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The Hike: The Sunday Times bestseller and brand new crime thriller novel for 2023 from the author of One of the Girls

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There are some "Oh WTH" meoments and the ending is CARRRAZY, never thought the story would go in that direction for a minute. In all it was a good story, just not a psychological read like I was expecting. In fact, none of them really get on with each other. There's a real spark of hate and distrust that flashes throughout the group, often covered by fake smiles and a little compassion, but more often than not, revealing itself in pointed remarks and insults, especially between the two sisters. Not one of these people are likeable, but they are all very well drawn. I'm fond of the obnoxious character and often think that they are far more interesting than the nice guys out there .... well, in fiction anyway! The farther they get from the picturesque lodge, however, the less certain they all become. Between glimpses of mysterious figures and whispered stories that allude to unseen dangers, the women begin to wonder if they ever truly knew what they were getting into. And now they find themselves farther away from civilization than any of them have ever been before. An oddball and crazy adventure, one man's fall down the rabbit hole of the 21st century, The Hike is unlike anything else. It's somewhat challenging to describe this book because of just how trippy it is.

Eight novels in and Lucy Clarke just keeps getting better. The Hike is easily my favourite Lucy Clarke novel to date. I love a good isolated thriller mystery novel and The Hike is a fabulous example of a destination thriller. Fans of Lucy Clarke and newcomers will lap this one up in no time at all.Cat and Paul are married and Cat’s sister Ginny is married to Tristan. These four all have secrets and are not very likeable. In fact Cat hates her sister (with good reason) and she’s not real fond of her husband right now either. Yet she talks them into agreeing to a weekend in Switzerland with a lovely easy hike thrown in on the Saturday before the hot tub and champagne. Of course things don’t go according to plan. She has a bombshell to drop but it is saving it for later. And certainly, the setting in “The Hike” can be considered a most worthy character. Earning at least 1 star from this reviewer.

At first, I wondered if Ben might have been assimilated into some AI who was playing him like a video game (seriously, it's an odd book). The answer at the novel's end, for me, was a big let down that added to my frustration with the disjointed storyline. Of course, Ben mirrors the audience in many scenes, expressing his incredulity of the proceedings. I heard a few rumblings about The Hike from people I trust so I ignored the blurb that made it sound like not really my thing. (A man who'll do anything to return to his family? Snooze.) No offense to the marketing team of this book but you should avoid reading the summary. Completely. Here is what you need to know about this book: you never know what will happen next.

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And to indulge my English major for just a little longer, I think the part that is staying with me the most is the line at the end when Ben has to choose between the two doors - about how everyone has something they keep to themselves, something they can never share. Applying this metaphorically, it really resonated with me as an example of this one aspect of what it means to be human, that individual lives are subjective and personal and sometimes we experience things that we cannot, cannot find the words to describe because to do so is so painful or impossible that we feel as if we'd rather die. And the impact of that, to go on living with that, without ever sharing those experiences is given to the reader not once but twice - with Younger Ben, about to embark on this new journey in his life, home again but knowing he can never tell anyone under penalty of death about his journey down the path, and with Theresa, who has been living with this secret for years without anyone knowing. And that just has been blowing my mind, that we can recognize damage in each other but still never being able to find the words to express that recognition because even speaking of mutual or similar life-altering experiences can be impossible.

From the author of The Night the Lights Went Out and The Postmortal, a fantasy saga unlike any you’ve read before, weaving elements of folk tales and video games into a riveting, unforgettable adventure of what a man will endure to return to his family A gonzo fantasy adventure with a simple premise: a guy gets lost in the woods. Yet with Magary, getting lost means being chased by dog-faced murderers, crashing into an iceberg, almost getting eaten by a giant, and being forced to build a castle for the undead. In short, things get weird.” This is a story about 4 friends who decide to take a hiking/camping trip on the Blafjell Mountain in Norway. I honestly didn't expect it to turn out this good or this deep. Bravo! My faith in humanity is restored. My faith that wildly imaginative literature continues to be written, and written fearlessly, and all the while a great Tale is told as well.The hike feels, at first, like a silly and sometimes rather funny adventure, starting off with a hike during a business trip. But then it soon becomes a fantasy-land and terror-strewn nightmare and then we're treated to a wonderful reversal-filled surprise after surprise.

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