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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
This is a tense well written thriller, both about conquering the elements and dealing with a possible killer in their midst. The main character, is at a crossroads, no job, no home and no boyfriend. In order to get an interview with her hero, she must climb to the death zone, to the summit of a mountain. She had made two prior attempts to climb other mountains and hasn't succeeded. Lots of info on the challenges of the mountain and the elements. Lots of questions is he really a hero, a larger than life mountainer or is he a cheat. Are the deaths accidents or is their a killer in their midst. while her ability to survive, might have been over exagerated for the sake of the story. I still found it enjoyable
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Wow the ending! Def one of my fav thrillers that took my breath away
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.
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.
When I was in high school like many others I read Into Thin Air. That book was the first glimpse I got into learning about mountain climbing. Now this book really opened up eyes into the different types of climbing. I thought this was going to be a normal thriller. But this ended up being more of an mystery for me. I didn’t think there were the aspects of the plot I needed for me to give the book the title of being a thriller. Overall okay book it was very fast paced. 3.5 stars rounded down.
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes