The Hiker is an engrossing tale of sisterly love, and an atmospheric thriller. I found that the book worked superbly well as a heartfelt drama and a spine-tingling mystery. The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of sisters Sarah and Gemma. On the surface the sisters couldn’t be more different,.But when Gemma goes missing outside a small village in the north of England, Sarah drops everything to search for her. Soon Sarah is drawn into a town full of secrets and criminal activity. Highly recommended.

Gemma Kline was reported missing after her significant other was found in a burning car following a presumed car accident. But of course, nothing is as simple as it seems.

After Gemma has been missing for several days, her sister Sarah decides to dig a little deeper given the suspicious and confusion circumstances of her disappearance.

What she finds is not at all what she expected, but makes for a great story!

Overall- I thought this was a solid thriller. It kept my interest, and I finished this book in a little over a day. I would recommend!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy of The Hiker, a stand-alone thriller set in the Pennines.

Sarah Kline is surprised when the police contact her about her estranged sister, Gemma. They haven’t spoken in over five years, but she is still upset that Gemma is missing and decides to go the area and investigate, because Gemma can’t have vanished into thin air or can she, especially when she’s the first to vanish from the isolated village of Hartsbridge.

The Hiker didn’t really hold my attention and that is due to several reasons which are tied together. The narrative is split between Sarah in the present and Gemma in the weeks running up to her disappearance. I find it hard to get absorbed when the point of view keeps changing. Then I didn’t really empathise with either of the characters, Sarah is judgemental and Gemma has poor judgment. I still don’t understand why Sarah would hare off to the North of England in search of a sister she has had nothing to do with for years, especially when she’s getting married the next week. The vestiges of sibling loyalty don’t really cut it in terms of credibility and that’s before Gemma’s presence in Hartsbridge is explained, still, there would be no novel without it. I would also say that the novel lacks the spark of tension and excitement that keeps the reader turning the pages.

The novel is not a great match for my tastes and reading preferences, but for other readers it has plenty to offer. What happened to Gemma is not straightforward, so Sarah’s investigation throws up all sorts of strange encounters with the locals, many of whom are keeping secrets. It gives the novel an air of mystery and unexplained events. It also has twists, a certain amount of misdirection, a well concealed perpetrator and an action packed denouement.

I found this to be quite slow paced and I struggled to get into it initially but after the 1st few chapters, it seemed to pick up a bit and ended up being quite an enjoyable book. It's not the most realistic but it is a good story with some really expected twists and turns so who cares of its all a bit unlikely?! It's got a nice eerie and suspenseful undertone and it does creep under your skin and keep you hooked until you get to the bottom of things. Worth sticking with it!!

Thank you NetGalley and AvonBooks UK for this free ARC.

This book was kind of slow-paced at first but it actually gets better as the story progresses. The main character searches for her missing sister in a far place from London. She and her sister haven't spoken nor seen each other in years and now she is caught up in a 15-year-old mystery of a young woman who also went missing and never been found. Somehow she suspects that her sister's disappearance is connected in some way to the disappearance of Alice Brocklehurst 15 years ago.
This story has a lot of twists that really blew my mind. Though it took me a bit long to finish it but still, I enjoyed it so much and I was indeed thrilled by it. The characters were diverse and the author did a great job building the setting, creating this eerie ambiance over Hartsbridge. The legends and conspiracies tied in the story are solid and they made the story sinister but in a good way.

I recommend this book to those who like adventurous thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. This was an excellent read.
Thoroughly recommended

Well written and intriguing. It does take a little bit for this book to pick up but once it does, I could not stop reading. One sister goes on a journey to find out what happened to her missing sister. and along the way has to unravel the secrets kept by a small tight lipped village community. She discovers that her sisters disappearance could be related to that of another young girls years prior. Mystery and myths converge to make a delightful read. Thanks for publisher Avon and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is one where it is best to go in with as little prior knowledge as possible.

I won't explain the plot other than to say that 2 instances of missing women 15 years apart lead, via blackmail, corruption, hostile locals and bleakly remote landscape, to an entirely unexpected explanation! I enjoyed the twists and turns and the theme of sisterly love saving the day. Suspend the disbelief and go along for the ride!

The author’s writing style lends itself perfectly to the genre. They know exactly when to end a scene and mount suspense. The characters are well-drawn and believable. The plot is perfectly paced, holds your interest, and keeps you guessing.

The Hiker follows two points of view from the main characters leading up to the conclusion. I liked the suspense towards the end, but this book felt a little long for what it was. I also feel the title and description is a little misleading. I was expecting a suspenseful story set in the woods and not a crime mystery. All in all an ok book if you enjoy a well written thriller/mystery. Just not for me.

The pacing of this book was excellent, with every few pages leaving me with a new question, or wondering what the next page was going to tell me. The general plot had me interested right the way throughout and, shock, I didn't guess the ending! I specifically enjoyed the frequent nods back to the history of the village and key characters. There were the odd couple of occasions where the writing felt a little clumsy, as if the line of thinking had suddenly switched to something entirely different to what was going on in the moment but it didn't distract too majorly from the main plotline.

The style of writing was easy to read, and pleasurable to do so, and I was left feeling like I really did understand Sarah's and Gemma's perspectives on the people of the village. Later in the book there's even the northern dialect used, and it's small details like this that bring you back to where the book is set.

The general feeling this book has left me with is one of unease, feeling creeped out and maybe somewhat slightly untrusting of small quiet villages which seemingly have nothing going on other than a bit of a strange history.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. A sister will do whatever it takes to find her sister when she goes missing. Where did she go and what happened to her? Would someone want to hurt her? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Sarah Kline's sister, Gemma goes missing a few days before Sarah's wedding.
Gemma and her boyfriend had gone to the Pennines to make some easy money, and things went awry.
Gemma's boyfriend has been murdered, and Gemma has disappeared in a region where 16 years before, another young girl had vanished mysteriously.
Sarah makes enquiries in the village and things just do not add up.

Sarah does some investigating and questioning of the villagers and finds out a lot more than the local police force does, and follows it up with disastrous consequences.


I like the way that this book has the POV of Sarah as well as Gemma.

My only real gripe is some of the grammar, and misspelt words and words used incorrectly such as sight/site.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publishes for the ARC.

I wanted to love this more than I did! It's an interesting premise - two sisters with a rift between them, a 20-year-old missing persons case, and some sketchy police work (can't say more than that without spoilers.) But something fell short -- the ending felt predictable and came out of nowhere at the same time. Worth a read for sure if you're looking to be transported to spooky, overcast Northern England!

I liked this one a lot . I thought the first part was slow but it finished strong and overall was a good book
thanks for letting me review this book to Netgalley and the publisher

I don't have a lot to say about this book, so I'll keep this review short and to the point.

Based on the synopsis, I was expecting survivalist fiction. There's very little of that in this story, and it left me unsatisfied. I also didn't enjoy the plot and the pacing. The first half of the book dragged on. There was a great deal of backstory related to the sisters upbringing, falling out and current circumstances. I found both the perspectives of Gemma and Sarah to be quite tedious. Nothing of note happened for a very long time, but when it did it really went for the jugular. I was wondering if this story would take a supernatural angle since it incorporated the local legend of a giant fur creature. Loved that part! The townsfolk were also pretty interesting. They were like characters straight out of a horror movie and, despite the clichés, I did enjoy that element. The ending was, much like the beginning, not great. There were some continuity issues and the finale became convoluted.

I hate to be so negative about this book! I've read other review from people who really enjoyed. I feel like my expectations weren't met from the beginning, and it just killed my overall enjoyment of it going forward.
By all means give this book a read if you find the synopsis intriguing, just know going in that this isn't survivalist fiction.

Great thriller, couldn't put it down, likeable characters, twists and turns along the way, can't.wait.for.the next one from this author

The first couple of pages I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this book but then BAM it took off at a galloping pace. The writing draws you in and at some points my heart was in my mouth and the adrenaline was pumping. I can’t remember the last time a book did this to me. I was totally immersed in this and definitely the best book I’ve read in a long time.
A week before Sarahs wedding she decides to find her estranged sister who has sent a postcard saying she can’t attend the wedding. Why is Sarah yearning to find out what has happened to Gemma? Is it for old times sake that she wants her baby sister there?
Without giving away any spoilers I rate this book a solid 4.9 stars. 1 teeny tiny thing let it down for me but I won’t give the game away.
Thank you Netgalley & M J Ford for the advanced copy of The Hiker which deserves to be one of the best reads you will have for a long time.

I mostly enjoyed this story.
The first half was a bit slow but the second half certainly made up for it.
Lots of twists and turns.
I took a star off for the slow start and another for all the bad language.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked all this authors books and this was up there as one of the best. Great storyline, great characters and a real page turner.