Review: Out of Her Depth by Lizzy Barber

Out of Her Depth

by Lizzy Barber

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  There are summers that will change your life.

There are summers that may end it.

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…

Kritters Thoughts:  Rachel is a young woman headed to college, but before she goes to Cambridge, she lands a good job in a fun location - a mansion/hotel in Florence, Italy.  She is out of her league when another young woman arrives - Diana who is sophisticated and has access to her parents wallets which helps when their paycheck is limited.  And of course, an Italian summer isn't complete without a dreamy Italian guy and Sebastian fits the bill.  

The book is told in two different timelines - one in the present as Sebastian is released from prison and Rachel is trying to handle it all.  And the other storyline is 20 years ago as Rachel and Diana meet and work and the summer that really changed their lives forever.  I for sure loved the one from the past more than the present, but I am glad the author included the present to see where these characters were and are.    

While I have become quite the reader of the mystery/thriller genre, I have learned a few tricks of the trade and predicted the ending very early on, so this book for me was more for the journey to confirm if I was correct in my guessing - and I was!  

There is one book in Lizzy Barber's backlist that looks like this one and I hope to read it very soon.     

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 49 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.