Thank you to the author, publishers Quercus Books and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

 

What's it like to be raised by someone who's then convicted for serial murder? For young Sophie, Matty is the light in her life. Her mother's boyfriend who is a substitute father for her and about whom her biggest fear is that her mother will chase him away. But, years later Sophie is still trying to figure out who Matty really was. Was he the man who went out of his way to buy her favourite ice-cream or the person who murdered at least 10 women, all of whom looked very like her mother?

 

This is a very cleverly written story. It pulled me in and maintained a looming sense of threat without ever feeling exploitative of the experiences of the real family and friends of people who turned out to be killers. Sophie is an easy to empathise with character. From the child who doesn't see that her feelings are being manipulated by her mother's at best controlling boyfriend, to the adult who lives with guilt mixed with confusion borne from the uncertainty about whether Matty, who has always protested his innocence, is guilty or not.

 

It feels very realistic. Written between memories of childhood and Sophie's reflections as an adult, if this has been a sold as a memoir I would have easily believed it.

 

If you like good psychological crime fiction and true crime stories you'll love this.