Title: Truly Darkly Deeply

Author: Victoria Selman

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Quercus

Publication Date: 7th July 2022

Rating: 5/5

Cover:

Summary:

Twelve-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.

When Matty is eventually sent down for multiple murders, questions remain as to his guilt — questions which ultimately destroy both women. Nearly twenty years later, Sophie receives a letter from Battlemouth Prison informing her Matty is dying and wants to meet. It looks like Sophie might finally get the answers she craves. But will the truth set her free — or bury her deeper?

Review:

I have to confess, serial killers fascinate me. I find the psychology behind their crimes so interesting and as soon as I heard about Truly Darkly Deeply I knew I wanted to read it! The story follows 12 year Sophie, who moves with her mother from Massachusetts to London. There, her mother becomes romantically involved with a man, Matty Melgren, who becomes part of their family and a father figure for Sophie. However, young women, all with a startling resemblance to Sophie’s mother Amelia-Rose, start to go missing and showing up dead. Matty is arrested and convicted of the awful string of murders. Two decades later, the adult Sophie is still traumatised by what happened and when she receives a prison letter summoning her to see Matty again, she just might get some answers about the truth and whether Matty truly is a monster or the father figure she adored.

I loved this book – it drew me in with its unnerving and sinister style and I couldn’t put it down until the very last page. The narrative is split between Sophie as an adult and her teenage years when the horrific events took place that led to Matty’s conviction. As a reader we get to see exactly how the trauma of Sophie’s past has shaped her entire life. It’s a fascinating and illuminating perspective on the manipulation and power that certain types of people can wield and the damage they leave in their wake. Truly Darkly Deeply is beautifully written and carries with it a chilling sense of atmosphere that sent a shiver down my spine. There is something genuinely frightening about this book, a true sense of unease permeates the pages. Dark, disturbing and powerful, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers or true crime.

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Thank you to Joe at Quercus for the blog tour invite and for the hardback copy of the book. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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