This isn’t normal. This isn’t how normal people think. 

Fuck off, world- what the hell is normal anyway? – “Into The Darkest Corner” -Elizabeth Haynes 

Get ready for a book that will have you flipping page by page until the very last chapter. Elizabeth Haynes creates a story so vivid and spine tingly that it will have you feeling like you are the narrator yourself. When Catherine Bailey meets Lee Brightman, she can’t believe she found such a perfect guy. He is polite, he is cordial, he takes her on nice dinners, and knows how to cook. He just knows the right words to say, and her friends love him from the start. Before she knows it, they are in a serious relationship and are ready to embarking on this new life together until things begin to feel a bit off to Catherine.

Struggling to find the answers to Lee’s , sometimes unexplainable behavior, Catherine decides to break off the whole relationship. Lee does not take this too well, and ends up acting violently towards Catherine. What seemed like love at first sight turns into an obsessive, controlling, and stalker like love that leaves Catherine fighting for her life. Years later, Catherine is able to start a new life without Lee, but nothing has become easier for Catherine to deal with. Her daily life is being lived in fear that Lee will one day find her as is release date from prison is not too far away. 

Four years later, Catherine is consumed by her inner fears. She double, triple, and quadruple checks her doors and windows before leaving her house. She is afraid for her life and for what could happen if Lee were to find her again. 

Prepare yourself to read a novel with no cliche twists and turns. Not only is this book well written Haynes does a good job in depicting Catherine as a strong woman. As she goes through her dark past, you are able to see her growth through the beautiful writing that Haynes sets out for the reader. Throughout the novel, I found myself rooting for Catherine. Hoping she would come out on top and be able to face her offender before it’s too late. 

The novel goes between the past and the present, so the reader is able to fully understand Catherine’s story and why she acts the way she acts during certain scenes in “present time” in the novel. Catherine is the main narrator so throughout the whole novel you are able to understand what is going on in her mind every step of the way. 

What I loved most about this novel was that it will open your eyes to what a true abusive relationship can be. There are so many grey areas when you are in love and stable with someone that sometimes you forget what is okay and what is not okay. Catherine experiences a love that makes her feel so uncomfortable that she questions whether it is real or not. Her friends convince her that love can have obsessive and controlling tendencies and this leaves Catherine dealing with all of her troubles on her own. 

I hope you enjoy this read. I sure did and will recommend to all my suspense lovers. I ended up reading this novel while home a lone for a week and I will say I was regretting it by bed time. Lol 

Bye for now. 

Jules