It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome the fabulous Lizzy Barber to Linda’s Book Bag for the blog tour for Lizzy’s Out of her Depth. I’m thrilled that Lizzy has agreed to stay in with me to chat about her book. My huge thanks to the team at EdPr for inviting me to participate and sending me a copy of Out of her Depth. Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Lizzy Barber

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Lizzy. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

It’s lovely to meet you – or, as they say in Italy, piacere!

Tell me, as if I didn’t know, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought Out of Her Depth, my sun-drenched psychological thriller about first love, toxic friendships and alleged murder set against the gorgeous backdrop of Florence.

I love a psychological thriller. What can we expect from an evening in with Out of Her Depth?

I hope you will get sucked into to the world of privilege, back-stabbing and bed-hopping as much as my protagonist, Rachel.

Oo. That sounds brilliant. I love the setting too.

Atmosphere is so important to me as a writer, and I want you to be transported to the heat of the Tuscan hills and pulled along by the dark narrative. It really is a perfect Summer read.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it? 

I am a huge fan of a dinner party, especially one with a theme – so I think here we’re going to have to go all out Italian here. I’m a keen cook (when I’m not writing, I work in restaurant brand and marketing), so I would bring along my pesto recipe, and some homemade schiacciata all’uva, a Tuscan focaccia stuffed with grapes.

Oh. Now you’re my kind of guest Lizzy! You can come again. But why Florence and Italy at the heart of Out of Her Depth?

I grew up spending every Summer in a small town on the Tuscan coast and lived in Florence for a stint when I left school (the experience of which inspired Out of Her Depth), so Italian food is close to my heart. Of course, we’d have to top the evening with some negronis (don’t worry, I’ll pre-batch them and bring them in a flask), and tail it with cantuccini biscuits dipped in Vin Santo, a sweet Italian dessert wine. If the weather’s nice, maybe we can even dine al fresco? Salute!

Salute indeed! Thanks so much for being here Lizzy to tell us a bit about Out of Her Depth. I think it sounds a perfect beach read and I’m delighted to have it on my TBR.

Now, you serve up the food on the patio and I’ll give Linda’s Book Bag readers a few more details:

Out of her Depth

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.

There are summers that could change your life.
There are summers that could end it.

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.

Published by Pan MacMillan on 28th April 2022, Out of her Depth is available for purchase through the links here.

About Lizzy Barber

Lizzy Barber, author of Out of her Depth, is a London-based author living in Islington with her husband George. She read English at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

She has worked in acting and film development, and has spent the last eight years working in the restaurant business with her brother Jamie, heading up their brand and marketing department. They have a small group of restaurants in Mayfair: Haché, Hush and Cabana.

You can follow Lizzy on Twitter @ByLizzyBarber and Instagram or visit her website for further information.

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