My thoughts
This is my first book by this author. I look forward to reading more.
This book was slow to start for me but it did pick up and the ending was great. The author definitely wrapped it up great.
A murder was committed in 1979 in a small town in Iceland. A woman and her baby girl. The baby was frozen and the mother's throat was slit. Everyone suspected the husband did it. He took their son and left.
In 2019 Agnes goes to Iceland to meet a podcaster, Nora, who is investigating the deaths of Agnes's grandmother and aunt all those years ago. A girl has gone missing and of course there has been a search for her now. The house that Agnes's grandfather and father lived in has become a place for people to hang out and gawk about what happened back in 1979. That is where the other girl went missing from too.
You get a lot with this story. A murder or two. A missing young woman. A drug addiction. A kidnapping. You uncover the truth as you read but that last part is the best. When most of the actual action and the reveal happens.
The setting of this story is great and the timeframes. It goes back to what happened in 1979 only a few times to keep you knowing what happened and then who did it. You meet several of the townspeople and most are very likable. This book was good but not great. I do say it's worth reading, You may love it more than I did. I did like it. It kept me guessing for sure. Parts kept me on edge too. I believe it was well written. It was a quick read for me.
Thank you #NetGalley, #StMartinsPress, #MacmillanAudio, for this ARC. This is my true thoughts about this book.
3 stars
About
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 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 thriller packed with jaw-dropping twists that will leave you breathless.
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 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 thriller packed with jaw-dropping twists that will leave you breathless.