Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC of “The Hike”. This is the first book I’ve read from this author. I was very pleasantly surprised! This book was exactly what I needed. A perfect blend of mystery and adventure.

“The Hike” tells the story of four women who have been friends for a long time and go on an annual trip together every year. This year, one of the friends has chosen a specific four day hike in Norway, very ambitious for this group.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Let’s just say that the character development and setting description makes it easy to get swept away on the hike! This was a fast read for me, and I would be interested in reading other works by this author.

I received an ARC of this book from Penguin Group via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I am adding this to my recent reads which are not really as thriller-esque as the synopsis would lead you to believe. However, this was 100% a page turner, with intense atmospheric suspense. And it just reaffirmed my desire to never ever hike or camp. Bleeding blisters on day 1? Almost drowning? Getting wet in the tent? Yes - these occurrences are terrifying enough to almost qualify as a thriller.

The author does a good job with characterization and making each woman an individual with her own story. I also have a soft spot for books about old friends, though Liz would no longer be my friend after choosing this hike instead of a pool holiday.

There were definitely twists I didn't expect, regarding the women's relationships and also the plot involving the people from the lodge.

Overall this was enjoyable and I would recommend for fans of dramatic women's fiction.

Helena, Maggie, Liz, and Joni have been friends since primary school. As adults, they make it a point to take a vacation together every year, usually lying around on a beach somewhere sipping drinks. This year Liz decides on an ambitious mountain hike in Norway. All of the women have troubles in their personal lives and each of them has misgivings about this trip as well.
As soon as they arrive at the lodge, they notice that there is something a little bit off about some of the locals and are warned that the mountain trail is known for being dangerous. They also learn that a woman who looked eerily similar to Maggie disappeared on the mountain exactly one year ago. Their hike immediately encounters problems as tempers fray and buried conflicts between the friends are brought to light. They endure arguments, storms, injuries, and a landslide on their way up the mountain but the biggest danger comes from the others who are on the mountain with them.
I enjoyed the way this story revealed several mysteries along the way instead of building up to one big revelation. The way all of the conflicts played out and were resolved was often unexpected and although you suspect that not everyone will make it out of the wilderness, the identity of the victims and villains isn't clear until the very end.
#theHike

I just finished "The Hike" by Lucy Clarke and it was a great read that sent shivers down my spine. The story follows four friends on their hiking trip in Norway, where they face death and an overwhelming feeling of being watched in a possibly supernatural place.

As someone who loves hiking and being outdoors, I can definitely relate to the feeling of being spooked/watched. The book really captured that eerie feeling and had me feeling more scared than I expected!

What I enjoyed the most about the book were the four female main characters. They were all so relatable and I found myself empathizing with different parts of each of them. The story is a great portrayal of female friendship, highlighting both the hurt and growth that can come from it. I didn’t expect this much depth from a thriller!

Overall, I would highly recommend "The Hike" to anyone who enjoys an unpredictable thriller with a creepy setting and strong female characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read and review this book!

3.5 Stars

I enjoyed this one! I liked the character backgrounds, thought the plot of the book was pretty good, and felt like it had a great pace! Any longer or any shorter and it wouldn't have worked.

I felt like the characters came off as pretty relatable - all were in different stages of life, but they were a group of friends that stayed together through thick and thin.

Liz - the doctor who is going through a trial separation with her husband. She's seen as the "perfect" life and has everything together.

Maggie - the single mom who loves her daughter so much but doesn't do anything for herself.

Helena - the single friend who is career oriented and has nothing to stop her.

Joni - an actual rock star who travels the world but visits her friends during her down time.

The catch? All of them have a secret that becomes know on the hike.

The twist? There's also a murderer on the mountain with them. The four friends get caught up in a secret that unravels all of their secrets, plus more.

I did figure out who the murderer was and who all was involved, so I will say that's a bit obvious. Other than that I enjoyed the book and finished it within a day!

Best friends Joni, Maggie, Liz and Helena have set out on their yearly girls trip! This year, Liz has decided that they are going to hike the Blafjell mountain in Norway. The story follows their trek and details their friendship throughout the years. The women soon realize that this mountain is more than they can handle and while it helps them to leave their personal problems at home, they soon find out that they’re not the only ones looking to escape their problems. The forest is full of secrets and their only hope is that everyone can survive the trip.

I gave this book 4/5 stars and I couldn’t put it down! I finished it in 3 hours! Highly recommend!

Thank you so much NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Lucy Clarke for allowing me to read The Hike before its release on Aug 29!

For their yearly girls trip Liz decided that this year instead of beach location they would go to the mountains of Norway to hike. Her three friends are less then enthused but decide to go for Liz. As they start hiking each women has secrets they they are dealing with and old wounds that have not healed. When they stumble upon a crime not only do they have to face each other but those that want to hide their crime.

Clarke is the master of suspense and she did it yet again with another enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Four friends, Liz, Helena, Joni and Maggie, set off to Norway for their yearly girl’s trip. It is Liz's turn to pick the trip and she decides on a slightly not so friendly hike in the Blafjell mountains. Although Liz has been given warnings of the dangers of this hike, she conceals this from the rest of the group because there is no way she is turning back, no matter what the warnings, danger or risks are.

Liz is a mother and wife who is married to her high school sweetheart. They are having relationship issues and are on a trial separation. Helena is perhaps the worse of the group. She is rude, abrasive, a whore and very jealous hearted. Maggie is a divorcee and mother of one, who clings to her only child. She is still learning the art of coparenting. Joni is the fun one, the party girl, and popular musician who occasionally binges on cocaine and alcohol.

The book was a good and quick read. I really love hiking stories and loved the fact that the author gave a fictional spin to the location of the Svelle trail and Blafiell mountain so that we could imagine without comparing. I always love to experience new hiking trails and locations, so I was pleasantly pleased with this one, and I of course I googled it 😊.

The story was told from multiple POVs which I don't think worked very well here. I also don't think the two times lines worked well either. On one hand you have the girls POV and on the other, you have the timeline of the search with Lief. The problem with the search timeline is it didn't seem to be clearly outlined whether the search was taking place during the current hike with the girls or the previous hike with Erik a year ago. I also do not feel that Helena's jealousy of Joni was ever addressed or dealt with. It seemed that Helena was given a pass and somehow Joni had to apologize and be understanding. Helena was so awful to Joni and none of the friends came to Joni’s rescue. In fact, none of the friends came to Joni's rescue when she needed them the most! I felt that when Joni was there, she was really there for her friends and would do anything for them, but no one caught Joni when she was at her most vulnerable and needed them the most. I really loved her character and felt she had the most depth which made the reader want to learn more.

For me the book died after chapter 79 and from that point it was just reading the wrap up which wasn't completely wrapped up. It fell short of addressing what happened to Knut or how he was directly involved. It also did not fully examine what happed to Erik's girlfriend on the night in question. For me the ending was not smoothly done and didn’t really feel like an ending. I kept waiting for the twist or surprise. Somehow it did not feel final.

Another flaw was the villain ‘s 🦹 storyline. Anyone running any type of illicit business has more than one bad guy on the scene; and thus, I found it incredulous to believe that we would be left with one bad guy on the mountain extracting revenge.

I also felt that if you are going to make a character a doppelganger of another, it should be explored more in-depth which this one was not. It felt more like a resemblance in passing than a topic that held any significance to the storyline. However, I did really like the ending of Maggie's story as well as Liz’s. Helena's ending story could be skipped because who cares, she’s not very likable anyway. Joni's ending story was a big flop for me, but I really loved the ending stories for Erik, Lief and Austin. I found them very realistic while on the other hand I found Vilhelm’s story ending a bit comical and less believable.

This was my first book by Lucy Clarke, and I would definitely read another book by this author. For the most part this book kept me engaged, was a quick read and kept my interest. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publishing company for allowing me to read this arc for an honest review.

I was veryyyyyy disappointed in this one 😩 after absolutely loving ONE OF THE GIRLS last year, I was really hoping this would be a hit too! sadly, it felt victim to overused tropes!!!

when four friends reunite for their yearly trip, everything feels different - and not for the reason I was expecting (aka they selected to hike up a dangerous mountain during a storm season like THAT was a good idea 🥴🥴)

and if that wasn’t a key enough example, every single one of these characters is SO stupid that I was physically rolling my eyes every chapter at something one of them did, such as leaving your packs behind with everything important in it in your tent … or … choosing to leave a cabin when there’s literally a murderer on the loose …

I think I was just so put off by the dumb actions of the characters that I felt like I was in a stereotypical horror movie instead of a mystery thriller

lucy clarke’s writing, however, is as fantastic as ever, keeping me intrigued and occupied with different POVs until the very end! sadly, the ending wasn’t enough to save the storyline and left me wondering what was the whole point

a huge thank you to netgalley and st martin’s press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 2 stars
wine pairing: alsace gewürztraminer

“The Hike” by Lucy Clarke was a suspenseful read about a group of girlfriends that go hiking in Norway on their annual girl’s trip. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the story, but feel like some of the plot twists were a bit too much. Overall, it was an entertaining book.

Four friends, Liz, Joni, Helena, and Maggie have been friends since childhood. The friends all have very different personalities and all are experiencing different stages in life, with their own internal struggles. Liz is married (though not always happily) with children and a great career. Joni is a rockstar with a substance abuse problem, who is always touring and struggles to effectively pull her weight in her friendships. Helena seems to be a bit lost, not sure what she wants in life, working through a difficult past, and always ending up in strangers’ beds. Maggie is a sweet, single mother navigating coparenting with her ex-husband. The group of friends all make it a point to get together for an annual trip together, usually somewhere tropical and poolside; however, this time, Liz plans for them to hike the Norwegian mountains. Throughout the book, readers learn that these lifelong friends are hiding secrets from one another. All the while, finding out that the mountains they are hiking, may contain secrets of its own..

I think this book is the first “survivalist thriller” genre book that I’ve read. The detailed imagery throughout the book was top notch! Amazing descriptions of the mountain and beach landscapes, as well as detailed accounts of action scenes within the plot. This novel was definitely a slow burn. It took quite awhile to introduce all four characters, their backstories and histories, and delve into their relationships with one another. The action picked up about halfway through the book, and once it did, I moved quickly through the end. As I said before, I was super impressed with the imagery throughout- and I kept thinking this book would make a great movie! The writing was so detailed, I had no difficulty watching it play out in my head as I was reading. This is my first Lucy Clarke book, and I would definitely read another!

Read if you enjoy:
👯‍♀️ lifelong female friendships
🪵 hiking / the outdoors
🌲 wilderness setting
🤫 friendships with secrets
🏕️ survivalist thriller
🔀 multiple POVs
⛰️ action scenes sprinkled in

I read this book courtesy of @NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read before pub day on August 29th!

This was a great thriller! It was my first read by Lucy Clarke, and I will definitely be picking up more! I really liked the setting descriptions, and I could really picture the Norwegian wilderness and the mountains. There were a few twists I didn’t see coming, and a few I did, and I liked how the change in timelines kept me on my toes. I liked the switching of POVs to get the full story, but I did get confused a few times as to who was speaking. All in all, I really enjoyed the book and recommend it!

Every year longtime friends Liz, Maggie, Helena, and Joni go on a vacation together. This time it's Liz's turn to pick the destination and she has chosen a hiking trip in Norway. The others are not thrilled with the choice but they all go along, with Joni arriving late. When they arrive they hear some terrifying things about the mountain they are going to climb and one of those things is the disappearance of a woman a year before.

The chapters alternate between each of the womens' perspective and later from someone involved in a search. The first several chapters are spent introducing the women. They are all going through some personal problems and there are some secrets.

The perspectives aren't distinct enough once they get to Norway
They are in third person, which I enjoy, but it could be anyone's chapter. I also feel too much time is spent on their inner thoughts and problems in the beginning.

Once they get on the mountain things pick up. It becomes a survival thriller. I wish there was more of that because it is done well.

There are some twists and secrets are revealed but I wasn't surprised. The villain's motives and actions don't really fit believably with the rest of the story. It makes for a tense climax but it almost feels like two different stories.

I get the overall message and can see what the author is going for. I just would have liked the action to take up a larger part of the story.

3.5 stars

3.5 stars rounded up. Four friends on a hike in the mountains of Norway encounter obstacle after obstacle, in the form of weather and natural disasters, bad men and at times each other. It was a fast read, a bit too black and white and melodramatic, like why so many things go wrong when just the simple things of them with their complicated relationships and unresolved lives and being unprepared for the hike itself would have been story enough. There was some personal growth and resolution

i think my students would enjoy this adventure story with some personal growth and mystery added into it. Four long time friends on a treacherous hike. Will they all survive?

This one didn’t hit as well for me but I may not have been the target demographic. I found the pacing to be too all over the place and didn’t connect with any of the characters. That said, I think this would be a great read for some.

I really enjoyed this book and the story that was told within it. I was drawn to this book because I love hiking and I love thrillers (obviously this was the perfect combination!). The book starts off a little slow, up until they start their hike. I found the characters to be really well thought out and developed especially for a thriller novel which can sometimes give us all plot and no character development. These are characters that as a reader you feel for, laugh with, want to scream at, etc. we follow them on this journey where honestly they have not a lot of experience in and is quite a task in and of itself (personally I would not be doing a 4 day backpacking trip where I summit a mountain having never hiked or trained for it); However, as they say adrenaline and survival will push you to do things you never thought you would do. Overall story was great, but I did find the ending a little lackluster. I feel like there was some fun directions this could have taken, but instead it wasn’t anything that really shocked me. Nonetheless, I HIGHLY recommend this book if you want a thriller you can get immersed within. Plus you get a great setting and a beautiful story of friendship.

A fast-paced wilderness thriller! This was my first book by Lucy Clarke and now I’ll be hunting down the rest. An entertaining read with a diverse set of characters, yet the alternating chapters were easy to follow. A great story with a surprise ending!

Lucy Clarke, does it again

I mean, did we expect anything else?

I completely fan-girled out last year after reading "One of the Girls", last year and fell in love with Lucy Clarke's writing style. Right then, after concluding, I knew that Lucy Clarke, would join my list of "auto buy authors" .

I love the way Clarke throws us right into the chaos. The suspense is present early on. The character development is on point and each one of the characters come to life between the pages. The twist will get everyones pulse racing and left me in pure shock.

This is a MUST READ for everyone who loves thrillers, suspense, and even drama.

The Hike is out August 23, 2023, you know what to do! Head on over to your favorite bookstore and pre-order this book!


Teaser :

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

Burned-out by both her marriage and work, Liz is desperate for an escape. More than that, she craves an adventure, a total reset. So, when she plans a vacation with her three best friends, she persuades them to spend four nights camping in the stunning mountains of Norway. Following a trail that climbs through lush valleys, towering peaks, and past jewel-blue lakes, Liz is sure that the hike is just what they need.

But as they stride farther from civilization, it becomes clear that the women are not the only ones looking to lose themselves in the mountains. The wilderness hides secrets darker than they could ever have imagined, and if they’re not careful . . . not all of them will return.

I simply devoured this super fast paced thriller!

This is the vivid account, from different points of view, of four British women who have been friends since childhood. They vacation together ever year mostly in tropical and relaxing places. This year It’s Liz turn to chose, so they are are spending four days wild hiking and camping in the remote mountains of Norway.

Each woman has their own background story/issues.

Liz is a wife, a mother and a doctor. Things are a bit rocky at home and as a result, she and husband Patrick are on a trial separation.

Helena is the last person you’d ever think you’d see on a rugged camping trip. And, she might be pregnant, no she is pregnant. The father? Uh there’s lots of choices.

Maggie is devoted to daughter Phoebe and most reluctant to leave her. This will be the first time they will be apart and her daughter is staying with her “Arsehole” ex, Aiden.

Joni is an idolised rock star and all that comes with being famous. Cocaine being one of them. She’s the wild one of the four.

So off to Norway they go with no inkling of the adventure and danger that will unfold in the next four days.

The author truly captured in words the beautiful imagery of the mountain and beach. I felt I was right there on the mountain and sensing the terror, pain, and cold they experienced..

I definitely recommend this thriller and predict it to be a hit for sure.