Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes (thoughts)

Into The Darkest Corner was a dark, thrilling read that kept a constant flow of tension running through me the entire time that I was reading.  The story is told in two parts: one part is Catherine's memories and the other part is the present day Catherine as she struggles to deal with those memories and adjust. 

I'm not going to tell you more than that as I don't think it's necessary and because this is one of those books where less is more.  From the very first page the author creates this atmosphere that is filled with tension, fear, and suspense.  It made for such a dark reading experience because every turn of the page left me waiting for something to happen.  For the ball to drop so to speak.  I began to feel the fear that was a constant presence in Catherine's life.  I knew that something bad was going to happen and it was mainly just a matter of when.  It made every page filled with suspense and creepiness.  Wow!  For this being a debut the author did an AMAZING job with the atmosphere in this book.  It was a presence entirely of its' own!

Another thing that I enjoyed about this book was the author's portrayal of Catherine.  I much preferred reading about present day Catherine and watching as she learned to deal with her OCD.  I thought that the author did a really great job of writing Catherine's fears so realistically until the point where you almost felt them yourself.  I loved that there wasn't an easy answer to her problems.  I found that I really connected with her as a main character because of this.  While I didn't always care for the Catherine in her memories or agree with her choices, I cared about what happened to her.  It made for a really solid read!

Overall, I am quite anxious to read more by this author.  I'm extremely pleased that I had the chance to read this book and will definitely be recommending it.  I've got to honestly tell you that if I hadn't read so many amazing thrillers last year that this book would have made my top ten reads.  It was that good!  There were just too many others though so I didn't end up choosing it.  I would highly recommend this one with one warning:  there is violence (lots of it) and it is a pretty dark book at times.  If any of that bothers you then it might not be a book for you.  Otherwise like I said, I highly recommend and really enjoyed it myself!

Bottom Line:  A tense thriller that kept me glued to the pages!

Disclosure:  I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of this book for review thanks to the publisher and am reviewing it as part of a TLC book tour!  Thoughts are my own as always :)