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Outside

The heart-pounding new mystery soon to be a major motion picture

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Outside

By: Ragnar Jónasson
Narrated by: Eleanor Jackson, Reice Weathers, Gil Sullivan, Jamie Maclachlan
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Four friends. One night. Not everyone will come out alive . . .

The gripping stand-alone mystery from 'world-class crime writer' Ragnar Jónasson

In a deadly Icelandic snowstorm, four friends seek shelter in an abandoned hunting lodge. Miles from help, and knowing they will die out in the cold, they break in, hoping to wait out the storm until morning.

But nothing can prepare them for what's inside . . .

With no other option, they are forced to spend a long and terrifying night in the cabin: watching as intently and silently as they themselves are being watched.

As the night darkens, old secrets spill into the light, and tensions rise between the four friends. Soon it's clear that what they've discovered in the cabin is far from the only mystery lurking there.

Nor the only thing to be afraid of . . .

Praise for Ragnar Jónasson

'Is this the best crime writer in the world today?' The Times

'An intensely gripping mystery, Ragnar Jonasson is a poet of the "dark, wet and cold", of the "gloom, cold and rain". The climactic revelations are credible and moving' The Times

'Invigorating Iceland-set slice of Nordic Noir' Daily Mail

'A mist-shrouded blend of horror and psychological thriller . . . works in every way' Booklist

© Ragnar Jónasson 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 Crime Fiction Crime Thrillers Mystery Private Investigators Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime Exciting Scary
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Critic reviews

Jonasson is a connoisseur of 'unrelenting darkness'; the atmosphere of paranoid claustrophobia [Jonasson] creates is so intense you can't help gripping the book as tightly as possible
Entertaining, suspenseful and twisty. Highly recommended for fans of Ragnar Jonasson and suspense thrillers in general
Lord of the Flies for grown-ups
Chillingly terrifying, brilliantly entertaining, captivating the reader from page one. Impossible to put down
The author describes the difficult conditions of the four main characters in such a brilliant way that in an instant the reader finds himself in unfamiliar surroundings which neither the reader nor the characters can control
A superb page-turner, Outside breathes fresh and unsettling life into the classic locked room mystery (Kevin Wignall)
Raw with cold and rich in atmosphere, Outside is an Arctic Inspector Calls for a new generation (Matt Wesolowski)
His best yet . . . Having read all of Jonasson's previous offerings. Outside confirms that here is an author at the top of his game, with complete command of his audience
A stunningly original take on the looked-room mystery, where fear of a treacherous snowstorm outside an isolated hut is matched by mistrust among the terrified occupants. Tense. Very tense (Michael Ridpath)
Four friends find safety from a snowstorm in a remote Icelandic hut - or so they think. Jónasson's twisting, elegantly crafted story will keep you hooked till the very last page (William Ryan)
All stars
Most relevant
As the title says... it’s ok.

Having listened to other works by the author i expected better and the ending is an anticlimax.

Narration ruins the story. The accents don’t fit the mood or characters and reading very monotone

It’s ok!

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There seems to have been no coordination between the actors, with several different pronunciations of the various names. Actors pronounced perturbed and Schadenfreude incorrectly. There were a couple of instances where text was repeated. None of this is the fault of the actors. The audiobook seems to have been released in a hurry without an editor listening to it properly.

Poor editing of the recording

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I have pre-ordered this book and really looked forward to it as I have so far really enjoyed this Ragnar Jónasson’s books, particularly the ones read by Amanda Redman.
But this time the narration has really let the whole book down. The story itself was really short and not much story to it, not much of a twist in the end either. I expected a lot more from this author and I’m bit sure I’d waist a credit for this book, in fact I have returned this one.
About the narration:
It seemed like a good idea for each character to be read by different actors, but it was as if I was listening to different books and there was so much disconnect in their tone, their way of pronouncing the names and just the story as a whole, it was a real disappointment. The female voices were also like stroppy teenagers.
Oh and not to forget about the repeated sentences here and there. There is a definite one around the 4h 20 mark. I have played it back, it’s definitely there. Feels like this audiobook was not listened to by an editor before publishing.

Narration has let it down

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I've listened to many audio adaptations of Ragnar Jónasson's novels and this one stands out for all the wrong reasons. The story itself is great, as you would expect from such a brilliant writer of crime fiction, but this one is plagued with narration and recording issues that interrupt the enjoyment of the performance.

The actor voicing Daníel sounds as if he may well be sight-reading for the first time, so there are several bumpy moments, such as the odd pronunciation of words, e.g. "perturbed" spoken as if it were "pertubed" (there are others). Added to this, some sentences just lack dramatic impact when read without any characterisation. It might as well be a shopping list. Perhaps he's a novice, a last-minute stand-in? Who knows, but it's just not very good and ultimately detracts from the story.

On top of this and some other clunky performance moments (although less problematic that Daníel), there seems to be some repetition of text (and I'm not referring to the intentional kind) and bizarrely, what sounds like a text or message going off in the recording studio!! I've heard it at least twice and can pinpoint one being at around 2:16:50. Maybe it's intentional, although God knows why.

Anyway, it's a shame as the dramatisation should have worked, but it's really clear that whoever authorised the release of this recording either did not listen to it thoroughly or just didn't care. Both are pretty poor scenarios. I hope this is just a one-off.

Problematic narration impacts performance

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Story was reasonable tale, a few twists and turns, but the narration was dreadful, I almost stopped listening, they were obviously told to read in a particular way, but sounded like children reading ‘out loud’ in the classroom.

Good story, dreadful narration

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