The Hike is a multi-POV novel about four friends who go on an intense hiking trip to Norway. They've been friends since they were in high school, and now in their thirties they still reunite each year for a holiday. This year Liz has picked the trip and everyone else is a little less than enthused about the physically demanding vacation. 

Lucy Clarke begins this story with lots of character building around the four friends: Liz, Helena, Maggie, and Joni. By the time the trip begins, I had felt a connection to several of the characters and a deep interest in the others. When they arrive at the lodge near the daunting peak they plan to summit, the friends meet a small group of locals- some friendly and others less so. 

Interspersed with chapters about "the search" for a woman's body, Clarke builds tension even before the hiking expedition goes awry. My only gripes are that this book was a bit long (384 pages, not ideal thriller/suspense length in my opinion) and that the end managed to feel very this, then this, then this (a shift from the overall writing style).

For a character driven adventure in the wilderness book, this hits the mark. I found myself picking this up over other books I was reading, and I think it will work for many readers. 

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC. All opinions are my own.