About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

INTO THE DARKEST CORNER
by Elizabeth Haynes
Harper, June 2012
416 pages
$25.99
ISBN: 0062197258


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

INTO THE DARKEST CORNER is a hard book to put down, although its suspense is tempered by the extremely disturbing nature of its theme. The author, Elizabeth Haynes, has chosen a structure for her book that allows us to see both the past history of a young woman's abusive relationship and her present day efforts to come to grips with what happened. To accomplish this, Haynes alternates between chapters in which either the past or the present unfolds before us.

In 2003, we see that Cathy Bailey is a bit of a party girl, and when she first meets Lee Brightman it seems that they are both looking for the same kind of fun. However, Lee becomes more and more controlling and physically abusive. As can be the case in abusive relationships, Cathy rationalizes and accepts his escalating violence until it is too late for her to escape. He beats her up and rapes her and seems to get sexual pleasure out of doing this. When he almost kills her, he ends up with a jail sentence only because he is found to have lied, not because of his acts. Strangely, her best friend is a witness for the defense, corroborating the idea that Cathy is mentally unbalanced and is inflicting injury on herself. The book begins with a transcript of Lee's trial, and the reader may want to revisit it after more is understood about the characters.

In the present, about four years later, Cathy has found ways to cope with her fears. She obsessively checks and rechecks her doors and windows and curtains before leaving for work each day and if she is interrupted in her ritual she must begin again. She believes that her abuser may be looking for her again. This fear may be reality based or not. We do not know if it is a symptom of her psychological condition, which seems to be a combination of post-traumatic stress syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, or if violently insane Lee may indeed be after her. Things take a turn for the better when a new tenant named Stuart moves into a flat above hers. He is a psychologist, and tries to get help for her. The reader hopes he is genuine, but Cathy does not have a good track record with relationships.

What Cathy has gone through and continues to live with garner our sympathy, yet her behavior as an on-the-make single gives us grounds to resist too much compassion. Haynes thus presents a nuanced rendering of her character. As the past catches up with the present, suspense builds. Be strong, oh reader, and do not be tempted to sneak a peek at what happens. The ending may not actually be the end in any case.

Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.

Reviewed by Anne Corey, March 2012

This book has more than one review. Click here to show all.

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]