This if the first book I’ve read by this author and WOW! I loved the setting in Iceland - the description of the mountains, rivers and cold and I felt like I was there. There were many twists in the last 20 percent of the book that I didn’t see coming. So so good!

First off, Melissa Larsen does a masterful job of taking us to Iceland. From the beginning, we feel the cold and the picture the snow and ice. It helps so much to get wrapped up in a book when you feel like you are there.

Agnus Glin travels to Iceland to be interviewed by a podcaster, Nora, who is researching the deaths of Agnus' grandmother and Aunt 40 years ago. She believes that her loving grandfather who helped raise her in California was not involved in his wife's murder but everyone she meets in Bifrost, Iceland thinks he did it.

And, shortly before she arrives, another young woman has gone missing, Nora and Agnus want to help find her also. Agnus is a flawed character, but one you root for and hope she can get her life together. That goal is looking pretty hard when she questions her entire 26 years, believing her grandfather a good man.

There are twists and turns near the end that make this a thriller, one I recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved the atmosphere and setting, which I could practically see and feel.

Beyond that, I got bored quickly.

Pacing drags with lots of tedium.

We were told about Agnes’s leg injury over and over… and over. Yet she continued to stubbornly abuse her body, then acted shocked when the pain exploded.

And we have an instalove subplot, which is never my favorite.

I knew the whodunit part early on.

The ending felt unsatisfying to me. I wanted to know the reason for certain actions (and inaction), which I can’t list because of spoilers. But I felt that a little communication between certain people would have prevented this entire story from happening. And I don’t understand why that communication never took place.

*Thanks to Minotaur Books for the free eARC, provided via NetGalley.*

A perfect winter read, The Lost House is an atmospheric read about a woman named Anges who returns to her ancestral home to get the the bottom of a decades old family mystery. This was a slow burn that kept me interested the entire time as we get to the bottom of whether or not Anges grandfather was the man she knew and loved or the brutal murderer of his wife and daughter.
For a more indepth review check out my spoiler free youtube review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU3G7KLWRBw

This book is perfect for a cold winter evening, ideally enjoyed in front of a cozy fire. We meet Agnes as she travels to Iceland for an interview with a true crime podcaster. Living in California, Agnes is recovering from an injury to her leg, with details of the injury revealed later in the story. The book has a slow pace and an atmospheric quality that truly immerses the reader in the small town of Bifrost, complete with its biases, prejudices, and secrets.

I really enjoyed this book. Having been to Iceland, the imagery was spot on and I could really see the strange, black, rocky landscape.
The character development was great and I got a good sense of who everyone was. It was interesting to see how adamant the town members were about who killed Marie and infant Agnes forty years prior.It even got Agnes questioning her long held conviction of her grandfather, Einar’s innocence. A gripping thriller full of physical and emotional pain that left me wishing for more.

Agnes Glin is haunted by her grandfather's legacy--that he was driven from Iceland 40 years ago with his son after the brutal murder of his wife and baby daughter. Agnes reaches a tipping point in her life after a terrible injury, a break-up with her partner, and the death of her beloved grandfather, Einar Palsson. Determined to reconcile the grandfather she knew with his horrific reputation, she travels to Iceland on the 40th anniversary of the murders. Her father, Magnus, has not been back to Iceland because he believes his father committed the murders. He warns Agnes not to go.
Crime podcaster Nora Carver is obsessed with the murders and hosts the young woman. Iceland is the safest country in the world, so a double murder stays fresh in the collective consciousness of the people there, especially in the village of Bifrost, where the bodies were found.
Everyone she meets has an agenda and secrets of their own. On the anniversary of the murders, a young woman disappears, and fears are renewed that she was murdered. The young woman was at a drinking party with others at the abandoned murder house.
This twisty, fast-paced story presents the Icelandic culture and unpredictable environment through the generations of people affected by this crime. Everyone has something to hide and a reason for being involved in the young woman's investigation. The shocking revelations drive the story to its powerful ending.
I'd like to thank Author Melissa Larsen and NetGalley for providing an advance reader's copy of this fine crime novel.
#NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #TheLostHouse #CrimeFiction

This book intrigued me, I haven't read books that take place in Iceland, and the author gives a good description of the snow and ice, and cold.
Agnes Glin comes to Iceland to find her roots and the truth about her aunts and grandmother's murder.
I guessed early on the culprit, but not the the extreme! Yes, there are some surprises, and danger near the end.
We also deal with Agnes hard ability to walk, she had a surfing accident, and is dependent on help.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin's Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

I don’t know that I’d classify this as horror, but it was an ok thriller. I am going to give this another shot on audio due to the formatting. I feel like I may enjoy it more by listening to its also a slow burn which is hard for me to get thru and I end up not enjoying the story as much.

Oh, what an atmospheric tale, the cold, bitter weather of an Icelandic winter echoing the coldness in so many of the characters’ hearts. I found this to be a tough, yet captivating read, the two mysteries almost a backseat to Agnes’s journey to better mental health.

This book was a chilling read in more ways than one. Not only does it take place in Iceland in the winter, but it is also a murder mystery in which everything is suspect and therefore, chilling.

Larsen definitely makes the cold and ice and snow a character. I’m shivering just thinking about it. And Agne’s wounded leg, smashed to bits on a rocky California beach, is far from completely healed more than a year after the accident that caused it. An accident in which the avoidance of pain has become an opioid dependency—two things essential to how the book plays out.

Agnes, against her father’s wishes, travels to Iceland to speak to a podcaster who is delving into the mystery of who killed her grandmother and her aunt, an infant at the time. Her grandfather, whom she grew up loving more than her own father, has always been the main suspect. But now that he has died, Agnes wants to put to rest the rumors about him. She can’t believe he would have done such a thing, but as she delves deeper into the mystery, she begins to question everything.

It's a slow build, at first, but by the end of the book, your heart will be racing just as fast as the pace as the truth is finally revealed. There’s a bit of romance, as well.

Agnes is visiting her ancestral home of Iceland for the first time. Her father and grandfather left 40 years earlier under suspicions of being involved in the death of Agnes' grandmother and her infant daughter. Her family has never returned. With an invitation to be a part of a podcast investigating the murders, Agnes heads to Iceland to see what truths are laying beneath the surface. Agnes arrives to find another local girl has gone missing. Is there a connection between the two women, 40 years apart? What secrets are hiding beneath the ice and snow of this peaceful remote town?

This was a good murder mystery. It felt like "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" meets "Good Girl's Guide to Murder." The story kept me guessing and had a bunch of twists and turns. I really empathized with Agnes' struggle with painkillers and depression. I can't imagine having to flip all your ideas of what you think you know about your family and reexamine them.

*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

Book Title: The Lost House
Author: Melissa Larsen
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: January 14, 2025
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 352

Agnes Glin lives in California and recently had a surfing accident that causes serious injury to her leg. While healing she had of time to think more about a family tragedy that happened in Iceland in1979. Her grandmother Marie and baby daughter were killed. Her grandfather Einar Paisson was accused but immediately left the country which made everyone sure he did it.
Now Agnes plans to go to Bifröst, Iceland to meet Nora Carver, a podcaster who is making an episode about the deaths. Agnes wants to clear her grandfather's name.

Agnes no sooner arrives in Iceland, when another young girl goes missing. Is it merely a coincidence?
In either case Agnes and Nora’s investigation has been s turned upside down,

I have reads only a few other books based in Iceland and there were great so I kind of went into this with high expectations.
Although this is good- I did not love it probably has a lot more to do with timing as I recently read several awesome stories!

I did enjoy reading the ‘Author’s Notes’ Acknowledgments as well as ‘About the Author’.
I laughed out loud at the comment
When Ms. Larsen isn’t traveling somewhere to do research or hurting herself in the process she lives in New York City.

Want to thank NetGalley and Publisher St. Martin’s /Minotaur Books for to this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 14, 2025,

Agnes has lived her whole life with the story of her family’s violent history, of the belief that her grandfather murdered her grandmother and baby aunt and then fled to America from Iceland. She only knows the grandfather who helped raise her with love so when the chance comes for her to travel to Iceland to participate in a cold-case podcast about the murder she jumps at it. This hugely atmospheric thriller kept me immersed and turning pages as fast as I could.

I usually love thrillers and horror set in winter, especially in an Icelandic setting. Unfortunately this one fell flat. I couldn't connect to the characters or the plot.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the #gifted electronic copy. All opinions are my own.

A bit of a slowburn mystery with an interesting hook. A woman found dead with her infant daughter in the snow. All fingers point to the husband. Now many decades later Agnes, the granddaughter of the deceased woman, returns to Iceland to resolve her feelings toward her beloved grandfather, the accused murderer. A true crime podcaster also wants to get to the bottom of the many decades old murder mystery. But alas, yet another young woman goes missing.

Themes of murder, dissatisfaction in one's life, familial love, unrequited love, and addiction at times became muddled. I would have enjoyed this book a bit more without the distraction of the injury/addiction.

Thank you to the publisher, Melissa Larsen, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Lost House will blow your mind! I loved the setting, Iceland, and the strong complex female characters. There's nothing I love more than a complex main character. Agnes travels to Iceland to help a murder podcaster, Nora, get answers about whether her grandfather killed her grandma and aunt. She's in a complicated spot because if she finds out that her grandfather did commit the murders than everything she believe in could be wrong.

Agnes is a complex character because she is trying to hide the fact that she's going through a lot. She's grieving her grandfather's passing, she's in physical pain from an accident, her father isn't speaking to her, and she has no one else in your life to turn to. Then you add the isolation of being in a foreign country and not knowing the land or the language. Plus, everyone she meets thinks her grandfather is guilty, which adds another layer to her grief.

The Lost House is a slow burn but the twisty turns of the plot throughout will keep you guessing. It's a great book for the cold winters when you want to cuddle up with a good thriller. This book was so good and I'm glad I received it from NetGalley. I will be reading more from Melissa Larsen!

The Lost House is a thriller focusing on two separate incidents that happened 40 years apart. Agnes has traveled to a small town in Iceland to meet with a true-crime podcaster who is investigating the unsolved murders of Agnes’ grandmother and aunt. A young woman goes missing from the town shortly before Agnes’ arrival.

The character development of Agnes was top notch. You could feel both the physical and mental pain she was in as she deals with the aftermath of an accident that shattered her leg as well as dealing with the grief of losing her grandfather, who was the main suspect in the murders, but who had only shown love and kindness towards Agnes. It was also interesting to read a novel set in Iceland; the setting was so important to the story. I look forward to reading the author’s first book and her future books!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. It is written as a podcast host investigating a cold case on a milestone anniversary, and she invites a descendant from the original suspect to Iceland with her.

Overall, the book was good. The characters were dynamic and enjoyable and the plot built for most of the book. A couple of things that turned me off were (1) some of the characters kind of just disappeared and I wanted more of them and (2) I felt like some of the story line was fluff and could have been omitted.

Overall, I loved the concept for this book and the setting in Iceland. I found myself greatly enjoying reading it and would recommend

The Lost House is an atmospheric, slow burn.

Agnes is reeling from the death of her grandfather and she decides to return to his home in Iceland. Years before she was more, her grandmother and aunt were found murdered and frozen in ice, with her grandfather as the only suspect. He fled Iceland and she grew up with her father and grandfather with no discussion of the past. Now, a popular podcaster is delving into the case and against her father's advice, Agnes has agreed to travel to Iceland and revisit the scene of the crime and try to clear her grandfather's name. Another woman goes missing right before her arrival--could these cases be related??

This book is very, very descriptive, has a host of characters and is relatively slow moving. There are a few flashes to the past, but the story is mainly told in first person by Agnes. She has a lot going on in her personal life and makes many questionable decisions. Once the events of the murder in the past and the missing woman in the present are revealed, everything makes sense and Agnes can get on with her life.

Overall, a three star read. There was too much description and too little plot movement for my liking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.