NetGalley ARC | The Lost House

I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Forty years ago a young mother and her infant daughter were found buried in the snow in the small village of Bifrost, Iceland. The mother's throat was slashed and the baby had drowned. The case remains unsolved, though after the husband took their son and left for California, that seems to be enough proof for the villagers that he'd murdered his wife and daughter, but escaped justice for lack of evidence.

Fast forward to the present, Agnes is determined to clear her gradfather's name. He passed away a year prior, and Agnes needs a distraction from her own life as she recovers from a serious leg injury and the recent break-up with her girlfriends, while dealing with an addiction to painkillers because of said injury. Agnes accepts an invitation from Nora Carver, a true crime expert, to be interviewed for her podcast on the topic. Agnes heads off to Iceland to figure out what happened to part of her family all those years ago.

Upon Agnes's arrival, she learns that a local girl has been reported missing. She had last been seen at a party at Agnes's old family home where her grandparents, father, and aunt once lived. The home has a new owner who kept the home much the same as it had been forty years earlier. Now the outsiders, Agnes and Nora, have two investigations on their hands, as it couldn't possibly be a coincidence, could it? Nora's focus is drawn to the current case and Agnes must get to the bottom of her family story, no matter what revelations come to light. Either her grandfather was a murderer, or not. One way or another, she will find out what people are willing to do to protect themselves, their families, and their secrets.

The landscape of Iceland is practically a character in itself and I enjoyed that immensely. Iceland in the winter is not for the faint of heart and seeing Agnes struggle with this as she tries to understand what happened to her family was an important part of this well-written mystery. The author sets the scene brilliantly, and you really feel like you are there with Agnes every step of the way.

The build-up of suspense was incredible, as Agnes tracks down every last person she can who knew her grandparents. The clues unfold slowly and we hear most of the stories from friends and neighbors, but not in a way that felt like an info-dump. We also know going in that obviously someone is not telling the whole truth, and Agnes must figure out whose recollection is purposely not accurate. We get to know the characters really well in this way and the author did a wonderful job keeping voices distinct. Through Agnes the reader can determine viable suspects, though nothing felt obvious or out of place, like it was thrown in to make the answer clear. It was hard to know who to trust as more and more was revealed.

I really loved this book quite a lot. The author masterfully told a compelling story that kept me reading; I had to know the answer. Agnes has to overcome so much to find the truth, given her own difficulties with the injury and addiction on top of thinking about what it could possibly mean for her if her much-loved grandfather turns out to be the murderer.

Highly recommended