Breathless - Hardcover

McCulloch, Amy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593315499 ISBN 13: 9780593315491

Verlag: Anchor Books, 2022

Inhaltsangabe

A BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB PICK • A high-altitude thriller that will take your breath away—Cecily Wong is on her most dangerous climb yet, miles above sea level. But the elements are nothing compared to one chilling truth: There's a killer on the mountain.
 
"A vertigo-inducing page-turner by an author who brings the high-stakes world of expert mountain-climbing to life on the page." —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid

Journalist Cecily Wong is in over her head. She’s come to Manaslu, the eighth-highest peak in the world, to interview internationally famous mountaineer Charles McVeigh on the last leg of a record-breaking series of summits. She’s given up everything for this story—her boyfriend, her life savings, the peace she’s made with her climbing failures in the past—but it’s a career-making opportunity. It could finally put her life back on track.
 
But when one climber dies in what everyone else assumes is a freak accident, she fears their expedition is in danger. And by the time a second climber dies, it’s too late to turn back. Stranded on a mountain in one of the most remote regions of the world, she’ll have to battle more than the elements in a harrowing fight for survival against a killer who is picking them off one by one.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

AMY McCULLOCH is the author of Breathless, as well as eight novels for children and young adults, including the internationally bestselling YA novel The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow. In 2019, she became the youngest Canadian woman to climb Manaslu in Nepal. She lives in London.
 

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Chapter 1

In a cramped hotel room high above the prayer flag–strewn streets of Thamel, the main tourist district of Kathmandu, Nepal, Cecily snapped her laptop shut. The opening to her article wasn’t right, but getting something down early soothed her jangled nerves. Far easier to whip a weak lede into shape than face a blank page.

She used to think a blank page was her greatest fear. Now, thanks to Charles McVeigh, she was about to face something far more terrifying.

The death zone of the eighth-highest mountain in the world.

Her head pounded after her excursion to Tom & Jerry’s the night before. She hadn’t intended to drink much, but one of her new teammates—Zak, the American—had been buying, and a hangover seemed like a small price to pay for the bonding she’d done with him. She needed to be on her game for this expedition, yet already she was starting off-balance.

A sharp knock on her hotel-room door brought her to her feet. She opened it, allowing her expedition leader, Doug Manners, and head guide, Mingma Lakpa Sherpa, to enter. They’d met her at the airport the day before, Doug instantly recognizable by the shock of silver hair against his mountain-tanned skin. Yet today, his shoulders were hunched and he seemed tired . . . ?not like the bold pioneering mountain man, legend of the British alpinism world she had pictured. She’d read a lot about his accomplishments in the high peaks: five Everest summits, from both the south and north side, along with numerous first ascents on some of the lesser-known peaks in the Karakoram and in the Andes. He’d spent many years guiding for one the world’s premier high-altitude commercial expedition companies, Summit Extreme, before leaving to branch out on his own with Manners Mountaineering. He was known for his no-nonsense approach and his high regard for safety.

Mingma next to him was a slip of a man, and yet she knew he was a fifteen-time Everest summiteer. Cecily could barely wrap her head around the steel and bravery it would take to accomplish such a feat.

“All set?” Doug asked.

“I think so.” She flipped to the gear list printed and glued into the front of her notebook, and allowed them in to inspect the gear laid out neatly on the double bed. She’d already checked it a dozen times that morning, carefully marking off every item she’d been asked to bring. Nothing forgotten. Nothing left behind.

This time, on this mountain, she was determined to be prepared.

“Feeling all right this morning?” asked Mingma, a twinkle in his eye. He’d helped her make her way back to the hotel last night, providing directions to the Nepali taxi driver.

“Yes, fine!” She forced a grin, and he patted her on the arm, not pressing further.

She watched as Doug cast a critical eye over her gear. He lifted a piece of footwear, inspecting the sole. It was one of her enormous triple-layer, eight-thousand-meter-ready boots, wrapped in wasp-yellow gaiters that came up to her knees. Hers were pristine, unworn. They would be critical in protecting her toes from frostbite in the extreme cold, but hers were so big, she’d had to layer the inside with extra insoles. Almost all the high-altitude mountaineering gear—summit suits and boots—was made for male bodies. She had to adapt it all to fit.

“Thank you both again for having me on this expedition,” she said. “It must be strange having clients with you—I know you’ve been supporting Charles alone on his mission so far.”

“It is our pleasure,” said Mingma, his sparse mustache tickling the underside of his nose as he smiled. His warmth was a stark contrast to Doug’s grunts. Doug’s frown deepened as he moved on from her boots to inspect her orange-handled ice ax and harness.

“I hope that one is OK,” she said. “I googled the best harnesses for mountaineering and it had good reviews.”

“It’ll do. One that clips a round the legs would have been better.”

Her cheeks reddened. “Oh. I didn’t know.”

“You should have asked—Google’s not going to save you at eight thousand meters.” Doug placed the harness back onto the bed, careful not to tangle the loops. “Normally when I run an expedition, I only take climbers with the right experience. You never know when a mountain will turn on you. It’s not just your own life you put at risk up there.”

“My last summit attempt taught me that,” she said, suppressing a shudder. “I actually wrote something about it online. I don’t know if you saw . . .”

Doug looked blank. “I don’t really keep up with the internet.”

“Oh, of course you don’t. I only thought you might’ve seen it because Charles says it’s the reason he invited me on the expedition . . .” She was embarrassed to have brought it up, but pleased at the same time. At least one person on the trip hadn’t read her now-infamous viral blog post “Failure to Rise”—all about her total inability to reach the summit of the mountains she attempted. Once Zak had realized who she was, he’d insisted on buying another round of shots.

“Looks like everything is in order here. I need to check on the others,” said Doug. “When you’ve packed up, leave your duffels in the room and Mingma will bring them down. Meet in the lobby at eleven hundred sharp, then we’ll head to the airport.”

Cecily straightened. “Got it.” She surveyed the vast amount of gear to pack up. This was her life savings. Everything she owned was on this bed. She caught Mingma’s eye. “Do you think I’ve brought too much?”

Mingma laughed. “You should see Mr. Zak’s list. I think he is bringing a photo album of his children to the summit. What are you taking to the top?”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “To be honest, I haven’t thought that far . . .”

“You haven’t?” He blinked, taken aback. “They sell flags all over in Thamel. Why don’t you see if you can get one? You have a bit of time.”

“Really? Great idea. Thanks, Mingma. I’ll go once I’ve finished here.”

He bowed his head, before following Doug out of the room. Cecily folded her clothes into packing cubes, stacked them inside the duffel bag, and checked each item off her list again.

“Summit flag” wasn’t on it. Of course she should have something to take to the top, to hold up in a photograph. Why hadn’t she thought about it before?

As she made her way out onto the bustling streets, the answer was obvious.

Because you don’t think you’re going to make it.

Chapter 2

Pocket-sized Union Jack secured, Cecily made her way back to the guesthouse. The moment the doors slid open, she found a phone thrust in her face. “And look, here’s one of my teammates now!” exclaimed Zak.

She’d googled him as soon as she’d returned to the hotel after the bar and discovered that he was the CEO of TalkForward, some kind of high-tech communications firm based in Petaluma, California.

“Say hi, Celia!”

“It’s Cecily,” she said, raising a hand to wave at a gaggle of blond, beaming kids on the wide screen of his phone.

Zak threw his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close so they were both visible in the frame. “Still suffering from jet-lag brain over here. Kids, this is Cecily! She’s a world-class journalist...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Anchor Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593315499
• ISBN 13: 9780593315491
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 341
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar