A different spin on a crime story.

Sophie’s real father left when she was very young, but when her and her mum Amelia-Rose move to England from America and her mum meets charismatic Matty Melgren, their family is now complete. Sophie finally has a dad; and although his behaviour is odd at times and he disappears on occasion, he is warm, funny and she adores him. Life has finally started to go right. However, a serial killer is operating in their area and seems to be killing women who look like Amelia-Rose. Should she be worried that her mum is the next target, or is the killer a little closer to home?

What I really enjoyed was that the author decided to write a crime novel from a different perspective. Not only do we get the point of view of young and adult Sophie, but interspersed is the odd blog about the killings. This stopped the story from becoming too stale and helped to add another element of interest. It was thought-provoking focusing on the after effects of these kind of events have on a killer’s family, rather than the killer themselves.

This novel tries to grind itself in reality, and there are a few pop culture references that add to the context, but I’m not sure it completely felt like it was set in the 80s. If the references were changed, it could easily be a different decade, which leads to the question, why was it set then if it didn’t add anything to the story?

It is well written and started off pacy enough, but there came a point when they were drawing out the meeting a little too much and I was more than ready for it to come to an end. I just felt that it got a little repetitive where nothing new was happening and it could have done with something else developing; I’m afraid the more Sophie went on, the less sympathy I gave.

Overall, it isn’t a bad read. It definitely started off stronger than it ended, but could have done with a boost in the middle.

A bit slow and story too long.
Sophie is 12 and her Amelia-Rose move to London from the USA there she meets Matty who is very loving and Sophie ardours her then women are murdered and they all look like Amelia-Rose and evidence points to Matty but they can`t believe it`s him.
The story is set in the past and present it got confusing at times as it wasn`t clearly marked.
The present is set with Matty who has been in prison for 20yrs and wrote to Sophie asking to see her and to tell her the truth.
It got very confusing and I still don`t know what happened so it was not for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the ARC

Truly, Darkly, Deeply gripped me from the get go - I love a book that starts with a letter and the ending successfully completed the loop.

Plenty of twists and a satisfying - if jaw-dropping ending.

The great thing about reading a new author is that you've got a full back catalogue to dive into and I'm looking forward to reading them.

Good read.

Recommend.

This is the story of Sophie and her mum Amelia-Rose, who in the 70s move from the States to London to build a new life for themselves. Here Matty comes into Sophie’s life, who became a much-loved father figure until the day he is convicted to life in prison as a serial killer.

The narration oscillates between events in the past and the present, where Sophie, after so many years, still struggles to come to terms with the betrayal of trust and the sheer monstrosity of the deeds committed by the man she loved and adored as a child. She receives a letter from the prison informing her of Matt’s terminal illness and she knows that she will have to see him in order to settle the nagging doubts about his culpability that eat away at her.
The time between receiving this letter and the actual visit is spent recalling events of the past that haunt her daily. She awaits the big day with trepidation and when it arrives, an unexpected turn lies in wait for her.

In order to heal, Sophie follows the advice of her psychotherapist and writes a letter to her childhood self, which turns out to be the book in front of us. In it she deals with her personal experience and also looks into the strange fascination / obsession some people have with serial killers.

I remain unconvinced of the plot and its main characters - both, in my opinion, lack development – but was however still interested enough to see it through and to find out how Sophie’s story will end.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Hachette UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is honestly brilliant. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is about this book but there is something about it that makes it standout. It could be the the voice of the main character Sophie that is written in a really relatable and real way or it could be that despite this book’s dark and sadistic theme it manages to deliver it a sensitive and thought provoking way or it could even be the way it keeps you in suspense right to the very end. Whatever it is, this is a truly great read and it is definitely one of my favourite reads this year.

3.5* upped to 4
There's a lot of potential in this story,: the characters are well developed and intriguing even if I didn't like them. There's a lot of twists and a man who could be a serial killer or not.
It's an interesting take on the serial killer family trope but I guessed the twists and the story became a bit boring.
One problem is that it starts with a bang and then drags with a lot of repetition. I assume it can a be stylistic choice and some will love it, I wasn't a fan.
As I said there's a lot of potential and will surely read other books by this author even if I wasn't a huge fan of this one.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

3.75⭐️

This psychological thriller is my first read by this author. It felt more like character studies with the strong concentration on the personalities,beliefs and feelings. It has the feel of a true crime memoir which worked for the story.

Sophie and her mum Amelia-Rose move from the US to London. Amelia-Rose soon falls for charismatic Matty Melgren. After the relationship fractures Matty is convicted of multiple murders which rocks their worlds. 20 years on he is dying and has requested to see Sophie.

Sophie is the narrator, the story is told using a past and present time frame. The past contains some snippets from the real world at the time which grounds the story. Some of the past narrative comes in the form of news reports and podcasts.
We get to see how strong Sophie’s mom is, making a fresh start as a single mom in a strange country, although she seemed overly needy as far as Matty was concerned
its also evident how the relationship with Matty has totally obliterated Sophie’s ability to trust anyone again, and also broke Amelia -Rose. Much of the book concentrated on this aspect.

Through Sophie’s hindsight there’s constant questioning about what they knew, and when they recognised their suspicions. You can feel the tension of the agonising which felt was drawn out. I was constantly being judgemental about all of them.
You can feel things building to a head as the prison visit draws near.
Although all the angst,self questioning and second guessing wore a bit thin towards the end.

Non of the characters come across as very likeable, Sophie was the more engaging of them. I found the pacing slow, the tone throughout quite gloomy.

I enjoyed it, but it didn’t wow me. It felt a bit bleak for me. Not sure how I felt about the ending, although it was believable.

My heartfelt thanks to @netgalley and @quercusbooks for sending me this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Let me tell you, I thoroughly enjoyed this one! This has nothing in common with your average thriller, it reads more like a true crime from the POV of a 12 year-old girl!

Set in the present day but with flashbacks to the early 1980s, it was one of those books I couldn't put down. I think the author has managed to recreate the 80s with meticulous research that takes you down memory lane. With references to famous British TV shows like Only Fools and Horses and net shopping bags, Boy George's music and the mention of Lady Di's wedding, I had to pinch myself to make sure I hadn't travelled back in a time machine!

The book opens with Sophie, now an adult, receiving a letter from her stepfather, a serial killer serving a life sentence. The letter tells her that he is dying of cancer and wants to meet her. The man has protested his innocence for the last twenty years and although Sophie never wanted to see him again, she knows that meeting him will be the only way to give her some sort of closure.

What follows is a retelling of what happened since Matty, her stepfather, walked into her life when she was only 11 years old!

With no substantial evidence against Matty, the reader is left with the question: did they lock up the right man for the brutal murder of over 10 women?
Let me just say I was in doubt till the very end!

I loved every minute, especially the writing and that final little twist!

True crime lovers should not miss this book, out next week!

This was so clever. It twisted and turned like a corkscrew, you never being sure what to believe. I changed my mind about Matty about a dozen times throughout the book and it has a very satisfying conclusion.

Firstly this is a very readable book written from the point of view of a now adult woman whose mother’s boyfriend of many years was convicted of multiple murders but who is now dying and wants to see her. The narrative swings between her as a child and her now a grown woman who questions what she saw, thought and believed all those years ago. There is a huge question mark over his conviction as it was based on circumstantial evidence so throughout the book the reader isn’t sure whether he is guilty or innocent. There are quite a lot of repetition in chapters relating to news/blogs/tv programmes but this didn’t detract too much from the pace.

I found this story very intriguing, the more I read - the more I wasn't sure was he guilty or not? I honestly was not expecting the last part and I also hadn't realised one of the other twists until it was upon me! Really well written and had me gripped.

A great thriller of a read featuring murder and intrigue. Set between last and present it kept me entertained throughout and eager to see how it concluded. Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author for the chance to review.

This was a really good crime book. Easy to get into, I found this an absorbing novel, exploring what those close to killers, in this case a serial killer, knew or didn't pick up on. Told from the POV of an adult looking back at her child self and trying to come to terms with her love and experiences at the time, with what she discovered later. It's well done and both the reader and Sophie consider particular incidents, conversations etc. and ask if this were the person you loved, would you have picked up on it? There are no massive shocks, it is more of an exploration of character, and as such the twist at the end wasn't perhaps as hard hitting as it might have been. I did enjoy it, however, and will probably look out for more by this author.

Twenty four years ago, Matty Melgrew became Sophie’s mother’s boyfriend. Twenty years ago he was convicted as a serial killer and imprisoned for life. Matty was a handsome, charismatic, Irish guy, who charmed everyone he met, especially young women. Sophie’s mother, Amelia-Rose, was madly in love and Sophie was besotted. Her father had walked out on them some years earlier, when they lived in Massachusetts, and mother and daughter had emigrated to England to start a new life. When Matty entered their lives they were living in Camden, North London where, shortly afterwards, a young woman is found murdered. Over the next four years, at least ten other murders take place, all with the signature features of the killer nicknamed “The Shadow” by the press. Matty’s appearances are erratic but even though the evidence of his possible guilt is piling up Amelia continues to deny the possibility, blinded by love, while Sophie becomes ever more infatuated. When he is convicted their world falls apart. Now, twenty years later and with her mother long dead, Sophie has received a request to visit Matty in prison, because he is dying. This will be the opportunity to find out if he really was “The Shadow”; the evidence had all been circumstantial and many people, especially young women, continued to believe he was stitched up. Opening up her files of mementoes, newspaper articles, documentaries, and web stuff, Sophie relives the four years between her aged eight and twelve, trying to get her mind and memories straight. Was he really guilty and, if so, how did they manage to blind themselves to the fact? And did their silence mean there were murders they could have prevented?
The story is told from Sophie’s point of view, as she goes through the exercise of exhuming the files, building a time line. So, when she finally faces Matty we are as secure in the back history as she is. If anything new is revealed it will be as shocking to us as it will be to her. This technique is almost epistolary and is very useful for submerging the reader in the character. I found identifying with Sophie to be quite easy, despite being her antithesis in every respect. One problem with the format is that there is a lot of repetition of the details – an item in a newspaper clipping, echoed in a TV documentary, a blog post, a book. In most cases this is for nuance, for hinting at the final resolution, for character emphasis, but I can see it could be annoying to some readers. On the other hand it helps to make it a fast read. Overall, it has some imperfections, but it is quite original in its approach and will not disappoint any reader of this genre.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was thought provoking - usually I can move seamlessly from one book to another regardless of genre - but this one has remained with me for a while. The characters were all relatable and the huge question of whether one of them had or hadn't committed the crimes was handled well and remained a question to keep us guessing. Even bigger twists followed. Would highly recommend.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It was almost like reading a book about a serial killer posed as a documentary which made it feel like I was reading a true story. The main characters are a young girl and her mum and how their lives change as a result of the mums relationship with Marty. Marty is the closest thing the young girl has ever had to a father figure and over the years they form an unbreakable bond. This story encompasses what it means when you find out the truth about the person you are sharing a home with and how others treat you as a result. Gripping and intense.

This is a good read.
The story is told from the point of view of Sophie who moves with her mother from America to London.
Sophie's mother then meets Matty Melgren and they fall in love and he's also great with Sophie.
Young women in London then start being killed and they all seem to resemble Sophie's mother.
Matty is charged with the murders but maintains that he's innocent.
Present day, Sophie then gets a letter from him asking her to visit him as he's dying. Her dilemma is what to do.
The book goes between the past and the present and it's hard to know who to believe.
Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Compulsive, twisty, fascinating thriller that I absolutely loved. Sophie is daughter to a single mother who moves to London and then finds a boyfriend in Matty. . Sophie adores Matty , he is everything she dreamed of in a father even when her mother seems to be not so sure. But when young women with a definite resemblance to her mother start being murdered, things get very dark. So readable and totally scary.

True to its title a very dark story of a serial killer
Sophie and her mother leave America to make their home in London. Sophie’s mother is single but soon is in a relationship with the charismatic Matty. Sophie idolises him and wishes he really was her father.
It is about this time that a series of murders start. All are women and they bear a remarkable resemblance to Sophie’s mother. The police are stumped and can only wait for the murderer to make a mistake.
This kept me hooked from the start, nothing is what it seems and I certainly didn’t see the final twist.

This is a different take on the usual, serial killer, novel. It is told from the point of view of Sophie, a young girl, whose mother moves them from the US to London in the early 1980's. Once there, Sophie has all the usual struggles of fitting in at school and making friends. However, life improves once Sophie's mother meets Matty Melgren. He not only loves her mother, but befriends Sophie. He brings her favourite ice cream, tells stories, plays games and makes her feel special.

Then, young women in the area of North London (an area I know well, which made the novel more interesting for me) start being killed. They all look a little like Sophie's mother, making her worry that she might be the next victim. Then, as time passes, Sophie begins to worry that it is Matty who is the killer. Years later, Matty, now in prison for the murders, wants to meet and the novel builds up to her visiting him, now dying of pancreatic cancer, in prison, where there is a final twist to the story.

This is a very interesting novel. Sophie is a great character. She is alternately full of rage, jealousy and fear; still a child but interested in the adult world. She loves her mother and she loves Matty. She doesn't want him to be guilty and feels immense guilt, and distress, for what happened, both to the victims and to how those events affected her life. I think this would be an excellent choice for book groups as there is so much to discuss. I received a copy of the book from the publishers, via NetGalley, for review.