This is the best thriller I have read this summer. I read the first in the series and loved it and this one was just as good!! I was left guessing and was breathless while reading this one. I highly recommend.

Great second book in the series. I would Consider this one better than the first. Both were great though and had some good twists. Kept me entertained the whole time.

“The scariest monster is the one that hides in plain sight.”

I’ve had overall great experiences reading books by Megan Goldin, and I was really looking forward to this one. I was excited to be back Rachel Krall from The Night Swim as she gets sucked into a new case.

The FBI turns to Rachel for help after influencer Maddison Logan visits Terence Bailey in prison and subsequently goes missing. There is no trail for Maddison: no family or friends or history. Rachel is intrigued, flying to Daytona Beach, FL where they are holding BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference. The authorities start to think Terence Bailey has an accomplice on the outside when they discover a body and it becomes clear that Rachel may also be in danger. It’s a race against time to put the pieces together before Bailey is released from prison.

I loved the way the book was presented, with different POVs intersected with episodes of Rachel’s podcast. A lot of the pieces of the puzzle are provided, but it’s difficult in the beginning to put them into place. Rachel is still relentless and curious, unable to leave the mystery alone. Her determination is one of the things I’ve loved about her character since The Night Swim. She is incredibly intelligent and she is amble to infiltrate BuzzCon and get information that the FBI is unable to obtain.

Her chemistry with Joe is fun and flirty, though it isn’t romance-level palpable. The more time they spend together, it’s obvious that there is an attraction there, but Joe is concerned about the case and Rachel getting to involved. But as in The Night Swim, Rachel worms her way in, gathering information as only she can. The podcast excerpts are compelling, and presented in a way that if it was a real podcast, I would want to listen to it.

My only issue was the ending. It felt so rushed compared to the rest of the book and left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. There wasn’t any shock value or jaw-dropping moment. It feels too abrupt and could have really benefitted from expansion. Everything leading up to the ending was intriguing and interesting, but it felt like it wrapped up too quickly and neatly.

Overall, though, I did really enjoy the story and was happy to have another Rachel Krall story!

Megan Goldin is an auto buy author for me, and The Night Swim was the first book I read of hers, and also the first book with our MC Rachel Krall, so I was very excited when I learned this book would bring Rachel back!⁠
I was immediately hooked on the story with the mystery of why Terrance Bailey wanted to meet Rachel, and as we dove into the greater mystery of our missing influencer, I literally didn't want to put this book down to do anything. ⁠
Rachel is such a fun and tough MC, and Goldin knows how to write fun, layered stories that keep you turning the pages. ⁠
This can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading both if you're looking for some good thrillers!

2.75 STARS - Rachel Krall, who we first met in The Night Swim, is a True Crime podcaster. In Dark Corners, the second book in the series, she is asked by the FBI to help on the case of a missing social media influencer by visiting serial killer Terence Bailey in prison to see if she can get info about the missing woman and discover if that case relates to unsolved cases, including a recently discovered charred body.

The premise is strong, and the story starts off with a creepy serial killer vibe, but soon loses steam when readers are told early on who is doing the killing. This means the bulk of this suspense read isn't about figuring out whodunnit, but waiting around to see how the killer is connected to the story. Kind of disappointing.

Unfortunately, I had a few issues with this book. Some were small issues (Rachel was rude and pompous, the forced and superfluous romance, repetitive and awkward dialogue) but one was a big problem - the heavy-handed focus on social media influencer culture.

Too much page time was spent at a conference for social media influencers (who come off as stereotypical, vacuous, self-centred jerks) and despite Rachel being a blogger and podcaster herself, she is frustratingly ignorant about social influencing. I soon started to skim pages and even debated DNFing the book, but instead I switched to the audiobook and things got better - especially the bits of Rachel's podcast which made more sense in audio.

I enjoyed The Night Swim but Dark Corners left me with a story that was equally over the top and underwhelming and didn't give me the chilling story I was anticipating.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to St Martin's Press for the complimentary advanced ebook and eAudiobook of this title which were given to me in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this one!

Rachel Krall is a true crime podcaster with a talent for solving crimes, and bringing justice to the wrongfully convicted. The FBI enlists her help, when Terrence Bailey is about to be released from prison for a B and E charge. Police have long suspected Bailey of the murder of 6 women, but have no proof or leads. When reclusive Bailey requests a visit from Rachel this might be their last chance to get information before his release.

This book has plenty of twists and turns, and great lead characters. Rachel is both complex and likeable, and her chemistry with the lead FBI agent Joe Martinez sizzles.

In my opinion, this is the perfect summer thriller.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

This was a really fun thriller to read! Although I hadn't read the first book, this sequel picked up as if it were a standalone. Anything from the past was explained, and I felt like I got to know the main character, Rachel Kral, really well.

Rachel gets called down to Florida about a case. Turns out that a famous influencer has gone missing, and she was last seen visiting a serial killer in prison.

This book took a lot of twists and turns, and I wound up really enjoying it.A few things were a bit predictable, but the storytelling has a great flow that made it a really fun read!

Out August 8, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Thank you, NetGalley, St-Martin’s Press and Megan Goldin.
I am a fan of Megan Goldin and enjoy her thrillers and this latest novel did not disappoint.
Terence Bailey, who has long been suspected of murdering six women is set to be free from prison.
Days before his release he gets a surprise visit from Maddison, an Instagram influencer. Hours later she disappears.
When the FBI hit a wall in the investigation, Rachel Krall, true crime podcaster is brought in to talk to Terrence in prison. After her meeting with Terrence her interest is peaked.
Using a dormant Instagram account of hers, Rachel Krall goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she meets other influencer in order to discover the whereabouts of Maddison.
Will she uncover the truth about Terrence or will she put herself in harm's way?
Great thriller, fast-paced.
I surely hope we get another Rachel Krall intrigue.
Highly recommend
5 stars

That ending!!!!! There were so many good twists throughout this story! It intrigued me right away & kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. So far I’m really loving the Rachel Krall series & I’m very much looking forward to another book (hopefully with Joe in it too.)

I really enjoyed The Night Swim and have fond memories of protagonist Rachel Krall from that book; unfortunately, Dark Corners takes Rachel and warps her into an extremely uninteresting and borderline unlikable character. She comes across as self-righteous and grating, and Goldin really goes overboard with mentioning how sexy Rachel is at least once a chapter. We get it - she’s a Cool Girl!

The premise is intriguing: a suspected serial killer is about to get out of prison because he could never be pinned down by the evidence. A young influencer randomly visits the prisoner and nobody can figure out why…then she goes missing mysteriously. However, there is just too much going on. The entire influencer angle felt phoned in and pointless; there’s an entire festival going on with a cast of influencers that adds very little to the plot. There is also a random romance that blossoms between Rachel and an FBI agent that was just not interesting to me at all.

Additionally, there is a lot of need to suspense disbelief in this book. I can handle that to a certain extent, but Goldin was going a little too far out there to really buy me into the plot.

Lastly, wow, the lack of communication between all characters in this sure led to a lot of shoddy police work! Rachel’s involvement in the case felt so random and oftentimes it was like she’d uncovered something important…but was like, “oh, I’ll let the police know about that later.” It happened multiple times, both ways! It also seemed weird how much privileged information the FBI and police shared with Rachel, whose only really credential is being a (super sexy) true crime podcaster.

Ultimately, this book felt half baked to me. I was intrigued enough to finish it, but am left feeling vaguely disappointed.

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin is book 2 of the Rachel Krall series. Rachel has a podcast where she researches cases to figure out if someone is guilty or not. She has cracked several cases that the police either didn't do enough detective work or maybe something happened in court where the wrong person might be sent to jail. This time a "serial killer" is getting out of jail in a few days and the FBI wants Rachel to talk to him to possibly acquire information that will keep him in jail. Then there is a share driver who smells like garbage. His story slowly is revealed while the story unfolds. What really happened to all the women murdered. What has happened to the missing influencer. Megan does a great job with character development. I didn't know what actually happened until I was pretty much done with the book. Megan did a great job making me guess and guess wrong what happened. I would read more of Megan's books.

I loved all the twists and turns in this story, and I especially enjoyed the bit of romance amidst all the craziness. The involvement of an influencer that seemingly only exists in the social media world was a nice touch and I love when everything comes together in a totally unexpected way. I couldn't stop listening as the audiobook is so well done and now I need to read The Night Swim!

I remember loving Night Swim, but I didn't like Rachel in this book (or really any of the characters). I didn't care about the plot either.

This was my second Megan Goldin read and I really enjoy the premise of a podcast host investigating crime, and I love a book with short chapters. This wasn’t my favorite read because I prefer there to be a little bit more of a mystery. I like to try and figure out what’s going on with the characters and not have the criminal identified up front. I also found it to be a bit repetitive, especially all of the influencer stuff.

A favorite author since I read her early books, Megan Goldin’s newest novel Dark Corners doesn’t disappoint. This book brings back Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster of the excellent book, Night Swim which I loved and highly recommend. Megan is an excellent writer and whatever she writes, I will read.

In Dark Corners, Maddison Logan (@JustMaddie) a popular social media Influencer goes missing after visiting an inmate in prison, and suddenly she disappears. The FBI calls Rachel for help who then goes undercover to find out what happened to Maddison.

I liked this book, I love Megan’s writing but there was something missing for me that her other books had. I can’t put my finger on it. That being said, still a good read.

Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his release date approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped—or worse. Is Maddison’s disappearance connected to her visit to Bailey? And why was she visiting him in the first place?

When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel Krall’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems to only exist on social media; she has no family, no friends, and other than in her posts, most people have never seen her. Who is she, really? Using a fake Instagram account, Rachel goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal.

When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tail—identical to a tattoo Rachel had seen on Bailey’s hand—the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krall herself. Suddenly the target of a monster hiding in plain sight, Rachel is forced to confront the very real dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the internet.

Out on August 8.

The book started off strong. I was very excited for the return of Rachel. The first chapter had me wanting more, however once we got to the chapters with Thomas, it totally gave away who did it. That took away the suspense for me as it just became a waiting game for everyone to find out. Overall it was a good book and Rachel was quite sassy in this one, but for me it wasn’t as good as the first which took the score down. I would recommend it though as it is a quick, fun read

This was my first Megan Goldin read and I enjoyed it!
What I liked: I enjoyed the multiple POV’s that the chapters were divided into. I especially love reading from the killer’s perspective and not knowing how they were going to be connected until the end! I liked the main character, Rachel, and how she’s not easily intimidated/scared. The writing was medium-paced and easy to read!
I also loved the unique “body-odor condition” of the killer! That was such an interesting identifier!

What I didn’t like: I felt there were minor things that became repetitive. For example, there’s a chapter or two where Rachel mentions she doesn’t like social media, doesn’t want to put herself online, doesn’t know much about social media, etc.
There was also an entire separate storyline/murder that had nothing to do with the plot. I felt like it was a waste of time when I realized it wasn’t really connected.
After the big plot twist was revealed, there were so many little mysteries/questions that just ended up getting a rushed explanation at the end that felt odd. Like the author wanted to wrap the story up with a pretty bow so she through in a bunch of explanations for all of the little plot holes that seemed more so an afterthought.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and will read the other book that Rachel Krall is in!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

This was an interesting read that brought the modern intrigue around true crime podcasts to the center, paired with the timeless interests humans have always had in the macabre proclivities of other humans.

I found the character development to be a little forced, but I wasn’t sure if that was the writing or my uncertainties about how an influencer could exist outside of the digital world. It seemed almost too convenient to have the influencer isolated, so that additional storylines didn’t have to weigh down the story, but it left more questions to be answered.

Loved this book! I like the Rachel Krall series too. We need another book! I really enjoy this author, so I knew this book would be good. I liked the premise & the twists. I actually didn’t guess who Maddison was until the end. This was also a unique plot. Will post a video review soon

Rachel is back, this time helping the FBI in advance of a prisoner being released from his 6 year sentence. Add in a social media influencer convention and unsolved murders, and you have a pretty good novel. There were a lot of names to keep straight and one ‘mystery’ that I figured out right away, but overall the unfolding of the major plot was done well. The chapters are short enough to keep you engaged and the podcast was interspersed in increments to help fill in the gaps.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins for the arc.