Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of Dark Corners in exchange for a review. I loved the first book in this series "The Night Swim" so this has been one of my most anticipated releases of the year. While I did enjoy this one, I think it fails to capture some of the multi-media magic of the last book.

This works as a good beach read thriller (does this genre exist?). The setting in Florida is fun and summery with a hint of danger lurking, and I was pulled in from the start with the FBI calling in Rachel to visit an inmate in prison. The book has a great hook. However, I think the plot gets a little lost in the middle commenting on social media and influencer culture that ultimately ends up being less consequential than it could have been. I found myself missing some of the courtroom and podcast scenes from "The Night Swim" that made it such a riveting experience for me. The third act of the book is exciting where you are able to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together, although it wraps up just a tad too quickly and too tidily for me.

Ultimately, I would recommend this book to thriller fans or to those looking for somewhere to start in the genre. I may have had unfair expectations because of just how much I loved "The Night Swim" but this is a solid and exciting summer thriller.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Megan Goldin for the advanced copy of Dark Corners in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 stars rounded up.

I have been a fan of every Megan Goldin book I've read in the past and I'm happy to say Dark Corners is no exception! I surprisingly liked this even more than book 1 in the Rachel Krall series, Night Swim (which I also loved).

Without giving anything away, the style this is written in can be tricky to pull off for thriller readers, because it may feel like too much has been revealed too soon. I feel Goldin not only pulls it off but she excels in still making the book twisty and suspenseful enough that I never wanted to put it down.

I hope we continue to see more Rachel Krall books in the future! Don't miss Dark Corners on US bookshelves August 8!

This book was pretty slow going at 1st. I had a hard time getting into it but the 2nd half of the book definitely kept me interested.

I did learn about a medical term that I never heard before from this book…Trimethylaminuria (TMAU). It was pretty cool that a particular person in this book had this condition. Add something special to the story.

The way the villain in this book handles a certain person in the vehicle “shocked” me. What a clever attack.

The quality of the audiobook was excellent. The narrators did a great job and the production value was fantastic.

Overall it was a decent book.

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A suspected serial killer has requested Rachel Krall by name, and a social media influencer has gone missing. The FBI has now asked Rachel to come help with the investigation. All the while, she is diving deep into the victims' stories' mysteries.

The second installment of the Rachel Krall series is here! Megan Goldin has knocked it out of the park again. The writing and characters in her books are so fantastic. Megan Goldin did a tremendous job of allowing this book to stand on its own but keeping the authenticity of Rachel Krall in this book. You still felt like you were reading a continuation of the podcaster's life. The depth and intricacies in the story are so well done. Overall I have nothing negative to say about this book. I cannot recommend this book enough, and please make more!

A pretty solid thriller that I was invested in finding out the ending to. I really enjoy in this series that the main character is competent, intelligent, has resources at her disposal, and works with the police force to solve mysteries. A breath of fresh air compared to the helpless, unreliable female narrators we typically get in mystery/thrillers. I liked the commentary on influencer culture though think it clearly made the book less impactful than the first in the series dealing with a highly public rape case. I struggled a little in keeping the victims straight and caring about them since there were so many (I understand it's required for a serial killer, but still) and don't think this story will stick with me for very long. I'd still recommend it to fans of The Night Swim as well as fans of Karin Slaughter. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

Gripping, fast-paced, and modern, all words I would use to describe this brilliant story. When popular influencers go missing, it’s up to Rachel Krall to solve the mystery, before she gets too caught up with killer.

My Review:
Loved, loved and more loved!!!!! This book is exactly what I needed. I needed a good read that took me on a roller coaster ride and that’s exactly what I got from this one. I never knew what was going to happen next. I flipped through the pages like there was no tomorrow. This is the second book in this series and I enjoyed it just as much or even more than the first one. You do not have to read the first book to understand this one. Ok so let’s talk characters. All the characters fit perfectly to make this a great book but I did have a favorite and it was Rachel. She was fearless and ready to help solve the case no matter the consequences. I like that in a person. Next up is plot. I read this blurb and I knew right away that I had to read this one. I’ve been reading a lot of books lately that have to do with podcasts and they really interest me. Last up is that ending. Wow!!!!! It left me shocked and wanting more. I could not get enough of this book and everything about it. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Podcaster, Rachel Krall and the FBI meet BuzzCon. What a strange premise for a book, but it works. A beautiful influencer is missing after visiting a convict who is a suspected serial killer, but is due to be released from prison due to lack of evidence. Rachel Krall also visits the convict after the FBI reaches out to her hoping she can gain information. Rachel is an investigative writer which helps move the book along. Slow in the beginning, it picks up pace and becomes a decent book. There is a diverse group of characters, especially at the influencers convention. The story grew on me and it had a satisfying end. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press. I voluntarily read and reviewed this arc.

I was excited to jump back into Rachel Krall’s Podcast world in Dark Corners.

I’ll be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with this book.

I absolutely loved the storyline and all the little mysteries abound here. It’s a bit much to keep track of - but generally this is the kind of procedural - serial killer storyline that I LOVE. It’s laid out well and although convoluted at times, it’s really fun.

Here’s what I had issues with:
1. Rachel is a new person and not improved. Her ‘you don’t tell me’ attitude comes across as situationally unaware. Read the room Rachel - this is dangerous and stupid. I rolled my eyes quite a bit as she does dumb stuff for the sake of the story moving forward.

2. The writing was so choppy and nobody speaks like this. Names were used in almost every single sentence here. It was awkward and brought me out of the story - a lot!

3. Terrance is the luckiest and unluckiest dude ever. He goes from suspected serial killer of young girls to hero and totally innocent due to an answer for everything. Why were these profilers so sure he was the serial killer? Clearly their profiling isn’t the best here.

4. The influencer part felt dated at best. Still fun although it’s a lot of this book!

5. I need more of the podcast stuff. The pacing and entire set up of this one was totally different than the first book. No podcast (other than a special report which was kind of useless).

Ok now - I didn’t hate this book AT ALL believe it or not and I will continue with the series. It was fun and enjoyable overall. It really was. It’s a conundrum that made me give it a 3.5⭐️ rating.

Maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, I need more of Rachel and her podcast but in a better way. 😂

So grateful for my early copy here!

Rachel receives a mysterious call asking her to fly to Florida to assist the FBI and is promised exclusivity for her podcast in exchange. She finds herself in the middle of a potential killer being released and fixated on her, a rather campy feeling influencer conference, and an irresistible draw to the FBI agent who pulled her in. Throughout the book we get multiple points of view along with transcripts from the resulting podcast. The pace is well laid out and the new characters introduced are compelling. The writing did a great job of hinting of things to come without heavy handed foreshadowing. The reader knows something is not quite right but putting the pieces together was a challenge. I was glad the resolution was messy, making it all feel more plausible.

This mystery has an interesting and current premise involving influencers on social media. The first half of the book seemed to go pretty slowly for me - still interesting, but slow. The second half really amped up the excitement as Rachel and Joe tried to find out who the killer was. There were some surprises I didn't see coming and the book concluded with satisfying answers. The way it ended, I expect to see further "Rachel and Joe" books in the future. One question that bugged me and distracted me - - - what happened to the kitten!?!?

23 hours ⏳

That's how long it took me to read this one, including the time I had to spend sleeping and working 🤪

I COULD NOT put it down.

Some of the chapters are written from the bad guy's point of view and there's a dual timeline that's full of foreshadowing so the whole book just has this wonderful tension that makes it impossible to put down.

There's also some fun (yet disillusioned) commentary on social media and influencer life 😆

This was my first book from Megan Goldin but it certainly won't be my last!

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc!

Well this was a lot of fun. I read The Night Swim in 2020 when it came out and was super excited to read this book when I heard about it. Overall I enjoyed this book, I feel like the pace is engaging and the mystery is interesting. The only part of the book that didn't hit it for me was the romance (can I even call it that??) between Rachel and Joe. Just not a fan of it.

True crime podcaster, Rachel Krall is back and is enlisted to help solve the disappearance of a social media influencer Maddison Logan. Rachel is asked by the FBI to meet with Terrence Bailey, a prisoner locked up for theft but also suspected in the murders of six women. For fans of true crime and social media influencers this book will be much to your liking. The story is fast pace and suspenseful, however just falls short of believable. I have enjoyed most of Goldin's previous books especially Night Swim which features Rachel as well. However, this book just was ok for me. The book is dark, suspenseful, and creepy and I enjoyed the search for the killer of the women. The storyline with the social media influencers just was underwhelming, obnoxious, and didn't add much to book.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and feedback.

I was so excited when I got pre-approved for Dark Corners. I really enjoyed Megan Goldin's previous books The Night Swim, and Stay Awake had me HOOKED! Unfortunately while I still enjoyed this one, I wasn't blown away the way I hoped to be.

Dark Corners follows Rachel, a podcaster who we met in The Night Swim. I really liked reading about Rachel's life as a podcaster however a large part of this book focuses on the world of social media influencers and I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't enjoy those characters or the world which I think was a large part of the reason I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book.

One of the reasons I love Megan Goldin's writing is she writes multiple POVs and uses short chapters, both of which contribute to making it so easy to keep reading and speed up the pace. I did enjoy reading the multiple POVs and did guess one of the twists however not the main one.

Overall, this was a quick read that was enjoyable but definitely not one that will stick with me long term. I will absolutely be reading more from Megan Goldin but this one just didn't hit the bullseye for me.

Reading Between the Wines book review #85/115 for 2023:
Rating: 3.5 🍷 🍷 🍷1/2 (rounded to 4)
Book: Dark Corners
Author: Megan Goldin
RELEASES on August 8, 2023!!!

Sipping thoughts: I really like Goldin as an author and the way she writes. I also loved Rachel Krall in The Night Swim. She was really good in this one too, but I feel I was more surprised with what happened in the first installment. However, book 2 was good with a lot of deceit, lies, and twists as well. I did not feel like there were major reveals in this one which is the reason I gave it 3.5 stars but I was really invested in the truth and enjoyed the ending so I rounded it to 4 stars. I hope to continue to read more books in the Rachel Krall series.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for an advanced copy of @DarkCorners.

#DarkCorners #MeganGoldin #StMartinsPress #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

I had the same trouble with this book as I did with the first one in the series. The FBI just wasn't realistic enough and gave too much information away too easily. There were too many plot holes and Rachel got herself into some really ridiculously dangerous situations. When a book is so far over the top that the reader is shaking their head and rolling their eyes you know something is wrong. Some of these characters pull the stupidest of stunts.

The format of the book didn't work for me either because in the last book we had podcast episodes and even a Netflix series thrown in. That elevated the first book for me and I missed that in this one, I also missed the courtroom action. I was really bored with the influencer angle, it did not appeal to me at all (even in real life). The Buzzcon convention was not something that interested me. I don't use TikTok or Instagram and I use Twitter only for bookish accounts.

There was also a lot going on in this one and it felt a little watered down. It also made me feel a disconnect from the story and the characters. I didn't like Rachel as much this time around either, partially because of her behaviour and partially because she just did such stupid things. All in all this book disappointed me and wasn't nearly as good or as interesting as the first one.

I really enjoyed this second installment in the Rachel Krall series. I find Goldin's writing to be engaging and you can read it in long sessions without losing interest. I also continued to think about the story between readings.

Without giving anything away, Rachel Krall is brought in to an investigation by an FBI agent when a young woman goes missing and Rachel's name comes up through an inmate. Rachel ends up attending an influencer conference in order to stay close and investigate. There is a lot going on and there is a bit of a love interest for Rachel in this one. It will be interesting to see where it goes in the next book.

There are also chapters told from the perspective of a person who clearly has some ulterior motives with his actions. However, we don't know exactly how this person plays into the story. This part of the storyline is slowly revealed throughout the story. Fortunately, this book isn't as graphic as the first book, so this gives it a good creep factor.

My only issue with this one is that I thought the end wrapped up a little too quickly with parts of it feeling more like lucky guesses than investigative work. However, the connections were pretty solid and make sense within the story.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

This is second in a series, I didn’t read the first and the author is new for me. After finishing this tightly paced serial killer mystery I will read more of her books. It exceeded my expectations, kept me guessing. The world these characters live in is generations removed from mine. I know what all the social apps are, choose not to use them, have never listened to a podcast, it would put me to sleep. What’s most interesting is all of the new careers opportunities resulting from these apps and it’s also created a new basis for plot themes. It’s been in several recent books I’ve read, it is fresh and lends itself well to unique settings, current events and exciting characters. This story uses some of these to weave a dark tale of secrets and grisly murders.
Rachel is a Podcaster with sudden notoriety. Maddison is an influencer and Terence Bailey is a prisoner, perhaps a serial killer. Torreno and Martinez are FBI agents. What brings them all together? There is a major conference in Florida for influencers to network, gloat and rub noses with rivals and idols.
Rachel holds her own secrets as she goes into the conference trying to help solve the crime. Bailey is about to be released, does he have an ally on the outside, is there a copycat? Is the killer leaving a distinct calling card on his victims as a clue? Who is the killer!?
This was a great read that took turns I didn’t anticipate, totally surprised me and kept me up way too long at night.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley for providing the digital advance reader copy of “Dark Corners” Rachel Krall #2, by Megan Goldin and to St. Martin’s Press. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Unfortunately not my favorite by Goldin :( "The Night Swim" is one of my top books I've read this year so I was immensely excited for more Rachel Krall. However, "Dark Corners" just seemed to have too many moving pieces. I definitely see what Goldin was going for, but I think it was just too chaotic. I also really missed having the podcast so heavily intertwined with the story. Some of the writing felt a bit awkward and overall it just didn't wow me. I'll still continue to read anything Goldin puts out, but this one just missed the mark.