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Except at night it was even worse, because by then you were too tired to think rationally and everything became magnified, distorted. Four best friends - Liz, Joni, Helena, and Maggie - set off on a four day hike through remote Norwegian wilderness. P. Putnam Sons" and Net galley for the opportunity to read this terrific book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone! En-route, I slept in rustic DNT cabins perched in some of the most remote spots I can imagine, hugely grateful for the warmth of a woodstove, and a bowl of steaming noodles enjoyed after a long day of walking. None of the characters are especially likeable but this adds to the plot rather than detracts with some of the Norwegian characters giving cause for concern and worse.
Lucy Clarke’s novel “The Blue” is a spine-tingling adventure work in the tradition of “The Beach” by Alex Garland. The people are welcoming although somewhat aloof in the small village of Norway and give the ladies instructions and advice with some warnings of dangers they could encounter while hiking. Starting off with a buildup that felt a tad more like women’s lit than thriller, the slow burn quickly caught fire into a rip-roaring explosion of suspense. As the ladies embark on their hike, they discover that the area has a dark history, a missing persons case still haunts the region.A quick, easy read imbued with plenty of foreboding, compelling yet complex group dynamics, and characters who will make you wonder who to trust, I just could not get enough of this one. This page-turner deftly chronicles the fallout as it navigates back and forth through time and space while racing to its thrilling peak. The start was a tad on the slow side; it does take a minute to introduce each of the four ladies, their problems, and their personalities.
Our main characters - old school friends Maggie, Liz, Helena and Joni catch up each year for their annual one week away together to reconnect and catchup. An eerie ‘alpine atmospheric’ suspense novel about four friends on a wilderness trip that goes terribly wrong. Each of them at different times could be annoying or irritating but that's what made the story saucy, spicy and oh. If you love a character driven thriller in an eerie claustrophobic atmosphere definitely give this one a go. A breathtaking thriller of friendship pushed to the absolute limit – and beyond – amid the dangerous beauty of the Norwegian wilderness.With that in mind, she started to wring her novels featuring Mia and Katie the lead protagonists of her novel. But as they stride further from civilisation, it becomes clear that they are not the only ones looking to lose themselves in the wilderness. The one thing that kept her inspired and motivated was that she had the beach hut and could work on the drizzly and cold days looking out at the sea.
Liz decides they need to go to Norway and do a hike up a mountain to do something different and challenge themselves. This is their annual ‘reconnect’ trip, very different from their normal lounge around the pool break away.But apart from that, I quite liked the characters, flawed as they were, they seemed real, though it baffles me how anyone can agree to a trip into the Norwegian mountains without being properly trained for it. Speaking of the plot, well-written and beautifully organized, this multiple POV storyline took me on quite the ride. Photograph: Lucy Clarke ‘It slows us down and immerses us deeply in nature’: the author Lucy, with her husband James and their children, Tommy and Darcy. When she came back to the United Kingdom she was certain that being a fiction author was the career for her.
Some days are full of wonder-struck moments, like stumbling across a cosy, low-ceilinged pub just when we’re ravenous, or rock-jumping into the sea in our underpants. Clarke is an intuitive storyteller and her understanding of how a woman may think and feel is implicitly clear in The Hike. But this time it’s a mountain hike in Norway and not everyone is exactly on-board with the decision. Last September, my husband James and I decided we’d like to try and hike the length of it with our two children, Tommy (8) and Darcy (6). So when it is her turn to plan the annual vacation with her three best friends, she persuades them to spend four nights wild camping in the stunning mountains of Norway.
It is a 630-mile route that starts in Minehead in Somerset and follows the coast of Devon and Cornwall, ending in Poole Harbour in Dorset. But with the weather coming in and the mountain peak looming, will this foursome make it back alive? Now, I'm usually not one to jump at a survivalist thriller, but I'm trying to dibble dabble in a few different tropes because the plain ole domestic ones are letting me down. 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. Seems silly as nobody would attempt to climb a mountain in bad weather without the right equipment and preparation.
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