Out of my Depth

by Emily Barr

When Susie decides to invite her old school friends for a reunion she tells herself that it's just about showing off. It's about letting Amanda, Izzy and Tamsin, see how well she's done, with her successful career as an artist, her gorgeous house in France, her deliciously louche boyfriend. But the truth is that this is a dark plan. A plan that could make or break her seemingly perfect life...and she knows it. As the old friends gather at Susie's for a long weekend of catching up and comparisons, it is clear that despite their lives having taken very different turns, they are all still haunted by a dark and common past. They each know that up until now they have been treading water - waiting for the inevitable moment when they have to face the truth. The question is, now that the time has come, who will sink and who will swim?

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction

408 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2006

About the author

Emily Barr worked as a journalist in London, but always hankered after a quiet room and a book to write. She went travelling for a year, writing a column in the Guardian about it as she went, and it was there that she had an idea for a novel set in the world of backpackers in Asia. This became Backpack, which won the WH Smith New Talent Award. She has since written eleven more adult novels published in the UK and around the world, and a novella, Blackout, for the Quick Reads series. Her twelfth novel, The Sleeper, is a psychological thriller set on the London to Cornwall sleeper train.
In 2013 she went to Svalbard with the idea of setting a thriller in the Arctic. The book that came out of it was The One Memory of Flora Banks, a thriller for young adults, which attracted universal interest from publishers before being bought pre-emptively by Penguin earlier this year. It will be published globally in January 2017.
She lives in Cornwall with her partner and their children.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this and would have given it 4 stars but the ending let it down. It was very rushed and ended pretty abruptly to the point where I even checked if some pages were missing!

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susie, Izzy, Amanda and Tamsin were best friends in high school, but like most of us they have lost touch over the years. Just prior to graduation they decided to hold a ten year reunion to see where their lives had taken them.
Susie, flushed with success and eager to show off her perfect life - her successful career as an artist, a wonderful house in France and a delicious live in lover - invites them to join her for a long weekend.
But Susie, Amanda and Izzy share a secret, one Susie is now determined to share with Tamsin. But at what cost?
This is a perfectly enjoyable piece of chick-lit. A nice, easy entertaining read - ideal holiday fodder.

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hated the ending - but don't worry, no spoilers here. I couldn't if I tried - because even though I've finished the book, I still don't know how it ends!

The plot of this book poses several questions, the main ones being:

- What is the guilty secret that makes three of the friends so nervous around the fourth, Tamsin?

- Why is Susie's mysterious client commissioning portraits?

- What will become of Patrick and Amanda's marriage?

- Is Roman really the one for Susie, or is he just using her as a meal ticket?

Of all the questions, ONLY ONE is resolved. Everything else is left hanging.

Yes, OK, I know that's more realistic than most fiction, where revealing that big, dark secret would be a cathartic moment. Everyone would forgive and forget, or perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as we thought, and from that moment on, everyone's life would take on a new trajectory. So maybe the author was trying to be true to life, by not tying everything up neatly?

Well, no. Fair enough, leave us with SOME questions - but it's a bit tough to leave us with almost NOTHING resolved. The ending felt careless, as if she did write more and then decided to delete it. I can almost hear the editor saying, "Darling, after the 'reveal', the story loses its dramatic tension and the rest of the chapters fall flat. I think you should cut them." So she did, without bothering to go back and re-read it to ensure the ending made sense.

The thing that telegraphs that, for me, is the sub-plot about a mysterious client who commissions portraits for a woman who may or may not be his ex-wife. It has absolutely nothing to do with the main story - nothing. Yet even that is left unfinished. Why bother including it if you're not going to resolve the mystery?

[Beth Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good, though the conclusion was a bit weak, wanted to know more about the friendships.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've long been a fan of Emily Barr's books - the majority of her previous offerings have been dark and gritty. Her last book, "Plan B", was, I felt, rather lacking in the suspense that she does so well - that said, it was a good read.



For me, "Out of My Depth" marks a very near return to form. The story moves from present to past effortlessly and the characters are well-written and believable. The story is a good one and there are a few twists and turns along the way. I still felt that some of the grittiness and sense of anticipation of her previous novels wasn't quite there - but it wasn't far off.



The sub-plot of the stalker seemed rather pointless to me and didn't really go anywhere - I'm not sure why it was included.



Some people have criticised the ending which is rather abrupt, but I actually didn't mind this - I think sometimes it's good for a few ends to be left to the readers' imaginations rather than everything being tied up neatly just for the sake of it.



Barr remains one of my favourite contemporary authors.

[Johanna Handley · Rating 1 out of 5]

What????

Is there a book 2? It just ended! Right in the middle of a chapter. Right in the middle of a big reveal. In fact, it didn’t even end. It just stopped. I feel like a bit of a fool- what did I miss?

[Squeegielu · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good idea, but annoying, two-dimensional characters.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure I actually liked any part of this book except for the fact it was a quick read and it did build suspense. The characters were all horrible and self obsessed, the storyline was pretty crap and the twist was just not big enough. I usually enjoy dual timeline, but not really sure what it added to the story in the case either.

[Tiah]

A quick and easy read for people who don't need their light-lit to be "light" in all ways, including everything to end up "just peachy" and neatly tied up. Serious issues framed by an entertaining story line.

[Samantha Kutesera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved that this book had realistic characters and really enjoyed the way it was written. It was certainly a book that I couldnt put down but the ending was a big let down. It would have been nice to know more and not have had such an abrupt ending.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be better than it actually was. From the description on the back I expected a real page turner and a lot more suspense. The book ended so abruptly and for me was disappointing. But overall it was entertaining and held my interest.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Barr is always a good read. Thanks to Wendy for introducing me to her on my very lazy holiday in France!

[Jason Pym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, and unlike previous one I read of hers (Cuban Heels) all the characters ring true. Ending a little unstatisfying, but otherwise a great read.

[Aimee Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into it. might have to give it another try later on. but for now Ill leave it and try another :)

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the book, it reads very nicely. However, the ending is a bit abrupt and I wished there would be a bit more there.
Overall a nice book.

[syrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok, but just that. I don't know if the problem was my current book slump, or the characters, that never really "apoke" to me, but I just didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous one.

[Ansheeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I was in need of to kick start my reading habit again. Good drama.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where's the rest of the book sequel emily barr please

I choose a 3 rating cause it was a nice story with a weird ending
Needs a better ending please

[Annick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book to read. I think it must be really hard living with such a big secret for all of those years... I can't even imagine it!

[Anne Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm usually a fan of Emily Barr, but I'm afraid this is a really poor read. It's very bitty and dull for the first 75% of the book, and there are far too many flashbacks to the rather too ordinary schooldays the four friends in the novel shared.

Then suddenly it gets a lot better with a decent amount of plot - though I have no idea what those poor children were doing in the cornfield for so long. That part was pointless. Anyway, all well and good, or so I thought.

And then, equally suddenly and after a lot of very unlikely and unbelievable conversations, it ... um .. just stops. I wondered if I was missing a few pages or something but apparently not. So this one is up there as definitely one of the worst endings I've ever had the misfortune to read. So very disappointing. Such a shame.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading but I'm not a fan of a book that doesn't really end and is left to the reader to finish, hence a 3-star rating. That said, I'll certainly read other books written by this author and hope they have better conclusions!

[Kruimel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een teleurstellend en afgeraffeld einde.

[Moonchild · Rating 3 out of 5]

It doesn't have a satisfying ending, the story was going well, but then it just ends. Just like that

[Tuhina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole story makes no sense. The ending is also not worth reading the whole book.

[Lisa van Zyl-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping story. Interesting characters, page turning, but the end!!!

[Paola Zamora Jojot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book about an old school friends reunion, really enjoyed the build up, the suspense and hearing the voice of different characters...Couldn't put it down.

[She Griffiths-Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the storyline but there was one questionable feature which I didn't see the point of at all.
It felt wrapped up a bit quickly too xxx

[Samidha; समिधा · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly speaking I was a little disappointed with the book. The book is pretty easy going and you can really relate to the truthfulness and experience of the teenage years and the hardships that people face.
The book was beautiful divided giving everybody's POV once in a while in third person. I enjoyed the high school moments.
One of the characters that I utterly hated was AMANDA , I mean I hated her from the start.
The book is usually about this very famous Artist, Susie and her French boyfriend , and they decide that it's a time to bring back a little high school reunion. Everything was great and everybody's life is amazing, Except I totally hated the Amanda character.
The story unfolds beautifully as I've already mentioned, it's a perfect summer read.
One more the thing is the ambiguous ending, you can't really tell if the thing has really ended or not, I for one, thought that it's a series. But unfortunately not.
I loved the kids parts in between too, it spiced up the book.
Apart from that it is well written, interrogative but you could pretty much see the dark secret from a long way and guess it correct.
I would hope that it had a better ending but nonetheless i would surely say that I didn't waste my time reading this novel.
Credit goes to the author for putting forward such different minds and making them believable and real. You can relate to each one of them, even the kids and the husbands.
Looking forward to more of her articulate novels and writings :)

[Daphne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given it 4 stars if it hadn't been for the ending. I enjoyed the present moments with the reunion and the things that happened in France, but with the amount of buildup the flashback scenes got and with all the hints about what really happened, I was disappointed in the "big reveal"at the end. It wasn't surprising at all and there was no real twist, it was easy to figure it out long before it was spelled out for you.

Another thing that disappointed me was how the plotline with strange phone calls was pretty much dropped at the end without a proper explanation.

A decent and entertaining book but it could have been a lot better.