I want to start off stating that this is my first book ever by Lucy Clarke. That being said, I do believe I will pick up even more by her going forward. This book highly surprised me in the fact that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

The different POVs really help you slowly get to know each character’s backstory, as well as you get a chance to really get to know how each is feeling throughout the hike. The twist was predictable, but the book still kept my attention.

Super fast read, super fun! Great pace, great characters, great scene setting.

I want to personally thank NetGalley, as well as the author, publisher, and anyone else involved in providing copies, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Reviews will also be submitted to Goodreads when possible.

Four lifelong friends go on a hike in Norway for their yearly trip. They aren’t exactly adventure people but are giving this a shot, Each character takes turns narrating, along with a mystery man who is on his way to rescue someone. The book is very suspenseful and has you wondering who it will be. I felt the best connection with the characters at the ending and felt they opened up the most then,

I'm ripping through this book at breakneck speed. Another of Clarke's travelogue thrillers--the reader gets minute detail of setting and place, which is what this reader loves. Four friends on a hike in Norway--what could go wrong? I'm halfway through the book and am very much looking forward to what happens next.

TW: Language, drinking, drugs, divorce, toxic parent relationships, pregnancy, graphic sex scenes

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Maggie, Liz, Helena & Joni. Old friends bound by history, adventures, old secrets.And now, bound by murder.They 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 . . .
Release Date: April 27th, 2023
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 384
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Enjoyed the way the writer wrote
2. Atmospheric descriptions

What I Didn't Like:
1. The rambling
2. All the different women's chapters had the same tone
3. 5 pov's... Why...

Overall Thoughts:
This turned out not to be the hiking book I thought I was getting. So much filler for the beginning with them at home and then a concert.

I thought it was funny that they acted like Vilhelm was stalking them when he was already at the river fishing. I don't think it's odd that he didn't yell out to them. He was probably worried he would scare them. And isn't he from this area so why is it so odd he is out here fishing? And yeah he went somewhere where there was no path but they don't know this area so they only know the tourist trails...sooo perhaps he knows something they don't know.


So the whole thing about Joni being outed for lying about being sick and unable to continue on with her tour goes no where. Not only that but Liz could lose her license ends not being a big deal to her. Why wouldn't they turn around to figure out these things? Why even make this such a deal that they would have a fight about it if it never mattered?


I STRUGGLED to care about these women. They bicker back and force over the smallest misunderstandings.

I seriously don't understand the women in this book. Maggie finds out that she's being stalked by a man who almost kidnapped her till Vilhelm and her friends showed up. Do they then decide to go back with Vilhelm (who offers to show them the way back) or stay and stay at the ocean? Of course they stay at the ocean and then the whole time they wonder if the stalker is out there watching them. These women are so stupid. Why wouldn't you just go back? It's like the old saying how a man will never ask for directions or turn around.

I am just so annoyed with these women. We find out that Joni took a bag of cocaine because she's an addict so that makes sense. But no one takes the time to think why did she take this bag maybe she is an addict. No instead the women start jumping on her for not going to the one woman's mother's funeral. I don't understand how we got to that. This is my biggest issue with this book why are all these random shit coming out it doesn't matter. You are going to die let's blame the person who kept us walking.

Omg and now they found a drug drop site. Sigh.

Final Thoughts:
If I could describe my experience with this book then I could sum it up in one word; BORED . It is so completely slow and takes forever to even get to any form of "action." The author would take you to point where something was so close to happening and then just pull you back while the character was saved. This happened so many times and honestly I feel like it stalled the story and we were just going through the motions of these characters. These women had so many things happen to them that had zero to do with that plot and all before they hit the trail.

I had a dnf this book at 60%. I just did not care. I did not like the women. I did not want to know where the story went. I hope I never meet these women ever in my life.

I am going on a hike tomorrow, so I will try to not imagine this novel happening to me out there 🤣. Lucy Clarke strikes again with an awesome read, full of twists and suspense! She’s really good at describing your entire surrounding, I felt like I was with this group of women out on the cliffs. If you enjoyed her One of the Girls novel, this will deliver on all the things as well!

I was really enjoying this book in the beginning then it started to get a bit slow for me. I started skimming to see how it would end. Overall the characters were okay. I thought the death was a bit cliche but I know some won't expect it and enjoy this one. Overall not a bad story but not one I would recommend to my book club.

The Hike was an interesting read about lifelong friendships in a remote setting. Intersecting characters and interesting dynamics between the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

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

Well, this made me not want to hike ever again - just kidding. It was a fun, quick read that was somewhat predictable but it kept my attention.

Sometimes you need a thriller that's fun and trope filled. The Hike is your classic "best friends take a girls trip and things go wrong" story, but it's well executed and the characters were written well. Take a brain break and give it a read. Then go take a hike👻

I didn't love this book as much as I'd expected to, but I did like it. I enjoyed seeing the different friendships and how they all correlated, and finding out secrets about each of the women in the story. I'll definitely continue reading books from this author in the future.

Four best friends and a yearly epic trip! This year is Liz's turn to plan it and with what feels like her life crumbling around her, she needs more than just a beach vacation. She needs an adventure and to feel like she has a purpose outside of work and her family. She needs the long ago planned Norway trip. What feels like the trip of a lifetime quickly turns as everything keeps going wrong. Now the 4 friends are trapped on a mountain with a killer and they just can't pinpoint who it is.

A book based around a hiking trip in stunning Norway plus a killer on the mountain? Count me in! Lucy Clarke just has a way to set the scene and her characters with the perfect amount of details that always make her books a must read for me. This book was no different and I couldn't put it down!

Thank you Net Galley for the e-ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved the setting. The author did a fantastic job setting the scene and making me feel like I was right there with the women. The dynamic between the friend group really made for and interesting story. We got twist after twist and I did not see the end coming!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I really struggled with this one. The characters were unlikable but the story was ok. A little predictable at times.

This was a great thriller. Engaging and well-paced. I didn’t feel like the twist was clumsily disguised. I will definitely read more of her work.

A reunion of sorts for a group of women whose lives have taken different paths. As they set out on an adventure they end up confronting the demons that have come between them and ones they meet along the path. This book was a bit of a struggle for me. I prefer books where I can root for at least one character and unfotunately I didn't find myself wanting to root for any of them. That being said there is an arc to their friendship that is somewhat appealing. The adveture of being on a hike I found lacking. The writing was still good I just think this wasn't the book for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review.

Four friends go hiking in Norway, but figure out someone is stalking them along the way. Lucy Clarke knows how to write a thriller, and this doesn't disappoint. I liked that she wrote from different character points of view, but it did get jumbled a bit at the end. I love a lost in the woods thriller, and its perfect for fall. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 friends take an annual trip to Norway to hike up a mountain trail in 4 days... not all of them will come back. Joni, Liz, Maggie and Helena have their own issues to work through and have their own reasons for this trip. I didn't care for all the story line. This was not what I expected in my 2nd Lucy Clarke book. Not sure I cared for the story 100%, but I still love the writing style, short chapters.

Sharp and well-written with an interesting premise. Effective character development had me guessing until the end! Loved reading this one and think that Clarke has a talent with suspense.

The Hike was my second novel by Lucy Clarke. I loved One Of The Girls so much that I immediately requested The Hike when I saw it on NetGalley. Like that novel, The Hike really does a great job of reflecting female friendships. The setting of a Norwegian Mountain forest enhanced the sense of danger to the fractures in the 4 leads' relationships that otherwise would have been par for the course.

While I didn't love The Hike quite as much as I did One of the Girls, I did find it just as addictive. I read through it in just a couple sittings and was biting my nails the whole time.

What I am finding I like best about this author is that she nails it on placing female friendships in dangerous, but alluring locations. It makes the stories so much more interesting to me than if they were set in say a house in the suburbs.

I am so happy to know that Lucy Clarke has been publishing books since long before I discovered her so I have several books of hers I have yet to discover before I jump in line whenever her NEXT new book is announced.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ friendship fiction
Setting ~ Norway
Publication date ~ August 29, 2023
Page Count ~ 382 (82 chapters & p)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 28 minutes
Narrators ~ David Johansen-Menkin, Stephanie Racine
POV ~ multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ secrets, drugs

Four friends, Helena, Maggie, Liz & Joni are on holiday together. Liz has picked their excursion this time and not everyone is thrilled about it.

It took me a bit to get into the story. Maybe because I'm not super big on hiking. You might catch me on an early morning walk/jog with my pup once in a while, but out in the wilderness, no thanks. Anyway, I loved that it was written with each of their POV's. It's full of friendship drama and some old secrets, as expected. After it picks up the pace there's some tension and action that kept me engaged. Overall, decent.