The Girl on the Ice

An Antarctic cruise. The trip of a lifetime. Until they find the first body... Get ready for the totally gripping new thriller from the Times bestselling author of Breathless 
‘Enthralling’ Sunday Times‘A chilling, atmospheric rollercoaster’ Claire Douglas 
 
---- 
Antarctica.The end of the world.The trip of a lifetime. 
 Olivia and boyfriend Aaron board a ship headed south: icebergs, midnight sun, dark waters. His wildest dreams, her deepest fears. 
Almost immediately, Aaron vanishes. And Olivia finds herself alone. 
What happened to Aaron?Is someone watching her? 
Who can she trust? 
And then they find the first body . . . 
And the only question is:will she survive this trip of a lifetime? 
***Previously published in hardback as Midnight*** 
---- 
‘Transportive, absorbing and perfectly paced. You won't want to miss it!’ Lucy Clarke 
'Chillingly atmospheric, sub-zero tension and a creeping plot' Janice Hallett 
'A clever mystery, a twisting page-turner, and a blistering adventure' Chris Whitaker 
 Praise for Amy McCulloch: 
 
 'A high-altitude, high-stakes thriller. I loved it' MATT HAIG 
 'Had me on the edge of my seat. A must read' SARAH PEARSE 
 'Suffocatingly tense, highly original and exhilarating' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
 'An addictive, tightly plotted thriller that will leave you chilled to the bone' LUCY CLARKE 
 
 'Chilling, vivid and entirely unique' ABIGAIL DEAN 
 
 'A real page-turner. Tense, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure' CATHERINE COOPER 
 
 'A truly terrifying thriller with a tense and twisty plot. Superbly executed' ALLIE REYNOLDS

Enthralling... combines an intricate murder mystery with lyrical passages describing ice cliffs and spectacular skies... She has an eye for edgy and unusual settings, and the new novel is easily as good as her first

A chilling, atmospheric rollercoaster of a read filled with clever unpredictable twists and beautiful imagery of Antarctica. I loved it! Amy McCulloch is the queen of the adventure thriller!

Amy McCulloch is the ice queen of the stone-cold, twisting thriller. The Girl on the Ice is chillingly atmospheric, with sub-zero tension and a creeping plot that makes it impossible to look away. I will never not read what she writes!

Amy McCulloch is the ice queen of the stone-cold, twisting thriller. Midnight is chillingly atmospheric, with sub-zero tension and a creeping plot that makes it impossible to look away. I will never not read what she writes!&quot;

In Midnight, Amy McCulloch takes us on her most adrenaline-fuelled adventure yet. Transportive, absorbing and perfectly paced. You won't want to miss it!

In The Girl on the Ice, Amy McCulloch takes us on her most adrenaline-fuelled adventure yet. Transportive, absorbing and perfectly paced. You won't want to miss it!

Chills, thrills and intense suspense... The Girl on the Ice is a clever mystery, a twisting page-turner, and a blistering adventure

Chills, thrills and intense suspense... Midnight is a clever mystery, a twisting page-turner, and a blistering adventure

An atmospheric, chilling book where Amy's knowledge of Antarctica shines through. It was difficult to put down

Gripping, and as thrilling as a blast of Antarctic air

Enthralling. Combines an intricate murder mystery with lyrical passages describing ice cliffs and spectacular skies. Easily as good as her first

Amy McCulloch is the Chinese-White author of Breathless, an international bestseller and Waterstones Thriller of the Month selection. She has also written eight novels for children and young adults. She has climbed two of the world's highest mountains, completed an ultra-marathon in the Sahara Desert, and visited all seven continents, including Antarctica. Runner 13 is her third thriller.

With her life back in London falling apart, Olivia cannot believe her luck when she's invited on a once-in-a-lifetime Antarctic cruise with her boyfriend, Aaron. 
 
Olivia has never been anywhere so spectacular: huge cliffs of ice loom high on the horizon, penguins dive through the sparkling sea, and above it all, the sun never sets in the eerie twilight sky. 
 
And then Aaron disappears. And a body is discovered on board. 
 
Surrounded by strangers, Olivia has no idea who she can trust. 
 
And if she can't figure it out soon, she won't make it back alive...

This year’s most gripping thriller and Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month

Breathless

THIS YEAR'S MOST GRIPPING THRILLER AND SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH 
'A high-altitude, high-stakes thriller. I loved it' MATT HAIG 
'Had me on the edge of my seat. A must read for 2022' SARAH PEARSE 
'Suffocatingly tense, highly original and exhilarating' DAILY EXPRESS 
'Tense, chilling and terrifying' CLAIRE DOUGLAS 
'Chilling, vivid and entirely unique' ABIGAIL DEAN 
 
SIX STRANGERS. ONE KILLER. AND NO ESCAPE . . . 
________ 
 
Journalist Cecily Wong is offered the chance of a lifetime: to join an elite team on one of the world's tallest mountains. 
 
But things quickly start to fall apart. 
 
An unexplained theft. 
A horrible accident. 
A terrifying note: 
 
There's a murderer on the mountain. 
 
Six strangers set out . . . How many will return? 
________ 
 
'Breathtaking. Totally immersive, I truly felt transported to Nepal, becoming a part of the expedition. Gripping, chilling and exhilarating' 5***** READER REVIEW 
 
'It was so tense, the air in my bedroom felt as thin as in the mountains. A total triumph' Gillian McAllister, bestselling author of THAT NIGHT 
 
'You can't get more claustrophobic than this! My pulse was racing. The adrenaline of the character seeps through to the reader' 5***** READER REVIEW 
 
'Gripping. Thrilling. A visceral account of a novice's struggles with thin air and exhaustion' Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month 
 
'A great page-turner' HILARY DUFF 
 
'Truly full of atmosphere. Oozes tension - you are never quite sure which direction you will be taken . . .' 5***** READER REVIEW 
 
'An addictive, tightly plotted thriller that will leave you chilled to the bone' Lucy Clarke, bestselling author of THE CASTAWAYS 
 
'Amy is a writer who knows how to draw the reader into the setting. It makes you feel as though you are there' 5***** READER REVIEW 
 
'The ultimate high-altitude mountain thriller. Ice-cold, twisting, deadly' Janice Hallett, bestselling author of THE APPEAL 
 
'A very atmospheric read. It takes you right to the edge of your seat' 5***** READER REVIEW 
 
'Nail-biting, chilling, totally exhilarating - a true triumph' Stacey Halls, bestselling author of THE FAMILIARS 
 
'A real page-turner. Tense, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure' Catherine Cooper, bestselling author of THE CHALET 
 
 'A truly terrifying thriller with a tense and twisty plot. Superbly executed' Allie Reynolds, bestselling author of SHIVER

Breathless is a high-altitude, high-stakes thriller that combines fascinating, authentic mountaineering experience with pure thriller entertainment. The suspense rises like the Nepalese mountain it is set on. Reminded me of the best of Michael Crichton, where in-depth knowledge and a masterful plot work together to create a tense adrenaline-fuelled ride. I loved it

Sunday Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library

If you're looking for a book to thrill and transport you, then Breathless is the read for you! Set high in the chilling Death Zone, this thriller had me on the edge of my seat. I loved being immersed in the competitive, high-stakes world of alpine climbing and Amy brilliantly evokes how risky this setting is, a setting that can only get deadlier with a murderer on the mountain... A must read for 2022

Sarah Pearse, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium

Stunning. Suffocatingly tense, highly original and exhilarating, Breathless is an early contender for thriller of the year

Tense, chilling and terrifying with unforgettable characters and an unpredictable and atmospheric plot. One of the most original thrillers I've read. It deserves to be huge!

Claire Douglas, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Couple at No. 9

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, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Maid

Gripping. Thrilling. A visceral account of a novice's struggles with thin air and exhaustion

This thriller would be unsettling enough at sea level, but in the death zone, it's suffocatingly tense. McCulloch combines extreme mountaineering with murder to create a novel that's chilling, vivid, and entirely unique.

Abigail Dean, Sunday Times bestselling author of Girl A

The ultimate high-altitude mountain thriller. Ice-cold, twisting, deadly and doesn't put a foot wrong. It took me on a chilling journey to the death zone, and I loved it!

Janice Hallett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Appeal

Nail-biting, chilling, totally exhilarating - a true triumph

Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars

I loved it. I read it in two sittings. It was so tense by the end, the air in my bedroom felt as thin as in the mountains. I think it's a total triumph of a thriller.

Gillian McAllister, Sunday Times bestselling author of That Night

Set on an expedition to climb one of the world's tallest mountains, Breathless is an addictive, tightly plotted thriller that will leave you chilled to the bone

Lucy Clarke, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Castaways

I have climbed Manaslu with Amy, she's a very positive thinker with good energy to be around on the mountain - she is the real deal

star of Netflix's 14 Peaks and author of the Sunday Times bestseller Beyond Possible

If you liked Shiver by Allie Reynolds, you'll really enjoy this. Rich in authentic detail, it's a nail-biting novel

A breathtaking book set at 8000 metres - the air alone can kill you, and there's a killer on the loose too. I absolutely loved this, the author's incredible knowledge of mountaineering really shone through - a real page-turner that I read in a couple of days. Tense, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure.

Catherine Cooper, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Chalet

A tense, absorbing thriller with the most spectacular setting imaginable. It's bleak, beautiful and powerfully atmospheric. I couldn't put it down

Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne

Breathless is both a fascinating insight into the world of high-altitude mountaineering and a chilling, twisty thriller. Absorbing and atmospheric

Louise O'Neill, bestselling author of After The Silence

Vividly descriptive, packed with atmosphere, mystery twists, turns and tension, it's a nail-biter thriller

There really is something about the combination of a snowbound locale and a killer hiding in plain sign that is a recipe for success, and this is an absolute belter

Atmospheric enough to leave me shivering and gripping enough to make me unable to stop turning pages. This book followed me around the house as I inhaled Cecily's story, enjoying every fascinating minute of it. A 5* cracker

A truly terrifying thriller with a tense and twisty plot and an incredibly dangerous setting. I loved the insight into the world of the high mountains and the people who risk their lives to climb them. A brilliant concept, superbly executed.

Allie Reynolds, bestselling author of Shiver

Breathless is a thriller that moves at a breakneck pace through the ice-packed dangers of the Death Zone. I felt like I was on the mountain and raced to the end. Read it, and it'll leave you breathless, too

Sunday Times bestselling author of Seven Devils and Goldilocks

It's a classic locked-room setting, but there's enough originality and style about this to make it an enjoyable and exciting read . . . A claustrophobic and intense read, a tale of proper obsession and danger. Keeps you turning the page, anxious to know what comes next.

Its twists and turns leave your blood running cold

It's rare that a thriller actually lives up to that word. But here - in the jeopardy its characters are plunged into, in the story's twists and turns, and in the true star of the novel, the mountain itself - Breathless truly manages to thrill

A truly breathtaking thriller. It had me gasping and guessing with every turn of a page. The audacity of the adventure is only matched by the brilliance of McCulloch's deft and evocative writing

A visceral, thrill-seeker's story of one woman's struggle to conquer her fears, with murder and mayhem at 8,000m. I really loved it.

A frighteningly original novel written with a deep passion for the mountains and an inquisitive mind. A brilliantly chilling read

Chilling . . . there really is something about the combination of a remote snowbound location and a killer hiding in plain sight that is a recipe for success

At the top of the world's tallest mountains, there isn't enough oxygen to breathe. In the space of hours your body begins to shut down. Any longer, and death is inevitable. 
 
 What better place for a serial killer to find their next victim? 
 
 Struggling journalist Cecily Wong is delighted to be invited to interview famed mountaineer Charles McVeigh, conditional on joining his team on one of the Himalayas' toughest peaks. 
 
 But on the mountain, it's clear something is wrong. It begins small - a theft, an accidental fall. And then a note, pinned to her tent in the night: there's a murderer on the mountain...

Amy McCulloch

McCulloch writes vividly...an intense focus on the physicality of her characters is becoming her USP

Fascinating, exciting and with a terrifyingly convincing depiction of people under savage stress this is an unmissable novel

If there was a race to write a dark, immersive thriller that will transport you to a whole new world (of extreme marathon running) then Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch would be first across the line. A masterclass in atmospheric writing, it is told with resounding skill and authenticity, as deadly events at the extreme end of competitive running threaten the lives and families of troubled participants. This is gold medal storytelling and I raced through it.

Runner 13 is an utterly brilliant immersive thriller set in a terrifyingly arduous adventure race think Agatha Christie meets Marathon de Sables meets the Barkley Marathons. It is smart, visceral, deliciously dark and twisty.

Brilliantly atmospheric and with relentless pace, Runner 13 is one of the most propulsive adventure thrillers I’ve read. It will leave you gasping for breath. I loved it!

Amy McCulloch does it again! Runner 13 is an absolute scorcher of a thriller that examines the lengths we are willing to push ourselves for what's right. Each chapter left me out of breath and desperate to learn what would happen next. Reading this book was a race to the very last page. All in all, Runner 13 proves that no one does an adventure thriller quite like Amy McCulloch.

A thriller set around the fascinating world of ultra-running where there's always the threat that even the race might kill you. Utterly breathtaking - absolutely loved it. Amy's best yet

In Runner 13, McCulloch's firsthand experience of ultra running shines through every page. I felt like I was there! A fast-paced adventure thriller that will get your pulse racing. Not to be missed

Tense, exhilarating and deeply immersive, I raced through this epic ultramarathon thriller. So good on character, with a layered plot and vivid desert setting—I loved it as a runner, a reader, and a full-of-admiration writer

LAURA STEVEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates

As soon as I finished it I ordered all Amy's other books. A breathless, complex thriller. I steamed through it

Runner 13 is the most tense, gripping and breathless novel I’ve read in a very long time. With more terrifying twists and turns than a mountain ultramarathon, I already predict it’ll be the thriller of the year

Amy McCulloch

Praise for Runner 13

McCulloch writes vividly...an intense focus on the physicality of her characters is becoming her USP

Fascinating, exciting and with a terrifyingly convincing depiction of people under savage stress this is an unmissable novel

If there was a race to write a dark, immersive thriller that will transport you to a whole new world (of extreme marathon running) then Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch would be first across the line. A masterclass in ...

McCulloch writes vividly...an intense focus on the physicality of her characters is becoming her USP

Fascinating, exciting and with a terrifyingly convincing depiction of people under savage stress this is an unmissable novel

If there was a race to write a dark, immersive thriller that will transport you to a whole new world (of extreme marathon running) then Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch would be first across the line. A masterclass in ...

McCulloch writes vividly...an intense focus on the physicality of her characters is becoming her USP

Fascinating, exciting and with a terrifyingly convincing depiction of people under savage stress this is an unmissable novel

If there was a race to write a dark, immersive thriller that will transport you to a whole new world (of extreme marathon running) then Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch would be first across the line. A masterclass in ...

Books by Amy McCulloch

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter