{{Short description|British novelist (born 1972)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox writer | embed = | honorific_prefix = | name = Harriet Tyce | honorific_suffix = | image = Harriet Tyce 2025.jpg | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Harriet Tyce (Royal Society of Medicine, 2025) | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1972|11}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | resting_place = | occupation = | language = English | nationality = | citizenship = | education = Edinburgh Academy | alma_mater = Corpus Christi College, Oxford<br>University of East Anglia | period = | genre = Psychological thriller | subject = <!-- or: | subjects = --> | movement = | notable_works = ''Blood Orange'' (2019), ''Witch Trial'' (2026) | spouse = Nathaniel Tyce<!-- or: | spouses = --> | partner = <!-- or: | partners = --> | children = 2 | relatives = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | years_active = | module = | website = {{Official URL}} | portaldisp = <!-- "on", "yes", "true", etc.; or omit --> }} '''Harriet Tyce''' (born November 1972) is a British novelist, the author of ''Blood Orange'' (2019), ''The Lies You Told'' (2020), ''It Ends at Midnight'' (2022), ''A Lesson in Cruelty'' (2024) and Witch Trial (2026).
Tyce practised as a criminal barrister for nearly ten years, before changing her career path to writing crime fiction. Her first novel became a ''Richard and Judy'' choice and became popular during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
In 2026, she appeared as a contestant on the fourth series of ''The Traitors.''
==Early life and education== Harriet Tyce was born in November 1972 and grew up in Edinburgh, the eldest of two children of Lord Nimmo Smith, a judge; and Jennifer, an academic and classicist.<ref name="Tyce2019">{{cite book |last1=Tyce |first1=Harriet |title=Blood Orange |date=2019 |publisher=Wildfire |isbn=978-1-4722-5277-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oP1GDwAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref name="Swarbrick">{{cite news |last1=Swarbrick |first1=Susan |title=Blood Orange author Harriet Tyce on her Edinburgh roots and why she swapped law for books |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18798996.blood-orange-author-harriet-tyce-swapping-law-books/ |access-date=21 June 2021}}</ref> She attended an all girls' school in Edinburgh, where she became friends with Sarah Hughes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Journalist Sarah Hughes, whose wit and passion inspired everything she wrote |url=https://londonnewstime.com/journalist-sarah-hughes-whose-wit-and-passion-inspired-everything-she-wrote/181440/ |access-date=23 June 2021 |work=London News Time |date=10 April 2021 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> She got straight As in her O-Level exams.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tyce |first=Harriet |date=19 May 2024 |title='I was 49 when I had my last drink': Harriet Tyce |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/19/i-was-49-when-i-had-my-last-drink-harriet-tyce |access-date=14 January 2026 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Subsequently she moved to the Edinburgh Academy for sixth form, which was mixed-sex.<ref name="Swarbrick"/>
Tyce studied English literature at Oxford University, and then completed a law conversion course at City University.<ref name=Suffolk>{{cite web |title=Meet the Author: Harriet Tyce {{!}} Suffolk Libraries |url=https://www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/posts/meet-the-author/meet-the-author-harriet-tyce |website=www.suffolklibraries.co.uk |date=23 June 2020 |access-date=21 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="Novelry"/>
==Career== For around ten years Tyce practised as a criminal barrister.<ref name=Suffolk/> In 2005, after attempting to work part-time and not long after her son was born, she left the Bar.<ref name="Swarbrick"/> Later she completed a master's in creative writing and crime fiction at the University of East Anglia, passing with distinction.<ref name=Suffolk/>
After several rejections she acquired an agent and a book deal with Wildfire, an imprint of Headline.<ref name="Swarbrick"/> They published ''Blood Orange'' (2019), her first novel.<ref name=Suffolk/><ref name="O’Connell">{{cite news |last1=O’Connell |first1=John |title=Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce review – smart #MeToo noir |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/27/blood-orange-by-harriet-tyce-review |access-date=21 June 2021 |work=the Guardian}}</ref> It became a Richard and Judy choice.<ref name="Novelry">{{cite web |title=Creative Writing with Harriet Tyce {{!}} The Novelry. |url=https://www.thenovelry.com/harriet-tyce |website=www.thenovelry.com |access-date=21 June 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204316/https://www.thenovelry.com/harriet-tyce |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to Amazon, the book became popular during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.<ref name="O’Connell"/> Quibi and World Productions, the producers of ''Line of Duty'' and ''Bodyguard'', chose ''Blood Orange'' for development into a TV series.<ref name="Swarbrick"/>
After abandoning a second novel, she released ''The Lies You Told'' in 2020.<ref name="Mesure2020">{{cite news |last1=Mesure |first1=Susie |title=Harriet Tyce on The Lies You Told: 'For years I've either had to be someone's mum or wife' |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/books/harriet-tyce-blood-orange-the-lies-you-told-interview-734602 |access-date=21 June 2021 |work=inews.co.uk |date=23 October 2020}}</ref> Her book ''It Ends at Midnight'' was released in 2022.<ref name="Forshaw2022">{{cite news |last1=Forshaw |first1=Barry |title=The best new crime books — a peril-packed round-up |url=https://www.ft.com/content/57558433-55f0-4be5-938a-3a60225c8fb2 |access-date=2 June 2022 |work=Financial Times |date=18 April 2022}}</ref> She wrote the introductory chapter to ''Holding Tight, Letting Go'' (2022).<ref name=Anderson2022>{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Hephzibhah |title=Holding Tight, Letting Go by Sarah Hughes review – lessons from a life well lived |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/27/holding-tight-letting-go-by-sarah-hughes-review-lessons-from-a-life-well-lived |access-date=10 June 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=27 March 2022}}</ref> ''A Lesson in Cruelty'' was released in 2024.<ref name="Owen2024">{{cite news |last1=Owen |first1=James |last2=Dugdale |first2=John |title=New thrillers for April: try the latest James Bond spin-off |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/best-thriller-book-read-series-author-april-dr03cpnqc |access-date=30 November 2024 |work=The Times|date=26 April 2024}}</ref><ref name=Hill2024>{{cite web |last1=Hill |first1=Linda |title=A Lesson In Cruelty {{!}} Harriet Tyce |url=https://www.myweekly.co.uk/2024/04/09/lesson-in-cruelty-review/ |website=My Weekly |access-date=30 November 2024 |date=9 April 2024}}</ref>
In 2026, she appeared as a contestant on the fourth series of ''The Traitors''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Traitors Series 4 Contestants - Meet the players joining Claudia Winkleman in the castle |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/the-traitors-series-4-contestants |website=www.bbc.co.uk |access-date=1 January 2026 |language=en}}</ref> Her appearance on the series caused a surge in book sales.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Lauren |last2=Call |first2=Alex |date=7 January 2026 |title=The Traitors star and author Harriet Tyce's book sales increase 96% since series launch |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/the-traitors-star-and-author-harriet-tyces-book-sales-increase-96-since-series-launch |url-access=limited |access-date=14 January 2026 |website=The Bookseller |language=}}</ref>
==Personal life== Tyce lives with her husband Nathaniel, who works in finance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/tv-and-film/who-is-harriet-tyce-traitors-season-four/|title=From Net Worth To Traitors Success, All You Need To Know About Harriet Tyce|date=15 January 2026|website=Grazia}}</ref> They have two children.<ref name="Swarbrick"/>
==Bibliography== *{{cite book |title=Blood Orange |date=2019|publisher=Wildfire |isbn=978-1-4722-5274-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZRewAEACAAJ}} *{{cite book |title=The Lies You Told |date=2020 |publisher=Wildfire |isbn=978-1-4722-5279-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8b1mywEACAAJ}} *{{cite book |title=It Ends at Midnight |date=2022 |publisher=Wildfire |isbn=978-1-4722-8009-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOmxzgEACAAJ}} *{{cite book |title=A Lesson in Cruelty |date=2024 |publisher=Wildfire |isbn=978-1-4722-8014-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxHKEAAAQBAJ}} *{{Cite book |title=Witch Trial |publisher=Headline Publishing Group |year=2026 |isbn=978-1-0354-1191-7}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyce, Harriet}} Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Edinburgh Academy Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Category:Alumni of City, University of London Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia Category:Scottish barristers Category:British thriller writers Category:British women writers Category:British women lawyers Category:Reality television participants