This was a great thriller. Engaging and well-paced. I didn’t feel like the twist was clumsily disguised. I will definitely read more of her work.

A reunion of sorts for a group of women whose lives have taken different paths. As they set out on an adventure they end up confronting the demons that have come between them and ones they meet along the path. This book was a bit of a struggle for me. I prefer books where I can root for at least one character and unfotunately I didn't find myself wanting to root for any of them. That being said there is an arc to their friendship that is somewhat appealing. The adveture of being on a hike I found lacking. The writing was still good I just think this wasn't the book for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review.

Four friends go hiking in Norway, but figure out someone is stalking them along the way. Lucy Clarke knows how to write a thriller, and this doesn't disappoint. I liked that she wrote from different character points of view, but it did get jumbled a bit at the end. I love a lost in the woods thriller, and its perfect for fall. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 friends take an annual trip to Norway to hike up a mountain trail in 4 days... not all of them will come back. Joni, Liz, Maggie and Helena have their own issues to work through and have their own reasons for this trip. I didn't care for all the story line. This was not what I expected in my 2nd Lucy Clarke book. Not sure I cared for the story 100%, but I still love the writing style, short chapters.

Sharp and well-written with an interesting premise. Effective character development had me guessing until the end! Loved reading this one and think that Clarke has a talent with suspense.

The Hike was my second novel by Lucy Clarke. I loved One Of The Girls so much that I immediately requested The Hike when I saw it on NetGalley. Like that novel, The Hike really does a great job of reflecting female friendships. The setting of a Norwegian Mountain forest enhanced the sense of danger to the fractures in the 4 leads' relationships that otherwise would have been par for the course.

While I didn't love The Hike quite as much as I did One of the Girls, I did find it just as addictive. I read through it in just a couple sittings and was biting my nails the whole time.

What I am finding I like best about this author is that she nails it on placing female friendships in dangerous, but alluring locations. It makes the stories so much more interesting to me than if they were set in say a house in the suburbs.

I am so happy to know that Lucy Clarke has been publishing books since long before I discovered her so I have several books of hers I have yet to discover before I jump in line whenever her NEXT new book is announced.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ friendship fiction
Setting ~ Norway
Publication date ~ August 29, 2023
Page Count ~ 382 (82 chapters & p)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 28 minutes
Narrators ~ David Johansen-Menkin, Stephanie Racine
POV ~ multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ secrets, drugs

Four friends, Helena, Maggie, Liz & Joni are on holiday together. Liz has picked their excursion this time and not everyone is thrilled about it.

It took me a bit to get into the story. Maybe because I'm not super big on hiking. You might catch me on an early morning walk/jog with my pup once in a while, but out in the wilderness, no thanks. Anyway, I loved that it was written with each of their POV's. It's full of friendship drama and some old secrets, as expected. After it picks up the pace there's some tension and action that kept me engaged. Overall, decent.

I absolutely loved One of the Girls and was not disappointed by The Hike! This thriller will keep you glued every page and I’m telling you right now you won’t be able to put it down. The location itself was everything! The story takes place in the mountains of Norway and how the author describes the scenery is unmatched. I swear I could feel the cool mountain air as I was reading! In my opinion, that’s truly a sign of incredible writing. The friendships between the four women added a whole other level of complexity to the story and I found ways to connect with each one. And the suspense was so good! Read this one ASAP if you love being on the edge of your seat. Thank you to Lucy Clarke, Putnam, and NetGalley for my e-ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Maggie, Liz, Helena, and Joni are life long friends, they’ve grown up together and go on a trip together every year now that they are grown up with families. They have all reached turning points in their lives it seems and Liz picks a difficult hike in Norway as their yearly trip.

As they set off on the hike they were all apprehensive to start, no one really wanted to spend their vacation roughing it on the trail except Liz. All the women are keeping secrets from each other it seems, and they all were forced to face the demons they are keeping in this hike.

But in the end they have to band together as they always have if they all want to make it out on the other side.

It was a book that kept me interested and reading due to the different points of view and the intertwining stories that were happening in the book. Overall a good read with some suspense and a great story about friendship.

The Hike is a page turner thriller about 4 best friends since childhood who travel together once a year. This year is very different from most years when they sit by a pool or ocean and relax, Liz is having work and marital problems and decides she really need an adventure and talks Maggie and Helena into joining her on a hike in Norway. Their 4th friend, Joni, is a rock star and said she couldn't join.

I always enjoy a good character driven novel no matter the subject matter and a story about life-long women friends is sure to draw me in. I could easily understand the pulls and pushes in their relationships which made the tension of the book that much better. Of course, anything that could go wrong did and there were times when I questioned their sanity of going on the trip but I was hooked and had to keep reading.

There are a number of mysteries within the story and the Clarke does a great job with them and with the scenery, I could see it all in my mind so well.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Lucy Clarke never fails to write an entertaining plot-driven story. I very much enjoy reading her books. However, there were a couple of moments when the book could have benefited from a more thoughtful editing process.

The Hike is a solid thriller that kept me guessing. Four childhood friends take turns picking the destination for their yearly girls trip -- this year, it involves a treacherous hike in Norway. Each woman comes with her own issues and baggage and I initially had difficulty keeping them straight. The first night in Norway they learn that a woman who closely resembles one of the friends went missing the year prior. The next morning they leave for the hike despite unfavorable weather conditions and the story never stops from there. I absolutely loved the setting and the details about the hike helped me realize I would never want to do it! This is a well-plotted thriller with many twists and turns, most I did not anticipate. The ending was slightly disappointing to me but overall a great read if looking for a fun thriller. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was exactly my kind of book. Four best friends travel to a foreign country on a girl trip hike. All of them have different reasons why they do, or don't really want to do it. Upon arrival to the small town they can already sense something eerie about the town and its history.

As the story unfolds you get to learn more about their friendship, their past and secrets they have been keeping from each other. But when you think this book is just about their journey, no no just wait. This small town has its own secrets and mysteries that the group of ladies will soon discover and get caught in the middle of it.

This was a fast paced book that was hard to put down and I would highly recommend to anyone that likes a good thriller.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group and the author for a copy of ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was just ok. I was intrigued the whole time but the ending was slightly less than ok.

The drug storyline was not it. I didn’t like that, it felt very strange in this story. I hoped it was an actual hiking disaster survival story but the drugs became the main thing.

The ending was disappointing and I was pretty annoyed by Helena and Joni most of the time. This sounds like I really didn’t like it but I did, kind of. And I never considered DNFing it. It was just fine.

The Hike by Lucy Clarke

Four friends on a hike in the wilderness, what could go wrong? Yikes! A lot, apparently, especially when the hikers stumble across something they were never supposed to see.

This is one of those books that are well worth hanging in there for. Told in multiple POV, it doesn’t take long for each character’s voice to become crystal clear as the story progresses, and despite a bit of a slow start, things ramp up quickly and once they do, hang on to your hiking boots!

Love the setting, the twisty plot and the subtleties explored within each character and their place within the group! I will never tire of remote setting thrillers. Ever!

Lucy Clarke is one of my auto-buy writers, and this latest released lived up to all of my expectations. True to her writing style, this is a slow-burn thriller that focuses heavily on character development and setting while slowly reeling the reader in for a high-energy ending. Broken up into short chapters with different points of view, this story does seem to move faster than Clarke's former thrillers.

At the suggestion of Liz, she, Joni, Maggie, and Helena meet in Norway to hike for a weekend. Childhood friends, the four women's different paths in life have distanced themselves from each other, so Liz feels that a reunion is the only way to reconnect. When secrets best left hidden start to surface and the weather becomes their worst enemy, the friends must learn to overcome their differences and make it out alive.

Methodic, Melancholic, and Character-driven, this was a solid thriller.

Four long time friends take a girls' trip every year. It's usually a laid back beach trip. This year, however, they are in Norway to hike a mountain. A couple aren't thrilled with the change.

I was engrossed and on the edge of my seat from start to finish. And I'll never hike in Norway!

I like this author and this book gave me lots of twists.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Four friends gather each year for a fun trip to get away from their everyday life and reconnect. Liz has chosen a four-night camping trip in Norway as their getaway this year. While the other women are not as excited about the adventure as Liz is (and one is touring the world as a rockstar so her participation is still unknown), they decide that they all need a little escape from their lives. The hike takes them further and further from cell service, help, and civilization and when things start to go terribly wrong, no one is close enough to hear them scream.

This is my favorite type of thriller - suspenseful, not gory, and lots of twists. The friendships between these women are very relatable. I loved seeing the power in female friendships juxtaposed with the tension of being in different places in life. While the thriller part of the story was engaging, the real heart of this book is the story of friendships and how they evolve over time. Highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of The Hike.

This one took me a little bit to get into because there was a lot of development of all the characters. Once I got them straight though I was pretty intrigued by all their different stories. They're all very different characters so it was interesting seeing their dynamics in the friend group.The drama really ramps up about halfway through and I really enjoyed the latter half. I thought the ending was very justified and answered all my questions. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

THE HIKE -

4⭐

4 best friends taking a trip and that too on a hiking trip..I was sold on the plot. The setting was good and Lucy has become a new favourite author. Not a thriller per day but more mystery a bit of which I could predict but still enjoyable .
Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.