The Lost House

Every winter I find myself drawn to snowy thrillers and Gothic fiction. Perhaps this is why Melissa Larsen‘s new book, The Lost House, was so appealing to me. Set in Iceland, it delves into 40-year-old cold case, here a family drama that 27-year-old Agnes has grown up with, spurred on by a new missing person case that might be connected.

Why I Chose This Book:

I first heard about The Lost House in The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 13, which appeared on NetGalley a few months ago. I was instantly hooked and sent in my ARC request. Lately I particularly love books set in Iceland, with its harsh yet beautiful setting fully of mystery. This looked like exactly the kind of book I’d enjoy.

What I Liked:

• Setting in a rural Iceland town
• Agnes is a slightly unreliable narrator, with her addiction to pain medication
• The 40-year-old murder case isn’t just a past crime; it’s what Agnes has grown up with in her small family. What secrets have her father and grandfather been keeping all these years?
• Putting heart into a cold case. How will Agnes be affected once she knows the truth? Will it change her love of her late grandfather?
• Current missing person case paralleling the cold case
• Agnes is bisexual
• How a true crime podcast brings out the truth

Audiobook

The narrator for this The Lost House, Saskia Maarleveld, was perfectly matched for the book’s tone. She brought out the bleak outlook as well as the heart hidden underneath. Her main narration was generally low and near the edge of vocal fry, but it worked for this story.

Final Thoughts

The Lost House was exactly the kind of stark, wintery mystery I was craving at this time of year. It grapples with how well you know your loved ones, dealing with loss, overcoming life-changing accidents and addiction, and finding your place amidst the harsh realities around you. I loved the setting in Iceland and the unembellished, even cold descriptions. I only wish the ending had been a bit fuller. This was a great read, and I will look out for more books from Melissa Larsen.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Lost House here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen
Audiobook Narrator	Saskia Maarleveld
Audience	Adult
Genre	Thriller
Setting	Iceland
Number of Pages	352
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	January 14, 2025
Publisher	Minotaur Books

Official Summary

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.