You Only Get One Shot

Horror

By Kevin J. Kennedy & J.C. Michael

Paperback 132 pages
Publisher CreateSpace Independent Publishing (6th July 2017)

ASIN B073RW7QPG
ISBN-13 978-1548671518







📕My Review

Four writers receive an anonymous email telling them they are responsible for a suicide. As a consequence, each must submit a short story for judgement online. Little information is given except that this is a competition with a difference - the three losing writers will die. Non-compliance is not an option.

At first they wonder if it's some kind of unfunny joke, but each comes to the conclusion that they may as well enter... just in case. They submit their stories and they await their fate. Was it just a prank or do their lives really hang in the balance?

I thought You Only Get One Shot was a cleverly constructed novella. The idea of using a writing competition as a means to link four separate short stories together was highly original and satisfying. The suspense was handled extremely well and I had no idea who, or in fact if anyone, would come out on top. It was very creepy throughout with an undercurrent of uneasiness not knowing what direction it was going to take. The epilogue was ingenious and brought the book full-circle and to an unexpected conclusion.

My thanks to author Kevin J. Kennedy for providing a copy of this book.

Barnsey's Books Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📗The Blurb

What 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?

Kevin J. Kennedy's website