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.

Cecily Wong has come to Manaslu to interview the famous mountaineer, Charles McVeigh. Her editor expects her to climb with Charles and write a smashing article about it. If she can do it, her previous failure could be forgotten.

But Cecily thinks she is there for one reason, but a member of the team has another reason. She is going to die on this mountain.

Stranded on an inhospitable mountain with no real skills and people being picked off left and right. Who does she trust? Probably best to trust no one.

I really wanted to get into this one, but it just fell flat.

NetGalley/ May 3rd, 2022 by Anchor Books

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.

I requested this one on a whim. I needed a change in genre. While the genre change was right unfortunately this book was not the right fit. The writing was promising but not my speed. Ended up DNFing at 18%.

This was an okay read for me. It had plenty of action and suspense. Tons of tension and compelling characters. Unfortunately if you aren't a mountain climber or at least fairly familiar with it you will likely be as lost as I was through a lot of portions. I ended up skimming a lot of the technical talk. It was obviously well researched and I enjoyed the writing style. The ending was a bit of a let down as I didn't feel like things were fully resolved.

First and foremost, reading Breathless convinced me that even if someone were to offer me $10 million to climb a mountain in the Himilayas, I would turn it down in a heartbeat. Seriously, I can't believe people climb mountains like Mt. Everest for FUN!!! What author Amy McCulloch did best in Breathless was bring the reader into the sport (?) of extreme mountain climbing. I felt like I was struggling for every breath and was cold to the bone.

Breathless is the story of Cecily Wong, a journalist for an outdoor magazine. She's done some climbing with her boyfriend, but despite being an amateur, she's invited on an expedition by a world-acclaimed mountaineer, Charles McVeigh. McVeigh's claim to fame is his ability to climb without oxygen and climb "clean," i.e. without ropes and ladders that sherpas usually set up in advance of a climb. His latest feat is climbing eight mountains over 8,000 meters (about 26,000 feet) in one year to establish a new world record. He's invited Cecily to join him on the last of the mountains, Manaslu, the world's eighth highest mountain. In contrast, Cecily's claim to fame is her "Failure to Rise" blog, a viral blog about her inability to reach the summit of mountains she's attempted. Taking on McVeigh's challenge could make her name as a journalist so even though she's over her head, she's risking it all to get an exclusive interview with McVeigh. She's spent her last dime on this expedition and even lost her boyfriend, who is so jealous of her opportunity that he ends their relationship.

The thrills of Breathless include the physical aspects of climbing, as well as the fact that there are two suspicious deaths early in the venture. What's more, the guide of the climb, Doug, seems to be endlessly angry at Cecily and there are rumors spreading that McVeigh may not be the hero he claims to be, that he may actually be cheating.

The strength of Breathless is that McCulloch does a brilliant job taking the reader to the summit; it was incredibly atmospheric, tinged with terror. The weakness is that, for a non-climber, there are so many terms that are unfamiliar that it took me out of the story looking up definitions of things like seracs. My other issue was that despite the fantastic ratcheting up of suspense, the ending felt really rushed to me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Anchor Books for providing me an eGalley in exchange for posting an honest review. I give this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

As a long time acrophobiac (is that a word?) . . . person suffering from acrophobia, I have a very unusual penchant for being absolutely fascinated by mountaineers, the Himalayas, and books about both. Knowing that I would never undertake such an expedition does not stop me from being in awe of those who do.

Author Amy McCulloch has actually climbed Manaslu, the mountain she writes about in Breathless, the thrilling page-turner that kept me up all night late last week, giving the novel a level of authenticity.

Cecily Wong wrote a blog post that went viral about her two unsuccessful mountain climbing attempts. Little did she know that it would land her the incredible opportunity of being on the team of the famous Charles McVeigh who is on the last mountain of what will be a record breaking number of summits. After her boyfriend dumps her out of jealousy believing that he should be the journalist scoring an interview/climb with McVeigh, Cecily begins training like she never has before so that this attempt will be a success on her part. The last thing she expects when she arrives in Nepal is murder.

McCulloch did such an excellent job of making me feel like I was there. Her description of the land drew me in as did her descriptions of the physicality of the climb, the harshness of the weather on the mountain, and the suddenness at which the weather could change.

She created an interesting cast of characters from a young Canadian woman who loves climbing more than anything else, an American entrepreneur attempting to get his latest inventions used by his fellow climbers, an arrogant British filmmaker who believes all women should fall at his feet, and the no-nonsense leader of their team who’s trying to keep them all focused.

Although Cecily sometimes initially annoyed me, I grew to like her character and root for her as the situation became grave.

While the experienced thriller reader will probably guess the whodunit part midway through, McCulloch does throw a very solid, unexpected wrench in the works in the climax that adds a whole other layer to the story.

A very satisfying, tension-packed thriller!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever had the passion and drive to push yourself to the limit? To go beyond what your body should be able to endure. To want to climb the peaks in the dead zone. Where your body cannot function properly and will begin to shut down without the proper amount of oxygen. Some people are made for this environment, they thrive off it. They are literal kings of the mountain. When Cecily Wong is invited by famed mountaineer Charles McVeigh to climb the final mountain on his Fourteen Clean trek. Where he will attempt to do the tallest 14 peaks without oxygen or ropes in a single year. Even though Cecily has limited climbing skills she jumps at the chance. Putting her savings, her job, and her life on the line for the story of the lifetime. The chance to tell the truth about Charles, all she must do for the story is to summit. Easy right?

From the first day with the team Cecily is in awe of this man, this superhero of sorts. Not only does he climb without the aid of oxygen. He will turn back and save people in trouble. Cecily wants to know what makes him tick, to really get to know this man of mystery. Amy McCulloch does a superb job of bring the characters to life. You will either love or detest them from the start. The atmospheric details that McCulloch pens brings the mountain to your home. You can fill the icy cold wind, the snow landing on your eyelashes, your mind swirling as your brain tries to acclimatize to less oxygen. As accidents begin to happen and mysterious occurrences leave Cecily feeling off and frightened, you will wonder if it is just the mountain or if the mountain is the perfect spot for a killer to hunt.

This book held my attention, as I flew through the pages causing my own white out conditions. You can tell by her details and descriptions that Amy McCulloch had brought her own insight of climbing this mountain to her book. It added depth to the story and made it that much more astounding that she had climbed this majestic peak. Thank you to Amy McCulloch, Anchor Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this action packed, thrill a minute read.

This is a thrilling story. A killer hides in plain site where he stalks his victims. Climbing mountains is deadly enough without the added pressure of a killer. The story starts out seemingly benign as just a group of people out to break a record. Each character is on their own quest which makes them an equal suspect. The author manages to surprise me with who the killer is and the reasons why.

The challenge was to climb fourteen peaks over 8000 meters in one year and Charles McVeigh has only one peak left. Manaslu has been called Killer Mountain and journalist Cecily Wang has been chosen for his team to cover the climb to the summit. Her interview with McVeigh could make her career. She is a relatively inexperienced climber, but her interview will only take place after reaching the summit. McVeigh has been called a savior after rescuing several climbers on previous climbs. One of the climbers that he failed to rescue was a seasoned climber and a friend to Alain, a member of the group. He feels the death was suspicious and is determined to ask questions. Before even leaving for Base Camp, Alain is found dead. Cecily was the last to see him. At the time she heard someone whistling nearby. It is a sound that she will hear in the night on the mountain, causing her to suspect that there is a murderer among them. Her suspicions are verified as communications are sabotaged and more deaths follow.

Breathless is a story that not only takes you to the Death Zone, where oxygen levels are extremely low, but also leaves you breathless as the suspense builds on the mountain. The rigorous training and treacherous conditions that the climbers face are even more difficult as the air thins at higher levels. Cecily has her doubts about her abilities, but finds support from Elise, an experienced climber, and Galden, the Sherpa who calls her little sister. He explains to her that they are all one family on the mountain. Amy McCulloch makes the reader a part of that family as you experience the journey through Cecily, who posts her impressions and experiences on her blog. Every slip on the ice or whistle in the night provides chills and a reading experience that is guaranteed to thrill. I would like to thank NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for providing this book for my review.

Cecily, a young journalist for Wild Outdoors gets the opportunity of a lifetime, the ability to interview famous alpinist Charles McVeigh. All Cecily has to do is summit an 8,000 meter mountain in Nepal. This interview would be life changing for her career but her last experience climbing with her ex boyfriend caused some unresolved trauma. Joining her in the attempt to summit is 6 other team members and four sherpas.

While climbing you need to have your wits about you but Cecily becomes increasingly paranoid as rumors swirl and people are dying during the expedition. She finds it difficult to trust the people around her, even her own teammates. As Cecily continues her journey up the mountain she isn't certain she will make it back alive.

I finished Breathless in one sitting because I was dying to know what the ending was and if there was a killer on the mountain. As for someone who doesn't know much about mountain climbing, I was able to picture some aspects of climbing but other descriptions like the hanging place fell flat and I wasn't sure how to picture it at all. I felt the danger and fear throughout the challenges that the characters had to overcome during the summit which attests to Amy McCulloch's writing.

Overall suspenseful and fast read! Thanks Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group/Anchor for the ARC.

Full disclosure: my idea of conquering a scary height is making it up the glass staircase to the second floor of the Apple Store. I absolutely can’t comprehend how anyone would willingly do the 8,000-meter climb described in this book. In spite of this--or perhaps because of this--I found this novel's setting completely fascinating. There’s an abundance of rich detail about mountain climbing, with its unique culture, traditions, equipment, and vocabulary, but all of this information is interwoven with the central closed-circle mystery in a way that is compelling in its own right and never seems excessive. The pivotal role of the Sherpa guides, as well as the camaraderie and trust among climbers, are conveyed to great effect. The suspense of whether and how the team will reach the summit continues in parallel with the suspense and danger of the crimes.

Protagonist Cecily Wong risks her life to embark on this dangerous adventure with the promise of a career-making interview with the team’s star climber if—and only if—she reaches the summit. I applaud Cecily’s go-for-it spirit and independence, while questioning the wisdom (not to mention plausibility) of her attempting this climb with so little experience. Is a Himalayan climb where your teammates' lives literally depend on you really the right place to fake it till you make it? Probably not, but even a critical reader isn’t going to quibble about such details when glued to the adventure story of the summit attempt. The solution to the mystery is not hugely surprising, but that is not a big problem, given the bonus riveting survival drama of the climb.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for a digital advance review copy.