Into The Darkest Corner is the first novel by British author, Elizabeth Haynes. In 2003, personnel manager Catherine Bailey is confident and carefree, with a full but somewhat risky social life that involves copious drinking and sexual promiscuity. In 2007, Cathy Bailey is frightened and withdrawn, crippled by the OCD rituals she follows to keep her emotions under control, to keep the fear and panic at bay. Starred Review. 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 So on one level I’m completely convinced that you can’t get everything you want or need from one person. To assume that your partner can satisfy all of your intellectual/emotional/physical needs is setting yourself up for failure.

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes | Waterstones

With that in mind then, if I can have fantastic conversations with my friends, vent to them, seek solace from them, go out and have fun with them, then what’s the one thing - the one dealbreaker - that I should want from a partner? Quite possibly one of the worst things about being the victim of a crime is feeling judged yourself. It’s perfectly natural to think of your own actions and agonize over how you could have prevented the crime, or how, if circumstances were different, you might’ve escaped it altogether. Among the most empowering things, therefore, for a victim of crime to hear, apart from that the perpetrator has been caught, are “You’re not alone” and “It’s not your fault.” Some are fortunate enough to learn that right away, others need a bit more time. But what if you don’t hear that at all? What if the people you trust the most tell you that you are at fault, that in fact, you are lying and not a victim of crime at all? When Catherine Bailey, the heroine of Elizabeth Haynes’ debut novel Into the Darkest Corner, calls herself “such a fool” for not having escaped an abusive relationship with Lee when she had the chance, I wanted to hug her and tell her not to blame herself. When she thinks about how her parents’ death led to her going to bars, flirting with strangers and eventually meeting Lee, I wanted to tell her that it’s useless to dwell on the what if’s, that in fact, her anger should be towards Lee and not towards herself or her past. I wanted to be the friend she so clearly needed.In October 2003, Cathy meets a somewhat mysterious but totally gorgeous man named Lee. He’s closed-mouthed about his job, but charms her friends, and as she gets involved with this enigmatic figure, a man who can be loving and vulnerable, but also rough and controlling, her life changes in major ways. For me, if the relationship is bad - if there’s no trust or if outside of the bedroom it all feels strained and lonely - then for me good sex means little. Catherine has been enjoying the single life for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic, spontaneous—Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell. Into the Darkest Corner has two timelines: past and present of Catherine Bailey. Cathy used to be a party girl: going out with friends every weekend, drinking and just having fun... till she met Lee. 4 years later Cathy is not a girl she used to be. She is traumatized, anxious girl with PTSD and OCD. What happened to her during those 4 years? Equally worth asking, how fantastic does a relationship need to be to compensate for bad sex? If the coupling is warm and trusting and romantic, does it really matter if the sex is all a bit crap?

Into the Darkest Corner : A Novel - Google Books Into the Darkest Corner : A Novel - Google Books

urn:lcp:intodarkestcorne0000hayn_n9e9:epub:51732da9-3c27-47f6-ba05-0b83a09d907e Foldoutcount 0 Identifier intodarkestcorne0000hayn_n9e9 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t4cp90j6p Invoice 1652 Isbn 9780956251572 But what begins as flattering attention and spontaneous, passionate sex transforms into raging jealousy, and Catherine soon discovers that Lee's dashing good looks hide a dark, violent nature. Suddenly what initially looks like commitment seems smothering; the sex that once felt all new and exciting and spontaneous feels a whole lot like rape. Lccn 2012371019 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Old_pallet IA14541 Openlibrary_edition

A debate Catherine has with herself during an early split with Lee is whether the sex - sex she considered, at least initially, as great - was grounds for reconciliation. For perseverance. 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. This is an edgy and powerful first novel, utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, and a tour de force of suspense. Mid 20s HR professional Catherine finds herself in the perfect relationship. Hunky Lee is gorgeous and devoted and protective. Apparently he’s everything a woman could want in a bloke. Book Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Romance, Suspense, Thriller

Into the Darkest Corner - PDF Free Download Into the Darkest Corner - PDF Free Download

In contrast to Lee is Stuart, Catherine’s neighbour in 2007, who is a psychologist and who wants to help her deal with her OCD. I was initially put off when he tells her she has OCD and asks if she’s gotten any help for it. I knew he was trying to be helpful, but I also wanted her to tell him it was none of his business. Still, she does need help, and I like how Haynes balances out Catherine’s wariness of Stuart with her desire to get better. Stuart gradually grew on me — I love how, despite his attraction to Catherine, he is first and foremost a friend. I kept wishing that he wouldn’t turn out to have some hidden agenda, that he really is as nice a guy as he seems. Lee is such a horrible, manipulative person, and the way he destroys Catherine is painstakingly, painfully methodical. Because Catherine’s relationship with Stuart unfolds in the book alongside her experiences with Lee, it is difficult to allow ourselves to trust Stuart, just as it must have been for Catherine as well. I wasn't too excited about the beginning of the story because it jumped around from present to the past. But there is a darker side to Lee. His erratic, controlling and sometimes frightening behaviour means that Catherine is increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, and trusting no one, she plans a meticulous escape. Four years later, struggling to overcome her demons, Catherine dares to believe she might be safe from harm. Until one phone call changes everything.The novel is structured so that the story of Catherine and Lee’s developing relationship in 2003 (pre-trial) is told in alongside (in alternating scenes) the story of Catherine in 2007 (post-trial). It took me a while to get into this structure, mostly because I felt I already knew how the 2003 storyline was going to turn out, and I wanted to get on with the rest of the story. I soon found myself liking Haynes’ choice of structure however — the scenes of Catherine being carefree and flirting with the handsome, mysterious Lee are especially heart-wrenching when contrasted with the perennially frightened Catherine in 2007, who suffers from OCD and practically has to be dragged to the office Christmas party. Into the Darkest Corner was the third of my annual ‘Nano’ novels and it was the first one that had something like a proper ending. I wanted to write about how it felt not to be believed, and the story evolved from that idea. Many writers plan their stories carefully before they start, but I have a tendency to get bored and distracted, and my solution to this is to let the story grow as I write it. That way the ending is a surprise to me, and writing about it is exciting and fresh. Of course, it takes much longer to edit than if I’d planned it properly. A very impressive first novel; it tells the story of Catherine who starts off as a lively, fun loving party girl until she meets Lee.” Crime Thriller - Yes General Crime (including known murderer) - Yes Who's the criminal enemy here? - crazed lover/family member If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by dangerous boy/girlfriend/spouse Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? - Yes Main Character Gender - Female