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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Hike by Lucy Clarke was my first book of 2024 and what a way to start!
4 friends head off on their annual trip, this time to the mountain resort in Norway. Not everyone is thrilled by the idea of this trip but still they go along, however not everyone will return. The twists and turns keep you alert throughout and the easy to read nature of this story means you won’t put it down.
4 friends head off on their annual trip, this time to the mountain resort in Norway. Not everyone is thrilled by the idea of this trip but still they go along, however not everyone will return. The twists and turns keep you alert throughout and the easy to read nature of this story means you won’t put it down.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I have been an admirer of Lucy Clarke’s books for a while, and ‘The Hike’ is definitely one of my top picks.
An atmosphere of suspense, exquisitely portrayed settings, and well-crafted characters, all qualities I expected from this author. I was not disappointed.
This book is a fantastic read with an engaging plot, with surprising twists and unexpected conclusions. ‘The Hike’ has it all!
If you have not experienced Lucy Clarke's work, this five star read would be the perfect introduction. If you are an avid fan, you do not want this missing from your collection.
This book could be an excellent selection for a book club because of the diverse reactions it could inspire in readers, thanks to a group of diverse characters, each with their own flaws.
If you are a fan of heart pounding psychological thrillers, pre-order a copy of ‘The Hike’ now!
An atmosphere of suspense, exquisitely portrayed settings, and well-crafted characters, all qualities I expected from this author. I was not disappointed.
This book is a fantastic read with an engaging plot, with surprising twists and unexpected conclusions. ‘The Hike’ has it all!
If you have not experienced Lucy Clarke's work, this five star read would be the perfect introduction. If you are an avid fan, you do not want this missing from your collection.
This book could be an excellent selection for a book club because of the diverse reactions it could inspire in readers, thanks to a group of diverse characters, each with their own flaws.
If you are a fan of heart pounding psychological thrillers, pre-order a copy of ‘The Hike’ now!
First off, thanks to netgalley for providing me an ARC!
This year was Liz's turn to choose where the yearly friends' trip is.. and she chose to go hiking/camping the Blafjell mountain.
When arriving at the local lodge near the trailhead, it was the end of the season, and locals were having a party. They heard tales of the peak being spooky and the story of a local woman going missing while hiking. The brother of the lodge, Erik, was the last to see her alive.
Even with all this information, the woman goes hiking.
While walking, they all unpack their issues. Maggie gets lost of the trail. And it ends up making them more determined.
However, when a rain storm rolls in while camping near the beach, the group needs to hide out in a cave to stay safe. That's where they find the missing local girls bracelet and massive amount of Coke.
They needed to get out of there quickly, but they had lost everything in the storm, and those hiding the cocaine would be coming for them.
Very good and fast read! I'd recommend it for any thriller lover
This year was Liz's turn to choose where the yearly friends' trip is.. and she chose to go hiking/camping the Blafjell mountain.
When arriving at the local lodge near the trailhead, it was the end of the season, and locals were having a party. They heard tales of the peak being spooky and the story of a local woman going missing while hiking. The brother of the lodge, Erik, was the last to see her alive.
Even with all this information, the woman goes hiking.
While walking, they all unpack their issues. Maggie gets lost of the trail. And it ends up making them more determined.
However, when a rain storm rolls in while camping near the beach, the group needs to hide out in a cave to stay safe. That's where they find the missing local girls bracelet and massive amount of Coke.
They needed to get out of there quickly, but they had lost everything in the storm, and those hiding the cocaine would be coming for them.
Very good and fast read! I'd recommend it for any thriller lover
First off, thanks to netgalley for providing me an ARC!
This year was Liz's turn to choose where the yearly friends' trip is.. and she chose to go hiking/camping the Blafjell mountain.
When arriving at the local lodge near the trailhead, it was the end of the season, and locals were having a party. They heard tales of the peak being spooky and the story of a local woman going missing while hiking. The brother of the lodge, Erik, was the last to see her alive.
Even with all this information, the woman goes hiking.
While walking, they all unpack their issues. Maggie gets lost of the trail. And it ends up making them more determined.
However, when a rain storm rolls in while camping near the beach, the group needs to hide out in a cave to stay safe. That's where they find the missing local girls bracelet and massive amount of Coke.
They needed to get out of there quickly, but they had lost everything in the storm, and those hiding the cocaine would be coming for them.
Very good and fast read! I'd recommend it for any thriller lover
This year was Liz's turn to choose where the yearly friends' trip is.. and she chose to go hiking/camping the Blafjell mountain.
When arriving at the local lodge near the trailhead, it was the end of the season, and locals were having a party. They heard tales of the peak being spooky and the story of a local woman going missing while hiking. The brother of the lodge, Erik, was the last to see her alive.
Even with all this information, the woman goes hiking.
While walking, they all unpack their issues. Maggie gets lost of the trail. And it ends up making them more determined.
However, when a rain storm rolls in while camping near the beach, the group needs to hide out in a cave to stay safe. That's where they find the missing local girls bracelet and massive amount of Coke.
They needed to get out of there quickly, but they had lost everything in the storm, and those hiding the cocaine would be coming for them.
Very good and fast read! I'd recommend it for any thriller lover
The Hike was an interesting journey of a read. Albeit pretty fast paced, there was a lot of exposition around the hiking itself which was just “meh”, and then the actual conclusion and “twist” was not to my liking. I thought it was far fetched and not remotely guessable. Overall, I just wasn’t a fan of the plot itself, even though it was a fine read and had some redemptive elements in the characters and qualities of female friendship.
The Hike was an interesting journey of a read. Albeit pretty fast paced, there was a lot of exposition around the hiking itself which was just “meh”, and then the actual conclusion and “twist” was not to my liking. I thought it was far fetched and not remotely guessable. Overall, I just wasn’t a fan of the plot itself, even though it was a fine read and had some redemptive elements in the characters and qualities of female friendship.
This was a super quick read (I even restarted the first hour because I had put it on hold, and I still finished in a day). And I've liked Lucy Clarke books before. But this...just kind of bugged me.
The mystery element was fine. I find the idea that essentially the entirety of this town is involved in drug smuggling a little ridiculous (and organized crime isn't my favorite reveal) but that's fine. I was kind of hoping that Leif threw Karin's body over the ledge to cover for his brother. And then he was contemplating killing Liz because people knew there was supposed to be a body. But, nah. Everyone just knew Karin had been killed because she discovered the coke. Sure, fine.
My issues with this book purely stem from the characters. So...
Maggie: Honestly, Maggie is fine. The only thing I didn't like was that the whole "She looks just like Karin" thing never really came into play. Except maybe a random mystical encounter when Walther was attacking her and she saw Karin but thought it was her? But that came out of nowhere and just felt like a letdown of the buildup. Oh but also, her weird flirtation with Erich when she looked like his dead ex was...upsetting.
Liz: Truly, what was Liz's fucking problem lol. I understand that she's very Type A and wants everyone to organize and go on a hike. But, like, no one was prepared and the weather was going to be awful. She had no real reason to lie and pretend it would be fine. She had no ulterior motive to get them up there. She was just forcing her friends on a dangerous hike to...distract herself from her marriage? The marriage she seems to be salvaging despite her husband SLEEPING WITH HER BEST FRIEND. Also, didn't LOVE all the mentions of her missing out on stuff with her kids because she worked so much. She was a doctor. She was doing important things. Don't make her full of regret for that. To be fair, that wouldn't necessarily bothered me as much if not for the other shitty portrayals of women and motherhood.
Joni: Joni spent most of this book hating herself because she felt worthless for her addiction. And that feels like it should be a more nuanced topic. Her sleeping with Liz's husband was an awful reveal. Especially when she was all "I thought I loved him but I didn't". Then...don't sleep with him? That's such a horrible way to treat your friend. AND THEN, she seemed to sacrifice herself because the others had people waiting for them (ie children)? I get that she was contemplating suicide but that was reasoning she gave. As if she mattered less because she didn't have a family. Which, again, might not have stood out, except for....
HELENA: I had a bad feeling the second Helena was unsure what to do with her pregnancy. She was a character who ADAMANTLY didn't want kids. And I was so worried that she wouldn't be able to maintain that conviction. And I was right to worry. God forbid a woman not want kids (I say as a woman who WANTS KIDS). Helena so badly didn't want children that she went through a horrible break-up with someone she still loved because he did want kids. And then, she decides to just stop taking her birth control and see what happens? And way? Because she was with her mother when she died and realized she doesn't want to be alone when she dies. WHAT?!?! What a terrible reason to decide to have a kid - to not die alone. And then, once Joni dies and Helena (obviously) has the baby, she muses about how after the loss of her mother AND Joni, she wanted to...give her life meaning. And obviously, that means motherhood. And someone who has never wanted kids before but has recently suffered great loss is clearly making the right decisions. I in no way think people can't change their minds about to children. But to have a character do a complete 180 based on grief and a desire to "make something of their life" is just...gross. And I actively hated it.
I don't think I'm done with Lucy Clarke but this was ultimately a meh thriller that had some rage-inducing things to say about womanhood and motherhood. So...2.
The mystery element was fine. I find the idea that essentially the entirety of this town is involved in drug smuggling a little ridiculous (and organized crime isn't my favorite reveal) but that's fine. I was kind of hoping that Leif threw Karin's body over the ledge to cover for his brother. And then he was contemplating killing Liz because people knew there was supposed to be a body. But, nah. Everyone just knew Karin had been killed because she discovered the coke. Sure, fine.
My issues with this book purely stem from the characters. So...
Maggie: Honestly, Maggie is fine. The only thing I didn't like was that the whole "She looks just like Karin" thing never really came into play. Except maybe a random mystical encounter when Walther was attacking her and she saw Karin but thought it was her? But that came out of nowhere and just felt like a letdown of the buildup. Oh but also, her weird flirtation with Erich when she looked like his dead ex was...upsetting.
Liz: Truly, what was Liz's fucking problem lol. I understand that she's very Type A and wants everyone to organize and go on a hike. But, like, no one was prepared and the weather was going to be awful. She had no real reason to lie and pretend it would be fine. She had no ulterior motive to get them up there. She was just forcing her friends on a dangerous hike to...distract herself from her marriage? The marriage she seems to be salvaging despite her husband SLEEPING WITH HER BEST FRIEND. Also, didn't LOVE all the mentions of her missing out on stuff with her kids because she worked so much. She was a doctor. She was doing important things. Don't make her full of regret for that. To be fair, that wouldn't necessarily bothered me as much if not for the other shitty portrayals of women and motherhood.
Joni: Joni spent most of this book hating herself because she felt worthless for her addiction. And that feels like it should be a more nuanced topic. Her sleeping with Liz's husband was an awful reveal. Especially when she was all "I thought I loved him but I didn't". Then...don't sleep with him? That's such a horrible way to treat your friend. AND THEN, she seemed to sacrifice herself because the others had people waiting for them (ie children)? I get that she was contemplating suicide but that was reasoning she gave. As if she mattered less because she didn't have a family. Which, again, might not have stood out, except for....
HELENA: I had a bad feeling the second Helena was unsure what to do with her pregnancy. She was a character who ADAMANTLY didn't want kids. And I was so worried that she wouldn't be able to maintain that conviction. And I was right to worry. God forbid a woman not want kids (I say as a woman who WANTS KIDS). Helena so badly didn't want children that she went through a horrible break-up with someone she still loved because he did want kids. And then, she decides to just stop taking her birth control and see what happens? And way? Because she was with her mother when she died and realized she doesn't want to be alone when she dies. WHAT?!?! What a terrible reason to decide to have a kid - to not die alone. And then, once Joni dies and Helena (obviously) has the baby, she muses about how after the loss of her mother AND Joni, she wanted to...give her life meaning. And obviously, that means motherhood. And someone who has never wanted kids before but has recently suffered great loss is clearly making the right decisions. I in no way think people can't change their minds about to children. But to have a character do a complete 180 based on grief and a desire to "make something of their life" is just...gross. And I actively hated it.
I don't think I'm done with Lucy Clarke but this was ultimately a meh thriller that had some rage-inducing things to say about womanhood and motherhood. So...2.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No