Harriet Tyce
Harriet Tyce was born in 1972 and is currently 53 years old. Harriet Tyce was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Harriet Tyce is known for writing in the Thriller and Crime Fiction genres.
Harriet Tyce has written 5 standalone novels, starting with Blood Orange in 2019. The most recently released novel was Witch Trial, which was released in 2026. There are no upcoming standalone novels by Harriet at this time.
Harriet is a crime writer, Sunday Times bestselling author, and former criminal barrister, appearing as one of the 22 contestants on The Traitors UK, Season 4. Her background in criminal law and her career as a novelist position her as one of the more analytically minded players in the cast, entering the game with a blend of legal insight and storytelling intuition.
Please note that the rest of this biography contains spoilers for Traitors UK Season 4.
Season 4, filmed at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, features a mix of Faithfuls and Traitors competing for up to £120,000, with Harriet joining a diverse group that includes a retired police detective, a psychologist, and other high skill strategists. Harriet is very competitive and has stated that Monopoly is banned in her house.
Harriet did not reveal that she was a barrister, and that led to speculation online that Harriet is
The Secret Barrister. Harriet was very prominent in episode 3 of The Traitors, where she went directly after Hugo at the roundtable.
In Episode 7, given the chance to ask the Traitors two questions, Harriet instead took this opportunity to tell the Traitors that she knew Rachel Duffy was one of the traitors. She then confronted her at breakfast, and this lead to a very heated roundtable where Harriet went after Rachel, accused others of being a traitor, and this unprovoked attack on Rachel ultimately led to her downfall, and banishment.
Harriet was born in Scotland, and she grew up in Edinburgh. The elder of two children, Harriet's father is retired judge Lord Nimmo Smith.
She moved to England to study English literature at Oxford University, then moved on to City University where she received her legal education to become a barrister. Harriet would later attend the University of East Anglia, completing a master's in creative writing and crime fiction. Harriet has also spent time living in North London.
Her debut novel,
Blood Orange, was a Richard & Judy 2019 Book Club Winter Pick, and Sunday Times bestseller. Her next two novels were also Sunday Times bestsellers. The motivation for it was exploring what would happen to a woman who, after having kids, decided to stay at the Bar, rather than leave as Harriet and so many others do.
Although it was her debut novel, Harriet had written on
the noveltry that it was not her first completed manuscript. She had started writing initially in 2009 a 2000 word novella, and completed another one after that.at 5000 words. She had applied at one writing course and was rejected, but applied for the City University evening course which really helped shape the writer that she was. Her first manuscript was titled
Motherland. She would work on another titled
Three for a Girl, as it was 2013 and the word "Girl" in titles was quite popular at that time due to the likes of
Gone Girl.
Although both manuscripts were rejected, she kept at it and signed up for another course to keep on learning.She did an MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia, and worked on
Blood Orange, which was initially titled
Long Shadows.
In an interview with
The Guardian, Harriet stated that she is a recovering alcoholic and gave up drinking when she was 49 years old, on June 7th, 2022.
Harriet Tyce: Awards & Accolades
Tyce's book, Blood Orange won the Nielsen Awards, Gold Bestseller, in 2021.
Tyce's book, Blood Orange was nominated for The Dead Good Reader Award, The Jury’s Out Award for Most Gripping Courtroom Drama, in 2019.
The novel Blood Orange was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2020, although didn't make the shortlist.
Harriet Tyce: Lists & Other Mentions
Harriet Tyce: TV/Movies Based on Books
No adaptations of Harriet's works have been made at this time. Her debut novel, Blood Orange, was optioned by World Productions, who make Line of Duty, with the plan of making it a TV series. However that was back in 2020, and no new information has came out since.
Related Authors
Fans of Harriet Tyce also enjoy these authors:
- B.A. Paris, author of: Behind Closed Doors.
- Alafair Burke, author of: The Ex.
- Shalini Boland, author of: The Family Holiday.
- Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid Series.
- Ruth Ware, author of the Lo Blacklock Series.
- Ashley Audrain, author of: The Push.
- Megan Goldin, author of the Rachel Krall Series.
- Jonathan Kellerman, author of the Alex Delaware Series.
- A.J. Finn, author of: The Woman in the Window.
- Allen Eskens, author of the Detective Max Rupert Series.
Harriet Tyce: F.A.Q
When was Harriet Tyce Born? How old is Harriet Tyce?
Harriet Tyce was born in 1972. Harriet Tyce is currently 53 years old.
Where was Harriet Tyce Born?
Harriet Tyce was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and is Scottish.
What book awards has Harriet Tyce won?
Blood Orange: Nielsen Awards: Gold Bestseller (2021).
What was the first book Harriet Tyce wrote?
The first book written by Harriet Tyce was Blood Orange, published in 2019.
What was the most recent book Harriet Tyce wrote?
Her most recently released work was Witch Trial on February 26th, 2026.
What is the most popular book by Harriet Tyce?
Based on the number of readers on Book Notification, the most popular Harriet Tyce book is
Blood Orange. Here are her most popular books and their average ratings:
- Blood Orange (8.00)
- The Lies You Told (7.83)
- It Ends at Midnight (7.00)
- Witch Trial (8.67)
What genres does Harriet Tyce Write?
Harriet Tyce primarily writes in the Crime Fiction and Thriller genres. Her work includes sub-genres such as Psychological Thriller, Suspense Thriller, and Domestic Thriller.
Are there upcoming new books by Harriet Tyce?
Harriet Tyce does not have any upcoming books with a set publication date within the next few months at this time.
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How many books has Harriet Tyce written?
Harriet Tyce has written 5 books excluding contributions to anthologies. All of her books are Standalone Novels.
Is Harriet Tyce the author on the Traitors? Who is the author called Harriet on the Traitors?
That is correct - Harriet Tyce, this author, is the author who is on Season 4 of The Traitors UK. The regular people edition, she isn't part of the Celebrity Traitors cast.
What authors were an inspiration for Harriet?
Harriet has stated that
Agatha Christie was a big inspiration growing up and that she loved her books. She also really enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and was a big fan of poetry as well. Harriet also prefers to read prose which is terse, and she aims to write in the same manner - always leaving something to the imagination.Harriet also learned from reading Raymond Carver books and comparing them to the Lish edits, that less is always more which was a big learning experience for her.
What was the inspiration for It Ends At Midnight?
In an interview with Writers Digest, Harriet explained that she wanted to explore the impact of a serious illness diagnosis and how it affects a friendship, as well as partly setting a novel in her home town of Edinburgh. She noted that during the writing process for that book, the killer and victim actually switched places in the finished book, compared to the first draft of the novel.