Overall, an enjoyable read about two teams battling to get to the top of the mountain. Told in alternating points of view from different characters with several twists along the way. Interesting read but I found the characters unlikeable so for that the reason it fell slightly short.

When I first read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to read it, my husband is after all climbing Kilimanjaro this year so my world has become a little absorbed with everything to do with this incredible mountain so it makes sense for it to venture into the books I read too!

‘The Contest’ is the ultimate cut throat competition at a high-end luxury holiday firm, a firm that is proud of the fact they will always go that extra mile to make any trip perfect. There are no boundaries to just how far that means the staff have to go for their clients, the company’s reputation depends on it. But just how far and what corners have been cut over the years to achieve this perfection? The secrets are about to come out as two teams, led by team leaders Florence and Jacob, ascend Mount Kilimanjaro, both determined to be claimed the winner once they reach the summit, but at what cost?

This is my first book I’ve read by Karen Hamilton and I devoured it in two days, the pace between the chapters keeping you wanting more. There is a wide array of characters but the focus is kept on Florence and Jacob, the alternating chapters perfectly setting the scene, all whilst explains the secrets both are hiding. I really enjoyed it and the knowledge of the climb of the mountain was extremely detailed, I could imagine how hard the experience must be at every step of the way, beautifully described. Some of the ‘higher-class’ requests did make me laugh out loud!

Perfect timing for this release by this author, this is the summer adventure thriller that you will want to read on holiday! And if you’re hiking up a mountain somewhere then even better but let’s just say that hopefully the drama stays in the book - I’ve definitely told my husband this!

Thank you Netgalley and Headline for this eCopy to review

I enjoyed The Contest, which follows Florence lead a team of wealthy clients and fellow employs as they race to climb Mount Kilimanjaro first. As team leader Florence also has to post the best social media posts, put on the best experience for her clients and find out what a rival Travel Company is up to. On top of all this Florence is also trying to find out what happened to her fiancé on last year's challenge. As the body count and pranks mount up it becomes a race to stay alive, who can Florence trust and can she find out what is happening?

The setting on Mount Kilimanjaro is expertly described, to the point by the end of the book I want to go and climb it myself

A good concept re the yearly competition etc but I did struggle to believe that the characters would entertain working for such a man as their boss,no one these days would put up with being treated like that surely?
Some irritating characters but these were meant to be and it worked….all in all an intriguing read that quite enjoyed

Florence is employed at a highly successful company that provides elite, bespoke travel experiences and adventures for a super-rich discerning clientele. Being employed by BVT is a massively stressful, but potentially rewarding experience and Florence has been progressing up the career ladder. Each year, the company selects its top employees to participate in challenges to identify and foster leadership potential. Florence is delighted and apprehensive as she has been selected for this year’s challenge which is to lead a team up Mount Kilimanjaro.

The only problem is the trek to the summit is a ‘contest’ with the winner taking the spoils. Florence finds out she is competing against a rival employee, Jacob. Jacob dislikes Florence and he also happens to be the son of the egotistical owner of the company, Hugo. Like Florence, Jacob has a set of personal demons and he needs to win really, really badly.

Even before the ascent starts, Florence starts to encounter problems with some of her influential clients on her team losing luggage, being booked in the incorrect plane seats had hotel issues. Then a member of one of the teams dies in potentially suspicious circumstances on the climb and Jacob and Florence start to suspect each other of wanting to win at any cost.

This was a competent, readable thriller and was well-written. The setting of Mount Kilimanjaro was a superb choice and the descriptions of the surroundings were really well executed. My main issue was that the first half of the book was far too slow and all the action was in the second half. It was also peculiarly devoid of tension and I would like to have seen a lot more work on building that throughout the book. The main characters could also have benefited from being a little less cliched. The ‘locked room’ genre is extremely competitive and every element has to come together for it to work

My thanks to Netgalley, Karen Hamilton, and the publishers for letting me have this copy in exchange for an open and honest review.

I struggled to get into this book I’m afraid. The personalities of the characters seemed very shallow and annoying, and it became too frustrating to read, so I gave up after a chapter or so.

Florence works for a highly successful agency that provides a high end, bespoke luxury travel experience, catering to the super rich and the corporate elite. Despite the tremendously competitive work environment, she has been climbing the career ladder with some success. Now she has been given a real chance to prove herself, as part of the company's "away day"- type event which involves.among other things, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro.

The only problem is, Florence is competing against a rival guide, Jacob, who also happens to be the son of the eccentric - and sometimes problematic - founder of the organization, Hugo. Jacob has his own daddy issues to address, so he takes the challenge very seriously. And he is not afraid to fight dirty.

The trip gets off to a bad start for Florence, who experiences a series of setbacks related to lost luggage, flight issues and messed-up hotel bookings, which do not win her any points as far as Hugo is concerned. But things are about to go from bad to worse.

When a member of the expedition turns up dead, the stakes get a lot higher in the competition between Jacob and Florence. And the added complications also threaten Florence's real agenda - which is very different from what her colleagues are assuming...

This was a book that was easy enough to get through quite quickly. I did find the action unnecessarily slow in the first part of the story, but things picked up in the second half.

I really liked the way the location and the ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro was written about - it felt very atmospheric. And the potentially hostile surroundings of the high altitude environment provided an added element of tension to he novel. Overall, an enjoyable read.

3.5 ⭐️ Really enjoyed this book, the characters were really interesting and the setting being a mountain added to the eerie and mysterious atmosphere.

This book is about a travel company that does an annual challenge with their year being the climb Kilimanjaro, but the prize is even better this year as the winner will take over the company. Florence and Jacob, who is the boss’ son, are the two employees vying for the job and Hugo’s approval. They will do anything to win.

This tense thriller has many twists and turns, a suspicious death and plenty of lies and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Florence and Jacob depart on their companies annual trip away and are asked to compete to win the prize of leading the company. When a member of the team has an accident, it becomes clear that the competition is more dangerous than first thought.

This was an atmospheric thriller which described the setting very well. Although the characters aren’t that likeable, I found myself invested in them and wondering what they were going to do next. I enjoy books that focus on rival groups with an eerie setting and that’s what you get with this book. I did find the start a bit slow and found that I was never fully gripped with the story. Even so, this was definitely a well written story with an interesting plot, which I can see a lot of people, especially those who enjoy an atmospheric, dark thriller, enjoying. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy.

Karen Hamilton is an autobuy author for me, and THE CONTEST might be my favorite yet! The setting was so unique, as was the setup - and I found the twists both surprising and fun.

As always Karen writes a can’t put down mystery that is perfect for summer. Hold on as you figure out who murdered who on a climb high upon a mountain where no one is safe.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This story focuses on two teams, which consists of staff from an elite exclusive travel company and valued guests. The challenge is a race to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Mixed it’s everything that comes with climbing a mountain, this is set to be tough. Only one team can win.

I really enjoyed this book. The descriptions of the setting were excellent and really helped the story settle in my mind. The storyline was excellently written, and had the right elements of tension, grit, and twists and turns. I’ve read all this authors work and have yet to be disappointed. The characters were great, if not slightly irritating. An excellent read I’d recommend.

Rating: 3.0/5

Although this is her fourth novel, "The Contest" is my first experience of Karen Hamilton's work. The accompanying blurb gives a decent overview of the story without me needing to repeat it. However, I would take slight issue with the description that this is like "The Hunting Party" meeting "Succession". I can understand the "Succession" reference, because of the corporate element of the story, but with its mountain climbing theme, this reminded me more of Amy McCulloch's "Breathless" from last year.

I liked the setting, which provides for the prospect of genuine suspense and foreboding. It is counterintuitive that such a wide open environment can conjure up the potential for feelings of oppressive claustrophobia - but it absolutely does. I also like the theme of this being a corporate "awayday" with employees and clients of a major travel business competing in teams as they tried to achieve their goal of reaching the summit. There were some astute observations of the way that this can influence an individual's actions and the type of characters who can often be found in such a commercial environment. It conjured up memories (and not necessarily particularly pleasant ones) of my own career days of working in the corporate world.

Unfortunately, I don't think the writer made the most of the opportunity to nurture undertones of a developing sense of threat and menace. Yes, there were times when it was in evidence, but there were too many periods when the narrative was adopting the Swahili "Pole pole" advice of the guides - moving too slowly and re-treading very similar ground.

Overall, this is an enjoyable enough read with more to like than there is to dislike. It is a solid, if not outstanding high-altitude drama, which, in a crowded and competitive genre, doesn't do enough to be right up there with the best examples.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

The Contest involves two teams, made up of staff from an exclusive travel company and their most valued customers.

Success or failure can mean the difference between climbing the career ladder or looking for a new job.

This year, the challenge is a race to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. The weather, illness, the teams playing tricks on eachother and the spectre of a tragic accident on a previous trip all conspire to make the going even tougher. Are the teams just beset by bad luck, or is someone planning their downfall?

I'm continuously drawn to "locked room" thrillers, where there is a closed group of characters / suspects, so the wonderfully vibrant description of the setting in this book really helped it stand out from others in the genre.

Some of the supporting cast never really solidified in my mind, but the story is narrated by other main characters and so these people were much clearer.

The storyline was entertaining, with a few surprises along the way.

This is the first book I have read by Karen Hamilton, but it won't be my last.

Thanks to the author, Wildfire and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

The Contest was a total tension filled story.
Great writing which kept me on the edge of my seat.
Fabulously atmospheric.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

The Contest is a fast paced and twist filled thriller. As a reader, I felt I too was climbing Kilimanjaro and the author captures its majesty beautifully. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Karen Hamilton was able to create a terrific and scary story focusing on a glamorous contest of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and the hidden dangers awaiting the participants, as well as the narrator. So good and suspenseful!

Another great book by one of my favourite authors. This is her 4th book and just as good. Set on a mountain climb it puts people against each other and not everything is as it seems. I’d recommend this author every time. 5/5.

This is my first book by Karen Hamilton (as recommended by my mum!). I was gripped from start to finish, what a fantastic setting for a book - work colleagues climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, all with a few secret agendas up their sleeves. It hasn't made me want to climb Kilimanjaro but it has made me want to read more books by Karen Hamilton!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

'The Contest' has the perfect premise as we have two competing teams, with leaders vying for their dream role, in a beautiful yet remote and dangerous location and only one way this can end - badly. I was excited to start this but I did find the beginning slow and a bit confusing. Despite this, I was strangely gripped from the beginning, I pushed through my confusion and I was rewarded with a fast paced, adrenaline filled read. Once this gets going, it really gets going and I was on the edge of my seat as we follow the characters throughout their increasingly dangerous journey. The setting of Kilimanjaro provided beauty as well as a remote, eerie location, the perfect location for this intense read.
Whilst the characters are not the most likeable group, there is something about them that made me connect to them and I cared about them and their story. If nothing else, they are a very unique cast of characters and I enjoyed getting to know them.
'The Contest' has a slow start but you will be rewarded with a fast paced plot that I highly recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an advance copy.