A mother and her baby are found dead in the snow in a small town in Iceland in 1979. Marie and Agnes become the stuff of legend—“the Frozen Madonna and Child.” In the true-crime mania of the 2000s, of course someone is going to do a podcast about them.
Nora Carver, host of “The End,” is at the top of her field because she helped solve a cold case, the murder of a 12-year-old girl. She invites Agnes Glin to join her in Iceland for her latest venture. Agnes is the granddaughter of Einer, Marie’s husband. He was suspected of the murders, and effectively run out of town.
Agnes, namesake of the murdered infant, is broken, literally and figuratively. She badly injured her leg in an accident, which followed the death of her beloved grandfather. Agnes is fighting her dependence on painkillers. Now she must face the truth of what happened 40 years before. Why did she agree to help Nora? How will Agnes cope if it turns out that Einer did kill his wife and daughter?
Nora Carver has set up shop in a gorgeous modern home. The old farmhouse where Einer and Marie lived is just steps away. It has become a mecca for followers of the Frozen Madonna story.
In this small town, connections run deep. Thor is a neighbor who built the fabulous house the women are staying in. His father had a feud with Einer over land. Another neighbor, Ingvar, saw Marie as a second mother; his own mother, Julia, took care of baby Agnes. All have something to say about what happened, and it’s not what Agnes wants to hear.
Meanwhile, the town is gripped by a new mystery. A student, Ása, has gone missing. Nora is distracted by these current events, and Agnes gets caught up as well—but she keeps on the trail of her family tragedy, determined to find the truth no matter how much it hurts.
Through the pain of the revelations, and her shattered leg, Agnes finally learns what happened to her grandmother and aunt, and why—and she uncovers Ása’s fate as well. Agnes even manages to fall in love along the way.
The Lost House is suspenseful, but also dreamy, as if the reader is seeing events unfold through Agnes’ opioid-induced state. Because Iceland, in winter, is both beautiful and unpredictable, a sense of tense uncertainty prevails. But there is no mistaking the satisfying closure Agnes finds by the end of the book.
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