A girl is running from an unknown pursuer across a Yorkshire moor Twenty years later the scene is repeated. Coincidence or chance? Lifes or deaths? We know from the start about the pursuit of the first girl, Alice, but to the rest of the population she just disappeared, swallowed up by one of the many bogs. The nearest village, Hartsbridge, has never forgotten, many of the locals knew her, went to school with her, worked for her father. After her death, the family couldn’t bear to stay on in the area and abandoned their large, mansion in the hills above the village and its estate Their private zoo sold off or euthanised. The house, falling into ruin remains, looked after by a live in caretaker. Village life revolves around the Inn, and the population are a bunch of assorted characters from central casting.
The second girl, Gemma, had a dysfunctional childhood, looked after by her older sister, Sarah, because their mother was usually drunk and incapable. Sarah had fought to overcome the background to become a divorce lawyer in London, but Gemma had led a hand-to-moth life as a care worker in Brighton. Her feckless boyfriend, Mark, is more o a hindrance than a help, certainly when it comes to earning and keeping money. Sarah, although carrying a burden of guilt, hasn’t heard from Gemma in five years, after a bust-up at their mother’s funeral. Deeply in debt, Gemma and Mark decide to travel to a rumoured Cannabis farm, with some thought of extorting money by blackmail. The farm is based in a dilapidated mansion above the village of Hartsbridge!
The first Sarah knows about the latter situation comes when the police ask her for information about Gemma. A crashed and burned car has been found on the moor – Mark’s car. In it is a very dead male body, and no sign of Gemma. Sarah, with one week to go before her wedding, abandons her fiancé and rushes North. There, in loose association with the police, she starts investigating – turning up copious numbers of clues they’ve missed and generally upsetting virtually everyone she meets.
From a plot point of view, this is a fairly standard “amateur sleuth searching for a missing person” story, although it is on the above average side. It is written, mostly in alternate chapters, from two perspectives: Sarah, in first-person real-time mode, relates the unfolding of events (with some background interpolated); an omniscient narrator relates the motivation and events in Gemma’s story, from the decision to go North, through the events which led to and immediately followed the car crash, to the overlap with Sarah’s narrative. This type of story requires continuing jeopardy and this book has that in spades, from a few small cards up to a royal flush as the final events unfold in excessive, indeed OTT, incidents. The writing remains strong even through this mayhem.
One thing that does confuse me is the title; I can’t identify any character that could be called “The Hiker”.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Based on the blurb/synopsis, this book didn't end up being what I expected. There was very little hiking involved.

The story was interesting, had some twists, seemed a little far-fetched at points. The ending? Eh, seemed a little rushed, but I wouldn't want the book to be much longer.

Overall, a decent read although not one that I'm going to be thinking about months down the road.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Wowsers, this was a bit round the houses and back again convoluted! And the gift that kept on giving really, with an unexpected (to me anyway) ending.
We start with Sarah who is in the middle of planning her wedding which is quite imminent. She is shocked and confused when she is contacted by the police who are worried for the safety of her sister Gemma who is apparently missing. A sister who she has been estranged from for a good while after a nasty argument at their mother's funeral some years since. Estrangement notwithstanding, Sarah had recently sent out an olive branch to Gemma, inviting her to the wedding, an invitation she has yet to have returned. With that and the feeling that the Police aren't really getting anywhere, she does what she perceives to be the right thing and travels up to the Pennines, to where Gemma was last seen to see what she can find out.
And so begins a rather interesting and intriguing tale involving a lot more that at first appears on the surface. Including rumour and legend of a giant cat roaming the moorland... The rest of which I will leave you to discover as the author intends. Be prepared to have your wits about you though as it does all end up a bit convoluted, albeit all coming good at the end.
It's more of a plodder book than a race a minute although it does have its moments. Which are reflected in the pacing which matches the narrative all the way through. The author builds up the layers through sections from the POV of each sister and then, once all is in place starts to peel them off again to reveal the actual truth.
The setting is also almost a character in its own right. Small village, with a tight knit community adds to the claustrophobic, cloying feel of the story being told. It has its own legends and previous unsolved tragedy so the locals are somewhat guarded, deliciously so in parts.
All in all, a thoroughly decent read for fans of the genre. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Gemma is living with her boyfriend Mark and they are barely scraping by when one day Mark tells Gemma he knows of a way to get his hands on a lot of money real easy. The only thing they have to do is travel to a remote village and confront some people with what he (and now Gemma too) knows about their illegal activities. Gemma has sincere doubts but despite Mark not being the brightest, and not being the ideal partner, she loves him and agrees to go with him. And then they disappear…
Sarah is a successful lawyer who’s going to get married to her equally successful fiancée the following week. When she hears about the disappearance of Gemma, she decides to follow in her tracks because although they’ve not been in regular contact over the years, she cannot think about a wedding without having her sister there.
We follow Gemma and Sarah both, because the story is being told from their respective points of view. They both end up in a somewhat creepy little village, where a couple of years ago a young girl disappeared. She was never found again and some of the villagers are certain this is what happened to Gemma too. There is talk about strange beasts in the forest and strange rituals being held in the big house that once dominated the village. What is folklore, what is true and above all: will Gemma share the fate of the first girl that went missing?
A nice enough book but sadly not as gripping and atmospheric as promised. The characters stayed mostly quite flat and I didn’t notice any real surprises, including the ending. The writing was good and with more suspense and better developed characters the book would have earned more stars.

Sarah Kline, a successful lawyer, has had an on-off relationship with her younger sister Gemma. who lives an impoverished life with no-hoper boyfriend, Mark. When Mark is found dead in a burnt out car on the moors just outside Hartsbridge in the Pennines, and there is no sign of Gemma, Sarah decides to travel to the village to try to discover what happened and hopefully find her sister.

Hartsbridge is a place of friendly and not so friendly locals. There is an aura of something sinister there and of people being not quite what they seem. As Sarah makes her enquiries, odd clues begin to emerge but there appear to be folk who want things left alone, one even going so far as to threaten Sarah with a gun. Added to the mystery, is the disappearance sixteen years ago of local girl Alice Brockenhurst. Has the same fate befallen Gemma?

The story is related by both Sarah and Gemma, which enables the reader to easily follow events. It's a sometimes scary and unnerving tale and there are times when Sarah's strong character overrides the fact she could be putting herself in danger. Although I felt I'd already met some of these characters in previous TV dramas, it didn't take anything away from the enjoyment of the read. Recommended.

The last few weeks I’ve been in a bit of a slump, it’s taken me weeks to finish a book, but this book I finished in 4 days! I was hooked from start to finish.

I really liked the dual POV in this book. It was really nice to follow Sarah as she searched for her sister, whilst also skipping back to Gemmas POV to find out what was actually happening. The author’s description of the setting was also really good, I felt like I was in the village with them, imagining every place Sarah visited.

My only gripe with the story was there was so many characters to try and remember that at times I had trouble remembering who was who, and so many of them were involved with the actual crime that it felt confusing at times, but it still didn’t take away from my enjoyment, and it actually made it hard to guess the ending as there were so many possibilities, which I liked as I don’t like being able to guess the storyline.

I won’t give away the ending, but I really liked it. I worried at one point towards the end that it was going to end badly, but thankfully it didn’t. Well, for some it did….

3.5 stars rounded up

Missing: When Gemma Kline is reported missing after setting off on a solo hike in the remote Pennines, her sister, Sarah, is dumbfounded. How can someone disappear without a trace.

Presumed: Travelling to the isolated town Gemma was last seen, Sarah discovers it's not the first time a young woman has vanished from the hills in mysterious circumstances.

Murdered: Whatever has happened to her sister, one thing is clear: this town has secrets someone would kill to keep.

This is an easy book to read that's filled with suspense. Sarah was estranged from her sister Gemma. The story is told from the sister's perspectives. Set in the Pennines, the eerie setting is atmospheric. The pace is on the slow side to begin with, but it soon picks up. We learn of the events leading up to Gemma's disappearance. My only criticism is that I can't understand why the book is called The Hiker as there wasn't really any hiking taking place.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AvonBooksUK and the author #MJFord for my ARC of #TheHiker in exchange for an honest review.

A great read from M.J Ford, a little slow in parts but overall I really enjoyed it.

The story did not go the way I expected and kept me guessing so you can’t ask for much more than that!

This was a Psychological crime thriller. It’s about 2 missing females at different years but the same location. There was mystery and suspense. It’s told in dual POV that was past and present.
I enjoyed it and thought it was good. I didn’t want to put it down which is a bonus for my enjoyment level.
Thanks Avon via Netgalley

I loved M.J Ford’s Josie Masters series but this standalone fell a bit flat for me. It is very slow going and I would also say that the title and blurb don’t really match the story. I was tempted to not finish but I was intrigued enough to stick it out.

The twist was a weird one and seemed a bit ridiculous. Also, the reason Gemma was in trouble in the first place seemed unrealistic. None of the characters were particularly likable. We get the story from both Sarah and Gemma’s POV. Gemma’s chapters are told from the build up to her going missing but I didn’t really connect with either of the women. I will say that the scene setting is done well though and I could really picture the creepy town and spooky moors.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Sarah hasn’t spoken to her sister Gemma for over 5 years, but when she finds out Gemma is missing, Sarah sets out to find her. The last place Gemma was seen was an isolated village in the Pennines where she was hiking.
It’s not the first time a young woman has disappeared without trace near the village and the more Sarah discovers the more scared for her sister she gets. The locals tell tales about a “beast” roaming the moors and not all of them are friendly. If Sarah wants to find out what happened to her sister, she will need to be brave and call on all her resources, but it might not be enough.
I loved the twists and turns and the descriptions of the moors at night genuinely gave me goosebumps.

I am an avid hiker and I have to say I thoroughly loved this book. the Characters, the plot...up until the very end it had me guessing how it would end and I am usually pretty good at guessing the ending. Thumbs up well done. This is a great book for a book club!

A creepy mystery set in the Pennines. Some of the story was unbelievable, one sister travelling to find her estranged sister and the police characters were badly written. I liked the atmospheric landscape scenes but disliked the protagonists and the associated cast of characters.

This book started off a little too slow and I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading. However, I am glad that I did because the story had many unexpected twists and turns and once I got into it, I didn't want to put it down.

I would definitely read more books written by M. J. Ford in the future.

Sarah and Gemma fell out a long time ago and haven't spoken to each other since.. When the police inform Sarah that Gemma is missing after setting out on a hike she is astounded and worried.
Sarah travels to the last sighting of Gemma and finds out she is not the first young girl to mysteriously disappear and it seems the town is hiding secrets. Can she find Gemma before its to lte?

The blurb was so misleading and so was the title. I did not like any of the characters and as for the ending messy and so unbelievable. I hope other readers will enjoy it more just not for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I found this book to be a little slow and to be honest I totally disagree with the blurb about the book, as well as the title. Gemma never was a “Hiker” as such and the synopsis is very misleading in my opinion, although it is well written in parts i couldn’t take to any of the characters and I found the ending messy and rather far fetched. Sorry not for me I’m afraid. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this early copy

If you like a thrilling story that will keep you guessing, then this is the book for you. Told in two perspectives, this story takes us on the journey of two estranged sisters - one is missing, and the other is searching for her.

The dual pov helps to give suspense as you try to piece together what played out. A mysterious case from the past, some shady characters hanging around, and not enough proof to go off all add up to one heck of a ride.

I was guessing all the way through and even when I thought I had it, I didn’t. Surprising twists, and totally different to stories I’ve read in the past.

Highly entertaining.

I seem to be in the minority with my review for The Hiker by M.J Ford as I found his latest novel quite slow and I didn’t gel with the characters, it was just like something was missing to fully engage me.

If I’m honest, I was disappointed that this wasn’t a Josie Masters story. However, there was much to like here; creepy characters, brooding setting, suspicious locals and a mystery deep in the past. It all went a little bit crazy at the end though, which somewhat spoilt it for me.