(Book Review): Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

Into the Darkest Corner was a gripping, creepy and engrossing read. This book was recommended to me by a good friend of mine. Since then, I had this book in my to-be-read shelf. I don’t have a clear explanation for putting off this book to a later read. Eventually I had to pick it up after seeing my friends gushing about it. It has the most chilling plot line that I have read in a very long time. I’m not a squeamish person, but surprisingly this book creeped me out. Haynes writing was intense and unputdownable.

The book flips back and forth between past and the present happenings. The protagonist Catherine Bailey(in the past) has been enjoying the single life as a coquette for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. She meets charismatic Lee and starts dating. Her friends, agrees that he is gorgeous. Their relationship starts out to be amazing but later Catherine finds out Lee has a darker side. Her friends start suspecting her for their rocky relationship, this is because Lee is a charmer and begins to tell her friends that aren’t true about Catherine. She is driven into the darkest corner of her world, and trusting no one. She makes a scrupulous plan to escape her predicament.

Four years later (present),Catharine now Cathy(changes her name) is suffering from OCD and PTSD. She isolates herself and starts checking things over and over. Every time she enters the house she ensures her apartment main door lock is safely secured, and checks the curtains, bathroom doors, kitchen cabinets, room, her personal belongings. She has a count for checking. If she feels something is wrong she would start it again. Now, Cathy doesn’t trust anyone and always had a thought that Lee was watching her even though he isn’t. She meets Stuart, a psychologist who lives in the apartment above her and he convinces her to seek treatment for her OCD. Eventually they start liking each other but Cathy is wary in stepping into another relationship. After a while she finds out something strange happening around her and realizes that she is in danger.

While reading this book I felt like I was developing OCD and I did check my door. I kid you not, even the slightest noise scared me and my heart pounded. I wanted to slow down to take things happening in the book and assure myself that its a fictional one but I couldn’t resist any longer and I whipped through book quickly. Yes, it was that gripping and intense. I was cringing in shock when I read the last few lines. I would say, it was a riveting novel.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get sucked in a good thriller and get creeped out. If by any chance you are going to read it before you hit the sack be ready to face your nightmares.