Note: I received a free ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

Four childhood friends escape reality and meet up for their yearly vacation. Instead of relaxing on a beach, however, Liz has convinced them all to hike, a beautiful, fabled, and deadly mountain in Norway. Armed with lots of gear, little know-how, and ample warnings from local villagers, they set out on a trip that will test their friendship…. and survival skills.

I’m always down for the type of thriller that your mom would read a book club, and this certainly fit in that category (in a good way). My main complaint was that, even though all women were introduced as smart, capable, and successful, they made stupid choice after stupid choice. While there wouldn’t have been much plot without this, it wasn’t very believable to me. The more unpredictable elements, like weather or natural disaster, made more sense at getting the characters into trouble over their decisions to divide up camping gear or stray off the trail, for example. I found myself skimming though to each next problem that the characters found themselves in because I just wanted to see them do something…. smart? I will say, the actual quality of the writing was very good, and I think the way that different perspectives and times were covered was done tastefully.

Overall, this was full of twists and peril, and was a mostly interesting read. I am interested to see what else this author has up her sleeves!

Great suspense, believable ending and motives and everything. Definitely had me flipping pages for the last third of the book

As a big fan of all things outdoors and hiking, I LOVE hiking thrillers. "No help. No cell coverage. No one to hear them scream" sounds right up my alley!

This book is told from the perspectives of Liz and her 3 friends as they go to the mountains of Norway to get away from it all and spend some time together off the grid. We all know four women off the grid is never going to end well (LOL) and this was no exception.

I do feel like this book had a lot of similarities to other outdoorsy/hiking thrillers that I've read and while it was overall enjoyable, I don't see it being super memorable.

Thanks so much to Penguin RH/Putnam for the ARC! This will be available on 8/29/23!

This was full of drama. The very definition of a thriller. There were twists and revelations that had my jaw dropped. Slow in places but the finale, wow.

The Hike is a fun girls' trip thriller. Four life-long friends meet up every year for a holiday. This year they head off to Norway for a 4-day hike they are not at all prepared for (don't read this book if you are an avid hiker/backpacker and can't stand to see the protagonists make about every rookie mistake possible). The tension builds nicely up to an intense crescendo, followed by a satisfying closure.

The plot is the most robust feature of this novel. The writing and sense of place are good but don't take over the plot's predominance. The story unfolds through each of the four women's alternating points of view, interspersed by a substory about a missing person search. This structure is ambitious to pull off well, but I had no issues distinguishing each voice. I wish the characters had more nuance; they came off a bit stereotypical. There's the organized fixer, the naive flower child, a hard-edged career type, and the impulsive rock star. It all works, though, as the focus is the plot.

Pick this book if you love outdoorsy thrillers, women's friendships, and thirties angst. Fans of The Guest List will enjoy this book too.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for a review.

The Hike by Lucy Clarke is a solid thriller that kept me turning the pages. A good pick for your summer beach bag to keep you entertained, and a quick read. I read most of it during my layover at an airport, and it was a perfect book for that. Four friends reunite on their annual girls trip to try a very challenging "wild" hike in Norway up a mountain. Of course, each of them is struggling personally, yet their lives seem perfect on the outside. Liz is a doctor, married with twins, but has recently started a trial separation. Joni is a rockstar, and is struggling with fame and addiction, Maggie is a divorced mom and having severe separation anxiety from her only child, and Helena is living a promiscuous lifestyle that has brought a life changing surprise. One of these ladies will not survive - who is it, and why? Read and find out! thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

3.5 stars. This was a fast-paced thriller that kept me entertained even if it wasn't the best thriller I've ever read. Certain parts of it were perhaps slightly predictable but there were enough twists that I did not guess so I never got bored. I enjoyed the friendships of the 4 adult women and the complications that can come with long term mature friendships like that. Overall, a good read but not amazing.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely LOVED The Hike by Lucy Clarke.

Now, was it groundbreaking in its mystery/thriller-ness? No. Some women are on an annual vacation and decide to go hiking (woefully ill-prepared). Of course, things happen.

If it was predictable, why did I love it? Somehow, this book drove me to tears with what a beautiful examination of friendship it had. It was honest in how it dealt with friendships as adults, especially as adult women in different points of their lives.

I'm probably not articulating well why I loved this book so much, but I would absolutely recommend it.

A hiking trip in Norway goes wrong for four friends.
Liz, Helena, Maggie, and Joni have been friends since they were kids, and now as adults take turns planning trips together. While they usually tend towards tropical beach vacations, Liz has thrown them all for a loop when she plans a hiking and camping expedition in Norway for their next trip.
Each of the four women is hiding something from the others and the Norwegian locals are hiding things as well. Nothing seems to be going right, from the very beginning. And a series of bad decisions and bad luck put the women in more danger than they could imagine.
The story is told from the perspective of each of the four friends and also from Leif, the Norwegian lodge owner who is racing onto the trail to try to save an unknown person who has fallen. While one "twist' was expected there were a couple of surprises at the end of the story. It took a little bit of time to get into but then I couldn't put it down!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for and honest review. Long time friends Liz, Joni, Helena, and Maggie take a trip every year and take turns picking the location. This year, it's Liz's turn and she takes the friends to Norway to hike Blafjell mountain.

You can't go into the wilderness without uncovering your wild self.

A perfect vacation to sort out their daily problems, the 4 friends discover something sinister that occurred on the mountain. As they hike, they find more to the death of a young girl who looks eerily similar to Maggie. The girls run into shifty characters and a terrible storm that leaves them without any of their belongings and only one path to finish the hike.

A sweet story, I did figure out part of 'who did it's right before they monologued.

First time reading a Lucy Gray novel and I'd read another.

A story about the trials of life and friendships, with devastating consequences.

Over their decadeslong friendship, Liz, Helena, Maggie, and Joni have taken an annual holiday together. But when they embark on this year's trip, they set out to scale mountains rather than lounge on sandy beaches. Liz needs this to feel purpose as she's slowly losing control of her life and what she loves; Maggie needs her friends and a distraction; Helena wants to feel like herself before her life changes forever; and Joni needs an escape from the life she doesn't want. Each of the women set out on the path with different problems weighing them down, but as they get farther away from civilization, they uncover a disturbing truth about the mountains while uncovering truths about each other. Now danger is following them unseen as they try to make their way home to safety and they need to put their differences aside to try to get out of the mountains alive.

I enjoyed the drama of this story and being kept in suspense throughout the story. The ending felt a little abrupt to me, and if you're familiar with thrillers and dramas, you will likely see the twists coming, but overall it was an engaging journey and I read the whole thing in one sitting.

Another good book from Lucy Clarke. I love how much she weaves friendship into her books. They are technically thrillers but I also feel it’s always more about the relationships between groups of friends.

This was my first Lucy Clarke novel and it did not disappoint! Told from alternating perspectives, The Hike follows four long-time friends as they adventure on a daring trail through the mountains of Norway. Clarke captivated me from the first chapter, setting the scene of brewing tensions and unease so well, that in addition to depicting the eerie mountain atmosphere, had chills running down my spine despite reading it in 70 degree weather. As the book goes on, it feels like a race against time and the elements, and I found myself wondering: who or what will win? Don’t miss out on this thrilling adventure with surprises at every turn!

Thank you Lucy Clarke, Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Hike was a suspenseful read that picked up more, and became more interesting, in the second half of the book. I felt like the first half moved a little slowly, and compounding that was the fact that I didn’t find 3 of the 4 main characters very interesting. The second half hooked me despite being able to pretty easily predict the twists/reveals about the male characters, and I found the ending to be satisfying and fitting. Once the action picked up, it was easy and pleasant to read this book during a rainy summer weekend, but I can’t say it’s my favorite book by this author.

A group of girlfriends go to a yearly getaway to a destination they're not used to going.
Not all come back alive and the mystery of who'd done it. The novel is written all all the POVs of the women in the vacation. Page turner and a fun read.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy for a review.

I loved the characters and learning all about them. The author did a fabulous job of providing twists, too.

The Hike follows a group of friends who go camping in Norway. But they soon realize that they are not the only ones camping. Soon it becomes a fight for their lives. With no one to help them, they are forced to fend for themselves.

This book sounded like it would be better than it actually was. This book had a lot of drama with thriller vibes mixed in. I did like the overall story and the setting. But I just wish this had a little more thriller vibes. The plot twist in this book was pretty predictable. I did not dislike this book. It just wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I just did not get the suspense or tension that I normally get when reading thrillers. If you have never read any thrillers before this would be a great one to start with. But if you read a lot of thrillers like I do you might be disappointed. But the chapters are short and the story was interesting. 

Thank you Netgalley, Lucy Clarke, and  G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC.

I enjoyed this book, though I felt like it was a very slow burn and not as much of a thriller as I’d usually prefer. Took a lot of reading to get to the faster paced parts that ended up being not so fast paced.

3.5/5

I enjoyed reading this one. I liked how it was told from different point of views. I was able to get to know the characters. I didn’t see some of the twists coming! They were good!
I look forward to reading more from the author.

I am a sucker for any adventure and survival thrillers especially when there is an all-female cast of characters, so I was drawn immediately to the Hike by Lucy Clarke. This is the first novel of Lucy Clarke that I have read but it looks like she has some similar titles which is exciting!

The Hike follows a group of four adult female friends, I really related to the women in a way simply because I am 35 and am seeing in real time how friendships evolve and change over the adult years. From career changes, marriage, divorce, family growth, and the choices you make to keep people in your lives even when it feels like you've grown into different people. The chapters flip between the different characters' points of view and unfortunately, that format didn't work for me in this book. The chapters just weren't long enough for me to really understand each character or care about the differences between the women, with the exception of Joni who is a caricature of a female rock star. Joni was made to be so different from the others and had put so little into their friendships beyond grandiose gestures that were few and far between that I didn't believe that they remained friends with this woman. The other 3 women were pretty indistinguishable from each other.

Apart from the characters, the main plot didn't get going until about 60% of the way through and as you expect there are a few twists and surprises but it wasn't really my thing. I would definitely try another of Lucy Clarke's books and it is a fun read.