You Only Die Twice

by Christopher Smith

In her past, Cheryl Dunning died once. A violent act killed her, but heroics brought her back. Now, if she can't save herself from two serial killers hunting her in the Maine woods, she's about to die again, this time from two men armed with a Bible, guns, a deep belief in God, and their twisted interpretation of his word.

Fueled by their righteous fury, they are determined to find Cheryl and murder her for what they perceive as her "life's worth of sins." What they don't know is what Cheryl knows. She's a Maine girl, born and raised--and she knows how to use these woods in ways that might, if she's lucky, turn them against each man.

From the #1 international best-selling author of many thrillers, including "Fifth Avenue," "You Only Die Twice" is a blistering page-turner first, and a comment on Biblical interpretation second. It's Christopher Smith's most controversial and gripping novel to date.


*Warning: "You Only Die Twice" is not for the faint of heart. This is a story of madness and the fight for survival, and it depicts realistic adult situations without hesitation.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Ebooks, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2012

About the author

Christopher Smith is the author of the #1 international bestselling The Fifth Avenue Series, The Bullied Series, You Only Die Twice, and The Cul-de-Sac. He has sold over 3.5 million books worldwide in eighteen different languages. He lives on the coast of Maine.

Reviews

[Krysten · Rating 1 out of 5]

Frankly I'm shocked at the high average rating this book has. The plot and characters were cliche and overdone, and the writing was undeveloped and mediocre at best. I skipped over much of the bible verses and sermons given by the antagonists, as well as Cheryl and Patty's inner monologues about how awful their pasts were or how their fathers taught them how to hunt moose. The author spends way too much time talking about what they have been through and how they know what they know, and not enough time developing the plot. I was not anywhere near the edge of my seat during any point of this story. I suppose thats because most of it is describing what the ghosts are wearing or how Cheryl knows why to follow all the animals in the fire. But I guess that is what you get for a free book from Amazon. Skip this one. Trust me.

[Meredith C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was fooled by an endorsement from Stephen King. This was predictable and uninteresting. Violent.. yes, but not well written or compelling.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stephen King precisa melhorar nas suas recomendações. A única coisa que salva no livro é o tema (levemente inspirado em nas histórias reais de três serial killers): dois cristãos fundamentalistas acreditam ter sido escolhidos por Deus para eliminarem da Terra todos aqueles que, por seus pecados, não estão destinados a herdar o reino dos Céus. Em tempos tenebrosos como esses que estamos vivendo, a narrativa não é inverossímil, só ruim mesmo.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edgy, gripping and timely, You Only Die Twice is a story that will hold you in its clutches from the first word to the very last.

I always love when I can find and delve into a great psychological tale. I have always been curious about how the mind works and why people act and do what they do. With You Only Die Twice, author Christopher Smith takes the reader deep into the mind of a religious fanatic with a huge God complex. Kenneth has always been a bit different - with that "bit" turning into a lot as he got older. Always standing out from others with eyes that could only be described as "dead". Always a loner until he finds a soul mate, if you will, in fellow religious fanatic Ted. Together, the two embark on a journey of cleansing the world of whores and fulfilling what God has called upon them to do.

Cheryl Dunning has had an anything-but-easy time of life. After a nightmare experience in College where she died for the very first time, she has always basically kept to herself - working and more or less secluding herself from dating and the social scene. On a lark, she goes out one evening to celebrate her friend's birthday and her life takes a terrible and lethal turn.

Christopher Smith takes the reader on a cat-and-mouse, life threatening spiral the entire way through You Only Die Twice. He gets into the mind of the psychotic and allows the reader into the psyche of the hunted, as well as the hunter. As I read, the descriptions of the surroundings, the feelings of the characters and the actions of what was taking place was so well written that I truly felt as though I was there. Mr. Smith seamlessly intertwined pieces of the characters' past into the story as well and this allowed me to really feel as though I was able to get to know them - the "push" behind their actions as well as their thought process. These facts allowed the story to come alive for me and had me racing through the pages to see what was going to happen next. I also love the short chapters. For me, short chapters add an intensity that keeps me reading longer and makes it harder for me to put the story aside.

Another aspect of this author's writing of this story was the apparent research that he did to achieve this level of believability of the story. The majority of You Only Die Twice takes place in the secluded and deadly woods. Throughout, Cheryl must rely on what her father and grandfather have taught her about survival in the woods. The idea that Mr. Smith did his research on the "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" of such a scenario adds a wonderful depth to the story and truly adds a terrifying aspect.

This was the first book by Christopher Smith that I have read and I greatly look forward to reading more of his work in the very near future. This is an author that definitely has a talent for bringing intense stories to life and dragging the reader right into the pages. There were a few grammar/mechanical errors that I found throughout, but those did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

I highly recommend You Only Die Twice to anyone who is a fan of a great thriller that will make you toss aside the idea of sleep to see what happens next!

Favorite Quote:

Since then, they had murdered sixty-eight women, all deemed worthless whores by two men who believed in their souls that cleansing the world of these women was their divine right and purpose.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a really great story...in theory...but it got repetitive to the point where I was almost getting annoyed. Action-packed, loved the psycho, religous zealots, loved how the story was set up and developed....but... some of the conversations were awkwardly detailed...I get it, your dad and grandpa taught you how to survive in the wild because you tried to be the son your dad never had. I get it, there is a silencer on the gun. I get it, your throat was slit and you died once...if these things were only mentioned twice, the story would be half as long. I also didn't think there needed to be a moose AND a bear. So...yes, I liked the story and yes I recommend reading it, but be prepared for repetition.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really know what I was getting into when I picked this up. Turns out it wasn't really what I was looking for, or what I expected, but I enjoyed it.

I thought that aside from the story, or even the duologue, the narration stood out as unique and pretty good to me, even if the story didn't turn out to be what I was looking for. The narration was so appealing to me that it will interest me in reading some of the authors other work.

[Richard Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

You Only Die Twice is a fast read and a fascinating character study of religious fundamentalism fueled by insanity. The interspersing of hallucination, random Bible verses, and increasingly unhinged inner dialogue painted a gruesome picture of the violent minds of the killers. The internal dialogues of the protagonists were a solid but realistic counterpoint to the insanity. The book is far too violent, and the sexual violence was too graphic for this to be enjoyable to read. It is also for these reasons I would never recommend the book.

[Bridget Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely is a book that makes you see where people can misinterpret religion and use it for their own agenda. It was a suspenseful page turner and as someone who isn't religious, it didn't get in the way of the story at all. ;) Books like this always make me want to learn more about how to survive in the woods and off the land! :)

[Joan Lester · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed

The parts of the book describing her escape from her captor were exciting and kept my interest. All of the descriptions of his conflict with God and his illusions, however,became very monotonous and took away from the story

[Jessika Cyr-Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intrigue bonne mais un peu prévisible tout de même. Beaucoup d'erreurs (comme Loi et justice) qui auraient demander plus de recherches de l'auteur... j'ai sauter certains passages de la bible, redondant.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

What impressed me most about this book is how the author managed to showcase very well just how psychotic and insane the two murderously religious hunters were. It's as if you, the reader, were able to make some sense of how and why these guys got to the point of thinking that a killing spree was not only logical... but right "in the name of God". The author's method of allowing you unlimited access into the scary minds of these individuals is a testament to his impeccable writing abilities and perhaps sheds light on how religion, has and may forever be misinterpreted and used as a means of violence.

-Grammar/Writing
I can always appreciate a well written book. To me, that's more than half the battle when trying to get through any novel. I am happy to say that this book was well written and the author did a great job of using words/phrases to intensify any deserving moment within. It's not riddled with vocabulary (which I personally prefer) but that's not always expected from novels like these anyway. Over all, I found this book an easy and enjoyable read.

-Characters
There are three main characters in this book - no one else really matters. As I mentioned before, the two hunter/killers are both in hot pursuit, through the woods, for a young women whom they've deemed a sinner and unfit to live life free on God's green earth. The author does a good job of unveiling the back-story of all three individuals but that of the two hunters will surely grasp your attention most. As for the women, a long story short - she is the past victim of a most unfortunate crime where she was violated physically and almost broken spiritually. Her encounter with these two demented men seems to be her past resurfacing to claim her once and for all but she is determined to see otherwise. All-in-all Character development was on point.

-Story
The story as a whole was a pleasure to read and I often found myself on the edge of my seat waiting to know what happens next. The reality of this story is perhaps what is the most haunting part of it all. As the end neared, some rather questionable thing started to happen but I guess that's just the product of the author wanting to wrap up the ending with a nice bow. Either way, not too much was lost.

Had this book gone as far as to change or impact my life (in any way) I would have given it a five star. However, that criteria was not met - I felt a four (4) Star was appropriate.

[AudioBookReviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My full You Only Die Twice audiobook review can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

On the times in the past where I listened to an audiobook about a psychopath serial killer, there haven’t been many, but there have been some, they were told from the point of view of the cop that was hunting him down. With few insights into the mind of the killer. You Only Die Twice is not that kind of story. We are taken deep into the mind and the workings of not only one serial killer but two. Learning how they became the way they are, by ways of trouble childhoods. We are also drawn in emotionally to the victims, something I, personally, could have done without, I wanted more of the killers and they obvious insanity. Early on we meet Cheryl, who is one of the victims who actually was brutalized and left for dead. Who somehow was able to put some semblance of life back together. Going out to a bar with a close friend to only wake up the next morning with no memory of what had happened the night before. Finding that she was sexually assaulted on video and if she told anyone her friend would die. Heartbreaking, I know. But the heart and soul of this story belongs to the friend and her fight to survive not one, but two killers in the wilderness of Maine. You Only Die Twice is a no holds barred assault on your emotions. I couldn’t stop listening for a second, devouring this whole audiobook in one sitting. Sure I wish it was longer. But You Only Die Twice was a solid story that made me want the killers to “win” in the end.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was reading this book, I kept thinking this is like a sick and twisted version of The Hunger Games. But don’t let that analogy deter you. It was a pretty decent story. Two women have been targeted by two psychotic serial killers who believe they have been chosen by God to rid the world of, shall we say, women of ill-repute? – which, by the way, neither of these women are. Patty and Cheryl decide to cut loose at a local bar for the evening. Enter, Kenneth Berkowitz – tall, handsome and built. With a few too many drinks in her system, Patty takes him home, leaving Cheryl waiting for a cab. The next morning Patty wakes up with no recollection of the previous evening’s tryst – she is soon enlightened. Meanwhile, Cheryl wakes up in the middle of a Maine forest, severely beaten and sure she is being watched, and she is – by the second serial killer, Ted, who waits for Berkowitz to arrive so they can hunt her down and kill her. But hunting Cheryl down may not be so easy – she was raised in these woods and taught survival skills (like Katniss Everdeen?). As the hunt ensues, we gain insight into the madness of the killers, when one spews misinterpreted Bible verse and the other has conversations with their previous victims who appear only to him. I probably would have rated this one higher if there had been a different outcome for the killers. I think the way I would have ended it would have been better than the author – something to discuss if anyone ever reads it. I had to laugh at the author’s choice of names for the killers, which I assume were inspired by Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz. All in all, a good book

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pair of young women go to a local Maine bar to celebrate the one's birthday. The one woman, Cheryl, had been brutally raped and had her throat slashed by the rapist years earlier. She "died" as a result, but was brought back to life by the medical staff at the Hospital. She, as a result of this, was very untrusting of anyone and had very few friends.

Patty, the other woman, met a man at the bar and decided to go home with him, leaving Cheryl behind.

This is the start of the novel. It proceeds at a deadly pace. Cheryl is attacked, beaten and abandoned in the woods. When she wakens from unconsciousness, she learns that the man who beat her is now hunting her.

Patty wakes in the morning unsure about what took place the night before. She finds a note telling her to look at a specific web site where she discovers she'd been drugged and brutally raped and it was taped and put on line. The man who did this suggested that she kill herself or it would be shown to her family, coworkers and acquaintances.

The reader learns that the culprits are a pair of men who are mad and who are also religious fanatics that have murdered more than 60 women around the country in their quest to rid society of women they'd deemed unfit to remain in it. These are the men chasing Cheryl.

I will not go into anymore of the plot because to do so would be a spoiler, but needless to say, this book will grab your interest and keep hold of it throughout. If the reader has plans, I would recommend delaying reading it until you have time to read it at a single sitting.

[G.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book thinking it was about something else all together. On Barnes and Noble website, the description was saying:

Overview (From the author on B&N)
In her past, Cheryl Dunning died once. A violent act killed her, but heroics brought her back. Now, if she can’t save herself from two serial killers hunting her in the Maine woods, she’s about to die again, this time from two men armed with a Bible, guns, a deep belief in God, and their twisted interpretation of his word.


Ridiculous as it might be, I thought this was about vampires. Why? Well, she already had died once and people were running after her armed with a bible! Ok, maybe I had read too fast and wanted to read a vampire book. Still, this was a great book and I don't regret my purchase. Not the usual stuff I read, but a genre I have often watch in movies. From the first page, I was drawn in. The author depicts Cheryl's struggle well. I found myself wondering what I would have done in her place. The only 'but' I have with it is the use of verses from the bible. Ok, that was the best way to show how the men were fanatics but at some point I think it was a little overdone, but that aside, I would recommend the book.

[Richard Barnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost gave this book three stars, but when I saw the relatively high average rating I couldn't do it. I am surprised more readers did not feel as I do that much of the repetitive description and situations were there to beef up word count.
The idea of the story is a good one. Two religious fanatic men are on a hunt to kill every wanton woman in North America. Two young women, on a girls night out in Bangor, Maine, are separately abducted by these men. One of the girls plight is to be dropped in the middle of the Maine woods after being beaten severely, then hunted down for the sport of the two men.
Her struggle to escape takes up most of the story, and is drawn out to the extent that this reader began to skim over predictable paragraphs. (Get on with it, for heavens sake!)
Smith cites Stephen King as a admirer on his book cover. He apparently is successful in attracting readers, I have not read other Christopher Smith offerings, but they must be better than this one.

[Vicki Elia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook Review
2 1/2 Stars

In a fast audio-read (4 1/2 hours), Cheryl and her friend Patti, both from a small town, are kidnapped and raped respectively. Their captors are religious lunatics who believe they are fulfilling God's directives. It is a non-stop horror show, better suited as an episode of Criminal Minds. It certainly would have been better written by that entity.

The author repeats references in the story, such as Cheryl's father and grandfather taught her how to survive in the woods, and because of her father and grandfather, she can survive. Now does that sentence make sense or bore you? You get to read/listen to it at least a half-dozen times in the brief 4 hours of the book.

I haven't read any other work of Smith's and am dubious of bothering to do it. I was not impressed.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was exciting from the first page. The story is a roller coaster ride with religious zealots and serial killers on a mission. If there was any weakness in the story, it was that these characters seemed more like characters than real people. They were two dimensional, but never really in a way that was irritating, just noticable. The book was a quick read, fast paced and I liked the braided story with the view point from multiple characters. I also liked the strength that Cheryl, the main character, draws on from her past. Overall I thought Cheryl was a strong lead character with a complex personality. The what will she do next, plus lots of movement by the main character made this book a memorable thriller that satisfied my need to escape reality.

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

nook book Noting that there were over 400 pages in this book, I found, at the end, that some of them were excerpts from two other books by Mr. Smith. The book moved right along, but it should be noted that the two villains, Ted Carpenter and Ken Berkowitz, are serial killers motivated by religion to kill all the sluts that they can. The two women that they meet at a bar in Maine, Cheryl Durring and Patty Jennings, hardly measure down to their previous kills. Patty isn't killed, and Cheryl ends up being hunted in the forest. She has some survival skills, but will they be enough to save her? It makes one wonder how safe the bar scene is these days.

[ABCme · Rating 3 out of 5]

After having read the complete Fifth Avenue series, this was a nice change of environment. Out in the woods, 2 woman are targetted by 2 fanatics claiming to be send by God, on a mission to kill every woman that shows loose behavior. This novel gave a clear view on the mind of the psychopath, serial killer and religious fanatic, with a definition of each at the start of the book which helped to understand the story. Great subject, well written at the usual fast pace that mr. Smith does so well. I finished it in one sitting. Still some work to be done on the ending, it's rather trivial. All in all a good read.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing story by Christopher Smith. I haven't found a book by this author that I haven't liked. The characters were described in such a way as I felt I was right there with them as the incidents kept happening to them. I was choking in the fire, I was freezing in the cold. I enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. Great Job Christopher! Now when is another book coming out???

[Lori Weis coffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheryl Dunning becomes a victim of crazed zealots who are "on a mission from God". The boon begins with Cheryl in the woods and continues throughout in the same setting. While the ending is predictable, the chase between Cheryl and her crazed pursuer is exciting but does become repetitive. Overall Cheryl as a character could have been developed a bit more but it was still a quick, enjoyable read.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for an action-packed, quick read, this is the book for you. Although I had a hard time accepting how courageous, strong, and motivated this gal was, I stil enjoyed the unexpected twists. She was born lucky (and died twice). I will be looking for more of Christopher Smith's books.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good page turner kept me reading longer than I should at a suiting. The only reason it did not get a 4 is once again the person checking for errors missed several small words used in the wrong place. This makes me stop to see what the word should. The flow is interrupted and that is annoying.

[Christy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I completely agree with the reveiw Krysten Pyles wrote below. The religious fanaticism seems forced and unreal. The characters are neither likable or interesting. I skipped large portions as well. The religious monologue sermons seemed long winded and unnecessary. This was a quick read...that's about the only positive.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well thought out and I loved that Christopher Smith actually took the time to use Bible verses instead of just saying something like,Remember the Bible says you shouldn't do this". The main thing that I didn't like was the repeating of why a character is doing what they do or of something from their past more than once.

[Rashmi Pant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cheryl Dunning is a rape and attempted murder survivor, she finds herself in the forest being hunted yet again, by not one, but two serial killers. The two serial killers are religious fanatics and psychotics who fancy themselves ridding the world of lose character-ed women. This book had a a lot of potential, however midway through the author fails to carry the momentum.

[Kevin Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Okay read. Not as "gripping" as I expected and predictable in pace and plot. Nothing compelling to really hold my attention. As a first read of this author, I'm ulikely to seek out additional books by him.

[Carole Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story with a lot terrifying moments, but well written. Not a lot of mystery to it, although, you were definitely wondering if the woman was going to survive. I would read another of his.

[Liquid Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freebie. This was a fun little read about a pair of psychotic Christians, whores, and the will to survive. Amazon usually pimps out Christian freebies (well, I don't blame Amazon...just gets frustrating to find good, free books) so stumbling across this little gem was great. Fast read --