Into the Darkest Corner

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We’re experiencing the story in the points of view of Before Cathy and After Cathy, and the differences between them are both great and solid, which also means that Cathy’s characterization is both great and solid too. This is such an accomplished debut novel, quite gritty and confronting, it is very tense and a real page turner. It is seamlessly put together and the clever juxtaposition of chapters from the present and the past keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. you follow her journey over the next months as Lee becomes more and more controlling of her life untill she is suffocated and beaten down. Clearly, in this book, her friends are jealous and want to be with Lee themselves but they’re still believing all the crap he’s saying about her and turning them against her with no resistance.

I thought this was an excellent first novel because it hit on my favorite topics: dark psychological intrigue and really interesting characters. I think the way the author went back and forth between past and present was a clever way of giving the reader a disturbing insight into this relationship gone very bad.Nothing special, just average girl, living her life, working and having fun with her friends, meating a guy. They are told side by side and it took me a while to realise that they were both the same character. Sylvia, on the other hand, couldn’t convince me to like her at all, from start to the end—which is a good thing since that’s the kind of person it seems like she’s supposed to be, despite her later change. This book is not for the faint hearted and without putting in spoilers I will just say that some scenes in this book are violent and graphic, possibly triggering for some, if it had been a movie I would have been closing my eyes at certain points, but the book is so much more than just that. Increasingly isolated and driven into the darkest corner of her world, a desperate Catherine plans a meticulous escape.

The protagonist, Cathy, is a walking cliche of a victim of domestic violence, all beautifully wan and glamour-girly, and nothing about her is worth rooting for. In the beginning of the book you know that something happened, something that made her completely different person, but you don't know how exactely and why. Told from the point of the view of a female victim, this first novel is utterly gripping, extremely well told and considerably more detailed and textured than the typical crime thriller. Porém, como regra geral, toda a descida é uma potencial subida, Cathy lá encontra algures a corda libertadora!But, Lee is a master manipulator and soon drags Cathy kicking and screaming into a relationship of lies, fear and hate. The book explain really well why women stay in abusive relationship, and why it’s not so simple just to leave. It’s well written, and the author’s knowledge of the issues surrounding domestic violence shines through. The thing that really drove the story forward for me was my eagerness to see exactly what caused the destruction of Catherine, turning her into a shadow of herself.

I couldn't quite figure it out if it was a cliffhanger and there will be a sequel coming up or if it was just authors last attempt to screw with my mind. Our South coast-based book group had been starved of a good book for a month or two, so it was with some excitement that we stumbled across the buzz on Twitter about Elizabeth Haynes’ compelling debut novel Into the Darkest Corner. So this was a decent read, and I enjoyed something a bit different to my usual fare though I am in no rush to ever read anything by her again. Whenever I’m reading books that jump through time it always takes me a bit longer to get into it and track things properly but after the first couple of jumps, I was able to grasp it easily.This is not the sort of thing that I usually go for, psychological thrillers usually bore the hell out of me because they try too hard to be clever and turn the plot into a labyrinth.

It's impossible to guess the ending of the book and the storyline digs deep into your psyche, teasing you and tempting you to check that your own doors and windows are locked and secure… I love this book. Afraid of her own shadow and caught up in her OCD, Catherine must try to continue with her life whilst knowing that Lee is out there somewhere. I didn't enjoy reading those scenes, obviously, but I appreciate that she showed just how ugly, horrible and dangerous domestic violence is.You see, the biggest issue I had with this book is how the first half—excluding the first two chapters—is boring. I'm not putting that in a spoiler tag on purpose, because I think it's good to know what you are getting into when picking this up. The story is told in alternating chapters switching timelines with the before when once lively, fun loving and party girl Catherine meets handsome, charming and mysterious Lee and we follow their relationship as it declines into violence and the after, where we see Catherine is now struggling with OCD and PTSD giving us a good sense of the burdens of both.