Out Of Her Depth
A Thrilling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick
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3.8 • 5 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
A Richard and Judy Book Club pick.
Patricia Highsmith meets E. Lockhart in Out Of Her Depth – a simmering Summer thriller about the choices you make as a teenager, and what happens when they go horribly wrong . . .
'This book is, quite simply, sublime'- Lesley Kara, author of The Rumour
Meet Rachel.
An unassuming young woman from a quiet London suburb.
Picture the scene:
A summer job at the beautiful Villa Medici in the Tuscan hills.
A group of glamorous teenagers, used to a life of privilege.
Lavish parties, heady sun-soaked days, backstabbing and bedhopping.
Until someone goes too far.
And nothing will ever be the same . . .
Readers love Lizzy Barber's Out Of Her Depth:
‘Really believable characters, a great plot, a wonderful setting . . . felt like I was in Italy soaking up the sun’ *****
‘A tantalisingly written suspense . . . and a premise that delivers. Delicious.’ *****
‘A classic take on the unreliable narrator, a terrific page turner with themes of those with privilege versus those without’ *****
‘This is one of those totally addictive psychological thrillers that has you reading 'just one more page' and ignoring everything else you need to do until you finish it’ *****
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of this uneven psychological thriller from Barber (A Girl Named Anna), an unnamed teacher at an English girls' school is alarmed to learn that an appeal in the case of Sebastian Hale is about to proceed. Flash back 29 years. Fiscally challenged Rachel Bailey receives an offer she can't refuse—four free months at the Villa Medici in Florence, Italy, in exchange for "light housekeeping, waitressing, a bit of cooking"—before she enrolls at Cambridge University. At the villa, she rooms with wealthy, privileged Diana Turner. Despite coming from opposite social and economic worlds, they become an "exclusive club of two." Then 20-year-old Oxford student Sebastian, a "young Hugh Grant," descends as a "catalyst that changed it all," triggering a troubled romantic triangle. During a hot August holiday work break on a friend's yacht, tragedy strikes. Sebastian is charged with murder, convicted, and given a lengthy sentence. A tale of jealousy, betrayal, and vengeance unfolds in alternating then and now chapters. An efficient prose style compensates only in part for an overly protracted plot and a ponderous conclusion. Patricia Highsmith fans may want to have a look.
