I love the setting of this book! Iceland is one of my favorite places to visit!

The first half of this book was very slow and I struggled to get into it, then the last part of the book everything moved so quickly. I really wish that intensity would have been through out the book versus rushed through at the end.

I struggled to attach myself to the characters. So many pieces seemed forced and didn’t seem to add any substance to the story. The MC Agnes is addicted to pills and this is brought up several times through out the book, but it is honestly not necessary. It felt very forced and repetitive since it has nothing to do with the murder mystery.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Publishing January 14th.

Agnes is traveling from California to Iceland, to the home her father and grandfather fled 40 years ago, after her grandmother and aunt were found murdered in the snow.

Having grown up knowing her grandfather, Einar, as a kind and gentle man, Agnes is meeting with Nora, a true crime podcaster, in Bifröst, determined to clear Einar's name after his recent death.

When she reaches Reykjavik, Agnes spots a missing person flyer in a shop. Ása, a young woman who attended an anniversary "party" at Einar's former home, has been missing since that night.

I found this to be very atmospheric, and in spite of the challenges Agnes faces negotiating the terrain after a recent injury, I found the scenery to be vividly described (and SO COLD). The characters were well developed and I didn't have any inkling who was responsible for the murders until the end.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This was an enjoyable read, but I did find it very slow and vague for a good part of the book. In the end, I was entertained but not blown away.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A good twisty mystery even if given the limited number of characters you figure things out sooner. The backdrop against the biting cold and snow and unfamiliar landscape adds a nice element. I wish we spent more time with Nora bc she had an interesting POV. Agnes at times was a less captivating MC but I then kept remembering she was only 26.

Though I don't consider myself a regular reader of the thriller genre, I found the description of Melissa Larsen's "The Lost House" to be so intriguing that I knew this was definitely one I wanted to delve into immediately!
A young woman from California travels to Iceland where her family is from, and where her grandmother and aunt were brutally murdered 40 years previously. She's arranged to meet up with a true crime pod caster who wishes to interview her in the very location these murders took place. She arrives at the same time another young woman goes missing, presumed murdered.
This novel gets off to a somewhat still and quiet start. Yet the beauty of this Icelandic thriller is how the author paces the story in such a way that all aspects of it intensify at just the right cadence–the cold, the uncertainty, the distrust, and eventually, the terror, will fully have you in their grip. Very atmospheric and descriptive in regards to the country and it's terrain.
Unlike a few other reviewers who could see the end coming, I found myself still guessing about the mystery and it's resolution, up until the very end. An ending I found twisty, astounding and breath taking. Melissa Larsen has undeniably increased my interest in psychological thrillers!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advance reading copy!

An Icelandic woman living in California returns to Iceland to join a podcaster investigating the murder of a woman and child forty years ago believed killed by her grandfather. Agnes grew up loving her grandfather intensely, closer to him than her own distant father. After his death, and her near death and badly damaging her leg, Agnes is so lost she takes up the podcaster Nora's offer to return to Iceland and maybe clear her grandfather's name. This is a character study as much as a mystery, with strong, complex elements of both making for an emotionally intense read. All the characters are richly developed and involving. Actions evolve organically and believably. Watching Agnes process all the new information while still dealing with her grief, and physical pain from her injuries is compelling. And Iceland itself is a wonder to her and the reader, and a character in itself. Intense rather than dark, gripping and fascinating. It will keep you guessing.

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen Agnes is still grieving the death of her grandfather, who was had fled his home 40 years earlier with his 9 year old son after his wife and infant daughter was found murdered. Agnes has never believed the story that her grandfather had commented the murders. On his death bed Agnes grandfather said he was the one who killed them. Agnes and her father are approached by a true crime podcaster Nora, who is reinterviewing everyone who lived in the small town in Iceland to solve the crime. Agnes goes against her father's wishes and flies to Iceland to help Nora with her podcast. Now a local girl has gone missing after a party at the "Murder House" Nora has switched her focus from Angnes' family to finding out what happened to Ana the missing girl. Who can Agnes trust when she thinks everyone is hiding the truth from her. With twist and turns this The Lost House will keep you on the seat of your pants until the very end. Who can Agnes trust when she thinks everyone is hiding the truth from her. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me an advance copy of this book.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy The Lost House by Melissa Larsen as much as I did. I chose to read it because it took place in Iceland, in itself a mysterious locale, and was an unusual mystery.
A youngish woman, Agnes, goes to Iceland to learn more about her family and help in a podcast highlighting an unsolved murder of Agnes' grandmother and 9 month old aunt found frozen in the snow nearly 50 years earlier. Agnes has not healed from a serious accident that broke bones and is painful. She arrives addicted to painkillers.
She is the guest of the podcaster, Nora, at a beautiful home near the grounds where the two victims were found.

I found the narration very authentic. Agnes's reticent character, her dependence on drugs, her stubbornness, her dance of loneliness. The flashbacks of her father and grandfather are well placed and believable. For a mystery that has been unsolved for almost 50 years, it moved quickly but is explained by the fact that everyone in the village had determined the husband to be guilty so no further investigation happened until Nora and Agnes arrive on the scene. With two determined women wanting to know the truth plus another disappearance of a young woman just as Agnes arrives that seems to be related, it might move quickly.

Ms. Larsen is a good writer, she kept the suspense taunt and the reader guessing. The ending was satisfying.
I recommend this book as good Icelandic noir!!

3.5 starts, rounded up to 4
Publication date January 14, 2025


Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for sending this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Agnes travels to Iceland to interview with a podcaster about her family's past. Forty years ago her grandmother and baby aunt were found frozen together, her grandmother with her throat slashed and her baby drowned. Although most thought the blame lied with Agnes' grandfather, he was never arrested, and fled to California with his son. Agnes loved her grandfather and believed in his innocence, but the more she learns from people who knew her grandparents, the more her belief in him wanes.

This book had an interesting cast of characters and beautiful scenery. Not the most gripping thriller, but enough to have you guessing throughout.

The Lost House was a slow paced mystery/thriller. The characters throughout the story, I felt, were not well developed. I liked the mission of the MC, but I felt like there was just something critical lacking that I can't quite put my finger on. I just couldn't get interested and the ending was too predictable.

If you are on the lookout for a chilling winter themed thriller in a scenic location this is definitely a good choice for you!

Set in Iceland, “The Lost House” follows Agnes, a 20 something year old from California who has agreed to work with a true crime podcaster Nora in regards to an unsolved 40 year old murder case.

Nora wants to interview Agnes as she is the granddaughter of the main suspect, the whole town is in agreement that her grandfather killed his wife and child and then fled to the states surely after.

After his recent passing Agnes is hoping to reconnect with her grandfather by visiting the home of her ancestors and clearing his name once and for all.

I enjoyed the setting of this book, I felt cold the entire time I was reading based on the harsh winter weather highlighted throughout the entire book. I imagine trying to solve crime and escaping murderers during the harsh winter snow would make things extra difficult for those involved.

I enjoyed the interview scenes where Agnes and Nora would ask locals questions about the history of the town and the events leading up to the murders. I also enjoyed the present day missing persons case that ran adjacent to the unsolved murder as we try to untangle whether there is a connection between the two cases or pure coincidence.

There was definitely some character growth for Agnes, she seemed a little lost when she first arrived in Iceland and it was nice to see her find some footing by the end. I am not sure how I feel about Nora. Although I think she has good intentions and tries to be respectful and ethical while conducting her investigations, it also seems like she doesn’t really care about the people she interviews and isn’t too concerned about the distress and upset her actions and questions will cause them, particularly the older folk. There was something a little off about her character that I can’t put my finger on.

Thank you to St martins press and Minotaur books; and Melissa Larsen for the EARC!

Publish date: January 14th 2025

This is easily one of the best thrillers I've read in the last few years. The author does a magnificent job telling Agnes' story as she learns the history of her family and what really happened to her grandmother and aunt all those years ago. The setting gave me chills (both spooky and physical) as we unpacked the story. The best part, I did not see this twist coming!

Agnes returns to where her dad group up to hopefully find out more about murders that happened in the past. Once arriving she learns of a missing girl around the 40th anniversary of the murders she is trying to learn more about. Could they possibly be connected?
This was a great thriller that kept me puzzled until the end!! Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the
E-ARC! This was ok. Thought it was a little perdictable. Creepy vibes though were immaculate. I would give this author another try.

The lost house by Melissa Larsen

This story took place in Iceland, a woman and a baby were found dead in the cold bitter landscape of Iceland, the mothers throat was slashed and the baby was drowned in her arms. Both were buried beneath the snow and of course her husband is blamed.

With past and present POV the grand daughter is trying to find the truth and proved her grandfathers innocent in this horrible tragedy when more red flags keep rising to challenge the truth.

This book was slow for me and I had a feeling which proved to be right about the ending. There is a lot of words for the little that happens in the book, the main character has a lot of internal dialog going on which was a yawn for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins press.

Nice Icelandic noir tale.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advance reader copy!
The story is that of Agnes Glin whose family left Iceland with the previous generation. Her grandfather was suspected of murdering his wife and infant daughter and left in disgrace. Agnes goes back after her grandfather’s death at the behest of true crime podcaster Nora Carver who is investigating the story. She hopes to clear her grandfather’s name and legacy. In addition another Oman goes missing as Agnes arrives just as her grandmother did many years before.
The book had a great sense of place as Agnes got to know Iceland and Icelanders and their ways. This felt quite authentic.
The plot was interesting with many twists and turns. The characters were quirky and a little eerie. This was the strong part of the book.
The premise of Agnes old injury and subsequent addiction bothered me and distracted me from the main action of the story. I did not quite understand the accident itself in the end. This and the fact that in the end Nora just sort of fell out of the story kept this at 3.5-4 stars for me. I was never sure what Nora’s agenda was or even who she was as a person.
Overall I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to mystery readers especially those who enjoy Scandinavian literature.

A great Sunday whodunit murder mystery with a main character who needs help on many levels. Going back to Ireland to participate in a podcast about her grandfather, by doing so, she will discover more about the truth of her grandmother's death, about herself, and even some love interests. When she arrives in Iceland, a young woman disappears, and she ends up helping with that mystery as well. It made a great, relaxing mystery read.

Agnes has grown up knowing that her family is Icelandic—and knowing that her father and grandfather left after a terrible tragedy for which her grandfather was blamed. They've never been willing to talk about it, never been back. But now an investigative podcast has pulled Agnes to Iceland to learn more—the podcast, and Agnes's own, smaller-scale tragedy, which she is fighting to recover from.

In an Icelandic winter, nothing is what she knows and nothing is quite what she expects: the cold permeates everything and everywhere; some of the locals view her as a reincarnation of her murdered grandmother, while others view her as a the granddaughter of a murderer (and thus suspicious herself); her father's childhood home is in falling-down shambles; she herself can't quite decide what to believe about her grandfather...and a local girl has gone missing, and the race is on to find her.

I read this for the setting, mostly: give me murder mysteries in far-off places I'd love to visit, and give me female writers and female main characters and a combination of a cold (in every sense of the word) case and a current case, and yes please. (I don't want to die in the woods in sparsely populated lands. I don't want almost anyone to die in the woods in sparsely populated lands! ...but I'd like a lot of fiction about just that, thanks.) And I'm here for just how much of a role *cold* plays here. I don't always love Agnes: she is deeply, deeply self-centered at times, pushing her own trauma on people who have other reasons to be traumatized and are not necessarily in a place to hear and empathize with a stranger's story. I'd also have loved to see a bit more explanation of the way people treat her in Iceland—some see her as something of a reincarnation of her grandmother, while others associate her only with her grandfather, and how they view her makes a pretty wild difference in how they treat and speak to her. The coincidence of a young woman going missing around the time that Agnes arrives feels a little played up; there's really no reason for anyone to think that there's any connection to Agnes, so though of course it complicates her time there, the connections feel a bit contrived.

Still, a nice wintery read. One to read from the comfort of one's heated home in the dead of the dark and the dark of the winter night...

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

I loved that this book took place in Iceland, which really added to the mystery and suspense. This book is about a woman who goes back to her roots, in a community that believes her grandfather killed his wife and on of their children. Agnes, the granddaughter, believes that is more to the story and comes to Iceland to solve it. At the same time she arrives, a woman goes missing and Agnes, trying to fight her addiction to opioids, is working to solve both her grandfather’s mystery plus the mystery of the missing girl. Full of suspense, partly due to Agnes’ addiction and her physical disability, this book will keep you flipping the pages.
Thank you NetGalley for a ARC.

The Lost House is the story of Agnes and her return to her families homeland of Iceland. Agnes grew up in the states with her father and grandfather. She knows the story that her family left Iceland due to her grandfather being accused of murdering his wife and their daughter. Agnes grandfather may not have been charged but was run out of Iceland. Agnes is now a grown women who had a recent accident and has also lost her grandfather. A woman named Nora is doing a podcast on the murders Agnes grandfather has been accused of committing. Agnes decides to meet Nora in Iceland and learn more about the story that has haunted her family for centuries.