Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this alc.

The Lost House is the second book I read from an Icelandic author. In this story we follow software developer Agnes Glin who lives in California. Her dad and grandfather are both from Iceland. Her grandfather recently passed away and she is having a hard time dealing with his passing when she receives an invitation from a podcaster to go to Iceland.

Nora Carver, the podcaster, is doing an investigation involving Agnes’s grandfather who decades earlier was accused of ki!!ing his wife and baby daughter. Now that he has died, Agnes wants to find the truth about him. This is a slow-burn mystery novel. It is narrated by Saskia Maarleveld who gave the perfect tone and pacing for this story. Very well plotted, this novel comes out January 14th.

Set in Iceland, Agnes travels to her family's home country to get to the bottom of a 40-year-old murder mystery.

I wasn't entirely on board with the narrator. I don't tend to love when narrators use a sort of breathy, raspy voice. I think it is supposed to sound mysterious but sounds more like they are out of breath the entire time. It just doesn't entirely work for me.

The book was well written and very atmospheric. Agnes was there to find out the truth about her grandmother's death long before she was born. She was working with a journalist when a new story breaks. A woman went missing from the same place 40 years later, and it is feared the cases are connected.

i enjoyed the setting and the writing, but the plot of the story was too attenuated to hold my attention and that is a personal opinion. I just couldn't get into a murder mystery about a woman who died more than 30 years before the main character was born. I get that it was her family history, and it was important to her, but it felt too attenuated to me.

Overall, I would recommend people give this a chance if they are into Icelandic noir and creepy atmospheric stories.

I saw this book floating around, and I really like Saskia Maarleveld, so I requested The Lost House.

This may be a good fit if you enjoy:
- old murder cases potentially connected to new cases
- books with a podcast element
- nordic noir

Unfortunately this was not for me. I can't put my finger on why exactly. I enjoy podcast elements, and I was interested in a mystery set in Iceland. I struggled to feel invested in the story.

Agnes returns to her family’s home in Iceland, 40 years after the gruesome murder of her grandmother and her baby girl….
Upon the discovery, it was thought that she just froze to death…until they saw evidence that it was a murder!!

Now, not long after her grandfather’s death, Agnes wants to get to the bottom of this…you see, they never found the killer, but it was always THOUGHT that it was her grandfather….which is why he moved halfway across the world…to get away from the suspicion….

Although it was a good read, for some reason, it just didn’t HOLD my attention.
The FMC has had a difficult past, and it seems like that is continuing…

She does not get along well with her father, and doesn’t really have any good friends. BUT, she adored her grandpa… so, the more she learns about him, the more she fears that he was not a good man….

Triggers: Drug Abuse, Mental Abuse, Slight Physical Abuse is referred to as well….

#TheLostHouse by #MelissaLarsen and narrated nicely by #SaskiaMaareveld.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook **** which is due to be released on 1/14/24 **** …so a few weeks from now.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

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Iceland is the perfect setting for a murder mystery, especially in winter when the cold and dark prevail. A 40 year old cold case murder is being investigated by a podcaster, Nora. She meets up with Agnes, the granddaughter of the victim and main suspect. Things get complicated and tense when a woman disappears. Dark and twisty. The narration by Saskia Maarleveld is stellar!

Agnes wants to clear her grandfather's name of a murder she's sure he didn't commit. Forty years ago a women and her baby were found murdered in Iceland. Now Agnes is there to find out the truth.

Gripping and atmospheric, this is a story you won't want to miss.

"The Lost House" was an exhilarating and intense read that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was taken by surprise at the level of gruesome details, which, while sometimes unsettling, added to the story's powerful atmosphere.

The plot is filled with unexpected twists, and the characters are incredibly well-developed, each bringing their own unique traits and depth to the narrative. This complexity makes the novel stand out in a crowded genre.

I'm thankful to NetGalley for the advanced copy, and a special shout-out to Melissa Harsen for creating such a captivating story that stays with you long after reading.

This book had so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. The overall vibe was spooky and suspenseful and the ending was crazy! I def recommend this audiobook also the narrator was great.

The Lost House takes the reader to the frozen tundra of Iceland where after her grandfather’s death, Agnes travels to meet Nora, the host of a true crime podcast. Forty years ago, Agnes’ grandmother and aunt were murdered and according to everyone in town, it was at the hands of Agnes’ grandfather. Just after Agnes arrives, another young woman disappears.

Together, Agnes and Nora investigate the 40 year old murder, trying to unearth any new clues as Agnes desperately hopes to clear her grandfather’s name. To her dismay, all signs point to her beloved grandfather committing the most unthinkable act.

The book takes the reader the on any icy cold ride with beautifully painted pictures of the landscape and a lot of twists and turns.

It is important to note that this was an audio version of the book, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. I thought the story was very well acted and very easy to listen to.

I would like to thank the author, Melissa Larsen, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review the advance copy of this audio book.

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen
🌟🌟🌟🌟(3.5, rounded up to 4)
This is an entertaining cold thriller story that takes place in Iceland.
The story has lots of mystery and suspense. It wasn’t as exciting as I was hoping for, but it was still enjoyable.
It is a very unique and original story! Agnes travels from California to Iceland to meet with Nora, a podcaster, about past murders and try to clear her grandfather’s name from a murder 40 years prior.
Lots of different secrets are unraveled while Agnes is in Iceland.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc audio version of this book. The Narrator did a great job!
*This book comes out January 14th*

Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this novel by Melissa Larsen, beautifully narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4 stars!

Forty years ago in Iceland, a young mother and her infant daughter were brutally murdered. No one was ever charged, but the community was convinced it was the woman’s husband. When he fled for the US, it proved his guilt to them. In the present, Nora is working on a podcast of the story and the man’s granddaughter, Agnes, has agreed to fly from California to Iceland to participate. Agnes is healing both physically and mentally from an injury and broken relationship, relying on too many pills to get her through the day. She’s also grieving the loss of her beloved grandfather and is eager to prove his innocence. When she arrives, Nora is swept up in a new story of another young woman who has gone missing and enlists Agnes’ help. Are the two cases related?

The stark Icelandic setting and weather were the perfect backdrop for this haunting tale. The small town’s inhabitants have been convinced of the husband’s guilt and have no use for his granddaughter stirring things up. But now there is not one case to investigate, but two, and there are plenty of suspects. I loved having the audiobook to listen to while I read, especially with the different dialect and language. The narration was beautiful and added depth to the story. Perfect winter mystery!

This chilling thriller is not only in the weather but in the cold case as well.
This book was very atmospheric giving a good feeling of Iceland and the people in Bifrost, Iceland. I read the ebook and audiobook in tandem and I found with both I could easily picture the snow falling, the ice-covered roads, the knee-deep walkways filled with snow, the thrilling moments in the outdoors the sub-zero temperatures and snow storms. I did suspect the correct killer so that lack of surprise was disappointing but it was nice to know I was right!

This story is about Agnes Glin, who goes on a trip to Iceland alone to take part in a cold case podcast by Nora Carver, who is looking into an old cold case in Iceland from 40 years early that involved the murders of Agnes`s grandmother and baby aunt. Agnes’s grandfather, Einar Palsson, was suspected but never charged with the murders and Agnes would like to prove his innocence and clear her family’s name. There is also a subplot line where another local woman has gone missing just before Agnes arrives and Nora suspects it might be linked to past murders as the woman looked a lot like Agnes' grandmother.

The audiobook really helped to move along this slow-burn thriller — the narrator did well with the Icelandic English accent and distinguishing the male and female voices. The intonation of the narrator also brought forward the suspenseful and thrilling aspects of the book too!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for this ARC/ ALC. This is my honest review.

Interesting mystery. Unique location and characters. Wasn't sure how the current missing girl would evolve in the story, but enjoyed the way it all came together and was revealed in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The setup: Agnes' grandfather was accused of killing his wife and their infant daughter 40 years ago. Now, Agnes is in Iceland to appear on a true crime podcast that is featuring the story of the "Frozen Madonna." Another woman goes missing. Is it a coincidence?

Positives: It was fun to listen to a book set in Iceland, as that is pretty rare. It was interesting to hear how the weather and landscape played into the story.

Overall thoughts: This book was entirely too long for the story that was being told. The characters are not at all likeable, and the plot dragged on. I think it could have been about half as long. The story seemed cobbled together instead of coherent and well-developed.

Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me, and I won't be recommending it to friends or family who read similar books.

I listened to the audiobook of this. And I listened at work with my desk heater on because the chilly, Icelandic weather came through so much! But as a thriller, I feel a little let down on the "twists".

The main character is Agnes, she's grown up being incredibly close to her grandfather, calling him her second dad even. But he has a dark past, his wife and baby daughter were murdered in Iceland and in the small town everyone assumed he did it, causing him and his young son (Agnes' father) to move all the way to California. Now Agnes is going to Iceland to meet up with Nora, the host of a true crime podcast. Nora has solved a cold case before and Agnes hopes to learn more about her grandparents' past. But as she meets the locals in this small town, she starts to wonder if the man she cherished is actually a murderer. However as Agnes arrives in this town, a girl has gone missing and it's possibly connected to her family's murders.

The town is mentioned to be small many times, even though there is a university there. Everyone knows everyone's business, which I found odd where there should be many students around also. The cast of characters is small however, there's a couple neighbors and a couple students. And the characters aren't too deep, aside from Agnes and her family in the past. Even Nora, the podcaster feels like a surface character, only going deeper into why she investigates cold cases once later in the book. The students are the missing girl's best friends and obvious suspects. But in such a small group of characters, everyone is a suspect. Although Agnes is there for a podcast about her family, Nora decides she needs to investigate the missing girl more. They talk to the few characters and clues start to come out about Agnes' family. They're not shocking but it's interesting to follow along. And the big twist, isn't very twisty.

Overall, the story was good, it didn't have much down time, things moved quickly. Agnes' struggle to see her loving grandfather as a murderer was hard. The whole book wraps up very well and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a thriller without too much depth. The audiobook narrator was wonderful and did a good job with the Icelandic names.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Melissa Larsen, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

After discovering this book by Melissa Larsen, I was eager to see if it would meet my expectations. Larsen develops this Nordic noir thriller, mixing the best of the genre with some character development to keep the reader highly entertained. After a woman and her infant are found frozen in the Icelandic winter four decades ago, the authorities still have no leads, only presumptions that it must have been the husband. Fast-forward to the present, Agnes returns from California to her family’s native land to clear her grandfather’s name, the man who may have been responsible. While Agnes finds locals who remembered her grandfather, she discovers that it is anything but what she expected after all these years. Determined to clear her grandfather’s name, Agnes must also face many of the lingering doubts locals have of her and the whispers that have fuelled decades of presumption. Larsen delivers a wonderfully sinister story that could only come from something Nordic.

A young woman and her infant are found in the Icelandic winter four decades ago, called the Frozen Madonna and Child. While they seem peaceful, the woman had a slash across her throat and the infant was drowned before being placed in this position. The authorities could not find a suspect and the case soon went…cold. Everyone presumed it was the husband, whose guilt was on solidified when he fled with his remaining child for warmer climes across the Atlantic.

In the present, Agnes returns from California to her family’s homeland to clear her grandfather’s name, working alongside a popular true crime podcaster with a penchant for revealing truths in cold cases. Agnes is determined to get answers and ensure that her family is not left to linger in the shadows, remaining but a collection of small-town whispers. Agnes is ready to delve deeply to discover the truth and potentially hunt for a killer. The bait is set and it is high time to lay out the foundation of the crime and see what might have been missed. This serves to dig up old stories and reopens wounds best left undisturbed.

Agnes explored where her father grew up in the small community of Bifröst. The stories about the young boy are plentiful, but so are the whispers of what her grandfather likely did to his wife and infant daughter. Agnes wonders often if she made a mistake trying to set things straight, but cannot turn back now that she has left her California life in tatters.

As Agnes seeks answers, the local media draws parallels with her return and a girl who goes missing the same week. Could the killer have been waiting all these years, ready to reignite the crimes with new vigour? Everyone is once more a suspect and they must explain away their whereabouts, while also recounting stories of the crimes forty years earlier. The lies pile up and Agnes soon realises that she has done so much to create trouble for all in this tiny community. Was it worth it, trying to clear the name of a man whose death locked away crimes no one has thought about for many years? Melissa Larsen delivers a story that spans four decades and keeps the reader on edge until all is revealed.

There is something about Nordic noir thrillers that have always intrigued me. They deliver a solid story but always have a lingering deeper sense of despair. Melissa Larsen works well to deliver a piece that checks all the boxes, while also keeping the reader in the middle of the action. The narrative finds many ways to grow and keeps the reader connected to the larger story with ease. Many characters emerge throughout, flavored with that Icelandic perspective that adds something many novels I read lack. The depth and darkness cannot be matched, though Larsen has done so with ease. Plot points develop and expand with each passing chapter, providing strong surprises that the reader must handle as they await truths about crimes both past and present. Melissa Larsen finds ways to keep the reader stuck in the web and demanding more as the truth envelopes them with ease.

Kudos, Madam Larsen, for an addictive thriller!

Good mystery but slow at times. Enjoyed the narrator. Interesting setting and characters. First book I’ve seen from this author.

3.5⭐️

I had a hard time with this audiobook for some reason as I was so intrigued but it wasn’t hitting.

It actually pulled me in from the start but then slowed down for the majority of the book. It was very easy to sort out who did the crime so that took some of the allure out of it.

The narrator was ok. She did a fine job but neither took away or ahead anything to the enjoyment. I did mess to put it on 1.75x to make it listenable.

Then best part of the book was the gorgeous Icelandic imagery. For that I was very much appreciative. And the ending 20% of the book is where all the action was and it was engaging and exciting even knowing who “did it”. I just wish the rest of the book was the same.

I am thankful to have gotten an ALC for free from MacMillian Audio through NetGalley in order to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I enjoyed this! I am a huge fan of literary mysteries and THE LOST HOUSE definitely hit the spot! However, I will say that while I loved the mystery and the characters, the story did drag at times for me. I loved that the pacing and plot captured the barren beauty of the setting as well, I just wished the pacing moved a bit faster toward the end. Overall, a great, atmospheric mystery! And the narration by Saskia Maarleveld is always amazing!

I 'read' The Lost House in the form of audio. I think the narration was very well done. The transitions between characters was very easy, even with the multiple characters to keep up with.

I think the story was very well written and well told. I had formed multiple ways it could have ended in my head, and how it turned out was not one of them.