I was so happy to see that the night swim was a series! This book continues to follow Rachel, but this time she is helping the FBI with a case involving both an influencer and an inmate. I really enjoyed this one. I liked the twists, the characters and the POV - it went between Rachel and the bad guy. I read this one really quickly because I couldn’t wait to see how it ended.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and Megan Goldin for my copy of this book. It is about Maddison, a social media influencer who goes missing right after meeting Terence Bailey in prison. He is about to be released for breaking and entering, but is suspected of the murder of six women. The FBI calls in Rachel Krall, a podcaster who is inexplicably tied to the case.

Rachel joins the FBI in investigating the missing influencer, especially after it seems that she only exists on social media. When another woman is found dead, the police suspect that Terence could have an accomplice. When it seems that influencers at a conference are being targeted, Rachel joins in and tries to find out information from the inside.

Thoughts: I loved the different aspects of this story. Rachel is a great main character and I was happy to see her back in this book. The serial killer angle was unique and fun to read about. There was a lot going on, and sometimes the characters were hard to follow. I really don’t like romance in my thrillers, so I found that aspect to be unnecessary.

I thought some of the stuff about influencers was overdone and stereotypical. It was the most basic rendition of what people think an influencer is. I also think there were a few things that made no sense in the story but were still apart of it. My biggest gripe is the writing. When the characters talked, they used each other's first names in almost every sentence. “Rachel, why do you think that”, “Joe, the reason I think that is…”, “But Rachel, what do you mean”. No one talks like that in real life and it was jolting and very hard to get through. So in the end I gave it 3 stars.

I was so excited to see that Megan Goldin chose to turn this into a series! I read The Night Swim back in early 2020 after hearing all of the hype and deciding to give it a chance. Much like with that book, I loved the switching between what was actually going on in Rachel's life and investigations and her podcast.

I ended up liking Dark Corners more, though. I found that with this book, I was hooked from the beginning and could hardly put it down. It only took me 2 days to read it because I just needed to know what was going to happen. From the beginning, Goldin captures the audience with the mystery of an influencer going missing not long after meeting with a dangerous inmate at a prison.

There were so many twists and turns and it was a lot of fun to put all of the connections together. The only reasons why this was 4 instead of 5 stars are because of the romantic sub-plot that I didn't care for, and Rachel sometimes making some not so smart decisions.

I will continue to read anything that Goldin writes.

I was BEYOND thrilled when I saw that "The Night Swim" was no longer a standalone book. Rachel Kralls' investigation skills in "The Night Swim" were absolutely god-tier, so I was hyped to see what case she would crack next.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book as much as "The Night Swim" (i was dreading the much-feared "middle book syndrome") but......I liked "Dark Corners" even more! I have this odd fascination with books that explore social media/social media influencers, so the core content of "Dark Corners" was RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!.

I know this is a personal preference so everyone will have a different opinion, but I was actually happy that there were no courtroom scenes in this book. Also, I was really really surprised that "Dark Corners" revealed to the readers the identity of who was behind the murders. I was NOT expecting that and thought it was going to be a very tricky book to pull off successfully but they did it.

I would absolutely recommend "Dark Corners" to anyone who liked "The Night Swim" and I would even recommend it to anyone who didn't like it since it is so different. I will 100% be purchasing a hard copy of this when it is released and will be recommending it to my friends and family. Loved the story. Love the book cover. Love everything about it!

4.5/5 stars.

4.5⭐️

Wow Megan Goldin has a talent when it comes to writing dark thriller novels; if you are a fan of Lisa Jewell, give her books a chance! After reading The Night Swim and loving it, I was over the moon excited for this book to come out, and it did not disappoint. Every twist and turn had me squirming in my chair, waiting for the next crazy event. Rachel Krall is such a compelling character that really shined in this novel, and I loved that we got to see her relationship blossom with Joe. This book reminded me of the movie Prisoners, so if you want a crazy, messed-up story with turns, this one’s for you! 

Thank you, NetGalley, for an eARC of this book!

I loved The Night Swim, so I was so excited to get an advance reader copy of Dark Corners through NetGalley.
This book was one I couldn’t put down. I loved the different points of views and how the story played out. Rachel Krall is the voice of a hit podcast that gets caught up in a murder investigation, missing persons case, and the world of social media influencers. Working along side a FBI agent, Special agent Martinez, she is racing against the clock to find missing influencer Maddison Logan.
I loved this book! I can’t wait to read another Megan Goldin book. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for great thriller!

I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a new insight into the world of social media. I was a bit confused at first not realizing that some chapters were her podcast. The FBI invites Rachel to come interview a prisoner before he is released. Missing persons, murders and a bit of romance. Lots to enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy. Five stars! I loved the characters and the surprise ending! I learned alot about social influencers and what could be lurking in dark corners!

First of all, I love the badass character of Rachel. She is smart, relatable, kind hearted, and doesn’t take any shit. I enjoyed this story! It had different components of it that made it stand out such as the health condition. I also love a serial killer story.

I really enjoyed The Night Swim by Megan Goldin so I was excited to read this sequel. While both books had a suspense-filled storyline, The Night Swim was executed much more convincingly and realistically.

Dark Corners started off well enough, drawing me in with the mystery of unsolved murders, missing persons, and a general investigative atmosphere. While most novels of this type usually require some suspension of disbelief, Dark Corners became increasingly unrealistic to the point where I just couldn't really enjoy it anymore. Law enforcement behaved extremely unprofessionally and were totally inept. While the main character, podcaster Rachel Krall, started out likeable, mature, and intelligent, by the end of the book she felt unrealistic and inconsistent. It seemed too convenient multiple times in the story where other characters simply told Rachel things no one would say to a stranger in real life, simply to advance the plot and illustrate how well Rachel was as an amateur investigator. The flow of the story was also extremely "choppy" to me, with chapters ending so abruptly I wondered if something had been cut off in my e-copy. Maybe there will be more editing to make the story flow better before publication?

In the end, while Dark Corners was still a quick read with suspenseful aspects, it felt much less refined, believable, or engaging than The Night Swim. While I wouldn't be opposed to a third book in this series and would probably still read it, I'd hope it would be grounded in more realism and return to what made the first book so much more enjoyable and believable for me.

Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

What do you get when you cross an influencer event with a true crime podcaster? Dark Corners.

This was an interesting take on social media influencers, in my opinion. This book showed the darker side of what (I would imagine) it takes to be a popular, successful influencer. There are events, there are cliques, there are rivalries, there are politics, there are secrets, there are ill-intentions and actions. Not everything is as picture perfect as it seems on social media.

I don't know what it was that drew me into this book so much. I have read both of Goldin's other works, and enjoyed them, but this one was different. Maybe it was the social media influencer angle that hooked me, since that is something a bit more "realistic" that I could connect with. I thought it was very interesting to see the darker side of influencing and the toll it can take on someone after a lengthy amount of time. Mix that with a serial killer and a true crime podcast and I'm fully invested.

When I actually had time to sit down and read this book, I devoured it. I think I would binge a couple hours at a time each time. Overall I gave this one 4 stars. Definitely a unique twist to a thriller, it's one I'll be thinking about for a while!

Rachel Krall is back in this 2nd installment of Megan Goldin's popular podcast detective series. I liked 'The Night Swim', but think I liked this a bit better. First of all, Rachel wasn't writing a podcast at the same time, so the story didn't go back and forth between a podcast and the action of the plot. Second, there are no long drawn out court scenes that read like a John Grisham book. This allows you to focus on the mystery at hand, the disappearance of social media influencer Maddison Logan, that may be tied to some other local murders.
We get reacquainted with Rachel as she is winding down from the last case and decides to take some vacation. However she gets an urgent call out of the blue from FBI agent, Joe Martinez, who asks her for help with a current case. Intrigued by what he implies, she agrees to fly out to Datona Beach, to meet incarcerated prisoner, Terrance Bailey, who may be a suspect in 2 local murders and the missing Maddison.
Soon Rachel is thrown in the midst of it, refusing Joe's advice to fly home multiple times, as she may be targeted for the next victim.
Instead, with the help of her partner Pete, she decides to go undercover at Buzzcon, the influencer conference that Maddison was attending before she disappeared.
Here we get introduced to the most vapid, narcissistic, and self involved people around, social media influencers. With a fake instagram account, Rachel gathers information about what they know about Maddison and others attending the conference.
This book had more suspense and danger for Rachel, as well as romance. Will this romance continue with future books? We'll have to see. All the loose ends are tied up nicely, and as a result of the outcome, Rachel decides to create a podcast that focuses on the victims of the crimes, instead of analyzing the motives of the killer. Some of the situations Rachel gets into indicate she has no regard for her own safety at times, and some are implausible. All in all it's a good thriller with an unexpected outcome that makes you want to see more of this plucky detective.

I have loved Megan Goldin's standalone books, but this series about true crime podcaster, Rachel Krall, just isn't for me. Rachel is an interesting character, but I'm not a huge fan of police procedurals. In this story, Rachel is tapped by an FBI to visit a prisoner named Terrence Bailey who is about to set free from prison. The FBI is investigated the disappearance of a social media influencer, who visited Bailey in prison and has mysteriously disappeared.

The social media influencer aspect of the story was annoying, which added to my dislike of the story in general. And the mystery wasn't interesting enough for me to recommend this book, unless. you're a fan of this series and/or you love police procedurals combined with true crime.

Rewind to my review of Night Swim - "𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦, 𝑖𝑓 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝐼'𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒-𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘."
Introducing book two review and my thanks to St Martin press and netgalley for this ARC.

We follow a very busy storyline of a social media influencer who is missing. Rachel soon realizes that the influencer conference is a ruthless community as she tries to connect all the pieces together. There is less podcast in this second book but overall - I'm here for it. I love Megan's style of writing and how I honestly get sucked right into the world she is creating.

Also thank you @Megangoldin for making me love my bookish community even more than I already do because these influencers were ruthless!

I enjoyed this book, I went into it with very high expectations, from her past two books which provided a bigger emotional punch for me, so I was a little disappointed compared to that. I did enjoy it though, Rachel, a journalist turned true crime podcaster/crime solver is called upon to meet an inmate who is about to be released from prison. Is he really a serial killer, possibly with a partner, is she in danger and what is the connection with a missing influencer 4.5

I think my students will like this one, the world of influencers explored by a true crime podcasters, two topics that are big with young people Interesting mystery with a little romance

This book was fantastic - Megan Goldin does it again! This was the second Rachel Krall book ( the first was The Night Swim - also a fantastic and highly recommended book) and I was riveted from start to finish! I could not figure out the connections from character to character until right up to the very end. Highly recommended for a read!

In “Dark Corners,” true crime podcaster Rachel Krall is taking a break from talking about the action to becoming part of the action when she finds herself in Florida at the request of the FBI. In this slow-burn follow-up to “The Night Swim,” Rachel helps aid in the search for Maddison Logan, a social influencer who has gone missing after visiting a soon-to-be-released prisoner, Terrence Bailey. Instead of courtrooms, Rachel steps into the world of influencers, pretending to be one herself, at the BuzzCon conference. When she discovers another influencer is missing, Rachel races to discover if — and how — the cases are related and, in the process, becomes a target herself.
I enjoyed this second installment in the Rachel Krall series, although it did read differently than the first book. Fans who loved the courtroom and podcast scenes in “The Night Swim” will not find any of that in “Dark Corners.“ The influencer world scenes were breezy and fun, and there is a little bit of romance, but sometimes the secondary mysteries bogged down the main plot line. It does all come together in a neat conclusion; stick with it.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Goldin does it again!!! I was SO excited for this book because The Night Swim was a fave of mine and sentimentally, it was my first review I ever posted on bookstagram. When I saw Rachel Krall was getting another story I swooped on it!

This book takes popular and common tropes and flips them on its head. She tackles difficult topics and writes them in a digestible matter all readers can read and enjoy. I feel like one of my critiques with thriller books that center around investigations is that they sometimes give unrealistic portrayals of police officers and the justice system. Working in public defense, I know that the way some books describe both subjects are vastly incorrect, but I thought Dark Corners did so well regarding both police officers and the justice system. Goldin discussed the difference of media coverage when a young white woman goes missing vs sex workers, Black or brown women or even boys. She also included tensions in the PD dept and how ego gets in the way of important investigations, and how easy it is for someone to be wrongly incarcerated.

Besides the fact that it was accurately representative, this was a thrilling and heart stopping book! I wasn't able to put it down and read it in only 2 days. I literally couldn't stop thinking about it, and I thought the different POVs were engaging and didn't confuse me at all.

4 stars!
I have read Night Swim first before starting this book and I would recommend reading the Night Swim first before this because this book has the same mc Rachel. I would recommend to listen to the audiobook of the Night Swim instead of reading the physical copy because the style of writing works better through the audiobook. I enjoyed this book specifically due to its twisty psychological thriller and the pacing was pretty good. Plot line well written and the characters in this book were interesting and kept me hooked!