The monster you love: Truly, Darkly, Deeply by Victoria Selman #bookreview #TrulyDarklyDeeply #NetGalley

12-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?

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Hi and welcome to my review of Truly, Darkly, Deeply!

When I spotted Truly, Darkly, Deeply on Twitter, I couldn’t resist checking it out, and once I had, I just had to read this book! I love a good serial killer thriller and Truly, Darkly, Deeply turned out to be an excellent one!

After reading a few slower books that took me rather long to finish, I was in the mood for a fast-paced thriller and I had a feeling Truly, Darkly, Deeply would be just that. I could not have been more right! I basically raced through it and I almost literally had to restrain myself to not finish it late at night. An exciting finale does not make for a good night’s sleep and I just knew Truly, Darkly, Deeply still had something thrilling in store for me. (And it did too! As I found out the day after.)

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is told from the perspective of Sophie, the only child of a single mother, born in the US and brought to London at the age of twelve. It’s set in the present day, with flashbacks to Sophie’s childhood and her memories of her mum, her gran, and her mum’s boyfriend Matty, who was arrested for committing multiple murders and has been held at her Majesty’s Pleasure for nigh on twenty years when Sophie is informed he’s dying and wants to see her.

Throughout the story, we watch Sophie struggle with her memories of and her feelings for Matty. After all, he was the only father she ever knew and she loved him to bits for years. Was he truly a monster who pulled the wool over her and her mum’s eyes, or might he have been wrongfully accused as some true crime fans claim, innocent yet incarcerated all this time?

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a riveting psychological / crime thriller and I had a brilliant time with it. While I do enjoy police procedurals, I really loved that this wasn’t at all about the police investigation into the murders, but a look at the lives of those closely connected to a convicted killer. If he’s innocent, had there been a way to save him? If he’s guilty, had there been a way to save his victims? Thought-provoking and super entertaining, I would happily recommend Truly, Darkly, Deeply to fans of the genre.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is out on 7 July in digital formats, hardcover and audio.

Massive thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.