This is a psychological thriller of the best kind, one where you know something awful is waiting just around the corner and you need to keep on turning those pages until you find out what happens.

From its uncompromising prologue – a young woman being bludgeoned to death in a ditch – Haynes's powerful account of domestic violence is disquieting, yet unsensationalist. Into the Darkest Corner is also really empowering and gives hope and courage for women who experienced it. While the relationship starts off simply enough as time goes by Cathy starts to become afraid of Lee and his erratic temper. In the book, Cathy’s friends don’t realise what is going on right in front of them, partly because they have no experience of violence – it’s something that happens to ‘other people’.I especially didn't think it made sense that this person who was so paranoid she spent hours checking her door, would go walking around in dark alleyways to check on her crappy friend. Alternating chapters take us back to the past, four years ago and we slowly witness the events that brought Cathy to this point in her life.

Although most of it is from Karen Cass with her lovely English accent we do have David Thorpe’s wonderful performance as well (also an English accent). I felt like I was on a roller coaster, completely terrified by what might be coming next, only to have a small reprieve, and wonder what lay around the next corner. O presente mostra o que um relacionamento abusivo deixa em algumas pessoas, e o livro inteiro, você torce para que no fim, a personagem consiga superar parte do trauma. The abuse is a large part of this book but the most important part of it is the aftermath that comes in waves for Catherine. She had a rather flat personality before she was chained up in a basement and as such all the quirkiness was only born because of torment.The pain and frustration of OCD is brilliantly evoked and I winced every time Cathy embarked on yet another ritual. The protagonist, Cathy, is a walking cliche of a victim of domestic violence, all beautifully wan and glamour-girly, and nothing about her is worth rooting for. I never thought that simple words on a printed page could create such fear that I’d be checking under the bed every night. It also includes the story four years after, showing the damage done to Cathy which has left her isolated, suffering from OCD and post traumatic stress.

Aside from the emotion, there are so many practical factors that keep people together: having children, the perceived shame of a failed relationship, even something as basic as not being able to afford to move out of the house. It's impossible to guess the ending of the book and the storyline digs deep into your psyche, teasing you and tempting you to check that your own doors and windows are locked and secure… I love this book. I stayed up late last night reading this book, had a nightmare (as I thought I would, I think I even heard my self screaming or crying, right before I woke up. There’s real dramatic tension in this book and when I got to the end the first thing that I did was to turn back to the beginning again.On a night of usual fun with her friends, she locks eyes with a gorgeous man that draws her in and changes all her ways but not for the right reason. Tratando-se na sua maioria de casos em que os envolvidos se relacionaram de comum acordo, perguntamo-nos como raio sucederam essas versões reais da fábula do Capuchinho Vermelho devorado (subentenda-se violentado) pelo Lobo Mau! I really did think this was really good, but parts of the ending weren't believable to me, after so much of the book felt so real. I mentioned earlier that it’s ‘convincing enough’ and it shows a good contrast between Before Cathy and After Cathy, but ‘convincing enough’ isn’t good enough.

Catherine finds herself growing more and more afraid of him, so with no other options, she plans her escape.It took me a while to get past Cathy's OCD routines and the way the book was written, alternating from past to present day, but as I kept reading, I found I could not stop wanting to find out what Cathy's psycho control freak boyfriend was going to do next, and WHAT AN ENDING! Present day Cathy is suffering with OCD and anxiety, but she is functioning, and getting through life day by day.