The Hike by Lucy Clarke

"She wiped her face, looked down at her hiking boots. That was why she needed this trip. Needed to walk with these women. She felt so lost - in her marriage, in herself - that the only thing that made sense right now was to follow a trail from one point to another, step by step."

The Hike by Lucy Clarke is a tense destination/psychological thriller, set in Norway.

The Blurb:

THE PERFECT DAY FOR A HIKE

Seeking the escape of a lifetime, 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. 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...

Four women - Liz, Maggie, Helena and Joni - have been friends since school. They are going on an annual trip together. In the past the trips were of a leisurely type of holiday, lounging by the pool, or drinking themselves into oblivion in bars across Europe, all LOLZ and camaraderie. This time they are roped in to do a challenging trek by the queen bee of the group, bossy Liz, who they don't dare to contradict.

Liz works as a GP, and feels like life is passing her by. With two kids and a husband who appears to be decent, it's not quite clear at first, what is wrong with her marriage and life in general. Rather than spending more time with her kids, Liz leads her friends into a trip of a lifetime in Norway.

Maggie is a single mother of a little girl, who she adores. She also has a selfish, unpleasant and controlling ex who insists on having their daughter over at his house, just to prove the power balance. She is in an emotional turmoil from having to spend time away from her child, and hopes that the trip will be a big distraction.

Helena is child-free, and is adamant about it. Yet strangely enough she sleeps around and stops using protection. Her character is so convoluted, and there is no logic to her behaviour.

And then there is Joni, the rock star with a drug addiction, who feels she needs a new meaning in her life. She joins the "girls" at the last minute.

The narrative follows four POVs, with a lot of insights into the background of each character. The initial pace of the story is pretty slow.

Apart from Liz, none are physically fit to do any climbing, yet they agree to climb a treacherous mountain. Despite the weather forecasts, and warning from the locals, they stubbornly plod on.

Liz is in a medical profession so you would expect her to understand how body works. Yet she doesn't seem to comprehend the simple facts that you don't go climbing mountains without any training.

What could possibly go wrong?

The group hikes in the Norwegian wilderness, totally unprepared to any physical exertion. As they get deeper into the forests, there is an uneasy feeling that someone is watching them.

They know that a year earlier a woman has disappeared on the trail they are taking. Her body has never been recovered. That doesn't seem to bother our brave four. 

The physical and emotional strain take their toll, and the bickering among friends turns nastier. And someone is following them, waiting for their chance to strike.

"Trees loomed tall, black shadows huddled between them. She felt watched, although she couldn't remember being further from civilisation".

All four are so unpleasant, neurotic, insecure, that you actually don't care what is going to happen to any of them. The group dynamics is fluctuating from joy to resentment to antagonism.

 "Helena and Joni had clashed often in their teens. They could both be strident and opinionated, quick to rile and slow to back down. Liz and Maggie had become mediators, trying to smooth out the knots in the fabric of their friendship".

On the surface, they are bosom friends, who go on holidays together every year, supposedly being there for each other. There is a lot of talk about how much they mean to each other. That might be the case, but in the immature kind of reliance. All four behave like they are still teenagers, irresponsible and carefree. 

This is the kind of toxic sisterhood I'm so glad I managed to avoid in my life. 

There are many cliches about motherhood, a unique smell of babies, feeling incomplete without a child. The rock chick is the most cliche character of all, with her lifestyle and drug habits.

Lucy Clarke is a very popular author of bestsellers, and the endoresements on the cover of The Hike sounded intriguing. I have a couple of her books stashed in my pile of TBR books. Perhaps this book just didn't gel with me, and I should try another thriller. 

Saying that, it's an easy and quick read, atmospheric and suspensful.

"The mountains are brutal. Impervious. They don't care who is left broken and bloodied. They don't care for weeping or joy. It is why people lose themselves out here. There's no judgment. You can be anyone in the wilderness".

P.S. The Hike is currently free for Amazon Prime members.