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gwendolyn_kensinger 's review for:
Breathless
by Amy McCulloch
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
slow-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
For a story about recording-breaking summits, climbing one of the tallest mountains in the world with a killer on the loose I was extremely bored for the majority of it. I’m not interested in climbing but that’s where this book shines. If you’re looking for yet another And Then There Were None retelling this is the book for you. The majority of the novel was all set up. Telling us about all the members of this team following the infamous Charles McVeigh up Manaslu, the last leg of a record-breaking series of summits. It also explained mountaineering for anyone that’s unfamiliar with it. This is where you could tell without even glancing at the author bio that McColloch knew what she was talking about. In 2019, the author became the youngest Canadian woman to climb the very mountain featured in Breathless.
Breathless follows journalist Cecily Wong to Nepal in her pursuit of obtaining a career-making interview with the legendary Charles McVeigh. All she has to do is make the summit and he’ll grant her an interview. Nothing like trying to battle the elements and a killer to get an interview, right? Before they even begin their journey, a climber is found dead and Cecily is on edge. The team decides to continue on. Cecily interviews her fellow teammates and is trying to get the scoop on all of them. However, it isn’t going to be so easy because the Wi-Fi is down, another climber dies, and she doesn’t know who to trust. All she can do is put one foot in front of the other and keep climbing.
I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if there wasn’t so much set up. It took too long to get the characters on the actual mountain. Also, despite the deaths it never felt high stakes because everyone around Cecily assured her that accidents happen and all climbers know the risk, etc. I think I just went in expecting something different than this novel provided.
Breathless follows journalist Cecily Wong to Nepal in her pursuit of obtaining a career-making interview with the legendary Charles McVeigh. All she has to do is make the summit and he’ll grant her an interview. Nothing like trying to battle the elements and a killer to get an interview, right? Before they even begin their journey, a climber is found dead and Cecily is on edge. The team decides to continue on. Cecily interviews her fellow teammates and is trying to get the scoop on all of them. However, it isn’t going to be so easy because the Wi-Fi is down, another climber dies, and she doesn’t know who to trust. All she can do is put one foot in front of the other and keep climbing.
I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if there wasn’t so much set up. It took too long to get the characters on the actual mountain. Also, despite the deaths it never felt high stakes because everyone around Cecily assured her that accidents happen and all climbers know the risk, etc. I think I just went in expecting something different than this novel provided.