Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Dark Corners by Megan Goldin. This was a fantastic thriller, with lots of twists, and turns, I didn’t think I could like a book of hers more than Stay Awake, but this was a wonderful surprise five out of five stars!

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin is the sequel to The Night Swim -- and wow what a follow up. I am not a huge thriller reader but I really enjoy Goldin's Rachel Krall books. Featuring a true crime podcaster, it seems Rachel Krall's podcast has really taken off. She now receives letters and communications from all around the country particularly from inmates looking for someone to prove them innocent. Rachel ends up getting a message from an influencer named Maddison who goes missing just before the release of suspected serial killer Terrance Bailey. This is connected because Maddison just recently visited Terrance in prison. And so, Rachel goes undercover at BuzzCon, an influencer extravaganza at Daytona Beach right by where Maddison went missing and where Terrance will be released.

I was absolutely CAPTIVATED by Dark Corners. The audiobook was the exact perfect way to experience Goldin's release. It is narrated to perfection by January LaVoy, Samantha Desz, and Andre Santana. Dark Corners is 10 hours and 46 minutes. There were twists. The villain was suitably creepy and scary. I was for sure on edge. I loved the development in Krall's character. For someone kind of famous for doing a podcast, she is intensely private with good reason. I also liked that she didn't know a ton about social media and influencers -- but that was also a surprise given her occupation. There's also the beginnings of a romance as well. This was such a solid, good audiobook. It is perfect for people who liked A Good Girl's Guide To Murder and want to listen to something aimed at adults.

Rachel Krall is back in another page-turning thriller from Megan Goldin and I am here for it!

We first meet Rachel, a true-crime podcaster who becomes famous for helping overturn a guilty verdict, in Night Swim. Fast forward a short time later and we reconnect with Rachel as she heads home to recoup from the trial. With barely a chance to unpack, she’s summoned by the FBI to assist in a series of killings in Florida. Add in a missing social media influencer, a prisoner about to be released from jail, and a budding romance, and you have yourself one unique, twisty treat of a read.

Fingers crossed this isn’t the last we see of Rachel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Goldin and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of this book for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I've read The Escape Room by Megan Goldin, and the first book in this series The Night Swim, both excellent books. Naturally, I was excited for the opportunity to read the next book in this series, Dark Corners.

This story doesn't cover a lot about Rachel’s life as a podcaster but rather includes a missing person who is a social media influencer. For those who haven't read the first book, Rachel Krall is the MC and host of a podcast called Guilty or Not Guilty.

When she is summoned by the FBI to join them in Florida, she has mixed feelings, but curiosity gets the best of her so she heads to Florida to see why she's needed. 

In Florida, we learn that an inmate had a visit from a social influencer right before she disappeared. One thing that the inmate said to the influencer is that he wanted to meet with Rachel. The FBI and Rachel are completely confused by the request but need Rachel there to see if they can learn anything.

Rachel and the FBI work to unravel the details of the connection between the missing girl and the inmate. But they need to hurry since the inmate is due to be released in a few days.

The chapters alternate between Rachel and a somewhat confusing story of an Uber-type of driver (rideshare), which isn't clear at first. To make it even more bizarre, the driver has grown up with a condition that causes him to have a very unpleasant body odor.

Is this enough to catch your attention? I was certainly curious. But, unfortunately, I had some concerns.

Concerns

I missed the podcast aspect that was so prominent in the first book.

It didn't hold my interest the way a five-star book would. I kept going back to the book but I wasn't drawn to the story the way I'd like to have been.

This book's focus was more on the influencer culture.

Much of the mystery was easy to solve, though there were definitely some twists and turns.

Final Thoughts

If you're interested in podcasts and influencers, definitely start with the first book The Night Swim, though this is a standalone book.

Without a doubt, this is a series and author that you'll want to keep up with.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a #gifted copy of this book. I was under no obligation to post a positive review.

Not as good as the first novel.

I remember loving the first novel in this series, The Night Swim. It was an intense and memorable read about a high-profile rape case. It was a novel I couldn't put down.
Regrettably, this novel did not match the quality of the first. The novel lacked the emotional pull and intense courtroom scenes, which were elements that I thoroughly enjoyed in the first novel. Also, I didn't care about the topic of influencers. As a result, the story didn't resonate with me as much as I had hoped it would.

Overall, decent but not a must-read. I do recommend checking out the first novel though. It was one of my top reads of 2021.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Goldin, and St. Martin's Press for graciously sending me the ARC to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

I enjoyed the first book in this series, but I liked this one better. My only issue was that it got really weak at the end of the book. Like the author ran out of gas and just stopped. It moves along quickly and the story is compelling, I just wished it had held it’s. I’ll just have to wait for the third to see if I’ll continue on.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion. 4⭐️

I jumped straight into this after finishing the night swim (book #1 of the series). I still really loved the format with sections of the podcast throughout. I also really liked we got the podcast in present day and it was looking back on Rachel’s time at the influencer event and as more information was being discovered in the case… total sucker for dual timelines.

I hope later in the series we get to see Rachel continue more interactions with a certain FBI agent!

Thank you to the author, @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the eArc in exchange for my honest opinions.

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This was a fast-paced thriller with a lot going on. I thought it was just ok. The plot has a lot of moving parts and characters who have motives for all sorts of things. Things wrapped up neatly and rather quickly. I thought the whole thing was a little bit ridiculous and the ending was rather abrupt.

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