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A review by manicventure
Breathless by Amy McCulloch
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
*Possible Spoilers!*
This book is exactly what the doctor ordered. It's a quick, super easy read, with your standard twists and whodunits that you'll find in any thriller. I wouldnt say this is a game changing read however, as a person who typically is not very interested in the mystery/thriller genre simply because I haven't had that chance to devour too many good ones, this was genuinely enjoyable and weirdly relaxing to slam through. I think the idea of an X-treme adventurer turned murderer is so creative and McCalloch's knowledge and insight on the Alpinist lifestyle was interesting and well written so as to give you enough information so you understood the struggle without all the boring technical mumbo. I found myself changing who I thought the bad guy was constantly. Wondering if maybe this was an unreliable narrator situation or possibly a team of villains?
The only solid complaint I have (besides my favorite character dying!) is the big villain reveal monologue. McCulloch does a pretty good job with realistic dialogue between characters especially with the interviews but once the big moment happened it was a little lack luster for me despite that I actually was thrown off on who it was. It was very much a tell instead of show moment which doesnt make the reader feel very good in my opinion. A good mystery/thriller to me is where the author can throw the reader off the trail for as long as possible but still making them feel...smart?...with the reveal. The moment where as information is cleverly revealed the reader exclaims "Ooooooooooooh of course!". I didnt really get that with the reveal in this book which was a little disappointing. Smaller minor issue was random ignorance from the main character. She's not exactly an investigative journalist but she plays that role well in this book. Her interviews feel so real and genuinely interesting but then you had VERY OBVIOUS moments where you could not understand how she did not put 2 and 2 together. I'm specifically talking about the Snowdon story told to the team...I mean come on, how can you not tell that Grumpy Grandpa isnt just mad about your own hubris?
All in all I had such a fun time. Hope to read more from McCulloch soon!
This book is exactly what the doctor ordered. It's a quick, super easy read, with your standard twists and whodunits that you'll find in any thriller. I wouldnt say this is a game changing read however, as a person who typically is not very interested in the mystery/thriller genre simply because I haven't had that chance to devour too many good ones, this was genuinely enjoyable and weirdly relaxing to slam through. I think the idea of an X-treme adventurer turned murderer is so creative and McCalloch's knowledge and insight on the Alpinist lifestyle was interesting and well written so as to give you enough information so you understood the struggle without all the boring technical mumbo. I found myself changing who I thought the bad guy was constantly. Wondering if maybe this was an unreliable narrator situation or possibly a team of villains?
The only solid complaint I have (besides my favorite character dying!) is the big villain reveal monologue. McCulloch does a pretty good job with realistic dialogue between characters especially with the interviews but once the big moment happened it was a little lack luster for me despite that I actually was thrown off on who it was. It was very much a tell instead of show moment which doesnt make the reader feel very good in my opinion. A good mystery/thriller to me is where the author can throw the reader off the trail for as long as possible but still making them feel...smart?...with the reveal. The moment where as information is cleverly revealed the reader exclaims "Ooooooooooooh of course!". I didnt really get that with the reveal in this book which was a little disappointing. Smaller minor issue was random ignorance from the main character. She's not exactly an investigative journalist but she plays that role well in this book. Her interviews feel so real and genuinely interesting but then you had VERY OBVIOUS moments where you could not understand how she did not put 2 and 2 together. I'm specifically talking about the Snowdon story told to the team...I mean come on, how can you not tell that Grumpy Grandpa isnt just mad about your own hubris?
All in all I had such a fun time. Hope to read more from McCulloch soon!