Into the Darkest Corner

Starred review from April 9, 2012
British author Haynes’s first novel, a harrowing psychological thriller, charts one woman’s life on two different time paths as they gradually converge into a frightening whole. The Catherine Bailey we meet in 2003 was fun loving and liked going out with her friends in Lancaster. The Cathy Bailey we see in 2007, a frightened obsessive-compulsive, has difficulty leaving her London flat for work or talking to neighboring tenants. In 2003, Catherine meets handsome, charming Lee Brightman, who gradually isolates her and controls every aspect of her life, despite her increasingly desperate attempts to escape him. Their story develops in excruciating detail until 2005, when circumstances contrive to give her a respite from Lee. Meanwhile in 2007, Cathy meets fellow tenant Stuart Richardson, a psychologist who befriends her and helps her to begin a fragile recovery. When Cathy learns that Lee could re-enter her life, she fears the horror will start anew. This is a terrifying and convincing portrayal of an abusive relationship and a damaged woman’s heroic attempts to recover from it.