Review: Breathless by Amy McCulloch

Breathless by Amy McCulloch

Blurb from Goodreads:

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.

When journalist and novice climber 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, who wants her to report on the final leg of his record-breaking series of summits. 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, but she is intent on proving herself and will stop at nothing to reach the summit. So when disturbing questions arise, she becomes concerned. And then people start to die. Trapped on the mountain with a team she barely knows, she must battle more than the elements in an epic fight for survival against one of the world's most dangerous mountains and an unknown assailant who is picking climbers off one by one.

 

This was really great until the ending -- after so much detail, so much anticipation and so much anxiety, the ending felt like a bit of a flop for me.  It was rushed and ended abruptly.  This type of ending could work if this book was adapted to a movie or tv but I just felt bereft after this ending.  That said, 80% of the book was thrilling and even though I kind of knew where it was going, I loved the descriptions of summiting a mountain over 8000 meters.  Definitely unique and I would still recommend!!

Breathless comes out next week on May 3, 2022 and you can purchase HERE.  

Cold air filled her lungs. It was strange. When she'd pictured breathing up here, she'd assumed it would feel like suffocating. Choking. Maybe, in a way, like drowning. 

But it didn't. 

She could feel the sting of the wind on a tiny bit of exposed skin on her cheek, between her buff and her sunglasses, and then a stronger gust against her body, threatening to bring her to her knees. 

The air was there. It just wasn't doing what it was supposed to.