Member Reviews
Duel timelines - 1999 a hiking trip ends in murder - 25 years later remains have been found.
While I normally don't enjoy double timelines, I didn't mind it here. Some authors can pull it off without the story getting bogged down in the process and JB is one of those. With solid action which begins immediately, I was never bored and stayed engaged throughout. The news articles were an added bonus.
With short chapters, I just love JB's writing style - there isn't any part where you think "who cares, this is boring, get to the action" which is what most of us thriller readers look for in a book. This story is as complex as it is simple, with sass writing - there's a few laugh-out-loud moments here, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one! A fun and compelling read.
The Hiking Trip could have been worse, but it also could have been a whole lot better. My main issue with this book was the dual timelines, as I don't think they worked very well with this kind of story. This was partly due to the author's writing style, as she constantly ended the present day chapters with a dun dun DUNNNNN cliffhanger that had me rolling my eyes after the third one in a row.
I was a lot more invested in the flashback storyline where Maisie was hiking on a Canadian trail. I thought this book would have more of that, to be honest. I wanted to see more camping, more atmosphere, more struggle. Instead the book seemed to heavily rely on the present day chapters to build suspense, and I didn't really care about a house wife from Reading with a mysterious past.
The Hiking Trip was alright, but I wouldn't reach for it if you're looking for a survival wilderness thriller, because this is definitely more of a UK domestic.
This was a fun and quick read! An exciting rollercoaster of a thriller I managed to finish quite quickly. It's The Hiking Trip by Jenny Blackhurst which I received from Canelo via Netgalley. It will be out on 12 January.
Twenty years ago, young Maisie went on a hiking trip in Canada with a friend. However, the friend cancelled at the last minute but Maisie decided to just go. In Canada on the trail she met two young people, a brother and sister. The trip wasn't over when one of them went missing.
Now, a body is found and it all comes back to Laura. She knows the truth but she is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep it a secret. How far can and will she go?
Usually, with flashbacks and flashforwards, I'm not really liking it and a lot of times it's a bit too much. But this story is perfect for it. I liked both timelines equally and couldn't wait to continue reading about the other timeline when I was reading the one timeline. The author has very capably done this. The characters, even though there are a double amount of characters because of the different times, were all worked out enough to like them and know them. The speed in which it is written is also a very big plus.
All in all, a great thriller and excellent read!
4,5/5⭐
This was a spooky, eerie read that you should definitely take out into the wilderness if you want to scare yourself senseless. It took me a while to get into this as the writing style really rubbed me the wrong way. But the suspense and ominous elements won me over.
"It took just three little words to ruin my life the second time around. Human remains found."
This totally made me avoid hiking trips. Ugh. Being out there in the woods or somewhere isolated doesn't really appeal to me. I'd stay in my cozy bed every single time.
Twisty, creepy and eerie. Pick this book up if you want to feel haunted or scared.
Cheers to Netgalley for the ARC!
Told over different time periods, the plot involves the murder of a young woman whilst hiking on a trail in Western Canada. The main character was involved in the original case which comes back to haunt her 20 years later. The plot is full of suspense and there are a couple of twists, some unexpected. Laura becomes paranoid as she is being stalked. This is described very well and also the reasoning for not telling him her true identity.
An interesting read which kept my attention more or less throughout. I`m left with some sadness about some of the characters and some doubts about the credibility of the court case
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
Wow what a thrilling roller coaster ride this was! I kept thinking all the way through that I knew how it was going to end and boy was I wrong. I really enjoyed this book, the way it kept making me think I knew who the bad guy was made it interesting and kept me very engaged throughout the book. I read it really quickly as I had trouble putting it down, I kept saying to myself just one more chapter, and on it went. A great book by a great author, a five star read.
Thanks to netgalley and canelo for letting me review this book, W.O.W what a book!!.
Another author on my pile to read previous books..
I liked the way it went from past to present, loved the storyline, kept me guessing and couldnt put it down.
Maisie is meant to go back packing with her best friend, but her friend has met a chap and changed her mind, so maisie goes alone. Maisie befriends a couple who claim to be brother and sister, what are their secrets??? What is their story????
Highley recommend
I a big fan of this author .and as normal very addictive story from the first page. Maisie does not have much of a home life. and she has saved all her money to go on a trip with her friend Ruth to Vancouver. Ruth lets her down and she goes on her own and when she gets there she forms a friendship with Seraphine and her brother Ric and they go on the trail together. Laura is married to Rob and they have two children a boy and a girl. Laura hears on the news about human remains found in Canada and then a chain of events happens someone has it in for her and her family how this story all comes together is just brilliant i so recommend this book and every other book buy this author so addictive
This was an enjoyable read for me. I have never been hiking or camping nor have I read any books where hiking or camping are a central element. So, it was fun to sort of experience this through the story.
Speaking of which, this story alternates between a hiking trip gone wrong in 1999 and the present day where the main character must deal with the secrets of what occurred on that trip coming to light. There are twists and turns in this one and while I did see some of them coming, there were a few that caught me by surprise.
This was the kind of book that I needed right now after some heavy reads and classics. It was an easy and fun read that kept me intrigued throughout. If you enjoy thrillers, consider giving this one a try!
I love hiking and backpacking so the title, cover, and synopsis immediately drew me in and I couldn’t wait for read this story.
Maisie decides to take some time to herself and go on a solo hike on a coastal trail in Canada. At the start her journey she joins two other hikers, Sera and Ric, who venture on the trail together. Everyone is having a great time until tension arises, emotions are high, and everything starts to go horribly wrong. The book alternates between the past which focuses on the story of what happened on the hiking trip, and the present which focuses on Laura’s new life and the aftermath of what follows the discovery of human remains twenty years later.
Where did everything go wrong on the hiking trip? Now, twenty years later, someone is determined to make Laura pay for what happened in the past and to reveal the truth. Will the secrets Laura has been keeping for twenty years be revealed and ruin the new life Laura has worked so hard to build… “Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead”.
Both timelines are very compelling. This story will having you racing through pages to to find out what happened on that trip, and if Laura’s current life will fall apart. I thought this was a great, solid thriller and would definitely recommend it to other readers.
Thanks to Canelo, Netgalley and Jenny Blackhurst for an e-ARC of The Hiking Trip. This was a solid thriller that I devoured in about a day. I really enjoyed the dual timeline and points of view. I did figure out a few of the twists along the way but luckily this book was full of them so the ending was still a surprise and kept me hooked. I definitely recommend this one if you're looking for an entertaining thriller to keep you on your toes.
This was a good, solid psychological thriller. I enjoyed the dual timelines and there were some fascinating secrets to uncover. The writing style was enjoyable to read and the pacing was very good.
The only downside for me was character development. Laura's husband Rob was completely devoid of any personality or defining characteristics so it was difficult to care about her relationship with him. I felt in general the characters in the past sections were more fleshed out than the characters in the present.
Overall this was a good book and I would definitely recommend it, but for me it just stopped short of being amazing.
Maisie leaves her precarious home in the UK to hike the West Coast Trail in Canada. she meets brother and sister Sera and Ric, and what begins as a fun-filled experience in a beautiful, secluded setting quickly turns sour. Twenty-five years later, a woman named Laura panicked to learn that a body was found near the trail and the police suspect they're the bones of Sera. The secret she's been hiding for quarter of a century is about to come out - and someone is determined to make sure she tells the truth, and pays the price, as she should have done back then.
This story has a dual timeline, the past - 1999 and the present day. This is a gripping, twisted and compelling read. I was pulled into this story from the first page. Laura is happily married with two children, so why does the discovery of a body on the West Coast Trail threaten to tear her life apart? The tension builds throughout. The characters are well fleshed out and relatable. A story where you think you know everything, but you actually know nothing at all. All the loose ends were perfectly tied up. Another fantastic read by the author.
I would like to thank #NetGalley #Canelo and the author #JennyBlackhurst for my ARC of #TheHikingTrip in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Wow. I did not expect the ending of this one at all.
There are two storylines you are following through the book as you get to the end they collide in a big way.
While I really enjoyed this book my only complaint is the very short chapters with small bits of information. Other than that it was very good.
The ending was a complete surprise to me too!
The Hiking Trip by Jenny Blackhurst is a fast paced, exciting thriller with a whole cast of unreliable characters and a twenty year old mystery.
Laura is a wife and mother of two, but she has a secret relating to a hiking trip she took twenty years ago. Now a body has been found on the West Coast Trail and she's pretty sure her nice, suburban life is about to come crashing down around her.
What I liked about Laura is that we know right from the start that she's not going to be a reliable narrator, and while she makes dangerous choices it's clear she's tough enough to handle whatever she might walk into. I liked that her choices, while leading her into trouble, were always taken in a logical and realistic way so I never felt like it felt contrived. I will be watching for more of this authors work in the future.
„The Hiking Trip“ is an engaging psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator and some twists and turns. Told in two timelines we meet Maisie who is about to make the trip of her lifetime. She wants to hike the West Coast Trail in Canada. Abandoned by her friend at the airport she makes the trip alone. But on her first day she meets mesmerizing Seraphina and her brother Ric. Maisie is eager to befriend them and they start the hike together. But soon the friendship turns sour and one of them ends up dead.
Twenty-five years later Laura lives a normal life as a wife and mother. One day she reads about a body found on the West Coast Trail. This rings alarm bells in her head and she gets obsessed with this case. When somebody begins to threaten her family, she knows that someone from her past is back to take revenge for what she did.
The book manages to keep you guessing what happened on that hike and who Laura really is. I liked that Laura is not just another stupid heroine who makes one wrong decision after the other. She does make questionable decisions, actually, but she knows that they are wrong or stupid. I found her somehow refreshing.
I’ve read several books from Jenny Blackhurst in the past and she never failed to entertain me. If you like a reliable psychological thriller then she is the author for you.
Thanks to Canelo and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
20+ years ago, on a hiking trail in western Canada, a single girl, Maisie, befriended a brother and sister duo, Sera and Ric. Sera ended up dead and another hiker was put in jail for the murder. In present day England, Laura is privately following the story of a body being found on the trail and the release of the person accused of the murder because she knows way more about it than anyone would expect.
I really liked this book and cruised right through it. I figured parts of it out but still wanted to see how it would end. I have had really good luck with this author and like her writing style looking forward to her next offering.
Jenny is a dark horse! Her books are so readable and believable. I really enjoyed this one; plenty of twists and turns to keep the pages turning! One to look out for!
Fantastic thriller. This author has yet to disappoint. I have loved all I have read from her. This is a clever and enthralling story that I could not put down. Highly recommend this author as a whole as all her books are just brilliant.