Being a true crime fan, I loved how this book talked about serial killers. It made me think of Ted Bundy as soon as I heard Matty worked in a crisis centre.

It was briliantly written in the fact even though I predicted the twist halfway through, her writing kept me engaged and turning the pages.

It was different in that it was written from the childs point of view and not the parents. That made the book more interesting. The timeline was from 1980 to present day.

4.5* --> 5*

Matty Melgren was a charming, handsome man. Most of all, he was a father figure to Sophie. The man who encouraged her, supported her, played games with her and always made her feel safe. But Matty had a darker side and twenty years ago, he was handed a life sentence for multiple murders of women in the North London area. He always maintained his innocence. Now, Matty is dying and he wants to meet with Sophie one last time. Sophie is reluctant but maybe this visit will answer some questions and give her some closure. There are after all missing women whose bodies have never been found. Will Matty, after all this time, finally admit that he was indeed a serial killer?

‘Truly Darkly Deeply‘ is told via a first person narrative and I think that really works here, as it feels as if you’ve just sat down with a cup of coffee while Sophie is telling you her story. In doing so, Victoria Selman manages to put quite a delightful spin on the one thing that everyone is always thinking when a seemingly normal family member turns out to be anything but : how could they not have known? How did Sophie’s mother not see? Sophie herself might have been too young and even now, when she’s looking back on those years of her early childhood, how reliable are her memories?

Sophie’s story begins when her mother packs up their things and moves them from Massachusetts to London, England. It is here where Sophie’s mother first meets Matty and Amelia-Rose is smitten. Matty very quickly becomes an intrinsic part of their little family unit. Sophie looks up at him and puts him on a pedestal. After all, Matty is everything she could possibly want in a father. Even though Matty often seems to lie or hide things, or puts down Amelia-Rose and argues with her pretty often, Sophie will always choose his side. So when the bodies of young women start popping up all North London, Matty is the least likely suspect to Sophie.

Was Matty truly a serial killer or was the wrong man convicted of these brutal murders? Don’t expect any answers soon. They are slow in coming but boy, are they worth the wait. The journey to the reveal is immensely compelling, and because the story is told via Sophie herself, it often becomes quite emotive. It’s remarkably easy to put yourself in her shoes, to wonder, to think things through and maybe find the answers before they’re revealed to you.

It might not be the world’s most popular topic and everyone is always going to have an opinion on it, but the impact of being related to a murderer really shouldn’t be underestimated. Those who are left behind will see their lives changed dramatically. People will start to look at them differently, avoid and ignore them, whisper behind their backs. “They must have known.” Maybe some do. I’m sure most don’t. Could they have done something to prevent the murders? Is it fair to blame them? Should they feel guilty? Do you think you’d know if you were related to a serial killer? Do you ever really know someone? It’s all so thought-provoking.

You might remember that my first introduction to Victoria Selman a little while ago wasn’t as successful as I had expected based on reviews I’d seen. ‘Truly Darkly Deeply‘ is a whole other kettle of fish though and I’m incredibly glad I took a chance on it. The blurb intrigued me from the second I saw it and I didn’t look back. There’s a delightful true crime vibe to it, which I enjoyed immensely and once I started reading, there was no way I was putting the book back down before I knew the truth of it all. I raced through this, savoured the chilling reveals and once you get to the end and think back on everything you’ve read …. all that’s left to say is “well played, Victoria Selman!”. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.

I was hoping to love this book but, I found it slow and tedious and not very interesting. I was glad to finish this book to be honest. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Sophie is making the difficult decision over whether to visit the man who practically raised her but was found guilty of murder. She has her own guilt about those times and still isnt totally sure if he commited the horrendous murders or not. The truth will set her free she hopes.

This was a really good read. I loved all the clever references to famous serial killer cases. As a true crime fan it added to the story. As for the plot itself it jumps from the present to the past as Sophie takes us back through those dark months. The ending is cleverly done and I liked the added twist. The writing is descriptive and draws you in. A brilliant read especially if you know your serial killers.

This was a very interesting read! It is about a serial killer but told through the eyes of his Girlfriends daughter who relays the story from both the past and in the present. Seeing the murders and the events that surround them told from this perspective made this a very unique reading experience. I was gripped from the first chapters and didn't see the twist coming until the final chapters. This book definitely made you doubt yourself and I found myself asking 'was it really him?' so many times! Very enjoyable!

This book was an incredible read. It literally had everything for me that a thriller should have
I found it incredibly hard to put down.
The storyline is so compelling. It draws you in immediately as a reader and hooks you
The storyline is extremely clever and I was a huge fan of how the author put the twists in and the twists all came out in the conclusion
There were so many what ifs to be asked throughout the book
I cannot recommend this book enough if you are a fan of dark, addictive thrillers
Thank you to the publisher for having me on the tour for this book

A chilling story and full of twists and turns about a girl called Sophie and her mother Amelia-Rose who move to London. where her mother meets Matty Melgren who is found guilty of being a serial killer. Twenty years later Sophie visits him in prison to get answers.
Thanks to NetGalley & Quercus Books.

I wanted to love this book because the storyline was clever, chilling and made for compulsive reading. The narrative was well written drawing the reader in quickly and keeping their attention. A range of interesting characters but not all likeable.
But for me what let the book down slightly , was the repetitive narrative of Sophie’s feelings, which felt a bit tedious. My first book from this author but not the last. A really sick, twisted novel about a serial killer and the long lasting effects on his ‘family’.

I enjoyed the tale that Victoria Selman has to tell but I feel that she took too long to tell it. With hindsight, a book best kept for the long dark evenings.

An interesting plot which kept me reading however a duel timeline is usually my favourite but in this case I found myself confused at times, having to read abit before thinking “ah that’s now” “oh that’s when she was younger”

When a mother and daughter move to London, a new friendship ends in devastating consequences. Twenty years later they get the opportunity to find some answers. Will the answers be what she is looking for or will it further complicate her life. An intriguing thriller with lots of twists.

The premise of this book was excellent but unfortunately I guessed the twist in the first few chapters. I hoped I’d be proved wrong, that it was a red herring but I was right.

Victoria Selman’s Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a rare beast; an original fresh and compelling novel that drove me on from the very start. It’s immersive, propuls ive and absolutely gripping.

The story is straightforward enough. Would you know if you were living with a serial killer? Sophie is a young child just 12 years old, when her mother American Amelia-Rose meets Matty Melgren. Irish, charming and attentive, Matty is a bereavement Counsellor who also works in a local London Crisis Centre.

Sophie is struggling with all the changes her life has been going through. Her father left her and her mother without so much as a goodbye. Her mother moves to London for a fresh start but Sophie, already feeling so much loss is a fish out of water in her new school where everything is different, even the spelling at which she used to excel.

So when the charming Matty moves into their lives, Sophie is a little captivated.

When several women are murdered near Amelia-Rose and Sophie’s home in North London – and those women bear a striking resemblance to Amelia-Rose, it takes a long time for the police to track down the perpetrator. Matty is arrested and charged, all the while protesting his innocence.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is told by Sophie as she waits to meet Matty, now a convicted serial killer, in Battlemouth Prison. As she prepares to see Matty, who has pancreatic cancer, for the first time since his incarceration, she thinks back to all the events that lead to this moment.

Were there signs? Interpreting events after the fact is a nightmare game and it’s a rabbit hole both Sophie and her mother go down with terrible frequency. Everyone thinks it must have been obvious; of course they know. How could they not?

But the truth is that, 20 years later, Sophie is still not 100% sure Matty is guilty. And that’s why she’s here, waiting to see him. Because she has to know.

What she does know is that serial killer or not, he has destroyed their lives. Not in the same way that the women and the child he killed were slain, but Sophie and Amelia–Rose were destroyed just the same.

Victoria Selman spins a fascinating web of lies, deceit and chilling, deathly dread mixed with warmth, charm and flattery to create a vivid portrait of a family that combusts after Matty is arrested and charged with multiple murders.

Verdict: Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a terrifically vivid and genuinely chilling read that held me fast all the while I was reading it. It has empathy, chills and a few really unexpected moments that all add up to an engrossing, exceptional and wholly captivating read. Highly recommended.

So to begin with I found this story slow, but I still couldn’t stop reading! It’s a creepy thriller and it’s one of those you think you know the ending… but you don’t!

I really enjoyed this one and would love to read more of Victoria Selmans work!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Quercus for my advance copy of #TrulyDarklyDeeply by #VictoriaSelman
I love books about serial killers and was looking forward to reading this one but I just couldn’t get into it. I read about a third and flicked to the end. The main character just didn’t hold my attention.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

A dark, disquieting and compelling story told by Sophie. Sophie moved to London with her mother as a child where they meet Matty Melgren. Matty is serving a life sentence for a series of murders. Much of the book is Sophie's attempt to make sense of her childhood and her feelings towards Matty who fulfilled the father figure role in her life. The pace is at times a little slow, but it's necessary in order to really understand the tensions in the relationships between Sophie and Matty, Sophie and her mother, Amelia, and Amelia and Matty. The ending was satisfying. An excellent thriller read.

Well I wasn't expecting that ending!! At first I thought this book was the same as others, until I started getting nearer the ending. It was a bit of a slow starter but the further you read into Amelia Rose, Sophie and Matty's lives the more intriguing the book became.

Halfway through I was totally enthralled, I was willing the meeting between Sophie and her mother's boyfriend who became the convicted serial killer. Matty wanted to clear his conscience by telling Sophie the truth behind his killing spree. Sophie wasn't the only one who wanted answers, I did to, as so many details I thought were just irrelevant actually became very important and relevant to the storyline. The final few chapters were jaw dropping and lead to a fantastic twist to the story in the end.

I found myself completely engrossed in this and could see how someone could be taken in by Matty Melgren. Initially I thought it was going to take a sinister turn towards Sophie, but Matty is very kind towards her, he’s just like a father to her!

It was fascinating seeing how the relationship between Amelia Rose and Matty developed and how this had an effect on the relationship with Sophie – mother and daughter, Matty and Sophie, the three of them together. All so interesting. The writer did so very cleverly.

I was not expecting the ending and I will be looking out for more by this author. I would rate this book 4 stars.

I read and reviewed Truly Darkly Deeply on Netgalley and received a digital ARC copy in exchange of an honest review. This thriller was a serial killer novel with a twist; it was a story told by the serial killer’s daughter. It was chilling in places, thrilling too and right from the start I willed the main character to remain strong.
I liked the author’s writing style, the plot and the main characters and their relationships, and I liked the action packed novel.
I’m giving this novel 5 stars as it held my attention throughout, and while it is my first novel that I’ve read by the author, I know I want to read more.

Ths was an enthralling and very different book to read. It was a lovely premise to base the book on the fact that the step daughter of a convicted serial killer wants answers to many questions over why he did what he did and what it was he finally wants to tell her as he is dying. The lead up in the final chapters leads to a really great ending.