Book Review: Into The Darkest Corner

When I first started reading Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes, what (obviously) jumped out at me was the way the book is narrated: there is a dated entry from 2003, then a dated entry from 2007 ... and back and forth and back and forth for the rest of the book. I was like NO. I just can't do this. Set-ups like this generally give me intense rage and make me give up on books. Shockingly, by the third page, I didn't mind anymore, which is a true testament to the story.

The back-and-forth follows the same character, Cathy, leading up to a traumatic event, and following her post-trauma. Since you already have a general idea of what happened to Cathy in 2003, reading the story of her increasingly abusive stalker boyfriend is very tense -- you know something terrible is about to happen, but you don't know when and you don't know how crazy things will get before it happens. In the "post-attack" timeline, you see a shattered woman trying to rebuild her life, but something tells you that you are not just reading a story of overcoming PTSD and OCD -- something else is going to happen to Cathy. But what? It's a nail-biter, to say the least.

It's more than just a suspenseful novel, however. It touches on tough subjects, like abusive relationships, stalkers, and mental illness. It's uncomfortable to read at times, and you will find yourself screaming at Cathy in your head, but you will also put yourself in her shoes and wonder how you would find a way to escape and what you would have the strength to do. At one point the character tackles this idea head-on, saying she always thought women who didn't leave abusive relationships were lying to themselves when they said it wasn't as easy as it seemed to just leave.  

This book is certainly well-written (I often found myself stopping to think how she actually wrote the two separate but complimentary storylines and got everything to match up so well!), it is different, and it is definitely a page-turner. 

If you'd like to read what the other bloggers on this TLC book tour had to say about this book, click HERE for the master schedule. You can also check out the author's website, facebook page, or Twitter account if you'd like. 

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for this review. I was not compensated, and the opinions expressed are solely my own.