In Hannah Mary McKinnon’s cleverly titled Only One Survives, the center spotlight is on Vienna Taylor, an aspiring drummer whose band, The Bittersweet, was involved in fatal car accident outside the Catskills one snowy night. Told in shifting time frames from Vienna’s perspective, the story bounces between the origins of Vienna’s career as a drummer (and when she meets her rich best friend, Madison) and beyond, to on or after the day of the accident.
What happened in the Catskills? Two members of The Bittersweet perished quickly–and naturally–but what happened after that? Was everything that transpired a terrible accident, or did someone use the accident as an opportunity for foul play?
This is a rough review to write, because if I cite the device used by McKinnon, it gives up the twist discovered at the mid-point. She’ll probably not like me doing that. So, I’m going to try to balance between being like Michael Scott playing Charades (“Alright he’s the Governor of California, he is The Terminator. . .”) and being annoyingly vague to the point that this review is of no use to you as a reader.
Here’s what I’ll say: the jumping narratives between these two points in time are not distracting. McKinnon is a wonderful writer, and in addition to Vienna being a great character to read (she’s presented as scrappy and kind-hearted), McKinnon knows when to shift the story and when to not. I didn’t find myself being impatient or lost due to being yanked from one narrative into another. McKinnon uses these jumping narratives for a reason, and for the most part–there were some inconsistencies that could be deemed a cheat–they accomplish the mid-point twist as intended and set up the shift to the second half. This involves Vienna’s implication in the deaths and her new infamous status. Everyone on social media has an opinion (#TeamVienna, #TeamMadison), and each comment cuts her deeply.
The book has a theme, and the epilogue is like The Dude’s rug–it really ties everything together. (Like that???). Fame, and the desire for it, can be poisonous, and this theme becomes clearer in the second half as we see the consequences of this thirst for fame, and the desire for more that comes with the taste of a little. This point is made well.
Last, there are the music references. As a writer, I enjoy imposing my tastes on the unsuspecting reader by name-dropping favorite songs and television shows. P!nk is mentioned about ten times, and the band’s manager’s spaniels are named George and Michael. P!nk is, of course, The Best, and George Michal’s Freedom 90 will always be my favorite song.
If you like twisty character-driven thrillers with shifting narratives (and creepy cabins), you’ll enjoy the wonderfully written Only One Survives.
Sarah Reida is a writer of dark comedy thrillers. Her Kirkus-starred adult debut, Neighborhood Watch, is Desperate Housewives meets Agatha Christie, and it was recently honored as an Amazon editorial pick as one of the Best Books of the Year So Far 2024. If you’re interested in reading a locked room thriller (i.e., a neighborhood) about terrible people getting murdered, click here. And join Sarah’s elite group of Instagram followers here.
