Out of Her Depth

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. Agent: Luigi Bonomi, LBA Agency (U.K.). (June)