Darkly is pretty apt for this book - although intriguing I found this quite a tough read. With the current discourse around whether the victims of violent crime get enough spotlight compared to the perpetrator, the Ted Bundy -esque Matt set me on edge a bit too much and I couldn't get a hold on what the book was aiming to achieve. The writing itself was very readable but it could have done with more pace initially to hook in even further. The 80's setting made this feel more plausible ahead of the advent of CCTV etc, but perhaps has been a victim of poor timing release wise in light of the Dahmer controversies, even if fictional.

I really enjoyed this book, one of those engrossing reads that you don't even realise you are flying through. Definitely worthy of being in the "un-put-downable" category.

Although it's the story of a serial killer it comes from the angle of the family which makes it a little bit different. Truly, Darkly, Deeply tells the story of Matty, a charming, good looking guy in the 1980's in London, Matty is arrested for multiple murders of young women, and one of the first to be branded with the title of "serial killer", a crime he claims throughout that he is innocent of.

The chapters are told through the eyes of Sophie. At age 12 Sophie and her mother Amelia Rose relocate from Massachusetts to London to start a new life. It's not long before Amelia Rose starts up a relationship with Matty who then takes on the father-figure role to Sophie. It's obvious Sophie adores him, she craves his attention and cherishes whatever time she is able to spend with him.

Now as an adult, looking back on her life with a convicted serial killer she struggles to reconcile the man she loved as a father, with the man now sitting in prison. Her whole life is upended. When Matty reaches out 20 years later wanting to meet with Sophie she is torn. Should she meet with him to try and get some kind of closure or will it only reopen all the wounds and guilt she still struggles with every day?

I loved how the storyline changed between present day and the past as all the pieces of the puzzle started to come together and I thought the author did a fabulous job of tying the ending up with a twist that I certainly didn't see coming.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read Truly, Darkly, Deeply. I highly recommend for fans of true crime, thrillers, serial killers - you know, all those creepy twisted stories out there :)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
The book is billed as a dark, unsettling thriller with a shocking twist, a genre I enjoy. As the book starts we quickly find that the tale swaps between Sophie's childhood (before and after her move to London) and the present day when she has been called to meet with Matty in prison. The childhood memories are marked by references to the early 80's through music, clothing and news items but there is no other warning such as headings for the chapter. There are threads to the story which seem to go nowhere such as the photograph of Jame, and lots of information about the bullying she suffered at school. By the time I reached the end of the book I thought the narrative had included a great deal of irrelevant detail which added nothing and detracted from the effort to build any suspense. The twist was an anticlimax and barely credible, not matching all the information I had waded through in the preceding pages. I don't think this book is as described and wouldn't read any others by this author based on this experience.

What a book! I was hooked from the start! Told from the point of view of Sophie, a serial killers stepdaughter in dual timeline, this was really intriguing and had me wanting more!

I really enjoyed jumping between past and present, i found it really helped tell the story and each point of view filled in the gaps from the other. I really felt for Sophie and it made me sad to think of the life she had growing up and the years she wasted as an adult too. I loved the use of newspaper articles and interviews to help tell the story, it added an extra element to the story and gives you more to think about when trying to work out what had actually happened.

The only criticisms I had were that it took so long for Sophie and her mum to start suspecting him when to me it was very obvious for ages! And I also didn’t find the twists overly shocking. They surprised me but they didn’t SHOCK me if that makes sense?

© 10 Aug 2022
This is a book that had me not wanting to put it down until I knew what had actually happened and by who and how does it all end.
I sympathised for Sophie as I read about her childhood and what she went through but I still had an inkling that we were not learning everything about her and this kept me reading as I need to know more.
As an adult we discover Sophie still has something important she feels she need to finally deal with and we also see she has personal demons to cope to cope with.

A disturbing,dark thriller which we read from the point of view of Sophie,the step-child of a convicted murderer. We go back to when she was twelve and forward to present day. An intriguing read.

A chilling dark thriller which I could not put down! I was engaged from the start and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, great twists too!

This is a quick read with a strong start & enough intrigue to keep you going despite the fact that not a lot seems to happen. Sophie is our narrator & the timeline flips back & forth from the early 2000s to 20 years earlier & a series of killings in North London. Matty, Sophie's mothers boyfriend, gets accused & sent down for the murders & we follow the lead up to & fall out from this moment.

This book is heavily sold on its 'shocking twist' & that did keep me going at times when I felt it got a bit repetitive. The twist, or should I say twists, are good but I wanted more in the middle...more action, gore, drama.

I wonder if I'd have enjoyed this more as an audiobook as the pacing could be better suited for that.

Such an interesting read. Explored an accused serial killer through his step-child. It is a very different perspective.

A different perspective on the serial killer story, this time from the viewpoint of a twelve year old girl who desperately wants her mother's boyfriend to be her father. Therefore, the focus is on the domestic situation rather than the murderer or his victims.

At the beginning it is already established that the killer has been caught, tried and imprisoned. The question throughout is whether he is guilty or not, plus the child who thinks it's her fault somehow. The story is written in the first person in two time frames: as a child and as an adult, twenty years later. Sometimes this is a bit confusing as to what time period the story is in as there are no date indicators despite some references to music, technology and fashion. It is quite a slow start as it expresses life and living with the grandparents with their views and expressions. However, the relationship between the killer, his girlfriend and the narrator is interesting despite some 'clues' not really showing as significant.

The strength of this book is that the question of the murderer's guilt is fought against by the child who is very fond of him. He is unusual in that he isn't a loner or socially awkward, as most serial killers are portrayed. Handsome and charming, he is reminiscent of Ted Bundy in that respect. The ending had a couple of revelations - one that I expected, one that I didn't and one that was a tad confusing that didn't quite come off. Having said that, it is an enjoyable read.

Fan of serial killer books? Truly, Darkly, Deeply is just what you're looking for. It is an incredibly engrossing, addictive thriller that will have readers hooked from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to be a hit. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out Truly, Darkly, Deeply today.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a dark, twisty and engrossing with a twist that has you gasping out loud. It's well paced and atmospheric. Can be quite dark at times but if you like this type of book it makes for a very enjoyable read,

This book appeared to be right up my street and couldn’t resist a peep ! Loved the premise ! Was hoping for a great twist and unfortunately I found it a bit easy to guess what was going to happen haha but I do read a lot ! I love a good serial killer read !!! All in all a great read !!! Thank you

I’m a big fan of true crime - the podcasts, the books, the Netflix documentaries, all of it! Truly, Darkly, Deeply seemed to be very much up my street – focusing on Sophie whose father figure and childhood hero is in jail for being a serial killer. As soon as we start the book, the authors forward explains that she references several real serial killers to create a profile of The Shadow in her book, and it’s fun to find those little Easter eggs within the novel. It really gave the novel a rounded out and well-researched feel.

The narrative alternates between Sophie at 12 years old, when her mother met Matty, and Sophie in her early 30s who gets a letter from him wanting to meet her in prison. This is paced really well, and I never felt like I wanted to rush certain chapters to get back to a certain point in the story which sometimes happens using this technique. Sophie is easy to relate to, her story is dark, and you really empathise with her as she relives her childhood, trying to work out what was real and what wasn’t. The novel is also interspersed with snippets from newspapers, podcasts and blogs debating whether Matty is innocent or not which worked well to sow seeds of doubt in the reader’s mind as well.

At 11% of the way through this book I messaged my partner with my guess for the twist and unfortunately, I was proven completely correct! I don’t think this particularly hampered my enjoyment of the book however, it was fun to read the book with this idea in mind and I think I picked up on a few hints that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. The end reveal is very well done though, with no loose ends or plot-holes.

Overall if you are a true-crime fan Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a must-read. Thank you to NetGalley & Quercus Books for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply really gets into your head that anyone could live with a serial killer.

Sophie received a visiting order from Matty Melgren, her mother’s boyfriend who wan convicted of being The Shadow, a prolific serial killer in the early 80’s.

Not knowing whether she should visit or not, we revisit her childhood with him, the relationship between the three of them and the developments of the murders as they happen.

Throughout, Melgren has always protested his innocence, but now he’s on his deathbed, will Sophie learn the truth?

For fans of real crime, this novel was addictive, twisty and one I couldn’t put down.

Matty was everything a young girl wants in a stepfather, whilst being everything you fear.

A great novel with an unbelievable ending.

Sophie is an adult woman numbly going through life day by day, forever asking the same questions 'did her actions lock up an innocent man?'. Sophie's stepfather Matty Melgren has served over 20 years in jail following the brutal killings of women in North London, and it was ultimately Sophie's actions that led the police to Matty. But Matty was always the perfect father figure in Sophie's life, and he loved her and her mother. As Sophie finally arranges to see Matty in prison, the events from her childhood come back to haunt her.

This was an interesting take on a normal thriller/murder mystery - the story from the POV of a loved one connected to the serial killer but the question of Matty's innocence remains large throughout the novel and as a reader, it's fun to try and figure out if Matty is guilty.

I do think I expected a bit more from this book - it does feel like a lot of Matty's flaws and all the ways he could be a serial killer are so obvious, albeit we are getting the story from a woman who had decided he was guilty. But I never felt particularly surprised by anything that happened in this book or the direction the story took - and I would have loved a twist that wasn't extremely obvious the entire time.

Wow. Ok … it may be that the nights are creeping in, witching seasons on it’s way and Netflix Jeffrey dahmer series is giving me nightmares but this book has just added to my nightmares and I couldn’t be happier.

This story is a coming of age tale of a girl looking back on her life during the period of time she was being co-raised by a convicted murderer. The story had so much depth, darkness , fear and heartbreak I was hooked from the first page to the last.

Sophie is trying to come to terms with her and her mothers role in her stepfathers actions in a country she’s out of place in and the pain, fear and confusion were so eloquently portrayed Sophie became real for me, I felt I was being talked to by a friend and on more than one occasion I wanted to reassure her things would be ok or tell her to seek help.

This is a beautifully written fast paced thriller and I must admit the ending was a big surprise for me.
I would highly recommend this and i will be certainly reading more from this author

Shatteringly gripping and thrilling crime fiction that will leave you second guessing every character until the end.

When Sophie and her mother, Amelia Rose, settle in London from Massachusetts, Matty starts dating Amelia and becomes intertwined in both their lives.

Soon women start going missing and being found murdered. Sophie thinks they all bear a striking resemblance to her mother.

When Matty is imprisoned for the murders, both Sophie and Amelia are left with questions of his guilt. Were they too close to have known, did they see any signs?

Matty reaches out to Sophie after 20years of imprisonment asking to see her before he dies of cancer. Sophie needs closure but doesn't know if she'll get the answers she wants.

It’s been a long long time since I thought so much about a book when I wasn’t reading it. From the very start I was involved in the story and lived it throughout until the very end. I was completely immersed reading Sophie‘s childhood story and thought The story unfolded at a sympathetic and measured rate. I would be interested in reading more from this author.

This book had me on the edge of my seat until the very end, which can be difficult these days as many thriller novels seem to follow the same formula. Loved it, and would definitely recommend.