewed for a true crime podcast about the murders in her family that occurred decades ago. Agnes’s grandfather was suspected of murdering his wife and baby daughter, 40 years prior, but was never convicted.

I loved the mystery and the podcast element. I love when a book features a podcast, even though it has been done a lot lately.

The main character in this book acted strange. She’s supposed to be trying to clear her grandfather’s name, but then she gets all caught up in this romance that seemed rushed and awkward.

The writing was good and it was a pretty fast read, even though it seemed a little too long for a mystery-thriller. I enjoyed the ending, even though parts of it were predictable.

I loved the Iceland setting. It was the perfect setting for this story. If you’re looking for a book to read in the winter, then this is definitely a good one to choose.

Overall, this was an intriguing read that I would recommend to thriller and mystery fans.

3.5⭐️

A great mystery - set in the winter in Iceland in the midst of a true crime podcast and a year's old murder cold case.

Agnes has left little behind and has come to Iceland to be a part of a podcast about her family. Long ago, her grandfather was accused of murdering his young wife after his wife killed their young daughter. He fled to America with his son and never spoke of it again. Now, Agnes has been called by a true crime podcaster, Nora. She's been invited to stay in a very nice house, near to both Agnes's families old property and the murder scene.

But Agnes must contend with the whole town believing her grandfather, someone beloved to her, had committed the most terrible crime. They don't believe it was anyone else. After landing from her many hours flight, Agnes learns another girls has gone missing. Are they connected, somehow?

Iceland was the perfect setting - I felt like the cold dripped off the pages. The near constant snow, the need to layer clothes and tighten boots, it all helped to bring the outside into the story as an actual character. I liked that I questioned everything and everyone - even Agnes. I had to wonder who was unreliable and who was lying. And, if someone was lying, the question was always 'why'.

It was fun to wonder how it would all turn out and the ultimate twists surprised me. This was a great mystery to finish 2024 out with. I really liked it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I was really looking forward to this book. It started out so strong then little by little it was losing my interest…
I loved that it was set in Iceland, that was the main reason I picked it up. The pace was just too slow, and ended up being quite repetitive.

I love a good cold themed thriller in the wintertime. This is a dark and brooding thriller, perfect for winter, but the pacing is a bit on the slow side.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Melissa Larsen, and Penguin Group Putnam for the ebook! This thrilling story is full of twists and set in the captivating landscape of Iceland. I loved how the past intertwined with the present, and the outcome completely blew me away!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this memorable mystery set in the darkness of a frigid Icelandic winter. It is due to be published on January 14th, 2025.

Agnes was raised in California by Einar, her beloved Icelandic grandfather. Her father (also from Iceland) was cordial but distant. She is grieving her grandfather's death a year earlier and is unhappy about a failed relationship. While visiting a place where she remembered joyful times with her grandfather, she was overcome with despair and hurled herself off a cliff, hoping for death. She does not die as intended and now lives with overwhelming grief and severe pain due to shattered bone fragments in her knee.

Forty years earlier, her grandmother and infant daughter, who would have been her aunt, were found frozen in deep snow in Befrost, Iceland. The case became known as the Madonna and Child. It became apparent that the woman's throat had been slashed, and the infant had died by drowning. In a place with few serious crimes and in the small, isolated town of Befrost, the murders are still remembered. Rumours were spread at the time, and the townspeople considered the dead woman's husband, Einar, guilty. He fled with his young son to California. This confirmed him in their minds as the killer. Agnes never believed her kindly grandfather could be guilty of such a crime.

Agnes is mainly defined by her lingering, severe pain. She is mentally, emotionally, and physically fragile and addicted to strong painkillers. She is invited to Befrost to be interviewed by Nora Carver, a true-crime podcaster. She is planning a documentary about the long-ago murders and will interview anyone who knew the woman and her husband. Nora wants Agnes's impressions of Einar. Agnes is determined to prove her grandfather innocent and regards the trip as a chance to escape her dismal life. When she arrives in Iceland, Asa, a local girl, has gone missing. It seems that there can be no connection between her disappearance and the murder decades ago. Search parties are looking for her but with futile results. Nora's interviews are interrupted by people speculating about the newest crime and the failure to find Asa alive or dead. Several men could have been involved with Asa, with one responsible for her disappearance and possibly the death of Agnes's grandmother.

The harsh, dark winter, the frozen ground, the biting cold, and the icy conditions should have been expected by Agnes. She takes impulsive risks bound to worsen her pain. She tends to go outside without gloves and insufficient warm clothing while determined to exonerate Einar. She is staying at a modern home rented by Nora, who disapproves of a developing love interest for Agnes. Not far away is the crumbling ancestral home that belonged to Einar's family, and she is tempted to walk there in treacherous winter conditions and explore.

During the interviews for Nora's documentary, Agnes becomes convinced that rumours of Einar's guilt are probably correct. Agnes manages to solve or stumble upon the solution to the past and present mysteries.
The book is divided into three sections. I found it slow-paced and repetitive in its first two parts and struggled to keep reading. Wow! The last section was fast-paced, tension-filled, containing action and danger. The conclusion was twisty and surprising.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Melissa Larsen for this ARC.

I love reading books set in super isolated, wintery settings during the colder months, so “The Lost House” by Melissa Larsen seemed like the perfect January book. The plot centers on Agnes as she returns to her ancestral home in Iceland to investigate a 40-year-old murder that centers on her family.

❄️What did you love the most?
Cozy up with your favorite blanket while you read this one because the atmopshere is chilly and eerie. Set in a small Icelandic town where the daylight is getting shorter and the snow is thicker, the atmospheric vibes play a big role in this plot.

I also loved how we are knee-deep in the mystery with Agnes as she tries to reconcile the grandfather she knew with the man that this small town believes killed his only wife and daughter forty years prior. You never know what to believe, and the truth is very rewarding in the end.

❄️What to expect:
Nordic noir thriller vibes
Icy, wintery setting
True crime podcast
Everyone is hiding something

❄️How was the pace?
Larsen proves to be an expert storyteller. She somehow keeps the reader in the action while connecting the narrative to the larger plot point of the unsolved cold case. I never was confused or bored, and I loved how the suspense kept building. It is certainly a slow burn, but the payoff is well worth it.

❄️Do you recommend this book?
If you are a thriller junkie, you need to read this book. It is the perfect winter read that will have you wondering who to believe as Agnes uncovers the truth about her family’s past.

A solid 4⭐️ for this story. It was fun, fast and held my interest. I'm always a sucker for a story set in a dark, cold, town. Rural Alaska? For sure. Iceland in winter? Yes. The setting was great. I almost wish there had been more scene building. The characters were likable. The main character, Agnes, is easy to identify with as a main character.

Agnes travels to Iceland to delve into to the depths of her family's tragedy. Agnes meets a popular podcaster there to try to unravel the mystery of her grandmother and aunt's death. They were both found dead in the snow . Marie 26 and her infant daughter. Up until now Agnes' grandfather has been to blame and for that reason he fled with his son to America. Agnes is back to try to prove the grandfather she loved all her life- was not a murderer. Even her own father believes he is.

I would definitely read more from this author.

If you want to be swept away to cold, dark, snow-covered Iceland in a twisty, emotional mystery, read THE LOST HOUSE. Melissa Larsen’s writing has an immersive quality that kept me glued to the page, needing to know how the story would end.

Agnes’s family never speaks of it, but forty years before, her grandmother and aunt were murdered. Her beloved grandfather was the prime suspect, but he was never charged and relocated from the small town of Bifröst, Iceland, to California.

Now Agnes is in Iceland to meet a podcaster who plans to focus on her family’s case. When she arrives, another young woman goes missing. Is her disappearance connected to Agnes’s family history?

The story is so much better because Agnes is not a cookie-cutter heroine. She’s battling an addiction to opiates and had a complicated childhood. Melissa Larsen really puts you in Agnes’s shoes and you see the world through her eyes.

I read THE LOST HOUSE while curled up in front of my warm fire while it snowed outside and it was the perfect read. I enjoyed this book a lot and highly recommend it to anyone who likes well-written thrillers with lots of twists.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur and NetGalley for the early digital ARC of THE LOST HOUSE in exchange for my honest feedback.

In 2019 Agnes is recovering from an accident where she shattered her leg and now is dependent on opioids. Her grandfather, who she is close to, has passed away. He came to the States from Iceland with his son after his wife and young daughter are found murdered and he is a person of interest. Nora has a popular true crime podcast and she has asked Agnes to come to Iceland to help her investigate the 40 year old murder. Upon her arrival another girl who looks very similar to Agnes's grandmother is missing and the question is are the two connected.

I found the story dark, broody, cold and slow. Not a lot happens except a bunch of mind games and the author does a good job in depicting the bleakness of the area and the intense cold. I didn't find any of the characters likeable. There were some heart pounding moments near the end and then I was back to being confused. I can't say I really enjoyed it. There were many times when I just wanted to shake Agnes.

I am giving it 4* rounded up from 3.75.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

[arc review]
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Lost House releases January 14, 2025

2.5

On the 40th anniversary of one of Iceland’s most notorious unsolved crimes, a true crime podcaster and the granddaughter of the suspected murderer take to the small town of Bifrost to try and prove his innocence.
But when a young college student goes missing that same weekend, everyone is convinced it’s connected to the grisly murders that took place 40 years ago.

I found this underwhelming in the sense that all of the residents were dead set on the same outcome and there was no shock factor at all.

cw: opioid addiction, dementia, infidelity, mention of suicide attempt and abortion