A quick and easy read with enough twists to keep me engaged and eager to find out what happens next. What girls’ trip doesn’t have someone yelling at someone else at least once? It did annoy me that these women, who stress that they’ve been so close for years, were so secretive with each other and hashed things out when they were lost on a mountain buuuuut I guess that makes it interesting.
3.5/5

This one was a tad misleading. I also shouldn’t have read it so closely on the heels of She Started It, because they’re essentially the same story – a group of lifelong friends, all of whom are hiding secrets, go on a remote vacation and not all of them come back. In this case, our friends are hiking in Norway, rather than being lured to a private island, but the dynamics are very similar (and again, I had a hard time telling them apart). There’s Liz with the seemingly perfect family (but she and her husband are doing a trial separation); there’s Maggie whose entire identity is wrapped around her daughter; there’s Helena the wild party girl (I think she maybe has a good job too? That part was unclear). And also Joni the rockstar, who joins the vacation at the last second after several months of group chat radio silence.

We’re given to understand that these four take a vacation together every year, and each year someone different gets to choose. Tired of the same old “drinking by the pool” vacations, Liz decides they should go “wild camping” and hike Blafjell, a mountain in Norway. No word on why they decide to do it at the CLOSE of tourist season, rather than DURING tourist season, when it would be safer and the weather more predictable. This trip is truly something out of my nightmares, by the way - four whole days of hiking and camping, including climbing up a damn mountain, while carrying all of your gear on your back. Everyone besides Liz is about as enthused about it as I would be. And for her part, Liz is mostly just trying to escape from her life, imagining herself as some kind of Cheryl Strayed figure. We also get chapters from “the search,” where lodge owner Leif is racing against time to get to a body on the mountain, spotted by some German hikers.

The novel opens as the women are all preparing to leave, and we see the ways in which their lives are not as perfect as they’ve painted them (it’s also a classic case of idealizing someone else’s life because you’re dissatisfied with your own). They spend one night at the lodge in Norway before setting off on the trail, and basically everyone they come into contact with tries to talk them out of it (again, no idea why they’d decide to do this hike on the literal last day of the season!). There’s even talk of how the top of Blafjell is a “thin” place – as in, the line between worlds is thin and there might be ghosts up there. And also Maggie bears a striking resemblance to Karin, the woman who went missing exactly one year earlier…on the exact same hike. It’s a lot of build up and wind up, and it ends up not really paying off. I’d have preferred a more straightforward survival story.

It’s fine - one of those books you can fly through in an afternoon. I’m pretty sure in a few weeks, I’ll have trouble distinguishing this from She Started It.

⭐️REVIEW⭐️
The Hike by Lucy Clarke
Out 8/29/23 from @putnambooks #gifted

This was an easy breezy read. I read it in the 3.5 hour train ride from Santiago to Madrid. And it just was ok.

The characters seemed rather one dimensional and the plot “twists” were meh. I wanted to love it, but this was just fine for me. The “paranormal” aspect thrown in was unnecessary.

I did love the scenery of the story and the end epilogue was well done.

Recommend for those willing to go in knowing this is nothing new and there’s a lot going on.

This book was well written. The characters were real and relatable. The hardships they encountered as they completed their hike was edge of your seat exciting. The complications of facing the facets of intrigue faced was a true testament to their resilience and friendship.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishing for the ARC of The Hike by Lucy Clarke. Liz and 4 of her friends take a yearly vacation together. This year the trip is a 4 day hike in the Norwegian wilderness. One of them will not return. Read to find out what happens. Lucy Clarke is a favorite author of mine. This book was great!

While The Hike had amazing pacing and each chapter was the perfect length, the overall story fell flat for me. I was interested to see what happened but felt like I was reading a campfire story. This was was a quick read with guessable twists but was still entertaining.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The synopsis of this book had me HOOKED...but the novel fell short for me unfortunately. I liked the whole friendship sort of vibe we had going on, but if they are lifelong friends how the hell were there these big secrets? And why wait to share until you are ALONE in the WILDERNESS? I mean this isn't something bad, it just felt pretty dramatic to me. The book took me a while to get through because I wasn't in love with it. This might be a reflection on me and my reading tastes, but I just didn't feel a connection to it.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Four women who are the closest of friends take a girls trip every year and this year they choose something different which will be out of their comfort zones. They decide to fly to Norway to go hiking in the beautiful and possibly dangerous mountains for four carefree days to escape their everyday mundane routines and life problems while also catching up with one another's lives including babies, husbands careers and also some regrettable life choices over the years.

Not all the women are thrilled with the idea mountain hiking yet they're always supportive of one another even when they'd rather be on a sunny and warm beach in some other beautiful, exotic location. The people are welcoming although somewhat aloof in the small village of Norway and give the ladies instructions and advice with some warnings of dangers they could encounter while hiking. At times they feel they are not alone and being watched by an unseen,.creepy presence. The women aren't prepared to find themselves discovering something very bad that places them in great danger if found out while at the same time two of the women have been harboring painful secrets which will affect the group but only one will reveal a secret so ugly and shameful that it could cause a breakdown in the friendships or it could possibly cost one woman her life!


I loved everything about this book from the beginning to the final page. I'm a fan.of locked room mysteries and thrillers and that's what this story was even though it took place in the great outdoors. Oh, the writing and storytelling were just so good I hated having to put the book down to take care of my reality (sigh). I have now become an official fan of this author "Lucy Clarke" as I had read another of her books called "One Of The Girls" which I was also crazy about.

The atmosphere and scenery were made so visual that all my senses were alive with all the lovely, descriptive words and phrases where I felt I was an invisible party hiking alongside the women. Just so much fun and enjoyable entertainment with continuous threats of menace or physical danger lurking around every bend.

Not all the women were warm, fuzzy characters. Each of them at different times could be annoying or irritating but that's what made the story saucy, spicy and oh. so delicious! I highly recommend this book and I am so looking forward to the next novel "Lucy Clarke" writes as well as reading some of her previous books.


I want to thank the publisher "Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam Sons" and Net galley for the opportunity to read this terrific book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this novel a rating of 4 1/2 MESMERIZING AND EXCITING 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

Title: The Hike
Author: Lucy Clarke
Publisher: Penguin Group Putnam
Publication Date: August 29, 2023

“No help.
No cell coverage.
No one to hear them scream.”

Four friends take an annual trip together, this year to the mountains to hike. It was definitely a creepy setting, between the elements and survival skills needed. As their story is going on, simultaneously there is a story about a woman found dead in the mountains. Eventually they intertwine. I loved the development and background of each character. The ending wrapped up fast and kind of fell flat. I wish it was a little more drawn out and not rushed.

This is my first read by Lucy Clarke, and I was very impressed. The story follows four women who have been friends since grade school as they meet up for their yearly vacation. Each year a different person gets to pick what they do, and this year the woman in charge picks a three day hiking trip in Norway. At the beginning of the book we are told that one of the women is dead.
The story was beautifully atmospheric. I know that this is a thriller but the way it was described made me want to travel there. It sounded gorgeous! The relationships between the women, who all have their own personal issues they are dealing with, was believable and steered clear from a lot of the more stereotypical plotlines. There were parts of the book that I found predictable, but overall it was a fast, fun, and engaging read. I'll read more by her in the future for sure.

Holy moly that was fantastic. It was every bit creepy, thrilling, edge of my seat, heart stopping. I could NOT put it down. I am feeling all the feels right now with that ending! Thank you so much Netgalley and Penguin Group for allowing me to read this one. 5+ stars

Pack your bags because it's time to go on the annual girls trip you've been waiting for! Four lifelong best friends are trading in their annual beach vacay for a hiking trip that is packed full of adventure, secrets, and regrets in the mountains of Norway. The book started off slow as you got to know each of the characters, but quickly picked up as the four friends set off on their strenuous hike through the Norwegian mountains. What was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime ends up being a trip from hell as these four friends encounter the secrets of the wilderness. Will the foursome all come out alive or will the idyllic, hiking vacation turn into survival of the fittest?

This is definitely a binge-worthy book that you won't want to put down. Thank you to Lucy Clarke, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the ARC and opportunity to provide this review!

The Hike by Lucy Clarke

Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 4/5
Thrill: 3/5
Enjoyment/ overall: 4/5

No help.
No cell coverage.
No one to hear them scream.

Here we go….. on a hike of a lifetime with four friends Maggie, Liz, Helena and Joni. All longtime friends that decided to go hiking in the Norwegian mountains but something would happen that would halt their fun and add murde to the list. Let me say that I usually love Clarke’s writings and while this was good, it was not great. The pace was slow and felt rushed to me. The characters were well developed and very likable and the descriptive nature of her writing about the elements and surroundings was awesome. I just felt like that was really the best part. The ending was not really how I planned or expected it to end and I. Most cases, that would be wonderful, but the fact that it was rushed took away from the mystery/ thrill for me.


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Wow! I love reading Lucy Clarke. I couldn’t put this book down. I really liked how the story flowed and how every single event unfolded. You think you know what’s about to happen and then…bam, you get hit with a twist. The many twists that happen in this story make sense and doesn’t come out of nowhere. I wanted to be a part of this girls trip and Lucy Clarke makes you feel like you’re there with them. Thank you Lucy Clarke and NetGalley for this great ARC!

The Hike by Lucy Clarke follows Maggie, Liz, Helena, and Joni, old friends bound by history, adventures, old secrets, and now, bound by murder.hey lace up their hiking boots for the adventure of a lifetime in the Norwegian wilderness: a place of towering mountains, glass-like lakes, log cabins and forests stolen from a fairytale. It’s the perfect place to lose yourself – until a broken body is found at the bottom of a ravine. Somewhere out there, someone knows exactly why a woman has died. And in this deep, dark wilderness, there’s a killer on the trail . . .

The hike was a quick, suspenseful that I always end up enjoying. I found some of the character's hard to differentiate from one another, but I loved the atmosphere of this book.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this thriller, I didn't realize I needed this! This was a page turner and very tense - I did not see any of twist/turns which I like especially in a thriller. I am excited to read more from this author and already recommended this novel to my girlfriends!

Four best friends—Liz, Maggie, Helena, and Joni—celebrate their friendship each year with an annual girls trip. This year, they are trading cocktails on the beach for mountain climbing in Norway. As the women hit the hiking trails, each is carrying more than just camping gear—marriage woes, burnout, a surprise pregnancy, and more. The further they climb, the more dark secrets emerge. And the further away they are from civilization, the more it becomes clear that they are not alone in the wilderness. There is no cell phone coverage, no help…and no one to hear them scream.

Told from the perspectives of each of the four women, this adventurous thriller explores the power of friendship and nature. Set in the picturesque mountains of Norway, this novel had an engaging plot and lovable characters. It took awhile for the action to really begin, but once it did, they were so many shocking twists and revelations. I was not a fan of the ending, but I will say it was definitely unexpected. Overall, a captivating survivalist thriller that I highly recommend you add to your summer reading list.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP/G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t find any sort of entry point into this book. This is the third book I’ve read of Lucy Clarke’s and I find her writing to be long winded, disjointed, and not well developed. This fell flat for me and I wasn’t invested in any of the characters at all.

After already enjoying the authors book „one of the girls“ I knew I would be enjoying this novel as well. It’s similar to the book in terms of different POVs that switch throughout the story. Clarke is giving us enough background information on all main characters so that you can vividly picture them and understand their emotions and actions as the story evolves. The description of Norwegian mountains and the hiking trails makes you want to go and travel there yourself - just hope for better luck than the ones the protagonists had … „the hike“ was an interesting novel and took a twist I didn’t expect. It wasn’t very suspenseful or scary, but it’s a nice read and I enjoyed to travel vicariously through Maggie, Liz, Joni and Helena :-) thank you Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC! #arc #netgalley

This book and the storyline were compelling, but it didn't have enough of the elements I am looking for in a thriller.

The beginning of the book was slow, but I enjoyed the time it allowed me to get to know each of the characters. Throughout the beginning, you really get a feel for the dynamic between the 4 friends and their relationships with one another.

Once the hike starts, you are thrown into the survival fiction element of this storyline, and start to get a sense of the mountain and the elements the group are faced with. This was honestly my favorite portion because the setting was unique compared to most (if not all) of the thriller books I have read.

Just as I was becoming invested in that, the story abruptly (and in a way I was not expecting) shifted gears and the mystery/thriller elements ALL kicked in and made the ending feel rushed to me. While the last 20% of the book was intense, it lacked the shock factor that I am looking for in a thriller recommendation.