Megan Goldin's second installment of the Rachel Krall series does not disappoint. Complex characters, intricate plotlines, and creative twists make this book hard to put down. Looking forward to seeing how Goldin continues to grow Rachel's character through future books.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Thanks to FBI agent Joseph Martinez, true crime podcaster Rachel Krall finds herself in Florida visiting Terence Bailey, an inmate in the Central Florida Correctional Facility. Although there is no evidence to confirm their suspicions, the authorities believe Bailey is a serial killer, responsible for the deaths of six women. But it’s a burglary conviction that sent him to jail. He’s had no visitors, except for his lawyers, until social media influencer Maddison Logan showed up to visit.

And now she’s vanished.

What happened to Maddison? And how could Terence Bailey possibly be involved?

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Second in the author’s Rachel Krall series, following “The Night Swim,” this book works well as a standalone for readers new to the series. Strong, believable characters populate this intriguing mystery that is told mainly from Rachel’s point of view.

Suspenseful and apprehensive, readers will find themselves fretting for Rachel’s safety as the gritty narrative takes several unexpected twists, revealing new pieces of information. The spine-tingling tale is sure to keep the pages turning as the unfolding narrative slowly reveals hidden truths.

With social media influencers at the center of this dark and complex tale, the narrative seems particularly relevant. Additionally, several episodes of Rachel’s podcast are interspersed throughout the narrative, highlighting the role of social media influencers in the telling of this timely tale.

Fans of thrillers, murder mysteries, and intriguing tales will find much to appreciate here.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#DarkCorners #NetGalley

To quote my review of The Night Swim in 2020 “I honestly wish it was a series and that each season of Rachel’s podcast was a different book.”.. well friends that wish came true!

In the second Rachel Krall book Dark Corners, we find Rachel in Florida, summoned by the FBI to talk to a prisoner who was accused of murder several years ago now in relation to a missing influencer, Maddison. . From there the clock is running to find Maddison and uncover the truth about the murders years ago.

Easy 4.5 stars rounded to 5. Loved the fast paced mystery that had me on the edge of my seat. Hope to see more Rachel Krall stories.

Thank you St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced digit copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Ordinarily, I love Megan Goldin’s books, but I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I see a lot of potential in the story. The way the various elements and character arcs merge together is complex, tangled, and interesting. On the other hand, I really hope this is a true, early draft and the book gets some serious rework before the final copy goes to print. The writing is choppy. There are sections where it feels like the final order of chapters hasn’t been determined and I could swear I’d read almost the exact words in an earlier chapter. The repetition was bothersome, as was the budding relationship between Rachel and Agent Martinez. That felt forced and awkward, as though an editor said, “hey, Rachel needs a love interest. Why not have her hook up with this guy?” and so Goldin wrote it. There’s nothing about it that feels believable. The very end was abrupt, as well. Again, I can’t tell if it’s a chapter order issue, or something that is going to be changed in the final version, but it’s a very weird paragraph upon which to end. One final nitpick - there’s a scene where the serial killer changes the license plates on his vehicle and it says that he replaced them on both ends of the car. Florida only has license plates on the back, not front and back.

I probably should have read the first book, first.... but I really liked the Night Swim and Goldin's books are easy to read so I was pretty excited when I got an ARC of this.

I thought that the buildup of this story was good, true crime podcaster meets involvement in a true crime situation. The characters all had important roles and I appreciated that there wasn't an over-introduction of characters (This is a personal thing; the last few thrillers I've read have had many characters I've had to try and keep track of).

A little predictable, but still an enjoyable read. Would definitely recommend if you want a thriller, bonus points if you're a true crime junkie!

*Thank you to St Martin's Press, Netgalley and Megan Goldin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Megan Goldin is hell of an intelligent, brilliant author! I devoured her previous novels and gave each of time my shiny, well deserved five stars!

Night Swim was my favorite book and when I realize she brought back Rachel Krall - Night Swim’s badass, smart, magnetic, ex athlete / journalist, true crime podcaster, I high fived myself and went blind to read Rachel’s new adventure that she finds herself in the middle of BuzzCon: a convention for influencers to solve a case about a missing influencer Maddison Logan who may be connected to serial killer Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison!

This book is another riveting, twisty, unputdownable psychological thriller!
Rachel is back, sharpening her investigation skills, finding extra information the FBI or police officers couldn’t get from the witnesses. Her genuine approach and empathy always help her to crack the cold cases and dig out crucial information to reveal the ugly truth!

When she’s summoned by FBI to talk with the prisoner Terence Bailey: presumed to kill sex workers, about to be released from prison in 48 hours because there’s not enough evidence to convict him, she reluctantly gets involved in the case. A famous Maddison Logan is missing and last time she’s seen during her visit to Terence in prison. During their recorded visit: FBI agents found it Terence told Maddison bring Rachel Krall to the prison.

Rachel doesn’t meet with Madison before and she has no idea why Terence Bailey is obsessed to talk to him. But when she realizes Madison left a voice message for her help before she’s gone missing, she realizes she cannot return back to home without helping the FBI to find her whereabouts which drags her to BuzzCon convention where Madison lately attended.

Rachel has no idea to get involved in influencers’ voyeuristic lifestyle may put her life in danger. Her firsthand experience may turn her into target of a nasty serial killer!

Overall: I’m giving my another 5 thrilling stars! I also enjoyed Rachel’s romance escapade with Agent Martinez. I hope we see him at the upcoming sequels.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this brilliant digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Rachel Krall is a Podcaster of a famous show called “guilty or not “she has investigated and found new evidence to get people out of prison. She has been called by the FBI to a prison in Florida to meet with Terrence Bailey.. Social media Influencer Madison Logan goes missing after she meets with him. The FBI want her to go home but she stays in Daytona. He warned her the scariest monster is one that hides in plain sight.

Rachel goes to BuzzCom a social media event. She pretends to be a micro influencer hoping to learn more about Maddison and find her. She finds clues leading to the killer.

I liked the multiple points of view. I enjoyed the book because it has serial killer, missing person and mystery of not knowing how it all fits together. I love Megan’s writing style and so many different moving pieces to keep you engaged and guessing until the end. Nice surprise reveal at the end I wasn’t expecting.

Megan Goldin has created another gripping and compulsively unputdownable thriller about Rachel Krall, a determined podcaster who becomes embroiled in the hunt for a serial killer targeting young girls. Is Terrence Bailey wrongfully imprisoned or is he the cold blooded murderer that the police believe him to be? And who is Tommy, the ride share driver with the unpleasant medical condition and a penchant for violence?

As Rachel unwittingly teams up with the FBI to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of a young social media influencer, she finds herself in danger of becoming the serial killer's next victim. The suspense will keep you at the edge of your seat and the outcome will leave you eagerly anticipating another Megan Goldin hit.

There were a lot of interesting aspects to Dark Corners — the podcast interlude, the layered mystery, the range of suspects — but in many ways, this book feels like a second draft.

The way the chapters were written (jumping forward and then almost immediately backtracking to fill the reader in on what caused the narrative to move forward) felt sloppy and confusing at times. The podcast transcript, as well as some of the supporting characters, completely disappeared at the end, which made the resolution feel incomplete. Having multiple characters solving the mystery from different angles was cool, but it was hard to keep track of which characters knew what. A few more drafts hopefully would have tightened up some of those gaps and provided a more cohesive book.

I was so excited to read this sequel to the author’s The Night Swim, and it did not disappoint! It was nice to be reunited with Rachel Krall is this new psychological thriller that kept my attention so strongly that I read it in a day! It was perfectly paced and had lots of unexpected twists and turns. I hope there will be a 3rd in this series!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

This was an epically amazing book. Had trouble putting it down and finished it in a couple days. Perfect and can’t wait to see them team up on more cases, potentially, in the future.

Thanks you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this great read. Megan Goldin is a great thriller author in my books. Her books alway draw me in and I always enjoy them when I read them. This was so good. No spoilers from me though. If you love her writing style, do not miss this one. She knocked it out of the park. If you did not read Night Swim, it is okay as this can be read as a standalone as well. I really do not know what to say other than go and read it. I can not spoil it for anyone.

Thanks again St. Martin's Press!

Another great mystery/thriller rom Megan Goldin! This time we are back following Rachel Krall from Night Swim. Rachel is contacted by the FBI and brought to Florida to meet a serial killer (suspected) a few days before he gets out of jail. She then sticks around to investigate on her own. I thought the mystery was great and enjoyed spending more time with Rachel.

Another goodie by Megan Goldin!

This story had an interesting factor, Trimethylaminuria, that figured prominently into the plot. I’ve never heard of this condition causing horrible body odor, so that was enlightening for me.

Social media influencers also had a prominent part in this story, expanding my knowledge of this new wave of prominence.

And, thankfully, the FBI agent was a good guy and worked well with local authorities as well as with our protagonist, Rachel Krall. Lots of characters, lots of action, lots of jumping around in time, but all in all a good and satisfying read.

Many thanks to the ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I will look forward to Goldin’s next book!

I love true crime podcasts and serial killers, so this book was right up my alley. Rachel Krall is at it again. I couldn't get enough of Rachel and Joe and hope we get see more of them in the future. I liked how the author used different POVs to tell the complete story. I highly recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC!

Book: Dark Corners
Author: Megan Goldin
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: August 8, 2023

This is second in the Rachel Krall series. The first being Night Swim. We all know how I feel about series books. I have no love for them. But I really enjoy Megan Goldin’s writing style so I’m pretending it’s not a series. This book was a solid read. I loved the influencer aspect of the story just because I love watching influencers on Instagram. I only gave it three books because it wasn’t necessarily that exciting. I feel like it’s a classic cop chases criminal who happens to be the wrong criminal and then happens to save girl in the last moment kind of book. She tells a great story so that kept me here to the end.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is August 8, 2023.

I loved the first book in the Rachel Krall series so I was so excited to receive the ARC of the second book in the series! I really like Rachel Krall's character - she is very clever and methodical with a very good head on her shoulders. The mystery was very intricate and well thought out, all loose ends were tied up. The twist at the end was fantastic. The only thing I didn't enjoy were the details about social media influencers - there was a bit too much detail on this part. Overall an excellent thriller book!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Krall, the star of the Night Swim is back in top form. A reporter with a chart topping crime podcast, rachel investigates the disappearance of a top ‘influencers so we covering all the popular genres here. Goldin writes Rachel as if she’s her friend and in an artificial world of a influencers conference Rachel is a real person I can relate to and would certainly listen to her podcasts if they were published. A good premise, solid writing and well developed characters move us quickly through the story and I was thoroughly engrossed. Sounds like there will be a third?

I wasn’t aware that this book was a Rachel Krall novel, like The Night Swim which I loved. She’s a fantastic character. I also loved the influencer world that this novel was set in. I found Martinez’ character to be a little wooden in how he speaks, maybe that’s just me. He seemed almost robotic. There were plenty of little twists to keep my interest though, and I really enjoyed it overall.

I love this Author’s books. Everything she writes is GOLD. This is a sequel to Night Swim and is absolutely fabulous. Rachel is asked to help the FBI to interview a soon to be released imprisoned man suspected of being a serial killer. On more than one occasion I was afraid for Rachel. Rachel jumps in with both feet. Loved the chemistry between Rachel and Special Agent Joe Martinez. Read the book. I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.