Excellent book, loved it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

Apologies, I have enjoyed the Aus Thor’s previous works but just couldn’t get into this one… will have another go at it at some point
I’ve chosen not to publicly share this review

If not before, The Hitchhiker just ensured that Gabriel Bergmoser is an auto buy author for me! 

The intensity of this game of cat and mouse had me on the edge of my seat.. it is wild and it is wicked! Definitely some shut your eye moments that had me cringing, but I love the shock of those moments and Gabriel certainly delivered! 

"Have you ever done something bad?"

Pushing 50, Paul has decided he's not playing by anyone's rules anymore. He wants freedom and decides to throw caution to the wind. In his car, with no destination in mind, he travels across the Australian Outback.  

Enter Jesse (aka Steve), the hitchhiker. He's running from something.. something bad and that's where things start to get wild. 

Mix in Maggie, the fugitive running from her past and the heroine from Gabriel's previous books and the game just gets a whole lot better! 

Full of action and twists, I flew through this because I could not put it down and it was all worth it to finally hit that jaw-dropping ending!

A fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing...right up to the last page!! Told from the separate points of view all leading to the unexpected conclusion.

A solid 3 star thriller book that I couldn’t put down because I was desperate to find out the ending! I really enjoyed the authors descriptions of people and places and I thought the story told from multiple points of view and in different periods worked well and wasn’t confusing.
However… I really wanted a better ending. It felt rushed, unbelievable and left so many random story lines unfinished or just forgotten about. Until the 75% mark this was definitely a 4 star read.
But I’m a huge fan of The caretaker so of his next book is more like that I can’t wait to read it!

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC in return for a review. All opinions are my own.

Gabriel Bergmoser is an auto read for me so I gobbled up The Hitchhiker over a few sittings.
Never one to shy away from gratuitous violence this book ticks all the box in spades. It is dark and gruesome in parts and I loved every bit.
With lots of twists and turns and and multiple view points it keeps you turning the pages at a rapid rate to get to the nail biting conclusion.
If you are look for a non stop thrill ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat, The Hitchhiker is it! I highly recommend this one but be prepared for a bit of blood shed!

This book started with a slow build, and although it held my interest, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about what I was reading. Then, there was a moment when everything changed. The story took on a new life and personality and the cat and mouse game truly kicked off. Wow, wow, wow! There went the rest of my night as I spent the next few hours devouring every word eager to see what twist would happen next. This is off the charts gruesome, and brilliantly constructed. The characters back stories are fascinating and there was just enough detail given to tease the reader into wanting to find out more. As wave after wave of new twists and turns occurred, I was truly kept on my toes (thankfully!).

I definitely want to stay away from hitchhikers and anyone offering lifts after reading this sensational and very disturbing, Thanks for providing this book in exchange for my review.

This is a great mystery and thriller and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I love that it is set in Australia and the wide open spaces give it so much mystery and even a bit of scariness. There is darkness, tension and an edge of your seat thrill ride that makes this book hard to put down.

The pacing is perfect and the writing is fantastic which makes it a book I highly recommend. Greta characters and a dark story that will keep you up late into the night. Great read.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

The wide open and desolate highways of Australia have already provided the backdrop to a couple of spine tingling thrillers from Gabriel Bergmoser. With The Hitchhiker, the danger and desperation is borne out again and, once again, Maggie (The Hunted and The Inheritance) finds herself involved.

Paul has hit the road after a divorce and is revelling in travelling through the Australian outback, listening to the Bee Gees on repeat. He’s feeling as free and carefree as he ever has and is loving experiencing the simple sights of the empty landscapes and skies simply filled with more stars than he ever imagined. He thought he might get bored but, thanks to the help of a series of self-help books about actualisation and self-improvement he’s actually bursting with expectations for what lies ahead.

Then he picks up the hitchhiker named Jesse, a brooding young man who’s not prone to doing much talking, constantly stares into the rearview mirror and becomes extremely irritated by the song ‘You Win Again’ on repeat. Jesse says he’s headed for Perth but it appears he’s also running from something. The trip through the wide open spaces suddenly becomes a little tense.

Nah, it actually becomes a lot tense. In fact, it takes a dark turn that resembles a hostage situation that’s definitely not going to end well.

As things progress we start to get taken back in time to learn more about each of the main characters. This serves to adequately provide us with a handy point of reference so that we can understand what each of them is capable of and what their motivations are for being out in the middle of nowhere travelling to goodness knows where.

This is a solid story of suspense set in the harsh and unforgiving backdrop of the Australian outback. The growing tension between the travelling “buddies” is made even more stark by the isolation through which they’re moving. The tiny towns and rest-stops through which they stop only adds to the sense of danger that grows between the pair.

The pace ramps up extremely quickly in the second half of the book thanks largely to the appearance of Maggie. Throw in some clever twists in between a few gruesome acts that might make the squeamish squirm a little and you’ve got yourself an engrossing thriller that could head in just about any direction you’re not expecting.

And I just loved the possibilities created by the ending.

This story was first created as an Audible Original and Bergmoser explains that the brief was to provide a ‘Wolf Creek meets Locke’ story. He’s well and truly done and has managed to create one of the creepiest bad guys you’d ever have the misfortune of running into on the open road into the bargain. It has clearly been given a freshen up for the hardcopy version and integrates quite nicely into the ongoing <i>Hunted</i> series expanding the theme of mayhem on the open roads of Australia’s outback.

<i>My thanks to Harper Collins Australia and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC that has allowed me to read, enjoy and review this book.</i>

This twisted psychological thriller is very much a cat and mouse game as advertised, but who’s the hunter and who’s the prey?

Divided into three sections titled, The Driver, The Hitchhiker and The Fugitive we’re introduced to three characters, none of them who they appear to be.

The Driver calls himself Paul, but that’s almost certainly not his real name. A boring middle aged man who’s led a comfortable life in the city, he’s on a journey of discovery driving in the Australian outback about his marriage fell apart. He has no real understanding of what went wrong but thinks he can reinvent himself into someone more interesting. He likes to play mind games and, bored with being alone and seeking entertainment, he picks up a hitchhiker.

The Hitchhiker, a young man called Jesse, introduces himself to the Driver as Stevie. He’s also running away from what he’s done, heading across the outback for Perth. He has no idea the danger he has just stepped into by hitching a lift with the Driver. Perhaps the Driver’s repetitive playing of the Bee Gee’s song ‘You Win Again’ should have given him a hint.

The Fugitive, Maggie, is also running from her past, sleeping in derelict buildings or in her car as a last resort. She’s also heading west, trying to keep a low profile and not engage with anyone, but when she stops at an outback pub for a meal there’s something about her that attracts the Driver’s attention.

Dark and atmospheric, this graphic tale depicts the vastness of the Australian outback, the tiny one pub towns and the immense loneliness of the communities. Once off the beaten track there really is no one to hear you scream or come to your rescue. The three characters all have interesting backstories and their own strengths and weaknesses which play out in their battle for survival. First released as an Audible Original, this works well as a short, succinctly written book. Gabriel Bergmoser has once again shown himself a master of psychological suspense, although the very graphic violence won’t be for everyone.

Gabriel Bergmoser has quickly established himself as one of Australia’s most exciting crime thriller writers.

The first two books in his series about the nomadic Maggie, The Hunted and The Inheritance were addictive ‘foot to the metal’ thrillers, and last year’s standalone novel, The Caretaker, was one of my favourite books of 2023.

As with recent releases by J. P. Pomare and Benjamin Stevenson, Bergmoser’s latest novel, The Hitchhiker, started life as an Audible Original story, before being recast as a short novel. The book opens with Paul, pushing fifty and reeling from an ugly divorce, deciding it’s time for an adventure. With the Bee Gees on the car stereo and the open road ahead, he sets out into the middle of the Australian outback, ready for whatever comes. But things take a sinister turn when he impulsively decides to pick up a hitchhiker, Jesse. Clutching a ragged backpack and with his eyes locked on the
rearview mirror, Jesse is clearly running from something. But what? And when the truth is revealed, how far will he, and Paul, go to survive?

This is a twisted cat-and-mouse thriller set in the harsh Australian outback. The tension is well established from the beginning, as Bergmoser carefully fleshes out Paul and Jesse, revealing their various secrets and making it clear that both are potentially dangerous people. Their trek through the desolate bushland bristles with suspense, especially when they encounter other people. The arrival of Maggie in the final third of the book amps up the action, and the plot quickly powers to a bloody and exciting ending.

Adding depth to the novel is Bergmoser’s depiction of the vastness of the Australian outback, and his description of the small communities and pubs scattered along the solitary main road. He also paints a poignant picture of what it is like to be a young person in a remote outback town, especially the lack of opportunity and the despair.

Sometimes the book's Audible origin show through, although I think is works better as a novel than an audiobook. I found the voice of Paul, a bit annoying in the audible version.

In all, The Hitchhiker is a powerful thriller that will grip your attention and keep you thinking long after it is finished.

The Hitchhiker by Gabriel Bergmoser is an incredibly scary thriller.

Set in remote Outback Australia this story is compelling and has many twists and turns that left this reader quite overwhelmed! The characters feel real and down to earth until they aren’t.

It starts with a middle age average type of guy going on a road trip to wherever the road takes him listening to the BeeGees on repeat. He picks up a young man, a hitchhiker who wants to get to Perth to meet up with his girlfriend.

With the mastery of a psychological crime thriller writer Gabriel Bergmoser turns normal into something else and that is something with a lot of suspense, a lot of the unexpected and twists that one thought was expected into something that was not expected.

Very atmospheric and at times a bit too graphic! This author has one incredible imagination!

Highly recommended read but be prepared for the unexpected!

This review is based on a complimentary copy from HarperCollins Publisher Australia via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#TheHitchhiker #NetGalley

“He nodded to the tea towel. She unwrapped the bloodied knife. Hands in pockets, he walked for the door, whistling as she started to scream. He stepped out into a perfect, bright sunrise.”

I’m a huge fan of crime fiction and thrillers set in the Australian outback. This one, although a bit farfetched, was one nail biting story that I binged. It isn’t for the faint of heart... I felt that some of the graphic scenes bordered almost on horror. It gave me vibes of Misery.

This book was first released as an audio book in 2022 and it’s about to be published as a physical book 31 July 2024.

From the moment I read the above quote I was hooked! Here is a middle aged man, seemingly normal if not boring, who decides to go on a road trip through the outback to discover himself after his marriage falls apart. He is listening to the BeeGees on repeat.

Things turn sinister however when he picks up a hitchhiker who is obviously running from something. But these characters aren’t quite what they seem. And as the driver drives on, the sick layers start peeling back to reveal some messed up, psychological and gruesome mind games. Who will survive?

This story is told in multiple POVs, the driver, the hitchhiker, and a fugitive that they meet at one of their stops. Through each of their POVs and going back and forth in time, we learn about each character and what has brought each of them here, what damage each has suffered, and what they are willing to do to survive.

This is one atmospheric, intense, eerie, graphic and fast-paced thriller.

Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsau for the ARC. All opinions are my own.