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Into the Darkest Corner: A Novel [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Haynes
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (718 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 5, 2012

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 behaviour 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 neighbour, 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.


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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2012: Many times as I was reading Into the Darkest Corner, the refrain from that old R&B song kept replaying in my head: "It's a thin line between love and hate..." Apologies, as it'll now be stuck in yours for the next couple of days, but Elizabeth Haynes' highly suspenseful and cleverly crafted psychological thriller will haunt you for much longer. In it we find our obsessive-compulsive heroine, Catherine Bailey, checking and rechecking her door locks six times, eschewing red clothing, shopping only on certain days--clearly something horrible has happened, and Haynes masterfully teases out the disturbing details, which involve a Jekyll and Hyde boyfriend. As the story unfolds, it provides subtle insight into why, despite red flags and bruises, someone would stay in an abusive relationship, and it makes you root for Catherine all the more to overcome the psychological fallout. If you're a fan of cinematic showdowns, you won't be disappointed. But the quietly powerful moments in Haynes' narrative resonate even more, as she illustrates that one of the bravest things someone can do is lock the door behind her, maybe five or six times, and step out into an uncertain world again. --Erin Kodicek

Review

“Harrowing.” (New York Times Book Review)

“A highly suspenseful and cleverly-crafted psychological thriller….Haynes masterfully teases out the disturbing details, which involve a Jekyll and Hyde boyfriend. If you’re a fan of cinematic showdowns you won’t be disappointed, but it’s also the quietly powerful moments in Haynes’s narrative that resonate.” (Erin Kodicek, Amazon.com)

“In this violent, gripping suspense novel, a woman with obsessive compulsive disorder lives in fear of her unstable, stalker ex-boyfriend.” (Wall Street Journal)

“A sexy psychological thriller…. Anyone looking for a suspenseful read this summer at the beach, pick up Into the Darkest Corner.” (John Searles, Weekend Today Show)

“Gripping psychological thriller. . . . Haynes puts the reader into Bailey’s mind and the result is a grim, dark and extremely difficult story. The feelings of isolation and helplessness ooze off the page. . . A compelling first novel.” (Associated Press)

“Check the locks on your doors and windows and surrender to this obsessive thriller.” (Karin Slaughter, author of Fallen)

“A chilling page-turner.” (Booklist)

“This intense, gripping account of domestic violence and its aftermath is utterly unputdownable. A stunning debut.” (S.J. Watson, author of Before I Go to Sleep)

“A harrowing psychological thriller….A terrifying and convincing portrayal of an abusive relationship and a damaged woman’s heroic attempts to recover from it.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“A chilling, page-turning read, which charts domestic violence without flinching and portrays OCD with insight and compassion.” (Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister)

“A scary and superbly written debut thriller.” (Library Journal, starred review)

Into the Darkest Corner is a gripping page-turner that will suck you in from the first scene and not let you go you until it reaches its stunning conclusion.” (Chevy Stevens, author of Never Knowing and Still Missing)

“Gripping.” (The Guardian)

“Fantastic.” (Newbooks Magazine)

“Chilling.” (The Book Case, 20 summer standouts)

“A tour de force début novel that is both creepily disturbing and yet beautifully rendered.” (Sam Millar, New York Journal of Books)

“Unforgettable.” (Kathleen Heady, Deadly Suspense magazine)

“Haynes is a master at building tension to unbearable heights, and her thorough and thoughtful exploration of the psychological fallout of abuse adds a unique layer to the story….Into the Darkest Corner is a terrifying thriller.” (BookPage)

“Gripping….A compelling first novel.” (Jeff Ayers, Associated Press)

“This mind-bending thriller will give you chills as you follow a young woman who is trying to escape her ex-boyfriend - and her own demons.” (Cosmopolitan)

“A gripping psychological thriller....A terrifying cautionary tale of modern relationships.” (Miami Herald)

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (June 5, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9780062197252
  • ISBN-13: 978-0062197252
  • ASIN: 0062197258
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (718 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Haynes is a police intelligence analyst. She started writing fiction in 2006 with the annual challenge of National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) and the encouragement of the creative writing courses at West Dean College. She lives in a village near Maidstone, Kent, with her husband and son. Into the Darkest Corner is her first novel. Visit her website at www.elizabeth-haynes.com.

Customer Reviews

It is very well written, and the characters are great. Susan A Verdier  |  128 reviewers made a similar statement
The ending was great and the suspense of the whole book kept you turning pages. judy  |  115 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
196 of 204 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all! May 1, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
This book by Elizabeth Haynes was Amazon's UK Best Book of the Year when it was published last year and has already sold film rights. It deserves to be a best seller in this country in July.
A quick no spoiler recap and a few warnings in this review.
The story begins with a transcript from a 2005 trial in the UK which the reader will be compelled to go back and read a number of times as they travel through this riveting story.
In 2007, Catherine Bailey is a woman inflicted with a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She lives in fear of everything including but not limited to serious relationships. Then the story swiftly flashes back to late 2003 where Catherine is a normal business woman living a normal live but seeking to find the right man to fulfill her life.
Every few pages the story moves back and forth through these time phases as the writer fills in numerous gaps to explain how this normal woman became one who epitomizes OCD.
In each of these time frames, Catherine becomes involved with a man. These two men, one a mysterious man with hidden motives and one a doctor who takes a serious interest in her for various reasons are vital parts of this fascinating story. She has no parents so her female friends and a sympathetic police woman also become major elements of her life.
A few warnings. This is a story of violent physical and mental abuse. It incorporates rape and other methods of physical and sexual torture. In many other books these types of plot turns would simply be for sensationalism. In this incredible tale, these plot turns are vital and fundamental to the story that Haynes is telling.
This is a long book (about 400 pages) and at around page 250, I was thinking I had already learned more about OCD than I ever wanted to know.
... Read more ›
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75 of 81 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping May 3, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
This book may be different from any book you'll read this year. It's harsh and gripping. It alternates chapters between two different time periods but with each one you feel you're on a roller coaster heading for disaster.

Catherine Bailey starts out as a happy, carefree young woman enjoying herself and her friends. But she meets the wrong man and slowly becomes a person who is terrorized and almost killed. The descriptions of OCD are gripping. Her fear jumps off the pages and the reader is carried along with it. Sometimes I had to put the book down to come back to my own safe reality.

This book is not for faint at heart but it is a very good book. And the ending leaves you thinking.
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51 of 58 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating suspense May 5, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
In The Darkest Corner is a layered suspense novel that will scare you to death. What's so frightening about Darkest Corner is that it can and does happen to people every day. Who wouldn't be attractive to a drop-dead gorgeous man who's absolutely obsessed with you? Who isn't looking for the perfect mate, who cares where you are all the time? Who cares what you wear to the point of distraction? Who makes all your friends green with envy?

And what happens when that obsession turns frightening instead of flattering? Haynes has written an amazing debut novel that will keep her readers up far into the night as they try not to see similar behavior to Lee Brightman in their own mates. A character worthy of the plucky heroine, Cathy Bailey, Lee is the perfect date when she first meets him. Physically perfect right down to his clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair, Lee makes Cathy the envy of all of her friends. The relationship starts out perfect. Lee is the kind of man Cathy's been looking for all her life, until little things start to happen. Maybe the sex was a little rough one time, or maybe Lee is a little tiring about the red silk dress he's first seen Cathy in, insisting she wear it would be inappropriate to do so.

With the line between falling in love and obsession so thin, Cathy doubts herself when she starts to think that Lee might not be so perfect after all. When she tries to tell her friends, they brush her off, doubtless because they wish they had a man was perfect of their own.

While there are many books that follow the same sort of plotting, what sets Darkest Corner apart is Cathy's Obsessive Compulsion Disorder(OCD).
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67 of 82 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Just so-so May 17, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
This novel alternates between the past when Cathy meets a handsome, charismatic man, Lee and begins a relationship with him that quickly turns violent and controlling -- to the present when she has OCD and post-tramautic stress syndrome and tries to start a relationship with a new man.

This story has been told many times before and there is really nothing new here. Even more disappointing was that there were so many things that I just didn't buy. I really didn't buy that all her friends that she had known for years would not believe or help her when she told them about Lee--and also that Cathy allowed herself to be such a victim. In the present, I really didn't see what these men saw in her . . . I mean unless she was so breathtakingly beautiful or something, why did Stuart and his friend think she was so wonderful . . . wonderful enough that Stuart would put up with all of her weird behaviors and keep pursuing her. Also, I can't believe that Stuart kept pooh-poohing her concerns when strange things are happening in the their apartment building, when he knew that her psycho boyfriend had been released from prison. But most of all, I found Cathy to be very weak and unlikeable and when she finally does decide to stand up for herself, she does it so stupidly that I still don't think much of her.

I gave this book three stars because it did keep me interested enough that I finished the book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars a great page turner!
I was looking for a good read and purchased this based on the reviews. I'm glad I did since it kept me turning the pages while ignoring everything else that I should have been... Read more
Published 4 hours ago by S. Jenkins
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars from me and that's all you are getting
great read. I will buy more of her books. Hope you enjoy it too. That's it. I refused to write anymore words and I will not rate anymore of these if you can't accept the number of... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Martha W Brock
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
I couldn't put this down. Such a scary, exciting read! Best book I've read in a long time , definately reccomend getting your hands on it!
Published 4 days ago by Lisa Perry
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book
This book kept me in the dark the whole time, and I couldn’t put it down. Would recommend it to everyone who loves a thriller!
Published 4 days ago by Santie
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
I really enjoyed reading this. Couldn't put it down. I'm looking forward to reading many more of her books in the future. Thanks!
Published 5 days ago by Luuli
5.0 out of 5 stars Living in constant fear
I found the book keeping me in suspense from page one. It gave me an idea of how terrifying it must be experiencing a relationship like the described. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Maiken
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it in one day
Couldn't put this book down. Super fast and excellent read! Well written - will definitely be reading her other books.
Published 7 days ago by stephanie neuenschwander
5.0 out of 5 stars A very different type of book
It was a little hard for me to follow at first. When I got a bit into the book and got used to the style it was easy to keep track of. I really did enjoy the book.
Published 8 days ago by Valerie
4.0 out of 5 stars an easy read
Interesting structure but could get a little too unnecessary. Was a little predictable. Could do with a little more suspense. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Ashley Stuart
4.0 out of 5 stars From Shattered Confidence to Victory
For anyone who has lived with the aftermath of abuse, this book will strike raw nerves that should have been buried long ago. Read more
Published 9 days ago by MommyHuggin
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