HUGE THANK YOU to Penguin Group Putnam Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Liz, Maggie, Helena and Joni have been best friends since forever. Every year they take a vacation. Each has a turn picking the destination. This years it’s Liz’s turn and she selects Norway for a “wild camping” trip. A four day hike through Svelle trail and Blafjel mountain, the four of them each carrying their own personal issues in life as well as their overweight hiking packs on a challenging journey through luscious forest and glacial waters, through their own personal storms and the literal kind.

This book was not what I expected and was exactly what I expected at the same time. I love thrillers that put you in the elements, put you in the boots of the characters and this one surely was not a let down. The characters could be you and me and our group of girlfriends, each relatable in their own way. I am definitely Maggie (I hope you love her as much as I did!)

In retrospect I literally thought I had this one nailed! Like I knew exactly what was happening only for the tables to turn into something (and someone) I didn’t expect! This one kept me on the edge of my seat and reading through the night.

This is a story of friendship, hardship, pain, loss, betrayal and survival. This has ALL the elements (quite literally) 10/10 would recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of The Hike by Lucy Clarke. This book was such a wild ride and I loved it. Four friends choose to get out of their comfort zone to hike a dangerous mountain and everything comes undone. Secrets, resentments, and danger unfolds. Very bingeable!

It’s been so long since I’ve felt so genuinely invested in the characters of a book I’m reading. Having multiple main characters is easy but having every single one of those characters be well developed with distinct personalities and realistic flaws is tricky. Liz, Maggie, Helena, and Joni work together so perfectly that when the POV flips between them it never feels jilted, the story stays smooth. All in all the writing itself is phenomenal. There wasn’t as much suspense as I normally enjoy in a thriller but it never felt slow. The momentum stayed steadily pushing forward. If you’re looking for a crazy twist this isn’t where you’re gonna get it. The plot doesn’t take any out of left field turns but it reads as very original and fresh. This was just a really great read!

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, NetGalley & Lucy Clarke for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this popcorn thriller! I loved the multiple POV's and the backpacking in the Norwegian mountains was the perfect setting for a thriller! Plus the short chapters kept me wanting to keep turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. I feel like the beginning was a little slow but once it got going I was hooked! I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it if you enjoy books about complicated friendships, backpacking in the mountains, and multiple POV's. 4 star read for me!

Maggie, Helena, Liz, and Joni are old friends that go on a “reconnect” trip annually. Usually it’s a relaxing in the sun trip but Liz’s idea is a hiking trip in Norway. They head out for four days in the Norwegian wilderness not realizing that none of them are prepared for what’s coming.

This was a great popcorn thriller that really showcased their relationships with each other. Each woman brings their issues and motivations for the trip. The beginning took a little to get going but the climax was worth it. Having an outdoor setting really helped with the thriller vibe.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC. The Hike is out now.

Ah, Lucy Clarke does it again in her newest thriller The Hike!
Loved this story and the writing style. As someone who has done a multiple day hike and have had to pack and carry and plan, I really got into this story.
Four lifelong friends that stay connected every year by going on a trip - yet this one is quite different than the others. A hike in the Norwegian mountains. Over the years, their lives have all taken different directions, and is this trip too much to bring them back together?
A woman’s body found dead on a cliff by other hikers, eerie warnings from the local lodge, and an ominous storm that catches them all by surprise. Who will make it out alive, and will it ultimately change their friendships forever?

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Pub date: 29 Aug 2023

Last week in Banff I got to hike up the moraine (aka rockpile) at the foot of this glacier-fed lake, hence the name Moraine Lake. It’s situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, and the view was one of the highlights of my amazing trip.
I love going for walks (I just returned from a long one on the bike path in my neighborhood) and I think hiking is basically just walking in the wilderness. Anyone can do it! HOWEVER, backcountry backpacking is a different beast. Anyone can do that, too, but it takes a good amount of preparation and knowledge to successfully trek for multiple days.
As I was reading this book, the four girls going for a backpacking trip reminded me of one woman I passed as I was going down the Rockpile Trail last week - she was wearing a dress and bedazzled flip flops. Now, could she hike to the top? Probably. Would she have blisters? Maybe. Should she have made some better decisions? ABSOLUTELY. Now, she was doing a .5 mile hike and would be back to where she started in about half an hour. The women in The Hike were going to a remote area of Norway for 4 days! They definitely should have made some better decisions. Their bad decisions are what propel this thriller's plot (big surprise), but I still have misgivings about any advertisement of inadequate preparation for an overnight trip. Don’t get me started on my feelings about Into the Wild…
Anyway, I read this quickly and even though some of it was ridiculous and the secondary plot wasn't my favorite, the short chapters and many POV kept me interested in this “popcorn thriller” and I bet you would be, too. Just please don’t imitate these women - if you want to plan a wild backpacking trip, make sure you ALL know the plan and have some basic rescue skills.
Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. It will be available in the US next Tuesday and is already available in the UK! This was my first read by the author, but I'm planning to give her writing another chance by reading One of the Girls.

This was a solid thriller. A little predictable, but it was a good quick read. I read in less than a day. Thank you for sending this book, I enjoyed it!

This was entertaining and unique. I liked that the story moved at a good pace and was a solid mystery. I will definitely check out more books by this author. Special Thank You to Lucy Clarke, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.

All I have to say is buckle up before you start The Hike and be prepared for a wild ride! I truly loved the premise of this book and the exceptional character development. All four women who set out on the hike are unique in their own ways, living absolutely different lifestyles, but always come back to each other. It is a quintessential book of sisterhood, with some shady characters and a few tragedies sprinkled in for good measure. A perfect beach read for 2023!!

This is the second book that I have read from the author. I gave her last book 5 stars and so I was really excited to delve into this book. We are following for friends as they lease if they’re hiking boots and they’re going on an adventure in the Norwegian outdoors. until someone ends up dead. Is there a killer on their trail?

In true Lucy Clarke form this book was a lot of fun. It’s definitely a fun, fast-paced thriller. I will say that I didn’t like it as much as her other book that I gave five stars to but this one was a close four-star don’t look too much into the reviews I think the synopsis tells you everything that you need to know go into it with limited knowledge because that makes it more fun.

This is my first book by Lucy Clarke and I really enjoyed it. I really liked her writing style and how she gave us the point of view from each of the four best friends in the story. Having each chapter being told from each one of the friends perspectives gave the book way more depth, and helped to create a thrilling, well-rounded story. It started off a little slow for me, but it quickly grabbed my attention, and kept me at the edge of my seat, until the very end! this was a great read to start getting me even more in the mood for spooky season and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This was a solid read from Lucy Clarke (I typically like her books). This story surrounds a group of friends who reunite for an annual vacation only for things to go wrong and secrets to be exposed. Flew threw this book- good for a quick read.

This was such a fun, suspenseful read about four friends embarking on a treacherous hike for holiday. Each has their own secrets and personal issues. They then hear about a missing girl who looks like one of them, and begin to wonder who on the mountain they can trust.

I love a story that pits interpersonal dynamics against extreme weather, so I really enjoyed this story! Clarke packs so much into this story, but it doesn't feel overwhelming and it's all tied up at the end. The characters felt pretty fully formed, and I did not see the twist at the end coming. A great read!

My Rating: 3/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and G.P. Putnan’s Sons for a copy of this eARC to review!

My Thoughts: I am a huge fan of survival stories. Ever since I was a kid I loved hearing about people surviving against all odds in the wilderness, and that love has continued into my adult life! I thought this book did a good job of keeping a fast pace throughout. I found myself flipping the pages (or swiping them?) quickly just to find out what happened next. While I liked the story I felt like I didn’t mesh with the writing style well. That’s nothing against the author though, sometimes my brain just doesn’t like how certain styles sound in my head. If that makes any sense! I think I also would’ve liked to see something else done with the ending. Overall it was a good story though!

I think fans of survival thrillers and fast paced books will like this! And just note that this book has already been published in the UK so the edition I read is being released in the US.

4 adult best friends take off every year on a new vacation, alternating who gets to pick the location. This year they go to a lodge to set off on an extremely challenging hike.
Okay so I’m thinking like a thriller version of Wild. (Not that I’ve read or watched Wild. Just when Lorelei Gilmore went to do Wild lol)

Random thoughts while reading:
First 25% of the book.. I’m like wait this is a thriller right??
Plot hole?? Like no one even looked at the map of the hike before they were at the lodge
Obviously didn’t google this place either or they would have seen a big read flag about this place.
No one is checking the weather before the hike except one of the 4.. even though everyone keeps warning them about the weather. Hmmm.

I loved how fast paced & engaging the book was. Even with 4 POVs, it was very easy to follow. Maybe a little predictable. I definitely guessed what was going on near the end in a sense. Lots of twists and turns though & I did stay up my bed time reading this one. Also short chapters 🙌 The characters were relatable. but thought they all had very poor decision making skills. Like almost laughable & unbelievable how much of a hot mess they all were.

Lucy Clarke is becoming quite the vacation thriller writer. And although I didn’t enjoy this one as much as One of the Girls, it is still a pretty solid thriller (and much more in the survivalist theme). I think overall the strengths of this one are really in the character development as each of the four main female characters felt really distinct and complicated in a way that made them feel much more relatable than characters often are in these situations. Their friendship and internal fighting also felt very real to how friendships actually are, and I found everything quite believable. I definitely found myself rooting for these women to survive the mountain and find a way through their hurt and betrayals.

I think the setting of a snowy, Norwegian mountain also worked really well for me. It felt like disaster could strike at any moment, and nature became just as much a threat as the human threat in this one. I was actually more interested in that part of the story and found the human threat and the found drug situation to be less interesting and a little more cliche than the rest of the story. Although I didn’t love how the ending played out, it is certainly tense and full of action. The chapters in this one are really short, so it is easy to speed through as you can pick and read in small spurts.

If you enjoy thrillers and are looking for something a little different, I think Lucy Clarke is a pretty solid author and worth your time checking out.

I am a sucker for a secluded thriller and The Hike delivered! The beginning was a bit slow as the friends made their way to Norway and the reader got used to their different POVs but I absolutely devoured the last 50% in one sitting. Good twists and turns, the multi POV is always a plus, and I actually teared up a little?

I’m such a fan of Lucy Clarke’s thrillers and was so excited to get my hands on this one!

Her newest book is a solid thriller…a slow burn with a twisty plot about four friends who embark on a hiking adventure together…but what they don’t know is chaos awaits them.

Things really picked up for me around 40% in…I do appreciate that Clarke took the time to let us get to know the main characters- so even though it took a minute for the action to really start their backstory was important.

I thought the character development was fantastic- interesting woman whose lives were all intertwined, lots of secrets between them, and very different personalities. I really felt like I knew who each of the friends were and it was fun to see how they meshed together…and some of them I definitely liked more than others.

I thought the writing was so great (no surprise there!) and everything I read felt important & relevant- always love a no fluff book.
Told in multiple POVs with lots of flashbacks, this helped the story move along and things really did pick up speed.

You could tell she really knew what she was writing about and there were a lot of details specific to hiking & mountains, but everything was explained well.
Some parts felt a bit unbelievable- like the prep for the hike and some things that happened along the way- but I don’t want to say anymore because spoilers are no fun.

There were a few different storylines and I was definitely surprised by the ending and how things wrapped up. I didn’t imagine the book would go the way it did and it was a little much, but still a good finish!!

I’ll have my eye out for her next book!

I came across Lucy Clarke last year after her release of One of the Girls. I was chosen to review an ARC of that book and I absolutely loved it! I felt as though I was on hen weekend myself and could literally feel the sun on my face and taste the delicious food. It was one of my favorites of the year!

When I received an ARC of The Hike I was beyond excited! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book and hoped for the same descriptive beauty that I experienced with One of the Girls. While I did really enjoy The Hike, it was very different from her previous book. I found it a bit more difficult to immerse myself in the story at first, but I did enjoy the gloomy, slightly creepy vibe. It intrigued me and kept me interested. Having the same suspense as her previous book, this one is a little more building. I wouldn’t say it’s a slow burn, but each chapter gets more intense.

While The Hike isn’t necessarily the book you would pick up to read on the beach, it’s filled with suspense, mystery, and once it gets going it’s quite a fast-paced thrill ride. If you love a good thriller, I definitely recommend it! This would be the perfect book to curl up with this Fall. I can’t wait to see what Lucy Clarke writes next!!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review another gem!