When Mackenzie Harrison's mother and sister were killed in a car accident Mackenzie was too young to really understand what had happened. All she really knew was that her mother and sister had not come home and suddenly her father seemed unable to cope.

Forced to fend for herself she meets up with Katrina - a young girl, about her own age, who seems to have everything Mackenzie does not. Soon the pair become firm friends and this bond remains until adulthood.

As a young adult Mackenzie marries Richard, her first real boyfriend and is shocked at her father's eagerness for her to leave. Soon she discovers that life with Richard is not all she believed it would be. He is controlling and manipulative.

Meanwhile, Katrina escapes from a mental hospital where she has been resident for some time, phones Mackenzie and asks if she can some to stay. As time passes things become a little blurred as members of Mackenzie's family begin to mistake the girls for one another. It is almost as if they were one and the same person.

Out of Mind is the debut novel from Sam Hayes. Almost as soon as you begin to read the story you are struck by the bravery of the author - tackling a subject that many people shy away from; Mental Illness. Hayes has created a very disturbed young woman, made more so by the sudden departure of her mother and sister and the abusive nature of her marriage.

This is a novel that doesn't pull any punches. When you read of the experiences of Mackenzie the reasons for her problems become apparent. Jumping from one abusive relationship to another it is clear that she has little or no self-respect - a situation exacerbated by the fact that her father preferred her sister, Nelly.

Although part way through you begin to get a feeling about the true relationship between Mackenzie and Katrina it is not until quite a way in that the truth becomes fully apparent. This again shows the talent of the author, the ability to keep you guessing.

One word of caution. The gritty subject matter means that there are frequent shocking passages which may offend some readers. OK, so this novel is not really science fiction, fantasy or horror but who cares - I thought it was superb! And in anyway if you want to be pedantic Thomas Harris's Hannibal books aren't really genre either - and this book should appeal to anyone who's read Harris's work

It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel!

Synopsis
When naive teenager, Mackenzie, escapes her troubled childhood by marrying Richard, she is unaware that she has fallen over the edge of an emotional precipice. Having swapped one miserable existence for another, Mackenzie soon finds the middle-class life she coveted rapidly heading out of control. And then there is Katrina, the elusive and irreverent friend, appearing in Mackenzie's life uninvited and always leaving behind a trail of emotional debris.

Spanning four decades, this disturbing story of loss, love and the fragility of mind takes the reader on a psychological marathon as Mackenzie struggles to unravel the blurred boundaries between reality and delusion.