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. Charles McVeigh, pure climber, is deemed the worlds greatest alpinist, he is a legend and renowned as superhuman in the death zone (above 8000m) and he’s a hero rescuer of climbers in trouble. He is soon to enter the record books as the first to climb 14 mountains over 8000m without supplementary oxygen and all within a year. Cecily Wong is a journalist and she is prepared to go to any lengths to interview him hence her presence in Katmandu to join this expedition. She’ll get her interview when she conquers Manaslu so it’ll make or break her career. She is part of a team of seven, some are complete strangers as they set off to conquer a dangerous peak. The story is told from Cecily‘s point of view and interspersed with her excellent blog. So, I love reading books (or movies!) that take me on a mountaineering adventure. It is super interesting to me to gain insight into those who do make the choice to push their body beyond extreme physical boundaries. How they do it? And why do they do it?

Breathless: This year’s most gripping thriller and Sunday

Breathtaking. Totally immersive, I truly felt transported to Nepal, becoming a part of the expedition. Gripping, chilling and exhilarating' 5***** READER REVIEW Sounds like exciting stuff, right?? Sadly this book just didn’t give me any feeling of the tension which I should have felt throughout, even the climb got tiresome. There are some characters, i.e. her old boyfriend James, who could have been left completely out of the story.

Breathless is a physical and mental state in this story. I'm glad to look at the successes of others with pictures and videos and read about them. The hardships, cost, and dangers don't make me want to be there. But this story puts us there with all the stress of the endeavor and then with the threat of a murderer on the mountain. We zien dat Cecily in een gezelschap terecht komt die allemaal iets met Charles van doen hebben of die hem eerder al ontmoet hadden. Het boek bevat wel redelijk wat specifieke termen die van doen hebben met het bergbeklimmen, wat het niet altijd even verstaanbaar maakt voor een leek (mezelf meegerekend). Toch is het boek niet lang blijven liggen en was het in redelijk snel tempo uit (lees: 4 dagen). Ik wist wel al wie de moorden op zijn geweten had, wat me niet vaak voorkomt. Toch was het eerder een vermoeden en kon ik het motief erachter niet plaatsen. Dat was goed gevonden en zorgde voor een mooie afsluiting. Het boek heeft me dus wel degelijk zeer kunnen bekoren en hopelijk schrijft McCulloch nog meer van deze whodunits. Voor Ademloos geef ik 4 sterren. i loved that this was an ownvoices story not only in the sense that the author shares racial/ethnic identities with cecily (both are chinese-white women who reside in england), but also the lived experience of mountaineering—and specifically, summiting manaslu. for context, amy mcculloch was the youngest canadian woman to climb mt. manaslu, when she summited in september 2019. 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.

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

I loved it. I read it in two sittings. It was so tense by the end, the air in my bedroom felt as thin as in the mountains. I think it’s a total triumph of a thriller.‘— Gillian McAllister, Sunday Times bestselling author of That Night

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as a novice to climbing, cecily is both exhilarated and terrified - particularly as fellow mountaineers die one by one when they reach manaslu. a murderer has followed them to the mountain, and the extreme environment provides the perfect cover for a killer to lurk, concealed, preying on climbers whose survival is already shaky. THE SPINE-TINGLING AND GRIPPING NEW THRILLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH, BREATHLESS 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!

Breathless by Amy McCulloch | Waterstones

I enjoyed it but the enjoyment was marginal. If McCulloch writes another thriller in the context of outdoor adventure, I’ll give it a try to see if she manages to achieve higher marks in the credibility department. An addictive, tightly plotted thriller that will leave you chilled to the bone' Lucy Clarke, bestselling author of THE CASTAWAYS She forced herself to think logically. Whoever left this hadn’t signed it. They wanted to be anonymous. Maybe that meant they were speculating. And unless others had received a similar note, it meant the warning was just for her. Why? Breathless is a high-altitude, high-stakes thriller that combines fascinating, authentic mountaineering experience with pure thriller entertainment. The suspense rises like the Nepalese mountain it is set on. Reminded me of the best of Michael Crichton, where in-depth knowledge and a masterful plot work together to create a tense adrenaline-fuelled ride. I loved it Matt Haig, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Midnight LibraryEnthralling. Combines an intricate murder mystery with lyrical passages describing ice cliffs and spectacular skies' SUNDAY TIMES Tense, chilling and terrifyingwith unforgettable characters and an unpredictable and atmospheric plot. One of the most original thrillers I’ve read.It deserves to be huge!’— Claire Douglas, Sunday Times bestselling author of Last Seen Alive If you know me, you know that I love me an atmospheric location thriller. In fact, usually the colder location, the better. Last year, one of my favorite thrillers, if not my very favorite, was Allie Reynolds' Shiver. When I saw the synopsis for Breathless, I was giddy and hoping that this one would read similar. I'm so freakin' happy to say, this definitely met and even exceeded all of my expectations! A summit attempt, chasing an interview with the world's most famous mountain man, a killer lurking in the icy darkness plus a hugely engaging main protagonist and a truly unpredictable plot makes Breathless a must read for anyone chasing psychological thrills and spills in their reading.

About - Amy McCulloch About - Amy McCulloch

cecily wong is a british-chinese adventure journalist who has gambled her entire career - her life’s savings, even - on one story that will captivate the world: she will climb mt. manaslu in nepal alongside charles mcveigh, a luminary in the mountaineering community. their ascent marks the last before charles clinches his record-breaking title as the only person to have climbed all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres - in the span of one year, and without supplementary oxygen or external aid. 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.Gripping. Thrilling. A visceral account of a novice's struggles with thin air and exhaustion' Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month