Thank you to Melissa Larsen, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this arc of The Lost House, out January 14, 2025!

📜Quick Summary: Agnes is going back home to Iceland to help podcaster Nora solve the cold case murder of her grandmother and aunt. Agnes never believed her grandfather, who was suspected for the crime, could have murdered them. Her father always told her to leave it alone, but she just can’t shake away the feeling of not knowing the whole truth. Can she prove his innocence? Nora takes on the cold cases to help her find resolve in something that happened to her in the past. Will she be able to take on this case? As soon as Agnes arrives in town, another young girl goes missing. Is this a coincidence? Or just bad luck for a small town who is still recovering from the murders forty years ago.

❣️Initial Feels: The Icelandic setting is beautiful (even though I hate cold and snow) and this seems like the book will be filled with many chills and thrills!

👀Trigger Warnings: opioid addiction, mention of abortion

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: It was really hard for me to connect to any characters in this novel. Nora’s personality just felt fake to me, and her persona just felt off. Agnes showed strength at times, when she put herself in full detective mode when the other girl went missing.

📖Read if you want: atmospheric setting, podcaster who solves cold cases, slower paced mystery

💡Final Sentiments: The book’s setting grabbed my interest right away. For some reason, the beginning felt muddled in its writing and setting the scene for what was to come. I did end up enjoying the book, but it took a hot minute for it to really take off. I felt like some of it was rushed and too trusting…like how did Agnes just go stay with a stranger she didn’t know to investigate her family’s murder!? Maybe it is the worrier in me, but it felt like she just jumped right in, stayed out in a secluded place and was like, this is normal! Nora just was odd to me… her tone of voice and frequent reminders of how she fully embraces her cases just threw me off for some reason. The setting was my favorite part; the author did a really good job describing the setting!

🌟Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

"The Lost House" takes place in the frigid and icy landscape of Iceland. It’s about Agnes, a young woman with a troubled past. She returns to her family’s old home to investigate a brutal murder that happened in her family.

The brutal murder of Agnes's grandma and baby daughter was discovered in the snow forty years ago. The grandpa of Agnes, who escaped to the United States, was perpetually the object of suspicion and the case was never solved. Having been brought up by her grandfather, Agnes has always held the belief that he is innocent.

By agreeing to assist true crime podcaster Nora in her investigation, Agnes perceives a chance to exonerate her grandfather. Their collaborative investigation into the case uncovers long-forgotten truths and presents them with peril at every step.

Let’s start with the positive stuff. The book has a really crazy, spooky vibe. The harsh Icelandic landscape adds a terrifying element, heightening the suspense. On top of that, the storyline is fantastic. Your interest is captivated and held by the mystery surrounding the unsolved murder and the missing girl from the area.

The book has some strengths, but its slow pace and repetitive nature detracted from the overall reading experience. There were moments when I felt impatient and wished the story would progress more quickly. Despite these issues, it is a decent read for those who enjoy atmospheric mysteries and are willing to be patient as the plot unfolds.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

The Frozen Madonna and Child is a forty year old unsolved murder mystery set in Bifröst, Iceland. Nora Carver is a highly successful true crime podcaster in Iceland looking to uncover new information about the tragic deaths of the mother and her infant daughter. She has invited Agnes Glin, niece and namesake of the dead child, to join her there.
Atmospheric Nordic thriller. You can really imagine just how bitterly cold and dark it is during an Icelandic winter. You can feel the misery Agnes is suffering between the frigid weather, her unrelenting pain, her drug addiction, and facing up to her family’s past; her agony and distress are easy to envision. It’s a good story even though I guessed the killer’s identity early on in the story. The author made me doubt myself a few times by throwing in a few other suspects along the way. I felt a sense of dread the further I got into the book. This is a real nail-biter for sure and very well done. 5 stars

This book contained some of the best things I love about a really good mystery. It was well crafted and beautifully written, an intriguing historical mystery combined with a current one, unique possibly unreliable characters, and the beautiful frozen landscape of Iceland was front and center. This is the first book of Melissa Larsen’s that I’ve read but it won’t be the last.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I requested this after seeing one of my favorite book bloggers recommending it on Instagram - I’ve been in a bit of a slump and a good thriller is usually a slump buster. This was…fine, but it wasn’t quite as absorbing as I hoped. I keep trying to get into these Icelandic noir books, and I just don’t think they are for me! I can’t quite put my finger on why - I love an isolated location thriller, but most Iceland books leave me wanting.

Our main character Agnes is connected to a famous Icelandic cold case - forty years ago, her grandmother (and her baby, so I guess Agnes’s aunt?) was found frozen in a snowback. Her throat had been slashed, and the baby was frozen in her arms (I think it had been drowned?). The case was never officially solved, but the popular assumption is that Agnes’s grandfather, Einar, murdered them both (or maybe Marie killed the baby in a fit of postpartum psychosis and Einar killed her out of rage - both theories seem equally plausible). Einar and his son Magnus fled to the US, where Magnus met Agnes’s mother and started a new life (he was like 9 when it all happened). They never returned to Iceland, and although Agnes was aware of the story, she’s always operated under the assumption that her grandfather was innocent. In the meantime, the “Bifrost Murder House” has become something of a tourist destination. On the 40-year anniversary of the crime, she’s contacted by Nora, a true crime podcaster hoping to solve the case once and for all. She’ll be staying near the original property, but a dude named Thor (son of…another dude named Thor) has purchased the land and plans to tear down all of the old houses and create some rental property. But by the time Agnes gets to Iceland, Nora has been drawn in by a shiny new case - the disappearance of a college student named Asa. Asa and friends were at the last ever Bifrost Murder House party, and she left in something of a huff and never made it home the next day.

We actually open with Asa’s POV at the party - she’s texting some mystery person. At first I assumed they’d broken up with her and she was trying to guilt trip them, but it’s actually the other way around. Either way, she never makes it home. We then switch to Agnes as she arrives in Iceland for the first time in her life. She’s dealing with her own baggage - a breakup and recovery from a pretty serious surfing accident. he and Nora latch onto each other fairly quickly, and I really thought something was going to come of this but it kind of goes nowhere. Nora seems a bit shady, but nothing ever comes of it. I kind of wanted some chapters from her perspective instead. She’s the classic true crime tourist, while Agnes is the real person actually affected by these events, and whatever revelations may come from Nora’s reporting. She’s a little callous about it, and Agnes is also frustrated that she kind of drifts off into the Asa case instead of continuing to dig in on her grandfather. The weird wrinkle is that all three of these women - Marie, Agnes, and Asa, look remarkably similar.

As the novel progresses, Agnes tries to come to terms with the facts of the case, and the fact that maybe she didn’t know her grandfather as well as she thought. She’s also unwittingly drawn into Asa’s disappearance. Without giving too much away, we do have a somewhat satisfying conclusion to all of this, but I wish we’d been able to hear from someone other than Agnes.

This one had a lot of promise and the setting was great. The ending was a bit predictable but overall the mystery had a great pace.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was everything I wanted and more. Nordic noir, atmospheric setting, deeply developed characters, unanswered questions finally answered. And I was even given the Swedish term: Smultronstalle.

Smultronstalle is defined as a place where wild strawberries grow. The word is used to describe a place that is special and private to you. There may be nothing particularly spectacular about it, but it calls to you and your heart. I have a place like that of my own, maybe you do, too. And that settling and comforting realization made me fall even more in love with this book.

I loved the way this story was told. It was so gentle, frank, beautifully plotted. It was fast paced and relatable in the sense that we all have someone in our lives we love dearly despite their pasts. It tugged at my heart. I really could not read it fast enough.

The Lost House is a book about Agnes Glin, a first generation American whose family hails from Iceland. Her grandfather fled with his son Magnus after her grandmother and aunt were brutally murdered. Shortly after her grandfather’s death, Agnes decides to return to Iceland to clear his name once and for all, but shortly after arriving, Agnes realizes nothing is ever as it seems— what if her grandfather did commit those unspeakable acts? When another young girl goes missing on the fortieth anniversary of her grandmothers death, can Agnes help save her?

This book was fun— but I found it difficult to keep the various generations separate. The first generation read identically to the second generation, so keeping characters and their respective ages separate was more of a challenge. There were several elements that made it difficult to follow or connect with Agnes. It was apparent she was struggling with both addiction and maybe something dissociative in nature, but it was hard to follow based on the descriptions. The relationship dynamics were also unusual— The instant love story felt forced and very much one-night-stand-ish, but the intense emotional enmeshment that came out of it — it was almost too much to believe, and then Nora’s reaction to it was incredibly possessive and crossed so many boundaries.

There was a lot going on in this book and I do still have questions— BUT it was fun, and I did enjoy the mystery and the climax was very satisfying.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you @minotaur_books #partner for the gifted copy of this book!

If you’re looking for an Icelandic crime thriller to snuggle up under your cozy blanket and dive into consider this one! I am a huge fan of snowy settings. Couple that with Iceland 🇮🇸 (my favorite vacation spot ever) I was sold! The author did a great job describing the setting and making me feel like I was also trekking through knee high snow. The missing people, the freezing cold, and the blizzard made for a a stellar atmospheric experience. The setting was by far my favorite part of this book. On the other hand, the story did move pretty slow and dragged a bit for me. The ending was satisfying as the three parts came together however I wouldn’t say it was completely surprising. I do think however it could be my mood so if cold snowy mysteries are your jam, grab this one and give it a go!

This book was a pretty good read. I did figure out what happened within the first 100 pages, but I think that’s just because I read too many thrillers lol. I loved the atmospheric setting, and how the story played out. I did seem a bit repetitive at some parts and I wasn’t a big fan of the MC she kept putting herself in bad spots, which got frustrating.

But overall, I enjoyed the story and if you are looking for a snowy atmospheric thriller I would recommend this one. PUB Date: 1/14

Agnes is working with a true crime podcaster to help solve the murder that shadowed her grandfather's life. Soon after she arrives in his small town in Iceland, there is another murder. I was able to figure out who did it fairly early which made the book drag for me.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Lost House, by Melissa Larsen, from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books /NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

We watched a really good, really depressing movie last night. It was set in rural Quebec, probably before the year 2000, and featured the landscape as a primary character—all that beautiful snow and bitter cold. [shudders]

At some point, one of the characters was plodding across desolate ground in snow shoes. Every once in a while, in real life I will fantasize about taking a luxury trip to the Yukon to see the Northern Lights, This fantasy includes me taking to snow shoes like a pro the first time I put them on and amazing everyone with my athletic prowess—and the ability to look svelte and glamorous in a snowsuit. When, in reality, of course, I would probably look like the Michelin Man and fall over in a heap directly onto my face if I ever attempted such.

Why am I prattling on about such? Well, because, sadly, reading this book made me feel like that character last night, plodding along in beautiful bleakness, searching for a way out of a situation I really never should’ve gotten myself into to begin with.

Sigh.

As much as I love me some Nordic noir, this book just didn’t do it for me. The pacing was glacially slow (no pun intended), the characters unlikeable, and, heck, even the landscape didn’t excite me the way it normally does. Plus there was convoluted-y-ness. And y’all _know_ how I hate me some convoluted-y-ness.

Oh, well. Life goes on!

The Aforementioned Movie
It was Whitewash, and we watched it on Kanopy (about which I cannot say enough good things).

Link to movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2297063/

Link to Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/

DESCRIPTION
In Melissa Larsen's The Lost House comes the mesmerizing story of a young woman with a haunting past who returns to her ancestral home in Iceland to investigate a gruesome murder in her family.

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.

Now, nearly half a century later and a year after his death, his granddaughter, Agnes, is ready to clear her grandfather’s name once and for all. Still recovering from his death and a devastating injury, Agnes wants nothing more than an excuse to escape the shambles of her once-stable life—which is why she so readily accepts true crime expert Nora Carver’s invitation to be interviewed for her popular podcast. Agnes packs a bag and hops on a last-minute flight to the remote town of Bifröst, Iceland, where Nora is staying, where Agnes’s father grew up, and where, supposedly, her grandfather slaughtered his wife and infant daughter.

Is it merely coincidence that a local girl goes missing the very same weekend Agnes arrives? Suddenly, Agnes and Nora’s investigation is turned upside down, and everyone in the small Icelandic town is once again a suspect. Seeking to unearth old and new truths alike, Agnes finds herself drawn into a web of secrets that threaten the redemption she is hell-bent on delivering, and even her life—discovering how far a person will go to protect their family, their safety, and their secrets.

Set against an unforgiving Icelandic winter landscape, The Lost House is a chilling and razor-sharp mystery packed with jaw-dropping twists that will leave you breathless.

5 stars / This review will be posted on BookwormishMe.com & goodreads.com today.


This was one heck of a thriller. Larsen writes beautifully, sharing the wild nature of Iceland with us.

Agnes was devoted to her grandfather. While she felt very removed from her father, her grandfather doted on her and made her feel loved. Agnes knows little of the story of her family and why they fled Iceland for northern California, but she does know that it involved the murder of her grandmother and aunt.

When a true crime podcaster reaches out to the family, near the 40th anniversary of the Frozen Madonna’s murder, Agnes’ father Magnús declines to participate. But Agnes decides she wants to know more. So Agnes agrees to meet Nora in Iceland and help shed some light on her family.

Agnes doesn’t know how her arrival in the small town of Bïfrost is going to upset the locals. Apparently she looks just like her grandmother Marie, the Frozen Madonna. While in a Starbucks she also sees that another doppelgänger who has gone missing from Bïfrost. The plot deepens and Agnes finds that she’s not only immersed in the history of her grandmother and aunt, but also this latest missing person’s case.

This was an amazing story about trying to find yourself in the midst of life upheaval. Agnes has been to hell and back after the death of her grandfather. While in Iceland, Agnes comes to terms with a lot of what has been haunting her. It’s so well written. Agnes is very layered.

I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the concept and location. Truly makes me want to visit Iceland someday.

“I hope I haunt you.”

I’m not a fan of snow but I love books with it! This one is atmospheric and set in Iceland. A cold case that happened 40 years ago of a young woman and her infant daughter that Agnes’s grandfather was the prime suspect of. But Agnes grew up close to him and she believes he would never kill his wife and baby.
She’s ready to clear his name and meet true crime podcaster, Nora, in Iceland where the crime happened. A local girl goes missing when Agnes arrives…. Is this a coincidence or are they connected?

A brutal murder 40 years ago is receiving some renewed interest. The Madonna and child were found in an icy river, with the mother’s throat slit from ear to ear. The case was never solved with the husband as the main suspect. Fleeing from the horrors, he took his son the California where they started a new life. After close to 50 years, Agnes wants to clear her grandfather’s name and travels to Iceland to the place where it all happened. Coincidently on the same day that Agnes arrives to Bitfrost,, a girl is found murdered.

The Lost house is an atmospheric tale with many twists and turns. It is a page turner that keeps you guessing as new secrets are uncovered. And no one is safe from the truth.

I really liked the idea of this book. I got the audio and the book. So I read/listened to both. The story was slow which kind of goes with the atmosphere of Iceland where the story takes place. The book picks up at the end a lot which was good. I was glad Agnes got to find out answers to her family's tragedy.

This was really really good. I've been going through a lot and haven't been in the mood to read and this got my attention like right away and sucked me in to the point that I couldn't put it down. Loved that it was set in Iceland and the automsphere it gave as well as all the secrets, lies and amateur sleuthing. I didn't figure out the who at all which is always a plus.

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen
Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

Forty years ago a young woman and a baby girl were murdered and left in the snowy, cold terrain of Bifrost, Iceland. That woman was Agnes' grandmother and that baby was her aunt. Although never convicted, only questioned, Agnes's grandfather was considered guilty through the rumor mill of the town and later through podcasts and unsolved crime enthusiasts. Yet, having moved to the faraway USA, Agnes's distant father allowed Agnes to spend time with her grandfather, a man suspected of murdering his wife and child.

Now Agnes' grandfather has died, she's struggling to recover from a serious leg injury, she's just come out of a failed long term relationship, and solving the murders of her grandmother and aunt is the escape that Agnes needs. The fact that means traveling to faraway Iceland is the icing on the cake. True crime expert Nora Carver, a woman investigating the murders, is already there, with a place for Agnes to stay and a willing ear if Agnes is willing to talk about what she knows about her grandfather, father, and their past.

I am fortunate to have both the ebook and the audiobook so I could listen to the audio will seeing so many words and names that are strange to me. I couldn't begin to guess how the words were pronounced and I wouldn't be able to spell them if I just heard them. Getting to see and hear them at the same time made the story feel more real. Saskia Maarleveld narrates and her voice is great for this story of a place and people that are matter of fact, mostly saying much less than what they mean, and with a somber mood of mistrust and suspicion of this granddaughter of a "murderer" coming into their midst.

The atmosphere is extremely chilly in so many ways, an exterior that can kill in minutes, and a main character that is struggling mentally, emotionally, and physically. What is she even doing here, she asks herself. How has she destroyed her life so completely. Her injury sidelined her in so many ways and left her addicted to the very meds that allowed her to make it through numerous surgeries. Can she become a new person just because she ran away from where she just came from?

There is a sense of danger from the outset. Afterall, if her grandfather didn't kill her grandmother and aunt, could the killer still be in or near Bilfrost? Rushing headlong into unwise situations, Agnes taunts the past, hoping to draw it out but not really knowing what she'll do with what what she learns. I could feel the cold through this story and was so glad to not be in this place although I love reading stories in such locations.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

It was a good book it did daragg in a couple spots but all in all it was a good read. The book went back and forth in time to let you see things from different character's point of view. It was a good book to read and I think people will enjoy it.

Unfortunately, this novel did not work well for me.

I found the characters to be flat overall. While the main character (and some of the characters around her) was given some back story, the connections between the back story and current events was inconsistent in a way that made her feel incomplete. Some of the characters around her were bare sketches of people that felt more like caricatures than characters.

Both the plot and the setting suffered from the same level of inconsistency. While the author did do a good job of setting us in Iceland, the particular location was very murky. We have a piece of land with three houses on it, as well as a neighboring house. But the connections between these structures were not well established. I felt the author did not have a clear picture of these locations, either, as we had instances of the main character walking up a driveway and "somehow" ending up behind the house instead of at the front door. This happened more than once in the same chapter, both times to serve the plot and allow the character to see something she would not have seen otherwise, even though it did not make sense geographically.

There were also huge inconsistencies and misrepresentations related to the main character's injury and drug addiction. From moment to moment, the injury would differ in how it allowed her to move, again in ways that seemed to serve the plot, and not be true to the character or injury. Her dependence on pain medication was presented as an issue in will power, rather than a physical dependence. Sometimes the character was feeling well enough to just not take the pain pills, and in other moments, she would "give in" and "seek oblivion."

Overall, this novel had elements that could have created a good story if they had been more fully developed.