Elizabeth Haynes: Into the Darkest Corner

This is without a doubt the best book I have read in a long, long time.  I began and finished it all in one day, because I just couldn't put it down!

Catherine has been enjoying single life for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic and spontaneous, Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. But there is a dark side to him and his erratic, controlling and sometimes frightening behaviour means that Catherine is increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, 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..

Two stories are told alongside each other - both by Catherine, but four years apart.  The current story follows an anxious, obsessive woman struggling with simple everyday tasks.  The past story follows younger Catherine who was confident, outgoing and flirty until she meets a certain someone who eventually ends up turning her into her anxious future self.

Catherine is easy to relate to and form a bond with in both strands of the book - she is just a normal woman who goes through something horrific thanks to a creepy, overprotective, controlling, violent man who worms his way into her life and doesn't plan on leaving. Ever.