So we start this novel in 1981 with Sophie and her mother (Americans recently moved to north London) worrying whether mum's new man, Mattie, is, in fact, a serial killer. Flashforward and Matty is found guilty and sent to prison while protesting that he is innocent. Then flash forward 20 years to Sophie in the 'current world' deciding whether to accept Matty's invitation to visit him in prison.

300 pages later, and Sophie and her mother are still worrying about Matty being the serial killer, Matty is still protesting his innocence and grown-up Sophie is still worried about the impending visit. In other words, nothing's changed. And here is the problem - the novel gets stuck in a groove and doesn't get out of it until the Big Reveal at the very end. It doesn't progress at all, except anxieties get more intense but that's it. No plot development to speak of, just 300 pages of the same.

And I'm afraid I did not buy the Big Reveal at all. I thought no way did it ring true. So contrived.

I did like young Sophie but otherwise, no, this novel didn't work for me at all.

Oh, btw: if the 'current day' part is meant to be happening "nearly 20 years" after Matty's conviction, ie about 2002, Sophie would not be looking up Google Maps on her iPhone!

Truly, Darkly, Deeply by Victoria Selman is a thriller which makes you guess. Is he or isn't he guilty and what are the reasons that his girlfriend and her daughter believe either answer.

Amelia-Rose and her daughter Sophie meet Matty Melgren and he soon becomes a father figure for Sophie, the only real father she has ever known. So when he is arrested for murder, her world is turned upside down. I really enjoyed this book as told by the family of a killer and the ups and downs they go through and how they are treated by society.

There is a real twist to this story too.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I struggled a bit with this at first. The plot was a bit jumpy and hard to follow. It soon settled though and I found myself really enjoying it. The ending was really good.

A slow-burn, emotive novel that goes beyond the titillations of true crime podcasts to really delve into the lives of the people caught in the repercussions - and implications - of a serial killer’s activities. Not one to read if home alone.

I love the way that Sophie tells her life story, weaving it into the plot effortlessly. She and her mother moved from the US to London, where her mother made one friend, Linda, before getting involved with the charismatic Matty, who protests his innocence of a series of murders. He writes from prison that he is dying, and Sophie wants to know the answer to the question of whether he killed those innocent victims, or was it a mistake. Will she find out or not? That is the big question. A tense thriller, I could not stop reading until I had finished the novel.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply - Victoria Selman

Twenty years ago, Sophie was twelve, her mum Amelia-Rose met a charming man, Matty. Matty became the closest thing Sophie ever had to a dad.

Following a string of murders Matty was eventually arrested and imprisoned. This is Sophie's story as she looks back on that time and questions how much they knew at the time and impact it has had on her life.

Told through Sophie's memories and tinged with a questioning hindsight it is rather bleak and melancholic. More of a deep intimate character story than a thriller.

I found if very readable but would have liked a bit more progression in the characters and the plot.

The Widow by Fiona Barton is the closest thing I've read to this, I felt the same about that book (which I know many people loved) so perhaps this style just isn’t quite for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus.

#TrulyDarklyDeeply #NetGalley
Awesome.
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. When Matty is eventually sent down for multiple murders, questions remain as to his guilt -- questions which ultimately destroy both women. Nearly twenty years later, Sophie receives a letter from Battlemouth Prison informing her Matty is dying and wants to meet. It looks like Sophie might finally get the answers she craves. But will the truth set her free -- or bury her deeper?
I loved it. Wow. What a read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me an advance copy.

I received a copy of this for Quercus' Word of Mouth 2022 event.
I really like Victoria, her previous books were very enjoyable, as was this one. I liked the way the narrative unfolded, moving back and forth and that with a narrator who is relying on childhood memories, not knowing the full story, she's unreliable and doesn't have the complete picture. The ending is shocking and a really surprising twist that I couldn't see coming.