Another great read from Ragnar Jonasson. This book is the perfect quick read. I loved the atmosphere of this book set in the remote snow covered landscape of Iceland. I read this story during Storm Arwen which was the perfect accompaniment for the intensity of this storm set story, with its descriptions of wild winds and blizzards. The characters in this book are all love to hate characters as the story gradually unravels it is clear none of them have any redeeming features and all have something to hide.

This book gets off to a great start. Four old friends meeting up for a weekend away. The atmospheric descriptions of the Icelandic weather and landscape are wonderful. Half way through and the plot takes a turn for the completely unrealistic, and I began to wonder why these people would actually still be friends given what has happened in the past. Ultimately disappointing.

Ragnar Jónasson is an automatic read for me so I was delighted to be given a copy of this ARC to review.

Unlike some of the other novels of his I’ve read, this is a standalone novel. It has the usual wonderful descriptions of the Icelandic landscape: the beauty and danger.

This novel though I felt sagged in the middle. Once we have discovered what is inside the hut awaiting the characters, they behaved in very unusual (arguably unrealistic) ways and I didn’t feel the tension remained as high as it normally would in a Jónasson novel. It might also have been that I wasn’t interested enough in the characters in this one because they were all rather unlikeable. I also saw where it was going from approximately 40% of the way in and was left with a rather unsatisfying ending.

I usually love his writing but this one for me misses the mark. I look forward to his next novel, an extract of which appears in the back of this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are only five characters in the story, but they fill every page with tension and the unexpected. The story opens in the middle. Then drops back to how they are all together in a storm, at the doorway of a safe shelter. It is one of those stories that would make it feel minus fifty, even in a hot climate.

What a strange group of people! They didn’t seem to fit together. They were rather like jigsaw pieces which, had been forced into the finished picture. It drops back to how they all met and when. Their backstories make for unusual reading that made me wonder why they had turned up in the first place.

I liked the descriptions of the area and how quickly it changed. Mild then unpredictable, deadly and unforgiving. It complimented the story to perfection. But I was so uneasy reading the story. I had butterflies constantly waiting to see who was going to give first because someone was.

It didn’t feel like a very long book, but I flew through the 352 pages quickly. A stunning book from this master of suspense in the most mesmerising place.

I wish to thank the publisher and Net Galley for an e-copy of this book, which I have reviewed honestly.

I'm afraid this is my least favourite of Ragnars books. Not much happens and there's a lot of bad decisions made in the book by the characters. When they found what they did in the cabin, I was a bit shocked as something so big and they didn't really react. One person goes out into the snow to find help as they are all lost on the mountains. But then...well i just didn't get the end. I felt I was going round in circles with him to be honest. Not my favourite as its left me feeling a bit confused. Never mind I have all the other Ragnar books to enjoy which are brilliant.

#Outside #NetGalley
Chilling. Loved it.
When a deadly snowstorm strikes the Icelandic highlands, four friends seek shelter in a small, abandoned hunting lodge. It is in the middle of nowhere and there's no way of communicating with the outside world. They are isolated, but they are not alone .As the night darkens, and fears intensify, an old tragedy gradually surfaces - one that forever changed the course of their friendship. Those dark memories could hold the key to the mystery the friends now find themselves in. And whether they will survive until morning.
It's a perfect short read for fans of Ruth Ware's One by One. I really admired it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me an advance copy.