In "Dark Corners," the sequel to her hugely successful novel "Night Swim," Megan Goldin once again delivers a gripping narrative that showcases her trademark consistency in crafting entertaining stories with well-developed characters and thought-provoking themes. This time, protagonist Rachel Krall, a true crime podcaster, delves into the unsettling case of a serial killer and the impending release of a man suspected of the murders.

In addition to the central investigation, the novel explores the realm of social media and influencer culture, as Rachel immerses herself in a convention for content creators. While this subplot offers insight into the potential pitfalls of social media and its impact on mental health and relationships, it occasionally presents a somewhat one-sided view that may seem out of touch with the realities of content creation. Despite this minor critique, "Dark Corners" remains a compelling read, driven by Rachel's expertise as a true crime podcaster and journalist. I recommend readers listen to this novel in audiobook format as the incorporation of audio elements, mimicking podcast episodes, adds an immersive layer to the storytelling.

Overall, while the novel may not flawlessly navigate the complexities of its themes, it remains an engaging and entertaining read, sure to captivate fans of mystery and suspense.

The next time an author decides to write a thriller about an influencer, I'm going to sit them down and send them the NYC Influencer Snark subreddit so they can get the details right. generally like Megan Goldin's work: STAY AWAKE was super unique and THE ESCAPE ROOM was pure fun. I know that her latest,
DARK CORNERS, once again centered around Rachel Krall, the crime podcaster turned detective from THE NIGHT SWIM. You don't need to have read that book in order to dive into this one. Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison, although police have suspicions that he is behind the deaths of six women. Just as he's about to be released, he's visited by Maddison Logan, a popular influencer. Hours later, she disappears, and Bailey is the prime suspect. The FBI reaches out to Rachel, who goes undercover as an influencer to see if she can figure out the connection between the glam social media star and the dark criminal. This was quick and entertaining, but isn't my favorite of Goldin's novels. I don't know how Rachel was portrayed in the first book, but she was incredibly unlikable in this one. What really irked me was the fact that the influencer details just felt SO off to me.
There are influencers EVERYWHERE on social media, and the descriptions of them felt rooted in
2018. Bummed I didn't love, but might still try THE NIGHT SWIM.

3.5 rated down to 3 stars

This was a good / typical murder mystery , if I could summarize this book in one word though it would be "mediocre". I wish it ended up being more dark and wish it had more shock factor. Unfortunately I didn't vibe with the whole 'Influencer' topic and felt there was so much revolving around the "hate" of influencers, how they "buy all their likes" and "only promote things that that they get paid for" , these things were repeated so often due to one of the main characters being an influencer and I honestly just felt it annoying.

One thing I can say though is that I LOVED the audio format, full cast and done pod-cast style , I think I would have ended up rating this lower if I read it as a physical copy honestly.

Definitely don't need to read Night Swim before reading this one, the characters from Night Swim are VERY briefly mentioned by Rachel Krall , the podcast host whom is the same in Night Swim - in which I must say, Rachel Krall is an awesome character, she performs her role well.

Unfortunately I’m thinking maybe this author is just not my cup of tea , as I haven’t really loved any of her books so far

Dark Corners is the second Rachel Krall book, but you do not need to read the first to enjoy this book. Rachel is a podcaster of a true crime podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty, and solved a case in the previous book. A conviction was overturned and innocent men released from prison. Since then, she has received letters from those incarcerated, their family and friends and even legal teams to take on their cases. Terence Bailey is going to be released from prison soon. He was convicted of break and entry and kept in prison longer after a fight. Police think he is responsible for the murder of at least six missing women, but didn't have enough evidence. Just before his release, a social media personality, Maddison Logan visits him in jail, then she disappears. The FBI think she was kidnapped by an accomplice of Bailey's, but have no proof. They ask Rachel to help them solve the murder of the missing women, and hopefully save Maddison before Bailey gets released from prison.

I enjoyed this second Rachel Krall book. I liked that she was actually working for the FBI to solve a crime, and she goes in whole hog. Fist, she needed to infiltrate a social influencer convention. She doesn't like being in the limelight, but agrees. This brings her into close contact with people who are insecure, jealous and vindictive. Does this help with the case of finding missing Maddison Logan, maybe, maybe not. I liked how Rachel goes about figuring things out, and when she went to visit Bailey in prison, knowing that he was hiding something. This one kept me guessing right to the end and I was on the edge of my seat at times, not knowing if either Maddison or Rachel would be safe. She worked with Special Agent Joe Martinez, and he was not happy with her independent nature, taking her off without him. The story was told from multiple POVs, including a sinister, evil man. The climax was exciting and kept me listening long after I should have put this one aside. With some twists, unexpected actions from some characters, another death and a great well-developed plot, I thoroughly enjoyed the thriller.

Megan Goldin writes my kind of mysteries and thrillers. So many plot twists that you can sense but cant always make out. Rachel Krall is an extraordinary main character that always seems to find herself right in the thick of things. In a twist of fate Krall has to uncover why she is being investigated in relation to a prisoner she had no knowledge of. With her thorough sleuthing skills Krall uncovers more than one loose thread. Throw a little sparkling romance in there and you have a perfect Goldin book. Great read

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review

The second book in this series, I found #1 to be a solid mystery and crime thriller. This followed up with another winner. With so many mystery/thrillers out there an author cannot make a mistake or let slip a clue without being pointed out. This book was a great continuation of. a likable MC. Rachel Krall is once again dragged into a murder mystery due to her podcast popularity and this time it's the FBI asking for help. Slowly the crime details unravel and I found myself pulled in from page one.
A solid crime mystery for fans of this genre.

Having greatly enjoyed The Night Swim, I was really excited for another book featuring Megan Goldin’s protagonist Rachel Krall. Dark Corners was certainly different, not in a bad way, from the Night Swim. Perhaps it’s because I “read” the first book in audio form and really took to the narrator and how well she distinguished and set off the podcast parts from the rest of the story, but reading Dark Corners did not quite have the same appeal. Still, a solid follow up and I appreciated that it could be a standalone while still retaining the backstory from the first book. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC!

This is the second in the Rachel Krall series. This book is about a social media influencer who goes missing after she meets with a serial killer who is about to be released from prison. This was just ok for me. I feel like it started out strong but there were so many characters. Sometimes tough to follow and I was bored. I’m also not sure how I felt about the romance in this book. I feel like it took away from the suspense and mystery. I will continue to read this author though.
Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

When I picked this book up I did not realize that it was the sequel to Night Swim until I was already 20% into the book. It did not impede my reading at all. There are a few references to a previous case, but the beginning is set up well enough that it is not a big issue. I was interested in the case and who done it of the old cases. It has multiple POVs. The writing is well done. I'd go back and read the first one as well as a sequel if it came out.

Rating: 3.5/5

This could so easily be True Crime. It speaks to our inner fears of social influencers having too much power, even unto life and death. An excellent read, but be prepare for sudden jolts of fear next time you check out your favorite social media sites.

This is a book of surprises, and I liked it so much I read it twice. There is a varied cast of characters: a young man about to be released from prison who has kept his secrets, a young woman who is a popular influencer (who is missing and has no past), FBI agents, Rachel Krall (a true crime podcaster), and a mysterious ride share driver. And murders - several murders. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher St. Martin's Press via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

This book follows Rachel from The Night Swim, a book that I really enjoyed when I read it several years ago and don't remember any of it now. Thankfully, that didn't seem to matter for my reading experience of Dark Corners. Although the podcast trope in thrillers is getting a little stale, Megan Goldin utilizes it so well and I felt like it enhanced the reading experience. I actually think that The Night Swim is one of the first books I ever read with this trope, so it's kind of funny to see how many other books have come out since then with a podcast element.

The mystery in Dark Corners is gripping: a popular online influencer disappears after visiting a notorious prisoner. So in addition to the podcast, we get the content creator angle which made this story feel fresh and current. I am a big fan of Megan Goldin's writing and this is a very solid thriller. I think it will appeal to fans of the genre and would probably be excellent on audio, too.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am generally not a huge fan of series, but after reading both The Night Swim and now Dark Corners, I think I am going to have to continue following the story of Rachel Krall. Plus, we obviously need to see where things go with Joe! ;)

This particular book started a bit slow but once it picked up I was hooked. It was a fast read with several fun twists. There were several characters in this novel that turned out to be completely opposite of who I thought they were, which made me like them even more!

I plan to continue with the Rachel Krall series when the next book comes out. 4 stars for Dark Corners.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel.

I remember absolutely nothing about The Night Swim, but I gave it 4 stars so I must've liked it...
I'm not quite as sure about Dark Corners tho...
First of all, why is there a weird influx of mystery/thriller novels involving influencer culture? It's like every other book lately and I'm kind of over it. Also Rachel seemed kind of...terrible? I usually don't rate books highly if I hated the MC (unless they're supposed to be unlikeable), so I don't think she was quite so horrible in Night Swim.
This book was also full of coincidence and I pretty much figured out all the plot twists and mysteries as soon as they started happening. I love being able to solve a mystery but when I know what's going to happen next or what the "big reveal" is going to be before I even finish a sentence? Yeah no.

This one just didn't quite do it for me. It's one I would recommend to a casual reader or someone just branching into mystery novels, but overall it just wasn't the book I wanted it to be.

Megan Goldin's books continue to be a fun and intriguing surprise with every new title. I keep hoping her books will become movies someday so I can enjoy them as much as I do while reading.

I read "Dark Corners" immediately after finishing "The Night Swim". While the newest Rachel Krall novel can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the books in series order.

We join Rachel and her podcast "Guilty or Not Guilty" as she helps locate a missing social media influencer, Madison Logan. However, there's more at risk her than just finding Madison, as Terrance Bailey, serving time for breaking and entering plus added time for bad behavior, is to be released from prison, and the last time Madison was seen, it was with Bailey.

As Rachel works with the FBI, they soon discover the messy world of social media influencers and how far someone will go to have the perfect life. When Rachel and the FBI start putting pieces of the mystery together, the twist is shocking (if not a big smelly #iykyk).

I did take a star off because I don't buy the love story that comes to light in this edition to the "Rachel Krall" series. I don't think it was necessary nor is it something I want in this particular true crime world.

3.5/5 I read it in a day. Fast paced, the story went by quickly. A little crazy to believe a podcaster is always one step ahead of the FBI. The plot being based around social media influencers is the unappealing part to me.

Going into Dark Corners I was very hesitant. I was not a super huge fan of The Night Swim; however, I am a firm believer in second chances and this book just so happens to prove why second chances are so important. I loved this book! This is a book I will always recommend to my fellow readers. Dark Corners makes you look at who is in your life and makes you wonder if they are exactly who they claim to be.

Night Swim (Rachel Krall, Book 1) 2020
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/48825033

Although this is book 2, there is adequate information to make this a stand alone read. The first book introduces Rachel Krall, an investigative reporter, who broadcasts a popular podcast called Guilty or Not Guilty, “the podcast that puts you in the jury box”. This is the third season for her podcast and wants it to grab her viewers attention. The Blair rape trial is in the headlines in Neapolis so she packs up and drives there to cover the duration of the trial. She also likes to present a personal aspect of the case by interviewing people and gathering a consensus from the town.

Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, as well as being suspected of killing 6 women in Florida. An online influencer, Maddison Logan, trying to boost her followers, visits Bailey in prison before he is released from prison. Questions arise: who is Maddison Logan aside from her social media presence? Why did she choose to visit Bailey, a suspected serial killer? The FBI get involved when no one has heard from the social media influencer and they are unable to identify any family or friends who have ever met her. On a weird twist, Bailey requests to see Rachal Krall, who agrees to see him in hopes of finding out information about the disappearance of Maddison Logan. A dead body of a woman is found and she had the same snake tattoo that Bailey has so a quest to uncover a likely accomplice is initiated. Is this body Maddison Logan or is there another killer on the loose?

Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me access to this advanced reader copy e-book. The review is my unbiased, honest opinion. All comments are my own.

A solid thriller who done it with a Podcast/influencer twist. I think there were some parts that could have been left out but nothing that was so distracting that it took away from the overall story line.