Reviews

Truly, Darkly, Deeply by Victoria Selman

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nicole_tree's review against another edition

4.0

He’s a monster to everyone but you. Truly Darkly Deeply follows two times interwoven to show how someone could grow up with a serial killer, love them, and the effects of having their world come crashing down.

When I originally started this book, I thought it was going to be creepy, probably full of major signs that the family glanced over and just an overall sense of unease. What I got was so much more impactful than that.

This story follows Sophie in her adult years as she tries to process everything and her as a child who adores her mothers boyfriend Matty. She looks at him with rose colored glasses and wants nothing more than to see him smile. She even goes so far as to make sure her mom knows Sophie loves Matty more. Making it all the more heartbreaking as you read through the story knowing from page 1 he’s a serial killer.

This book did what I think so many others if it’s kind try to do and I couldn’t be more happy that I got a chance to read it. If you’re a fan of crime stories, Criminal Minds and the like I think you should definitely give this a try!

*Thank you to the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

kellyj1028's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

When I saw the synopsis for Truly, Darkly, Deeply, I just had to read it. A serial killer in North London in the 1980's.... my kind of book. It is compelling,engrossing and extremely well written.

This was a very different take on a serial killer story. It is told through the eyes of Sophie, who is just 12 years old when she moves to London from Boston with her mother, Amelia-Rose. The book begins with Sophie receiving a letter from Battlemouth Prison. She feels sick but at the same time needs to know what Matty wants. 20 years ago he was a huge part of her life, as her mother's boyfriend & the closest thing that she has ever had as a father. She loved him. But then he was sent down for multiple murder - he was the Shadow.

Now Matty is dying and wants to see her. Will she get the answers she needs?

This book was incredibly hard to put down, and I absolutely loved the ending , it was just perfect. You have to read it, trust me, add this to your TBR!

This is the first book I’ve read by Victoria Selman but I can’t wait to discover more !!

lotties_booked's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

anjadevries's review against another edition

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2.0

I was so looking forward to this one since I picked it up at The Works but it just didn't do it for me!!

I found it really slow to get into and quite confusing with the past & present flips as its not that clear and its very muddled together. It only really picked up I'd say about 70% of the way in and it didn't pick up by much. There was also alot of repetitiveness throughout, going back to the same memories, repeating the same snippets of information and Sophie constantly repeating "the bad thing I've done", which turned out not to be bad and was really anti climactic and quite boring.

There was also a twist at the end, which I was waiting for, hoping it would blow me away but unfortunately it felt so forced & rushed and literally happened in the second to last chapter.

Interesting concept but don't think I would recommend unfortunately.

abshire9's review against another edition

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dark

3.75

pandasbookshelf's review against another edition

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5.0

Truly, Darkly, Deeply is a standalone psychological crime thriller by author, Victoria Selman. This author is new to me. I loved the attention-grabbing cover and chilling synopsis and just had to know more. Already I can tell that this author is going to be someone I read over and over again. I loved the dual timelines as the main character described her childhood before everything changed. I’m a huge fan of serial killer crime stories and found myself easily engrossed in this psychologically captivating story. It’s not super fast-paced but the storyline really sucks you in and you just have to keep reading to know the final truth of what happened. Throughout the book I was torn which way I wanted things to go and found the conclusion satisfying. The characters in this book were detailed, complex and I enjoyed the concept of whether we ever really know those closest to us and what they are capable of. The book asks hard questions and delves into complex themes which are well handled. I enjoyed this one immensely and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes domestic suspense, serial killers, or psychological crime stories.