The first quarter of the story was long and kind of annoying, actually (I almost quit). We get it. She has OCD. Over and over and over. But as the story develops, it does become a bit more interesting and compelling.

My goodness, this was insane. I very much went through the wheel of emotions while reading this. It started off quite tame and vague then got super dark and almost hard to get through cause I could picture in my mind what was happening to Catherine. Lee was literally a monster like I was thinking to myself if some form of permanent justice isn’t taken by the end of this then I’m gonna be annoyed with this book and while the ending was open and still frustrating, I feel like Catherine is such a stronger character now that whatever happens she’ll get the last laugh and that’s fulfilling for me.

It was also so crazy to read about a main character who had severe OCD, even crazier because in the past chapters before Catherine met Lee she was fine and wasn’t 24/7 paranoid so it was so sad to see how badly Lee had affected her. Very happy she had Stuart though and I loved their relationship a lot, even with everything Catherine had been through and was still going through he was there no matter what. Ultimately I’m so relieved at Catherine’s overall ending and this story had me hooked.

A dark psychological thriller that follows the relationship between Catherine and her initially charming boyfriend Lee. Once Catherine realizes who Lee really is, a controlling, abusive, obsessive man - it’s too late to leave easily. Catherine develops severe OCD as a way to cope with her fear and anxiety. Obsessively checking the locks and the way her house is arranged, noticing if anything is off as evidence that Lee is back and has found her. Will she have to live with compulsive fear forever? Will Lee find her?

I got into this book right away! There are lots of triggers about abuse. The OCD aspect was very interesting to me. The author is a police intelligence analyst, which gives her a cool angle. I really enjoyed this book!!!!

I couldn't stop reading. This is was horrifying, dark, mysterious, yet so good. A very eerie, psychological thriller.

From page 1 I was hooked! Such a brilliant book. 10/10. The book is about a woman called Cathy and her abusive relationship with lee. The book goes back in time 2 before she met lee and what she had 2 put up with on a daily basis (name calling, rape, being hit, controlled) and then the book is in the present and shows what Cathy's life is like after lee and the consequences of what her life has become because of him,(severe OCD, being lonely, scared, trust issues). It's a scary story to read!!!

I was in the mood for something different, and picked this up on the recommendation of a friend. I really enjoyed it. At first, I wasn't sure if I would like the back and forth switch between past and present, but Haynes made it work.

The book is based in England, and I thought it was very interesting to see some of the differences in our medical and justice systems.

Medical: Cathy seemed very concerned about getting help for her OCD because she didn't want it on her record. As in she didn't want her employer thinking she was a whack job and firing her. (Right? Someone please tell me if I read that wrong.) I don't really have any idea what the health system in the UK is like, but here in the US, privacy in health care is practically its own industry.

Justice: So Lee almost kills Catherine, and gets 3 years. Ok. He gets out and there's no restraining order? What?? The cop (Sam) who seemed to be on her side didn't seem very concerned at all that he was going to try to find her. Um, yeah. In the end, she was concerned and responsive. Thank God.

I can't say that the ending is a shocker, you kind of get the feel of what's going to happen throughout the book. But, it's a well-written thriller without anything too horrifying or grisly, I recommend it.

Full review my link text, on my book blog.

Cathy has OCD after an abusive relationship left her constantly feeling unsafe, and trying to maintain safety while worrying her abuser would come back for her. An easy read, but longer than it needed to be, with lots of OCD details. Will she end up with her neighbor? Does her captor find her again?

Didn’t love the ending where Naomi was just found, after never truly being mentioned. It added nothing to the story and fell flat.

The bit about Sylvia dating him also seemed sad and fell flat. I wanted more from the Stuart relationship— thought he was a bad guy at some point, but it was packaged up nearly for the ending.

I don’t remember the last time I’ve read something so terrifying... Elizabeth is incredible at writing atmosphere and making you feel the entire time like something is not quite right.