Into the Darkest Corner

Longlist 2013

Catherine has been enjoying the single life for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic, spontaneous – Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell.

But there is a darker side to Lee. His erratic, controlling and sometimes frightening behaviour means that Catherine is increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, and trusting no one, she plans a meticulous escape. Four years later, struggling to overcome her demons, Catherine dares to believe she might be safe from harm. Until one phone call changes everything.

This is an edgy and powerful first novel, utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, and a tour de force of suspense.

(From Publisher)

About the Author

Elizabeth Haynes grew up in Seaford, Sussex and studied English, German and Art History at Leicester University. Previous jobs on a long and winding career path have included selling cars, working as a medical rep and selling printing consumables. She currently works as a police intelligence analyst and lives in Kent with her husband and son.

Her first novel, Into the Darkest Corner, was Amazon’s Best Book of the Year 2011. It was originally written as part of National Novel Writing Month, an online challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. Elizabeth has taken part in Nanowrimo every year since 2005 and it forms the focal point of her writing; for one month every year, writing takes priority over almost everything else. Having completed a full draft of Into the Darkest Corner in 2008, Elizabeth took a creative writing course at West Dean College run by Greg Mosse, and with his encouragement, submitted her book to Myriad.

Her second novel, Revenge of the Tide, was published by Myriad in March 2012 and her third novel, Human Remains, is set for publication in January 2013.

Librarian’s Comments

A powerful, inspiring and taut novel exploring the extremes of the human psyche, carrying the reader on an emotional rollercoaster into a frighteningly real world of obsessive abuse and its aftermath. Themes and timelines are skillfully interwoven, maintaining suspense through to the last spine-tingling page.