Ragnar Jonasson is the master of chilly, atmospheric settings, which is why I will always rush out to get my hands on every one of his books! In OUTSIDE, he has turned this skill to good use again as he describes the stark, lonely cabin in the Highlands of Iceland, where four friends find themselves stranded in a blizzard. Having been to Iceland in winter, I could well imagine the cold, the howling winds, the long dark night and the isolation, and I loved the chills this sent down my spine!

However, I am wondering if something got lost in translation for me, because even though the setting was wonderfully atmospheric, the human part of the story didn’t work so well. As we get the POV of each of the friends, I was hoping for some connection and an insight into their motivations, but this never came. It was difficult to distinguish between the characters’ voices, as they all appeared rather flat and unemotional, making me feel firmly on the outside and puzzled at their intentions. In fact, some parts of the story were just plain strange and made little sense, in particular the involvement of the fifth character, which was too far of a stretch to be credible. I would have loved more dialogue and emotional interaction between the friends to build tension and introduce some rationale for their motivations instead of just having this spelled out in the final chapters without the emotional background to make it more understandable.

Having read many previous novels by the author I have always enjoyed his sparse, to-the-point prose that usually manages to set the scene well and moves the story along at a good pace. Here, however, I needed a bit more background and emotion to bond with the characters. It may have worked better to just give us one or two POVs to be able to bond with those characters, than four perspectives that just skimmed the surface.

Even though I remain a firm fan of Jonasson’s books, I feel that this one fell a bit short for me, which is probably related to my specific reading preferences. I am a reader who very much needs the emotional ties to at least one character to make me feel invested in the story, and I did not get that here. Which is a shame, because the setting delivered exactly the right stage on which these characters could have starred and carried me off into their world.

I always love the stories from Ragnar Jonasson and I read this in one sitting - a chilly thriller involving a group of friends off on an adventure that goes horribly wrong..

I couldn't put it down once I started - best read snuggled under a blanket, so vivid is the freezing landscape this group of friends find themselves trapped in. Lots of tense moment's, moral ambiguity and twisty happenings make Outside the very definition of a page turner.

Beautifully written as ever. Hugely entertaining. Recommended.

Four old school chums struggle through the white-out and wind of an Icelandic storm, every nerve straining in hope that the tour expert amongst them knows where he's going and that there is a refuge hut at the end of the trail. We have the self-made tour expert, the one who escaped to London and life as a failed actor that he cannot admit to, the female engineer who is a peacemaker yet with fragilities of her own, and the lawyer in the career begrudgingly, and with a dark past where it comes to alcohol. And yes, they're on a weekend shooting trip. Anyway, once they do get into the hut – itself more of an ordeal than necessary – we're told they find something so horrific, so chilling, we just have to have a mahoosive flashback to see what gets them to that stage.

Either way what is in the hut will not be what you expect. What it does is automatically take any discerning thought away from the four of them (like, how is the key still outside?) and also heighten each and every one of the four's beef with their job, with their past, with each other... Having the chapters rotate in short order to focus on each of the four in turn makes it obvious – far too so, at times – that they have issues.

You could say the book has issues, with the many overlaps from one character to the next making this quite the repetitive read. But I liked the format. With such a small cast list it's a story that gets everyone on not one but two knife-edges, and you can intimately see all the tensions and spites and histories and micro-aggressions and so on come to play in their turn. It's like a locked-room mystery before the event – we're not left working out whodunnit, but thinking on whowilldowhat. And as anyone who knows the Icelandic wilderness – heck, anyone who can read the book's title – can see, the cast are in one of the world's larger locked rooms, yet definitely trapped together in their dependence on each other.

I read this when the thing was still quite new in Icelandic, and initial reviews weren't flattering. Besides the key business there is a heck of a lot that does not bear thinking about, but I believe I can tell what the author was intending, and in my mind he succeeded. This gave me a lot of the frissons of the old black and whites like "Rififi" and "The Wages of Fear" - here there is no through-the-ceiling heist, or driving liquid explosives over rickety bridges, and few of the characters in this cold could be said to be sweating, but the intent surely is to provide a few people locked up in a stifling combination of quandaries, only partly of their own making, and play with them. So look for gaps here and you will find glaring ones, but you should have fun as well.

As ever Ragnar Jonasson doesn't let you down. The Icelandic background, the blizzards and the mystery man in the shelter all add to a sense of unease as the tale unfolds. The reunion of four friends soon falls apart and murder, mystery and twists in the tale soon follow. A snow storm of a book!

This was an unusual book, which made it interesting to read. None of the characters was particularly likeable, after a while, although Daniel was the one with whom I felt the most empathy. A good set up for what is later revealed about him!
The sense of desolation and wilderness in the landscape is well formed, as are the characters. The suspense was built up well, and it was a book which was hard to put down.

Whilst I do prefer a bit more actual action and plot progression, I did still love the overall feeling of unease that this book caused aswell as the more psychological thriller aspect to it. I did find a few parts felt incredibly slow but again, that's just not my preference and nothing against the authors skills. If you're after more a slow burn then this may be the type of suspense for you. If you want fast paced and twists galore the perhaps not.

3.5 rounded up

Four friends reunite and decide on a ptarmigan hunt in the Eastern Highlands of Iceland which Armann organises and leads Daniel, Gunnlauger and Helena. They are caught in a whiteout and seek shelter, their mood increasingly despondent. They find a hut, break in and get the shock of their lives. The story is told in alternating points of view by the four which works well as you grow in understanding of what precisely is going on.

The standout feature for me is the setting and the atmosphere created in Iceland. You really do feel the desolation and the cold, seem to be shrouded by the dark, the fearful isolation, the growing sense of disquiet and as the snow intensifies like the mood of the foursome it becomes claustrophobic. The characterisation is good and the dynamics grow ever more intriguing as you realise there’s a lot of unresolved issues at the root of it all and several mysteries. Their confidence dips, tempers fray, panic and fear set in and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. The pace does rise and fall a bit but that does seem to suit the unfolding events. I’m not too sure about the ending but I guess it’s realistic.

Overall, although it’s not my favourite book by the author this is still a very enjoyable and multilayered read and it’s worth reading for the atmosphere alone.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review

I’m a big fan of Ragnars books but I’m afraid I think he lost his way a bit with this one, and I don’t mean literally in a sub zero, windy snow storm atmosphere that the story line is centred around. I’m afraid I scanned numerous sections almost until the last page. It’s not easy coming up with a whole book where four people take refuge in an emergency mountain hut and that’s it. I did wonder how the stranger got inside with the door being locked and the key in a coded box outside, but although this wasn’t explained in itself I think we have the answer at the end. I so hate saying this as I love Ragnars books, as mentioned previously, but it was a tedious book. Maybe other people found it differently. The story line seemed to go nowhere and the characters not ones that you could relate to, we only really came across insights into Daniels life. Forgive me for saying this Ragnar, but I was glad when it finished, yet I was always hoping for some interesting action or a change of setting to lighten the load.

Confession time...
I have no idea what a ptarmigan looks like,or even if I spelt that right.
I've read Jónasson before,but not enjoyed them anywhere near as much as this one.

It was tense and scary,and that was just the weather.
Subtle hints lead you to believe that things are not as straight forward as they seem.
Actually trying to connect all the dots though was maddening,because it just didn't work.
So the only answer was to keep reading,so the dots are connected for you.
Raced to the end.
Very enjoyable.

I loved the dramatic descriptive scenes of a winter snow blizzard in Iceland. Four friends who aren't comfortable with each other are stranded/lost together, when they encounter claustrophobic weather conditions whilst on a hunting expedition.
The tension slowly builds as we get to know the characters and their secrets and backgrounds. Given that there are also guns and alcohol present, its all building to an impending tragedy which will have consequencies.
Looking forward to reading more from Ragnar Jonasson.

How well do you really know your friends(?) This was my first novel by Ragnar Jónasson and I very much quite enjoyed it even though I did get confused a few times. The weather and Icelandic atmosphere was written so well that it draws you in and if you have a good imagination it can feel so real which I enjoyed. The characters all had different personalities to each other, they made bad decisions and don’t fully trust one another, you could feel the unease and tension throughout the book. It is a short book but a lot happens in this span that will keep you figuring out and flipping the page to find out about the secrets and lies that go ahead both in present and in the past. I did quite enjoy the ending, it left you with so many questions but I think the author did it to let your imagination do the rest. I really like abrupt endings and the author did a good job on this. I thoroughly enjoyed it and do look forward to what the author will bring out next.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My first read by this author, not sure if it’s my type of story. I found it confusing at times but also very atmospheric, imagining the scenery etc. I did read to the end which I didn’t understand.

I’m not normally a fan of Scandi thrillers but there’s something about Ragnar Jonasson and the wild Icelandic settings of his books that really draws me in. A remote hut in the middle of a terrible snowstorm sounded right up my street and I couldn’t wait to get started on this latest release.

The cold and inhospitable weather is so well described that it makes you feel chilly just reading it. With only four main characters it’s easy to settle in to the story, and initially you can barely turn the pages fast enough to find out the fate that will befall them. Unfortunately, once I started to discover what was going on I had a hard time believing that any of what was going on would really happen. I appreciate that books like this are meant to stretch the bounds of what would actually happen, but the there’s one particular element of this story that just seemed a bit far fetched.

I wanted to enjoy this book, and I did find myself turning the pages into the night to see where it would end up, but I just couldn’t see past the strangeness of the tale to care very much about the fate of the characters. It’s a short book, and probably one for the completist Jonasson fan, but it just didn’t do it for me this time around.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a great fan of Ragnar Jonasson an author that has the ability to keep you guessing all the time. Whilst I enjoyed this book iI did not like it as much as some of the others I have read. I didn't like the characters, but this is frequently the case with his characters, they are not meant to be likeable. I think that I found the book a little fantastic. That said his ability to create tension and to keep one drawn in to the story is brilliant and it is a good book to read.

Ragnor Jonasson is my favourite Nordic author with his books having a touch of horror and psychological elements. And this book does not disappoint.
Set in the bitterest coldest winter in Iceland, 4 friends who had met up to do some ptarmigan hunting are stranded when a snowstorm hits. They make for an abandoned hunting lodge and the horror begins. Who will survive? I was gripped, I couldn't put it down. If anything I was a little disappointed by the ending which was very low key indeed.

This is my first book by this author so wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s an ok read but I wasn’t bowled over by it. The characters were not that likeable and had made a lot of bad decisions. Sometimes it felt a bit confusing to me like going round in circles but I stuck with it and finished it. I’m not sure if I will read anymore by this author.

The newspaper The Times ask about Jonasson, "Is this the best crime writer in the world today?" Now this is my first book by the author so I am not really in a position to answer that question however I can say this novel was hugely enjoyable (if that's the right word) and has certainly encouraged me to look out for more.

Here, four friends are hiking in the Icelandic wilderness and after a while the reader begins to realise that there is far more to this trip that four friends simply catching up with each other for a weekend away. Add into the mix a shocking discovery when they reach their cabin and you are left with an atmospheric, claustrophobic suspenseful novel which will leave your mouth wide open at some points.

The main strength for me in this book was the descriptions of the surroundings in Iceland. I could swear I felt a few degrees colder when reading this book as I felt right there with the main characters.

Given there are so few characters in this book, I think the author makes a wise choice to tell it from a multiple person perspective as this allows us to follow each character on their journey rather than being disassociated from them via a third party narrative. Most chapters are generally only a few pages long so we are jumping between each person as the story and motivations are slowly drawn out and we realise exactly what is going on.

I really enjoyed the ending of this book too. I can't say why without spoiling it and I think some people may not enjoy it as much as I did but that's the joy of novels.

As I say, my first read from this author and certainly not my last.

Massive thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

More a novella than a fully fleshed crime novel, Outside is Ragnar Jonasson's latest standalone. The acclaimed author delivers a claustrophobic story set in the Icelandic wilderness where every man is for himself and the extreme weather conditions force people to reveal their true, inner self. The germ of the plot is simple enough: four friends decide to go for an adventurous weekend to hunt ptarmigans, but they face their worst nightmare when they arrive in an isolated hut, a kind of refuge for hunters and hikers. The book can be categorized as a mystery or a thriller, even though there is a subtle horror aspect embedded in the story which unfolds through the course of two days. Jonasson adopts a multiple perspective narrative and we get to see through they eyes of all four protagonists who have more than one skeletons at their closets and the narrative moves forward swiftly as the author chooses to include small but concise chapters in which each character reveals their inner thoughts.

Armann, Helena, Gunnlaugur, and Daniel are friends from college who reunite in order to go for a hunting trip deep in the country's isolated moors. Their history, which is revealed gradually, is complex and in many ways troubled as the years that have gone by changed them in more ways than one. Daniel is permanently residing in London in order to pursue an acting career, Gunnlaugur is working as a lawyer fighting to overcome the boredom of the job, Armann is an ex-drug addict who has become one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in the country, while Helena is still grieving the loss of Vikingur, the love of her life who died of exposure a few years ago. As they reach the hunting lodge, the reader gets a glimpse into the dynamics of their relationships and the author establishes the setting of his story. The next day, they go hunting but as they reach a small hut in the middle of nowhere in order to guard against a raging blizzard, they make a gruesome discovery.

From then on, the novel is about the attempts of the group to stay united and survive the polar temperature that threatens their very lives. As the story unravels, we learn more about the main characters, their past and the events that shaped their current personality and attitude. It is evident that some of them hold some disturbing secrets which are exposed in the final part of the book where things get truly out of hand. It is not difficult to guess some of the twists of the plot, especially if you are a loyal reader of the genre, and the surprise element is rather weak. Jonasson has delivered some excellent samples of crime fiction in the Ari Thor series, but it seems that when it comes to his standalones he leaves something to be desired. I was also left with the same feeling when I read the recent The Girl Who Died, a mystery set in an isolated village in the north of the country. In both novels, the story seems to be underdeveloped and the characters are not plausible.

I don't want to daunt any prospective readers of Outside. but I think it's true that there are plenty of similar novels published and the Scandinavian crime fiction has certainly better examples of intriguing standalones. I would urge you to check out Ragnar Jonasson's previous work and I sincerely believe that the Siglufjordur novels are one of the most solid examples of Icelandic crime fiction to date. This novel will perhaps satisfy those whose demands are not high and want nothing more than entertain themselves with a light read. For those who expect something in the lines of the gurus of Nordic noir, it will most certainly disappoint. Its publication date is April 28, 2022 and I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC in exchange of an honest review. I hope that Jonasson will clean up his act and return to the grandeur of his early work in the near future.

An interesting premise, but let down with the writing style.

I couldn’t get into this book. First, it begins midway to grab the reader, then backtracks to a day later, and slogs through a lot of backstory. The chapters are only 1-3 pages long and flipflop between the heads of the main characters, which makes the overall scenes very disjointed. You’re never in a POV long enough to really care about any of them. The writing style is predominantly tell rather than show, which made me feel very far removed from the story. I didn’t feel the cold, isolation of the Icelandic highland. We’re just stuck in the characters’ heads as they muse on their jobs, relationships, backstories, and these info dumps jarred me right out of the main scene. It would work much better if this information was revealed through the storyline and through dialogue with other characters

The plot as a whole was all right, but would have worked much better if the author bothered to show the story, rather than tell it.

Outside is a quick read, and one that draws the reader into the lives of the characters during one particularly life-changing weekend,

For all it's called Outside, it's quite a claustrophobic read as the characters past mistakes slowly come to light. There are a few 'big reveal' moments and I enjoyed the way the author drew the reader in, making them root for one character and then another, (and vice versa) and then revealing something that made them unpleasant/likeable..

My biggest problem with the book was the very abrupt ending, which I felt left too many questions. But until then, I'd really enjoyed the story.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.