Outside by Ragnar Jonasson.

I have read and enjoyed the first two books in the authors Dark Iceland series. I really enjoy his writing, the characters he writes and the Icelandic setting so was excited to read this one, a standalone thriller.

Outside tells the story of four college friends reuniting to spend the weekend hunting. in the Icelandic highlands. The weather rapidly deteriorates and as blizzard rages, the friends take shelter from the total whiteout in what they think is an isolated empty cabin. One of them will not survive the night.

I think my favourite part of this book, its shining star, is the location and its descriptions. The perfect location for this type of book. I was immediately drawn into the story but this book started stronger than it finished and I don't think this is a good thing with a thriller.
Its excellently written and the author creates heart palpitating tension at several points. I had to sit up and turn on the lights at one point when reading, I was that jumpy. I would have enjoyed this more if it was longer and the story and characters were developed a little more. I wanted more.

Despite my criticism, it is still one of the better thrillers I have read in a while. I just wanted more detail.

A chilling, scary short enough read.

3.5 stars.

Iceland, the name of the place itself makes one feel cold, the kind of cold that seeps under your skin and Ragnar Jonasson’s latest thriller Outside captures the atmosphere so brutally that sitting here and suffering the sweltering heat of Indian Summer, I have no words to describe how easily the author transported me to the setting. The snow-laden highlands, the blizzard that reduces visibility to zero, the whole panorama of whiteness, the four friends struggling to make it to the shelter, being caught unawares amidst their hunting trip, these details are utterly palpable that for a time I was walking in the footsteps of one of the four people. Well, after having read a couple of books by the author, I didn’t expect anything less from Ragnar Jonasson.

Daniel, Helena, Armann, and Gunnalaugur have known each other for a long time, enough to be aware of each other’s weaknesses and flaws but the unexpected weather conditions forcing them inside a refuge hut is kind of the last straw. As the hut reveals its secret, the tensions and disgust amongst them surge forward with a vengeance causing unforeseen repercussions.

Keeping the chapters short and snappy and advancing the plot thru the POVs of all four of them, the author succeeds in delivering an aura of menacing disaster just around the corner for the first part of the story. It is in the second half that the momentum is a trifle lost and the pacing slackens down. All four of them are unlikeable and made it difficult for me to connect to any of them. The ending of the story was not to my liking even though it is a relaistic climax but I am someone who prefers everything tied up with a neat bow.

I will always be happy to read any translated works by Ragnar Jonasson, Outside, though didn’t live up to my sky-high expectations.

3.5 stars for this atmospheric thriller.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This review is published on my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Book Bub, Medium.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Beautifully plotted and structured, and an exciting read. When four friends reunite to go on a hunting trip, two of the party have no idea what is to come. As each character reveals the story from their own perspective the reader discovers the true horror of the trip.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Well this was a slightly disturbing read from Jonasson! I have read most of his books and this started off in his usual style. Four friends are on a weekend away in the mountains to do a spot of hunting. The weather takes a turn for the worst; an horrific snowstorm and they seek shelter in a cabin. Which they have to break into.

They then get the shock of their lives, and have to think about trying to get help.

The story is told from all four of the friends perspective. and the atmosphere and suspense builds and builds. It is really descriptive and you can feel the cold and desperation as the night passes.

I wouldn't call this his best book, but I still motored through it quickly but was a little dismayed at the ending.

Worth a read and I'll be interested to see the film when it is released.

This is the second standalone novel I have read by this author. Both are very different but both are very readable. A group of university friends reunites for a weekend shooting trip on the Icelandic moors Shortly after setting out the weather changes dramatically forcing the group to take shelter in a remote hut but find they are not the first there From then on in things get worse and worse for the group as secrets and grudges from the past cause massive tensions. The atmosphere builds as the story progresses leading to a violent and shocking ending. I think the prose perhaps loses something in translation but it is still a cracking story.

Iceland four friends meet in Reykjavik to go on an organised bird shoot.
Armann who runs a successful tour operation. He has organised the holiday on the remote east coast. Daniel now lives in England and is an actor. Helena a widow still mourning her husband who died in tragic circumstances . Gunnlaugur is a lawyer.
They take guns for the shoot. However before they can start the weather changes and a snow blizzard makes walking difficult. Armann knows the area well and leads them to a remote hut which will provide shelter.
Once there they find the hut locked. When they eventually gain access there is a man sitting in the darkness, silent and with a gun. He does not acknowledge them, not answer them. Are they in danger? Armann knows of another hut nearbye, perhaps two of them can go and radio for help?
Full of secrets, all four have something to hide. Who is the silent mysterious stranger? I have read other books by this author and all have their dark side.
At the end of the story there is a short story entitled "Party of two". I am not sure why this has been inserted as it does not seem to relate to the main story?
An involved story which keeps you guessing. Enjoyable.

Four friends embarking on a shooting expedition are caught unexpectedly in precarious weather conditions. A frantic race towards a shelter and safety has the opposite result. Trapped together in the presence of a stranger holding a gun exacerbates the claustrophobic situation with fatal results. Fear and guilt rise to the surface resulting in hidden secrets revealed as mayhem and murder ensue. A dramatic exposure of the past is dramatically unveiled as the group of friends struggle to survive extreme weather conditions. Any outcome appears potentially fatal compounded by evil intent on the part of a member of the group. Tightly written thriller although not perhaps as gripping as previous storylines I have read by this author. Perhaps the author has consistently set the bar high and we readers have been consistently spoilt to expect too much. Many thanks to author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

A strange story of revenge that I found hard to get into with a cast of characters difficult to like. A hunting expedition in frozen Iceland with four ‘friends’ who share a university past but little else. A wild storm catches them out and they seek shelter in an isolated hut. Glimpses of their individual pasts are given until the final reckoning and reasons are revealed. An OK short story but not as good as some of the authors past work.

Icelandic snowstorms can be deadly as four friends will find out when they seek shelter in an abandoned hunting lodge.
Fear increases and tempers become frayed. Who will make it back to safety?
Great writing, characters and weather. A must read that keeps you on edge, enjoy.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a short holiday with friends, whats not to like about getting together with your mates and having a great time, and so this foursome who had been friends for years arranged it

a short break hunting, but as the day starts out they cant find right spot so carrying on walking and thats when the weather turns, its then a hunt for survival in extreme weather

with the snow coming down fast and hard finding a hut is paramount, at the edge of exhaustion they stumble amazingly on a hut

but is it the sanctuary they need...

as the weather worsens so do the tempers, who will survive the night

oh my word love a good story that has snow and ice and danger in it...and this had all the elements in it, i couldnt put this book down...loved it

cant wait for the next book by this author

I have read one other book from Ragnar Jonasson which was The Island, I remember in my review for that book I commented that the written prose was very beautiful, and I loved the setting of remote Iceland, but the plot was a little bland for me. I had the same problem with Outside which felt rather more of a novella than a book. The book focuses on four friends; Armann, Gunnlauger, Helene and Daniel who reunite to go on a hunting trip that quickly turns sour.

The book switches perspective every short chapter but I didn’t really feel like each of the characters had their own narrative voice. They all felt quite similar, and it was difficult to keep track of who was who at times. The story also jumps between the build up to the trip and the trip itself at the beginning, which I found very confusing, and it took a while to work out what was going on and which timeline I was currently reading in.

The setting of remote Iceland was beautifully described, and I did feel immersed in the atmospheric location of the novel. We particularly feel this when Daniel and Helene leave the hut to go and find help. This was not enough to elevate the plot though which I found dragged in places. When the twist is finally revealed I just found myself confused as to why the characters did what they did. The ‘good weather’ original plot made no sense, and I didn’t understand the inclusion of the man in the corner with the gun which just seem to complicate matters for all parties.

Overall, Outside has a brilliantly atmospheric setting but is let down by non-distinct characters and a plot that ultimately made little sense. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Im a big fan of this author and while I enjoyed this one for what it was, I felt a little underwhelmed overall.

Again this is set in Iceland as 4 old friends arrange to meet up and go hunting in the wilderness. While trekking their way there they are caught up in a severe snow storm and seek shelter at the nearest cabin where they find a mysterious man just sitting there staring ahead and holding his gun.
This set up is a que for all hell to break loose as we find out the secrets of our 4 from the past and their real motives for the trip.

As I said this one was fine if a little underwhelming. Again we have beautiful descriptions of the Icelandic landscape and I think I actually felt cold reading this!

The story itself was a little contrived and it was hard to buy into some aspects of it.
Also despite the book being relatively short, it felt overly long for what it was. It felt more like a short story that had been stretched out into novel format.

My least favourite read for Mr Jonasson so far but I still found myself enjoying it overall.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

An atmospheric chiller, and I’m not just talking about the weather. Four friends on a hunting trip in Iceland are trapped in a blizzard and break into a hut to spend the night. They are surprised by what they find in the hut, and by what lurks in each of their souls.

I am not usually much of a reader of thrillers and crime novels as I usually end up guessing the ending and plot twists. However I was drawn to this title because of my love of all things Scandi/Nordic Noir and I was not disappointed. I can't talk about this novella too much because I don't want to accidentally post spoilers but I can say that I did not see the plot twists and ending coming and I look forward to exploring the authors back catalogue on a cold winters night with a cosy blanket and a hot beverage.

This started as a 5 star review as I love Scani-Noir mysteries and this seem to have it all with the location, characters and tension. I was slightly disappointed with the location as other than being told it was in the Eastern Iceland there were no more references to Iceland and it could have been anywhere in snowy conditions.

We knew there was a shocking find early on and then learned what it was a quarter of the way through. I found the revelation weird and the way the characters interacted was very odd to me.

My main issue with this book is the ending. There was an inconclusive ending but then another chapter titled Party of Two which I assumed was an epilogue which would round up the fate of the characters. I read this chapter twice and couldn’t work out how it related to any of the characters in the book so ended up searching for words in it that I thought might connect me back to the main book. I couldn't work it out so went on Google and then discovered that this was a short story written by the author in 2014 so was nothing to do with the book Outside. It spoiled the ending for me as I was left confused for quite some time as well as being excited to think there was a proper ending only to find there was not.

After the short story is an excerpt from his next book which is quite clearly titled as such as this short story should be, This was an ARC copy so I hope this short story is made clearer in the final copy. With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ragnar Jónasson is one of my favourite authors ever so I was thrilled when I was approved on NetGalley, a huge thanks to NetGalley and Penguin books.

Outside is a page turner, at 352 pages its a fairly fast read complete with quick chapters, which I LOVEE!

It is a very claustrophobic read and possibly the only book to make me actually feel claustrophobic, it would make the perfect winter read and only makes me want to visit Iceland even more than I already do. Jónasson has a brilliant way of describing the isolated landscape in which Outside is set.

Outside centres on four characters, Daniel, Helena, Armann and Gunnlaugur, I won't lie... I didn't like any of them, they didn't have any redeemable qualities but I actually liked that I didn't like them, but thanks to Jonasson writing I was completely hooked on what was going to happen to them and if any were going to get their comeuppance...

Despite the blurb I had no idea what was going to happen and I was genuinely surprised by the twists and turns that occurred.

A solid 4 stars read!

I can't request fast enough when Ragnar Jonasson has a new book. This standalone thriller is a good one. As always it is set in a dark, atmospheric background. I am lucky enough to have been to Iceland many times and thankfully have always had a great experience. I am not sure how tempting it would be following this tale! Gripping and twisty. Another 5 stars.

Daniel an actor comes back from London to Iceland for a weekend trip with three friends. They head out on the moors on a hunting trip when they get caught in a full snow scale storm. As the weather gets worse they manage to get into an emergency shelter only to discover a man sitting there with a gun. As tensions bubble over what is the truth, and what is the outcome. Even the ending has a twist! Really recommend.

Four friends seek shelter in a hut during a snowstorm. When they enter the hut they are met by a man with a gun sitting staring into space.
There is no where else to go and soon secrets and tensions build up between them. Are their friendships what the seem or are there further mysteries to unravel?

I was really excited to start this as a claustrophobic thriller set in extreme circumstances is usually right up my street.
I unfortunately struggled with this, as even though there is a really chilling and atmospheric setting, the characters didn't quite get things going.
I usually am able to connect with at least one, but I found myself really disliking them and ot really being concerned for the outcome.
It was tense and had some really nail biting areas, however it just felt a little flat, I did enjoy parts however I would be unlikely to read it again.

Outside is a wonderful atmospheric thriller .Four old friends meet up for a weekend hunting expedition .Set in Iceland I really felt I was there in the freezing cold !A snow storm suddenly arrives and they seek shelter in an old cabin where there is a shocking surprise .Everything starts to unravel from that point .The story is told from all four POV which I like ,everyone seems to have secrets ,this is a real page turner ,gripping and compelling ,the ending was a little strange though .Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC