Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes is a psychological thriller that is probably unlike any you’ve read or seen before. Her portrayal of OCD and love gone very, very wrong is gripping, and might even leave you wanting to check and re-check things over and over again, too.

Book Description

“Catherine Bailey has been enjoying the single life long enough to know a catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic and spontaneous, Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell.

But what begins as flattering attentiveness and passionate sex turns into raging jealousy, and Catherine soon learns there is a darker side to Lee. His increasingly erratic, controlling behavior becomes frightening, but no one believes her when she shares her fears. Increasingly isolated and driven into the darkest corner of her world, a desperate Catherine plans a meticulous escape.

Four years later, Lee is behind bars and Catherine—now Cathy—compulsively checks the locks and doors in her apartment, trusting no one. But when an attractive upstairs neighbor, Stuart, comes into her life, Cathy dares to hope that happiness and love may still be possible . . . until she receives a phone call informing her of Lee’s impending release. Soon after, Cathy thinks she catches a glimpse of the former best friend who testified against her in the trial; she begins to return home to find objects subtly rearranged in her apartment, one of Lee’s old tricks. Convinced she is back in her former lover’s sights, Cathy prepares to wrestle with the demons of her past for the last time.

Utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, Into the Darkest corner is an ingeniously structured and plotted tour de force of suspense that marks the arrival of a major new talent.” – Into the Darkest Corner

My Thoughts

Into the Darkest Corner is an intense book that was written with such thought and detail, it will leave you thinking about things in a new perspective. The main character, Catherine (also known as Cathy) is captivating and her fears about her ex-boyfriend, Lee is so intense it made me as a reader look at people much differently.

The book is told from Catherine’s perspective in two time frames of her life. In one she is a carefree party girl that falls in love with Lee. Her present-day life isn’t as carefree, as she is now haunted by her past and is struggling with her very real fears about her ex, and her OCD is taking over her life. I don’t always enjoy reading books with a split timeline, but this one is done in a very clever way, and I think it added to the suspense in the story.

I enjoyed this book right up to the very end, and I can’t wait to see it if it is turned into a movie. I highly recommend this as one of your summer reads, just make sure you check the locks a few times before reading.

* Thank you to the publisher of Into the Darkest Corner, Harper, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.