3.5 stars- overall this was pretty good. The plot picked up quickly and kept a good pace throughout the book. I could have done with less influencer detail but that was only a portion of the book.

One thing I couldn’t get past was the description of the area around Daytona… a ridge and overlook are mentioned and if you know that area you know it’s completely flat (like the rest of Florida).

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

After a brief meeting with an inmate in a correctional facility in Florida, famous influencer Maddison Logan disappears without a trace. The name Rachel Krall (true crime podcast host who we met in The Night Swim) had come up during their conversation- a fact that prompts the FBI to fly Rachel in, not quite revealing all the relevant details. The soon-to-be-released inmate, Terence Bailey, though incarcerated for B&E, is a suspect in the murders of six women, though the FBI is yet to prove their case. When a meeting between Bailey and Rachel ends with Bailey’s veiled threats directed towards Rachel, the FBI sensing that Bailey might target Rachel requests her to fly back home.

Rachel decides to do some investigating of her own and joins the social influencer conference being held nearby, which Maddison was supposed to be attending. As an insider, she is privy to a lot more information on the attendees as compared to the investigators in charge of the case. As the narrative progresses, we find Rachel doggedly pursuing every lead possible in unearthing the truth behind Maddison’s disappearance and her connection to Terence Bailey, while also gathering more information about the other victims of the serial killer. Will Rachel be able to help the FBI find Maddison before she becomes the next victim?

I was intrigued from the very beginning and enjoyed how the mystery unfolded as the story progressed. The author’s depiction of the world of social media influencers - narcissism, cliques, rivalries and politics – was quite detailed. I won’t say that I enjoyed reading those parts much, but I do understand that those segments were vital to the story, though I wish they had been shorter. We see Rachel evolving both as a professional and as a person. She is depicted as more gritty, stubborn and outspoken as compared to The Night Swim. Though she does not feature this case as a series on her podcast as she did with her previous case, we do get to read the transcript for her Special Report on the case which is interspersed throughout the narrative. With its suspenseful and engaging narrative and multiple twists and red herrings that lead to a satisfying ending, I quite enjoyed Dark Corners by Megan Goldin.

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.

I was very excited to dive into this one after loving The Night Swim and Stay Awake from this author, and this did not disappoint. It was very fast paced with twists and turns to keep me guessing. I wish there had been a little more of the podcast piece that made The Night Swim so great, but I still enjoyed this one! 4/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is set to publish on August 8, 2023.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this eARC of Dark Corners!

I picked this book because I really liked The Night Swim and was excited to see more of Rachel Krall and this book did not disappoint.

I thought I had it figured out right away but I did not. I did figure it out before the big reveal but not much earlier.
I loved the sass from Rachel this time and am excited to see how the next one goes

Whew, what a book! This is the sequel to, The Night Swim (see previous post for my review on that). Rachel is such a likeable character, I was so happy to see another book with her as the main character.

This book had so many things happening. A ride share serial killer with a BO medical condition, an accused serial killer locked up that has some connection to the other, a social media vlogger that goes missing during an influencer awards, a hot fbi agent and of course our favorite podcaster Rachel. How do all of these moving pieces connect? The end will rock you.

I know the NetGalley copy, was unedited. So I’m hoping, the author does like the night swim, where she lists at the top of each chapter whose POV you are reading about. There were a lot of characters and I just found, that it took me a minute to realize whose POV I was reading. Other than that, this was a fantastic sequel and I hope there are more Rachel books in the future.

Mystery/Thriller

I love these characters and this series! More please!

Rachel Krall is a true crime podcaster. The FBI asks her to come to Florida to meet with a prisoner - Terrence Bailey. He mentioned her name in a taped conversation. He is getting out in a few days and they have reason to believe he is a serial killer. The FBI wants to see what Rachel can get out of him.

When she arrives, she learns that there is more to the Terrence Bailey story than she was led to believe. Her meeting with Bailey doesn't result in anything forthcoming, but Rachel's study of Terrence's crime leads her down a rabbit hole of missing girls, murder victims and possibly an innocent prisoner. Krall became famous when she researched an old case and found a convicted felon to be innocent. Could this be another one of those cases? Or is Terrence just better at hiding his crimes?

The layers of plot to this story are just incredible. It's complicated but very easy to follow at the same time. After a while, I new where one angle of the story was probably going to go, but it didn't matter because I was enjoying every minute of this novel. There is a possible love interest for Rachel that gets introduced in this book, which helped round out her character. The interaction with these characters will hopefully continue into future books in the series. It should make for some interesting book angles.

I adored everything about this book and cannot wait for more!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

This is the second book to feature podcaster Rachel Krall. In Dark Corners, Rachel receives a call from the FBI asking her to come to a Florida prison to interview an inmate. The inmate, serving a 6 year sentence for burglary, is scheduled to be released in 2 days, but the police have long suspected him as a serial killer. For unknown reasons, the inmate, during a visit from a popular social media influencer, requested that the influencer convince Rachel to see him in prison. The influencer disappears the next day. I loved the Rachel Krall character in the previous book, but her role here gets lost amidst all the other characters, and there’s a heavy dose of the world of social media influencers, which was a bit tedious. A decent read, but the ending was so abrupt I thought I was missing a few pages. I received an arc of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Podcaster? Sigh
Influencer? Double sigh.
...two of the stupidest words and professions ever. (The ONLY "podcast" I want to listen to is "Only Murders in the Building" thank you very much...and don't get me started on "Book Tok".or why "The Bachelor" is still on TV!)

Diatribe aside, this was an enjoyable book and the second in a series by an author I adore. (I am now going to re-read all her books so that shows how much I loved this book. Great characters, a gripping story and enough snark to make me seriously happy. (Rachel seems to be in a terrible mood in this book: I know the feeling!)

This is a sequel to Night Swim but you don't need to have read it to enjoy this book - it is great on its own and I will highly recommend it far and wide.

#shortbutsweetreviews

Yet another winner from Megan Goldin!
The second book in the series did not disappoint in any way. I loved the podcast format, the switch of the story from present day to the slow podcast reveals, leaving me wondering how exactly the story would play out!

Another book that’s part of a series that I wasn’t aware of … not sure if I’m not reading into it enough or if it’s just not being showcased, but it would be great to know when a book is part of a series vs. a stand-alone.

That being said, I still enjoyed this story. Thriller/mystery novels will suck me in every time and this one was no different.

I also enjoy the “relatable” content (the podcast and internet pieces). Not that I think all stories need to have something like this, but it helps it feel like a modern-day story, and that allows readers to immerse themselves even more, in my opinion.

I really loved this! Rachel Krall is an amazing character and while I will read future books by Goldin, it will be an absolute must read if Rachel returns and I’m hoping for a series around her!

I loved the storyline, the thrills, the mystery. All of it!!

This book was so good! The premise of a serial killer chasing crime podcasters/influencers is a next level premise. Executed nicely and it was good to see Rachel back in action!

As a big fan of The Night Swim, I was beyond excited for more Rachel Krall. Shockingly, I somehow loved this one even more. Serial killers, social media slaves, and a story that I truly couldn’t piece together until the end. The perfect mixture! I am so excited to see where this series (hopefully) continues!

As soon as I received the email for Megan Goldin's next book, I KNEW I had to request on netgalley!! & oh boy I'm so happy I did!

This starts off shortly after The Night Swim, but it could be read as a standalone because there's enough information included in this one to not be confused. Rachel Krall gets a call from FBI about meeting with a prisoner (Terrance Bailey) to help with a disappearance. A few days prior, an influencer Maddison met with Terrance Bailey in prison and went missing hours later. Why is Rachel Krall, the podcaster called into the investigation? It just so happens that Rachel's name comes up during Terrance's and Maddison's discussion in prison... interesting, but this is just the beginning... Here's the catch, Terrance is scheduled to be released in just a few days so the pressure is on for Rachel and the FBI.

Honestly, there's so much more than this one mystery going on in this book which made you want to CONTINUE and find out how the pieces connect. I love how there are two different POVs to have an understanding of what is going on from different perspectives, and a few chapters are told in the POV of the podcast. What's not to like? I wasn't thrilled with this ONE part towards the ending and wish a particular situation was played out a bit more.. Other than that, I LOVED the writing and the plot line behind it. I'm usually not a huge fan of multiple plotlines happening, but I found it wasn't overwhelming since everything was explained and the author did a fantastic job at organizing the plot.

If you enjoyed the last book featuring Rachel Krall, you'll definitely like this one (if not more). There are no scenes placed inside a courthouse which was pleasant & each chapter ends with you wanting to know more. There was even a bit of *romance*, thinking about it makes me ECSTATIC for the next book... UGH I can't believe I'll have to wait another 1-2 years for another book in this series.

I’m excited about the next one with Rachel Krall!

*Drop the mic* -Stage Exit Megan Goldin

Wow! Yes! Thank you Goldin for this book! This was the thriller I have been looking for. I loved it! From page one you are sucked into the story and know you will not be able to stop reading until you finish. (Okay, confession I had 15% left on my final night, I stayed up late reading and fell asleep--BUT, I woke up around 2:30 am to go to the bathroom (TMI?) and ended up finishing it--so worth it!)

I am surprised I enjoyed the book as much as I did because the plot revolves around social media influencers , very snow flakey millennial types. Goldin captured the typical stereotypes in a nice balanced way, not over the top annoying, yet believable.
As a dietitian myself I enjoyed reading all the food they consumed...Maddisons raw diet no carb diet did have me major eye rolling (people here is my free piece of advice--please eat carbs they are delicious! *Check with your Dr*)
I do wish there was some more "podcast" in this book, like there was in Night Swim. But I love Rachel as a character and look forward to many more in this series!!

Thank you Net Galley for this advanced copy read. I was not reimbursed for my honest review.

This book will work for fans of the Night Swim. It was great being back with Rachel and inside her twisted brain. While I enjoyed this book, I think the influencer subplot is a little tiresome. A lot of time was spent ruminating on this thread that I did at times lost interest. The social media mention is so prominent in thrillers nowadays, but I can understand it’s feature here considering the content of the first book. Goldin does a STELLAR job weaving a twisty tale and the short chapters - my favourite! This was a fast read that still kept my attention. Can’t wait to see what Goldin gives us next.

I loved this book! I kept trying to figure out the angles of the different points of view until my suspicions were confirmed in the last chapter. Loved her night swim book and k couldn’t put this one down

I loved Night Swim which also featured Rachel but this one just didn’t do it for me like that one did. I felt like it was some what predictable and had a lot of unnecessary details.

Writing and plotting is so clear and precise that you know as you are reading that writer is not muddling up the plot so you won’t catch on or that there are plot holes that can be explainable later on or not. She creates suspense and thrills through the strength of her plot and characters. Her Stay Away got me into thrillers and now with this I am a binaries fan! I cannot wait to read her other books!

I absolutely loved this one. It had me fully immersed into it since the very beginning. The plot was so intriguing that it had me sat on the edge of my seat. I loved the elements of thriller too, and some of tide twists I didn’t see coming. All in all, it was a full 5 stars read