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***** - Truly Darkly Deeply


TRULY, DARKLY, DEEPLY

VICTORIA SELMAN

*****

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?


MY REVIEW

*****

I’m a big fan of true crime - the podcasts, the books, the Netflix documentaries, all of it! Truly, Darkly, Deeply seemed to be very much up my street – focusing on Sophie whose father figure and childhood hero is in jail for being a serial killer. As soon as we start the book, the authors forward explains that she references several real serial killers to create a profile of The Shadow in her book, and it’s fun to find those little Easter eggs within the novel. It really gave the novel a rounded out and well-researched feel.


The narrative alternates between Sophie at 12 years old, when her mother met Matty, and Sophie in her early 30s who gets a letter from him wanting to meet her in prison. This is paced really well, and I never felt like I wanted to rush certain chapters to get back to a certain point in the story which sometimes happens using this technique. Sophie is easy to relate to, her story is dark, and you really empathise with her as she relives her childhood, trying to work out what was real and what wasn’t. The novel is also interspersed with snippets from newspapers, podcasts and blogs debating whether Matty is innocent or not which worked well to sow seeds of doubt in the reader’s mind as well.


At 11% of the way through this book I messaged my partner with my guess for the twist and unfortunately, I was proven completely correct! I don’t think this particularly hampered my enjoyment of the book however, it was fun to read the book with this idea in mind and I think I picked up on a few hints that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. The end reveal is very well done though, with no loose ends or plot-holes.


Overall if you are a true-crime fan Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a must-read. Thank you to NetGalley & Quercus Books for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.


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