As Terence Bailey's release from prison draws near, investigators' suspicions about his involvement in six unsolved murders of women intensify. Things are further complicated when Madison Logan, a popular social media influencer, visits Bailey and then goes missing soon after her encounter with Baily. What has happened to the young woman?

Enter crime podcaster Rachel Krull. Layered in amongst this thrilling missing person case is a deeper look at the impact of social media on our everyday lives. The audiobook is narrated by a cast featuring a full cast lead by André Santana, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz. This was a fun thriller with twists and turns I didn't see coming and recommended for anyone who loves thrillers.

Dark Coners by Megan Goldin is another Rachel Krall, a protagonist, thriller. As with the first book, Night Swim, we find Rachel involved up to neck .A whole bunch of Influencers, a few suspicious people, a bunch of murders, a few detectives, and the plot thickens. This was one really unexpected book of suspects and characters, and I hung on every word.. This can be a read alone book if you haven’t read the first, so this also makes it a great book club pick. So thanks to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and Megan Golden for this ARC..

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Megan Goldin's Dark Corners which is the sequel to her most popular novel The Night Swim. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending my the book! I had hoped to read and review it before it released, but alas I'm a couple weeks late, oops! All opinions are my own (as we all know by now I don't hold back).

Nonetheless, I'm glad I made the time to finally get to this novel. You may not know this, but when I picked up The Night Swim three years ago, I absolutely fell in love with the story and Goldin's writing. It was one of the first books that helped get me back into my reading habit after college firmly shunted me out of it (did any of you also have this problem?).

My Rating: 3.75 ⭐️

"Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster star of Megan Goldin's acclaimed Night Swim returns to search for a popular social media influencer who disappeared after visiting a suspected serial killer."

It was wonderful to revisit Rachel Krall in her latest investigation. While it took me a bit to get into the story, by the end I enjoyed it and thought the twists and reveals were very well done. That's not to say that I loved this novel, because I didn't unfortunately. One of the first things that I noticed was how Goldin's writing style has changed. I admit it's been a few years since I read The Night Swim, but from memory I always really appreciated that despite the fact it's a mystery/thriller, the writing style didn't fall into the quick and direct route that many thrillers use. To me, the way that novel was written gave a lot of emotional weight to the story. That's not something I felt when reading Dark Corners, which follows the much more customary writing the befits the thriller genre. (If you've managed to pickup the Unsub series by Meg Gardiner that I read earlier this year, I'd say the writing is similar.)

As a thriller novel in and of itself, I think Dark Corners is well done and has a great ending. However, as a follow up to The Night Swim, this just left me wanting. If you're a fan of the genre, then I would definitely recommend you pick up Dark Corners for a fast-paced read with a familiar face. Just know that you won't really be getting The Night Swim 2.0.

**Some of my spoilery thoughts in addition to this review are in my blog post**

I really enjoyed The Night Swim so I was excited to read this one! This time around Rachel Krall is back and she’s on a mission to find what happened to Maddison, a popular influencer who went missing after she visited Terence Bailey, a suspected serial killer in prison.

I’ve seen a lot of amazing reviews for this one but I thought it was just ok. I did enjoy the influencer topic and how everything came together at the end. I didn’t like Rachel’s character. She was arrogant this time around. I also felt like there was a little too many things going on – a missing influencer, an influencer convention, a guy in prison who’s about to be released, more dead bodies….just way too much. Needless to say, I liked The Night Swim more than this one.

Dark Corners is a suspenseful read. This is the second book about podcaster Rachel Krall. It can be read as a stand alone, but I recommend reading the first book to fully character development. Krall is a strong female lead in this book and I found her to be someone I would love to read many books with her as the lead character. Megan Goldin is an excellent storyteller. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Rachel Krall is back in another fantastic thriller by Megan Goldin. When an influencer goes missing after visiting criminal Terence Bailey in prison, Rachel ends up being pulled into the case by the FBI. Will she be able to solve the case while under cover as an influencer, or will she end up going missing herself?

Goldin has done it again with this book, and she’s officially a must read author for me. A twisty thriller with a hint of romance that left me on the edge of my seat page after page.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

I’m a sucker for Megan Goldin’s books, and I’m devoted to her character, Rachel Krall, a true crime podcaster. Her first Rachel book, “Night Swim”, was easily a 5-star for me. Her second book, “Dark Corners”, is even better. The two books are standalone, so don't feel obligated to start at #1. Just feel obligated to do yourself the favor of reading them both.
A suspected serial killer, Terence Bailey, has served his time plus four more years. He’s about to walk at the horror of law enforcement and the families of victims. The FBI asks Rachel for help when a social influencer, Maddison, who visited Terrence in prison, goes missing.
Rachel jumps at the chance, even though the danger to her is imminent. She attends an influencer conference to learn more about Maddison and it isn’t long before more people disappear.
Just learning about the lifestyles and personalities of social influencers is enough to make this book worth reading. I didn’t know what a cutthroat industry it could be. The attendees at the conference are beyond self-centered and egotistical to the point of ludicrous. But I digress. Back to the mystery. Rachel is quick-witted and smart. She combines her efforts with the procedural intelligence of FBI Agent Martinez, placing them both in the race to save another victim’s life.
With twists, dry wit, knowledge and creative plot, Goldin writes another fantastic thriller.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is August 8, 2023.

I really enjoyed Dark Corners! I read the Night Swim awhile ago, so the details are a little fuzzy, but I didn't find it difficult to jump back into Rachel Krall's world. This story was unsettling, intriguing and I enjoyed the influencer aspect. I thought there was a great mix of characters, where I knew who was who, but everyone had their secrets so you weren't sure who to trust or what people's motives were. The ending twist actually surprised me, which I liked. I was a big fan of the original cast of the TV show Criminal Minds and I thought this was reminiscent of that so this felt nostalgic in a way, but also the story was new.
Thank you St. Martin's Press for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Corners is a definite WIN for me! If you're a fan of The Night Swim, you'll love this one.

We're back with Rachel Krall---true crime podcast host and investigative journalist. This time the scene of the crime is Daytona Beach. When FBI Agent Joe Martinez asks Rachel to travel to Daytona Beach to speak with a convicted murderer, her interest is immediately piqued. Her help is needed in solving a missing persons case involving popular influencer, Maddison Logan. Her connection to inmate Terrence Bailey has the FBI wondering what he might've orchestrated outside prison walls. After her short stint at the prison, Rachel is asked to leave for safety concerns---she's not scared easily and has other plans. Leveraging her old running Instagram account, Rachel manages to sneak into Buzz Con, a networking event for influencers. Something fishy is absolutely going on, with the cutthroat nature of influencers and the fact that Maddison isn't the only one who's gone missing in recent days. Question is, who has it out for this group and why?

Goldin's writing is extremely captivating---readers get the chance to hear the story as it progresses, while also reading transcripts from Rachel's storytelling in between. I love the journalistic inserts, especially as suspense builds toward the end. Dark Corners has a pretty unique plot twist, but no spoilers here. Read for yourself to find out!

I look forward to Rachel Krall's next investigative adventure and hope we haven't seen the last of Agent Martinez either!

Thank you so much to Megan Goldin, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Dark Corners!

I picked this up on my trip to Florida, and it was the perfect setting. A FL serial killer, beach towns, influencers, FBI agents, and true crime podcaster Rachel Krall. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives and trying to piece it altogether.

Please note that this book is #2 in the Rachel Krall series. While the books are meant to be standalone, I wish I had read the first book as I didn’t really have any idea who Rachel was and I don’t feel that there was as much character development in this book as there likely was in the first book. With that being said, I am looking forward to reading future books by Megan Goldin, starting with The Night Swim!

Thank You to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

We return to the life of Rachel Krall and her true crime podcast where she looks into the disappearance of a social influencer.
The subject matter of this book felt fresh with a interesting look into social media influencers. While I didn't enjoy the storyline as much as The Night Swim, it was still an enjoyable read with good characters.
I don't think it would be necessary to read The Night Swim first, even though this is the second Rachel Krall novel, as Dark Corners feels like a standalone novel.

I was definitely intrigued by this book the second I received it from NetGalley! You don't (or at least I don't) read a lot about celebrities and influencers. Especially not in a murder mystery book! I was super surprised with how detail and thorough everything was. I loved learning even more about Rachel's character and growth. I recommend reading the Night Swim for a better look into her character! Full of twists, super engaging plot! I loved it

A thriller about a serial killer that is set at an influencer convention? Fun!

While this didn’t live up to The Night Swim for me, I think this was a unique setting and a well-paced thriller. Megan Goldin is definitely becoming an automatic grab for me.

Wow ok I think Megan Goldin is gonna be an auto-buy author for me from now.

I read Megan the first time last year with Stay Awake and the story really stuck with me, which is rare for thrillers.

I finally read Night Swim earlier this month and LOVED it, and while Rachel Krall was a main character in Night Swim as well as in Dark Corners, these are two completely separate stories so you don’t need to read Night Swim before reading Dark Corners.

I enjoyed Dark Corners but prob liked Night Swim more. Dark Corners is fun, and while Goldin already revealed much most of the mystery halfway through the book, I still can’t wait to see how everything connects together.

I like that Rachel herself was much more involved in this case than Night Swim, but there are also certain aspects of the story and extra mystery elements that I didn’t care about. Still a really good mystery read that I’ll highly recommend, especially if you already read Night Swim!

Thanks NetGalley and St Martin’s for the e-ARC in exchange of my honest review

This was such an intense mystery. I loved the inclusion of influencers and all of their image manipulations. Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy.

This thriller features podcaster Rachel Krall, previously seen in Goldin’s book The Night Swim, though this book can definitely be read as a stand-alone. At the start of the book, the FBI summons her to Florida, because her name was mentioned in a videotaped meeting in prison between a missing social media influencer and a prisoner the feds have been watching.

I loved The Night Swim, but sadly this one was a miss for me for so many reasons. First, I found it really slow to get going and an excessive amount of perspectives, one of which was really not necessary. Second, there was just so much going on in this book - maybe too much - a possible serial killer in prison and another possible serial killer not in prison, a variety of missing and/or dead people in both the present and the past who may or may not be related to one or both of the possible serial killers, the podcast (which weirdly unlike in The Night Swim, doesn’t seem to made contemporaneously but sometime in the future and just feels oddly exposition-y), satire of the world of social media influencers, and even a little totally unnecessary romance. But on top of all that, the writing was just so clunky and in need of a good editing. It did keep me reading to see how it all resolved though.

I didn’t love Goldin’s last book Stay Awake either, but I liked this one even less - in fact I’d go so far as to say it was one of my biggest disappointments of this year. Maybe it’s time for me to quit her books.

2.5 stars

Dark Corners

Thank you netgalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I’m sure by now you have seen this one all over bookstagram, but I cannot get over how much I loved this book! I know there have been so many mixed reviews with this one and it seems like people either really like it or didn’t like it as much as the first book in the series, The Night Swim. I actually haven’t read the n first book yet, so that could be the reason for why I enjoyed this book so much. I will say that you don’t necessarily have to read the first book, as I feel like you are still able to understand the characters and what all is going on in the book.

I really enjoyed the influencer aspect of this book and I feel like that has been a hot trope that is being used more and more and I am totally here for it! There were some parts that didn’t seem as believable, such as the lead detective sharing sensitive case information with Rachel (I.e. showing her pictures of one of the victims). But I feel like if you can semi put that aside, then this is a quick read that you might enjoy!

Dark Corners is the second book featuring Rachel Krall. Rachel is a true crime podcaster and has been asked by FBI agent Joe Martinez to visit a prisoner who they suspect of being behind the disappearance of several young girls, even though they happened while he was in prison. The prisoner, Terrance Bailey, mentioned Rachel’s name to another visitor that came to see Terrance. That visitor then also disappeared.

Rachel has a knack for being able to help solve crimes and works with Joe to help solve the disappearance of the girls.

There also happens to be an “influencers” conference taking place in town while Rachel is there. The life, good, bad and ugly of influencers is discussed in the story, which not knowing much about this I found interesting.

While Dark Corners was not as good as Night Swim, in my opinion, it still kept my interest. Although it’s the second book in a series, it makes no difference if you haven’t read Night Swim, although I do recommend that you do read it if you haven’t.

I loved Night Swim so I was so excited for the return of true crime podcaster Rachel Krall in Dark Corners.

Rachel Krall is summoned to Florida by the FBI to talk to suspected serial killer Terence Bailey at his request. Soon she finds herself in the middle of an investigation into a missing social media influencer who has ties to Bailey and attending a convention she wants nothing to do with.

I enjoyed the influencer sub plot. The people at the convention were pretty cut throat and when another influencer ends up dead, things really start to get twisty.

This was definitely an interesting mystery and I was there for the added romance vibes but nothing happened that really wowed or surprised me. I also missed all the fun extras from the podcast we had in Night Swim. Overall, this was good, just not as amazing as Night Swim was for me.

I enjoyed this mystery that built slowly to a suspenseful end. The structure of the narrative is interesting. Rachel has a popular podcast and some of the chapters seem to be the text of a podcast. As I recall, they are in first person. Other chapters feature Rachel's action in real time in third person, past tense. There are several other chapters that seem to be of the villain, these are third person but present tense, setting them off from the others. It seems like a complex structure but once understood, the parts of the plot are easily identified.

Rachel attends a conference of social media influencers. While it was part of her investigation into a missing woman, I learned a great deal about the whole influencer concept and how they create a faux reality. And I found it very interesting to learn about a genetic disorder involving body odor.

I appreciate how all the loose threads got tied up in the end. That was well plotted. Rachel is a good heroine and now we also have a handsome hero. I hope to see them again in future adventures.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.