3.5 stars
I listened to book 1 (The Night Swim) last week and loved it. It did take some adjustment as Rachel’s podcast episodes were first person with one narrator and the other sections with her POV were third person with a different narrator. I didn’t like that casting choice at all but the book was so good that I got over it. It was the same format for this book so it was easier to settle in for a second time. Dark Corners followed Rachel as she did an undercover assignment while broadcasting a special edition podcast investigating missing girls. This time, Rachel finds herself in the middle of the action. Things were super tense from start to finish. I didn’t like Dark Corners as much as The Night Swim but it was still a very good book!
*Thanks to MacMillan audio and NetGalley for the advance listener copy for review.

The first book in this series, The Night Swim, is one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. Something about the fact that the MC is a podcaster lends itself very well to an audiobook ... there are episodes of the podcast layered into the story. While this book wasn't as good as the first (I felt like the mystery unfolded too slowly and the ending was then too fast, it was still immensely enjoyable. I definitely recommend this series!

Dark Corners comes out next week on August 8, 2023, and you can purchase HERE! I really liked this one!

Have you ever had a day when absolutely everything goes haywire and nothing goes as planned? I have. More times than I care to remember. Like the time my kitchen pipe burst just as I was heading off on a date with my old college crush who was in town on business.

Instead of rekindling the unrequired spark from college, I spent the evening frantically mopping the flood of water on my kitchen floor while waiting for the emergency plumber to turn up. My next-door neighbor Chloe kindly went down to the bar across the road to keep my date company while I dealt with the plumbing crisis.

By the time I joined them, they were hitting it off. Sparks flew like fireworks that night. Just not with me. Incidentally, they've been married for three years. One baby. Another on the way. Cutest couple ever.

Rachel Krall is a true crime podcaster who has more than once helped exonerate innocent people from jail. Terence Bailey is a man long suspected of the murders of several women, and about to be released from prison. After a popular influencer goes missing shortly after visiting Bailey in prison, Rachel also visits Bailey at the request of the FBI, to try to find the connection. How could Bailey have anything to do with the disappearance while locked in jail? Does he have an accomplice?

This was an entertaining read. Goldin has a great writing style that keeps you hooked. The story was a great pace and I enjoyed the podcast episodes thrown in, and I loved how they had multiple voices in the transcripts on the audio. The multiple POV's were easy to follow. The plot was twisty and had some good trickery thrown in, and I had no idea how it would end. Krall is such a great character and I look forward to hopefully reading more of her. I did enjoy the narrator, I thought she did a great job.

From my blog: Always With a Book

I was thrilled when I heard that Megan Goldin was bringing back Rachel Krall in another book. Night Swim was one of my favorite books and I had always hoped we would see Rachel again!

While this is listed as book two in the Rachel Krall series, I will say that these are connected stand-alones. You really don’t need to read Night Swim before reading this one. Of course, I do highly recommend that, but that’s just my opinion.

Once again, we have a very cleverly crafted story that kept me engaged from start to finish. There are the elements of the podcast used here – which are definitely my favorite, though I will say that these parts weren’t as frequent as they were in the previous book, which I missed and would have loved to have more of. We also have an active missing persons case and this is tied to a serial killer. Of course, I loved this aspect of the story because I am a fan of serial killer stories – not sure why, but am. And I loved how this one played out.

I love that we once again see Rachel not only doing her work as a podcaster, but also actively investigating the case. Once she gets involved with something, she is like a dog with a bone and no one and nothing is going to stop her, not even when her life is threatened. She will get the answers she wants at all costs, and I love that determination.

This book took quite a few twists and turns, and I never knew what to expect next. It is most definitely a case of nothing is what it seems on so many levels and I loved that! Once I started this one I had a hard time putting it down because I was so wrapped up in what was happening…it’s that good and that addicting! I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Rachel…I want more of her and her podcast!


Audio thoughts: This book really works best on audio as the narrators are amazing and there are sound effects to introduce the podcast segments. It was such a great audio production and I was glued to my phone while listening! The narrators – Andre Santana, January LaVoy, and Samantha Dez – did such a great job with the voices, infusing just the right amount of emotion and tension into their voices as needed.

I was literally sitting on pins and needles waiting for the opportunity to read the second Rachel Krall book. The Night Swim was absolutely epic in an uncomfortable majorly triggering mental type of way. To say I had high expectations for the second installment would be an absolute understatement. This may have been the biggest obstacle keeping me from loving every part of Dark Corners.

Rachel Krall is called upon by the FBI to informally meet a prisoner, Terrence Bailey, days before his release. The supposed goal was to establish a lead in the disappearance of social media influencer, Maddison Logan, who went missing soon after visiting Bailey in prison. Rachel involves herself more and more with the case and goes undercover in a social media conference. Here she begins to make connections between various groups in attendance and the missing influencer. As the reader we are also introduced to a potential lead very early on and left to make connections between the past and present.

The story progresses quickly and can easily be devoured in a short couple of days. Fans of murder podcasts, this book is absolutely for you. It gives all of the details but saves the larger connections for later, enabling the reader to form conclusions and hypothesize who the killer really is.

The audio production is superb! Absolutely stunning with breakups between the dialogue and produced podcast episodes. I felt that the story was truly unfolding as I listened. The audio narration upped the estimation of my review overall.

If you loved The Night Swim, I would absolutely give Dark Corners a go. It does not have the same feels and will not leave you feeling wrecked, but the slow burn was a good one and well worth the quick read. I look forward to Rachel’s next adventure.

This is the second novel I read by Megan Goldin, the first novel I read was Stay Awake, which I found enjoyable. I did not read The Night Swim, book 1 of the Rachel Krall series, but felt like it wasn’t 100% necessary that I read book one to follow along in Book 2, it very much stands on its own for all to enjoy.

So Dark Corners takes place in Florida, where several women have been murdered, and the suspected killer is being released from prison soon. He didn’t go to prison for these murders, he went for breaking and entering. Local influencer Maddison Logan makes a visit to him prior to his release, and soon after, she goes missing. The FBI reaches out to Rachel Krall who is a true crime podcaster, for assistance on the case and Rachel heads to Florida and pretends to be an influencer so she can get close to other influencers at BuzzCon, an influencer conference, in hopes to gather information from people who ran in some of the same circles as Maddison. Who has a reason or motive to go after her?

I will say I am getting a little tired of the same type of story line where there is a lead female not normally in an authoritative role but inserts herself in an investigation and the cops/detectives take a back seat which is not super realistic even if they sought her for assistance and then the lead female ends up being an unlikeable character for me because I just can't help but think how unlikely it is to let someone take the lead that is not law enforcement with all the added risks. Also, inevitably, someone starts to catch feelings and because of this entanglement, bad decisions are made and it always ends the same, which I won't go into because I don’t want to provide any spoilers.

I didn’t mind the influencer parts of this book; I like books that focus on influencers, but I think this is the 4th or 5th book I have read with a podcaster lead and I just don’t think that is really my jam because they tend to annoy me how much they insert themselves. I do really appreciate that the author added some diversity in the book and there was an array of characters. I feel that was a conscious effort to be inclusive.

This did hold my attention and I was pretty happy with the ending. I think overall I would give this book 3 stars. I think it was pretty easy to figure out how this would end and I don't think there was meant to be much shock here, so it was still a good ending for me. There were a couple of sad parts too as they discussed previous victims and I like when an author can bring emotion out of you.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I really enjoy Megan’s writing style so I look forward to what she has to come next!

I loved The Night Swim so I was a bit nervous this second book to feature investigative podcaster Rachel Krall wouldn’t be able to meet my expectations. However, I am thrilled to report that I ended up loving Dark Corners!

I loved how the POVs alternated between the serial killer, Rachel, and the FBI agent working the case. The book includes everything I need in a thriller: surprise twists, page-turning suspense, a realistically terrifying bad guy, and a protagonist worth rooting for. While reading, I couldn’t imagine how all the storylines connected but at the end everything was woven together seamlessly. Because of the podcast elements, I highly recommend the audio version!

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin is an entertaining mystery/thriller. It is the second entry in her Rachel Krall series, this time featuring the true crime podcaster searching for a social influencer who has disappeared.
The missing woman, Maddison Logan, has recently visited Terence Bailey, a convict on the cusp of his release from a Florida prison. He is suspected of murdering several women, but the authorities have not gathered enough proof to keep him incarcerated. When he hands the influencer, Maddison, a note saying “Bring Rachel Krall to me,” the FBI reluctantly asks Rachel to get involved with their investigation.
The chapters are arranged in alternating POVs of Rachel Krall; Thomas McCoy, an oddball rideshare driver; and excerpts from episodes of Rachel’s podcasts about the case. These multiple viewpoints are skillfully interwoven and move the plot forward dynamically, enhancing the dramatic tension. The segments set at a social influencers’ convention are meant to portray their world as vapid and self-centered, but were certainly interesting. There are enough red herrings and twists to make this a good mystery and unique case, and it held my interest up to the surprising conclusion of the investigation.
Rachel’s character is more confident and written as a stronger voice for women in this book—as she observes, “Killers receive so much oxygen in the media. It’s time to a voice to the victim.”
Agent Joe Martinez of the FBI is a welcome addition to the cast of characters and provides a bit of romance for Rachel.
I recommend Dark Corners to readers who like a well-plotted, contemporary crime novel and investigative procedural. While I was fortunate enough to read the digital ARC and listen to the audiobook advance file, I found the audiobook version particularly enjoyable, with excellent narration by Samantha Desz, January Lavoy and Andre Santana. The sound effects and music also really enhanced the story, especially the podcast excerpts.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copies. All opinions are my own.

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

Megan Goldin is back with book 2 in the Rachel Krall series. I know people loved The Night Swim, but it wasn’t a favorite of mine because I was a little confused with the podcast aspect. With Dark Corners, I decided to read along with the audiobook, and I enjoyed it much more.

My favorite part of this book was the influencer conference that Rachel attends under cover. Working with the FBI, she’s trying to figure out what happened to a missing influencer, Maddison Logan, who was abducted while recording a video for her social media. Rachel meets with a prison inmate who was accused of murdering some teenage girls, and now she’s trying to find his connection to Maddison.

If I had just read the eARC, I would have been really confused about what parts were Rachel’s podcast. The chapters aren’t labeled and the font wasn’t different so I can see this taking away from the story. It’s clear with the audiobook so I highly recommend listening to this one. I enjoyed the multiple narrators for this one, André Santana, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz, and felt they did a great job bringing the story to life.

I found the mystery intriguing and didn’t put the ending together which is always a plus for me. There were some issues with the writing (constant use of both first and last names for example), but overall I was entertained by this book.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

Megan Goldin hits it out of the park with this one! This follow-up to her 1st Rachel Krall book does not disappoint! She once again gets herself into all kinds of trouble and saves the day in the end! I love me a strong kick-ass woman and that's what you get with this one! I can't wait to see what kind of shenanigans she has in store for Rachel in her next book!

Dark Corners is the second book in the Rachel Krall series. Only a few references to the first book so it can definitely be read as a standalone. The audio version was fantastic and made the story a delight to listen to. I thought it was so cool that the setting is in Florida (the same state I live in). The characters were so unreliable and creepy and I loved the serial killer storyline. The book is told from different POVs and, I enjoyed the podcast segments throughout the story. It was fun trying to figure out how everyone was connected and putting all the pieces together.

Read if you like:
🎙️True crime podcasts
🎙️social media influencers
🎙️Short chapters & multiple perspectives
🎙️Florida beach setting

OKAY. This has alllllll the hallmarks I look for in a good thriller. I mean come on, The Night Swim was great and The Escape Room is an all time fav thriller but dare I say this one might be my favourite Goldin?

Rachel is back and in such a good way. We have serial killers, unsolved murders, kidnapping, influencer conferences, DRAMA, maybe a little 💕✨ as well. Word is depending how this one sells there will be a third in the true crime podcast series!!!

I couldn’t focus on anything except finishing this book. I LOVED that Rachel’s character gained a bit more teeth in this one. The combination of the podcast giving us insight along the way of how the crime actually happened, the chapters following the supposed perpetrator and the chapters following Rachel and the FBI this one was never short on maintaining my interest.

The ONLY thing I have to say about this is that there’s one murder that just really does not need to happen and doesn’t contribute anything to the story BUT overall loved it and am really hoping for #3!

Dark Corners is a standalone novel part of the Rachel Krall series. I have not read the author's previous book, Night Swim, but you don't need to in order to enjoy this one! This was a decent mystery book. The beginning was a little bit slow, but it did pick up pace! Upon further research, the general consensus seems to be that the first book was better.

What I liked: short chapters, the inclusion of influencer culture within the mystery, serial killer trope, and the audiobook production! I thought the narration was great. I especially loved the parts where it felt like I was actually listening to the MC's podcast.

What I liked less: knowing who the serial killer is from the start, the real mystery is putting together how all the character's relate or know each other (I like a little bit more smoke and mirrors in mysteries/thrillers!) I felt as if the story lacked depth behind the perpetrator. I also thought the romance subplot was unnecessary (I enjoy a good romance, but not in my murder mysteries!)

Ultimately, I liked it. I will definitely be checking out other work from this author.

A very popular social media influencer, Maddison Logan, has gone missing. The FBI has run out of leads, so they fly in Rachel Krall to speak to a suspected serial killer, Terence Bailey, who was visited by Maddison right before she disappeared. Rachel infiltrates Buzz Con, a popular social media influencer conference, where she discovers some fierce rivalry amongst influencers. Could this rivalry have turned deadly? Rachel is determined to find out.

I really enjoyed The Night Swim, so I was excited to read another book featuring Rachel Krall. However, I was a little disappointed in how Rachel appears in this book. Rachel comes across as an arrogant know-it-all here. I also found it to be a little heavy on social media influencers. I know that is something that is big right now so many may find it more interesting than I did. Overall, it was a decent story so I give it 3/5 stars.

I switched off listening to the audiobook and reading the story. I found myself much more interested in the audiobook version. January LaVoy and the rest of the full cast really pulled me into the story. I especially enjoyed the podcast parts of the audiobook version.

I am enjoying this series, and the audio narration is well done.....it really makes the podcast episodes stand out from the rest of the story. The last 10 percent definitely through in a couple of twists that I did not see coming at all......which I love! I will definitely be continuing on with this series!

Dark Corners
Megan Goldin
4.5/5 ⭐

Rachel Krall is a true-crime podcaster. The FBI asks for Rachel’s help in finding a beautiful, young influencer that has disappeared. The last time Maddison Logan was seen was visiting a suspected murderer in a state prison. Terence Bailey has never been convicted of six unsolved murders and is about to be released. The police need Rachel’s help to figure out the connection between Terence and Maddison and make sure she is not in danger.

The discovery that Maddison seems only to exist on social media brings the investigation to a halt. She has no family and no real friends. Using her old Instagram account, Rachel goes undercover at BuzzCon, a trendy influencer conference. Rachel learns a lot about Maddison but also discovers that the social media world is brutal and cutthroat.

With Terence Bailey still in jail, the police are determined that he must have an accomplice. Rachel puts her own life at risk to solve these murders once and for all. Her biggest threat may just be in plain sight driving her into dark corners.

This was my first Megan Goldin book. I loved the organized chaos of all the characters and pieces and parts. The alternating chapters of the story switching to Rachel’s podcast were very engaging. The graphic audio during the podcasts was a new experience for me. It definitely brought the characters more to life. The scenes at BuzzCon dragged on for me but as things were explained in the end I saw the relevance. I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to @Macmillan.Audio and @netgalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. All my opinions are my own.
Publication Date: August 8, 2023

I will preface my thoughts by saying I did not read the first book in the collection (Night Swim, which introduces the podcaster Rachel Krall). I believed these were standalone books, so critiques might be unfounded simply because I did not read the prior novel.

This book was not a huge win for me. I listened to the entire thing, and found the narrator to be great. The story itself was fairly predictable - you knew who the villain was going to end up being very early on. That in and of itself does not necessarily make a book uninteresting, because often the motives and finding out why the villain is killing is fascinating. This however, just felt uninspired, and writing this review a few days after finishing the book, I'm already struggling to remember much about the killer, aside from one specific idiosyncrasy.

The character of Rachel Krall is somewhat compelling, and the world of influencers / content creators was an good setting. A relationship Rachel has with someone comes out of nowhere and felt shoehorned in; every thriller doesn't need to have a novice detective and a seasoned person of law enforcement become entangled romantically, especially when it's just haphazardly included without much emotion.

Overall, I would try other books written by this author, but this particular one was underwhelming.

My first read by this author and I really enjoyed this one!! The audiobook version is the way to go on this one!! It really immerses you into the story! This book is told in three pov one of those being the main characters podcast on the case. I loved that these parts had a short musical intro and background sounds at appropriate times, ie: water and forest sounds when she was in the woods ect. I wish the digital/print version had a small heading to know the chapter was a Special Report Podcast chapter. I think knowing that would help make the print version as immersive as the audio felt. The chapters are super short which I find helps move the story along faster. The pacing was good and with the number of different characters I found the ending to be a complete surprise! I was a little weary at police/fbi involvement at first, I find I’m just not a fan of police procedural type reads. I'm glad this wasn't!! The main character is an investigative researcher of sorts and although another main character is FBI it didn’t feel the way most police procedurals do! The different pov were very well written and blended the timeline perfectly! I like the recurring clues that kept you guessing as to what they truly are/mean right until the end! After the wrap up of the case the actual book ending seemed so sudden but left it open for these characters to return on perhaps another case!? Will definitely be looking at the authors' other books!

So. Good.

A thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced audio copy of this book, which officially releases on 8/8/23.

Just as Megan Goldin’s first Rachel Krall story, “Night Swim,” this book kept me captivated from start to finish. I highly recommend this audio version, which captured the switch back and forth between podcast and main story with various narrators and sound effects quite well. The book is chunked into small chapters, which I like because it keeps the story alive at all times and it’s easier to digest. The ending was quite satisfying as well. Count me in for the next Rachel Krall book.

Gripped me right from the get go. There were several twists and turns that kept me glued to the story. I will definitely be reaching for The Night Swim to continue my journey with podcaster Rachel Krall. Thanks to NetGalley for the audio eArc.