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.

I loved this very different take on a serial killer novel. Other reviewers have lamented the pace, but I found the psychological insight of this set up more than compelling enough to keep me reading long into the night. I did guess parts of the twist from very early on, but nevertheless found it deliciously satisfying.

It looks like Sophie might finally get the answers she craves. But will the truth set her free - or bury her deeper?

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Selman has successfully crafted a haunting and thrilling novel that will keep you page-turning long into the night.

The layering of flashbacks, the present day and blog posts/articles connect and engage the reader in the story while slowly building up tension and mystery.

It is hard to say that I 'enjoyed' reading this as the subject matter is very dark, but I would definitely recommend this book to fans of true crime. Character information and hints to the plot are peppered perfectly throughout to keep you guessing to the end.

This is a slow burn read - sometimes too slow. The tension is perfect but the pace is sometimes lost and the flashbacks often become repetitive. I found myself itching for a development in the plot. That being said the last 30% was gripping and the ending was unexpected!

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus books for an advanced copy.

Breathtakingly good, and the title is bang on the money - truly dark in all the right places. A serial killer story through the eyes of those who are affected by their actions. Matty Melgren was convicted of some horrific crimes, but is he where he deserves, or was he swept up in a huge miscarriage of justice fuelled by fear? Victoria Selman has knocked it out of the park with this one.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I only managed to read half of this book before I gave up. 46% in and there didn’t seem to be anything keeping me hooked to it - no twists or turns, no new developments in the plot.

The book has been written from an original perspective. Who would think about people left to deal with the aftermath of a serial killer? It felt a tad slow to begin with but I soon found myself wanting more. Did he? Didn't he? And then a totally unexpected twist.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely unique and interesting. It was quite slow though and took a while to develop. I’m not sure that I am entirely satisfied with the ending though.

Loved the writing style in this one; I thought the author quite talented to be able to carry the whole story from one character. It was really well-paced and I couldn't wait to find out the ending - it had me gripped and I really cared about what happened to the daughter. Well done - great writing and a great premise.

This novel had everything I love in a thriller - an unrepentant serial killer, back and forths between the past and present with the story being gradually revealed, and a series of killer twists.

Sophie, now grown up, was raised by her beautiful single mother, Amelia-Rose. Until, that is, Amelia met handsome and charismatic Matty Melgren, and Sophie finally had a father figure in her life. The only blight on Sophie's childhood is the serial killer targeting her neighbourhood, with all the victims bearing more than a passing resemblance to her mother...

Meanwhile, adult Sophie is living as normal a life as she can when she is contacted by Matty from prison. Convicted of the serial murders all those years ago, Matty still claims he is innocent - and now he's dying and wants to see Sophie one last time...

I don't want to say too much about this one so as not to spoil anything, but I couldn't put it down. Well-written, engaging, and genuinely creepy at times, I couldn't wait to get from one chapter to the next. Highly recommend this one if you;re a fan of 'killer-thrillers' that have a bit more about them than just the murder element.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, who granted me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.