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Outside by Ragnar Jónasson

What better way to celebrate #thrillerthursday than a Nordic noir review?! Note—Outside published this week!

Outside follows four friends as they hike in the Icelandic wilderness. When a sudden blizzard occurs, they take refuge in a cabin shelter. And then all hell breaks loose 😅

I really liked the constant switching of points of view. Each chapter was told from the perspective of one of the four friends. And the chapters were short. I FLEW through this book.

And I’m always a sucker for a good Icelandic setting. Who isn’t?!

However, I wasn’t really engaged with this one. I was expecting to be more “thrilled” than I was. It was slow paced for the most part.

Overall, it’s a good twist on a locked room tale, but felt a bit “meh” for me.

Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the #gifted copy!

A fast paced read with unlikeable characters. Loved how it was an degree of your seat need to know what happens next type read. The ending was rather confusing.

From my blog: Always With a Book

I am a huge fan of Ragnar Jonasson’s books, having loved both his Dark Iceland and Hidden Iceland series. This is his second stand-alone book and let me just say, I love his writing…it is always so atmospheric and dark and this latest one is no exception.

Once again, we have a slow-burn of a read that is set in an isolated area that completely drips with tension and suspense – a trip involving a group of friends going off on an adventure that goes terribly wrong. This is one that is absolutely character-driven and if you aren’t a fan of that, you might not love this, but for me, it had hallmarks of my favorite kind of nordic noir – broody characters, lots of secrets, bad weather, and an isolated setting. The way the story is told, alternating from each of the characters’ points of view really helps to keep you on edge as we see that not all is as it seems. We know not everyone makes it back alive…the question is who survives and why?

I love that each character reveals only part of themselves, but as the story moves back and forth among the different characters, we start to see the bigger picture. This is a book that, while not very long, takes paying attention to put the clues together.

This book is cleverly structured, partly I think to grab you from the get-go and partly to add suspense and tension and keep you on edge. We know right from the start that something ominous has happened and then we backtrack a bit to lead up to that event. It really had me anxious trying to work out what was going on as the pieces started falling into place and when you add in the chilling atmosphere, which Jonasson just excels at in his writing, it just makes for such a tense, suspenseful read.

This might be my new favorite from this author and I cannot wait to see what comes next from him.

3.5
A snowy thriller to beat the midsummer heat! This was a quick read with short chapters and a cast of unlikeable characters. Unlike previous books I've read by Jonasson, this one moves at a fast clip and I found myself speed-reading to discover what was really going on.

Read this if you like:
-snowed-in thrillers
-old friends bound by secrets
-translated fiction
-books set in Iceland

Four old friends from college decide to go on a hunting trip together in remote eastern Iceland in November. One of the friends, Armann, has a successful tour company and knows the area well. He assures the others that the trip will be fun and he can navigate the area. But a sudden blizzard descends, leaving the foursome to scramble for shelter, and things quickly go offscript.

It was a little odd that everyone would agree to go on the trip, since these friends don't seem to like each other all that much. Armann, Helena, and Daniel all get on well enough, though they haven't seen Daniel in several years since he moved to London. But they are all united in their uneasiness with Gunnlauger, the hanger-on to their friend group who gives of strong creep vibes from the jump. Having a common enemy in the group explained some of the dynamic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ragnar Jonasson is a new to me author. His latest release is Outside. What's it about? The tag lines on the cover say it all..."Four Friends. One Night. Not Everyone Will Survive."

Jonasson opens the book up with a prologue that will capture and hold the reader's attention. A storm, an isolated rescue hut - and something that shocks the four. He then takes us back to the day before and the who and why of the trip is detailed. The who is the important bit, as there are some dark undercurrents running through these friendships. Each of the four is given a voice and the reader becomes privy to their inner thoughts in the present as well as their past interactions. There are incidences from the past that are alluded to and the details are slowly doled out. And the masks of friendship starts to slip. Jonasson changes narrators at crucial moments, ensuring I stayed up reading 'just one more chapter."

If you like Scandi noir, you'll enjoy Outside. I liked the short span of time that the book is set in. In not even two short days, lives will be inexorably changed. Bad decisions are acted upon and the fallout increases with every choice made. The characters themselves are unlikable, each and every one. The cold of an Icelandic storm gave me goosebumps. I did find the ending abrupt, but on a second read of it, decided that it indeed fit.

2.5 ⭐️‘s
When four friends head up into the mountains in Iceland, they aren’t prepared for the bad weather that ensued. Coming across a hut, they quickly seek refuge to wait out the storm, but they are not alone in the mountains. Filled with secrets and ulterior motives, there’s a good possibility they won’t all make it out alive.

Outside follows four friends who are on a hunting trip in the highlands of Iceland when a snowstorm unexpectedly hits. They manage to find a hunting lodge where they can seek shelter, but there's a mysterious stranger in the lodge. Over the course of the night, secrets will be revealed and tensions will come to a head.

This book had a lot of potential but didn't quite work for me. It was kind of slow and the characters were a little weak. The setting was very good and I liked how it was a big part of the story. The mystery aspect seemed small and I wasn't entirely invested in figuring out everyone's secrets. I did like the writing though so I'll definitely check out other books by the author.

What a twisty ride that was! The atmosphere was great and definitely enhanced the story/the seriousness of the characters’ situations. Had a great build up with some surprise reveals along the way. Definitely recommend!

After translating all of Agatha Christie’s novels into Icelandic for publication in his home country, Ragnar Jónasson launched his own crime fiction career with two highly-regarded series – the Dark Iceland books, which I dubbed as “cozy noir,” for their unique ability to cover very dark crimes without the use of gratuitous language of any kind, and the Hidden Iceland series, which has become iconic for the inventive way its overarching backstory is told in reverse chronological order across the various novels. Since then, Jónasson has turned his pen towards stand-alone crime novels which continue to tinker with the standard topics and structure of works as they are most commonly seen in our beloved genre.

Tomorrow, Ragnar Jónasson will release Outside, another stand-alone novel that will grip readers by the throat and drag them to the end, barely leaving room for a breath along the journey. In this novel, readers will find four friends hiking the Icelandic highlands when a sudden and unexpected snowstorm puts their very survival in question. Thankfully they stumble upon a small hunting lodge where they decide they must overnight for safety. Meanwhile, old memories and a strange presence in the cabin put each of the friends on edge, to such a point that not all of them will be alive to see the sunrise.

The tight time-frame of Outside would be enough to keep readers turning the pages long into the night, but Ragnar Jónasson is not an author who keeps only one manipulation in play. Here he adds complexity to the plot by shifting the narrator position in constant rotation amongst the four friends – three men and one woman – throughout. Readers will quickly discover that each individual is only revealing part of the truth and that linking these narratives together to make a whole cloth picture – of both the current journey and their life-long friendships – is key to guessing who will survive this treacherous evening.

Another of Ragnar Jónasson’s many skills is his ability to describe the Icelandic landscape in ways that bring them to life for the reader. Despite Outside being released in the dead of summer here in the United States, do not be surprised when you pull a comfy blanket over yourself as you are reading about this group’s cold trek across Iceland’s unforgiving terrain in the midst of a blinding snowstorm. Those chills you are feeling are real, they are just caused by the words Jónasson is placing on the page and not the wind whipping around in nature outside your bedroom window.

Throughout Outside, Ragnar Jónasson keeps the chapters short – very few of them extend beyond eight pages, helping to ensure this is a quick reading experience. Since the novel covers only one night, it is almost like the reader is experiencing the action in real time – which undoubtedly adds to the thrills as things start to get truly spooky.

The accomplished Victoria Cribb is once again responsible for the translation of Outside from Icelandic to English. I suspect that if readers did not know the work was translated, they would have no idea that is the case – a testament to Cribb’s skill.

Whether Ragnar Jónasson continues along this new path of stand-alones or launches another series in the future, new readers and fans alike will be anxiously awaiting whatever is next.

Want to know my favorite way to read a snowy Icelandic thriller? When it’s 80 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. In other words, the perfect Maine day ☁️☀️☁️

Ragnar Jonasson’s new release (out on Tuesday) is a quick, captivating read. I’m a fan of short chapters, and the alternating-narrator format really worked in Outside. That’s not to say that any of the characters are likable. In fact, they’re kind of easy to despise, but thats the best kind!

Thanks to @minotaur_books for my early copy of this unique, fun twist on the locked-room trope!

Link to 6/26/2022 Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CfRYhvqLebi/

Where to start with this review?
First , there's definitely a language barrier even with the translation.
Second, I just felt mostly bored reading this book. I found myself wondering if there would be any thrill to this thriller.

The characters were not well developed, and I disliked all of them.
In my opinion none of them were redeemable.

The ending was anti-climatic and I'm not even sure I understand that last chapter? Was it a separate mini story? What was the point?

After recently reading a book about mountain climbers, I was interested to get into another snowy thriller. Four friends decide to go to the highland in Iceland for a bit of bird hunting and bonding. Not all of them come out alive, as we know from the synopsis.

The beginning of this was good, as was most of the story. These four people - Daníel, Helena, Ármamn and Gunnlaugur - have a history together, but they all have their own histories as well. Once they set off on the hunting trip, a storm forces them to find shelter in a hut, leading to disastrous consequences for some. Most of the book is set in that hut, where a mystery man enters the picture and adds another layer of creepy to the situation.

This is your typical locked-room mystery, in a slightly different location. These four friends all have a past … ranging from criminal records, drugs, death, and money problems. I think the best part of the book, for me, was the thoughts of these people as they wait out the storm and hope to make it out alive. The characters were pretty decent, and the story was quick and neat. I kept wondering why there were so many three-star ratings for this one…

Then we get to the end, the part I had been waiting for to see what the big twist would be. Unfortunately, it all fell flat for me. The reasoning behind everything was a bit far-fetched, and it was so abrupt that I had to double check and make sure I somehow didn’t miss part of the story. That took this from a four-star book to a three-star book for me. I’ll give it a 3.5, but rounded down because the ending was slightly disappointing. This was a good read, but it definitely didn’t blow my mind.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Ragnar Jonasson, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

Four friends venture out to the remote highlands of Iceland on a weekend hunting trip. When a blizzard hits and with no way to communicate with the outside world, they seek shelter in a rustic hunting cabin. They struggle to get inside and are shocked at what they find inside. While two of them go out to find help at another cabin, the other two try to resolve the situation in the cabin. As the weekend progresses, secrets and betrayals are revealed and events take a very bad turn..
Jonasson does an excellent job of creating a stark, isolated setting for this thriller. The story is told from the perspective of each of the four unsympathetic characters. The story moves along as their backstories are revealed and the reader discovers how they came be in their current, dire situation. The story ends abruptly, leaving the reader to determine for themselves if the characters get what they deserve.
The short novel is a quick, atmospheric read for those who like artic noir, survival stories and supense novels.

Thank you to Minotaur books and NetGalley for this digital advanced reader's edition.

Have you ever read a book where you keep waiting for something exciting to happen, but it never does? That was this book for me. I wanted to like it because the plot sounded good and it had an Icelandic setting, but honestly, I was pretty bored throughout the entire book. The last few chapters got a tiny bit exciting but then the ending was so abrupt and unfinished. It did have short chapters and it was on the shorter side at under 300 pages so that was a plus.

Thank you @Netgalley @stmartinspress and @minotaur_books for the e-arc of this book.

2.5 stars, rounded up

A reunion of four old friends, Daniel, Armann, Helena and Gunnlaugur, brings them to the remote highlands of Iceland to hunt ptarmigan when a brutal and unexpected winter storm hits. 'It is mind-numbing cold,' Daniel thinks, as he plods along the moor in white-out conditions. They are lucky to find shelter in an old hut but somehow, it's even more menacing inside it than at the mercy of Mother Nature.

This is a character-driven novel. The story is told by the four friends in alternating chapters. Through these we learn what secrets each person is trying to keep hidden and what makes them tick. 'All it took was a bit of pressure or a crisis of some sort to bring out the worst in people and expose them for what they were,' Helena thinks. Has someone planned more than just a friendly reunion this weekend?

I could really see this as a screen play--four old friends peeling through the layers of secrecy that have been destroying them. For me, it was a quick read; I really wanted to find out what was going on.

I received an arc of this new Icelander thriller from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Since it's 90F here today, I didn't mind reading a story set during a blizzard. :-)

Thank you, NetGalley, Ragnar Jonasson, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book. It hits shelves on June 28th, 2022.

Alright, I’ll make this quick. This is my first Ragnar Jonasson read and I have heard so many great things! I have become quite addicted to Icelandic Thrillers. But Outside…was not it. The book has the reunion of four childhood friends, but there is a history with them. What started out as a low-key trip turned into a disaster when a massive storm hits the highlands. The four friends manage to find a hut to weather out the storm but there is already someone inside…

So the first issue is that it took a while for the story to get moving. I don’t know if something was lost in translation but it was quite repetitive and it lacked the layering that many thrillers have. When the twists came, it felt forced. All of the people in this story were awful and not really friends after all. The only thing that I really enjoyed was how unnerved I felt by the strange man in the room. I was really hoping for more with that storyline.

I know this book wasn’t a win for me but I won’t give up on Ragnar Jonasson just yet. I have three of his books on my TBR that I still plan to pick up!

Four college friends are on a hunting trip in the wilds of Iceland when a severe winter storm hits. They find their way to an emergency shelter hut, but what's inside might be more frightening than the storm outside. It's hard to write more about the plot without giving too much away, but the story and characters are complex, and there is the tension, angst and twists you expect in an Icelandic Noir novel. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of each of the four friends. I felt that some parts (mostly the characters' backstories) unfolded a little too slowly. Even though I figured out what was going on well before the author's "reveal", I did not predict the ending.

An enormous amount of planning went in trying to this crime and it still went wrong. I think the friends will be looking over their shoulder for the rest of their lives.
The story is a bit slow at times and keeps you wandering what exactly is going on but it is well worth to finish the book to realize all secrets been revealed. Depending how you feel about the ending you might be disappointed personally I felt that this was the perfect ending each left with their conscience to deal with.

This one was just ok for me. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters and actually found that I disliked them all. At the end, when the revelation came about and we learned the truth, I didn’t feel that it really flowed. Things weren’t making sense for me and I honestly just wanted to be done with the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Ragnar Jonasson for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

This one fell flat for me. It was interesting premise of 4 friends going on a hunt in the middle of a brutal Icelandic winter. As each character gets their own chapters, the author slowly reveals tidbits and information as he sees fit. He did a good job of creating suspense and tension. I thought it would all come together in the end. And I guess it did but in a one dimensional way with no real substance. I was looking for character development or more backstory. Honestly I’m a little confused if I missed something.