I really enjoyed both the Night Swim and Stay Awake, but Dark Corners was not for me.

True crime podcaster Rachel Krall is back, this time assisting an FBI investigation into the disappearance of a social media influencer.

The podcast element added to the Night Swim, but seemed to take away from Dark Corners. It interrupted the narrative's flow more often than not, and also made for a lower-stakes situation later in the novel.

My biggest issue with this book is the plot. There were just two too many major plot points requiring me to forget what I already knew about these characters. And then some of the writing in the tail end of the novel drove me nuts, though it's possible I was extra sensitive after all the eye-rolling I did thanks to the plot. It's not often I feel this disappointed in a mystery/thriller - even when they're predictable, I can enjoy them - but this was a miss for me.

I read the first 37% prior to switching to the audiobook, which I thought might improve my reading experience (as the podcast chapters are edited to sound like they're podcast episodes, whereas in the text they kept interrupting my flow). I liked the tone of voice used for narration and Rachel, but to be honest wasn't a big fan of how the narrator voiced Joe. I'd have preferred another narrator for chapters from his perspective.

I half listened and half read this book. I definitely enjoyed this more as a book than an audio book. Part of the book was fascinating and kept me on the toes. I was intrigued by the influencer and prisoner aspect. I also found the book to drag on and be unrealistic and predictable in other parts. I found Rachel to be hard to like in the book and some of her decisions were very questionable. I also found it hard to keep track of all the victims and characters in the book at times. However, I was also into the book enough that I never considered putting it down or not reading it. 
Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison, despite being the suspect of murdering 6 women. He gets a visit from Maddison Logan, an influencer with many social media followers and she disappears shortly after.  Rachel is asked to help with the investigation by the FBI and she finds the influencer world to be lethal. Does Bailey have an accomplice on the outside? Is he obsessed with influencers, Rachel included?
Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader (audio) copies!

I loved this follow up to The Night Swim. I loved the narrators and the story. I was truly invested I the characters of this one.
I thought this was a faced paced who done it. Criminal Minds esque book that was just really awesome.

3.25⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Series ~ Rachel Krall #2
Others in the series ~ The Night Swim
Publication date ~ August 8, 2023
Page Count ~ 347
Audio length ~ 10 hours 45 minutes
Narrators ~ André Santana, January LaVoy, Samantha Desz
POV ~ multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ podcast, social media influencer, serial killer, police procedural

Rachel is a true crime podcaster asked to assist the FBI in the disappearance of a social media influencer, Maddison.

Rachel, doesn't follow the rules very well and she doesn't come across as particularly likable. The bad guy isn't a mystery as there are chapters told from his perspective, as well as some from Joe the FBI agent.

Overall, this was fine, with some nice twists, but blah with the influencer angle...not a fan.

Series notes:
I read The Night Swim quite a while ago, so I can't say I remember it enough to confirm, but I believe this would be fine as a standalone because there's a new set of side characters.

I was lucky enough to receive a kindle and an audio copy, but I primarily listened.
Narration notes: All narrators did a lovely job. I especially liked that there were sometimes 2 different narrators within the podcast chapters, and there were nice sound effects as well.

(I might come back and write more, but I wanted to get something out on pub day)

This one really exceeded my expectations. It was a fast read, and got really entertaining for the second half. I will read more of her work in the future.

This is a story about perspective.

Megan Goldin never lets me down! I hope she writes a dozen books in this series, I will read them all. The suspense was expertly created, and the characters were compelling. This is also one of the few books I’ve really liked that focused in on influencer culture & explored the hope interwoven in the desperation for success.

Thank you so much @netgalley @macmillan.audio & @stmartinspress for the e & audio arcs!!

Thank you @StMartinsPress and @MacMillan.Audio for the #gifted ALC/ARC of DARK CORNERS!

I really enjoyed Megan Goldin’s first book in the Rachel Krall series (THE NIGHT SWIM) so I was so excited to hear that she was bringing Rachel’s character back and creating a series. And while I enjoyed DARK CORNERS, it lacked that emotional gut punch that THE NIGHT SWIM left me with.

Maybe because DARK CORNERS felt more like a traditional thriller and less a commentary on the darker parts of society. While THE NIGHT SWIM still haunts me, I don’t think DARK CORNERS will stick with me. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but part of me was expecting more from this book.

DARK CORNERS is out today!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5733595786
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvsRGKdxpAe/

I received both print and audio ARCs of this book via Netgalley. I mainly listened to the audiobook because I listened to The Night Swim prior to diving into this book and loved the narration. This follows a similar narrative but adds a male narrator in addition to the 2 female narrators. Rachel does a special report in this book versus a podcast.

You do not have to read Night Swim prior to reading this book. They are unrelated in content, but the style of the storytelling is similar. If you didn't like the way Night Swim was told, you probably won't like this as it has the same style with the special report mixed in with development of the plot. This does not feature a court room trial, so if you enjoyed that aspect it is missing here. I however really enjoyed the way the story was told, and looked forward to the special report segments. They delivered information that you didn't get from the regular chapters while summarizing information we already knew about the crime.

This installment follows Rachel as she is called in by the FBI to speak with an inmate who is about to be released from prison. Terrence Bailey is long suspected of murdering 6 women, but police were never able to prove it. They were able to get him on breaking and entering. As his release from prison looms, he receives a surprise visit from a popular influencer who then suspiciously diappears. People who know her don't think much about it as she is known to go off the grid periodically. Rachel's name popped up in their conversation, and the FBI want her to find out how she is connected to Terrence and the missing girl. Rachel's conversation with Terrence doesn't go well, prompting the FBI to think she may be in danger when he leaves prison in a few days.

Ever the investigative journalist, Rachel finds herself in the middle of the investigation for the missing girl, Maddison. In an attempt to find out more information about the missing girl, Rachel attends BuzzCon, a post influence conference that Maddison was supposed to attend. Rachel doesn't find Maddison at the conference, but she does uncover information that lead her and FBI Agent Joe to clues that they missed early on in the investigation. I don't want to spoil things, but I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. As with the previous book, I thought Goldin did a good job capturing the life of an influencer accurately in the "Instagram vs reality" conversations as well as the conversations about how cut throat and callous some influencers can be. The personas you see on the internet aren't always the real person.

This was just as entertaining as the first book, though not quite as suspenseful. I never really felt that Rachel was in real danger. I did think that the police and FBI made it way to easy for Rachel to gain access to case information. The plot is a bit predictable at times and I had some things figured out early on. Despite that, I still enjoyed the experience.

After reading/listening to The Night Swim and loving it, I knew I needed more of Rachel Krall! Podcast themed books are one of my favorites. At times I was hooked to the book and other times I just wanted a little more.

Krall is amazing sleuth detective and is always one step ahead of law enforcement. I loved that there was minor spice throughout and really enjoyed that relationship build. The ending really made the entire book and it was completely worth the read/listen!

The narrators did an amazing job and I really enjoy listening to them. All in all, I really enjoyed this book but it’s hard to beat The Night Swim!

***Many thanks to St Martins Press, Macmillan Audio, Megan Goldin, and NetGalley for the ALC/ARC copies in turn for my honest review.

I loved The Night Swim by Megan Goldin, so when I found out she wrote another book with true crime podcaster Rachel Krall as the main character, I couldn’t wait to read (well, listen) to it!

In Dark Corners, Rachel is trying to locate a prominent influencer who mysteriously vanishes after a visit to a suspected serial killer. I’ve read some really good books with true crime podcasters and influencers at the center of the story, so the description of this one sounded great.

Terence Bailey, a soon-to-be-released ex-convict with a history of breaking and entering, has long been under suspicion for the murders of six women. Intriguingly, just before his release date, he receives an unexpected visit from Maddison Logan, a young and immensely popular influencer boasting a massive social media following.

Alas, shortly after their meeting, Maddison goes missing, prompting the authorities to fear she has been abducted or met a graver fate. The question arises: What was the connection between Maddison’s visit to Bailey and her subsequent disappearance?

Faced with a perplexing investigation, the FBI reluctantly seeks Rachel Krall’s expertise in locating the missing influencer. With an existence seemingly confined to the realms of social media, Maddison’s actual identity remains elusive, devoid of family and friends outside of her online presence. Employing a fake Instagram account, Rachel infiltrates BuzzCon, a prominent influencer conference, to unearth a world of intense rivalry that may have taken a perilous turn.

As the plot thickens, a chilling revelation emerges when the police discover the body of a woman adorned with a tattoo mirroring one Rachel noticed on Bailey’s hand. This discovery leads to the unnerving possibility that Bailey might have an accomplice on the outside, one with an alarming fixation on influencers, including Rachel Krall herself.

I couldn’t stop listening to this one. It was so compelling, with so many good twists and turns. It definitely kept me guessing, and I think I loved it even more than The Night Swim!

If you like audiobooks, I definitely recommend this one as an audiobook. They did a great job of having little podcast updates that sounded like a real podcast interspersed through the story as Rachel tries to unravel the clues. It was definitely a fun and creative way to do this audiobook!

𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨!

I loved the Night Swim and I was so excited for this new release; it was fantastic!
It kept me at the edge of my seat and turning pages until the very end, it was addictive, loved it!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for this gifted copy.

𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 by Megan Goldin Author releases today August 8, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

I throughly enjoyed this book.

The plot was very Interesting and had me hooked from the start. I finished it in one sitting.

I appreciated all the topics that it covered. It was infuriating to see how flawed the police system can sometimes be. How when a person is missing nothing will be done right away, especially if you are a teenager. Police will not go into action sometimes until it’s too late. I was also so upset when the cops were making accusations out of absolutely nothing.

It was also interesting to put into perspective what the lives of some influencers can be like. Through videos and photos it may seem they have the perfect life, when in reality they kind of forget to actually live their lives. Sometimes you can get so caught up in taking the perfect photo and how you portray yourself to the world, you forget to actually enjoy the moment.

The romance was also cute and kind of endearing. Would’ve like to see a bit more about it, but still enjoyed it.

Personally, the story was not really a mystery to me. I realized exactly everything that was going to happen from the start. It was a bit obvious, yet that didn’t deter me from enjoying it.

The audiobook definitely made this a better experience. I liked that we had chapters from Rachel’s podcast, and we could listen to interviews with different narrators and sound effects.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Night Swim, so I was so grateful to receive a gifted copy of the second book in the Rachel Krall series! Thank you SMP & Macmillan Audio 🥰

I was a bit concerned that I would not remember enough from book one to understand this one, but thankfully this was not the case. Technically these can be read as standalones. But it didn't take me long to remember Rachel and her podcast.

Dark Corners follows well-known true-crime podcaster Rachel as she dives headfirst into a convoluted case of a missing influencer after being called to assist the FBI. But this case is about to become personal for Rachel, when she learns why she's being called to help.

This was really well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I read the ebook along with the audiobook, and I can say with certainty that the audiobook is my preferred format and the way to go here. The sound effects, the talented cast, just phenomenal! 👏🏻.

The twistiness, the pacing, the influencer aspect, and the podcast episodes all make for a unique thriller. The back and forth with the timeline did trip me up a little bit, but overall it was a highly entertaining read and I definitely recommend.

Book: 4 stars
Audiobook performance and production: 5 stars

Total 4.5 stars rounded to 5

I’m a big fan of this author and I’ve recently become a fan of storylines with crime podcasts so this was made just for me! The narrators were great especially with distinguishing the different voices. The main character was annoying but in a good, makes me want to keep reading type of way. Highly recommend!

I've been a fan of author Megan Goldin since devouring her 2019 novel The Escape Room. She followed up that standalone thriller with The Night Swim, a searing portrait of a small-town rape trial and a cold case that cast a shadow over the entire city. When I learned she was writing a sequel to that work, I jumped at the chance to read it. Goldin's publisher provided me with the audiobook of Dark Corners. As I hit play, I was immediately immersed in the podcast, consumed by the crime and the story that was about to unfold.

As Terence Bailey's release from prison for breaking and entering draws near, investigators' suspicions about his involvement in six unsolved murders of women intensify. Are they seriously about to let this man walk free? Things are further complicated when Madison Logan, a popular social media influencer, visits Bailey. The details of their meeting aren't known, but Madison goes missing soon after her encounter with Baily. Investigators fear she may have been kidnapped or, worse, murdered. What has happened to the young woman? More troubling, why was she meeting with Bailey?

Crime podcaster Rachel Krall isn't exactly surprised when she gets a call from the FBI. A few years ago, she covered a high-profile rape trial that spiraled into a cold-case murder investigation. Her little podcast became a national sensation, skyrocketing the reach of her work. She is surprised, though, at what they are calling her about. With Rachel's social media popularity, the FBI seeks her help to uncover answers about the missing Madison Logan. In exchange for her assistance, Rachel will receive unprecedented access to the active missing persons case.

The case becomes even more perplexing as Maddison seems to exist solely within the realm of social media, with no trace of her offline identity. Undeterred, Rachel takes on an undercover persona using a fake Instagram account to delve into the world of influencers at BuzzCon, a significant influencer conference. As Rachel immerses herself in this fiercely competitive community, she discovers that the secrets and rivalries run deep. The discovery of a body with a disturbing tattoo raises fears that Bailey might have a dangerous accomplice and an alarming obsession with influencers, including Rachel herself.

Dark Corners sees Megan Goldin continue the story of her most intriguing character Rachel Krull. While this is a continuation of the story that began in The Night Swim, this book can be read as a standalone. Goldin provides enough backstory to fill in any gaps you may have missed from the prior novel. Where that book focussed on small-town politics and the haunting of the past, this work is much more rooted in the present. Layered in amongst the thrilling missing person case is a deeper contemplation on the impact of social media on our everyday lives. The line between reality and the persona we see on an app is called into question, adding a unique level of suspense to the story. The audiobook is narrated by a cast featuring André Santana, January LaVoy, Samantha Desz. They breathe life into the characters, and the podcast sections specifically feel ripped straight from reality. Megan Goldin is a standard setter in the world of thrillers, and Dark Corners continues to set that very high mark in the genre.

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

Terence Bailey is about to be released from a Florida prison but the FBI is hoping to tie him to a string of unsolved murders. Maddison Logan, a social media influencer, disappears not long after visiting Bailey in prison and the FBI enlists the help of popular true crime podcaster, Rachel Krall, to find out what happened to her. Before long investigators realize Bailey may have an accomplice - and Rachel has attracted his attention.

Although Dark Corners is the second book in the Rachel Krall series, this can definitely be read as a standalone. I liked this one even more than The Night Swim! While I wasn’t super interested in the influencer angle, I really enjoyed the commentary on the attention the media gives to killers versus their victims. The plot had a lot going on at times but I liked how all the pieces came together at the end. Some of the chapters are podcast episodes - just like in The Night Swim - which makes for a great listen if you are looking for an audiobook!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.

The story follows Rachel, a podcaster who gained unexpected fame after helping overturn a guilty verdict. Summoned to Florida by the FBI to investigate unsolved serial killings, Rachel’s journey begins after the events of “Night Swim.” The multiple viewpoints used in the book were well-executed, leading readers smoothly to uncover the killer’s identity and motive without relying on major twists.

Despite the absence of a big twist, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, particularly Rachel’s compelling character and the intriguing and unique case with plenty of twists and turns. The addition of a surprising romance element was a pleasant surprise, and the integration of podcast episodes throughout added depth to the narrative.

I can’t wait to recommend this captivating read to my friends, and I hope for more Rachel Krall books from the author in the future!

Great narration by the actors ✨💕

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Megan Goldin for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for Dark Corners coming out August 8, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Overall, I thought this was a fun book to listen to. I had similar issues with Rachel’s character as I did in the first book. She was slightly annoying with her “I can do whatever I want” attitude. She acted like her way was the only right way. I feel like she could’ve been more obliging and agreeable if she wanted to work with the FBI to get her story. I really loved the character of Joseph though. I thought he was more level-headed. The whole social influencers scene is definitely relative to our society today. It was an interesting plot of the book.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys police procedural books!

In DARK CORNERS by Megan Goldin, influencer Maddison Logan mysteriously disappears after visiting a suspected serial killer. True crime podcaster Rachel Krall gets involved when her name comes up in connection with the inmate. As Rachel investigates, she delves into the world of social media influencers and uncovers fierce rivalries and potential dangers. The story unfolds with gripping suspense, multiple twists, and insightful exploration of the influencer culture. Rachel's character evolves, becoming gritty and outspoken as she relentlessly pursues the truth. With its engaging narrative and satisfying ending, DARK CORNERS delivers a compelling and thrilling mystery, showcasing Megan Goldin's skill in crafting gripping psychological thrillers.

Yet again, this book is an excellent audiobook. The incorporation of podcast clips makes the experience very immersive, and the narrator does a good job differentiating characters and maintaining the pace of this thriller. This scratched the itch for a solid summer thriller, and the twist felt earned through the storytelling. I enjoyed this quite a lot!