“THE PERFECT DAY FOR A HIKE

Leaving behind their everyday lives, four friends hike out into the beautiful Norwegian wild – nothing between them and the mountain peak but forest, sea and sharp blue sky.

THE PERFECT PLACE TO DISAPPEAR

But there’s a darker side to the wilderness. A woman went missing here one year ago, scarring the mountain with suspicion and unanswered questions.

Now, the friends are hiking into the heart of the mystery. And waiting on the trail is someone who’d do anything to keep their secrets buried – and to stop the group walking away alive . . .”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of The Hike by Lucy Clarke. The Hike was published by HarperCollins on 28th September 2023 and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Hike but that has in no way influenced my review.

Lucy Clarke has rapidly become a ‘must read’ author for me. I thoroughly enjoyed The Castaways when I read it in 2021 and One of the Girls was one of my top books of 2022. So I was giddy with excitement to get my hands on an early copy of The Hike which was released in hardcover earlier this year and paperback more recently. If you’re a fan of destination thrillers with beautiful, exotic settings that bite back, then I urge you to pick up a Lucy Clarke thriller. Same goes if you love a strong, multi-layered character. As not only is Clarke a master of setting, she knows how to write truly fascinating characters who will draw you into their world.

Liz, Helena, Maggie and Joni are four women who have been friends forever. But they now lead very different lives with different demands on their time. So every year the four women leave their day to day lives behind and go away together. This year it’s Liz’s decision where they go and the other women are distraught when capable, responsible, GP Liz chooses to hike in the Norwegian mountains. For the other women it sounds like hell on earth who would have much preferred to lounge on a sandy beach drinking cocktails. Unprepared for what lays ahead, the four friends make a shaky start on the trail. And they soon realise that the Norwegian wilderness has a much darker, deadlier side to it than they ever imagined…

The Hike is a gripping, character-driven thriller chockful of suspense and foreboding with a wonderful sense of place. The four lead female characters are all so different and beautifully drawn. They all have a secret they’re desperate to keep from the others and as the trip progresses, nerves start to fray and tensions build. Their patience with each other starts to wear thin. Clarke writes her four protagonists so very well and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them (even when they were snipping and snapping at each!).

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Hike is a highly readable survival thriller with a superbly written cast of characters, a vivid setting and a well-paced plot. I found myself fully invested in the story, keen to discover how the trip was going to turn out for these four women and whether they would make it to the end in one piece. And if they did make it to the end, would they ever speak to each ever again? The ending fell a little flat for me but it didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment of this cracking book. Full of well-written drama, interesting female relationships, lots of unexpected twists and turns, an overarching sense of impending doom which builds really nicely over the course of the book, all set in the most spectacular of settings and conveyed to the reader expertly by the author. Lucy Clarke remains a favourite author of mine and I cannot wait to see what she has for us readers next. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Hike. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Hike by Lucy Clarke was published in the UK by HarperCollins on 27th April 2023 and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Sunday Times bestseller, Lucy Clarke, writes from a beach hut, using the inspiration from the wild south coast to craft her stories. Her debut novel, THE SEA SISTERS, was a Richard & Judy Book Club pick, and she has since published A SINGLE BREATH, THE BLUE/NO ESCAPE, LAST SEEN, YOU LET ME IN, and THE CASTAWAYS, which was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. Lucy’s seventh novel, ONE OF THE GIRLS, is ‘an electric, sun-soaked thriller’, released in May 2022.

Lucy’s books are published in twenty territories. THE BLUE, is currently being filmed for a major international TV series for Paramount+ and will be on screens in 2023.

Lucy is a passionate traveller and fresh air enthusiast. She’s married to a professional windsurfer and, together with their two children, they spend their winters travelling and their summers at home by the sea.