Reviews - The Lost House | The StoryGraph

218 reviews for:

I had higher hopes for this one as the blurb made it seem right up my alley. I kept waiting and waiting for the action to start but it was such a slow burn that I was bored through most of it. By the time anything suspenseful happened, I had sadly lost interest. My thanks to St Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for providing a digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

jeanninedc's review

4.0

An Icelandic woman living in California returns to Iceland to join a podcaster investigating the murder of a woman and child forty years ago believed killed by her grandfather. Agnes grew up loving her grandfather intensely, closer to him than her own distant father. After his death, and her near death and badly damaging her leg, Agnes is so lost she takes up the podcaster Nora's offer to return to Iceland and maybe clear her grandfather's name. This is a character study as much as a mystery, with strong, complex elements of both making for an emotionally intense read. All the characters are richly developed and involving. Actions evolve organically and believably. Watching Agnes process all the new information while still dealing with her grief, and physical pain from her injuries is compelling. And Iceland itself is a wonder to her and the reader, and a character in itself. Intense rather than dark, gripping and fascinating. It will keep you guessing.

gazmodak's review

3.25

medium-paced

markeefe's review

3.75

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rmarcin's review against another edition

3.0

A woman, Agnes, travels to Iceland after her grandfather's death. He was accused of killing his wife and infant daughter 40 years earlier, but he fled the country with his young son, Agnes's father. Everyone in the country believed her grandfather was guilty, but she is having trouble reconciling this with the man she knew.
As she investigates the story, along with a podcaster, she is put in danger.
I thought the book went on a bit too long, and was getting bored with the story going round and round. Finally, in the last few chapters, everything ratchets up and gets solved. The cold of Iceland and the landscape was a character in this book.