Breathless: This year’s most gripping thriller and Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month

Product Information

Breathless by Amy McCulloch is an adventurous thriller novel that takes place upon Mount Manaslu in Nepal. However as they ascend further up the mountain people start to go missing and the bodies begin to pile up. I also wasn’t a big fan of any of the characters - I found Cecily's character whiny and insufferable, and she seemed hell-bent on sabotaging herself, which was odd. Journalist Cecily Wong is offered the chance of a lifetime: to join an elite team on one of the world's tallest mountains.

Breathless by Amy McCulloch: 9780593315507

For anyone interested, I would also recommend listening to the audiobook since it was quite good and definitely helped keep me going to the finish. Uneven terrain, low levels of oxygen, avalanches, and frigid weather are just some of the things to worry about on a Himalayan mountain more than 8000 meters high. She is one gutsy character and I really did admire her, even if I wanted to grab her an pull her to safety.A BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB PICK • A high-altitude thriller that will take your breath away—Cecily Wong is on her most dangerous climb yet, miles above sea level. But when one climber dies in what everyone else assumes is a freak accident, she fears their expedition is in danger. When mountaineer Charles McVeigh agrees to be interviewed by journalist Cecily Wong on Manaslu, the eighth-highest peak in the world, she has no idea what she's getting herself into. Sadly this book just didn’t give me any feeling of the tension which I should have felt throughout, even the climb got tiresome. Cecily Wong, an adventure journalist with limited experience with mountaineering, is on the eighth highest mountain in the world after Charles McVeigh, a renowned climber, invited her to join his expedition to Manaslu in the Himalayas.

Breathless” by Amy McCulloch “Breathless” by Amy McCulloch

But, not reaching the summit means not getting the biggest interview of her career, the one that will make giving up everything for this trip, worth all the losses. I panic, so this book sent me into a whole new realm of wild page flipping and hanging on to the edge of my seat. I will say that while I figured out the whodunnit early on, there was a twist that I didn't see coming, and the last 20% of the book picked up and changed my rating from 2 to 3 stars.

Things going wrong and bodies building up whilst climbing a mountain at minus degrees and snow storms is not my idea of fun. There were SO many unnecessary details and storylines, about mountaineering and characters (what did James add? Her group consists of a variety of different personalities, and professions, and naturally some initial clashes occur but eventually things settle in and Cecily starts to feel a sense of confidence; she's prepared for every eventuality and ready for success.

Breathless - Penguin Books UK

The fact that McCulloch has actually climbed Manaslu allows her to ground her zippy thriller in first-hand experience. I must say that I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, as I know nothing about climbing at all. As Cecily attempts each painful step up the mountain, she feels her effort will bring her greater journalism awards if she can discover the motive behind the deaths and the killer's identity. Soon after they begin their ascent, one of their team dies in what everyone else assumes is a freak accident. It took me a long time to read this and I think that's because it never really captured my attention.

And we will come to know the proficiencies of the local Sherpas who climb alongside the team adjusting ropes and setting up camps. The native, highly experienced Sherpa guides proceed ahead to lay down ladders and ropes, providing assistance and safety for the climbers. My not being outdoorsy at all is what really got me with this one, and I just wanted more from the mystery itself. The story is really heavy with mountaineering terms which is honestly why it lost me, but I have been recommending it to people I know who love mountaineering.