Lizzy Barber

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Lizzy Barber studied English at Cambridge University and works as the head of brand and marketing for a restaurant group. Her debut novel, My Name is Anna, was the winner of the Daily Mail crime writing competition and she is currently hard at work on her next thriller. Lizzy lives in London with her husband.

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with Lizzy Barber

“I love a creeping sense of dread to hang over my books and the characters that run through them.”

Bibliography

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Standalone Fiction

A Girl Named Anna

2019

Out of Her Depth

2022

Nanny Wanted

2023

Be Mine

2025

with Lizzy Barber

For those unfamiliar with your style & genre, how would you describe your writing?

I write psychological suspense which is rich and character and atmosphere. My books are often described as ‘slow burn’ - I love a creeping sense of dread to hang over my books and the characters that run through them.

Where did you grow up and did this location influence your writing in any way?

I was born and bred in London but actually I would say on the contrary I tend to set my books in further flung locations: Florida (My Name is Anna), Tuscany (Out of her Depth), Cornwall (Nanny Wanted) and San Francisco (Be Mine). I love to travel so very much enjoy the escapism of researching locations and taking my readers on the journey!

What kind of reader were you as a child?

I was that typical cliche of a writer who always had their nose in a book. I’ve always loved stories, and even before I could read, my parents would take me to restaurants with my Walkman and cassette tapes (showing my age here). I loved all the classics like Enid Blyton and Frances Hodgson Burnett, and then as I got older I was hooked on Judy Blume, Jacqueline Wilson, Goosebumps and Point Horror. I also had a HUGE collection Babysitters Club books - we used to go to Florida every year as a kid and I would scoop up all the new titles you couldn’t get in the UK.

For readers new to your work, what title would you recommend?

I think Out of her Depth has been my most popular book - it’s very much inspired by The Talented Mr Ripley, but also about my experience of living in Florence as an 18 year old, and that period of your life where you first feel like ‘an adult’.

Who are your top 5 favorite authors?

It’s so hard to pick a favourite author because I am always discovering new books, but I’d definitely put Emily Bronte up there, Emily St John Mandel, Margaret Atwood, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Kazuo Ishiguro. I love world building and feeling immersed in a book.

What is one book you repeatedly gift?

Wuthering Heights.

Of all the characters you've penned, who has been most influenced by your personal story?

Beth in Be Mine - I haven’t escaped a wellness cult, but her experience of new motherhood and the loss of identity (and exhaustion) is very much pulled from my own experience of having a newborn. I think a lot of parents have said they really felt those bits of the books too.

What is your favorite indie bookstore?

Ink84 near where I live in Islington - it has such lovely staff and a wonderful vibe.

Describe your writing space.

As a mother to two young children, I very much have to ‘take what I’m given’ in terms of space and time to write at the moment - I have a part time nanny so whilst she is with my toddler I write in coffee shops (I actually quite like the hubbub around me - and the access to coffee!). I then also write during my daughter’s nap and honestly my favourite spot to write from then is my bed!

And finally, what's your ideal reading nook?

I am house hunting at the moment and have seen a house listing which has a beautiful conservatory space overlooking the garden, so I am currently having fantasies about curling up in a wicker chair there! I also love nothing more than basking on a sun lounger with a good book - a bit trickier to achieve in London!