Breathless by Amy McCulloch is available now.

Having read nothing by the writer in the past, the premise of this book sounded very intriguing, so I wanted to see for myself what happens with Cecily and her new adventure.

I cannot find words to express the chilling reactions and goosebumps that I got while reading this novel.

The beautiful setting is one of the best in the world and I can only travel with my eyes on a screen while searching for online pictures. I was reminded that there are so many places in this life that just take your breath away, and the author has a gift of putting them into phrases.

I cheered for Cecily to discover a way out towards her aim, even if the danger was moving closer to her with each step she took forward. All her emotions and reactions felt like mines.

This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story about keeping going, even at your lowest point, and fight for your dreams and life.

The ending was really unexpected, and I can only say that you have to read it for yourself because it's worth everything.

I’m very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

I first heard of this book at the @bay_tales crime fiction event in February 2022. The lovely Amy McCulloch was on panel, talking about her real-life climb up Mount Manaslu in Nepal, and how it inspired her to write this murder mystery. This isn’t the first mystery I’ve read that was set up a mountain but the author’s genuine experience shines through the story with a level of detail you just couldn’t make up.

Main character Cecily Wong, has been invited on a treacherous climb by Team Leader and legendary climber, Charles McVeigh. He wants Cecily to witness him triumphantly completing the last of a fourteen peak climb of the highest mountains in the world without oxygen or use of fixed ropes. He has promised her an exclusive interview if she reaches the peak herself. Cecily had a previous, terrifying experience of being stuck up a mountain and witnessing another climber’s death. Her bluntly honest write up of the event is what drew her to McVeigh’s attention. Cecily wants to use the blog and interview from this climb to launch her career in travel journalism, but the expedition seems cursed from the off. There are rumours that McVeigh cheated on a previous climb and after a sudden death Cecily begins to look more closely at those on the mountain with her.

I have to admit though, I wasn’t quite hooked from the off. In the first couple of chapters, Cecily’s circumstances felt a little forced. I felt like her life details were being set out in front of me like a buffet. A little part of me wishes had the story had begun further into the action and that Cecily’s history had come out more naturally because once the bodies began to appear the narrative really flowed and I completely lost myself in the story.

The details of the climb are intense even without the murders. This book is a window into a world that I will never experience for myself. The fear and risk, the discomfort, and outright pain, and the glory of standing on top of the world. McCulloch’s writing presents amazing images and are so much more impactful for being based on her own life. The vivid descriptions add to the palpable sense of menace that permeates the story. The tension and paranoia builds to intense levels. I had a hunch about the identity of the murderer but I wasn’t sure till the reveal and there were some unexpected twists and surprises along the way.

You’re going to want to clear your schedules for this one because of once you start reading, this story wil get its ice picks into you.

If Amy McCulloch knows nothing about mountain climbing she certainly had me convinced she was an expert. The descriptions of mountaineering techniques and equipment made me feel like I was up there on the mountain with the climbers(despite my morbid fear of heights).
I loved this book from start to finish and the suspense at times was almost palpable.
Struggling journalist Cecily believes a murderer is amongst them up on the mountain after a series of strange and unexpected deaths throughout the various climbing teams. Struggling to prove her suspicions proves dangerous and life threatening.
The last few chapters were so full of suspense I couldn’t put the book down and I was kept guessing until the end.
I look forward to reading more from this author.

I really enjoyed this book. It was thrilling, fast paced, easy to follow. I loved the characters and their personalities. Would definitely recommend.

An addictive murder mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat. Gripping, thrilling and terrifying in equal measure, with gorgeous prose.

I was intrigued by the premise of this story but it did struggle to hold my attention - I'll put that down to my frame of mind at the time of reading.

This book certainly lived up the expectations I had for it! From the very first page I was drawn into this heart stopping, nail biting and adrenaline fueled read. I cannot wait for more from McCulllogh as she is a very talented writer. I love hiking and her description of Mount Manansala was terrifying! Such a brilliant read and one you won't be able to put down.

This is a brilliant, chilling thriller set on the snowy and treacherous trek up to the summit of Manaslu in the Himalayas. Cecily is a struggling journalist who writes for an outdoors-focussed magazine. She has the chance of a lifetime to join a select team and make the summit. She will then bag an exclusive interview with Charles, the trek leader and all round mountaineering guru, as long as she reaches the top. Things start to go wrong before they even leave base camp, there are thefts, arguments, noises in the night and then a note left by her tent, warning her of a killer on the mountain. The mountain is a character in itself in this story, the descriptions are wonderfu as is the weather, you can feel this chills. It's tense, a great plot, very well written and I highly recommend!

This was an absolutely breathtaking read and a phenomenal debut from McCulloch. It gripped me from the start. I could relate deeply with Cecily and genuinely found myself rooting for her which I think really helped to up the stakes. There’s a little bit of body horror in here and a LOT of deaths. But overall, I thought this was an incredible thriller that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.
This book appealed to me because of its setting, and there is a lot of description that makes the reader feel as though they are travelling this extreme climb with the team. I thought the use of terminology and occasional foreign word (French, German) coupled with American terms and spellings made it harder for a non-climbing reader (like me) to understand. The number of misspelt (a pulse oxymeter reads oxygen saturation levels in the blood, a useful tool in this situation, whereas an oxymetre -used twice - sounds as though it should measure distance) and missing or inappropriate words detracted from the flow required to maintain the 'thriller' element; attention to detail and proofreading would have helped avoid this problem. The murder mystery seemed very slow paced and somewhat unrealistic (how did no-one else hear whistling loud enough to wake someone up and why would someone trying to remain hidden whistle in the middle of the night?). I stopped reading just over halfway through.

Breathless is another book based in the snow, I seem to have had a run of these books but this one was a little different to the rest.
The book is based around Cecily Wong, to have any kind of journalist career she needs something good, but she has just landed the interview that will shoot her career upwards. Charles McVeigh is an experienced climber and is his last summit is Manaslu in the Himalayas. He has chosen Cecily as the interviewer for when he completes his mission but he will only give it if Cecily gets there too. Cecily is an inexperienced climber with a bad experience behind her but she can’t turn this once in a lifetime interview down.
The book was a decent plot I just found for me it was a little slow in parts with it probably being overly descriptive about the climbing jargon. Although this was helpful for a non climber like me I felt it was a little bit too in-depth and would have sharpened the book up if some detail had been left. The ending was good with a good twist but I felt it was a little rushed after the pace of the rest of the book. It was a good read and would recommend others to read it.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed parts of this - there were plenty of gripping moments and I was definitely not expecting the whodunnit at the end. Although I sometimes got lost in all the mountaineering sections and I do feel the ending was wrapped up quite quickly and a bit anticlimactic after the rest of the book.

Having enjoyed Amy McCulloch’s books for young adults I was pleased to see this one pop up on Netgalley. The blurb grabbed me so I requested it.

The result was that I got to read this highly atmospheric, psychological thriller. The overall feel of th story was one of danger (both from the mountain itself and from whatever else may be going on).

Cecily was an engaging and likeable main character, I admired her persistence and her willingness to learn and improve things for herself. As the reader you are on her side and willing her on – even when you aren’t quite sure if there actually is something for her to be worried about or if she is being overly paranoid based on her past experiences.

The details about mountain climbing were just right, there was enough detail to build the atmosphere, emphasise the difficulty and make you feel the experience alongside Cecily without tipping over into too much description.

I really enjoyed the fact that right up to the last page I wasn’t sure how the story was going to end, the whole story was gripping and is definitely one I recommend picking up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 ok stars

I was disappointed with the book given all the great reviews - I found it to be slow going, overly descriptive and quite unbelievable at times.

However I did enjoy the last third of the book when the pace picked up and there was a few twists and turns. The writing style was also authentic regarding how it is to train for and scale such a difficult mountain. I suspect anyone who has ever climbed a mountain may enjoy the book even more.

Breathless is a rollercoaster of a read, so descriptively written it feels like you are right there on the mountain. I could almost feel the cold.
I found the author did well to keep me interested without knowing anything about mountains or mountaineering.
The characters were so intriguing in that the killer could have been any one of them. I raced through the book dying to know who it was.
I can already think of so many customers who I know will love this book.

An edgy thriller which had me gripped from start to finish. I especially enjoyed the book knowing that the author had climbed the mountain in the story - Mt Manaslu in the Himalaya. which is the eighth highest mountain in the world.

Cecily Wong is a struggling journalist so when she gets the opportunity for the scoop of a lifetime she knows she can't turn down the chance of an interview mountaineer Charles McVeigh. He is nearing the end of his quest to climb the fourteen peaks over 8,000 peaks as a purist climber. His last summit is Manaslu in the Himalayas. He says he will give the interview after he has summited- but only if Cecily gets there too. Although she has had a bad experience climbing she can't turn this down & joins the expedition team (she is allowed help with oxygen & pre-set ropes!) Their party is a mixed bag & before long things start to go wrong- is the mountain the only thing she has to survive?

Told through Cecily's eyes this was a fantastic read. I know very little about mountaineering but the author did a great job of explaining things without it becoming over technical & boring. The descriptions of the mountain & the trials Cecily had to go through kept me glues to the page. It will be a while before I forget this one. Thanks to Netgalley & the author for letting me read & review this terrific book!

The threat of the mountain is already great for the inexperienced Cecily, but as those around her start to get caught up in seemingly unfortunate accidents, it seems there might be something more sinister at play. As she travels further up the mountain, she must keep herself safe and uncover the truth about what’s really going on.

I chose this as a fun and different read to break up my fantasy novels and it did not disappoint. The mountain setting did a lot of the hard work and was a really great place to immerse myself over the couple of days I spent reading the novel.

While the action is arguably slow to get going, I was hooked from the start and didn’t want to put it down. The tension and sense of dread is always present and at any moment things can take a turn for the worse.

Thanks to Penguin, NetGalley and Amy McCullouch for the ARC of Breathless.

Cecily Wong is a journalist who after getting into trouble on a mountaineering expedition with her ex, is invited to climb with infamous high altitude climber Charlies McVeigh who is on a mission to complete a record breaking summit without oxygen. Not only is it the career boost she needs, but a great opportunity to make peace with the events from her previously failed summit- her failure to launch.

When one of the climbers dies in strange circumstances before the mission has even begun, Cecily starts to wonder whether she is making the right choice. If experienced climbers can die on the mountains - then how dangerous is this for a novice?

Then a second climber is found dead, and this suddenly doesn't feel like a coincidence. There is a murderer on the mountain, and Cecily is left exposed and vulnerable.

This was a gripping and emersive read, which kept me turning pages long into the night. I did at times find the mountaineering speak a bit detailed (not having a personal interest in climbing) but overall a really enjoyable thriller.

What an ingenious and original story!.
Accidents or murder on a mountain.
Breathless, I could bardly breathe myself so engrossed was I right til the end.
I felt like I was on the mountain with the climbers so descriptive was the story.
An excellent read