Synopsis: A tragic accident on a remote mountain road leaves an up-and-coming girl band stranded - and not everyone will make it out alive.

Thoughts: Well this was a wild ride! It has been awhile since the twists in a thriller got me this good! Without delving into spoiler territory here, I will say that this one had me questioning who to trust and totally shocked me - I read a lot of thrillers and thought it was pretty unique. It’s a binge-able page turner of a read with both the thriller aspect and the relationships and drama between the band mates.

Read this if you like:
❄️ locked-room style mysteries
❄️ twisty thrillers
❄️ music groups
❄️ dual timelines

This was such a fun and twisty thriller that was full of suspense. It had me sucked in from page one, and I didn’t want to put this book down. I loved that the characters were members of a female rock band because that brought some tension to the story. The way it was written was utterly unique, and had me captivated throughout.

The build up in part one was done so well, and the creepiness of the scenes after the accident had me on edge. Then part two starts, and I was totally shocked. I can’t say much more without giving things away, but I will say that this book rocked (pun intended)! The writing was phenomenal, and although it was my first book by McKinnon, it certainly won’t be my last!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book: Only One Survives
Author: Hannah Mary McKinnon
Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Mira, for sending me an ARC. I cannot remember the last time I would give star reviews back to back. This was an edge-of-your-seat, exciting, and well-done thriller. I have read a few other thrillers by Hannah Mary McKinnon and enjoyed them all. I came into this one with high expectations and it did not disappoint.

In this one, we follow Vienna, who was a member of an up-and-coming all-female band called the Bittersweet. The key word here is was. The band was hit with a tragedy, in which all the members either died or disappeared. That is all, but Vienna and a documentary flimmer. Madison, Vienna’s best friend, is missing and is believed to have had something to do with the tragedy. Part of what happened to the band is weather-related. The roads were bad and their car ended up sliding off the road. It is what happened afterwards that has people talking. Vienna wants to be famous, but not in this way. She starts to write a book to work through what has happened. The problem is trying to figure out what is fact and what is fiction.

One thing I liked about this was it was told in then and now. Sometimes I am not a huge fan of this, but found that it worked well for this story. We get to see everything that got us to this point. Now, of course, this is being told from Vienna’s point of view. Everything is twisted in a way that is fitting for her. We have to work through what is real and what is not. All of it is played out in a very convincing way. We see how our characters are viewed by Vienna and are put into this story that she wants to tell. What I mean by that is to keep in mind that Vienna is writing a book. Of course, what she puts on paper is going to be the version that she wants to tell.

Vienna is driven. She is the one who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. Her mom and stepfather would rather visit the bar than be a parent. Her mother always sides with her stepfather on anything. She is abused and feeling worthless. The only thing she has going for her is her Grams and drumming. It is drumming that brings her and Madison together. Madison is rich and everything that Vienna is not. Yet, their love for music brings them together and sparks a very unlikely friendship. When Vienna’s grandma passes, she moves in with Madison. Madison is having trouble at university and her life is spiralling. Her parents notice, but they don’t know that Vienna is living with her. If they did, they would only blame her for Madison’s behaviour. Their moving in with each other does spark the music again.

Both have different views on how to do the music, but they do end up forming a band. This band is all female. We get to see the highs and lows, the good and the bad. We get to see how having more women in the mix changes Vienna and Madison’s relationship and dynamic. We know that Madison wants to be famous and Vienna wants to make music. There are disagreements. It gets to the point where we can see that everything is in trouble. Then, the accident happens. The events that transpire from it make sense from the story. Once again, we have to figure out what is real and what isn’t. It makes for a very twisty story.

One thing that I did not like about this was the fact that the big reveal comes a little over halfway through the book. I know I gave it a five-star rating, but it’s something that I don’t like in thrillers. Now, I will say the way Hannah carried out the second half of the book was strong and very well done.

Overall, I did enjoy this one a lot. If you like twisty and fame-driven stories, you will like this one.

This book comes out on July 16, 2024.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/_DZ7xj5AvHw

Only One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon is a very highly recommended, remarkable, twisty psychological thriller. Once I started reading Only One Survives it was impossible to put this excellent thriller down.

After the two discovered their similar interest in music while in high school, drummer Vienna Taylor and guitarist Madison Pierce became best friends and began playing music together. After high school they briefly formed a duo called EmVee. Their success led them to form an all-female rock band called The Bittersweet, with some resistance from Madison, that also took off with a record deal. As they are heading up in the Catskills to a party to celebrate their success, their van crashes in a blizzard. They are injured and need to find some where to shelter - and not everyone will survive.

The writing is absolutely brilliant and exceptional! I was engrossed throughout the whole novel. The narrative unfolds in dual timelines following Vienna and Madison and all the events along their path to fame that lead them to the struggle to survive. The plot in both timelines is equally compelling and captivating. To avoid spoilers I can't say too much more, but there are several huge, jaw-dropping twists that occur - HUGE ones that make you gasp and reread what you just read as your head threatens to explode.

There is a large cast of characters but it is easy to follow who is who and where they fit into the plot. Vienna and Madison are both depicted as fully realized, flawed, realistic individuals.

If you like music and psychological thrillers with twists, you have to read Only One Survives. Thanks to MIRA Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

3 stars

This is a fascinating premise, but like some of the characters' plans, the execution can be fine-tuned.

Vienna and Madison have been friends for years, and that's been especially important for Vienna, who struggles to make lasting and meaningful friendships. Between a difficult home life and a generally unusual way of approaching her circumstances, Vienna has NOT been set up for success. However, with Madison's help and their joint love of music, she persists.

The novel begins with a terrible car crash in which all members of the band Vienna and Madison are in are seriously injured, at least. Readers learn everything in relation to the accident as each chapter begins with a note about the number of days to or since the accident. While this timeline works well, the pacing is challenging. The accident is shocking and scary, and the immediate aftermath is suspenseful. Then, the characters and events become, respectively, challenging to root for and a bit too slow to roll out.

There are some significant turns toward the end of the novel, and transparently, if I had not been reading an advanced copy (I REALLY try not to DNF these under any circumstances), I do not think I'd have persisted when some of the big reveals and motivations behind them came to light. Things get...heavy handed.

I enjoyed the concept and elements of the characters and plot, so I'll give this author another try, but I won't be making my most enthusiastic recs for this one.

If you are looking for a mystery/thriller that will truly surprise you, this is it. Vienna Taylor, from a poor background, and privileged Madison Pierce are unlikely best friends, but their love of music brought them together and keeps them bonded even when things get tough. They first form a duo and then add new members and become a very successful female rock/pop group. While on their way from New York City to the Catskills for an industry holiday party, they're in a car accident and become stranded in an abandoned cabin during a blizzard and not everyone will survive.

The main characters in this book are memorable and I enjoyed following their ups and downs. There is one person in Vienna's life that is such a one-dimensional villain, it's hard to take some of the actions seriously even though they were appalling. Some other things appear to be predictable, but I soon learned that appearances can be deceiving!

Since the story involves a pop/rock band and has some multimedia elements (podcast transcripts, newspaper articles, social media comments), some readers have made comparisons to Daisy Jones and the Six, which is still on my #tbrlist. The cabin scenes have vibes that remind me of the TV series Yellowjackets, as you're wondering who will survive and what is really going on. Besides the current timeline dealing with the accident and the aftermath, there is a past timeline that talks about earlier events in Vienna and Madison's lives. I love being surprised and this twist is very unexpected, but it also made me a little sad when the truth was revealed. I can't say too much more without spoiling the shocking plot turn, but even the most seasoned thriller fan will do a double-take when it occurs.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley, HTP Books, and MIRA. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Stars: 2.5
Synopsis: Up-and-coming female rock group and longtime friends Madison and Vienna have been through a lot together. Having navigated strained family relationships, they take solace in their friendship while foraging a path together, as bonded as sisters. When tragedy strikes during the trip to their upcoming gig, the group is left stranded and physically in bad shape. As these friends are pushed beyond breaking points, their true nature is revealed, and relationships dissolve quickly.
Format: E-Book
Review: It starts with a bang and I was engrossed. I read this book in one sitting, and the multiple shifts in the timeline had me turning pages as quickly as I could. The friendships are dynamic, and uncovering this group's history had me devouring this book. While I was quickly hooked, a little over halfway in, things took an unfortunate turn. I wouldn't say I like it when the writing feels like there is a deliberate attempt to explain every thought and decision a character makes…the over-explanation in the second half was a real detriment to the pacing of the overall story and felt extremely repetitive. This book has so much potential. The beginning was great. I wish the second half had held up and been able to deliver the way the first half had.
Pros: I love multiple timelines, the backstory of the main characters, and books with girls misbehaving. The first half was fantastic. The development of the relationship between these two best friends, as well as Vienna's relationship with her Gram, felt natural and, honestly, a little relatable. I also enjoyed all the band and pop culture references, including the blog-style comments shared throughout.
Cons: I loved this book out of the gate. Unfortunately, shortly after the halfway mark, things started to feel repetitive, and the plot took some very elaborate turns. I loved the idea of the obsession with social media, but it became exhausting, and I wanted to skim large sections (which I didn’t do…but wish I had). On a funny note, every time I read a book with an unreliable narrator, I always walk about thinking about an episode of Scooby Doo… the reference, whether inadvertently or not, wasn’t lost on me.
Recommend(Yes/No/Maybe): No for me, but maybe for you. This book has so much potential but ultimately fell short. If you like books that take the time to share every internal dialogue a character has and lay out every plot point to tie up all the extraneous details, this book might be for you.
Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me the opportunity to review the title.

Right from the beginning, a dual timeline plot pulled me into Vienna and Madison's toxic relationship and gave me a front-row seat to its shift - from friendship to potential fame.

But, it was the actual plot that gripped me. Part One established everything leading up until the accident, and Part Two slapped me with a twist that had me gasping. Dark, intense, perfectly plotted, and with an eerie setting, this book captured me completely. The reveal really made the story, so I'm avoiding saying anything more. If you love stories about talented girl groups and fame-hungry characters, this book is going to do it for you. It even has my favorite trope of them all: the locked-room, closed-circle murder mystery. Sure, the book isn't perfect, but it's thrilling and unexpected. Highly recommend!

“Only One Survives” is a unique thriller that had many twists and turns along the way, and I’m surprised to say that I have never quite read anything like it!

Main character, Vienna, tells the story of her music career from the beginning up to the tragic accident involving her and her band members. As a reader, we know from the beginning that she is the only supposed survivor- what we don’t know is how and why? Throughout the novel, we as the reader are left to navigate the present with the past and put the pieces back together and figure out what happened.

Overall Thoughts: (including why it received it’s rating)
Rating 3.5/5

The first half of the book took me by storm. Starting with the dramatic car crash on page one, we are immediately, as readers, left to wonder, “how did we get here?” Immediately thrusted into the past, the book took me on a wild ride, always wanting more, and constantly trying to find clues about how the accident started. With the boo being from the first person point of view, we deeply learned the thoughts of one character, and I found this to be an effective way to communicate emotions of the story. Finding out the whole first part of the novel was actually a manipulation of the true story leaves me to wonder “what really ever happened?” This was such a unique question to have as a reader!

What I didn’t like was that after we found out who the killer was, it felt like the novel started to fall flat a bit. Characters had already developed, so we were left analyzing the psychotic behavior of our killer which made the book hard to relate to. Some instances felt far-fetched and unrealistic, but I did love that the book explored the effect of fame and lack of privacy on seemingly the most normal of people. Toying with this from the beginning through the end of the novel was the string that held this story all together for me.

Overall this is a read that I would recommend to friends and family that were looking for a twisty, thought-provoking thriller!

ONLY ONE SURVIVES is the latest twisty thriller by Hannah Mary McKinnon. I have loved all of this author’s books and this one is no exception. Vienna Taylor and Madison Pierce have been best friends since high school. Vienna is a drummer and Madison is a guitarist. Despite the differences in their backgrounds, the pair form a duo that quickly gains popularity on the music scene. Soon they add three additional members and their all-female pop rock band, The Bittersweet, is poised for stardom. To celebrate signing a recording deal, the band is invited to a party in the Catskills. Accompanied by Libby, a young woman assigned to film a documentary about the band, they head for the mountains, only to be involved in a devastating crash on the icy roads. One band member is dead at the scene and another is severely injured. The remaining members find an abandoned cabin where they hope to shelter from the blizzard until they can call for help. But something unusual begins happening in the cabin. One by one, members of the band are dying and when help finally arrives, Madison has disappeared. What really happened on that snowy night? As the story unfolds, we learn the story of the past and what led up to the events of the present. I enjoyed this atmospheric story and the unpredictable twists and turns blew me away. This is another winner for Hannah Mary McKinnon and I can’t wait to see what comes next. Highly recommended! Thank you to the author publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Hannah Mary McKinnon takes readers on quite a wild journey that will leave readers shocked in this Rock n Roll themed thriller!

This thriller, told in multiple time frames follows two friends, who form a music group in high school into their adult lives as they expand the group. As they are taking off, the group is in a car accident that changes the entire course of their lives. The dual timelines really gives good perspective on the two main characters: Vienna and Madison.

The dual timeline set ups for the present day story that left me in a jaw dropped reaction. I had to go back and reread what had happened because I couldn’t believe the turn the book took at first. This was a fantastic, well written thriller!

Thanks you to Netgalley, Hannah Mary McKinnon and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the digital ARC of Only One Survives!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am a thriller junkie and this 'locked room' suspenseful thriller ticked all the boxes with a bit of rock and roll thrown in!

Vienna and Madison have been friend since high school. Fast-forward a few years and the women start an all female band that takes off. When the band suffers a tragic car accident in upstate NY during a blizzard, one band member dies in the crash. The remaining band members seek refuge in an abandoned cabin where more tragedy strikes.

This fast paced thriller is told flashbacks, detailing the relationship between Vienna and Madison, which sets the stage for the tumultuous events that occur present day, with at least one defining moment that has the desired effect of a “what just happened” reaction! This is a highly enjoyable and entertaining book.

This is a quick, suspenseful story with an interesting music element as main character Vienna relates the ups and downs along the way to being part of a band on the rise when a horrifying car accident and its follow up lead to the death or disappearance of all the other band members. While I personally felt that it landed a bit to heavily on the predictable side, Vienna is one of those characters that does a great job carrying the story and is pretty memorable.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I enjoyed a different plot this time, something new. Also enjoyed the time back and forth, and the characters, as I got to know each one, and what they had been through together. A little slow paced, but good overall. I did get confused at the end.

✨ 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 ✨

Only One Survives
Hannah Mary McKinnon

Whew! Hannah Mary McKinnon. What. A. Ride!

This book starts off with a BANG! It continues to deliver twist after twist that I did not see coming. This story is told in dual timelines- past and present. Which helps the reader get a full picture into the two main characters lives - Vienna and Madison.

To be honest there were a few times I felt the story slow a bit. It was right then that there was another twist. That of course I didn’t see coming.

I am always super impressed when an author writes such an intriguing storyline. Each aspect depending on the thing before. Almost as if they wrote the story backwards. This book was just that!

Only One Survives definitely creeped me out. If you’re a normal person that can watch horror movies then it probably won’t creep you out. 😂 I’m just a baby.

What a wild ride this latest from Canadian Hannah Mary McKinnon was!! A perfect mix of Daisy Jones and the Six for the modern age combined seamlessly with an unexpected serial killer and survival story all rolled into one.

Full of twists and turns and jaw-dropping reveals I never saw coming (a few I did), this book takes on the high cost of fame and ambition and just what toll it can take on those who sacrifice everything in its pursuit.

HIGHLY recommended, this is a compelling, unputdownable must-read summer thriller you don't want to miss! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! Only one survives is by far my new favorite from McKinnon!

Vienna and Madison expand their music duo into a girl pop-rock band, ready for their big break. On the way to an event, the van transporting the band crashes, leaving some stranded, injured, and dead in the midst of a snowstorm. When help finally comes, only one girl remains - and another is missing. This story gives you a glimpse into the past and the events that led up to the crash, showing us how not everything is what it seems.

👏🏼💐👏🏼💐 - This is for you HMM cause 🤯. This threw me for a loop! I loved this. I have a deep appreciation for whatever genre/plot/trope includes fictional celebrities, so I was immediately hooked. I thought this would be a story about survival, but the twists completely threw me! I almost got mad cause I really felt tricked at one point, haha. I don’t wanna spoil for anyone reading this, but it’s definitely a MUST

I just finished this so I have a lot of unpolished emotions… I’ll start with saying this was a quick read. A definite page-turning thriller with multiple timelines and a questionable narrator. This novel showed so much promise. I was excited and on the edge of my seat for the answers and twists… until about 70% through. At this point, it took a weird turn. The ending felt disappointing and the last 30% felt like extra filler that I could’ve done without. Overall, a mostly interesting and thrilling read.

4.25 Stars!!

This one is such a wild ride full of suspense! You’ll believe one thing at one moment and then suddenly doubt it the next.

The first half with flashbacks to the past was a little more slow paced, but then halfway through when it switches to the present fully, the pace really picks up!

I enjoyed the inclusion of the newspaper articles and radio interviews. I liked the eerie and creepy atmospheric setting at the cabin- I do wish more of the story was in this setting though than it had been.

Definitely recommend checking this one out- a bingeable read!🖤

Rating 4.25⭐

Only One Survives, a gripping psychological thriller by Hannah Mary McKinnon, unfolds a suspenseful narrative.  The story revolves around Vienna, who narrates most of the events from her perspective.  It's a dual-timeline saga of a girl with a tumultuous past carving her path in the music industry until a tragic car accident involving the entire band changes everything.

There's a wealth of details I'm eager to share, but I'm mindful of the need to avoid spoilers.  This story is easily spoiled, but I've taken great care to respect your reading experience. These are the best kind of thrillers, after all! You can trust that I won't give away any crucial plot points.

The character development in this book is truly captivating. The characters are multi-layered, adding to the tragic, disturbing, yet thrilling nature of the story.  

The fast-paced narrative is filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This book is a rollercoaster of suspense and thrill, from the tragic car accident to the revelations about the characters' past.  What thriller addict (like me)  doesn't love that?

Lastly, I'm still thinking about that ending, and it's been days since I finished the book.  I won't spoil it, but I will say that it's a fitting conclusion to the story. The characters are developed so well that it's easy to feel empathy for them, and the ending ties up their arcs in a specific way - whether it's satisfying or not - you will just have to decide for yourself. It's a testament to the book's lasting impact, that I'm still reflecting on it.