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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
A woman-in-peril story is, I'd imagine, a rather difficult one to offer a fresh take on. It's been done a lot. If this premise is true (and I'm not even sure of that...I feel I'm being charitable here), that still doesn't excuse Into the Darkest Corner, a novel completely void of the surprises of every kind.
First, the plot is so rote and by-the-Lifetime-movie-numbers any plot twist would die of loneliness. To belabor this point would be put more thought into it than Haynes apparantly did for her plot.
Second, and more damning in my book, is the book's complete lack of surprises in its narration and dialogue. Even stock stories can be elevated with a fresh voice, unexpected descriptions and/or clever turns of phrase. If you enjoy of those characteristics in your reading please look elsewhere.
The villian is flat--a raging psycho out of abusive husband stock casting--and the supporting characters are bland and shapeless. The narrator/heroine is fairly convincingly constructed, especially her OCD and PTSD feel real and immediate. Haynes does an adequate job of creating a growing sense of dread, but the payoff is so slapped-together, hurried and predictable that there's no payoff to that loooooong-building dread.
Lurid, rote and predictable, Into the Darkest Corner is a purported thriller, hold the thrills.
First, the plot is so rote and by-the-Lifetime-movie-numbers any plot twist would die of loneliness. To belabor this point would be put more thought into it than Haynes apparantly did for her plot.
Second, and more damning in my book, is the book's complete lack of surprises in its narration and dialogue. Even stock stories can be elevated with a fresh voice, unexpected descriptions and/or clever turns of phrase. If you enjoy of those characteristics in your reading please look elsewhere.
The villian is flat--a raging psycho out of abusive husband stock casting--and the supporting characters are bland and shapeless. The narrator/heroine is fairly convincingly constructed, especially her OCD and PTSD feel real and immediate. Haynes does an adequate job of creating a growing sense of dread, but the payoff is so slapped-together, hurried and predictable that there's no payoff to that loooooong-building dread.
Lurid, rote and predictable, Into the Darkest Corner is a purported thriller, hold the thrills.
Thought that the guy upstairs was going to be friends with the ex-boyfriend and envisioned a whole different ending. One with a little more thrill.
One of the most disturbing books I've read. I found the depiction of OCD and PTSD to be very interesting. I watched the "Invisible War" shortly before reading this, and I felt that the author did a great job of showing how a person can be damaged not only by violence but by being disbelieved when reaching out for help. This is a book that is full of a lot of sex and violence, and although I didn't feel that either was glamorized in any way I found myself skipping over many paragraphs. Perhaps part of the problem was that I really couldn't relate to Catherine and her lifestyle prior to meeting Lee at all.
This book gave me panic attacks. It was brutal and amazing....
This book did a really good job of making me feel uneasy the entire time.
I felt like this book could've been much better written, the dialogue was pretty cheesy. But I found the storyline pretty interesting, it was an entertaining quick read.
Wow. Just wow. This book is intense. There's really no other way to describe it. It's sad that this story is very realistic in many domestic violence situations. I really thought it was great that the author added in the mental health element of it after going through such a traumatic experience. I'm still shaking my head about this book! I found the beginning to be slightly confusing, I had to go back and re-read some parts once I got farther in the book, otherwise this would've been a 5 star review. Does anyone know if there will be a book 2 to this? I'm hoping so, especially with the twist at the end!
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No