Monday 9 April 2012

Into the Darkest Corner

Welcome to my little Niche within the library. So grab a coffee and let's review some books.

Into the Darkest CornerInto the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes is a dark, psychological suspense Novel that takes the reader into the life of Catherine Bailey, an employee at a PR Firm in Lancaster living with OCD and post traumatic stress caused by an abusive relationship with a psychotic, controlling police officer. After being held prisoner by Lee, which Catherine met at a Pub, Cathy begins to develop severe OCD. At first Lee seems like a real charmer; too good to be true. Charming Catherine's friends, Lee seems to be the perfect catch for Catherine; but soon Catherine begins to see Lee's controlling nature, as he takes over her life, rearranging her drawers, taking over her wardrobe, and searching through Catherine's diary. When Catherine complains about perfect Lee, her friend Sylvia thinks she's crazy and being a bitch. But then Catherine is found badly beaten and unconscious and rescued by a friend. At the start of the Novel, we find Catherine living a new life and meeting Stuart, a psychologist who befriends Catherine and helps her get over her anxiety. The author uses the device of Flashbacks to tell the story of abuse and torture which led Catherine into developing OCD and Post traumatic stress. The Novel does have a happy ending...though I didn't like it that Lee, the villain in the Novel, has the last words at the very end. I suppose the author left his letter to Catherine as an opening to a sequel.

This is a gripping and disturbing novel if you are interested in psychological suspense thrillers. The author wrote the Novel as part of the National Writer's Month (Nanowrimo) in November. I was shocked and traumatized by several scenes where Catherine was savagely raped by Lee and equally shocked to read about how Lee tricked Catherine into escaping to New York by setting up a false E-mail account and tricking Catherine into believing that a guy from work was offering Catherine a job in New York and a chance of escaping from Lee. When Catherine arrives in Heathrow Airport to fly to New York, she is arrested by Lee and held prisoner in her spare room, where Lee punches her senseless, rapes her, cuts her with a knife (and makes it look like Catherine is self-harming) and leaves her unconscious until she is found by a friend. I did find a few spelling mistakes in the novel, but it didn't take away from the story. I would have liked to read Sylvia's side of the story; why she was tricked into taking Lee's side and betraying Catherine. I also would have liked a different ending; one that has the villain locked away for life or dead and Catherine and Stuart living a new life under the Witness Protection Agency; but this is what I would have preferred, not as the author intended. This is, after all, the author's story and her style of writing. The plot has many twist and turns, many of which I didn't see coming.

The Author is a police Intelligence Analyst living in Kent. She started writing fiction in 2006. She has taken several courses in Creative Writing. Into the Darkest Corner is her debut Novel. She has recently published Revenge of the Tides.