This book definitely takes a turn. The first 25% revolves around a murder/accidental death of a celebrity in a sober house. This has multiple POV and the main character is the therapist and sober coach that is working with the houseguests, Dr Laurel Harlow. She watches the security tape that sees Maddie; a young g Disney star, have a seizure and bleed furiously to the point of death.

The police investigate as a possible murder and soon they see Laurel as a suspect. Laurel has been sober since she was 23 and has some sad and traumatic stories that happened to her while she was drinking in her early 20’s. She doesn’t believe in AA, how convenient, she prefers the brand of sobriety that has associated profit.

I don’t want to include spoilers in this review, but the blurb really doesn’t describe it appropriately. I will just say this is dark. Lots of betrayal. Not the most satisfying ending. Personally I feel like some of the narratives around sobriety are harmful here.

Thanks to NetGalley and the published for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published May 13, 2025.

What did I just read.... like a lot of other reviewers, I liked the first 50% but then the book just took a turn that was tough to stomach, and I still have so many questions. I also did not love the whole reality show angle. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dr Laurel is not normally one to be okay with being on a television show but she has agreed and works with a great team. As she treats the child stars turned to addiction she starts to realize they have deep issues. But all of a sudden one of them suddenly dies and she is in thrown in the middle of an investigation where she is a suspect. On top of this things start happening in her life that she know she never did and she starts to question everything that is happening. She starts to discover the truth and then she is taken and she is shocked by the true culprit.

This was an incredible book and kept me on my toes the entire time! Lucinda Berry does it again! I thought I had it all figured out but was in for a very rude awakening. I will say this book did not have the ending I expected and was a complete surprise to me along with some of the details. This was more descriptive than some of her other books and disturbing.

As a Lucinda Berry fan, I really enjoyed this book. The storyline is about a therapist treating former child stars dealing with addiction, while on a reality show; however there isn’t much focus on the reality show aspect. There are quite a trigger warnings - sexual assault, bullying, abuse, self harm & suicide, but I felt everything was carefully handled while still getting the point across. I did have the plot twist pegged pretty early on, but I was invested and needed to know how everything played out.

Overall this was a really good murder-related thriller, just don't expect to see much of the reality TV aspect.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤? 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬...𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫.

This was a fun one and cements this author's reputation for not being afraid to tackle tough subjects. The story centers around a reality show filled with former child stars suffering from addiction. The show is set to live stream 24/7, and the audience can't get enough. I thought this premise was a great commentary both on our 'connected' society and our love/hate relationship with all things celebrity.

Dr. Laurel Hargrow has years of experience as chemical dependency counselor and has wrestled with her own addiction issues in the past. Her methods are unusual yet practical, and she feels like she's making progress...until one of the participants turns up dead. In a controlled, locked-room environment with camera recording every move, it seems impossible. But Laurel knows someone inside the house is responsible, and when both motive and evidence point to her, the past that she's fought so hard to keep hidden just may be forced out in the open.

Interspersed with the heartbreaking narrative of another narrator, this book kept me locked in until the final shocking pages. My only complaint is that I would have liked to have known more about the individual participants in the reality show and their stories. The end may be polarizing, but I personally thought it worked beautifully. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer Publishing for the early copy. At the time this review was written, this title was expected to publish May 13, 2025.

Loved, loved and more loved!!!!! If you were to ask me who my favorite author is I would say Lucinda Berry hands down. She is the best. She uses her extensive knowledge of being a former psychologist to create books that are truly wonderful. They are so twisted and will blow your mind. You will be thinking about them for a very long time afterwards. Now let’s talk about this fabulous read that I couldn’t put down. I knew to clear my calendar once I started this one. I also knew it was going to be a long day of reading and getting nothing else done. That’s fine by me since I can’t say enough good things about this book. The characters were just the right amount of evil, the plot was super intriguing and that ending left me going OMG for hours. My husband even had to check on me to make sure I was doing ok after I was finished. That rarely happens but Lucinda Berry is great at what she does and I look forward to reading more by her. I just hope I don’t have to wait that long

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for honest review!
This was a wild ride! The author keeps you guessing the entire time, from the first page until the final chapter. I love the premise of a reality television show that follows addicts in recovery in real time. I love how many different suspects we have throughout the story. But my favorite part was definitely the ending.
If you're looking for a thriller with surprises, twists, and an ending that will leave your jaw on the floor, i recommend this latest novel by Lucinda Berry!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for my ARC!

If Berry writes it, I’m gonna read it. IMO, she is the queen of writing deeply flawed, traumatized characters. My favorite type. However, all of these characters were harder for me to connect with than with any of her other books. Which is confusing for me because these should’ve been some of the easiest for me, personally. But I still really enjoyed this book. The addiction aspect, coming from an actual psychologist, was probably the most realistic (from my personal experience) that I’ve encountered. Most authors tend to over simplify or use stereotypes, and that wasn’t the case here (again, from my own experience). There were plenty of twists that made perfect sense, a few of which actually caught me by surprise. All in all, this was a book that I was able to binge and enjoy, even if I didn’t love any of the characters. It was still traumatic, which is exactly what I go to Berry for.

Man I wanted to love this- but this just didn’t work for me unfortunately. I still love Lucinda and will read everything she writes but this storyline just didn’t connect for me.

The novel is fast-paced and tense, The plot is filled with shocking revelations, each one more unsettling than the last,
One in Four is an absolute must-read.

Thanks NetGalley for the free ARC! I thought the storyline was very entertaining and I appreciated that the protagonist was insightful because her thinking was relatable. I did feel the climax was very far fetched and unbelievable. I would recommend because it was a good read.

Lucinda Berry nails it every time, writing on such bleak topics but making such a captivating story. I didn’t see the twists coming. That being said, I was a little off put by the ending, it seemed abrupt and I just wanted one more chapter!

Thank you to Lucinda Berry, NetGalley, and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

A quick read that was twisty and gripping, however disliked how the premise switches halfway through. Became very graphic and triggering, which for me personally, I did not enjoy. Almost DNF'd but did want to get to the end (which was a bit anti-climactic).

Thank you netgalley and the publishers or this ARC of this book. This was a thriller that had me hooked with plot twists that I didn’t see coming. The character development was what hooked me, and the story’s plot kept me engaged. The pacing and themes throughout the story were well developed and I definitely will be recommending this to my book club in 2025.

•TW for self harm and suicide•

•Lucinda Berry is an automatic read author for me, which is why I didn’t even read the synopsis of this book before requesting on NetGalley. She typically writes about topics others sometimes shy away from and I admire that about her. This book was similar in that sense, but different in many others.

•One in Four begins with a death at a reality tv rehab facility. This rehab is specifically designed for former child stars who are trying to better themselves while still being in front of the camera. None of the patients seem reliable, and honestly, neither do the counselors.

•I thought this book started off strong, but midway through took an odd turn. The focus then shifted from the death at the rehab to something else entirely. It also became very gory and detailed self harm in great detail. I have mixed feelings about this book as a whole.

•Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Lucinda Berry for this ARC. It will be available on May 13, 2025.

Whew. That one was dark. I know to expect that from Lucinda, but the graphic descriptions were unexpected. I definitely don’t hold it against the book, I just think it’s worth mentioning.

This was a wild ride, as usual. I was immediately hooked upon the premise of a reality “Big Brother” show surrounding addicts. As morally corrupt as that would be in real life, it surely makes for good fiction. There were so many twists and turns, I never could have expected where this story was going. I liked having alternating POVs where we got into the mind of “Her” while unraveling the current events.

The characters are complex, the storyline is winding, and the climax is INSANE. (But at the same time, what did she expect???)

Ok. I am trying to get my thoughts together. I just finished this a few minutes ago and the prevalent thought is how messed up this book is (with much stronger language). Berry has perfected the art of leaving her readers trembling and trying to work through the trauma of her words. She’s a master at the psychological part of psychological thrillers. Suffocating and unrelenting are two words I would use to describe this book. I really, really enjoyed reading this but definitely need a rom com next!

ONE IN FOUR was a quick and entertaining thriller with a fast setup and plenty of twists and turns. The plot, while a bit far fetched, was still easy to follow, with a couple of jaw dropping moments. The latter third of the story did drag on, with lots of tedious and at times unnecessary dialogue. Overall still a fun read and continue to enjoy books by Lucinda Berry.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review ONE IN FOUR.

read if you like:
📺 reality shows
👮‍♂️ whodunnits
📚 addictions

summary:
This book follows Dr. Laurel Hargrove, a therapist who has agreed to be on a reality show of former child stars struggling with addiction, when one night, one of them ends up dead. Everyone in the house is hiding secrets, and as the investigation gets underway around Maddi’s death, the cameras running 24/7 risk exposing everyone for who they are, and more importantly, Maddi’s killer.

The concept of this book is so unique. I’ve read a couple of thrillers centered around reality shows, but none that integrate addiction into them. That being said, the setting is kind of weird. It feels a little bit exploitive to be filming these former child stars struggling with addiction, and I actually did not find Laurel that likable because of her obsession with the patients themselves. I understand that addiction counselors get close to their patients, but Laurel’s relationship kind of felt like it crossed the line. Those things aside, the storyline is really interesting and moves quickly. It’s told with alternating POV’s between the present time, and the past, from someone we only know as “her”. The juxtaposition makes the story more compelling, and the ending is completely unpredictable and incredibly tragic. I still don’t know if I’m satisfied with it, but it certainly was unlike anything I could have expected! Fair warning though, it is graphic!

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC. Make sure you check this book out when it releases on May 13!

I love Lucinda Berry and really enjoyed her newest novel , One in Four. It was super disturbing and fast paced, had everything I love about her writing! I did find the ending fell a little flat for me, hence the four stars