A great story with so many twists and turns chucking in the unexpected at different points. Absolutely gripping, you will not put this down!

A standalone thriller by author Lucy Clarke.

Each year Maggie, Joni, Helena and Liz get together to go on holiday and this year the location is Norway. Instead of going on a sun and beach holiday it is decided that they will go hiking by the Blafjell mountain. The women have known each other since school and the annual holiday has become a ritual for all of them. But when the hike begins there is a strange atmosphere within the other people at the location and it seems like the four women are not as exactly as they thought. They all have secrets they have kept hidden from each other.

The four women have always been close but this holiday threatens to put their friendship to the extreme test.

This is an exciting novel that is well written, each character is well laid out and I found it easy to visualise them in my head.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Harper Collins for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Four women who have been friends since high school have decided to go on a hiking holiday in Norway.
They are all looking forward to an adventure but they didn’t expect for there to be a murderer on the trail.
A survival story with some twist and turns
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Atmospheric Suspense..
When a group of friends undertake a hike in the beautiful and serene wilds of Norway the last thing they expected was murder. There is a killer on the trail and no turning back. A credible and convincing cast populate a tense and edgy plot peppered with twists and turns aplenty in this nerve jangling, atmospheric suspense where numerous threads combine and engage with perfection.

This starts leading the reader to believe it is just a story if four childhood friends having their annual get together. This year, Liz chooses a strenuous climb in Norwegian mountains during some appalling weather. Then it becomes clear that this is a great deal more than a hike. Liz, Maggie, Helena and Joni all have personal problems. Joni is a dissatisfied famous singer, Maggie has left her small daughter behind with her divorced husband,Helena has just discovered she is pregnant with no idea who the father is. Liz seems to be the one with a more normal life until she discovers something on the hike. Then, when taking shelter from the weather,, they discover a drugs store. That complicates the annual outing! The ending is dramatic and very satisfying to the reader. The location of this book is interesting, the characters entirely believable. It certainly makes you want to know what is going to happen next. I recommend it.

One Of The Girls was such a fun read that I was really keen to read The Hike. I’m not a sunkissed beach babe, I’m a traipse through the forest with your waterproofs on kinda gal so thought this book would be even more suited to me! And in theory it is, it’s slower paced, much darker and has an atmospheric setting although it’s not quite as tense. At times this feels like an adventure/survival story more than a thriller. I did find myself getting bored at times. In the end the pace picks up immensely but it takes a turn and goes down a route that lost my interest. I’d say this falls into the category of action thriller. Not a bad book overall, just a little different than I anticipated.

I’ve rated this book 3.5 stars

This review will be posted to my Instagram and goodreads accounts on 16th February.

I have read and loved every one on Lucy Clarke’s novels. My favourite before was The Blue, but it may now have been usurped by The Hike... Wow, What a rollercoaster of a ride. An absolute 5 star read, and wholly recommended.

Set in Norway, four friends meet up to wild hike a four day mountain trail. Sounds lovely. But there is a killer out there.

Lucy weaves the story brilliantly, telling it from each persons perspective. It opens with a bang, with a dead woman on the trail, which spikes interest immediately. The book is well paced, and made me want to keep reading till my eyelids were dropping, with the need to know just the next chapter. The characters are well written, and it’s a claustrophobic read, albeit set in the Norwegian wilderness.

I have never been to Norway. But it is now on my list. I love travel based books, both fictitious and factual.

Buy it. Devour it. It’s my predicted book of 2023! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An enjoyable, exciting read. The characters were all believable and well developed. I haven’t read many books set in Norway but it seemed realistic and left me wanting to visit! A twisty plot well written that keeps you turning the pages.

A good story that was full of suspense and pace. Four women, friends since school meet up in Norway to undertake a hike up a mountain that they had vowed as teenagers to visit one day. A mixed bag they carry lots of emotional baggage which is dissembled during their hike. Add a woman who went missing the previous year, her boyfriend and one or two other characters and you’ve got the premise of the novel. This was a satisfying read and one that I would recommend for a bit of escapism.

Once again I was really excited to read another Lucy Clarke book and she didn’t let me down.
Four longtime friends take turns in designating holidays, this time it’s Liz’s turn and she decides they will be doing a four day hike in beautiful Norway. But things don’t quite go to plan.
What I love about Lucy Clarke’s books are her characters and sense of place. It takes a little time for the characters to be set up but as the story evolves the tensions are revealed. I love day hiking and hiking holidays though I like to have a comfortable warm bed at night, so I was quite familiar with the premise of a hiking holiday but I was on the edge of my seat with all the things that could and did go wrong.
I’m not going to say too much more but if you are looking for a novel with good character development (you may not like the characters though) and one for entertainment, maybe a little bit of holiday arm chair travel, this could be the book for you.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read

A great read .When four friends decide to go hiking in Norway for a girls holiday it's a change from their normal holidays. They are all having struggles in their lives so it's a chance to have some quality time together buy things don't go as planned and they soon find themselves in trouble. They are all fantastic characters and as they struggle with their journey they also learn much more about each other and discover things about each other that surprise and shock them .AI really enjoyed it

The Norwegian mountain setting is a spectacular backdrop to a nail biting hike through beautiful countryside, up terrifying mountain passes and past dead bodies!
The friends on this hiking holiday are a disparate group who have grown together and are perhaps now growing slightly apart. Each with their own issues to think about whilst tramping up a mountain tensions soon run high, not helped by the spooky tales told to them in their base camp lodge and the anniversary of a female hiker going missing looming over them.
With some creepy locals and some horrendous weather the pace really picks up as the women try to find shelter salvation and away back home.
A thoroughly enjoyable read with plenty of people to suspect and plenty of moments where you want to take hold of a character and yell at them for their decisions!

Whilst the pacing of this book is initally slow it does pick up and is wworth sticking with. I enjoyed the setting of Norway and thought this contributed to the atmospheric setting of the book.. Whilst the ending was not particularly surprising, it was satisfying so would reccommend the read.

I loved this novel! 4 friends, Helena, Maggie, Joni go on a hiking holiday arranged by Liz. Her choice of holiday, hiking in Norway doesn't exactly thrill her friends but they go away every year with each friend picking the getaway. From the moment they set out to climb Mount Blajfell, you could feel the tension, who is gonna make it and who isn't. The story runs the gamut of emotions as well as plenty of twists and turns. Brilliant. A must read.

What escapist, murdery fun! This book got be through a bout of insomnia. I barely cared that I wasn't sleeping when I had such a fantastic page turner to dip in and out of. Lucy Clarke is always a hit for me, but I loved THE HIKE especially - the setting and set up were both five star.

I love Lucy Clarke books, and have never been disappointed. The Hike was no exception. I raced through this in two days because I found it so hard to put down. Every time I read one of her books I feel like I love the new one the most, and then she releases another! But I have to say that The Hike feels truly special.

You can tell tLucy does research trips because her settings are always so vivid and well described. I really felt like I was on a hike through the mountains while reading this. Her writing is almost lyrical, and comes across as effortless.

The plot was well executed, pacy and engaging, and the ending was perfect, but even better was the friendship between Liz, Maggie, Joni and Helena. It was intimate, nostalgic and the glue that binds this book together. Each of the four characters were complex and interesting, with their own dreams and motivations for doing things, but what I enjoyed the most was their fierce love for one another, and their desire to simply be with each other. It felt important and real, reminding me of my own friendships and how crucial female solidarity and support is.

With thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and author for the ARC.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and Lucy Clarke for my ARC of ‘The Hike’ in return for an honest review.

It is no secret that I’m a huge fan of Lucy Clarke and have read all of her previous novels so was looking forward to the latest offering. It did not disappoint.

Four friends, Liz who is married to Patrick, Maggie who is a single mum, Helena who is single and Joni a rock star in a band go on a hiking holiday to Norway. They have been friends since school , have shared many secrets and arrange a holiday together each year although usually a little lazier than this one.

The novel begins with a body but we have no idea who it is and as the twists and turns unfold I became totally engrossed.

Another winner from this author. Highly recommended

After enjoying The Castaways, I was excited to pick up The Hike. Long-distance walking is one of my hobbies so I was delighted to find a book set on the trail by an author I already know I like.

First of all, the opening had me hooked. I always love a thriller which opens with a body and you don't know who the victim is, let alone the murderer. It follows the point of view of four life-long friends who set out to hike a challenging mountain in Norway and the whole time you're reading you know someone is going to die. Their narrative are interspersed with sections of Lief searching for a missing hiker, which adds another element of mystery and intrigue.

Each character was drawn well, and I especially liked Joni's voice and story. Plenty of twists and turns kept me reading and I could have easily finished this book in a day if I had the time! It was a shame to have to put it down and get on with life. However, there was an element to the story (based around the cave and big reveal at the end) that I felt took away from the domestic, relatable hook of the book and into a more far-fetched and fantastical realm. Having said that, I did enjoy the ethereal feel to the scene-setting overall and the idea of thin places. It felt like there was one too many ideas to tackle in a single book.

four friends got for a Hike in Norway (sounds a little bit famous five!)

They each have their own baggage and I don't just mean the very heavy rucksacks they are ill equipped to carry.

This is meant to be a trip to reconnect with nature forget problems and be with friends.

Complex friendships and problems mean this doesn't happen.
An easy read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion

A good read.
Murder - past and present - friends who think they know each other so well, but are actually caught up in their own problems, stunning scenery, anticipation, apprehension, fear... it's all here.
Honesty, and a lack of it, lies at the heart of this tense murder-mystery novel set in Norway. When old friends gather for their annual holiday, it's far from the usual beach and bar occasion. Instead, a challenging hike is on the cards, made intensely more so by the cracks appearing within the friends' relationships, secrets, unspoken grievances and not-so-silent judgements.
Throw in a missing woman, a catalogue of mysterious, threatening characters, natural wonders and natural disasters, and anything could happen.
Luckily, the tense apprehension of the novel closes with the happy ending we all need. Almost...