Four best friends—Liz, Maggie, Helena, and Joni—celebrate their friendship each year with an annual girls trip. This year, they are trading cocktails on the beach for mountain climbing in Norway. As the women hit the hiking trails, each is carrying more than just camping gear—marriage woes, burnout, a surprise pregnancy, and more. The further they climb, the more dark secrets emerge. And the further away they are from civilization, the more it becomes clear that they are not alone in the wilderness. There is no cell phone coverage, no help…and no one to hear them scream.

Told from the perspectives of each of the four women, this adventurous thriller explores the power of friendship and nature. Set in the picturesque mountains of Norway, this novel had an engaging plot and lovable characters. It took awhile for the action to really begin, but once it did, they were so many shocking twists and revelations. I was not a fan of the ending, but I will say it was definitely unexpected. Overall, a captivating survivalist thriller that I highly recommend you add to your summer reading list.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP/G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t find any sort of entry point into this book. This is the third book I’ve read of Lucy Clarke’s and I find her writing to be long winded, disjointed, and not well developed. This fell flat for me and I wasn’t invested in any of the characters at all.

After already enjoying the authors book „one of the girls“ I knew I would be enjoying this novel as well. It’s similar to the book in terms of different POVs that switch throughout the story. Clarke is giving us enough background information on all main characters so that you can vividly picture them and understand their emotions and actions as the story evolves. The description of Norwegian mountains and the hiking trails makes you want to go and travel there yourself - just hope for better luck than the ones the protagonists had … „the hike“ was an interesting novel and took a twist I didn’t expect. It wasn’t very suspenseful or scary, but it’s a nice read and I enjoyed to travel vicariously through Maggie, Liz, Joni and Helena :-) thank you Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC! #arc #netgalley

This book and the storyline were compelling, but it didn't have enough of the elements I am looking for in a thriller.

The beginning of the book was slow, but I enjoyed the time it allowed me to get to know each of the characters. Throughout the beginning, you really get a feel for the dynamic between the 4 friends and their relationships with one another.

Once the hike starts, you are thrown into the survival fiction element of this storyline, and start to get a sense of the mountain and the elements the group are faced with. This was honestly my favorite portion because the setting was unique compared to most (if not all) of the thriller books I have read.

Just as I was becoming invested in that, the story abruptly (and in a way I was not expecting) shifted gears and the mystery/thriller elements ALL kicked in and made the ending feel rushed to me. While the last 20% of the book was intense, it lacked the shock factor that I am looking for in a thriller recommendation.

Another captivating book by Lucy Clark! So well written, that you can’t put the book down. Really enjoyed the plot of a girls trip away knowing that something is going to happen. Just know that it’s not what you may think. So many twists and turns that you canMt wait to see what happens next! Well done!

The plot was good. The ending was not.

I read One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke and it wasn’t one of my favorite books. The characters annoyed me, and it dragged on for not really any reason. With that said, I didn’t have much hope going into this book but the cover looked cool and description sounded interesting.

It took me a while to get into the book but when I did, I didn’t want to put it down. Although, all of that for THAT ending. A waste.

Amazing read! It was hooked from page 3. I loved the aspects of being out in the wilderness & how the characters developed so well from the beginning to the end. I highly reccomend this book for all types of readers! 5 star read.

Another home run by Lucy!!! Phenomenal book! Once I started I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day! Love the drama so much! My heart was racing so much in parts! Not sure if I’ll ever go hiking or camping again!
Highly recommend this thriller!!

I loved the premise of this book. Four lifelong friends gather every year to travel and reconnect. The characters are so amazingly diverse:

Liz is a doctor with three kids, but her marriage is waning.
Joni is a superstar singer hooked on drugs and alcohol.
Helena is successful but unhappy.
Maggie is a single mother with anxieties.

Most of their trips are to luxury destinations. But this year, Liz pushes them to climb a mountain in Norway – and she’s the only one fit enough to tackle it.

This book rotates POV’s and I thought the author did that very deftly. The plot moves quickly as they navigate the four-day hike. It seemed very believable, and after day two, it was hard to put down. I give her BIG points for a late plot twist that I didn’t see coming. However, I think the editor should have caught the number of times she used the word “pulse.” It was over-dramatic that every character kept feeling their pulse somewhere.

That said, I give it four stars and highly recommend the book if you like thrillers. It is fast-paced and keeps you guessing. The last 50 pages are a tour-de-force!

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Hike by Lucy Clarke.
Liz, Helena, Maggie and Joni have been best friends forever. Every year they take a trip together, taking turns choosing the location.

This year Liz has planned a hiking trip in the Norwegian wilderness. The book examines the dynamics of the women’s friendship over the years and how they handle difficult situations that arise on the mountain. The book is part thriller, part mystery with the awe-inspiring landscape of Norway as a backdrop.

I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did.

I really enjoyed the writing and characters and I enjoyed my time with them.
My main problem was that the story sat between two different genres and didn't fully commit to either.
The first 85% was more survival fiction, about four women hiking a mountain and surviving the elements. I really enjoy survival fiction and would have really enjoyed the book if that's what it was.
But it was marketed at mystery/thriller and that's what the last 15% was.

It had too many mystery thriller elements to be survival fiction, and too few to be mystery thriller.

I liked the author's voice and would be interested in reading more of hers in the future, but only if she settles on a single genre. Either one! I enjoy both!

I love a murder mystery/thriller and I especially love when they also involve travel and/or nature, which made this book even better!
The book is about four friends, Maggie, Liz, Joni, and Helena, hiking in Norwey. It seems like everything that could go wrong does, including finding a dead body in an area where a woman was reported missing. The women suspect they're being watched.
It was a slow burn at first but with the stressful environment and pressure building it made for an exciting and adventurous book! There's a lot of tension and suspense. The setting sounded both amazing and stressful.
I had a fun ride reading this book! I highly recommend it for a wild thriller! Thanks to NetGalley!

The Hike tells the story of four best friends who reunite on a non-traditional girls trip. Maggie, a single mom who feels a lack of purpose in her life; Helena, an independent soul who recently lost her mother; Liz, going through a trial separation with her husband; and Joni, a literal rock star, have all been best of friends since primary school. When Liz suggests their annual getaway be a treacherous hike through the mountains of Norway, the four come together to face the hike and also their inner demons. But the hike quickly turns dangerous, thanks to weather, terrain, and shady characters. I enjoyed getting to know this group of women and then mystery that unfolds during their mountain journey, but I'm not much of an outdoor enthusiast so this ended up just okay for me.

This was a slow to start for me and I had to DNF for now. Hopefully once summer reading slows down I will be able to pick it up again. I believe I will still bea ble to hand sell to customers who like this type of story, it was just a little slow going for me personally. Will update once I've finished to book.

The Hike
By Lucy Clarke
Pub Date August 29, 2023
Harper Collins
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
thriller mystery Survival
Well plotted, brimming with action and strongly written characters.
The first 20 percent was slow going for me.
Cons: the ending needed editing.
So for me this was a 3 star book. Good but not compelling enough for me to recommend it,
3 stars

I really liked this book. I loved the multiple viewpoints and completely enjoyed the friendships of these four gals. It was a constant acceleration of events followed by slower moments that sometimes I felt like could’ve used some speeding up. I really enjoyed a plot twist I did not see coming and overall thought this was a solid mystery read. Thank you to HarperCollins and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book and review it!

I really enjoyed the ease of reading this book, and found it ironic that I had just returned from a trip to Norway, so that was an added bonus of knowing the feeling of the land they were hiking. The author did a great job of building the character development, while keeping the story moving right along. I can't wait to read more from this author! Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!!

There are a lot of things that can go wrong when one inexperienced person decides to go on a 4 day hike. There’s even more things that can go wrong when FOUR people decide to go on a 4 day hike together. And this is how we find our main characters, 4 women in their thirties and lifelong friends, ready to break away from their traditional beach vacations. There’s Liz the organizer, Maggie the single mom, Helena the girlboss, and Joni the rockstar. Each woman has their own doubts about the trip, but they forge ahead into the Norwegian wilderness together.
This book flew by for me. The first half focuses more on the dynamics of their friend group, while the second half focuses on the perils of survival. The introductions for each of the 4 women took a lot of time upfront, but that character-building paid off as the point of view switched between women as the story progressed. In addition to the well-written main characters, the town and its residents create a feeling of isolation that adds to the growing intensity. There are several twists as the story progresses, and most of them keep the pace moving forward at a climbing rate. However, as the story reached its climax, the final reveals began to seem over the top and exaggerated. The heightened peril led to an ending that felt a little cheap in its emotional payoff.
Overall, this book was a blast to read. It’s an adventure book more than any other category and kept me fully invested to the end. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and thrilling read. For a more detailed review, check out my blog!
Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam and Sons for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At the heart of it, this book is about navigating adult friendships when everyone is at a different stage. I didn’t care for the random sprinkles of supernatural or the drug ring. Otherwise, quick read and I wanted to know what happened.

I DEVOURED this book - the quick chapters and changes in perspective really kept me going. Loved the friendship drama element with the danger (both weather and murder). Have reviewed and recommended on socials.