Saturday, January 19, 2013

Into the Darkest Corner

I have been reading a ton of YA, romance and erotica novels as of late so it's about time I break it up a bit with a psychological thriller that makes me feel like maybe my OCD isn't that bad after all. Take THAT, Matt for making fun of my even number of swipes with the vacuum!

Into the Darkest Corner - Elizabeth Haynes


When young, pretty Catherine Bailey meets Lee Brightman, she can’t believe her luck. Gorgeous, charismatic, and a bit mysterious, Lee seems almost too perfect to be true.
But what begins as flattering attention and spontaneous, passionate sex transforms into raging jealousy, and Catherine soon discovers that Lee’s dazzling blue eyes and blond good looks hide a dark, violent nature. Disturbed by his increasingly erratic, controlling behavior, she tries to break it off; turning to her friends for support, she’s stunned to find they don’t believe her. Increasingly isolated and driven into the darkest corner of her world, a desperate Catherine plans a meticulous escape.
Four years later, Lee is behind bars and Catherine—now Cathy—is trying to build a new life in a new city. Though her body has healed, the trauma of the past still haunts her. Then Stuart Richardson, her attractive new neighbor, moves in. Encouraging her to confront her fears, he sparks unexpected hope and the possibility of love and a normal life.
Until the day the phone rings . . .
I'm going to tell you right now that if ever I had a thought to divorce Matt and hit the singles scene like it's never been hit before, this book right here convinced me that Matt isn't that bad and I'd rather be single forever than date anyone. I'm sure dating has always been scary but I've only had an experience with one nutjob and thankfully it wasn't to this degree. Also? Elizabeth can craft a story perfectly so that it reads like a memoir and you have to remind yourself that this isn't real so you don't start checking doors and windows. 
Basically Catherine is a normal, twentysomething, on the cusp of real adulthood of having a career and basically having it all. Then she meets Lee who's gorgeous and charming as hell and her friends all envy her for this guy.  He's basically Adonis who is a little scary (pushing her into an office to have sex and then creepily stares at her through the monitor), very charming, alluring (she doesn't really know what he does for a job but whatever it is sometimes leaves him in a foul mood and beaten up), and he clearly loves her. Adores her. The relationship starts off just fine but as time goes by he kind of invades her life. Every attempt she makes to distance herself fails and her friends think she's either being ungrateful or just going nuts. Over time, Lee develops into a mentally, emotionally, and physically abusive partner which lands him in jail. 
The books flip flops from Lee and Catherine's relationship leading up to the event that landed him in jail, and the present day where you now have Cathy who is one shade short of being bat shit crazy. Rightfully so. When you find out just how bad things got for her, you're left wondering why wouldn't she be this way. She's obsessive compulsive about checking doors, checking rooms, checking things and you find out why as you read the book. She doesn't just pick random things to check, she has a purpose. But all the while, she almost accidentally develops a relationship with her upstairs neighbor and then basically... all shit hits the fan for her. 
This is an absolutely RIVETING book. I literally could not put this baby down and I will say, probably not the best thing to read before bed? Let's just say I had a few nightmares. Basically my fear is the dark, and it's also being attacked/abducted/etc. So YAY, it's all rolled into this. Normally I read lines in a book and think hmm.. that's something to note.. but then I forget. Not this book. One of the most disturbing lines in the book is when Catherine asks Lee (early on in their relationship) if he's a good guy or bad guy (trying to determine his job). His response seems innocent at this point in the book, "It depends if you're a good girl or a bad girl", but then when you find out what Lee is REALLY like, and what he did to Naomi (his previous girlfriend), it send chills right down your spine. 
I'm no relationship expert, but ladies if a guy ever gives you that line- run for the god damn hills. 
Of course, don't just rely on my awesome expertise, check out the rest of the blog tour HERE. She also has a website, Facebook, and Twitter

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Riveting sounds like the perfect word for this book!

Thanks for being on the tour.