Also by this author: Collected Easter Horror Shorts, Collected Christmas Horror Shorts 2, Stitches, PandemoniumWhat would you do if someone demanded you write the best story of your life, to be judged online? That your life depended on it.
Four well-known authors receive an email telling them they are responsible for a suicide. Their antagonist makes it clear she is out for revenge and they have no option but to comply. Their task is to post the best story they can imagine online and await judgement. Filled with guilt, anxiety, and even a few murderous tendencies, each writer weaves their tale and hopes for the best. It’ll be the competition of their lives. Who’s story will win? Will anyone survive?
If you enjoy tense, fast-paced horror, then you will love Kevin J. Kennedy and J.C. Michael’s You Only Get One Shot! Your shot is now. Read You Only Get One Shot today
You Only Get One Shot is the kind of book where you think you know what is going to happen right up until you realize you were wrong. It’s a story of revenge of the deepest kind, stemming from both the heart and a twisted mind.
The four authors in the story are Fiona, Dianne, Drexl, and Simon. They are accused of being cruel to an aspiring author who takes their negative comments about to heart and ends his own life. A close friend has decided to kill all but one and makes her decision based on the story they can provide.
Fast-paced and exciting, each of the four authors being threatened come up with a new story in order to save their lives. Each story is completely different from the one before it and it’s interesting to me how the two authors who wrote this book have been able to contribute two stories each for 4 authors who are so vastly different but still suit their characters personalities to a tee.
I enjoyed the variety of stories each author submitted to their accuser. Of the four authors, the only one that sounds to me like someone who would be nasty to someone is Drexl. He sounds like a complete ass. I really found myself hoping he would die first. He’s a womanizer and an arrogant douche. His story was good, don’t get me wrong, but it felt morally corrupt, just like him.
Of the 4 stories, I liked Dianne’s the best I think. I really did like Fiona’s a lot as well, but I liked Dianne’s better by a smidgen. It could be the zombie factor that did it for me though. Honestly, as long as Drexl didn’t win I would have been ok with the choice.
When all four stories were told, I was excited to see who the accuser would choose and what she would do to the losers. I can tell you that was one hell of a scene! There’s an interesting twist (or two) at the end that I didn’t expect at all, but it made me see just how twisted the accuser really was. She should probably seek mental help or get new friends.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book. It wasn’t a super long read, but it felt like I was reading four stories in one without it feeling like an anthology. Don’t get me wrong, I like anthologies, but the way this book was put together gave it a more personal feel, which I really enjoyed.
I recommend You Only Get One Shot to anyone who likes anthologies but would like them to have more of a personal feeling to them.
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About J.C. Michael
About Kevin J. Kennedy
Kevin J Kennedy is the co-author of You Only Get One Shot, and the man behind the best-selling Collected Christmas Horror Shorts & Collected Easter Horror Shorts anthologies. His short stories have featured in many other notable anthologies in the horror genre.
Kevin lives in a small town in Scotland with his wife, step daughter and two strange little cats.
