Some old college friends go to a shack in the north of Iceland for a hunting trip and turn on each other. Ragnar’s writing is so accessible, I’m kind of obsessed. Oh, to be in a shack in the woods during a blizzard!

3 stars only because a day or two later and I’m already starting to forget this one. It was a nice way to pass a weekend though. ( )

Four friends are stranded in snowbound cabin while on a reunion/hunting trip. But an armed and silent stranger in the cabin throws all plans off. When are friends no longer friends?

Best for:
Those looking for a claustrophobic mystery told from many perspectives.

In a nutshell:
College friends Helena, Gunnlauger, Ármann, and Daníel are getting together for a weekend of shooting birds and catching up. But it is winter in Iceland, so really anything can happen.

Worth quoting:
N/A (Jónasson is an excellent author but I don’t often find myself underlining phrases in his books.)

Why I chose it:
I’ve read nearly all of his other books and loved them. I had no idea this one existed!

Review:
I do enjoy a mystery told from multiple perspectives, and I especially enjoy it when none of the characters seem fully innocent.

That is the case with this book. There is Daníel, the struggling actor who has chosen to live in England instead of Iceland, and hasn’t been home in a couple of years. There is Helena, the only woman in the group, who is grieving the death of her partner five years ago. There is Ármann, who runs a successful tourism company. And there is Gunnlauger, who is really only there because he’s a childhood friend of Daníel, and he’s a bit of creep.

The weekend starts out fine, with the group drinking at their comfortable hunting lodge. But the following day, while the four of them are out on a bird hunt, an unexpected storm hits, causing them to try to seek shelter in a respite hut. They find the hut, and are faced with an utter shock.

From there, there are some choices made, and some secrets come to light. It had unexpected twists (as his novels often do) and literally made it challenging for me to put down. I started it before bed on Friday night, then picked it up after I did some chores on Saturday morning, reading straight through to the end (including while eating lunch). I love that feeling, of wanting to get through the page I’m reading so I can see what’s happening on the next one, and once again, Jónasson has done that for me.

What’s next for this book:
Donate - hopefully the next reader will enjoy it as much as I did. ( )

Un excellent exercice de style! très rythmé, très riche. ( )

Ragnar Jonasson is becoming one of my favorite mystery/thriller writers ever since I read The Girl Who Died. This second book of Outside that I read by Ragnar Jonasson was just as great as The Girl Who Died.
This was an intense and suspense-filled story. The weather, location, and landscape played a big part in this one. Also, having a blanket on hand while reading this would be something I'd recommend since I got cold while reading this one.
This was about 4 friends who get together and go hunting birds in the freezing wild in Iceland. The weather is one of their enemies or obstacles in the story here as when the blizzard starts; it causes them to have to find shelter and then they end up in a hut. As things happen while they're in the hut and waiting the storm out and trying to figure things out, then other things surface, like all the problems in the characters and dynamics of their relationships among their group. They find themselves in another dangerous and threatening situation as they're all stuck together in the frozen wilderness with all their buried issues, with each other coming to the surface. The ending has a twist/reveal I didn't see coming and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put it down and I read it all in one sitting.
If you like Ragnar Jonasson, Scandinavian Noir, Mystery/Thrillers, and intense reads that keep you turning the page until the end, then check this one out.
Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for letting me read and review this fantastic book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )