Hard to believe this is a debut novel because it so confident and assured and is such a strong atmospheric and emotional reading experience but its authenticity tells us armchair mountaineers that author is a climber himself. When the bitter aftermath of Quinn’s disastrous climb turns to violent tragedy in Kathmandu, his discovery pushes him into a relentless journey that takes him from the dangerous heights of Everest to the equally treacherous margins of a new Europe, where history hungers to repeat itself. As a desperate fight for their lives begins in the freezing air high above Tibet, Quinn stumbles across a clue to a story that challenges everything he thinks he knows about the great mountain. Seventy years later, seasoned mountain guide Neil Quinn’s ninth visit to the top of the world’s highest mountain, this time in charge of the sixteen-year-old son of a Long Island billionaire, begins to unravel. Determined to spite them, he plots to steal something the British hold dear and have failed for the seventh time that spring to achieve-a first summit of Mount Everest. In the autumn of 1938, Germany’s reichsführer, Heinrich Himmler, is growing frustrated at the British using their regional power in India to block the passage of an SS expedition to Tibet.

Summit by harry farthing