Amy McCulloch is a Chinese-White author, born in the UK, raised in Ottawa, Canada, now based in London, UK. She has written several novels for children and young adults, and been published in over fifteen different languages. Her debut adult novel, BREATHLESS, releases in 2022. I liked some of the conversations that are discussed within Breathless. It's a heavily male dominated arena, rife with massive egos and bragging rights. The mountain is also a lawless place. Above 8000 metres, everything relies on trust and good will and little can be done to police the actions of others - especially when symptoms of hypoxia can lead to hallucinations, bringing into question the reliability of what is happening. Cecily is entering this environment as an ameateur female, mixed race climber. She constantly questions her own abilities, which is further reinforced by her privileged male team members who see her as a weak link. She has to prove she can summit not only to herself, but everyone else too. Add to this an increasing sense of paranoia as Cecily makes the ascent and the overall story has this permenant sense of dread to it that really helps set the tone. Cecily Wong, a young journalist, has been invited by acclaimed Mountaineer, Charles McVeigh, to accompany him on his ascent to the summit of Manaslu. He is famous for breaking mountaineering records and performing heroic rescues. This will be his final climb of eight mountains over 8,000 metres within a year to establish a world record. What's more, he intends to climb without using oxygen or ropes. Tense, chilling and terrifying with unforgettable characters and an unpredictable and atmospheric plot. One of the most original thrillers I’ve read. It deserves to be huge! An attempt like this is hard enough without suspecting that a murderer in on the mountain with you. She's heard rumors about McVeigh and they aren't good. That he might be cheating on his "clean" climbs, that people have died in his vicinity. Are those rumors spread by people jealous of his success? And now someone else has died right before they start the climb. At a time when Cecily needs to be at her best, she's having trouble sleeping, eating, and doing her best to stay focused on the climb, because she can't help also investigating all the strange things going on with the people around her. Is the anger and suspicion she sees and hears part of the stress of a climb that can take your life on the best days, is her imagination running away with her, is she going to mess this attempt up, too?

Breathless: A Thriller by Amy McCulloch, Paperback | Barnes Breathless: A Thriller by Amy McCulloch, Paperback | Barnes

The fact that McCulloch has actually climbed Manaslu allows her to ground her zippy thriller in first-hand experience. McCulloch knows what it’s like to be on a commercially guided ascent of an 8,000-meter peak. She knows what it’s like to be a relative novice in that context—surrounded by guides and Sherpas and other climbers who’ve got far more experience in the mountains. She knows what it’s like to be plopped down in a community of ambitious and sometimes disagreeable strangers in a setting that requires mutual trust. And she knows what it’s like to feel, as one of the few women on the mountain, like you’re ‘a target’ for misogyny and unwanted sexual advances. And so, in between the deaths and cliffhangers through which the plot hurtles, McCulloch puts her firsthand knowledge on display—in the process winning our trust as readers and shedding an uncomfortable amount of light on some of mountaineering’s less admirable aspects.” Ademloos had ik al een tijdje zien passeren en trok al snel mijn aandacht omdat het me sterk deed denken aan Huiver van Allie Reynolds. Gezien dat verhaal me uitstekend bevallen was en dit boek me ook aansprak, kwam het op het lijstje te staan. Mooie bonus was dat het beschikbaar was in Kobo Plus. We maken hier kennis met Cecily die, om haar carrière te redden, een interview wil versieren met Charles McVeigh. Charles is een zeer bekende bergbeklimmer die alles onderneemt zonder touwen of extra zuurstof. Dat is een zeer straffe prestatie en niet aan iedereen besteed. Cecily krijgt van hem echter een voorstel: ze krijgt het interview als ze zelf ook deelneemt aan de beklimming én de top behaalt. Wat volgt is een boek vol avonturen van de beklimming en van de mensen die eraan deelnemen. Charles promises Cecily an interview to establish her as an adventure writer, but only after she reaches the summit as part of his team. Cecily is the least experienced of his team members, consisting of 6 people he has invited plus four Sherpa guides. She is haunted by an alarming failure on a previous climb, and very few know what happened. She knows that interviewing Charles is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and consents to join his team. Is she courageous or being foolhardy?Scattered throughout are drafts of Cecily’s articles about this trip. When she and her climbing group—all chosen by Charles—leave Kathmandu for Samagaun, a village at the base of the mountain, Cecily writes about their helicopter journey. Overall, if like me you get vertigo climbing the stairs you’ll be swept off your feet by this one. It’s by far one of the better ones in this crowded market, principally because the author knows what she’s talking about. It’s a very enjoyable read. If you’re looking for a book to thrill and transport you, then Breathless is the read for you! Set high in the chilling Death Zone, this thriller had me on the edge of my seat. I loved being immersed in the competitive, high-stakes world of alpine climbing, and Amy brilliantly evokes how risky this setting is, a setting that can only get deadlier with a murderer on the mountain . . . A must-read for 2022” And as fate elbows its way in, Cecily has had a new assignment. She's to follow Charles McVeigh, a renowned alpinist, who is undertaking a series of 14 mountains standing taller than 8,000 meters. Charles promises Cecily an exclusive interview if Cecily reaches the summit of Manaslu in Nepal with him. Cecily knows that she has to turn things around in her career. This assignment can resurrect her dwindling position. But she must prepare and she must settle things within herself to succeed. Plus one of my favorite nonfiction topics is the life of George Mallory... So, you can see how the puzzle pieces really came together for me to love Breathless... And Amy McCulloch delivered a great thrilling story with twisty turns within the story and the actual ins & outs of summiting a mountain over 8000 meters.

Midnight - Penguin Books UK

In brief - Pacey and enjoyable at times, unconvincing at other times. Probably 3 or 4 and full review nearer publication i will admit that i wasn’t particularly enamoured with the mystery. i was able to predict the murderer very early on, as my spidey-senses were tripped 1) by charles sounding way too good to be true, and 2) the minute i heard charles survived a summit while the rest of his teammates did not. moreover, some of the plot points felt overwrought and required suspension of my disbelief. for instance, i found it absurd that charles went to all the trouble of inviting cecily onto his team just so that he could have a way to thwart doug. this did not feel very occam's-razor to me: surely there were more efficient, straightforward ways of distracting or disposing of doug that did not leave so many uncontrollable variables at play - not the least of which includes the (realized) possibility that cecily, a journalist, would investigate the rumours and death swirling around charles. Tranquil Samagaun is highlighted by a teahouse where Cecily goes to write and meet other climbers who have come to Nepal from around the world. She takes in the peacefulness of the area one morning when she wakes up before others in her group. This is essentially a climbing thriller. There are some twists and turns in this story which were ok. All in all I found this quite interesting and entertaining as a read. I don't think I was fully convinced by it though. I doubt anyone who has read true stories of high mountain climbing would be convinced by this but I'm sure quite many people will be entertained. 3.5/5

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and i gotta say - i was so invested in this story that it’s the first time i read an advance review copy the day it was granted to me. i devoured this, my heart pounding all the while.