Wow, what a ride! The premise is great and whilst I had guessed the main twists, the overall story is well done. Some small parts felt like they dragged, but I was interested enough to want to continue and find out how it played out.
Big thanks to the publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My favourite book that I have read in the last 18 months. This novel gripped me fully and kept my attention captivated until the very end.

This is my first novel by Victoria Selman and I absolutely love how she writes.

We meet mother Amelia-Rose, daughter Sophie and Am's boyfriend Matty. The novel starts with mother and daughter moving from America to London and Amelia-Rose and Sophie settle into their flat. Amelia-Rose goes out with her new friend and she meets the handsome and charming Matty. Their relationship is fresh and lasts many years. There are a string of grisly murders in London where they live and eventually in the novel Matty is arrested. The main story of this novel is how Sophie and her mother deal with the outcome of Matty's arrest and imprisonment and they both feel guilty that they were not aware of Matty's murderous rampage.

The chapters are from Sophie's perspective of being a young girl and fast forwarding to the present day where Matty is ill in prison, but is still declaring his innocence, and requests to see Sophie.

This novel is outstanding, amazing narrative and the storyline is gripping and fast paced.

Thanks to NetGalley, Victoria Selman and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Haunting thriller written by Victoria Selman which enthralled me from the beginning.
A serial killer is on the loose in London and is portrayed through the eyes of a twelve year old girl. Sophie and her mother, Amelia Rose, emigrated from America to London to start a new life. They meet a handsome Irishman, Matty Melgren, who quickly becomes a part of their lives and takes on the role of a father to Sophie and the two become very close.
Then a series of murders begin with the victims showing an uncanny resemblance to Amelia Rose and the relationship between Matty and Amelia starts to slowly become toxic.
Through Sophies eyes the story is written between past and present which slowly builds up to reveal the killers identity and the affect it has on all involved.
An exciting read - good book to start off 2022.

An incredibly clever and very tense novel. Very original and dark with compelling characters, Thought this was as brilliant read and I totally enjoyed it from start to finish,

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is an absolutely mind-blowing, dark rollercoaster of a ride And one that will stay on my mind for some time to come.
This is the tale of Sophie, a young American girl who moved to London with her mother Amelia-Rose. Soon after arriving in London, they mert the enigmatic Matthew 'Matty' Melgren.

Throughout the course of the novel, Sophie documents their relationship as a family amidst
the growing climate of fear in London as a serial killer continues his campaign against young women. With each alternating chapter, Sophie returns to the present day and her fears of visiting Matty in prison.

As the terrifying tale is unravelled, and we edge closer to the truth, I found my sympathies growing for Sophie but also my suspicions growing. Selman has brilliantly weaved her take so that at various times, I found myself doubting Sophie, then believing her, then wondering all over again.

This is one book that I gobbled up in one go!

* CONTAINS SPOILERS*

This book has all the feel of a true crime podcast/documentary which is a real winner for me. I could recognise various serial killers and their crimes combined into the imprisoned Matty and his murderous spree chimed as highly realistic. Sophie, the narrator was both believable and sympathetic, while also being gritty enough to have me rooting for her, and the end for her character was really satisfying. The only reason I haven’t given this 5 stars, was that I was never quite sure where the jeopardy was. I felt it was very obvious he’d done it and that she had somehow told on him.. so while it was a great read, and very well written, I didn’t have that ‘page turning’ sense.

"That's the problem with hindsight. It distorts memory, superimposes warning flags where before there were none." Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a serial killer mystery told from a very different perspective. By using 12-year-old Sophie as the narrator, who meets the serial killer through her mother, Amelia-Rose, dating him, the novel addresses the questions: surely families know their relative is doing these heinous crimes.

Like so many contemporary novels, this one bounces between past and present day, where an older Sophie still struggles to make sense of her life as the not-quite-daughter of a convicted serial killer. Knowing what she now knows, Sophie recasts each memory: "Knowledge of what was coming colouring my recollection of what actually happened." Without certainty (the killer maintained his innocence throughout) Sophie is adrift, feeling "the constant pull of quicksand, the suffocation of uncertainty."

Far from providing the certainty and closure Sophie craved, the court process left her, twenty years on, struggling "to reconcile the memory of the man I'd loved with the picture the prosecution painted." This left her with one option after the death of her mother—visiting the killer in prison—which had very interesting results. Truly, Darkly, Deeply is an interesting read that will likely encourage you to have more sympathy for the families of those who choose to kill. Their lives are ruined just as surely as those of the victims and their families.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and the Publisher with providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really chilling story that had the perfect level of atmosphere in it. The plot was wonderfully paced, and I really liked how the author explored the trope of an unrepentant serial killer. I didn't find the time jumps between the past and the present confusing at all (which I often do) and I loved how the author weaved in a twist in the plot.

Really enjoyed this book, the characters were so well created that I kept thinking I was reading a true account of a family who had been touched by a serial killer.

The perspective is one I’ve never read before and it’s so compelling.

Alright, so this was my first read of ‘22 and I am going to be brutally honest. This was a solidly average book with the lost potential of being extremely good.

This is a story about Sophie, who was raised by her mother in 80s England. As an American who has also immigrated to England, I found this intriguing. I however, kept getting taken out of the story because of logistics: how did they move to the UK? What does her mother do? Blah blah. Some of this is addressed, some isn’t.

Sophie’s mother meets a man named Matty. He is charming. He is weird. Sophie is smitten, her mother less so. But they develop a relationship.

Now here’s the deal, this book failed to enthrall me because I’ve read a non fiction book with the same premise. I was not impressed or curious, just annoyed.

And then the twist. That was not at all explained or perhaps my brain had shut down and I just couldn’t understand it. What was the point of the twist?

Why so many red herrings placed in the story, like side characters who seem so creepy that are easily dismissed and their story ended by the author with a sentence or two.

I wish the story started where it ended. That would have been a good read.

3 stars for the writing and the story.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for an advance readers copy.
Publication Date: 07 July 2022

Moving to a new country at age 8 with her mother from the US. Sophie feels like she doesn’t fit in especially at school when in England ‘colour’ is spelt with a ‘U’.
Matty her mother’s new boyfriend becomes a father figure quickly and they grow a close bond.
However Sophie is upset when Matty is arrested and charged with the murders that are happening over the years. This story follows the ‘has he, hasn’t he’ trope, after 20 years Sophie is determined to find out.

It did take me at least 45%/50% to get into this book but I did like the plot. The timelines jump back and forth often sometimes mid chapter because of this I thought the pacing was a bit lost, it would benefit having dates/years stamped to keep track.
I wasn’t attached to any of the characters, especially Sophie, I felt there was not much character growth even though the story is being told through her eyes.
I do think that this story would make an excellent tv mini series.

12-year-old Sophie and her mother, Amelia-Rose, move to London from Massachusetts where they meet the charismatic Matty Melgren, who quickly becomes an intrinsic part of their lives. But as the relationship between the two adults fractures, a serial killer begins targeting young women with a striking resemblance to Amelia-Rose.

I loved this book, this contained all the hall marks of a fabulous thriller.. the story moves between past and resent and through Sophie we learn of her and her mothers turbulent relationship with Matty. What a complicated character this man is, from early on you wonder what makes up this mans personality and what is hidden deep below. inside of him.

Matty and Sophie develop a father and daughter relationship, something she has longed for but where will this relationship take them and will she ever be the same after this man enters and her life and leaves such an irreversible imprint on her life. As the book progresses we start to get a sense that something is very wrong in this situation and I was spellbound as I turned each page waiting to see where this story would go. Victoria Selman is a very impressive author and the journey she takes you on will have you questioning everything that occurs.

I highly recommend this book and thank Netgalley the publisher and author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

*4.5 Stars*

ARC kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a very interesting read. The characters were great. Some characters go through quite a lot in this. The ending was interesting to me. Would recommend.

Bit of a damp squib this one. The synopsis showed great promise but the book didn't live up to expectations. A different take certainly on the usual format but I felt this was unbelievably slow going. The mother I took against from the outset and Sophie didn't seem quite right either. Hard to say exactly why.
Others clearly loved it but somehow I just didn't click with it. Not badly written. I just felt I was becoming exasperated with Sophie and wished the book would "get on with it"

Such a dark take but I adored the characterisation. As soon as I started reading I felt instantly drawn into the story – what was said as well as the increasingly creepy undertones. The pacing was really well done. A. great debut.

I didn't know much about this book before I read this copy but I loved it!

I am a fan of true crime so really enjoyed this exploration of the people closest to criminals - we only ever see the criminal through the eyes of the characters and I found this style really interesting

Another new author and another new favourite!

The story is told in a back and forth manner, from Sophie as a child and her relationships with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, Matty, whom Sophie adored as a substitute father, to Sophie as an adult trying to decide whether she should visit Matty who serving a life sentence as a convicted serial killer.

The story is cleverly done, showing the events that were happening in and around Sophie’s life as a 6-13 year old and how they impacted on her tight knit family, and Sophie today as she looks back at those years and constantly second-guesses whether Matty is innocent and whether she, herself, is in some way guilty.

This held my interest and there were two really good twists near the end which I did not see coming as they were so well done. The characterisation was good and carried the story well, especially introspective Sophie and charismatic Matty.

I really enjoyed this book as it had me gripped from the beginning. Its a case of did he or didn't he? A lot of twists and turns almost to the very last page. . Told in the voice of Sophie , a young girl who moved from America to London with her mother who meets the charismatic Matty. That's when things begin to go downhill. Told from past and present it weaves a story I couldn't wait to hear the end of, so compelling was it. The ending was not what I expected. I highly recommend this book

Wow! what a rollercoaster! had me guessing right until the final pages with the big reveal! I really enjoyed this book as it's not often I can't work out whodunnit!

Possible spoilers.

Having grown up through a of serial killer hunt,the compulsive news watching and paper reading rings all too true, though I never had to wonder if it was someone I know doing the killing.
This book grabs you,and doesn't let go to the last page.
The NEED to know,was he the killer,what did our narrator do,what was now going to be said.
It really was question upon question,just adds tension and made me race through the pages.
There were some fantastic surprises along the way.
I think this is going to be a huge hit on publication.
Look forward to seeing that.