Tag Archives: Suspense

Review: The Hike

The Hike

The Hike
By Lucy Clarke
G.P. Putnam’s Sons,9780593422670, August 2023

The Short of It:

They wanted adventure. They got it.

The Rest of It:

Liz is burned out. Her marriage isn’t what she imagined, and work? More of the same. So she plans a trip to the mountains of Norway with her three best friends. As glamorous as it sounds, it’s a strenuous hike that not all have prepared for. The physical demands leave them exhausted and then when they realize that they aren’t the only ones on the mountain, and that someone has quite a bit to hide, things suddenly take a turn. Their little adventure turns into a game of cat and mouse.

Clarke has become one of those authors that I automatically read. Her last book One of the Girls was a zippy read and the pages just turned themselves. Same here. There was just enough time on the mountain to build up the tension, just enough background story to get a feel for each character, and the story wraps up quickly. I’ve been reading these types of quick reads lately and it’s working for me.

Have you read Clarke yet? I highly recommend her.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Review: Holly

Holly

Holly
By Stephen King
Scribner, 9781668016138, Sept 5, 2023,  464 pp

The Short of It:

Fans of the Bill Hodges trilogy will enjoy spending time with one of King’s most beloved characters.

The Rest of It:

But, this one felt a little different. Holly is hired to investigate a missing woman, but as she investigates the disappearance she realizes that more is at play when a string of missing persons all lead to the same neighborhood. A serial killer? Could it be?

The story that King created is quite dark, but also laced with a little bit of ridiculousness. I found myself pausing many times because it didn’t feel “King-like”. Plus, it’s also set during the pandemic so there are plenty of political jabs made at our former President. I am not a Trump fan but I grew tired of it.

Without giving the plot away, it’s just dark enough to keep you reading and there’s plenty of time spent with Holly to get your Gibney fix but for me, Holly truly shines when she interacts with the two other characters, Jerome and Barbara Robinson. There wasn’t too much of that in this installment.

To keep this brief. I enjoyed Holly but it didn’t hold me captive like King’s other books. I highly recommend reading the other books in this series before picking up Holly. King does a stellar job of giving you what you need to know but the entire series is just great.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.