by Victoria Selman
SYNOPSIS
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 murder, 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
When Sophie was twelve years old, she moved from the US to the UK with her mother Amelia-Rose who wanted a fresh start after separating from her husband. London in the 1980s was a culture shock for Sophie who struggled to fit in until her mother met Matty Melgren who stepped in and became a father figure for her, helping them both to adjust to their new lives.
Told over twenty years in a dual-timeline format, we hear the story from Sophie's point of view as she has to deal with the fact that this man who she looked at as a father, was convicted of a of series of brutal murders of young women. The guilt and confusion over what happened have haunted her for years but now Sophie has a chance to find out the truth, as Matty contacts her from prison - he is dying and finally wants to put the record straight.
I have always been a huge fan of serial killer thrillers and Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a compelling, twisted and interesting take on the genre. It is really quite an unusual mash-up of some classic serial killer novels and true crime accounts with a Mindhunter meets The SIlence of the Lambs vibe, alongside one of my more recent favourites, Notes on an Execution.
Truly, Darkly, Deeply is an unexpected novel with all of the elements you would want from this genre - plenty of suspense, an addictive plot, references to real life cases, plus a fantastic ending which I know will be a big hit with other true crime and crime fiction fans.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Selman is the author of the critically acclaimed Ziba MacKenzie series. Her debut novel, Blood for Blood, was shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award and an Amazon Charts #1 bestseller for five weeks, selling over half a million copies. Victoria has written for the Independent, co-hosts Crime Time FM with critics, Barry Forshaw and Paul Burke, compiles the Afraid of the Light charity anthology series and was shortlisted for the 2021 CWA Short Story Dagger Award. Find her on Twitter @VictoriaSelman or sign up to her newsletter at www.victoriaselmanauthor.com
Thanks to Quercus Books @QuercusBooks and Victoria Selman @VictoriaSelman for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Thriller / Mystery
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 978-1529420647
Pages: 352pp
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