Outside

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.

Outside is an excellent thriller from Ragnar Jonasson. Its full of twists and turns as it switches pov between four friends who go on a hike in Iceland when a blizzard hits. There is a growing sense of dread as the book goes on, and paranoia takes hold of everyone. The characterisation is strong and the ending is very satisfying.

Disappointing! I thought this had so much promise, but it fell very flat for me. It was fast-paced and had a good first 1/4-1/3 and I did want to see where it went. BUT! It was super surface-level, and the characters' stories were passed over too quickly to be developed properly and what was the ending!? Really thought it was going somewhere exciting and there were so many possible ways it could go, and yet it didn't. It went nowhere. Shame! Wonder if the film will work better, or if it'll expand any of the lost plot lines.