Thriller Night: A Review of One in Four by Lucinda Berry

Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.

Ya know, I think RHRML needs a theme for the month. There was no theme in April, but March was of course my beloved Mystery March. Which is why I’m making May Mystery May! We love alliteration in this house.

Break out those magnifying glasses, Book Nerds!

I jest. It’s too soon for another Mystery month. But it’s not too soon to talk about a single thriller. It’s a very special one too because today’s review is brought to you by Thomas and Mercer, and SparkPoint Studio. They aren’t paying me for my review, they just sent me the book for free. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you very much for sending me a copy of today’s read, it means a lot to me every time someone offers me books. Thank you, thank you!

And what title was I oh so kindly sent? Well, please give a warm welcome to One in Four by Lucinda Berry! One in Four releases May 13, 2025.

Alright, synopsis time now. As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other review on this site then you’ll know I love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. I also have a lot of content and trigger warnings to give. One in Four deals with many heavy topics. This book deals with sexual assault and rape, drug use and addiction, self-harm, and suicide and suicidal ideation. There could be some topics I’ve missed so please look up other trigger warnings if you need to. If anything I have listed is triggering to you in any way I do suggest skipping this book as there is no avoiding these topics. With that, let’s get to the synopsis.

One in Four follows Dr. Laurel Harlow. She's a therapist specializing in helping those overcoming addiction, she gets hired as the therapist for what will become the hit new reality tv show. The show, Comeback Kids, follows former child stars who have struggled with addiction following their time in the spotlight.

The show is an instant hit! The good, the bad, the ugly; the producers are showing everything thanks to a 24/7 livestream. Then, right as the show is about to end, one of the cast members dies. Young starlet Maddie Hernandez tragically dies on air, and Laurel’s world implodes.

The police zero in on her right from the get-go. They seem to think she and Maddie were close, like really close, like they were having an affair close. Except Laurel is happily married and she definitely was not having an affair with Maddie. Now it seems like someone is out to get her. Can she solve this crime before the police arrest her? Can she stop whoever is out to get her? Can she figure out why someone is doing this? Find out in One in Four.

This book starts out strong. I really like the idea that there is a reality show streaming 24/7 and a cast member tragically passes away on air. It’s something so morbid that would indeed capture the public’s attention like no other. It’s a train wreck no one can look away from. I am sat. Then the therapist viewers have come to know and love is seemingly involved in the death. Again, I can’t turn away. I am disgusted with myself for being so enthralled, but I’m also getting hourly updates on the case if this was something that actually happened in real life. Sadly, that’s not really what this book is.

Le sigh

This is not a murder mystery where the possibly unreliable protagonist is tasked with clearing her name and solving the crime when the police won’t. One in Four is more a tale of revenge. While I appreciate Lucinda Berry not doing what may be expected with this thriller, the ending does not hold up for me. Instead of deep diving into the killer’s psyche, readers are given plot holes. While there are villain monologues, there are also far too many questions as to why one of the antagonists is doing everything they are in the end.

Ok, I need to give another spoiler warning. I cannot properly talk about the issues of this book without giving away parts of the ending. I am going to try to keep things as vague as possible, I won’t be using any of the characters names, but if you do not want spoilers then please skip to the paragraph after my favorite bear gif.

The main antagonist of One in Four has a very clear motive for doing what they have done. My issue does not lie with them. The problem is the person they drag into their mess. The secondary antagonist isn’t given a good reason as to why they’re involved with the main villain’s plans. The villain obviously has it out for the main character, they’ve orchestrated all the events of this book. And they somehow get the closest person in the main character’s life to turn on them, kidnap them, and torture them? All by having just one conversation? Yeah...that’s not how this works, that’s not how any of this works.

And where are the cops? That’s the biggest plot hole in this whole book! The main character, while getting tortured, constantly thinks the cops have to be out searching for them as they are suspect number one and have suddenly disappeared. Okay, that makes all the sense. So where are the cops? Cause they seemingly fall off the face of the Earth when they would indeed be out searching high and low for their number one suspect, and said character is really not that well-hidden.

Spoilers over!

The ending is such a mess. One in Four has a great premise, and the surprise revenge plot actually isn’t horrible, but the quality of the ending brings the book way down. It is egregious.

I also have an issue with the psychology in this book. I never once studied psychology in school, I am not a trained therapist, I will not be speaking about the quality of Laurel as a therapist and if the psychology itself is actually right. When I say I have an issue with the psychology presented in One in Four, I mean it is heavy handed. The way it is presented is the author will stop the narrative for a paragraph and then give a textbook definition of whatever Laurel has brought up. Subtlety is not this book’s strong suit. In fact, I don’t believe they can exist in the same room. I also feel like I’m getting a psychology lesson in the middle of my reading, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a good way; it’s all very forced.

This book does have good qualities. I am a fan of the characters; especially Laurel. I always appreciate a good unreliable narrator and Laurel is definitely a good one. Lucinda Berry really makes readers consider if Laurel can be trusted or not. I constantly debated if I could trust her or not. The main villain was also a good character. Their need and reasoning for revenge was very real and raw. While I can’t say they’re a true morally gray villain, they’re most definitely a bad person, I do feel sympathy towards them once I learned their backstory. Overall I really did like the characters of this thriller.

But I can’t get past the ending. The plot holes derail the book. A shame cause I really wanted to like One in Four. The book has great bones! It could have been so good had the ending worked!

With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you one again to Thomas and Mercer, and SparkPoint Studio for sending me a copy of One in Four. I greatly appreciate everyone who send me books. Thank you, thank you!

As for you, Book Nerds, I will see you all again next week with another new review. If you can’t wait that long then you can always check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. It stars me and two of my friends as we talk about everything under the sun. We’ve talked cryptids, we’ve talk girlbosses of history, we’ve talked Barbie, Disney, and Scooby-Doo; there’s something for everyone on our show.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!