Ruth Benziger

A suicide prevention hotline volunteer answers a call that turns her world upside down in this edge-of-your-seat audio original thriller by the bestselling author of The Perfect Child and The Best of Friends.

Felicia, a single mother and lawyer by day, volunteers at a local crisis center to give back to her tight-knit community in a small Wisconsin town. One night, she answers a horrifying call: through tears, a frantic teenage girl tells her that she was a victim of sexual assault at a local house party.

Felicia is shocked, and breaking protocol, she begins communicating with the girl on her own, determined to keep her safe and hold her assailants accountable. But as she gets closer and closer to the truth, she can’t shake the feeling that she and the girl are connected by more than the phone call. As the girl shares more details, Felicia begins to think the unthinkable—someone close to her may be involved in this heinous crime.

As Felicia earns the girl’s trust and more facts emerge about the incident, she faces a gut-wrenching battle between her protective instincts and the moral responsibility to do what’s right. This taut thriller is perfect for fans of The Push, Wrong Place Wrong Time, and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Author Spotlight

USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. She’s written multiple bestsellers, reaching millions of readers worldwide. Some of her bestselling works include The Perfect Child, Saving Noah, When She Returned, The Best of Friends, and Keep Your Friends Close. Her books have been optioned for film and translated into several languages.

If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. To hear about her upcoming releases and other author news, visit her on social media (@lucindaberryauthor) or sign up for her newsletter at https://lucindaberry.com.

Book Review

Emotionally Gripping…

Felicia volunteers at a crisis hotline and receives a call that propels her into an emotional roller coaster. A young girl calls in and claims to have been sexually assaulted at a party. Felicia didn’t realize this phone call would change everything. Could someone close to her be involved? How would that feel? How could she handle that? Past trauma shows up even when you didn’t think it was possible.

Theme Warning: sexual assault and talks of suicide were discussed and handled with care by the author. Beware if these are triggers.

Characters: Felicia and the girl were the main focus. The author did a good job sprinkling details needed about relevant characters and their importance to the story. I quite enjoyed the friendship between Felicia and Stan.

Storyline: The pace was very fast, and the plot was laid out perfectly. Crumbs of information were dropped here and there to figure out where the story was going. Details were included in a delicate way to keep the reader engaged without predicting the ending.

My thoughts: It can be scary to think that someone you know can be capable of doing something so heinous. Doing the right thing is always right, but not always easy. Lives change, not always for the better, when you confront ugly truths. I was gripped from the beginning and was engaged until the very end. My heart broke for Felicia, the girl, and the outcome. I recommend reading this thriller, and I hope it brings awareness to topics that can be tough to speak about.

I’m a big fan of Lucinda Berry, and she didn’t disappoint with, One of Our Own.