Title: Out of Her Depth
Author: Lizzy Barber
Publication: July 12, 2022
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Domestic Thriller
Pages: 381
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
In the lush green hills beyond Florence sits the Villa Medici—a graceful pensione surrounded by manicured gardens. Rachel, a college student from an unfashionable London suburb, can’t believe her luck in landing a summer job here. Especially when she’s drawn into a circle of privileged young sophisticates, including her glamorous coworker Diana, who promises to help Rachel win the affections of handsome, confident Sebastian.
But as champagne flows and rivalries fester in the Tuscan countryside, Rachel realizes that Diana has motivations of her own. Adrift in a world of backstabbing and bed-hopping, lavish parties and easy betrayal, Rachel feels the stakes rising along with the temperature until, one night, something snaps. Someone dies. And nothing will ever be the same…
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
I originally thought Out of Her Depth by Lizzy Barber would be a mystery novel, but it was more than that. This book was a slow build filled with suspense because you knew something happened, but you had no idea how or why.
Lizzy Barber’s writing style was one I quite enjoyed. The story flowed and created a picture I could see in my head while I read, but in a way that let my mind develop the imagine and filled in the blanks. Even though the storyline was jumping from 20 years prior to now, I feel like it was done in a way that made the puzzle pieces slowly slide into place and not feel disorganized or jumpy. Barber evoked strong emotional bonds or dislike for some of the characters. I really did not like Diana or Rachel even though they were main characters. I really didn’t like Sebastian either. I don’t say this against the writing, but more so because she wrote characters that made me feel strongly about their personalities.
With all that said, as much as I liked the story, it was just okay. The suspense build wasn’t as exciting as I would normally like and the reveal wasn’t actually that big of a reveal. I had figured out what had happened and it felt anticlimactic. There was nothing wrong with the story, I just didn’t love it. It was good, a little predictable and slightly slow.
Out of Her Depth by Lizzy Barber was a good read for a hot summer day imagining working at a high end Inn in Italy and enjoying life. The characters were interesting and the general story was good. If you like domestic style thrillers, check it out.
