Out of Her Depth by Lizzy Barber starts with a dowdy private school teacher, horrified that after twenty-one years, an accused killer she knew well is being released from prison. After refusing to answer his letters, emails, or phone calls with his demands for her to help clear his name, Rachel finds herself reflecting back on the summer that ruined her life.
Rachel thinks that her summer in Florence is going to be a great experience before she starts a semester at Cambridge. Smart, but naive, Rachel becomes close friends with her glamorous coworker Diana, also working at the Villa Medici taking care of guests. Diana is rich, English, and always pushing the envelope. As she works to unravel Rachel’s good-girl innocence, along comes Sebastian. Wealthy, and the godson of the Villa Medici’s owner, the two soon are spending time with him at lavish parties and attending events that Rachel cannot afford.
For people who love the book The Talented Mr. Ripley, Out of Her Depth has a similar flair. Lizzy Barber weaves a rich landscape of succulent meals, incredible landscapes, and the life of the wealthy. Diana is the kind of sloppy manipulative friend so many of us tumble into in our early twenties, so it’s pretty easy to feel for Rachel in the beginning. Unfortunately, as the book goes on it becomes harder and harder to see Rachel’s behaviors as any type of normal or justifiable. With such an intricately woven plot and fascinating characters, the ending feels a bit flat. Still, if you’re looking for a strong beach read with hints of traumatic thriller, Out of Her Depth is a great place to begin.
