Woooow! This book is insane. It got under my skin and is one I could not put down. The writing is so dark and intense but you just can’t put it down. If you like dark thrillers this is definitely one for you.

One of my favourite books of the year. Selman absolutely hits this out of the park. On finishing reading it, I immediately recommended it to my best friend.

A relatable main character, and some genuinely creepy moments combine with an exceptional ending and beautifully written prose to make a book that it was impossible to put down.

5/5 stars and I will be on the lookout for more from this author.

Well, I read this on a 3 hour bus journey, basically without looking up at any point. Totally addictive. Told from two Sophies - one as a child and one as a grown up, we really get to see inside the mind of someone who is accused of being a serial killer, but is so psychopathic that they maintain a totally normal life and a series of normal relationships outside of this. Definitely shades of Ted Bundy on this and read the Ann Rule immediately after reading this. A real page turner, lock yourself in a room with a vat of tea for this one as you won't want to be disturbed!

What a great book. This book follows Sophie and her mother, Amelia Rose, having moved from the USA to London. Shortly after the move, Mum meets Matty who treats Sophie as his own.

The last few chapter, woah, what a roller coaster. This book kept me gripped from the second I started.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, which was a really interesting take on a well-trod theme. I thought it was brilliantly written and highly compelling, and whilst you think you know where this is going, there are enough twists to keep you guessing to the very end.

Brilliantly dark and well- written, and another interesting way to explore the psyche and ramifications of a serial killer.

A well-written, completely riveting and fascinating story about how it is so easy for a person to see what they want to see, and how loving someone colours perception. All of the characters in this novel are well developed and very believable. I was totally engaged from beginning to end and flabbergasted by the unexpected twists in the tale. Highly recommended. Thanks to the Victoria Selman, NetGalley and Quercus Publishers for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley, Quercus Books and Victoria Selman, for the advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is true crime thriller, that follows Sophie, her mom Amelia - Rose and Matthew (Matty) Melgren's life. After 20 years, Sophie gets letter from Battlemouth prison where she is informed that Matty is dying and wants to meet her. For the last two decades, Sophie has lived with uncertainty about Matty's sentence, her many unanswered questions are still affecting her every aspect of life and she questions her life, that was spent with her mom and Marty, when she was younger. Will she finnaly learn the truth? Is Matty a victim of unfair judgment?

What was unique, is that this novel was told from the perspective of child Sophie and adult Sophie, with twenty years passing between the POVs. Writing was good and thriller worthy, but I did feel that in several occasions phrasing felt repetitive. Also, I think novel could be shorter, as after 35% (if I remember correctly) nothing major happened and pacing felt slow.
Either way, it was gripping when it needed to be and I didn't guess ending, so that was a treat for me. Thank you!

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this book. I like the way it's told from the step daughter's perspective. It's gripping, if very bleak. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply- Victoria Selman

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t finish this book as I had lots of other books to read at the same time and it expired.

READ MY REVIEW

Cover: Intriguing and it fits the theme.

Ah. I’ve been hitting a slow streak lately, what with an incoming deadline and laptop issues. While the latter will be solved by purchasing a new one, uh, at some point in the future, the former is still looming in all its deadline-y glory.

So if you’re wondering why I’m reviewing books at a slower pace, here’s your answer, and Truly, Darkly, Deeply is one of those novels caught up in the bottleneck.

Is it a bad thing? Well. Not really, because the delay made me realize something: I couldn’t remember the plot anymore less than a month after shelving it. If you’re grimacing right now, I wouldn’t blame you—alarm bells and the likes.

Thing is, Truly, Darkly, Deeply did nothing for me, for several reasons.

Its fundamental flaw is its repetitiveness. It latches on a concept—the ice cream Matty used to buy Sophie, for example—and it keeps going at it, on and on and on, dog with a bone-style. After 368 pages, the pacing is as dead as the killer’s victims.

This issue hits Sophie, the MC, the hardest, making it difficult to sympathize with her. Amelia-Rose appears whiny instead, and the other characters read confusing. The ending is meant to be a plot twist, and Selman does a good job with the breadcrumbs of truth scattered here and there. It just casts an odd light on Amelia-Rose’s parents, say. Matty is an interesting character instead. I’m not sure what to make of his creepy behavior toward Sophie, but he’s been crafted well.

Another issue is the temporal switching. I’m not fond of switching per se, so I might be biased, but here it’s a bit too heavy-handed to slip by unnoticed.

Still, I would have kicked the final rating up a star, if the technical aspects were solid. Unfortunately, the first POV curse hits Truly, Darkly, Deeply kinda hard, and inconsistencies paired with some grammar opsies prevent me from doing so. Damn 🙁

2 stars on GR.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply by Victoria Selman

★★★★★

◆ Suspense
◆ Murder mystery

🛑 CW/TW: murder, substance abuse, self harm

Truly, Darkly, Deeply focuses on Sophie, her mum Amelia-Rose and her mums partner Matty. The book is told from the perspective of Child Sophie and Adult Sophie, with twenty years passing between the POVs.

After a string of murders spanning across many years, evidence and a phone tip eventually leads to Matty being convicted as the killer.

Sophie struggles to come to terms with this and wonders if Matty is the actual killer. 20 years pass before Sophie gets a call to say Matty is dying of cancer and wants to speak to her.

As the book progresses I had so many theories that were wrong! I was happily surprised by the plot twists and equally surprised (understatement) by information during Adult Sophie's POV about her mother.

I found the writing style of this book was suited to how I like to read so I found this book very pleasing and would recommend it.

This was a roller-coaster and a half!


Book received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A dark twisted tale as a woman tries to escape from the trauma of her past of her serial killer step dad and yet he is demanding to see her from prison. As she finally faces up to the truth of her childhood it ends up being even scarier than she could ever imagine.

Truly Darkly Deeply by Victoria Selman
Publisher: QUERCUS
Published Date; 7 July 2022
Book - 352 pages

I was looking forward to this book. Great reviews! From page one, I never had that excited & gripped feeling that makes you dive into a book. The characters, mother and daughter, didn't connect with me and as for Matty, he is pure evil! Why on earth would Sophie go to see him at his request? I think not! The writing is dark and chilling, jumping between past and present and I think that's where my interested let me down. I did not have the urge to continue, but continue I did but the satisfaction, for me, was not there. This novel will enthralled lots of people, I'm just no one of them in the present moment.

I give a 3 star rating


I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

Wow ! This is an original and hugely gripping take on a serial killer thriller, focusing on those close to a convicted serial killer before and after his conviction. 12 year old Sophie and her mother Amelia Rose move from the U.S to London where Amelia Rose meets the charismatic Matty Melgren. When a serial killer begins targeting women with a resemblance to Amelia Rose, Sophie and her mother have to question how well they know him. I found this to be a compulsive read which explores the psychology of a serial killer and the impact on those close to him. It has an original plot and structure and kept me guessing all the way through. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

What a read!
Dark and chilling. The destruction of a serial killer leaves behind hurt and anger and ruined relationships.
Twenty years later Sophie might now get the answers she needs.
But then again she might not........

When Sophie receives a letter from Battlemouth Prison it sends shivers down her spine. She knows who it is from. It is from Matty Melgren who has been in incarcerated in prison for the last twenty years for being the ‘shadow’ a serial killer who was guilty of killing women in North London. But he always claimed he was innocent.
Twenty years previously, Sophie and her mother Amelia -Rose moved from Massachusetts where she met charismatic Matthew-Melgren and he played a big part in their lives. He was more a father to Sophie, always going above and beyond for her. Better than her own father who abandoned her when she was eight.
So, when the letter arrives, she at first doesn’t want to see him as she is still getting over what happened all of them years ago. But Matty is dying and want to talk to her. So maybe she can get the truth of what happened and the closure she needs to move on.
Thank you, Quercus, for a copy of Truly, Darkly, deeply by Victoria Selman. This is the first book from the author I have read and to be honest, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. But I found this to be a dark, intriguing tale. That I couldn’t put down. With a great storyline and I thought the author did a good job getting into the serial killer mind. But also, it just questions, how well do we really know someone? 4 stars from me.

A book that sucks you in immediately and keeps you guessing until the very end, at which point you’ll likely realise that you got it wrong, which is always a bonus!

There are thousands of books about serial killers but this gives us the unusual viewpoint of some of the rarely considered victims of crime: those close to the suspect/perpetrator.

Most readers will feel that they know the answers to questions posed within the narrative from quite an early stage but the author manages to keep the reader engaged anyway as the story unfolds. Clever, fresh and well-paced with some unexpected twists.

With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

While I absolutely loved the beginning and thought the book had the perfect atmosphere, sadly the pull it had on me lessened as the book went on. I wish some of the repetitiveness had been edited out, as by the start of the second half I kept hoping for more. But all in all I think the book was well written and I will definitely try other books by this author.

"In particular, how was he able to guarantee our safety with such confidence? The obvious answer haunts me. And why it didn't occur to me then."
Truly, Darkly, Deeply had me enthralled from the first chapter. This is book is heavily based on the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with influences from Jack the Ripper as well. If you like serial killer documentaries and movies, I highly recommend this tale to you.
Selman has written this book in such a unique way. You are reading past, present, and future at the same time, but there are still twists and revelations that have you turning to the last page. The tension builds really well throughout the story, there is always something new just over the crest of the next chapter. A new fact to come to light, a new character to mistrust, a new body to be found. If you think you know where the story is going - trust me you don't!
The paragraph structure was a little off-putting at first as this book is written in prose rather than traditional storytelling. However, I believe it added to the growing sense of dread, and the mental state of all the characters. There is a definite trigger warning for mental illness, and although explicit descriptions are minimal, the gruesome nature of these crimes is heavily implied.

To be posted on: 18/06/2022
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