Truly, Darkly, Deeply

Twelve year old Sophie and her mother move to London for a fresh start. Her mother meets Matty and they seem to make a nice family together. Everyone is happy. Until the murders start. And the women murdered all look like Sophie’s mother, Amelia-Rose. This is a different take on a serial killer book. Unusually viewed from inside the family of the serial killer, the book takes you on an unusual ride from start to the very unexpected finish. Matty is less like a serial killer than anyone can imagine, he is handsome, has a normal family life, he likes to dress well and is an educated man. It’s not a surprise that his family don’t believe it is it? One day, a letter arrives for adult Sophie. Twenty years after he was imprisoned, Matty is trying to get in touch with Sophie. Why now? Will a visit answer all her questions? Matty is dying so he is asking to see Sophie before he becomes too ill. I loved going back in time to the days of being without a mobile phone, to the days when news was watched on tv and read about in newspapers. The music was spot on and brought back its own memories. This was a highlight of the book for me, together with descriptions of the wonderful clothes from that time. I love Victoria Selman’s writing and it certainly didn’t disappoint once again. This is a must for those of us who love true crime as it read very much like an old documentary from that time. Very interesting.

“Matty was more of a dad to me than Jame Brennan ever was. Jame, no ‘s’. An affectation to make him sound special. I laughed when I watched Silence of the Lambs. My father had the same name as Buffalo Bill. Jame Gumb. What is it about me and serial killers?” - ‘Truly, Darkly, Deeply’ by Victoria Selman. This was the kind of thriller perfect for fans, like myself, of true crime and the sub-genre of crime fiction that focuses on serial killers. Once started, I couldn’t put it down. The plot centres on Sophie Brennan, now thirty-two, as she seeks to come to terms with the traumatic events of her childhood when her mother’s boyfriend was arrested for a series of brutal murders in North London. In 1983 Matthew (Matty) Melgren was convicted and imprisoned for life with no chance of parole. Twenty years has passed and Matty has continued to maintain his innocence, claiming that he was set up. Sophie was only twelve when she and her mother, Amelia-Rose, moved from Massachusetts to London. Amelia-Rose began dating the charismatic Matty Melgren and soon he had become an integral part of their lives. For Sophie, who was having difficulty fitting in with her British peers, he became a substitute father. When a number of young women are found murdered, it becomes clear that a dangerous serial killer is at large in London. Sophie is especially concerned about her mother’s safety given that the victims bear a striking resemblance to Amelia-Rose. The police seem baffled and the press dub him the Shadow. As further bodies are found a few odd incidents leads Sophie to become suspicious of Matty though she remains conflicted. When Matty is sent down Sophie and Amelia-Rose were vilified and retreated from society. Now twenty years later Sophie has received a letter from Battlemouth Prison informing her Matty is dying and wants to meet her. This is her last opportunity to get the answers that she craves. Yet will the truth set her free or bury her deeper? I found this a very clever novel. Victoria Selman divides her narrative between events in the early 1980s and Sophie’s present, circa 2003. I felt that Selman included enough period detail, such as historical events, mentions of people and pop culture references to ground her narrative. Having lived through the periods covered I certainly didn’t find myself tripping over any obvious anachronisms. In addition, there are a number of true crime case references contained in the story. Overall, I was impressed with ‘Truly, Darkly, Deeply’. I found it a mature serial killer thriller that was strongly character-led and unfolded at a measured pace. While the crimes were shocking with the story being told by Sophie any gratuitous elements were kept to a minimum and only referenced. This is the third book that I have read by Victoria Selman and they have all...

If you are looking for a slow burning, darkly distinctive crime novel then Truly Darkly Deeply needs to be on your TBR pile! I had seen a few reviews doing the rounds and could tell that it would be right up my street but it was even better than I was expecting it to be… Amelia Rose moves to London from the USA with her young daughter Sophie. They live a quiet life without many friends but they are speak to their family back home often. But then Matty enters their lives and both mother and daughter fall into an easy relationship with charismatic man although their are signs from the start that something is a little off with him. When a serial killer starts targeting women who look very similar to Amelia Rose, it is Matty who falls under investigation and he is eventually imprisoned for those heinous crimes… Grown up Sophie has been deeply affected by her brush with a serial killer especially one who treated her like a daughter. When she receives a letter from the prison where Matty is living out his sentence, she doesn’t want to respond to his request for her to visit initially but she knows the doubts she has over his conviction need to be met head on. I felt quite sorry for Sophie, her life had been affected by her connection with Matty but I knew why she went chasing answers. Their meeting doesn’t actually happen until quite far along into the narrative which gives a chance for the tension to rise to an almost unbearable level! The reader sees everything from Sophie’s POV and we do spot things that a young girl wouldn’t be able to! But do these things mean that Matty is a conniving and clever criminal or has there been an horrific miscarriage of justice? I had Ted Bundy vibes whilst reading this, remembering how different he was when he was living with his girlfriend and her daughter-unlike the vile and depraved murderer he was. In fact there are many nods to infamous murder suspects here and true crime fans will find much to get their teeth into throughout. I had no idea why Matty would ask to see Sophie again-was this a deathbed confession of some kind? And if so what? The Matty we meet when he comes into Sophie’s life is funny, caring and considerate unlike the downstairs neighbour who gave me the creeps! So has the time come for Sophie to learn the truth and why has it taken so long? I was drawn into the relationships between these characters very quickly but the sense of danger crept up gradually leaving me feeling very unsettled indeed. I absolutely devoured this book and loved everything about it. It was uncomfortable reading at times though probably due to have realistic it felt. True crime fans will love it too as, although it is fiction it felt like you were reading about a real life series of crimes. Highly recommended and can’t wait to read more from Victoria Selman!

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is true crime thriller, that follows Sophie, her mom Amelia - Rose and Matthew (Matty) Melgren's life. After 20 years, Sophie gets letter from Battlemouth prison where she is informed that Matty is dying and wants to meet her. For the last two decades, Sophie has lived with uncertainty about Matty's sentence, her many unanswered questions are still affecting her every aspect of life and she questions her life, that was spent with her mom and Marty, when she was younger. Will she finnaly learn the truth? Is Matty a victim of unfair judgment? What was unique, is that this novel was told from the perspective of child Sophie and adult Sophie, with twenty years passing between the POVs. Writing was good and thriller worthy, but I did feel that in several occasions phrasing felt repetitive. Also, I think novel could be shorter, as after 35% (if I remember correctly) nothing major happened and pacing felt slow. Either way, it was gripping when it needed to be and I didn't guess ending, so that was a treat for me. Thank you!

There were a few things that made me want to read this book, the first being of course the whole theme of the book and the fact it was a murder novel/thriller and the second was that it is released on my birthday. I also loved the cover of this book with the rose which after reading it, I assume is a reference to the mum in the book as her name is Amelia-Rose. The book starts in the present time where it is twenty years since Matthew Melgren committed heinous murders on 9 females including a child (that’s nine that we know of). Right through, Matty has always proclaimed he is innocent and was framed. Being a charming guy and a bereavement counselor and a loving stepdad - it is easy to see why people believe he is innocent. Equally, some believe he is guilty. Now twenty years on, Matt is dying and his stepdaughter Sophie has received a letter from him asking her to visit. She is reluctant but knows deep down she needs this to move on with her life. The book then jumps to the past which shows how Matt came to be a part of Sophie and her mum Amelia-Rose's family and the ups and downs they had and then the murders happening on TV and eventually his arrest. The book also shows a huge part of the effect it had on Sophie and her mum, rather than focusing on the acts of murder itself - though we do have news coverage and newspaper articles throughout the story. I loved the surprise twist at the end which I wish they had gone into a bit more detail as it came out of the semi-left field. Overall, this was a slower-paced read but fascinating at the same time and it reminded me as a whole of a fictional version of Ted Bundy's story as Ted Bundy worked as a crisis counselor and he was charming, suave, and had a wife and daughter. Truly, Darkly, Deeply by Victoria Selman is the perfect fiction-based read for any true crime Aficionado.