Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC.

I had not yet had the pleasure of reading anything by Ragnar Jonasson before reading Outside. I will absolutely be picking up more books by this author! While the story started out a little on the slow side, you really get a chance to know the characters, or so you think! What a wild ride this was! I will absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking for a twisty thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC.

I love books set in winter climates, and the idea of this one being set in Iceland was extremely appealing. Add in four old college friends reuniting for a hunting trip, and it sounded like a fantastic set up for a great mystery. Unfortunately, I found myself plodding through chapter after chapter of lengthy backstory and next to zero action. I couldn’t even connect with any of the characters. I normally don’t mind backstory (I love seething undercurrents) but this was just so dry and often repetitive that it took an effort to finish the book. Sadly, not at all what I expected.This one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC. I have not read any of Ragnar Jonasson's books and was intrigued in a novel set in Iceland, and of course a mystery, my favorite genre. The setting, an isolated cabin in the middle of a white out with four best friends from college sounded great and I was ready to dig in.

Sadly, I found the plot to be very thin, and the same with the characters, there was not much to the four main characters and I found it very repetitious and drawn out. I found myself skipping through large paragraphs hoping to get to actual action.

I was anxious to get to the end and relieved but disappointed, it was one of the most abrupt and inconclusive endings I've read in a book. Typically I might try to think about possible scenarios but I didn't develop enough of a connection with any of the characters to give it any thought.

It’s no secret that Ragnar Jonasson is one of my favorite authors, and a driving force in my Nordic Noir fascination, so I was so thrilled to get this arc from @netgalley and @minotaur_books. That it fit into my current reading challenge was just a fun bonus.

On this outside, this seems like a simple and straightforward plot. Four old friends on a hunting trip in the Icelandic highlands get stuck in a remote hut when a winter storm comes on out of nowhere.

Told in shifting perspectives, the entire novel takes place over the course of a weekend, and while the plot is simple enough, old secrets, shifting alliances, and an silent, armed stranger keep it from ever becoming boring.

While a weekend with old friends might seem like fun, these are four of the worst people you’ll ever meet and, if you’re anything like me, who you’re rooting for will change just as swiftly as their own allegiances.

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

This book was lacking in everything that makes this author’s previous books so appealing to me. I didn’t care about any of the characters, so I felt zero investment in their lives. They lacked any development and seemed so broad.

The setting is similarly generic and lackluster. Sure, it’s set in eastern Iceland, but it just seems like any cold, inhospitable, arctic landscape. I miss how, in the author’s other books, you get a real sense of what it’s like to live in Iceland. In this book, the setting was just a convenient backdrop for the plot rather than something that enhanced the story.

Also, the plot moved along at a glacial pace. There is a little suspense after the first chapter: what’s frightening the characters? But then the next 20% of the book is full of generic backstories leading up to the reveal to the “cliffhanger,” but even then, it was drawn out for another huge chunk of the book, and ultimately, it didn’t seem to even make much sense.

I was so disappointed in this read since I have loved the author’s previous novels with their vibrant descriptions of Icelandic communities and thrilling crimes.

I could not put this book down! It was nonstop action and suspense, despite it mostly taking place in a small building. After this, I have become a new fan of Scani suspense and want to read more like it! Sure, none of the characters were very likable, but that wasn't really a turn off in this book. It ended rather abruptly and I really wanted to see what happened next!

I am torn between giving a review of three stars or four. I am going to lean toward the four star side, I guess. There are strong characters in the story. Lots of conflicts between them too. The author needs to learn more about forensics and how it works. The ideas the characters come up with wouldn't work with today's forensics. I don't want to say any more for fear of bringing in spoilers. It could be the author just decided his characters would not be that well informed. The snow scenes are well done. If you are looking for something to read, grab this book. If you have other books you prefer, put this off for later.

This was the first book I have read by this author. I guess it would be consider a thriller. Four friends (do no appear to be good friends or even good) get together for a weekend hunting trip, in the winter. Many things occur, some bizarre and others just plain crazy.

What is going on was difficult to figure out and was only revealed in the last chapters of the book. I did not find any of the characters likeable so had no real interest in how this turned out. I think that the book could have had a lot more character development before they took off for their weekend.

The plot line was intriguing, but it did not captivate me. I had no stake in this game and no real care as to how it ended. I am perplexed as to what even happened. Maybe that was what was meant to be.


I do wish to thank the author and Minotaur Publishing for the opportunity for this early read.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Well this one was bleak. I loved it. I’ve seen criticism that the four characters are too flat, but to me that along with the short, stark, chapters and the sparsity of the writing really set the tone. This is a blank wasteland of a book and I devoured every page. 4.5 rounded up

“𝑮𝒖𝒏𝒔, 𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒚 - 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍."

Four college friends (Armann, Gunnlauger, Daniel and Helena) reunite and and decide to go on a hunting trip in Iceland. They are caught in a storm and seek shelter in an abandoned hunting lodge. They make a grim discovery in the lodge and realize it isn't as safe as they hoped. Past secrets and feelings are revealed and they begin to turn against each other. Each member has to decide whether to stay in the lodge or take their chances outside.

The story is told in alternative points of view that reveals their history and current predicament. The descriptions of the weather and atmosphere was so well done. It was a quick read with short chapters so my type of book!

Pick up this Icelandic Noir book if you want a slow, slow burn.
4 childhood friends, Armann, Daniel, Gunnlauger and Helena have assembled for a weekend get together. Via the alternating points of view, we learn their connections, their feelings for each other and the problems that keep them up at night.

The friends are trekking, but the weather doesn't hold and a blinding whiteout causes them to be lost. Before the end of the weekend at least one of the friends will die! Knowing this at the start of the story raised your anxiety and all of the fun. The chapters are short and the changing points of view keep you guessing and engaged as the
ending slowly moved towards you, like an enormous glacier. If you like snow stories, reunions of friends and of course the knowledge all along that something bad will certainly happen, then #Outside is for you! #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

I was really excited to receive an advanced copy of this book as I’m a big fan of this author’s previous books.

This book is very atmospheric, and it has a real sense of place. I could genuinely imagine myself in the midst of the snowstorm depicted. I didn’t feel a connection to the characters, however, and I formed no connection to any of them. The ending was a shock to be honest – but not in a good way.

With that said, there were certainly enjoyable elements to the book, and I do look forward to what this author writes next.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a good story but everything felt too short. Too quickly clipped, like there was more that should have been told. Both the story and the characters were just underdeveloped.

I was super-excited to read this book, and it being set in Iceland made it unique; but I struggled a bit with this book. While I enjoyed the descriptions of the outside, the snow and cold, and I felt like I was there with the four friends (Armann, Helena, Daniel and Gunnlaugur), trudging through the blizzard trying to find shelter, I didn't feel a connection to the characters. I couldn't engage with them or care much about them.

I, at first was enjoying Daniel's perspective at the start of the book but when it changed to Gunnlaugur's perspective, I felt that I was still reading the story from Daniel's perspective, I didn't feel a difference between the two characters. And Armann and Helena fell a bit flat for me as well.

I will try other books from this author, as I've read other reviewers enjoyed his other books more than this one, I will give Ragnar Jonasson another try.

I am a fan of Ragnar Jonasson, but this novella was not up to what I consider his usual standard. There was an excellent sense of place, but the story was too short to develop any of the characters - I wouldn't have cared if they all froze or met their fate in some other way. . And then I really didn't understand "Dinner for Two" - I couldn't figure out how that fit in with the story. Was it another really short story (it said "title page to come") or am I just not seeing what it obvious? I hope Jonasson goes back to his full length books or starts another series. Thanks for the advance copy of the book, I'm sorry to rate this only two stars.

Four friends find a simple reunion turning deadly in the newest thriller from Ragnar Jonasson. Unfolding on the cold landscape of Iceland and described in the bone-chilling style we've come to expect from Jonasson, this one will keep you reading.

The front half of this book is definitely a bit of a slow burn, but the way that the author describes the setting makes you want to grab a blanket. It draws you in and makes you keep reading. The back half of the book is a really well written spiral of secrets and surprises you won't be able to put down.

This is one will satisfy fans looking for more of Jonasson's writing, and would be a good place to start for readers who are unfamiliar with him.

Another nail biter from Norweigian Ragnar Jonasson. This one is full of twists and turns with a surprising ending. Highly recommend for those who are into Scandinavian authors.

Holy cow, this was a rollercoaster ride of a book. I started out liking a couple characters and disliking a couple, but by the end, I wasn’t sure if I could stand any of them. The plot is basically asking the question of what if four extremely unsympathetic people get lost in a snowstorm and people start disappearing and dying.

Unsympathetic characters aside, this is a very suspenseful novel. One twist was fairly obvious but the main twist was a good one. The ending seemed to be a cliffhanger and left me wanting more. I definitely enjoyed this one.

This was a DNF at 40%. I thought this book had great promise and enjoyed the beginning. By 30% I was losing interest in the characters and the story and by 40% I just didn't care about the outcome.

I'm sure there is an audience for this one but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When four old college friends get together for an outing, to shoot birds, a blizzard traps them in a small, basic, and unheated shelter. When they experience a surprise confrontation, things go from ‘bad to worse’ and their time together ends in tragedy.

I have read and enjoyed many of Ragnar Jonasson’s books, but this story was not as appealing as the others. It did, though, expose how events in the past can cause irreparable damage in the future.