This is how you write a slow burn thriller! 4.5 stars

The story was a bit different than I was expecting but I was oh so pleasantly surprised. Locked room mysteries aren't typically my thing so I wasn't sure if an And Then There Were None-esque plot on a mountain would work. This is ultimately a whodunit mystery with a decent body count but the bulk of the mystery is about so much more than that. I spent the first 2/3 of the book just as confused as our protagonist, Cecily, about what the hell was going on.

As I said in my header, this is a slow burn but the best kind. I read the entire first half in one sitting and was shocked I made it halfway through so quickly even though there hadn't been a ton of action. I was so immersed in the story! McCulloch spend the first half of the novel emphasizing the dangerous setting and some background information about mountain climbing. I knew nothing about climbing until this book and I think she absolutely nailed it. She hit that sweet spot of giving the reader all kinds of new, detailed information about trekking, mountains, altitude sickness, mountain gear, etc. so the plot and struggles of the trekking group made sense - but also not too much information that the reader felt overwhelmed or bored.

I really only have one critique and it kills me this is such a pet peeve of mine because I loved Cecily as a protagonist otherwise... but there were quite a few moments where she completely lost any common sense or deductive reasoning skills. Thing that were blatantly clear to the reader never occur to Cecily or she brushes them off.

Overall: I loved this book. Such a unique setting and topic for a thriller to take-on and it paid off. Highly recommend.

Thank you to @vintageanchorbooks for my gifted copy of the physical book and to @netgalley for my E-ARC for an unbiased review. #photorepost

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ

𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔
𝙱𝚢: @amymccullochbooks
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: @vintageanchorbooks
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗: May 3rd 2022
@𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 3.93
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: ⛰️ ⛰️ ⛰️ ⛰️ / 5 Mountains

"One slip, and that could be the end. 𝘖𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩… The thought slid into her mind unbidden. She swallowed, and hurried to catch up to the others." ━Amy McCulloch, 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔

𝗔 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻'𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗶𝗻-𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲-𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

Cecily Wong is asked to summit Mount Manaslu, the eighth-highest peak in the world, it's a career-making opportunity. She's been personally invited by Charles McVeigh, one of the most acclaimed mountaineers in the world. But there's one caveat: he won't give her the interview until she's scaled the mountain as part of his climbing party.

Cecily is by far the least experienced of the group. When strange things start to happen around her, she becomes concerned. And then people start to die.
Stranded on the mountain with a team she barely knows, Cecily must battle more than the elements in an epic fight for survival--against one of the world's most dangerous mountains and against an unknown assailant who is picking climbers off one by one.

Wow! What an incredible journey this book has led me. This is a tense atmospheric book that kept me glued to the pages. I enjoyed the backdrop of mountain-climbing challenges, what it takes to be up there on the mountains. The formidable and unforgiving terrain, the self-determination, mental and physical strength necessary to scale the mountain.

This book was filled with mountaineering information! You could probably become one if you read this book enough times. Ha-ha. That was the downfall I felt with this book. Maybe a little too much information, or overly descripted. I did feel like I need to read every single line or I felt like I would miss something serious.

All in all, I highly recommend if you are a thriller fan looking for a killer read on a mountain top with barely air to breath.

Not the strongest of climbers, in fact her modest claim to fame was due to article on her failure as a climber, but for journalist Cecily Wong it was the chance of a lifetime. Accompany climbing sensation Charles McVeigh as he attempts the last climb on his record breaking series of summits. She knew it would be tough. She didn’t know it would be murder. When the first of the climbers died, everyone assumed it was a freak accident. But then another one died. How do you survive when you’re stuck on a mountain with a killer?

I’m not sure if it’s the man vs nature aspect as people attempt to brave the extreme elements or what but I’ve always been a fan of books/movies about climbing. Whether it’s true life experiences like Into Thin Air or wildly unrealistic films such as Cliffhanger, there is just something I find fascinating about mountain climbing, so I was pretty sure I’d enjoy this one. And I was right.

Breathless is an intense thriller that had enough twists and turns to keep me flipping the pages well into the night. 4.5 stars. rounded up to 5. Thanks so much to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Anchor and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an ARC of Breathless.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R161IL7I4D3ZSI/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This book was so good! I felt like I was right there with Cecily and her team as we are climbing Mount Manaslu trying to reach the summit. I also love getting to read the blogs that Cecily wrote, they added something really great to the story.
I think that Cecily being the person with the least amount of experience climbing gave her a new perspective on group dynamics. She was able to notice things the other climbers just attribute as stuff that normally happens. People can start to act crazy because of the altitude, or just end up dying in freak accidents, and it's all just stuff that can happen especially in the "Danger Zone" of the mountain. Even though Cecily doesn't feel like she belongs there 100% she is determined to finish the climb and get her story.
Breathless is a thrilling adventure with a whole lotta mystery thrown in and kept me on the edge of my seat trying to guess who is behind what's going on and if Cecily would end up making it to the summit. There were so many twists and turns, as soon as I thought I had it all figured out something would happen to completely change my mind. and that ending... There is a moment when I thought everything is wrapped up. and then BAM an OMG WTF moment happens.. and I loved every moment.

I can't wait to see what Amy McColloch writes next!

Cecile is climbing the 8th highest mountain to get an interview with a famous climber, Charles. They realize a killer is on the mountain when people start dying during the climb. The book is too detailed about the climb and not enough other plots. Since the author of the book is an actual mountain climber, the information is very accurate

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Breathless by Amy McCulloch in exchange for an honest review. I seem to be stuck on a certain genre right now of books taking place on snow swept mountains and alpinists. There is something about the isolation of the cold and high altitudes that is familiar and can be terrifying all on it's own, but when you add a killer to the midst stalking you, it leaves you breathless. This was a great read and I poured through it.

A good thriller. Cecily is trying to become an adventure journalist and is given a chance by a man who is by all accounts a hero in the climbing world. The magazine won't give her the money up front for the story, so she has to spend her life savings and then some to get there. This story could make or break her career. Charles has saved quite a few people during his climbs. But is he the hero that most people think he is? There are some who say he is a fraud. Cecily will find out one way or the other. But will she live long enough to tell the real story?

This author did a lot of research on climbing. The story doesn’t lack facts. It seems very sterile, however, for a thriller that is supposed to make you hold your breath. A murderer stalking people in the unlawful land of alpines should be tense. It really wasn’t. It would need to be. I love the mountains and I love the thrill that can come with the dangers of them. This novel missed all of that for some hero worship of people who basically litter all over beautiful places and pay a whole lot of money to have others make sure they get to some peak so they can say they did. It was kind of nice for them to be killer, though.

3.5 stars
Not many people could write this book!! Obviously someone with climbing experience.. and glad I happened to watch some high altitude climbing documentaries before reading to help me visualize. Lots of explanations on the dangers and it’s a slow “climb” reading about the jargon and know how. Enjoyed the last half as it’s much more exciting and really liked the ending.

Thanks for the advanced copy Netgalley!

Great read! From the base camp to the summit, we are faced with mountain climbing dangers and the evil of human nature as well.

Insecure journalist, Cecily Wong, must summit Manaslu in order to get the break she needs. But the mountain is not the only icy danger, and Cecily finds herself coming up against the power of nature , and possibly the evil of man.
Ever since I watched the documentary, Sherpa, I have found the whole alpine mountain climbing thing very interesting. The author of this book has actually experienced this setting, and it made for a fascinating setting for a mystery/ thriller. Fun read for adventure/thriller readers.
~Thank you to NetGalley and publisher~

4.5/5 stars

I am a sucker for mysteries/thrillers in a remote setting and this story set in the world of elite mountaineering grabbed me from the first few pages. Cecily Wong has staked her career on getting an interview with world-famous alpinist Charles McVeigh, a man famous for his mission to climb the world's 14 highest peaks in the span of 12 months, all without using supplemental oxygen, fixed ropes, or other tools used by avid climbers. Charles will only grant Cecily her interview if she manages to summit Manaslu with him and his team. But from the jump, there seems to be more than the usual amount of danger afoot as first one and then another climber dies in mysterious circumstances, and Cecily begins to suspect there may be a killer on the mountain...

Some reviews mention there is too much technical mountaineering jargon, but I disagree. I thought the amount of information was useful to illustrate how perilous undertaking such a climb can be, but I never felt like I reading a textbook or someone's research notes. Cecily is a great character and a sympathetic one-- she often gave the benefit of the doubt to characters I was suspicious of and seemed to be a good journalist, able to ask incisive questions and get subjects to open up. I enjoyed the samples of Cecily's writing throughout the narrative. The other members of the climbing team -- rakish cameraman Grant, tech entrepreneur Zac, grizzled guide Doug, considerate Sherpa Galden, and social media star Elise -- were three-dimensional and compelling. I really enjoyed this story and found it to be extremely tense near the end .... exactly what I want from a good thriller! Strongly recommend this to fans of Shiver by Allie Reynolds and One by One by Ruth Ware.

Big thank you to NetGalley, Knopf Doubleday/Anchor Publishing and the author for an early copy in exchange for my honest review!

If you were a journalist who could interview someone as an exclusive interview, but only after you manage to ascend the peaks, would you do it? What about if you were wholly untrained to do so? This is the story of Cecily who chooses to make that climb. What she discovers is that something very wrong is happening and she wonders if she is being stalked. The climb alone is petrifying, let alone wondering if someone means her even more harm than the mountain itself.

A bit too much detail for this non climber, but a good story.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

4.25 stars

Cecily is a reporter who has only tried climbing the three highest mountains in England, Scotland, and Wales. Her ex (and fellow reporter), James, was the mountain climber and he wanted to do the three in 24 hours. Although Cecily failed to do it, she was hailed a hero after she stayed with someone while rescuers were on their way. Cecily’s blog (to James’ consternation) brought her to the attention of famous climber, Charles McVeigh, who is trying to climb (I can’t recall how many) 8,000 m peaks in a year without Oxygen or fixed ropes (alpine style). He has one peak left to do and he invites Cecily to join him with the promise of an exclusive story if she can summit.

Unfortunately, people are dying on the mountain. That’s not unusual in mountain climbing, but there is something suspicious here. And Cecily (along with a few others) is convinced she often hears someone whistling outside her tent some nights; she follows one night to find a lone tent no one knew was there. As a reporter, she also tends to ask a lot of questions.

This pulled me in right away and I thought it was suspenseful from the start. But then, I like thrillers, as well as mountain-climbing stories, though I’m not sure I’ve ever read a fictional mountain climbing story – they can be suspenseful and exciting all on their own without adding a murder mystery to the mix! I did pick out someone as suspicious early on in the book. No surprise to read at the end that the author has climbed this particular mountain in the story herself.

Halfway through and I literally cannot put it down. I love it so much I made it my BOTM so I could have a physical copy to! Loving to finally have an original story that I can’t stop thinking about!

Reading this book left me breathless, just as the title foretold. This is story of Cecily Wong, journalist, who accompanies a famous mountain climber, known for climbing without supplemental oxygen, on an expedition to seal his world class title. The author does an amazing job of bringing the reader into the world of mountain climbing, so much so that we feel the icy cold winds, hear the flapping tents, experience the narrow ice ledges, and cross the deep, bottomless crevasses with all of the characters. We also hear the telltale whistle of the murderer on the mountain. Full of suspense and twists that you don't see coming, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat and turning pages until late in the night. Highly recommended!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this advance title.

<blockquote>Cecily could only hope she was ready.</blockquote>

- Reader, she was not

I did not realize when I read that line that it would summarize the whole story. This journalist? Writer? Interviewer? Was not ready for any of this really slow and not very suspenseful story.

Cecily Wong is chosen to interview this famous mountaineer who is going to summit his last mountain while leading a team. Cecily was chosen to interview him, but only if she makes it to the summit. She was not ready to climb this mountain nor was she ready for all the other shenanigans.

I wish I could say I didn't know who did the bad things, but it was obvious and not that interesting.

Breathless by Amy McCulloch is an adventurous thriller novel that takes place upon Mount Manaslu in Nepal. Mount Manaslu is a the eighth highest mountain in the world and wonderful setting for a freezing, snowy and dangerous adventure.

Cecily Wong is a journalist who has been granted the opportunity to interview Charles McVeigh, one of the most accomplished mountain climbers in the world. The catch, because of course there would be a catch to Cecily’s breakout story, Cecily must climb Mount Manaslu with Charles.

Cecily vows to let nothing get in the way of her dream interview, especially not the fact she is a novice at best when it comes to climbing. Training for months and putting all of her savings she has now begun the climb but not before rumors go flying of previous mountain deaths not being the accidents they had seemed to be.

Boy do I still need to warm up after stepping into the world in Breathless by Amy McCulloch. I picked this one up right as Spring came around and felt I’d been tossed right into the snow and ice with the main character. The story is definitely a thrilling one with the danger of just the climb being amplified by the danger of a possible murderer on the mountain. My only niggle with this was I figured it out fairly easily but I do read a lot so perhaps that was why but I definitely didn’t regret my time on the mountain regardless.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I started this book, expecting a thriller like No Exit, but what I got was much different. I definitely enjoyed Breathless, but I think the author's strength was providing an insider look at climbing 8000 meter peaks. I got sucked into the process of climbing Manaslu and the technical aspects that go into making the journey. The thriller sections were just so-so and the mystery pretty easy to figure out. But since I liked the mountain climbing facts so much, I would rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

From the description: “A high-stakes thriller set in the world of extreme-altitude mountaineering that takes a dark turn when a series of deaths can no longer be written off as accidents.” I learned a ton about mountain climbing (and now have no interest in ever doing it myself!) but I felt like the “thriller” part of the book fell flat. An entertaining read, but somewhat forgettable.