My Darling Daughter is the fifth book written by Tony Strong under the pseudonym of JP Delaney and I’ve (now) read and enjoyed all five. They lean strongly to domestic noir, featuring secrets kept between partners or husbands and wives and challenging relationships to breaking point. They’re also consistently clever and offer a number of twists and surprises so readers generally need to be prepared to strap themselves in.
Truly Darkly Deeply by Victoria Selman is a challenging book to review. There was a lot I loved about it. Our lead character Sophia drew me in, though she’s not altogether likeable or easy to get to know. Selman sets up the mystery of Sophia’s past well. She’s clever in her introduction to father-figure Matty, along with Sophia and her mother Amelia-Rose. We know there’s something off – in the past and present – but aren’t sure what it is. There seems to be gaping holes in the plot. One minute Sophie is with her dog, then she’s talking to her mother. And we leap about from the past to the present and it’s not always clear (at least immediately) if we’re with young Sophie or 30-something year old Sophie.
But despite (or in spite of) these inconsistencies and some confusion, it’s rivetting and we need to know more.
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