Dr. Laurel Harlow is an addiction therapist. She has been hired for a TV show to treat former child stars who have lost their careers due to addiction to drugs and alcohol. They are all staying together and the ratings for this show are through the roof.
When the youngest celebrity dies, everything comes to a screeching halt. Despite being pleased with her therapy sessions and the progress the participants have been making, a contestant still dies.As the police try to figure out what happened, they seem to think Laurel knows more about Maddie’s death than she is admitting.
Did Laurel have something to do with this tragic event or is she being set up to take a terrible fall? At about the 50% mark, the story took a turn that I did not see coming. There was a lot more going on than I could’ve guessed. I did not love how it ended, but that might just be a me issue. 3.5 stars.

This was a captivating thriller by Lucinda Berry! It starts out with a reality show about former child stars overcoming addiction. Dr Laurel agrees to work on the show because she is a chemical dependency counselor. Then someone ends up dead. This starts off with action, and ends with action. A very tense thriller. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc
Release date May 13, 2025.

It was only a matter of time before Lucinda Berry did a book about addiction, and I think she did it VERY well. It was a super interesting concept: Former/child celebrities (as in they were celebrities as children and are grown-ish now) in an inpatient rehab that's essentially live-streamed to the world? Part of me wishes there was a bit more of that storyline.

It was an interesting read, and I couldn't put it down. However, I don't think this was her best. I seem to recall a recent book of hers that had a similar ending too... #iykyk.

All in all, I will forever be Lucinda Berry's #1 fan. She's an auto-buy author for me, and One in Four was definitely worth the read.

One In Four was a super quick and easy read, consistent with Lucinda Berry’s novels. This book starts on the set of a reality TV show of former Hollywood stars, as they attempt to get sober while having every moment filmed. The show goes off tracks when one of the beloved stars dies live on camera, and of unknown causes. While not present at the scene, the therapist, Laurel, seems to be center stage of the investigation as police investigate what killed Maddie.

The blurb from above would give you a completely different idea of how this story goes- and while true, is only significant for the first few chapters. I felt this was a very odd, maybe rushed, opening- as the core of the story had very little to do with the shocking introduction. After reading half the book, it almost felt like the reality show was part of a completely separate book altogether.

I have a general appreciation for Lucinda Berry, her history, previous work experience, and her online personality and presence. I do feel like this book was rushed out to production though. The story was an easy read, pacing was good, and the MC was likable. Overall, only three stars from me on this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.

4.25⭐

I've been wanting to pick up a Lucinda Berry book for a while now, and imagine my surprise when I saw that her upcoming new release is available for grabs in Netgalley. I saw my opportunity and gave it a go.

You can tell in her writing that she's been doing this for awhile now. Everything's CLEAR, considering that I read an Uncorrected Proof and the story isn't in shambles. Her writing style is DARK, compared to other authors. (Now I have to note that before picking up one of her books)

This book is also an eye opener, about abuse, drugs, withdrawals, suicide, depression, and how a small action can affect someone elses life.

The only thing I want to elaborate on the final edits, is the ending... Please don't leave it like that 🥹

I can't wait for the release day!

I love Lucinda Berry books but this one for me was not the greatest. In my personal opinion it was very predictable. I did still enjoy it but it wasn't the greatest.

This was so good! Very twisty and exciting. I love Lucinda Berry! Her books are always amazing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is one of Lucinda’s books you have to digest (but aren’t they all that way)
Read responsibly, there are a lot of topics discussed, including mental health and suicide (explicitly)

I have a very person connection to suicide loss and while I didn’t expect this to happen, the letter writing of her suicidal character, gave me some peace

That being said there was a lot going on in this book, parts of the story I am unclear as to how it relates
We follow our fmc who is a psychiatrist on a tv reality show….when one of the participants dies as video is rolling
There begins the tangled weave of what happened, how did it happen and who did it

This book was a little difficult for me to get into. It was an easy read and I finished it quickly, but it just wasn’t one of my favorites as far as Lucinda Berry’s work is concerned. I’d still recommend readers give it a try, because everyone has their own style of reading they enjoy!

4.5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley & the publishing team for allowing me to read this novel early in exchange for a free review. Wow! Aside from Saving Noah & Phantom Limb, this is definitely my favorite book from Lucinda! I read this so quickly as I was hooked from page 1. Berry’s writing felt new and fresh, but with a shocking twist that we all expect from Berry. I love how she incorporates queer characters as I believe that needs to be more cooking! Definitely a great page turner!!

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer for the copy of One In Four by Lucinda Berry. This was the sixth book I have read by Berry and it might be my last. I love reading about reality shows but this one had so little to do with reality shows I’m not sure why it was even in the description. There was little to no character development and I would have liked to learn more about the former stars. I also missed the psychological insight into the characters and their motives that might have made the culprit more plausible. There was also so much graphic violence and self harm I had to skim parts. 2 stars

Another great book by the ever so talented Lucinda Berry! The way this book took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions was phenomenal.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were parts I really enjoyed and other parts I thought were so well written they were almost disturbing. There was a dual timeline which was confusing at first because all it said was her for the past timeline. I think knowing who that was would have solidified some things. The ending was a big twist and just kinda left me without words.

Absolutely brilliant book!
I am a big fan of this author and love the writing style!
I cant wait to read more!

One in Four by Lucinda Berry is a fast paced thriller. It was really unpredictable and I didn’t want to put it down. There was a lot of twists in it. I’m not really sure how I feel about the ending, but I really enjoyed the book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I'll start by saying this was DARK. Way darker than I expected. I think it would be very beneficial for some readers to have a trigger warning for this book. This is my first Lucinda Berry so maybe that's just her style?

I found the plot interesting, although I think the description of the book doesn't really give any indication as to how twisted and dark the story gets. I also feel like the first half of the book and the second half of the book were almost completely different storylines and took a complete 180 that I wasn't expecting (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just not sure how I feel about it). Overall, this was different than other thrillers I've read and I appreciate an original plot. I'm still processing that ending! 🤯

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I'm a big Lucinda Berry fan and I couldn't wait to read the ARC of her upcoming release, One in Four. Unfortunately this was not of my favorites, despite the interesting subject matter and the compelling but extremely unlikable characters.

Laurel is the therapist for the group of recovering B-list celebrities starring in a popular reality television show, where the "stars" live together and struggle to stay sober while viewers watch and analyze their every move. But when one of the most successful young women is found dead and the incident is under investigation, Laurel becomes the number one suspect. When suspicious text messages are found on her phone and secrets from her past come to the surface, she turns to her wife Noelle and the show's producer Gia for answers. Instead of clarity, Laurel gets more embroiled in a horrific plan...and she may be the next victim.

The content of One in Four was deeply disturbing and utterly heartbreaking. This is a very difficult read for anyone who would be triggered by graphic violence, abuse, suicide and self harm.

Check the trigger warnings for this one because if it’s a trigger, it’s in this book.

The best way I can describe this book is traumatic. Lucinda Berry is the master of writing a book that will push all the boundaries. And she did it very well in this one.

Dr. Laurel Harlow is an addiction therapist. One of her former clients asks her to join a reality show aimed at helping child stars beat their addiction and become employable again. Right as the show is set to wrap up, one of the stars is found dead. What follows is quite possibly the most insane, in the very best way, thing I’ve ever read.

I don’t know what goes in the head of Dr. Lucinda Berry, but I sure am glad she puts it on paper for all of us to read.

I’ve been a fan of Lucinda Berry for years now, but the one thing I always tend to forget is that she’s absolutely terrible at writing likeable adult female characters, and One in Four was no exception.

However, her stories are usually coherent and make sense…. But this time, I was left with more questions than I was given answers. The cause of death is described as 2 very, very different things (how witnesses described what happened and what was caught on camera vs the official cause of death a day after the incident), and I’m not sure how on earth the author made that massive of a mistake. And it’s not even like the cause of death could have prompted the events that were witnessed and were seen on camera…. it’s just not possible. This was definitely a mistake, and a glaringly obvious one at that.

Berry is/was a psychologist, which also irritated me so, so, so much throughout this book. She KNOWS better than to make certain statements, and if the main character’s method of substance abuse treatment is anything like what Berry practiced in real life, well… I can see why she switched to writing. You never tell patients you love them. Ever. You never prompt physical touching. You never just give up all your records in a police investigation without a warrant. And you typically call yourself a psychologist if you have a PhD. Also… SOCIOPATHS DO NOT HAVE BLACK EYES. THAT IS NOT A DEFINING FEATURE OF A PERSONALITY DISORDER. I can understand having a non-mental-health-related character make that statement (even if it’s wrong and irritating), but the main character is a therapist (or psychologist, depending on which page you’re on), and there is no way in hell she’d ever actually believe that. And she certainly wouldn’t have learned it in a general psych class.

I wanted to love this book so much, but I didn’t even like it. Between the “omigod”s, the total insanity of changing the cause of death, and the other details that were inconsistent or inaccurate… One in Four was just too far fetched to enjoy.

I never say this, but I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if AI or a terrible ghost writer was used to write parts of this book. This just didn’t feel like Lucinda Berry AT ALL.

As always, a thank you (begrudgingly) goes to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I may have only lost 4 hours to this book, but its glaringly obvious flaws will haunt me for the rest of my days.

I’ll edit my review of the publisher gets back to me about the cause of death inconsistencies (and fixes them before publication ).

The guessing games are always an experience when reading a Lucinda Berry book! ❤️

The characters were unpredictable, deceitful, and even unnerving. However some characters drew empathy.

Lucinda tells a powerful story with her signature, trauma driven, twists! The ending is not what you would expect! As always, I LOVE THE UNEXPECTED therefore I love how Lucinda chose to end this.

Relatable mental health aspects are shared throughout the journeys of Lucinda’s characters. I appreciate the level of authenticity, courage and dedication.