Beyond the Book: The Hike

Book Blurb:

Four hikers enter the mountains. Only two return. But is it tragedy? Or treachery?

When sisters Cat and Ginny travel with their husbands to the idyllic Swiss Alps for a hiking holiday, it’s not just a chance to take in the stunning scenery. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with each other after years of drifting apart—and patch up marriages that are straining at the seams.

As they head into the mountains, morale is high, but as the terrain turns treacherous, cracks in the relationships start to show. With worrying signs that someone might be following them, the sun begins to set and exhaustion kicks in. Suddenly, lost high on a terrifying ridge, tensions spill over—with disastrous consequences.

When only two of the four hikers make it down from the mountain, the police press them for their story—but soon become suspicious when their accounts just don’t add up.

What really happened up on that ridge? Who are the survivors? And what secrets are they trying to hide?

My Review:

I scarcely know where to start on this review. I liked the idea of the book, and the cover wasn’t bad either. I anticipated a villain or two who’d get every one up on the mountain and do away with the others. Or, maybe the bad guys did their worst, and the good guys thwarted them and got away. That wasn’t exactly what happened.

From the very beginning of the book it became obvious that we weren’t dealing with nice people. There were four major characters, and each and every one of them was perfectly awful. If you can think of a bad behavior, one or the other of them probably did it. They committed murder, adultery, were greedy, vengeful, lied, and kept deadly secrets, There were no redeeming qualities among the whole bunch. 

In spite of the terrible characters the book was well written, fast paced, and full of suspense, twists and turns. It also had a surprise ending. However, for me, the characters were so unlikeable that they influenced my reaction to the story. If I were giving starts I’d only give this a three, and I’m giving that only because the writing is good. I just don’t enjoy reading about such people.

Have you read a book that influenced you the way this one did me?