Name of Book: Outside
Author: Ragnar Jonasson
Audiobook Narrators: Carla Harrison-Hodge, Gil Sullivan, Jamie Maclachlan, and Reice Weather
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: June 28, 2022
My Rating: 3 Stars!

Four friends are in the middle of nowhere are seeking shelter from a snowstorm that is crippling most of Iceland. They find an abandoned hunting lodge. As the night continues, the friends are reminded of an old tragedy and are worried if they will survive the night.

I am a fan of audiobooks and I did like that there was more than one narrator. Although I did like some performers more than others.
This is my third novel by Ragnar Jonasson.

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audios for this Audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for my honest opinion.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 28, 2022.

This one was just ok for me. I listened to the audiobook which was horrendously boring, as well as read the actual book. I did not like the narrators at all. The book took awhile setting the scene and developing the characters a bit. It was atmospheric and creepy at times and gave off vibes of John Carpenter’s The Thing.

Four friends desperately seek shelter in an abandoned lodge during an Icelandic snowstorm. This is bound to end well right? Forced to stay isolated together secrets between the friends become revealed and they all have the feeling they are being watched. They uncover disturbing things about the lodge and realize that their shelter where they felt so safe may have actually put them in danger.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

What do you get when you mix old friends with grudges and a winter trek in the wild Icelandic highlands? You get a rather convoluted revenge story with an abrupt ending. This thriller kept me entertained on a long flight. I had started reading it and then switched to the audiobook for the flight. There were four narrators, one for each of the four friends, which made listening quite enjoyable: Carla Harrison-Hodge, Gil Sullivan, Jamie Maclachlan, and Reice Weathers.

This was a strange foursome, with one male apparently not really liked by the other three, so why was he invited? (You do find out eventually.) I really disliked all of them by the end of the book.

This was my first book by Icelandic author Ragnar Jonasson and, based solely on this book, I’m not sure I’d run to read another book by this author. I must say that the descriptions of the locale and the weather were terrific.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I have not read this author before and not sure I will read another of his books. The moral of the story is to just say no if you are asked to go on a hunting trip with people you think are your friends. This has a touch of a certain Agatha Chrisite book but I won’t say which. If you read it, you will know if you are a Christie fan.
Narrators were adequate except for the fact that the narrator for Daniel’s part never pronounces the g in words that end in ing. It gets very annoyin’ in my opinion.
Just not for me but others may like it.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillon Audio for the opportunity to listen to this in advance!

Another absolutely chilling mystery from Ragnar Jonasson!
As a long-time fan, I was extremely excited for this book and it did not disappoint!
It had such great tension between the characters and the scenes that were set, I was on the edge of my seat.
The narrators did an amazing job bringing these characters to life, as well as providing a great cohesive feel of the book so it didn't feel choppy, but flowed nicely.
The twist at the end was great, but because the author laid the pieces out through the book, you might be able to pick it up before the end.
Highly recommend!

This audiobook just wasn't for me. I found the storyline boring. The beginning seems to drag out with what seems like "jump scare" moments that aren't really scary at all. I did enjoy the narration. Audiobooks that have a full cast are always more entertaining.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really didn't enjoy this book. It felt anti-climactic and far fetched. I didn't relate to any of the characters and the plot was not what I was expecting. I couldn't keep the characters straight with the exception of Helena as she was the only female (I believe). I guess I was expecting more suspense and it just didn't deliver. It was almost too short. The characters weren't given any time to develop and I disliked them all. Their actions didn't make sense to me as I didn't understand who the characters were at their core. It read more like a short story than a full length novel.

This was a quick read and will be interesting to some. The audio was pretty monotonous, despite having more than one narrator, which added to my disinterest. I've been reading a lot of good thrillers lately and this one didn't live up to my expectations. I wanted thrills and chills and this wasn't the book for that. All in all, two stars.

Four friends (who incidentally are just the most horrible people) decide that it would loads of fun to wander around the Icelandic wilderness during the winter. A wicked storm blows in and the group head for a hut to shelter during the worst of it. But when they enter, there is a man in the corner. He says nothing, he merely sits and stares. And holds a shotgun.

As the night goes on, the stranger sits silently in the corner and the tension keeps mounting.

Armann, Gunnlauger, Daniel and Helena are out wandering the Icelandic moors in a blizzard and I wanted them ALL to freeze to death. Each character was awful in his/her own way. I really couldn't get myself to care if any made it out alive. I did love the setting, which is the reason why I chose this book. (We are currently in the midst of record breaking temperatures and our HVAC system was down the day I read this so I needed cool thoughts!) I really like the setting and the building tension, but I just wasn't invested in the story. I feel like the ending was rather abrupt too. Interesting premise, but I don't think we made it.

This was just . . . confusing. I couldn't keep the characters and the story straight. I didn't really get into it, so I didn't finish it.

This book was interesting. The setting and what happened was very gripping and had me antsy to find out what happened. But the lack of character exploration was an interesting choice. I wish there was more to the story and background between the characters. The little background that was touched upon seemed almost forced the way it was presented. Thank yo to NetGalley for a copy to review.

3 stars

Four friends head to a remote part of the Icelandic highlands for a weekend of hunting, but everything starts to go wrong. Well written, but it has a slightly contrived plot line.

[What I liked:]

•As usual, Jonasson’s prose is descriptive, easy to read, & with emotions just beneath the surface. It’s very well done.

•The characters are multi-layered & each struggle with their own moral dilemmas & gray areas.

[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The POV keeps jumping between the four MC’s, which I found distracting & a bit annoying. Part of the problem is that the POV jumps after just a couple paragraphs sometimes, which is disorienting.

•The plot starts getting convoluted as soon as they reach the emergency hut. At first it’s a nice build up of suspense, but about halfway through, the answers to the mysteries become fairly obvious.

•The ending has a “big reveal moment”, when the villain tells all to the victims. That trope annoys me.

CW: sexual assault, substance abuse, murder, suicide

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader and audiobook copy of Outside by Ragnar Jonasson in exchange for an honest review. I started this book in ebook format and was slowly working my way through it, then got the audiobook and listened to 75%in one evening. It was a good, fast paced thriller that hooks you in to the end. Four "friends" go on a weekend trip in Iceland and the secrets of their lives unravel.

Outside is a stand-alone novel from Ragnar Jonasson.

"Four friends head out from the lodge intending to hunt. A winter storm hits driving them to a survival shelter. When they get inside they are surprised by what they find. Not everyone will make it out alive."

This is a short quick read from Jonasson. It takes place in one night. Jonasson does a nice job making the reader feel the cold of the Icelandic winter. It's told from the perspective of each of the characters. Each character has their own agenda...and secrets. The ending was a bit open-ended - not sure what I think about that yet

One of the audiobook narrators was difficult to understand at times. It took about half the book before I got that what I read as Daniel was being pronounced Dan - eel.
And two of the names - Gunnlaugur and Vikingur were so unusual as to almost be distracting. I realize they may be common Icelandic names but it was just different.

Good, quick story from Jonasson. Good to read while it's so hot outside

Wow I really really enjoyed this audiobook. It was thrilling and it hooked me from the very first chapter.

I had forgotten that I got the advanced copy of Outside in book form and throughly enjoyed it.I did listen to it in audio form and I loved it just as much.The characters and the plot and the big plus was the weather conditions made it a an atmospheric audiobook. I will highly recommend this audio book.

Im a big fan of Ragnar Jonasson and while I enjoyed this one for me it was just ok. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary audiobook.

I'm so sorry but this one was not for me. I had to DNF about a quarter into it. I could not connect with the narrator. I love the idea behind the story but it just wasnt doing it for me. Thank you so much for the copy, I appreciate it.

Well... never go shooting with a group of friends with troubled pasts.... thats the takeaway here!

This was my first Jónasson book, so let me just say I have nothing to compare this to. For me, while the suspense was present, it was a bit too slow butn for me, and really didn't ramp up. There were periods of high drama, but no real setup so they didn't hit as I suspect they were intended.

I also prefer a bit of mystery with my thriller, and while it seems there was an attempt at this with a lot of hidden backstory reveled over time, it somewhat felt heavy handed. Overall, a good story, but it just left me looking at everyone like they have vile secrets.

My thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!

An epic winter storm sweeps across Norway, leaving four friends, who were out bird hunting, stranded in an abandoned hunting cabin. Cut off from the outside world, they must depend on each other to survive. Macabre discoveries and the knowledge that they are not alone, bring these friends to the very edge of sanity as events of the past come blazing back to life. Atmospheric and claustrophobic

This thriller did not thrill. The narrator was so monotone that I was never invested in the story. I really had no investment in any of the characters or the outcome.