Death-defying activity? Check. A chilling setting where you are at the mercy of the elements? Check. Isolated setting? Check. A locked room-type feel with a murderer among us? Yikes- check! Breathless had all these elements and more. It gave me all the chills! Check out my Review of Breathless by Amy McCulloch!
Jen’s Quick Take on Breathless
- A chilling winter setting
- Great details about elite mountaineering
- An And There Were None by Agatha Christie feel – check out my full book list
- Perfect if you are looking for a locked room feel with a unique twist
Breathless by Amy McCulloch
To be published on May 3, 2022 by Anchor Books. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review consideration in accordance with FTC guidelines. I read this book in April 2022.
Review of Breathless by Amy McCulloch
What was I thinking when I picked up this book? I am afraid of heights. I’m not the biggest fan of the cold. But I found Breathless to be truly chilling.
I’ve read magazine pieces about mountain climbers and wondered: who would want to do that? With a fascinating cast of characters, a truly unique setting, and a lot of fascinating details about how you go about climbing one of the world’s highest peaks (if one is so inclined.)
Having Cecily be a bit of an outsider to this world worked really well. She’s a journalist who wrote a viral article about her own failed attempt at climbing, an attempt that ended in tragedy. So Cecily has a lot to prove, both on the mountain and off.
The book’s cast of characters included influencers and rich people trying to check off a bucket list, but also experienced mountain climbers and, of course, the Sherpas. A Nepalese ethnic group known for guiding mountain climbers since the 1920s, Sherpas are an essential part of most climbs, offering expertise with the terrain, familiarity with life at high altitude, and general logistical support, all at great risk to themselves.
The book had one twist I didn’t see coming, and another that was a bit weird, but I still really enjoyed the journey. No, I won’t be climbing any mountain peaks anytime soon, but I will see what Amy McCullouch writes next.
Love books like this? Check out my review of McCulloch’s second book, Midnight!
Check out my list of Chilling Winter Mysteries and Thrillers!
Talk to me in comments! Have you read this, or have you ever climbed a mountain peak?
I’m totally intrigued. I love books like this which have the whole mystery unravelling within a forced isolation and being stuck up a mountain is definitely isolated. I think it just makes it tenser.
YES. This setting is really amazing, because you are isolated, you are at the mercy of the elements and you have to trust the people around you. Unless you can’t… (cackles)