Four friends begrudgingly gather for a hiking holiday in Norway. They've been a group for years, and though their lives have diverged significantly, they try to keep up some traditions and connections. However, they all have problems in their lives that they're withholding from the others, and as their hike progresses and becomes more dangerous, those secrets come out, sometimes with a vengeance. Now, they are all ill-at ease with each other--but after a dangerous avalanche blocks their retreat, it becomes clear that Mother Nature and something darker are also out to get them.

Maggie, Liz, Helena, and Joni didn't work for me. I didn't like any of them as individuals and failed to see how they had ever fit together as a whole. But the story had the knife's-edge to it that I enjoyed in One of the Girls, even if it lacked the cohesiveness. It was atmospheric and gritty, and though even more unbelievable than a lot of thrillers out there, it will definitely do the trick when fans of Rachel Hawkins or Alice Feeney are looking for a fix.

This was an exciting book!
Four long time friends go on an annual vacation. This year, it’s a hike up a mountain in Norway.
Although lifelong friends, each woman has lead a different path in life:
-Liz, the organizer, is a married mom of two kids, whose marriage is a bit rocky. She walks to relieve anxiety.
-Maggie is a divorced mom with a young daughter, whom she hates leaving with the father. She’s not happy about hiking at all.
-Helena is a single woman who has just found out she’s pregnant, and is not sure how she feels about that.
-Joni is a rock star singer, who lives in a drug and alcohol infused world, but wants to get out of that life.

Together they begin a hiking journey, full of beautiful scenery and adventure…. Until they stumble upon a complicated mystery of death, and illegal activity.
All in all, this is an intriguing and fast paced book with lots of action and mystery!
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin/Putnam books for the ARC in return for my honest review!
5 stars!

Four friends go on a hike and stumble across something unexpected which triggers a cat and mouse chase on a mountain in Norway.

This is a slow build thriller that picks up once the friends start their hike in the wilderness. It’s told in multiple perspectives and struggled to keep the characters straight in the beginning but once the story picked up it wasn’t challenging at all. The Hike is a suspenseful and tense story that will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s a story about friendship, loyalty and survival. Loved the dynamic of the group and the descriptions of Norway. A great read!

Four friends take on a challenging 4-day hike in Norway, with each woman bringing her own secrets and DRAMA to the trail. To add to the tension, there is a missing hiker and a murderer on the loose!

The drama unfolds as the friends begin hiking on a treacherous trail, not realizing the dangers that lie ahead. Soon, one of them goes missing and the women realize they are being chased by a killer. But can the women put their differences aside long enough to help each other when it really counts?

This was my first Lucy Clarke novel and I enjoyed it enough to want read more of her work. The author does an excellent job setting up the drama by providing the reader with a glimpse into each woman’s life. The tension builds so that by the time the four women are ready for their hike, you know something is going down!

Four close friends from England take a hiking trip to Norway but not everything goes as planned. The setting of the Norwegian lodge and mountain was very evocative & I could clearly picture it. The story, like a long hike, is slow moving. It’s an easy read but takes a bit too long to reach the conclusion.

I did go into it with high expectations….I absolutely loved One Of The Girls last summer.

I think the author does a fantastic job of writing atmospheric summer based novels. You truly feel immersed into the scenery!

But I feel as though this one fell so insanely flat – each pov lacked so much depth and it was hard to tell who’s voice it was.

I personally thought the murder mystery aspect of the storyline was silly.

While I understand the friend group dynamic was supposed to come off dysfunctional – it was almost to cheesy for my taste (if that makes sense?)

I just found this book to be oh so uneventful and in no way, shape or form would I ever go on a hike (in general) but most definitely not with those ladies! Lol

SIMONE SAYS READ THIS IF YOU LIKE

Atmospheric Norway setting
Hiking
Multiple pov’s
Dysfunctional friend groups

Loved it! Lucy Clarke writes such great thrillers, and this one was no exception. I read it super quickly, and loved the twists and turns!

I really enjoyed this one! Four best friends are on a multi-day hike, some not prepared for this type adventure, and the book takes you through their four POVs. There is also a fifth perspective called "the search" where you know something has happened to someone... It is not until the very end that everything comes together and the ending was not what I expected. It is also a quick read, which I always appreciate!

None of the characters are really likeable and I wasn’t a fan of the setting. It felt slow paced and I don’t think it will be memorable for me. I liked the way it was told in multiple POVs and the audiobook narrators did well.

With Nordic folklore touches and a friendship group holding onto guilt and secrets, it was no surprise to me that The Hike was an instant, could-put-down win for me. It starts out with one of the best opening sentences and from there it is as twisty as you think it will be. Who's body is on the mountainside? What are the four best friends keeping from one another? And why do they keep seeing people from the small Norwegian town on the mountain after they've been told there's a storm?

The Hike was just incredible, a novel that features four women I sympathized and connected with, understanding the lifelong bonds we hold onto and the lifelong resentments we often keep close to our chests. I understood immediately their happy, freeing hope of girl time over vacation and knew quickly that a hike would only lead to bad. They're all in it for the wrong reasons and it is in our trials that we show who we really are. Mix into it the Norwegian mountainside, Nordic gothic folklore, and villagers that warned of a storm, but somehow keep ending up on the same trail? Something is up and Lucy Clarke writes a story here that will have you reading well into the night.

The Hike is a fast-paced thriller that I think readers are going to devour.

This is another good one! Lucy Clarke has a great formula that is similar in her books, but each is different enough that it's intriguing. This one was fast paced thriller, and I felt invested in each character. There was one "twist" that I figured out very soon in the beginning, but it didn't ruin the story at all.

Overall, I would recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lucy Clarke for an eARC of The Hike!

I can always count on Lucy Clarke for a fast-paced, destination thriller. The Hike takes place in the mountains of Norway and Clarke provides vivid descriptions of the lodge, the wilderness, and the strenuous hike her characters embark on. I enjoyed reading about each one's struggle and journey.

Clarke executed the multiple perspectives very well. Often times it is difficult to balance the characters and stories bleed into one another. Clarke did a wonderful job giving each character their own voice so it was easy to tell whose POV I was reading.

I also enjoyed the twist towards the end. I won't say more other than that I wasn't expecting it, but Clarke did a great job of setting it up and it totally made sense!

One criticism I have is that a few of the characters were a bit whiny and inconsiderate for my taste. While I could tell they meant well, I found it very hard to relate to Maggie and Liz personally. Liz's idea to take her friends on a four day, super strenuous hike... No way! She obviously knows their fitness levels and that is a tall order - especially with the way this mountain was described and each person having ZERO experience. On the flip side of that, part of me wanted to tell Maggie to either suck it up or speak up. I get that she was stressed being away from her child for the first time, but she was so unprepared for the journey - she really should have said she couldn't handle it and stuck to her guns.

In the end, I always enjoy a fast-paced adventure thriller and I'll give The Hike 3.5 stars rounded up!

3.5 out of 5

Childhood friends Liz, Helena, and Maggie are preparing for their annual girls trip. They are deviating from their usual beach holiday and will instead be tackling the Norwegian mountains. Not everyone is excited about this trip and each woman will be carrying more internal baggage then external.

Upon arrival, things begin to take a strange turn. The locals share that Maggie looks identical to a Karin, a woman who disappeared under strange circumstances a year prior. Then there is the arrival of Erik, brother of Leif, the lodge caretaker. Finally, Joni, who is the fourth member of the friend group arrives unexpectedly after leaving her band mid-tour.

The book has a slow start, I found myself putting it down and picking it up over the course of a few days. There is a lot of background detail on the main characters, which helps the reader understand their frame of mind going into the hike. As the story progresses, additional details are revealed.

There is a major revelation 3/4 of the way into the book, I didn't find it to be a thrilling twist, more of an "ah-ha" moment where. The ending was a bit over the top, it left you feeling like one of the characters was trying to redeem themselves, but it fell flat.

Overall, this is a decent read. It is different from the usual domestic thrillers which have been filling my kindle. I felt it had a lot of potential. but at the end I was a bit disappointed, however that will not stop me from checking out other books by this author.

Many thanks to Thank you Harper Collins UK, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC.

I’m on the fence with this because I enjoyed part of it a lot but also had issue with other parts. I generally liked the first 2/3, but it started to fall apart. It reminded me of those Spanish thrillers that are half thriller and half melodrama. The ending felt kind of Scooby Dooish in that every character was comejow connected to the mystery. I know it’s a small town but come on.

The drama between the friends felt forced, and the epilogues just felt unnecessary. So 4 stars for the first 65% and 2 for the rest?

My Rating 4/5

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. I loved the premise of the book. Liz, Maggie, Joni and Helena go on a yearly girls trip and this year they are doing something different. Instead of going on a tropical vacation where they spend time at the pool, they are going hiking in the Norway mountains. Told in alternating perspectives, this gripping thriller explores the wild side of female relationship and the transportive power of the wilderness. The book started off a bit slow but half way through I was hooked and couldn’t wait to find out the ending. I would definitely read another book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

This story went in a completely different direction than I was initially expecting! There were so many different characters at play and I loved it all taking place on a long hike in Norway with friends that get together every year for a girls trip. The story and characters were complex and it really held my interest throughout! I wasn’t able to predict what happened at the end,l with all the twists and turns! I would recommend to anyone who likes thrillers and mysteries set on a vacation!

A fast paced thriller with a setting in Norway and four friends on a girls get away. I liked the complexity of the characters and the well thought out plot. Overall an enjoyable read.

3.5

This was a solid thriller that incorporates a survival plot that feels like watching a movie! If you like your thrillers with high stakes and lots of action then I think you will love this!

The characters were great and dynamic. My favorite was Liz! The characters and story were easy to follow.

I love Lucy Clarke’s writing. She is an autobuy author for me. She describes the Norwegian mountains in this story with so much detail that I felt like I was on that hiking trail with them.

The only thing that didn’t work for me was the plot in the last 20% of the book. It wasn’t the ending that I expected though which in thrillers is always a bonus!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Clarke, and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P Putnam's Sons for the gifted copy!

The more I think about this one the more disappointing it becomes. This felt like a story told from the perspectives of side characters. The four FMCs were generally unlikeable and used to tell the second, more exciting story that they “stumbled” into. I would have preferred that story vs the one of the four hikers. Without revealing any spoilers, the death at the end was also highly unsatisfying and felt like a “well, someone has to die so let me just throw that in here” type death. I hated it in the story — and then the book just ends!!! Honestly the last 4-5 chapters really ruined the whole thing for me, though it was slow moving to begin with. Not the thriller I was expecting.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

An enjoyable thriller. Four life-long friends go on vacation to hike in Norway with lots of back story, conflict & layers. Add in a missing local woman and bad weather. I enjoyed the complexity of the friendships but the ending was just ok for me.