I enjoyed this one, especially due in part to the depiction of Iceland. I have never visited but it’s on my list! The overall suspense was a little slow for my liking, with most of the suspense parts actually happening in the last 15% of the book. It was an intriguing story though, and I like how the author combined two mysteries basically into one. Good sapphic characters here too, which is always a plus in terms of representation.

This one involves a mystery that starts forty years ago when a mother and baby are found buried in the snow (eek!) in Iceland. The mother’s throat has been cut, the baby has been drowned. Everyone assumed the husband did it (mostly because it’s generally always the husband or a boyfriend); the husband fled to California with the surviving child, a son, so then it seemed certain.

This was a fun thriller. Things set in Scandinavian countries always excite me because it is so different from where I live. I love anything vaguely spooky and it was an easy quick read so I would recommend this if you enjoy a horror adjacent thriller with a tough female lead.

Best book of the year! Could not put this one down. The book is set in the chilling Icelandic winter with the storyline being equally chilling. A page turning thriller packed with twists. Brilliant.

I was truly looking forward to reading this book. I love Scandinavian noir mysteries. There is something about the geography and the climate that lends itself to this genre.

The set up for this book seemed just right. A young, deeply troubled girl, Agnes, fighting opioid addiction, goes to a small town in Iceland searching for answers she needs to move on. She is invited by a true crime podcaster, Nora, who has just solved a cold case and now is investigating the crime that has corroded Agnes’s life.

Forty years earlier, two gruesome murders took place. It has become legendary and still casts a pall over the town, Bifrost, all these years later. A young mother and her baby were murdered. They are Agnes’s grandmother and aunt. The murders were gruesome and the two were found frozen in a field. The general belief was that this unfathomable act was committed by her grandfather. There was no evidence connecting him but he was soundly convicted by public opinion. He couldn’t remain there so he took his young son, Agnes’s father, to California.

Having lived through this horror, Magnus, her father, became emotionally unavailable and all the love Agnes received in her life was from this grandfather. She never believed this kind, loving man could have been culpable, but on his deathbed, he said something troubling.

The house this poor family lived in still stands and on this and every anniversary, the site becomes a big party for the young townspeople. The difference this year is that a girl goes missing. Is there a link to the original murders? Is she still alive?

With that premise, this could have been very suspenseful, only it wasn’t. Agnes’s repeated backstory and internal thoughts go on and on. While the entire story only takes place over a matter of days, it feels like an eternity and as a reader, I felt frozen in a storyline that hardly moved.

I also felt the characters introduced surrounding the missing girl were fragmented and confusing. If you rally behind Agnes, you might enjoy the book. But, I would have preferred less internal musings, better developed and fewer characters to hold my interest, and either a quicker pace or more action to wind the way toward the real killer.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur (MacMillan) for the opportunity to read this advanced readers copy and give an honest review.

In THE LOST HOUSE, Agnes travels to Iceland hoping to clear her grandfather’s name. He was accused of murder and Agnes felt in her heart that he was innocent, so shortly after his death, with her world falling apart, she travels to her ancestral home in the freezing cold Iceland to find the truth. Once she arrives, another woman goes missing, so Agnes is embroiled in two crimes.

Though it was an interesting premise, this book moved too slowly for my taste. I liked it, but I didn’t love it, therefore I give it 3 stars. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.

The Lost House is Melissa Larsen’s latest book set to release in January of next year. I received an arc copy in advance to read, and I was pretty excited because the story sounded interesting.

Agnes returns to her grandfather’s homeland in Iceland to find out the truth on the murder of his wife who was slashed by the throat and their child drowned in a river. Together they were found frozen along the river. Her grandfather fled with his son (Agnes father) to California where he was never convicted of the murders. Agnes has only known her grandfather as a loving person and believes he is innocent. Her return takes place 40 years later, and upon her arrival another woman has gone missing. A party that took place on the property of the original murders, is where the missing woman is believed to have disappeared from. Are these two cases related?

Agnes meets up with Nora Carver who is doing a podcast to find out the truth on what happened 40 years ago. Agnes was originally there to discuss what she knew of her family, but with the disappearance of the Asa, the woman missing from the party, they investigate together to find out what happened to Asa.

This book is broken up into three parts. I’m going to be honest. I found the first part extremely slow and not much happening. I’m not one to DNF a book but I really struggled with reading this part of the book. That being said, when I got to part two things started to get interesting. We get some good character development and understand a little more about the past. By part three I was all in. I found myself wanting to finish it to see how it would end. I just really wish the first part had the same excitement.

Two things I did really like about The Lost House is the closure Agnes gave her father by finding out the truth for their family, and I feel like Agnes found herself too during all the investigations. She felt a little lost throughout the story.

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for this advance copy for my honest review.

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen
Pub date: January 14, 2025

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was my first dose of Nordic Noir and I loved it! The authors writing style was on point! The story was excellent and the characters relatable. A murder mystery that grabs you and won't let go. Highly recommend

The premise here was so strong. I was absolutely dying to go on this wild adventure and solve this crazy mystery. It fell flat upon execution. Nothing happened. No twists. In turns. And I knew almost right away who did it.

I was in at “unforgiving Icelandic winter landscape” (from the book description). I DESPISE the cold and snow so I don’t know why I’m drawn to thrillers and horror set in snowy, inhospitable environments…maybe because they are horrific to me.

This one involves a mystery that starts forty years ago when a mother and baby are found buried in the snow (eek!) in Iceland. The mother’s throat has been cut, the baby has been drowned. Everyone assumed the husband did it (mostly because it’s generally always the husband or a boyfriend); the husband fled to California with the surviving child, a son, so then it seemed certain.

Now it’s a year after that man’s death and his granddaughter, Agnes, is trying to clear his name. She is recovering from a terrible injury. She is returning to Bifrost, Iceland to be interviewed for Nora Carver’s podcast. The same week Agnes arrives a local girl goes missing.

This is one time I knew who did it right away. I have to say this book had promise but was a bit of a slog for me. Not very much happens. A lot of what occurs takes place in Agnes’s head. Great setting, of course, and not a bad book, just not the greatest.

It was a suspenseful read that kept me interested in the characters. I would recommend to any Nric mystery fans. The writing is great and the characters interesting, but I am not a huge fan of crime fiction right now. The atmosphere was well done.

This book was a pretty decent murder mystery with a fair amount of suspense. The plot moved at a good pace and I like the author's style. Agnes was a good character and easy to find a level of connection with.

Agnes returns to Iceland in an effort to clear her grandfather's name. He was accused of murdering his wife and baby and everyone in the town believes it.
Agnes is there as part of a podcast by Nora, which is about the murders. While she is there a young woman disappears from a party at the grandfather's old home.
Agnes' life is complicated by an addiction to pain pills.

The book is engrossing and the writing is thoughtful - making the reader feel like they are there, experiencing the fear and the cold that surround Agnes.

An engaging work of Nordic Noir.

Angus returns to her grandfathers homeland to appear on a podcast and find the truth about her family. Did her loving grandfather murder his wife and child before fleeing to America? She arrives to the extremely small town just as a young woman has disappeared, Are the crimes connected? Angus finds herself entangled in both mysteries while also dealing with her own demons.

The Lost House was a long read for me. It moved slowly, with a large cast of characters, and I felt the main character was repetitive at times. It’s a decent story, a mild mystery, but not a thriller (as listed).

Good book! I definitely enjoyed this one! This book incorporates suspense, murder, mystery, a great who done it and a few twists! The story was very interesting and kept me engrossed in my kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book!

I think that this was a solid book. I wasn't necessarily entirely captivated, but there was nothing wrong with the book in the slightest.

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.
Good book! I definitely enjoyed reading this one! This book had suspense, intrigue , action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and a few twists and turns! The story was very interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!