A dramatic atmosphere with major thriller vibes. Four best friends take a yearly trip together. This year, it’s a Norwegian hike in a desolate location. Four women, no guide, bad weather, drama and a lot of suspense.
Great read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Four women take a yearly trip together but this year they’ve chosen a different kind of trip. Trading the beach and margaritas for hiking boots and tents in a small village in Norway. The people are friendly but also full of warnings before they set off on their adventure.

During their hike the women feel like they’re being watched and especially after making a shocking discovery.

The storytelling in this book had me visualizing the entire time as I felt like I could see everything while it was happening. Also, the main characters weren’t the ordinary good girls and each had their own demons they were fighting which made the book more relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lucy Clarke for approving me to read this is advance for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for a copy of this arc.
Prepare to be captivated by an enthralling slow burn thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end!
The Hike takes readers on a suspenseful journey, intertwining the lives of four female friends who takes an annual vacation each year. Liz decided this year they were going to go a different route and hike in the Norwegian wilderness. Running in with locals they learned that a hiker who resembles Maggie went missing a year ago on the same trail. Was she murdered? We found out in a nail-biting tale that culminates in a shocking twist.
Each character is uniquely crafted, with their own secrets, desires, and motivations, adding depth and intrigue to the narrative.
The Hike is a gripping thriller that combines the complexities of friendship, secrets, and deception. Fans of slow burn suspense will find themselves fully immersed in this captivating tale of Maggie, Liz, Helena and Joni and the shocking twist that binds them together.

Four childhood friends take a trip together every year.  This year, they decide to conquer a dangerous hike in Norway.  Their stamina and friendship are tested as tragedy strikes, and they attempt to make it out alive.

The prologue really hooked me.  You know there is trama coming but you don't know any of the details.  After that, I struggled to remain engaged throughout the first one hundred pages or so.  There were a lot of characters, and they each had their own POV chapters, and background was built slowly.  I did enjoy how each character had their own problems and were relatable.  Some characters were more likable than others, but they did have a nice friendship where they supported and challenged each other. 

The suspense was pretty good.  There were a few suspicious characters outside of the friend group who kept popping up.  You're not sure who is trustworthy and who is going to cause trouble for the group. I would say the majority of the action happens in the last quarter of the book.  The rest is a slow burn.

If you're looking for an outdoor adventure, a tight friend group, danger, and a missing person, then this is something you should definitely check out.  I scored it a little lower because most of the action happened in the last few chapters of the book, and it was a little predictable even though things were placed strategically to mislead you.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a super easy read that I read in basically one sitting. If you’re looking for a fast thriller with some fabulous twists then this is a must for you!

I loved last year's One of the Girls and was so excited to get an early copy of The Hike! This story is about a group of four women hiking the Norwegian wilderness. This group gets together once a year for a mini trip somewhere but typically does beach vacations - aka - they were not prepared to hike or camp. I had high hopes for this one but sadly this ended up being a miss for me. There wasn't as comparable shock value as in Lucy's previous book and I wasn't very invested in the overall direction of the story or characters. The middle slowed down and was fairly predictable and the red herring felt obvious which took away from my overall enjoyment of the story. I think the audiobook really needed a full cast to help differentiate the women more.

Four friends, tired of work and life, take a short trip to go wild camping in the beautiful mountains of Norway. It's only a four day trip. What could go wrong? The women all have their own problems to deal with, but as the women's secrets start to emerge, so does something else. They are not alone in the wild. Danger is following them.

The book starts out a little slow, but after we meet all our main characters, the mystery starts to heat up. Hold on, push through the slow beginning, because it is very worth it. Completely engrossing, foreboding, with twists that you won't see coming.

Absolutely riveting entertainment until the last page!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received a digital advance copy of The Hike by Lucy Clarke via NetGalley. The Hike is scheduled for release on August 29, 2023.

The Hike begins with the discovery of a woman’s body in the mountains of Norway. The body is in an inaccessible area, and hard to see, so she remains unidentified until rescuers can reach her. The story then shifts to four women setting out on their annual trip together. This time, one of the four has chosen to take them hiking. They are generally unprepared, and carrying baggage beyond what is in their packs. As the story moves forward, we move closer to discovering whose body is found broken on the side of the mountain, and face the risk of others joining her.

This story is narrated by the four women on the hiking trip, with short chapters alternating between narrators. There are also chapters inserted following the rescuers as they move toward the body. I found all four of the women to be believable, despite the fact that they initially present as four “types” of women. Clarke gives each of them enough backstory and secrets to flesh them out. The characters around them are less well developed, which seemed very appropriate for this story.

Clarke has created a fictional mountain and hiking trail in this novel, and overall it worked well as a setting. I did struggle a bit with the weather, as I kept thinking there was snow on the ground when there was not. This was largely due to me as a reader associated snow with the mountains of Norway, but was supported by context of the story. Characters comment on the cold frequently (despite one of them wearing shorts), and a massive storm is key to the story. For me, that combination of cold and storm equaled snow.

I also found the setup that led to the four women being on this mountain to be a bit forced in some spots. While I believed one of the characters wanting to take her friends on a hiking trip, the choice of location did not seem reasonable for inexperienced (and unfit) climbers. I was able to look past this, however, as their actions and decisions once they are up on the mountain mostly fell in with their characters.

Overall, The Hike was an enjoyable suspense story set in the Norwegian wilderness.

I was excited to read The Hike by Lucy Clarke because I enjoy hiking, camping, and outdoor activities. To me this book fell short on the adventure part. I was envisioning a really adventurous book with lots of action but felt there was a lot of build-up and not a whole lot of action.

None of the characters drew my attention and I didn't really feel connected to them. I've heard good things about her books. I won't shoot her down completely but just don't think this book was the right pick for me. However, I will give others a try!

I may have also felt detached from this book because I have visited Norway and it felt surface level and didn't describe how beautiful the area is! I wish it would have been more vividly painted (or maybe my imagination was just lacking while reading this one)
.

⭐️⭐️/5

“If the mountains had taught Liz anything, it was that the journey was never about reaching the peak. You climbed - and kept climbing - to push through the struggle and experience the glimpses of beauty along the way.”

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an early review copy of Lucy Clarke’s new thriller, out 8/29.

First off, what the heck did I just read? The blurb on the front that says “There’s a killer on their trail” is very misleading. And that’s all I will say to avoid a spoiler.

Second of all, these characters sucked. Helena was somewhat decent but the rest were downright awful and pretty selfish. I mean Liz doesn’t give a flying you know what that her friends aren’t ready for, or want to, do this trip on the mountain in Norway but she makes them do it anyways because she “needs” it. Also, the events that take place in this book, would not be for novice hikers. I’m not a hiker but even I know that you need SOME sort of training to tackle a big ass mountain like the one in this book.

Thirdly, there was this sub plot that turned into the main plot that felt so random. It seemed like the author was struggling to get the story out so she threw in a random thing and ran with it, even though it didn’t make sense. Make it make sense!

So much unnecessary drama, that was predictable, in the story. That literally took away from everything else. Y’all are grown and close to 40 and you’re acting like high schoolers. The book didn’t pick up til 75% for me. Granted, it had me on the edge of my seat at that mark but why did it take that much of a book to get me there? It was very mundane up to that point talking about what they were doing that day, what they were wearing, what they ate, and what stupid mess they got themselves in. So boring!

I’ve heard this author’s other books are good but I don’t know if I want to even try it. Maybe my expectations were too high, I don’t know, but I didn’t enjoy this at all.

I really liked Clarke's other book One of the Girls so I was really excited to start this one. But, didn't like this one as much at all. Parts where definitely entertaining at times - there was lots of suspense, short chapters and changing perspectives which I all enjoy in thriller/mystery settings. I felt like there was nothing good happening until about 40% in though, and from there it was okay but was still waiting for something more major to happen. I also couldn't relate to the characters too much.. so that always keeps me detached from books. This wasn't a favorite but I'd still recommend to anyone looking for a fun thriller, and easy to get through. And I'd be interested to read more Lucy Clarke in the future!

One of Lucy Clarke’s best books so far with one hiccup for me hence the 4 stars not 5.
This was an easy read with short chapters that I just could not put down. It’s worth reading to the end. The book contains lots of twists that’ll keep you guessing, thrills, and nervous anticipation. Her atmospheric descriptions make you feel like you’re there, listening to the sounds of the forest and sea, gazing at the majestic mountains ahead.
The four women in the book are east to follow along with. They each have their own problems and personalities that play out throughout the book bringing out the best and worst of their friendships and the lengths they’ll go through to protect each other.
The only thing I felt was a hiccup was how her last 3 books have had some repetitiveness to them. Cue characters falling off cliffs. I really enjoyed this book regardless of that but hoping her next novel will have some different options.

Thank you to the publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Four friends engage on an adventurous hiking trip in the Norwegian mountains in this fast-paced thriller. Right away I fell in love with Lucy Clarke's writing style and short "just one more" chapters.

This story centers around four very different friends - level-headed Liz, songstress Joni, high-maintenance Helena, and mother Maggie. The four annually vacation together and this year Liz has chosen wild hiking in the mountains instead of the typical beach locale. This puts a lot of pressure on the four friends as they encounter the challenges that backpacking can present. As someone who has done a lot of backpacking in the past, I could really relate to their struggles, but I did find the resolution a bit over the top. I was also able to easily figure out the twist early on, but I did ultimately enjoy this story and looked forward to the resolution. Highly recommend and I look forward to more from Lucy Clarke!

This story follows a group of friends who go on a doomed hiking trip. Each woman has her own secrets that are revealed to each other along the way. Too much of a slow burn for me, but I appreciated the interesting premise for a thriller.

Every year the four friends Liz Maggie Helena and Joni all go on vacation together this year Helena has picked the beautiful mountains of Norway because she wants to disperse her mother‘s ashes Liz is using this vacation as a trial separation from her husband Patrick Maggie just needs this vacation from being a busy single mom and Joanne needed to be with her friends and to get clean but this vacation will bring more than just a respite from their lives it will bring them close the danger from the environment drug dealers and each other. The resort where they’re staying is run by Liam he just lost his dad in search and find accident and worries about his brother The girls are there to hike the beautiful trails but when they decide to make camp on the beach they run across something they shouldn’t have and one of them puts them further in danger but when they go back to the campsite and seen a rock avalanche has buried their things they have more of to fear than they thought they have so much happening in this book and I thought it was a top notch the thriller there’s also a missing girl who Liam theaters is missing because of his brother there’s so many surprises and twists and turns I couldn’t put the book down I have read many books by Lucy Clark and think this is one of her best. A definite five star read I want to thank NetGalley and penguin group Putnam for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I had high hopes for this book. I've read Clarke's Swimming at Night almost 10 years ago, and I remember enjoying it. In addition, I liked the idea of the book's setting - a remote mountain in Norway - and there were parts of all four of the hikers to which I could relate (which doesn't always happen when different characters are meant to embody different Life Struggles). And though in some books with a multitude of characters/narrators, there's too much Over the Top Drama, I didn't feel like this was excessive, it was understandable given where the women are in their lives.

However, I was prepared for a suspenseful, stay-up-at-night book, and I was left feeling like this wasn't quite it, In some ways, I feel like I've read this book before: for example, there was a plot device used that I figured out before maybe I was meant to. In addition, I had an idea of who died very early on, so that part was kind of a whiff for me.

Besides that, there were lines in the book that were just lovely, like when Helena is remembering her mother: "Loneliness wasn't the absence of people. she realized. It was the absence of people who understood you."

If you're reading this book because you want a character-driven book, this might be for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lucy Clarke for this chance to read and review!

4.25 🌟

This book had me wanting to hike - beautiful mountain peaks, amazing landscape and views you can't see anywhere else... and then I started reading the book and immediately canceled my order of hiking boots.

This thriller gave you just enough on every page to make you want to continue turning to the next. I enjoyed reading the multiple POVs and the friendship dynamic among these 4 women.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

A really fun thriller that had me guessing a different outcome throughout. I struggled at times to find reasons to root for this group of hikers as they all came off as a bit petty and frankly whiny at the beginning. By the time the story moved to the wilderness and the hike was truly underway I found myself understanding the characters and rooting for them. Great story!

This was a page turner and a solid thriller. Really kept me guessing. I particularly enjoyed the friendship between the four women. Even though there was some betrayal I believe the character was remorseful and wanted to mend the relationship. Mostly I loved seeing the women supporting each other. I will be checking out Lucy Clarke's other books.

Three days, one mountain - who will survive?
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I was so excited to get a copy of Lucy Clarke's newest book, The Hike. I enjoyed her 2022 release and I am always looking to solidify new auto-buy thriller authors. The Hike follows four women who have been friends since childhood, and while their lives have taken them in different directions, they always come together for their yearly vacation. This year, it's Liz's turn to choose. In desperate need for a change, she plans an advanced hike in the mountains of Norway. When things take a turn for the worst, it's not just the threat of the wilderness the women need to be afraid of.

I loved so much about this one. First off, the setting. I don't know if I have ever read a book set in Norway but I guess I'll need to start. The author's description of the remote setting made visualizing the danger so easy I felt like I was right there beside them on their hike. The book's characterization was also far above what I typically see in thrillers. By the end, you feel like you know each of these women and the struggles they are going through. The book depicts what real female friendship can be like - the good and the bad. I also noticed how you got to know each of their unique relationships with each other in a way that some books don't really drill down to.

The plot was pretty straight forward. There are some predictable reveals and the concept is not trying to be overly original. But if you like character driven stories this tension-filled thriller is definitely for you. Thank you #netgalley for the advanced copy!