I was so excited to read this book and it didn't disappoint! Love the authors 1st book. I was hooked from the first chapter! I was guessing all the way til the end and when there was one part I had to reread 3 times to make sure I was understanding what happened! So so good. Loved the characters and their chemistry. Highly highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Earlier this year, I picked up The Night Swim and was completely blown away. The audio was beyond incredible. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found out she was publishing a sequel this year! To say I was pumped would be an understatement. This book completely delivers.

The first book in the Rachel Krall series spends a lot of time in the courtroom. This one diverts from that narrative by having Krall be a part of an FBI investigation into a serial killer. The FBI is convinced their guy is already behind bars, but Rachel is brought in to move the case along. Was I surprised at her ability to find info/evidence faster than the cops? I was, but that’s what makes the story more interesting.

I loved FBI Agent Martinez. I enjoyed seeing Rachel and Martinez work together to solve these crimes. You also get to see a little more of Rachel’s personal life in here. Goldin did a great job making you feel invested in Rachel’s story. She’s set this series up nicely for longevity. There is so much potential to keep this series going. Martinez’s character…I’d love to see a whole series with him & Rachel teaming up to solve crimes.

The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 was because of the predictability. With mystery/crime novels, I like the element of suspense. It was pretty easy to guess what was going on & who the antagonist is. That said, it was a page turner. Even while it was easy to figure out, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the story line and the characters. I can’t wait to listen on audio. I think it’ll be even better in that format!

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC that will be released August 8, 2023!
Podcaster Rachel Krall is back again in this second book in the series. She is helping FBI agent Joe Martinez investigate the disappearance of influencer
Maddison Logan who disappears from her van in the middle of the woods after meeting with prisoner Terrence Bailey. Many secrets and lies are revealed as she goes undercover at a BuzzCon influencer conference.
This book had many twists and turns and was just as exciting as her first book The Night Swim.

FBI agents call upon true crime podcaster Rachel Krall to talk with a suspected serial killer Terence Bailey. He was charged with breaking and entering initially then he assaulted another prisoner extending his sentence. In two days he’s about to be released unless the FBI can find evidence linking him to the crimes from six years ago.
…
Rachel was a reporter before becoming a podcaster. Her show is popular amongst the prisoners. The FBI lured Rachel to Florida hoping to gain leads on Maddison Logan’s whereabouts whose a social media influencer. She was last seen visiting Terence Bailey in prison.
…
Since Rachel’s visit with Terence a few bodies have turned up. As a social media podcaster she’s using an alias name and an old Instagram handle to gain intel from BuzzCon a local influencer convention where Maddison was suppose to attend.
…
Rachel has a reputation from her podcast show of helping people who were wrongly accused of crimes to be able to reverse the conviction. She’s not a cop, yet she functions like one being able to gather information to lead her in the right direction. Rachel works loosely with the FBI to get more information about Maddison.
…
Meanwhile, Thomas McCoy is giving young girls rides with his rideshare business. He’s a weird character with bad body odor. Giving rides to rude people or people who think themselves more important than him rubs him the wrong way.
…
I was drawn by the cover design. But It was the premise that had me requesting an early copy. This is my first read by Megan Goldin. I favor reading psychological thrillers. I’m not opposed to reading a good thriller as long as it’s fast paced and intense. Dark Corners begins in the middle and works its way back. The reader doesn’t know all the details regarding Maddison. In order to solve this case Megan Goldin chose to dig into her backstory to build a profile about the type of influencer Maddison was in order to figure out why an influencer chose to visit a prisoner in prison. Calling upon a social media user to help gain intel about another social media user is the technique FBI agents need to solve this investigation.
…
It’s a new approach to solving a case. I thought there would be more podcast content in the storyline. I’ve read a few other podcast books where the podcaster calls upon their readers to help solve a cold case. The technique Megan Goldin chose to use was different. Instead Rachel’s expertise as a media expert is the root factor for aiding in the search. From one media expert to another.
…
I can’t really pinpoint what has me not entirely invested in this book. It’s always a risk investing in new authors. Finding new books and authors is a rewarding experience. I was hopeful I had found a new author to absorb my time in. The prospect of reading her backlist was exhilarating. I’m still on the fence regarding this book. I think it’s the agents I don’t like. They don’t behave like I expect FBI agents to conduct themselves.
…
Megan put her own spin on a familiar storyline of using podcasters to help solve investigations that the police and FBI haven’t been able to. There was a constant and steady flow of sourced information helping move the story along. I still found myself not completely immersed in this book. I felt with the logical direction of the murderer it prevented me from experiencing that exhilarating breakthrough experience of being surprised.
…
I wasn’t feeling the connection between Rachel and Joe. In fact, it wasn’t until Rachel mentioned an interest in Joe did I wonder how I missed the signs. I know there weren’t any which leads me to believe this was an unnecessary attraction.
…
I did enjoy combining efforts with a podcaster and FBI agent. Megan left a few secrets to uncover. For the most part the disclosure of the murderer was introduced from the beginning. I was hoping for more shocking twists at the climatic ending. The twists came as a subtle revelation. It was more like fitting in the last piece of the puzzle. My mind just nodded with approval not really surprised. I felt this story could’ve been bigger and better. It had a lot of great working parts. The execution and timing of these pieces was too simple.

I read this author's book NIGHT SWIM recently because it was listed as the first book in the series, and I thought that I should probably begin by learning about the series characters and their backstories. However, it really wasn't necessary because this book, DARK CORNERS, could definitely be a read as a standalone novel.,

This is an interesting police procedural type of book, investigating the murders of young women and conducting a search for a serial killer or a pair of killers. The main character, Rachel Krall, is a true crime podcaster in the series but in this book she acts much more like an amateur sleuth. She is brought in for questioning by the FBI because her name has been connected to a social media influencer who has disappeared, and also to an inmate at the local prison in Daytona. If she's not careful, Rachel may end up as a target herself.

What I enjoyed most about this story was learning about the narcissistic lives of some of the social media influencers. The narrative highlights both the glamour and the ugly side of this ever-growing phenomenon. Fans of this series or mystery and suspense lovers will all want to add this book to their TBR list. My favorite book by this author is still STAY AWAKE, but I liked this book too.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC of this book.

Really enjoyed this one!

After reading The Night Swim last year, I knew I wanted to get my hands on Goldin's next book, specifically back to Rachel Krall's story. As with The Night Swim, Dark Corners kept my attention. I was engaged and couldn't wait to see what was going to Sm happen. While there were some strong hints of what was going to happen with some components in the book, I still found myself surprised as there were many unpredictable pieces. I did miss the recurring podcasts that we saw in The Night Swim, but it did not hinder me from enjoying this book.

This was so good, I enjoyed every moment of it. Rachel krall is a bad ass. The story is unique and I love the podcast angle. Megan Goldin has done it again and I’m hooked on their writing style

Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster star of Megan Goldin’s acclaimed The Night Swim, returns to search for a popular influencer who disappears after visiting a suspected serial killer. I was happy to see another story involving Rachel and this did not disappoint. It is helpful to read the first book but not entirely necessary. This was a well plotted storyline but started out a bit slow. Stick with it because it picks up and has a satisfying ending. Hoping there will be another Rachel Krall book soon! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

This was a good book, though I found at times it was a bit slow. This is the second in the series, Rachel Krall a true crime podcaster has become famous because of her previous involvement in a case. Now she has many inmates that want her to help them get out of prison. She agrees to fly down south at the request of the FBI to talk to an inmate who is due to be released in a few days, the inmate, Terence Baily, had been originally imprisoned for breaking into a woman's apartment and was in the process of going through her dresser drawer when the police arrived. Because there was a person that was doing that very same thing, except he was killing the women, the police believed that Terence was their man, so instead of a community sentence, he has spent 6 years in jail (he was sentenced to 2, then 4 more were added after he got into a fight). Rachel talks to him, but gains nothing from the talk. Meanwhile Maddison Logan has gone missing from her campsite, Maddison had also visited Terence, which is what the FBI wanted Rachel to talk to him, to find out what they talked about. Maddison is a blogger with a huge Instagram following, Rachel decides to do some investigating on her own and manages to get an invite to a blogging conference being held locally. Things take a little while to develop, but once they do, the latter part of the book really goes quick. I would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #St Martins Press for the ARC.

𝐁 𝐎 𝐎 𝐊 𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖


4.7/5 Dark Corners- Megan Goldin


𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:


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 freedom 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? Why was she visiting him in the first place?


When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems only to 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?


When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tail, the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krell herself. Suddenly a 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.


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.


𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:


Could have probably given this 5 stars except I didn’t love the background of social media/influencers (just a personal thing I didn’t enjoy)


Rachel the main character was also much more sassy then I remembered her in night swim, which I enjoyed as she played a main character in one of her own podcast ventures.


This can be read as a stand-alone as references to the first book are briefly explained and not entirely important to this story.


Overall LOVED this book- it was a page turner and I couldn’t put it down READ for lovers of true crime, suspenseful mysteries, and stories that rely heavily on detective work and past flashbacks - after 2 hits by this author and no misses she def has become auto read for me.


Food for thought: The Night Swim by this author is a READ also! Many thanks to the author Megan Goldin, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the much-appreciated digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The book is due to be released on August 08, 2023.


#bookworm #bookish #bookblogger #bookgram #instareads #readmorebooks #bookstagrammers #goodreads #bookstagram #netgalley #arc

After falling in love with The Night Swim last year, I was ecstatic to discover that Megan Goldin was publishing another Rachel Krall novel and beyond thrilled when that novel, one of my most anticipated reads of the year, became available on NetGalley. Thanks to MacMillan and NetGalley for the eARC! This gets 4.5 stars from me. There’s multiple POVs and it takes a quick beat to get into the flow of the novel, but once you do it’s not easy to step away. As usual, Rachel Krall is intuitive, quick thinking and a pursuer of the truth. This follow up did not disappoint and I hope we get more Rachel Krall in the future.

The second book in the Rachel Krall series was an entertaining mystery. It was fast paced and my only regret was I guessed all the twists.

I am a huge fan of all Megan Goldin’s other books. This one was alright, but I was mildly disappointed.

Rachel Krall was flown in by the FBI to meet with a suspected serial killer, days before he’s set to be released (first off, this would never happen in real life). They want her to try to get a slip up in something he says in an attempt to get him held while they keep investigating (because if you haven’t broken a serial killer case in 6 years, a podcaster will surely do it). When Rachel gets nowhere, she decides to stay and do a little investigating on her own.

Rachel ends up at an influencer conference, but she doesn’t want to go as her self, so she goes undercover as @runninggirlrach, pretending to be a running micro influencer. I feel like this is unrealistic because even normal people can smell fake, paid for followers a mile away, never mind real influencers.

There were a couple of unnecessary pointless deaths that didn’t add anything to the plot line. The whole book could have been avoided if people were just upfront and honest in the beginning.

Overall, I love Goldin’s writing style. However, her attention to detail was better in other books. I didn’t hate it, I just felt that there were too many small things that were wildly unrealistic for me to love it.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins for early access to this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know why but I didn't expect the night swim to have a follow up novel! Which is totally silly now looking back. Megan and her podcast were perfectly set up to continue on with future crime novels!

I love anything crime/FBI/investigation and this checked all the boxes. I know influencer culture is not everybody's cup of tea but it is mine! So I very much enjoyed how much time was spent in that world.

The pacing was great and I loved all the tricks along the way. Megan Goldin is officially added on to my "must read" lists!

Rachel Krall is back.

💭 What’s the best thriller you’ve read lately?

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin
3.75 ⭐️

Rachel Krall from the Night Swim gets tied up in another investigation for her podcast when an FBI agent calls her in to talk to a suspected killer. The cops were not able to get Terence for murder but made other charges stick. He gets out in a few days and he is asking for Rachel.

Overall I liked this book. There were a few elements that seemed unnecessary and the ending felt rushed. But if you enjoyed the Night Swim and want to go on another journey with this character this is a good book. It didn’t hold quite the same magic as Night Swim but I don’t regret reading it.

Thanks to @wordsbetweenlines for the buddy read to help me get my Netgalley percentage back on track.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks @netgalley for read number 22 of 2023. I really like @megangoldinauthor’s books, and this one was no exception. I did need to get used to the different timelines and points of view at times, but I like how everything came together. The book was really fast paced. Things resolved maybe a little too neatly for me in the end, but I still really enjoyed the novel. This could be more personal preference. Still a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read in my books.

In the follow up from "Night Swim," main character Rachel is mysteriously brought down to Florida to help in an FBI case. Rachel is the only lead they have on the case of Terence Bailey who is about the be released from prison despite suspicions surrounding him as a serial killer. When a popular social media influencer seemingly randomly visits her in prison, and then disappears - FBI scrambles to figure out what happened before Terence is released as a free man.

Let me tell you - this book was SO good, even better than "Night Swim" in my opinion. I felt like we got to know Rachel so much better during "Dark Corners" where she had much more character development. The mystery behind Terence Bailey and the disappearance of the influencer is so well crafted. I enjoyed reading along and speculating with my own theories as to what was going on. Even though there was a crazy twist you don't see coming, I just really enjoyed the story telling and the suspense building. I also enjoyed the behind the scenes peek at what the life of an influencer is like and how it isn't always sunshine and free roses for them. Overall, I highly recommend this book. Even if you haven't read "Night Swim," you can easily pick this one up without worrying about missing a beat.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Following up on "The Night Swim," Rachel Krall is just trying to recover from the trial she reported on when the FBI says she's needed in an investigation and she's leaving for Florida. Influencer Maddison Logan was visiting inmate Terence Bailey in prison and went missing hours later, and because Bailey had asked for Rachel by name, the FBI think she might be able to assist in the case. When a body is found, the FBI cut Rachel loose, but she can't let go. Bailey is suspected of murders but the police haven't been able to gather enough evidence, and he seems to have an accomplice on the outside. With Bailey's release date fast approaching for his time served for breaking and entering and assault, he's likely to become a threat again soon if they can't prove that he should still be locked up.

I enjoy mixed media elements in mysteries, and though this novel doesn't have podcast episodes in it, I still enjoy the perspective of the podcaster using connections to solve a mystery. I was a bit surprised by the ending, and though my mind wasn't blown, it held my attention. An enjoyable read!

CW: murder, death, kidnapping

Rachel Krall is back! I was so excited to read this book.
This story is incredible. Not only do we get to do a deep dive into the world of social media influencers and that whole insane career path, but it's also such a great thriller, full of so many well developed characters.
I lovdd that we have chapters that are Rachel's podcast transcripts as we are trying to solve a mystery, it was one of my favourite parts of the previous book The Night Swim.

So many clues are dotted along the way and I loved picking them up and seeing how I could figure out the puzzle, and I only had an inkling of what was fully going on just moments before the big reveal. Excellent read all the way through.
Absolutely pick this one up! You will not be disappointed.