Sophie would be able to tell if someone close to her was a serial killer! There would be ‘tells’; he would possibly be a loner or socially inadequate.

Matthew Melgren was very good looking, charming and intelligent. His warm eyes crinkled when he smiled, and he cared and loved Sophie and her mother so much.

Should Sophie trust her instincts? Did the courts convict the wrong man or has Sophie made a mistake?

I loved this compelling psychological story; the characters real and interesting. The world of the psychopath creates questions to be addressed!

Such an original and intelligent novel. I'm in such admiration of the author to be able to dream this up and pull it off outstandingly. This is the kind of book that thoroughly absorbs you and almost gets under your skin, but in the best possible way. My first from this author and definitely won't be my last!

I LOVED this book! Highly unputdownable! Loved the characters, loved the story, loved the twist - everything. My only note that I hope someone with the power to change it sees: the town in Wicklow, Ireland is called Greystones with an S at the end, not Greystone as it says several times in the book. I'm sure this will get corrected before the book is published, but just in case. Other than that I really loved it!

I’m grateful to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and Quercus books.

I was gripped by this book from the first page. I found the writing style very easy to read and the characters were well developed. The story drew me in and was hard to put down.

However there are a couple of negatives. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish if the chapter was set in the past or the present from the beginning of it. I would have liked a header to make it clearer. There is also a lot of repetition and this slowed the pace making reading quite tedious at times. I skim read through parts that had been already covered. Despite this I did really enjoy the book and would recommend it.

This book grabbed me from just about the first page and I couldn't put it down. The idea turns the usual murder mystery on its head as it's about the family of a murderer (or is he?) and the effects on them. Sophie has known this man as her mum's boyfriend for years now and she adores him. He is charming and great fun to be around, but has a darker side that gradually becomes more evident as Sophie gets older and more perceptive. Murders happen close to the family and Sophie realises to her horror that he might be the person the police are looking for. Her choices then haunt her for years until she sees him again.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Truly, Darkly, Deeply, a stand-alone psychological thriller set in London.

Twenty years ago, in 1983, Matty Melgren was convicted of serial murder, but is he guilty? It’s a question that has gnawed at Sophie Brennan and her mother, Amelia Rose, who was Matty’s girlfriend. Now Matty is dying will they get answers?

I don’t really know what to say about Truly, Darkly Deeply as it is such a mixed bag with some of it excellent and some of it tediously repetitive and not particularly believable. I think the premise is extremely good and quite unusual. Matty has long proclaimed his innocence, being convicted on circumstantial evidence. His good looks and charismatic personality mean that people believe him, whereas Sophie, who tells the story, wants to believe him, because he’s the father figure she longs for. The answer and the twist are unsurprising when they come, but getting there is where the novel falls down.

The narrative belongs to Sophie but it switches between the 80s and 00s with little warning and is seeping with guilt (to know why the reader needs to read until the end, although it’s guessable enough). Then there’s Sophie’s attachment to Matty, examples ad nauseum of her hero worship and excuses for his bad behaviour. It’s repetitive and circular in its emotion for most of the novel and means that the novel is very slow moving. And yet it is weirdly compulsive- I wanted to know what all the fuss was about and now that I know I’m not particularly convinced. It all seems a bit self indulgent, but perhaps that’s because I didn’t like Sophie, who still seems like a brat at 32.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is an unusual book that I think will divide readers.

Very well written thriller and I found it very good, it was one of those books that I didn’t want it to end and one wasn’t quiet sure what was coming next ..

While I enjoyed this for the most part, it could have benefited from editing. And to be frank, the ending was unbelievable and undermined a lot of what had gone before. It didn't really make any sense and felt shoehorned in for the sake of a twist rather than being a carefully crafted conclusion.

Could have been better.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

It is long... way too long for what it is.
I found it extremely boring and repetitive. We're going over Sophie's emotions and feelings again and again and again and one more time...
By the time we got to the big reveal, I was so exhausted I was just happy this read was over. It didn't feel like a big reveal though.. 
I found that a lot of things, including relationships between characters didn't make much sense for one reason or another.
I wouldn't recommend it at all. The idea behind it could've made a good short story, but it was dragged too much, stretched over too many pages and repeated the same stuff way too many times..

BOOK REVIEW

TRULY DARKLY DEEPLY BY VICTORIA SELMAN.

Going to be released on 7th July 2022. I got my free copy from Netgalley.

SYNOPSIS: twelve year old Sophie and her mother Amelia-Rose leave Massachuetts for London. Amelia-Rose then meets Matty, who is charming and loving. However, Matty is sent to prison for murder. A 32 year old Sophie receives a letter from Matty asking her to visit him.

I really enjoyed this book. The synopsis makes it sound like the book is set when Sophie is twelve. However, it is actually set when Sophie is 32, and she is going back over her childhood memories of her, Amelia-Rose and Matty. It makes you question if Matty did kill all of the people that he was charged with. It made be question multiply times if he was guilty or not.

I think if you like watching murder documentaries and enjoy did he didn't he? Books, then this is for you. There was a twist at the end that I did not expect at all! However, reflecting I probably should have guessed the twist.

It is a slow burner, and there were at times, where I was getting irritated. However, the chapters were short (the shortest was around 3 or 4 pages, and the longest being around 11 pages).

Star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Warnings - description of how people were killed, cohesive control

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a twisted psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes and leaves you with a haunting and captivating ending. This is my first book by Victoria Selman, and her writing style grew on me.

Sophie and her mother, Amelia-Rose, move to London for a fresh start. Yearning for a shift from the mundane, Amelia-Rose takes a chance on the insistence of her friend and crosses paths with Matty, who exudes charm and calm. Over the years of their long-term relationship, Matty has successfully woven himself into this family of two and is the unspoken father figure to Sophie. Amidst this domestic bliss, there are multiple gruesome murders taking place near their residence. Eventually, Matty is arrested for these murders and is in prison.

This absorbing read explores Sophie's childhood, the highs and lows with her mother and Matty, and the past ghosts that haunt her twenty years later. Victoria Selmen breathes life into her characters by fuelling varied emotions. I appreciated the mix of newspaper articles, podcasts, and magazines to shed light on the murders.

I had an inkling when it came to the ending, but nothing could prepare me for the unexpected twist! An excellent read. 4 stars all the way.

A thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

Sophie’s mum’s new boyfriend Matty is everything she could wish for in a father. He is fun, kind, doting, warm and Sophie feels her and her mum have won the lottery by having him in their lives. But when Matty gets sent down for the murders of over ten girls, Sophie’s world falls apart.
Question is, did they get the right man?
20 years later Sophie needs to find the truth no matter what and where better to start than by speaking to the man himself..,

I thought this was brilliantly written! I could feel Sophie’s emotions through the page, the love and admiration she had for Matty was so well described. Her slight obsession with him was portrayed so well that I really felt their bond and her emotional highs and lows. Her relationship with her mum was also expressed well, I could envision the family dynamic so clearly.
As we take a look back in time the darkness builds until we reach the climactic end, which is where I was a little disappointed with the big reveal. I felt the entire book had been building up to this point and unfortunately the ending just wasn’t for me. Despite being slightly underwhelmed I did not see the twist coming at all. So bonus points for that!

Overall I enjoyed this book greatly, a dark and engaging plot written for anyone who is a fan of the macabre!

Wow!
This book is great!
Told in the first person the whole way through, it is the haunting fictional story of a woman who as a young girl, learnt that her mother’s boyfriend ‘could’ be a serial killer.
It’s original, fast paced, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it!
A great read.

******CONTAINS SPOILERS!******


Having seen this book advertised I was delighted to be chosen to read and review it before release.

This is the story of Sophie, told in her own words about the crimes and convictions of her mother’s boyfriend Matty who when she was 12 is convicted of a string of murders on young women and a girl in London and Ireland. Sophie and her mother move from America to London after leaving her grandparents house where they were living after her father left them. Her mother wants to start fresh and make a new life for them both, but one night she goes out with her friends from work and meets Matty, which is where the story gets interesting. When young women start going missing and turn up murdered, Sophie starts to question if Matty could be behind them even though she loves him like a father when things start to happen.

The story jumps from events at the time to 20 years later with Sophie now an adult when she receives a visiting order from Matty because he’s dying of cancer and wants to see her even though she’s not seen him since he was sent to prison, we go through and feel all emotions with her as she decides if she will go and visit, she’s been seeing a therapist for a number of years since and doesn’t know what to do,

I loved this book, it was gripping, and you could really relate to the characters and understand the relationship between them not only between Sophie and Matty but between Sophie and her mother as well as Matty and her mother, would highly recommend, well written and even though it jumps between past and present a lot it’s easy to follow and the lines so blur like in some stories where it’s easy to get confused as to if it’s the past or present.

Thank you very much for letting me read this book and well done Victoria!

This book has a way of grabbing you by the face and not letting you go until its finished. You have an idea of where it is going, and then as the story goes through little things begin to make sense, though even then they prove to be wrong. I was only eager to finish this book to finish the story, but at the end I was sad there was no more. A must read!

This was a great twisty psychological thriller that falls quite firmly into the serial killer sub-genre that really kept my attention throughout!

4+

A letter from Battlemouth prison lands with a thump on Sophie Brennans doormat, it’s where Matthew (Matty)Melgren has been for over 20 years. Matty was the partner of Amelia-Rose, Sophie‘s mother and he is the closest thing Sophie ever had to a father. Mattie was found guilty of multiple murders yet he is a killer with no stereotype, he seems so ‘normal’, handsome, well educated, well dressed. The news the letter contains is that Matty is dying and hasn’t long left and he wants to meet Sophie. Matty has haunted Sophie‘s dreams for years, can she confront him and lay the ghost of guilt to rest?

I really enjoyed the direction this novel takes as we view events through young and adult Sophie‘s eyes. It questions and weighs up the possibilities of innocence and guilt in several ways and this is reinforced through blogs that are interspersed throughout the narrative and also demonstrate the fascination some people have for serial killers. It looks closely at the scars and damage that are left behind by those convicted of serious crimes. The novel is well written and compelling especially the characterisation particularly of enigmatic Amelia-Rose and mesmerising Matty and you certainly feel Sophie’s angst. The feelings she has are palpable and the guilt she carries feels almost like a living thing, which I guess it is as it’s lived with her for years. Matty’s portrait dangles the is he, isn’t he conundrum in front of you and you speculate just as people did at the time of the killings in the early 1980s.

Contextually it’s very good too and you feel the paralysing fear that grips North London. I really like the way the author drip feeds little bombs of information and one or two are real jaw thunkers. The ending is a surprise but it most certainly works and helps to explain to some things you puzzle over.

Overall, it’s a very well written and well paced mystery thriller which is hard to put down. I’ve read books before by Victoria Selman but this is the one I’ve enjoyed the most.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Quercus Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Truly Darkly Deeply is a thriller based on the serial killer trope, told through the perspective of a woman who loved the man who has been imprisoned as a father figure.

The story is told through short sentences and short chapters, making this easy to read and fast paced. The narration switches between the past and the present, raising interesting questions around the reliability of memory and how time and hindsight affects perspective.

I liked how the book examines the complexities of various relationships; mother and daughter, child and father figure, adult partners, and questions whether we can ever really know another person.

There are also interesting questions raised around societal perceptions with elements of victim blaming, trail by press and uncomfortable examination of how we judge people by their appearance and the tragic consequences that can lead to.

As with all thrillers there is a twist at the end and I can honestly say I didn't see it coming and it left me feeling shaken, reconsidering many of the interactions throughout the book.

Highly recommended to all fans of thrillers.

Suspenseful whodunnit!”
HARDBACK EDITION

Well this book certainly kept me guessing until the end! I found a couple of the plot lines confusing but not so much that they diverted from the main story. The story reminded me in parts of “The Fall” starring Jamie Dornan which wasn’t a bad thing when visualising characters! The author did an excellent job of diverting my thoughts just when I thought I’d figured out who the killer was. A thoroughly enjoyable read and would highly recommend.
Thank you to net galley the publisher for allowing me to read and review!

This was a twisty psychological thriller which will keep you guessing to the end.
Narrated by Sophie, and moving between her childhood and adult self, it tells the story of Sophie, her mother, and Matty, the man she loves like a father but who may- or may not- be a serial killer. Sophie is haunted by this question and her conflicting feelings towards Matty and her mother.
I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that I found it ‘unputdownable’, the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is that in some of the sections about Sophie as a child, she came across as more adult than child.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.