Welcome to my review of Breathless by Amy McCulloch. I didn’t expect to enjoy this book at all, to be honest. But, I got a little click-happy when selecting it. When I came to read it, I thought, “what have I done?” this isn’t my area at all…
When struggling journalist Cecily Wong is invited to join an expedition to climb one of the world’s tallest mountains, it seems like the chance of a lifetime.
She doesn’t realise how deadly the climb will be.
As their small team starts to climb, things start to go wrong. There’s a theft. Then an accident. Then a mysterious note, pinned to her tent: there’s a murderer on the mountain.
The higher they get, the more dangerous the climb becomes, and the more they need to trust one another.
And that’s when Cecily finds the first body…
Born in the UK and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Amy McCulloch began her career as an editor, working as editorial director for Penguin Random House Children’s Books where she launched the internationally bestselling Girl Online series by Zoe Sugg. McCulloch’s first novels were the YA fantasy stories The Oathbreaker’s Shadow and The Shadow’s Curse, she also published The Potion Diaries series under the name Amy Alward – the first of which was a Zoella Book Club pick – and the Jinxed series.
I didn’t expect to enjoy this book at all, to be honest. But, I got a little click-happy when selecting it. When I came to read it, I thought, “what have I done?” this isn’t my area at all… Mountaineering has never really been on my radar, let alone of interest. But, there it sat on my kindle, and I thought there must have been a reason for me to choose it, so let’s give it a try!
Well, here I am, on the other side, delighted that I gave it a go. While it was based on a mountain and all about the climb, it was so much more.
We follow Cecily on her first high peak. She has been specially chosen by Charles as his journalist to accompany him on the final trek of his challenge. The plot follows their ascent of the mountain and training necessary to acclimatise to summit, which will be particularly difficult for Cecily.
The book is well written and flows nicely, keeping your interest well even when it’s not your natural subject. I learnt a lot that I didn’t know and enjoyed the experience, though I couldn’t say how realistic it is. Some twists keep you guessing about what’s happening until the final, quite dramatic reveal.
The characters are well thought out and developed. Of course, some were more likeable than others, but each was from a different place globally and had a diverse background which was great to see.
I enjoyed the ending remarkably and hadn’t guessed the twists and reveals, which was a great treat.
I would recommend this to others; some lovely parts and thoughts will stay with me for a while. So just take care of those dangerous mountains…they will leave you genuinely breathless!
| Title | Breathless |
| Author | Amy McCulloch |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | Kindle |
| Page Count | 395 Pages |
| Genre | Mystery & Thriller |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph |
| Release Date | 17th February 2022 |
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