Breathless- Amy McCullough

I was gifted an ARC of Breathless in exchange for my honest opinion.

Journalist Cecily Wong has landed the ultimate story for her outdoor magazine: the opportunity for an exclusive interview with international climbing legend, Charles McVeigh. Charles’ only ultimatum? She must summit Manaslu, the eight-highest peak in the world, alongside him; the climb that marks the end to the definitive, record-breaking Clean Fourteen challenge. Still, it’s an offer she can’t refuse and she finds herself on the mountain three months later. 

Unfortunately for Cecily and the rest of the crew Charles has personally selected to make this trek, her biggest obstacle wouldn’t be the treacherous mountain and the countless ways to die upon it but rather a very human threat: a killer picking them off one by one. 

“Where better for a killer to hide, than somewhere already known as the death zone?”  

Breathless is a brilliant, fully immersive, real-deal thriller, taking place on the ultimate killing ground: a recreation known for claiming countless lives in its wake. 

McCulloch’s mountaineering knowledge and experience lend to the authenticity of this pulse-pounding story. She brilliantly builds suspense while intertwining a story of hope, victory, and redemption. This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read yet that adrenaline-junkies will devour. Packed with incredible detail on what it costs one’s mind and body to take on a climb on such a unfathomable, grandiose level is so chilling you’ll be left with frostbite.