Four years later, Lee is behind bars and Catherine—now Cathy—is trying to build a new life in a new city. This is a psychological thriller of the best kind, one where you know something awful is waiting just around the corner and you need to keep on turning those pages until you find out what happens. Watching the main character's OCD moments was painful but seeing her gradually pick herself up and work towards a normal life was so pleasing.

It had to be an exceptional book to break my book-blog-block and this is it: a nervy, heart-racing, page-turner — the debut thriller by Elizabeth Haynes. Told from the point of the view of a female victim, this first novel is utterly gripping, extremely well told and considerably more detailed and textured than the typical crime thriller. I know this sounds harsh, but I was offended at how bad this book was, and how many fantastic reviews it seems to have gotten.But then such a scary and incredibly chilling novel of obsessive behaviour is going to hook any reader into one of those 'can’t put it down' reading marathons. At least this time, though, Cathy has an ally, a neighbor who’s just moved to the apartment above her, Stuart. And I thought that if I ever had to choose who to be raped by, Lee or Tony, it would have to be Tony from the Consequences and I would thank my lucky stars that he was even an option to choose from, one of the two evils. Even so, the ending is too convenient thanks to Lee’s final declaration of his true love (the ‘gift’) for Cathy and I feel that it would’ve been better had this book ended with the second last chapter. A fantastic thriller that you can’t feel indifferent about … Haynes has built some fantastic tension in this book.

I was guilty of having very fixed ideas about violence in the home and the sort of people who were victims of it, and this stereotype was challenged in every way by the reports I was analysing. No character is fully fleshed out as a person, rather, they are one dimensional horror film victims, predators, or merely devices. I was pleasantly surprised with this book though because I enjoyed it and once I was deep into the story I couldn’t put it down.A chilling, page-turning read that charts domestic violence without flinching and portrays OCD with insight and compassion. However, there’s an ominous feeling to the present, and I bit my nails in anxious anticipation and fear at the possibility that Lee has found Cathy again. The contrast between Cathy's two lives is cleverly drawn and the hesitancy in her new relationship is very believable. I recommend to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller but with caution as there is some violence.

They are told side by side and it took me a while to realise that they were both the same character. Then there's the windows, the curtains, the cutlery drawer… Worst of all though are the panic attacks when even breathing is a major problem. I loved this book and would happily recommend it to my female friends both as a brilliant psychological thriller and an interesting window into the world of OCD and obsession.There's the difficulty of getting treatment – why would you want to get treatment for doing the only thing which makes you feel safer? It's a disturbing story that doesn't skimp on violent details, which might make it something you'd want to avoid if you are particularly sensitive to scenes of domestic abuse and rape. Wonderfully written, with not a word too many, just perfectly described, nail-biting scenarios and psychological dread in Cathy's mind. She previously worked as a police intelligence analyst and lives in Norfolk with her husband and son.