This is the second Lucy Clarke thriller I've read, the first one being You Let Me In. I enjoyed The Hike a whole lot more.

The Hike tells the story of four friends, who every year go on a holiday together. They take turns picking a destination, and this year it's hiking in Norway. What these friends don't know is that there's a killer out there with them.

This thriller has a slow start as we get to know each of the four friends, but it picks up pace as they head out onto the trail, and is unputdownable (yes, that's a word if you're a reader) from there. Lucy Clarke does a magnificent job to build up the tension. I loved the setting, which added so much to the overall atmosphere of the story. Recommended poolside reading this summer!

The Hike is a fast-paced thriller set in the mountains of Norway. Liz, Maggie, and Helena embark on their annual girls’ holiday, but this time Liz chooses the destination, a four-day hike. They are joined by their friend Joni, and set out on what they hope to be an invigorating adventure. However, their excursion takes an eerie turn when strange events begin to occur on the mountains.

The novel is structured around two storylines. One follows the group of four as they embark on their hike, while the other follows Leif, the owner of the cabins where the women stayed at the start of their hike. Leif sets out to rescue a woman who has fallen down the side of a mountain, and the reader is left wondering which of the women it is, and what has happened to her. The story has some predictable moments, but there are also some unexpected twists that kept me wanting to read on.

The characters in the novel are well-crafted, and each has their own flaws and secrets. Liz, in particular, is determined to get them all out on the hike despite knowing the difficulties they may face. Joni is selfish and battling her own demons but trying to be better. Maggie is sweet but unprepared for the hike, and Helena has a secret that means even more is at stake for her than the others realise…

The story is intense and dramatic, adding to the tension and keeping the book gripping throughout. Although the ending was slightly cheesy for my taste, it did tie up all loose ends nicely.

Overall, The Hike is an solid, entertaining read that I would recommend, especially if you want something fairly easy and fun to read.

I am so thankful to @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for the arc of this thriller in exchange for an honest review!!

The plot sounded really intriguing and I went into the book with a lot of expectations. It was a good thriller overall but I wasn’t particularly much of a fan of the plot. I loved the whole setting of the book with a group of friends going on this hike but once they’re there, I didn’t like the story from that point onwards 😞 However, that’s just me, and surely many others will feel differently about it. I did have a little difficulty in keeping track of the characters cause there were a handful of them and so I believe the audio version of this book might be better to feel the thrill of the plot and should make it easier to follow the story as well as to keep track of the characters. The best thing about this book is probably how atmospheric the setting is and some of the hiking scenes are filled with a lot of tension which I loved.

Thank you Netgalley @netgalley and Harper Collins UK @harpercollinsuk for the gifted digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Read this if you:

✔ Love thrillers with highlight on friendship
✔ Enjoy hiking
✔ Want a fast paced read

My Thoughts:

This was a very enjoyable and fast paced read.

I loved how well the main characters were built and the strong bond they had. Throughout the book, the characters' friendship was challenged many times as lots of past secrets or hidden feelings were revealed but I loved the way the girls dealt with all of it.

I appreciate the hiking research that went into writing this book and I think that readers who have this hobby will love this novel.

Despite the book being captivating and keeping me interested from start to finish, the big plot twist wasn't necessarily jaw-dropping for me. I wish there were more surprising plot twists throughout the novel, but I'm sure that, for a person who is new to the genre or only reads thrillers from time to time, this book will be a great choice.

Wow, the queen of destination thrillers is back again with a cracking one!

After loving #TheCastaways and #OneOfTheGirls, Lucy Claarke is my auto-buy thriller author. #TheHike is a another feather to her cap!

Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollinsuk, HarperFiction for the ARC!

Synopsis –

Maggie, Liz, Helena and Joni are long due for a girls get-away. And this time Liz chooses an adventurous hike in the Norwegian mountains. The wilderness is breathtakingly beautiful - but it also threatens to crack open some buried history, dark secrets and sinister on-goings around their hiking trail.

Review -

Where do I start with!? The characterization, the setting and evocative atmosphere - everything come together like magic in here!

I loved that all these 4 women were from various backgrounds, so different yet bonded by friendship and sisterly affection. All their POVs kept switching - this gave us a picture of each of their lives and agendas (hidden?) for this trip.

Clarke's atmosphere building is unparalleled – the remoteness, the risky, uneven terrains, steep ridges and nearly vertical cliffs were terrifying – yet at the same time, the beauty of these forests and the grandeur of these mountains humbled me, giving me goosebumps! I could really feel the gusto of the winds, hear the gurgling river and the hum of the mist!

Inevitably, the friendship dynamic shifts its axis between the women when the going gets tough – resulting in dramatic arguments, angry squabbles, spilling of secrets, lies and horrible betrayals.

Soon the tension escalades and suspense builds, creating a pressure cooker kind of condition – what with storms causing landslides and ridges getting narrower.

Clarke does a great job in keeping us on the edge(quite literally given the location), sowing the seeds of doubts in our minds - misdirection at its best!

As the mystery unravels, it might feel that the main layer that binds the plot, was somewhat less impactful that what was expected, but it no way lessened the overall experience and entertainment.

A brilliantly plotted destination thriller that is sure to take your breath away ( again in the literal sense!)

Highly recommend if you want to experience an exhilirating Norwegian hiking expedition!

This mystery hinges on the relationship dynamics between the four women, longtime friends on a time-out break that is more of a survival test than rest and recovery. The pacing is initially gentle, introducing the women, the Norwegian setting and its mystical secrets. A mystery and strange occurrences add to the tension between the friends and build suspicion in the reader. Surprises and shocks permeate the Hike as the secrets reveal themselves. It's an atmospheric, immersive read that uses its Nordic noir setting well.

I like the story's mystery, sense of foreboding and Nordic setting.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I'm always excited to pick up a new Lucy Clarke book. She's always great at creating strong characters and a tense atmosphere, and that's exactly what you get with her latest gripping thriller, The Hike.

A suspenseful adventure, The Hike is an immersive read that kept my intrigue building throughout. The setting is described beautifully, and I got a vivid picture of the surroundings that stimulated all of my senses.

Each character has a strong and distinctive personality which meant that I was able to engage with them all individually and easily form conflicting opinions about them in the opening chapters. This also allowed me to start theorising early on, which I always enjoy doing with a thriller about a group of friends who you know are going to reach breaking point at some point on their journey.

I was eager for the secrets and lies to start spilling, and the cracks soon began to appear. I always enjoy it when an author is able to explore the dynamics of a long-distant friendship group well, and Clarke certainly knows how to vamp up the excitement when it comes to personal drama.

As the group are on the verge of giving up halfway through, I was cautious of how the story would continue, but there's a great twist that ensures the group can't find an easy way out and for the danger to keep building.

Personally, I don't tend to enjoy thrillers that veer in the direction that this one went in. I prefer more psychological twists to criminal ones so the ending was a tad underwhelming for me. But I absolutely loved the build-up, and definitely had a lot of fun trying to figure things out.

(I'm on the blog tour for this book on 19th May so my reviews will be live then)

"The mountains give away none of their secrets. Yet out there, hidden within their granite folds, someone knows exactly how this woman died. And why."

Maggie, Joni, Liz, and Helena have always gone on holidays together. It's usually sun, sea and chills. But this time they wanted excitement and a challenge. They certainly got that.

The narrative of this story is told from all four women's perspective. There is also a narrative from The Search, this is good as its not made wholly clear who they are searching for.

I really enjoyed The Hike, the setting of the story was a character in itself and I found myself getting swept up in the imagery. It's not something I would like to do, mountains aren't my thong. However, it was great to live through the women's experiences.

As the story develops so does the dynamics within the group. We start to see fractures in the friendship and that isn't a good thing when your in the wilderness.

Lucy Clarke builds up the tension well and weaves a good thrilling story.

Thank you #Netgalley and #harpercollinsuk for another exciting Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Ever since I read The Castaways, I've been dying to read a new book by Lucy Clarke and let me tell you, this did not disappoint!

The book begins with a bang.

The body of a female hiker is found on a mountainside in Norway. But the reader is left hanging as the story moves on to introduce the actual protagonists!

Liz, Joni, Helena and Maggie have been friends since childhood and their annual getaway has always been the highlight between a failed marriage, the loss of a parent and a music career that has put Joni to the test.

A hike in the Norwegian mountains sounds like a dream come true for Liz, the group’s organizer, but not everyone is as keen as she is to tackle such a high mountain in an isolated location!

But what could possibly go wrong? Especially when you get caught in a storm, your only map gets destroyed and your phone battery dies? 😳

The animosity the four friends encounter upon arrival at the lodge made me start suspecting each person they met. But the question that kept nagging at my brain, as I quickly turned the pages, was: .... Who is the girl who fell off the ridge?

The Hike was a brilliant claustrophobic thriller, with tensions constantly simmering and friendships put to the test.
The last fifty pages just flew by. If you love a suspenseful thriller grab
this now! I read this with a bunch of lovely bookstas and I think it’s safe to say we all loved it!

When four friends visit Norway to go hiking, they stumble across a tragic mystery that haunts the local community. A woman disappeared on the mountain the year before and no one knows what happened. As they embark on their journey they find that there is someone else on the trail desperate to keep their secrets hidden, at any cost.

If you can read the instantly gripping prologue and not be filled with curiosity I would be astounded!

The Hike had such an incredible plot full of shocking twists. There is something so enticing about a book set in a remote location where the characters have to fend for themselves and don't know who to trust. I have never been hiking but I actually felt like I was on the mountainside because Lucy Clarke's descriptions were so vivid.

I thought that the bond between the four main characters was really well-written and found that they came across as genuine. Their relationships were by no means perfect and I loved how real this felt.

A great "just one more chapter" kind of book that you won't be able to put down.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Having read this authors previous novels, I was looking forward to this one. With The Hike, Lucy Clarke cements her reputation of being able to weave a really good page turner. I liked this one. Loved the setting, the Norwegian descriptions were so vivid and was easy to picture the setting in all its terrifying beauty . The Hike follows four old friends wild camping on a Norwegian mountain for a couple of days. Two of the characters resonated with me, two of them did not and while I did predict from the start which of the four wouldn't make it back from the mountain it would have been impossible to predict where this story went. A decent holiday read and no doubt it will be as popular as the authors previous books, it deserves to be. Clarke is a great storyteller.

3.5 ***

I don’t read lots of thrillers (I always feel I need to say that as I never feel qualified to review them!) but Lucy Clarke writes a good one.

The Hike, out tomorrow, is her third that I’ve read (she’s written several books and is a Richard and Judy book club regular).

I stayed up far too late to finish it - I simply could not put it down (The Castaways and One of the Girls were great too). This is one to pack for your holidays. If you’re like me, you’ll rip through it on the flight 😅.

Her books usually have a coastal/island/beach setting. The Hike is set in the wilderness in Norway where four women, Liz, Helena, Maggie and Joni arrive on their annual girls’ trip to climb Blafjell, a towering peak on the coastline and a bit outside their comfort zone, their typical trip being more beach and sundowners. The girls are not experienced hikers but chief scout Liz is determined to climb that mountain at any cost.

The women are all very distinct and well developed characters (no mean feat in circa 300 pages) and Clarke makes them very relatable, if not always likeable. The Norwegian setting is hugely atmospheric with plenty of creepy characters to keep you guessing as to what is going on. There’s a tension throughout the novel that the author sustains so well, building to a dramatic climax.

A really fun, survivalist thriller that I’d recommend as a great holiday read (and that might serve as a cautionary tale to any amateur hikers out there 😅). 4/5 ⭐️

On the face of it, a book about a group of school friends going on a hiking holiday to Norway doesn't sound like the most riveting read. But The Hike is here to prove you wrong!

We join Liz, Maggie and Helena as they leave their daily lives (and various family members) behind and head to the mountains of Norway. Waiting for them when they arrive is the last member of their school gang, Joni, who has stepped away from her rock star lifestyle mid-tour.

Each of the friends carries with them their own emotional baggage, from grief, to relationship issues and some long-kept secrets. A storm is brewing, and not just with the weather. As the group set out on their trek, all seems well but things quickly take a turn for the worst when bad weather strikes, plus the appearance of some locals adds to the drama.

The Hike is an excellent fast paced read, with twists and turns that you really won't see coming. You'll want to devour it in one sitting!

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy in exchange for a review.

I've read a few books by the same author and they were really enjoyable so I was really excited to receive approval for this one.

Unfortunately this didn't hit home for me. While the story is fast paced and it's a good solid mystery that does keep you guessing until the end, I found the four female characters quite bland and each one ticked a female stereotype box.

I would recommend as a fan of Lucy Clarke's other books but it definitely wasn't her best one.

And off we go, yet again, on another adventure with Lucy Clarke- personally I think her husband is very brave to go anywhere with her, as so much always seems to happen on her trips!

As usual, I raced through this novel, totally caught up in the plot, visualising the scenery,- so dominated by the mountain- the weather & caught up with the characters. All four women have distinct personalities, totally credible & the movement of the viewpoint enables the reader to see the story from different angles.

The accolades which Lucy is already receiving from fellow authors are deserved, as time and again during the course of the novel, I tried to examine just why she’s so successful in her writing, compared to other novelists. Why do I feel totally immersed in another world? Her twists are subtle not signposted and her pace is strong & carries you along.My conclusion is that she’s just a cracking writer! For those of you who aren’t fortunate enough to have read an ARC, only a few days to go- publication date is 27 th April, just in time for some bank holiday reading.

Four lifelong friends take a trip to a mountain in Norway to reconnect and escape from the struggles of their everyday lives. But their hiking trip of a lifetime takes a turn for the worse when a body is found at the bottom of a ravine. And someone on the mountain knows what happened...

This was a really enjoyable and mostly well-structured thriller. I really enjoy a narrative that leans into its setting for atmosphere and and plot-driving forces, and this really did that.
The mountain was an absolute pivotal feature in this story-it was a looming force over everything. It was both metaphorical-something in each woman's life that they had to overcome, and also a very real presence and the danger it posed was very very real.
It created the perfect uneasy atmosphere-as a reader you knew to be on guard at all times as there was always something that could go wrong- be it from the people on the mountain, the weather conditions, or the landscape itself.
I found each of the characters and their POVs to be engaging and distinct. Each character had their own recognisable narrative voice which is important in books told from several perspectives.
The pacing was maybe slightly off, it felt a little slow to get to the action with the final confrontation then being a bit rushed. Although the chain of events leading from the beach to the summit was nicely done.
My only other critique was it felt as though the author put unnecessary emphasis on motherhood being essentially a woman's most important role in life, right up to it feeling like it was a factor in the death which I didn't entirely appreciate.

That aside, I did enjoy this book, it was enjoyable take on a classic thriller structure.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for my e-arc of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, an absolute page turner, it’s so tense and suspenseful I couldn’t put it down.
Four childhood friends Maggie, Liz, Helena and Joni embark on a hike in the Norwegian Mountains, where nothing goes to plan.
I liked the relationship between the four women and the way the story is told from each of their perspectives, past and present. The setting and vivid descriptions add to the great atmosphere and the growing sense of unease. There is lots of drama, mystery and tension to keep you reading.
A well written, twist filled thrilling read. Definitely recommend.
I would like to thank #NetGallery #HarperCollinsUK #LucyClarke for an arc of #TheHike in exchange for an honest review. Book published 27th April 2023.

Thank you for this arc HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperCollins and Netgalley. I really wanted to like this book but I could not.. I was feeling sad about the friendships of the girls from thr start. Nothing happened made sense to me. Simply I could.not connect to them. Tothaly different values I wanted to see. Yes in the background there is a story that is more interesting but still..

Enjoyed this tale of friendship and lies.

This was a book that started slowly as the characters are introduced and we find out what brings them to the point we meet them. But the tension soon starts to ramp up as they head further along the trail into the Mountains. I enjoyed the cast of characters and like any good story there are plenty of twists and red herrings throughout.

A good read with great atmosphere.

This is my first Lucy Clarke book and it will not be the last. 4 Friends from school go on an annual trip every year and this year it was Doctor Liz's turn to choose the destination. She opted for a Hike in Norway. Very different to the usual. Of course things don't go to plan. Wrapped up nicely at the end.