Catherine has been enjoying the single life for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic, spontaneous – Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell. But there is a darker side to Lee. His erratic, controlling and sometimes frightening behaviour means that Catherine is increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, and trusting no one, she plans a meticulous escape. Four years later, struggling to overcome her demons, Catherine dares to believe she might be safe from harm. Until one phone call changes everything. This is an edgy and powerful first novel, utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, and a tour de force of suspense.
O.M.G. Into the Darkest Corners is a psychological thriller to the max. I can say I have not in my memory ever read a book that had me literally having to take breaks so I could slow my racing heart and calm myself down. I had my heart in my throat for over half the book – especially the second half. I think this could possibly be sold as a weight loss aid because I’m pretty sure I burned at least as many calories as I would if I ran on a treadmill while reading. It definitely gets the heart and blood pumping!
Into the Darkest Corner is Cathy’s present and past, told as parallel stories. So we see exactly where she started and how she is now. And at first you can’t help but wonder “what in the world could possibly happen to turn this woman into a paranoid panic stricken victim who lives her life with perpetual fear and can only calm herself a bit with OCD behaviors?!” The more we read of her past, things are slowly revealed and there’s plenty of suspense in her present life because the thing she fears most just got released from his cage…
Haynes is a fricken genius of lighting the slow and steady fuse that begs you to follow it until it blows up, even though you know the explosion isn’t going to be pretty! I don’t think I’ve ever felt more for a main character. I literally felt guilty for putting the book down – which was hard to do but a girl has to sleep! I felt like I was leaving Cathy all alone every time I closed the book and I didn’t want to! I just wanted to give her a hug and listen to what she wanted to talk about. I wanted to be there for her like her friends weren’t.
I think this should be required reading for anyone who has to deal with relationship crisis and abuse. Mental health and social worker professionals. Into the Darkest really shows how a relationship can turn bad, even a seemingly perfect relationship. Everyone likes to ask “why don’t they just leave” and this book highlights [in an extreme way] why that’s not so easy.
Cathy is a hero in my eyes. It was awesome to see her character develop. We feel her fear, paranoia, and terror but we also get to feel her empowerment.
This book is unforgettable. Some of the scenes are graphic, I will say that. But abuse is never pretty. Into the Darkest Corner makes the words on the page a palpable thing; the story became so real to me. I would think about Cathy’s predicament even when I wasn’t reading.
When I turned and read that final page I was left with a shiver. I feel like I made this journey with Cathy. I still think of her and I can’t help but hope good things are in store for her future.
Into the Darkest Corner takes you to the deepest fears of the heart. That perfect man might not be all he appears, and you might not realize it until there’s nowhere to turn.
I cannot recommend this book enough! If you like suspense at ALL especially psychological suspense, you have to read it!
Into the Darkest Corner
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About April
Wow, this sounds like a fantastic read. Another one for my growing “to be read” list. It’s always fascinating when a book can consume you and make you believe in the characters and the story you are reading. Your review sounds like it’s a book that can’t be put down. I will definitely check out this book.
It was DEFINITELY unputdownable. If I was a faster reader I would’ve read it in a day or two. Unfortunately for me I’m human and not that fast of a reader so I had to take sleep breaks in between reading!
I actually got it to read last year and I WISH I had read it as soon as I had gotten it instead of putting it off.
I hope you love it as much as I did when you read it
Thanks for stopping by 
Oh, this sounds so intense. I like it when a book can make me give all those feelings. It’s great that you even had the idea that you were leaving Cathy alone. Isn’t is awesome when a book can suck you in that way
Yes, intense is definitely the right word for it! This book is an emotional rollercoaster, and soooo sooo worth reading
I love it when books suck me in like this, it’s priceless 