Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon Publishing for providing me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.
“I split into two people. One’s detached, almost indifferent. A protective measure to find space, to keep calm, to take a step back. This cool and collected version of me drifts towards the window and watches the other, pale and waxy as a corpse herself, plucking her coat from the back of her chair and rushing from the room. “

The Hiker is the new standalone novel from the author of the DS Josie Masters series. I was not familiar with the series but it seems to be well known among fans of crime fiction.

Here’s the blurb:
“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 where Gemma was last seen, Sarah discovers it’s not the first time a young woman has vanished from the hills in mysterious circumstances. As she digs deeper, it quickly becomes apparent that neither disappearance is what it first seems – especially when unwelcoming locals share chilling tales about what’s really lurking on the moors…

MURDERED
Whatever has happened to her sister, one thing is clear: this town has secrets someone would kill to keep. But even on the fells, nothing stays buried forever…”

Okay – some issues right off the bat. The blurb makes the book seem very different to what it actually is. Especially the first section. Gemma Kline and Sarah haven’t spoken for years. Also Gemma was never reported missing – or leaving to solo hike. Hiking is a minor part of the novel, to the point where its title doesn’t even make sense.

Did I like the characters? Not really. Sarah is our main, the over achieving lawyer, while Gemma has had financial issues and works in a nursing home. Sarah lives a luxurious lifestyle with her fiancé, while Gemma’s boyfriend has been in trouble with the law and can’t hold down a job to save his life. Very stereotypical upper/lower class divide. The differences in narration were fine, Sarah’s parts are told in first person present while Gemma’s sections are third person past tense. This was an interesting contrast but unfortunately neither narrative was very engaging and the characters seemed quite one dimensional.

While the plot had the potential to be quite creepy, the execution was unfortunately not fantastic. If this book had been written better it could have been truly terrifying with so much tension, but instead. It was… kind of boring.

A compelling crime thriller about a current and past mystery in a remote, and bleak moorland village. I’m not sure the title is a fair indicator of the twists and turns the book has in store for the reader but the setting of a small community with sinister secrets and a general distrust of strangers doesn’t leave you in doubt for very long. A good page turner.

With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to review an advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approve me for this arc.

I felt this arc was quite enjoyable but just not quite hitting the nail on the head for myself. I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did unfortunately but overall it was still a somewhat satisfying read

Recently I've been loving and really enjoying thrillers that are set in the wilderness, there's just something about although the outdoors are beautiful knowing it you can enter the outdoors and be lost forever just terrifies me, it's made me think twice about hiking!

This book had me entrigued right from the start, a woman who goes for a solo hike and vanishes - it's up to her sister to find out what happened to her.

The many twists and turns had me gasping aloud, I could not put this book down and I have firmly decided I will never be going on a solo hike again!

I highly recommend this fantastic book, like me I'm sure you'll think twice about going for a hike solo.

Gripping story but a little far fetched. Some of the characters were sketchy and had a bigger part in the story. Sometimes too many characters to keep track of. Keeps you entertained and an enjoyable read.

This book is about 2 sisters, estranged for years, Sarah is contacted by the police about the mysterious death of her sisters partner in the north of England. She decides to go up to the village because there is no trace of her sister either, though her fiance is not keen. Something feels off from the start of her time there. Other chapters follow the story of Gemma, her sister explaining why they were at the other end of the country from where they live.
Quite slow moving and a little frustrating in places , the book definately picks up in pace in the second half. Ther eare a few twists in the plot and the village seems quite sinister as the inhabitants seem to know everyone elses business.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Murder, Mayhem & Mystery ... An excellent novel that was well written with a great storyline. Two sisters, Gemma and Sarah, have a disjointed and broken relationship. When Gemma is reported missing in the Pennies, a remote area in the British wilderness, Sarah investigates her disappearance. M.J. Ford excels in her ability to tap into relationships, love, fears and anxieties that many of us experience in our own journeys. A five (5) star read and highly recommended.

The Hiker by M. J. Ford by AvonBooksUK. Thank you Netgalley for allowed to read/review this book. It was a fantastic read, full of mystery, suspence and an absolutely amazing end!!! I couldn't put it down. I loved to story being told from the sisters Gemma and Sarah's prospective. And the climax.....I did not see that coming! I would highly recommend this and hope to hear more from the author....I bet it gets made into a film....brilliant 👍

The Hiker had me intrigued pretty quickly. It was riveting enough to hold my interest and really had me wanting to find out what exactly was going on. This truly had me guessing up until the end.
Sarah is just a couple weeks away from her wedding when she receives news that her estranged sister, Gemma, is missing under unusual circumstances. Despite not having spoken to one another in years, Sarah travels to the town where Gemma's boyfriends body was found and begins her own search. Turns out this town has had a woman go missing before, and some locals are helpful but others seem more sinister. As her search intensifies, secrets get exposed and people aren't as they seem.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for this ARC.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

Free ARC from NETGALLEY

Call me tired or jaded but this story line is just old.

The details trickled out and by the time they did I just wasn't interested really. This one missed with me, even though the sisters shared some weird moments it was not weird enough to keep me.

I loved this title! It kept me up last night as I simply could not put it down. The sister's relationship, the desperation of Gemma and Mark, and the creepy history everyone knows but no one is sharing. It is a delightful page-turner!

I would call this book - Brilliant- pacey - spooky - scary and quite hard to put down at night. I’m a scaredy cat when it comes to things that go bump in the night and there were a few nights I left my light in longer than is appropriate for a woman of my advanced years!

Despite the title this is more of a werewolf in London style thriller set in a small village in the North East with lots of creepy characters and a before and after narrative from two sisters. It’s really enjoyable with plenty of twists and a storyline that has enough pace and intelligence to keep you reading to the last page. Must check out more by this author.

M.J. Ford wrote The Hiker. A fast-paced, stand-alone novel in the crime thriller genre. Supposedly, there's a wild animal causing havoc in Hartsbridge, but only one local believes this as no one has ever seen it. A young girl named Alice disappeared fifteen years ago. Nobody has seen her since. She was born to wealthy parents living on a luxurious estate called Brockleburst Hall. On the day Alice disappeared, she walked past the stables only to discover that her horse Castor had injured itself. She could not ride him to meet her friend Daniel secretly.

The last time the two sisters, Sarah and Gemma, saw one another was at their mother's funeral over five years ago. Sarah Kline is a divorce lawyer whose getting married to Doug in one week. Sergeant Sadler and Constable Sanjit visited her at the office with the news that her estranged sister Gemma had vanished. They found her boyfriend, Mark Lane's badly burned body, and his burned-out car in Hartsbridge. Gemma worked at the Elm House Nursing Home and shared a home with Mark. Because of financial difficulties, they had a hard time paying their rent. What was the reason for going to Hartsbridge?

This book kept me on the edge of my seat with its twists and turns throughout, and I found it nearly impossible to put down. It's a well-written and well-edited novel, with nothing negative about the storyline. Without a doubt, I recommend this book to mature audiences who appreciate a good crime thriller. I give it a five out of five-star rating.

Congratulations on a job well done!

This is a stand alone crime thriller, and a first book I’ve read by the author. I like the rustic setting where the majority of the book takes place. You can easily picture the village, Manor House and many residents of the remote village.
I read this book quite quickly and it held my interest throughout thanks to plenty of action in the story, and it’s twists and turns. I liked the character development and I didn’t expect the many plot twists that took place. If you are a fan of this genre, I definitely recommend this book.
I like how past and present intermingled in this novel and at the end mystery was solved. It was a good read.

Two sisters, estranged having had to cope with an alcoholic mother, their lives have taken different paths. Sarah is successful, a lawyer, about to marry the man of her dreams. Gemma works in a care home, her boyfriend loses his job and she hits rock bottom in an effort to keep paying the rent. They haven't spoken since their mother's funeral years before.

Then Gemma disappears in the Pennines and big sister Sarah feels she has to at least try to find her, or what has happened to her. However, her arrival in the village is met with less than a warm welcome and she begins to worry in earnest.

A real rollercoaster of a read - you just think you've got it all sorted out and the plot swerves and takes off in a new direction. I really enjoyed it, was kept guessing, and felt the whole thing was well handled and a fun read. The only thing I didn't really understand was the title!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this story, I liked how both girls stories ran along side each other and intertwined with each other. It set a good pace right from the start and kept me entertained till the end. I wanted to know what would happen. It is such a fresh idea and one I have not read before. Sarah is on the hunt for her sister to a isolated town where her sister was last seen, but with the locals being mysterious and a bit suspect what actually has happened to her sister and will Sarah be able to find her before it is too late? A really good story, I felt as though you could almost feel as though you are there. You could cut the tension with a knife and it all felt very unpredictable. A great thriller.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book .
I have to say this book was very different to me. It was written in a very unusual manner. There were several different characters in the book that I had a hard time following. It was also strange I don’t want to give it away so I won’t say why it was that way. It was difficult to finish but I did so I could give a review. This wasn’t my cup of tea so I can’t recommend it.

I was enthralled with this book. I found the writing style to be so casual and matter-of-fact that it was almost like you knew the main character personally and I felt I immediately liked her. The storyline was great. I will admit there were times, up until about 70% of the way through, where I wondered how the prologue could be linked to the main story. Atmospheric and easy to read- I recommend to anyone wanting a crime/mystery novel to curl up with!