Book Review -Into the Darkest Corner, Elizabeth Haynes

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Into the Darkest Corner, Elizabeth Haynes, Myriad Editions, 2011

Elizabeth Haynes is a police intelligence analyst and we can only imagine how much of the detail she has put into the novel that is based on fact.  The book was created as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and is Haynes first novel.  It was featured on More4’s TV Book Club in 2012 where it sparked a lively debate.

Into the Darkest Corner tells the tale of an abusive relationship.  Catherine has been enjoying single life as much as the next person, relishing the freedom being unattached brings her.  All of this changes when she meets Lee.  A chance encounter leads to something more, while at first she enjoys the highs such a passionate pairing can bring, it soon becomes clear that in this case such highs bring crippling lows.  For Lee is not the nice guy he charms Catherine’s friends into thinking he is. 

By the time she finally realises the lengths he will go to keep her, it is too late to stop the devastating chain of events in motion, that will have a lasting effect on her life.  The timeline of the novel goes between the length of Catherine’s relationship with Lee and her life after him.  Anyone that has ever been in an abusive relationship will recognise the signs as Lee’s behaviour changes from a slightly possessive boyfriend to something far more sinister.  Into the Darkest Corner captures exactly how being in an abusive relationship – whether physical, mental, or both – can destroy a person from the inside out.  Domestic abuse is not an easy subject to write about and I commend Elizabeth Haynes for highlighting such an important issue.  Gripping, terrifying, and utterly captivating; this was Elizabeth Haynes first novel and I cannot wait for her next book.

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