I loved this book, however it is not very memorable. I also read the Night Swim several years ago however I didn’t recall the plot or characters and was able to follow along and enjoy this book without that background fresh in my mind!

Have you ever been having a completely normal average day when everything suddenly gets turned upside down? That’s exactly what happened to Rachel when she ended up on a plane to visit a prison in Florida. She got thrusted head first into a murder investigation and an influencer gathering at the same time. With all the new people coming into her life, it leaves her questioning- Is she befriending a murder? Who can she trust?

If the most addictive podcast and an incredibly fast paced mystery had a baby, it would be this book.

True crime podcaster Rachel Krall is unexpectedly called to Florida by FBI agent, Joe Martinez. Prisoner Terence Bailey, who is suspected of killing six women, has asked for Rachel by name after receiving a visit from a trendy social media influencer named Madison Logan. Rachel soon finds herself involved in the case as Madison has disappeared and the FBI believes that Bailey may have something to do with it, by having help on the outside. As Rachel digs deeper into the disappearance of Madison she finds herself involved in an influencer conference where she investigates what happened to Madsion, as well as finds out more information about Terence Bailey.

I enjoyed this book just as much as the first in the series. I love the podcast elements and how they are incorporated in every few chapters. Goldin’s writing style is just perfect, each chapter gives just enough information to keep you interested and fully immersed in the story. I enjoyed all the twisty turns this book gave me, I was along for the ride.

Interesting story with a few plot lines but all wrapped up well in the end. Kept me on my toes until the end.

I was really glad to see Rachel Krall return from Night Swim in this new book. But seriously, what the hell happened with her personality? She went from bad-ass to annoying moron. Disappointing. I agree with someone else's harsh and very honest review, this book needs some serious editing. I am learning to be proofreader and some of this was painful.

I usually like books by Megan Goldin but Rachel Krall was not at her finest and I was looking forward to her return. Disappointing. I hope Megan Goldin's next novel is better than this one.

I cannot recommend this one. I hope book 3 for Rachel Krall is redeemed in the personality department. I can see why other readers will enjoy this more than me but it was a miss.

Thanks to NetGalley, Megan Goldin and St Martins Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ALready available

Megan Goldin's books have never disappointed me and this one is no exception.

This story follows main character Rahcel Krall, a successful podcaster, as she attempts to assist the FBI in solving the disappearance of influencer Maddison Logan. Logan disappeared hours after visiting inmate Terrance Bailey in prison.

Krall uses a fake social media profile to attend BuzzCon, an influencer conference that Logan was scheduled to attend, where she encounters the cutthroat world of influencers in the wild.

As Krall and the FBI try to uncover the connection between Maddison and Terrance Bailey, there are many twists and turns. Bailey's release from prison is imminent and there is a rush to find out what Bailey may be hiding and if he is involved somehow in Maddison's disappearance.

This thriller is fast moving and an easy read. While I did read the first Rachel Krall book, The Night Swim, you would not need to do so in order to engage with this story.

Read if you liked: The Night Swim or None of This is True

Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison, though investigators suspect him in the murders of six women. When Maddison Logan, a popular influencer, visits him and goes missing soon after everyone raises an eyebrow - is this connected to her visit with Bailey? Investigators quickly hit a wall and ask for Rachel Krall’s help to go undercover to find out more about Maddison Logan and to help them connect the pieces together. More and more things come to light as she’s investigating and suddenly this is much bigger than it seems… is Rachel Krall suddenly a target too?

After devouring The Night Swim last year I couldn’t wait to see what Rachel Krall was up to in this book. She is a fantastic main character who is strong, well-developed, and certainly carries her own during investigations. The format of this book is really captivating - if you’re a true crime podcast fan I think you will really enjoy this because it gives podcast episodes, special reports, and “behind the scenes” investigative information. It felt like I was listening to it unfold in real time! I thoroughly enjoyed how each of these cases came together and the different twists that came with it. It did feel a bit slow in the middle, but as a true crime fan (and ex-full-time influencer), I was enthralled the whole time! I can’t wait to see what Megan Goldin writes next! P.s. although this is technically a series, both The Night Swim and Dark Corners can be read as standalone books. It’s nice to have some of the inner knowledge from the first book, but it’s not 100% necessary!

Sequel to NIGHT SWIM, I liked the newest Rachel Krall installment a little more than the first in the series. You do not have to read Night Swim to understand what’s going on in the one. Rachel Krall is the only character that is back and she’s tackling a new investigation for her true crime podcast in Dark Corners.

Rachel is brought into a missing persons case by FBI agent, Joe Martinez. Is the missing girl case related to Terence Bailey’s upcoming release from prison or connected to murders in the recent years?

I liked the different POV chapters in this book intermixed with Rachel’s podcast chapters. My biggest complaint was the repetitiveness of Rachel and Joe’s interactions and comparing of notes with the cases. There were also some red herrings that really didn’t feel like red herrings and were explained away rather quickly when one or more could’ve been skipped altogether in my opinion.

Many thanks to @stmartinspress for an ARC! This one is out now and if you loved Night Swim, I think you’ll enjoy this one too!

As a fan of NIGHT SWIM, I was very excited to get access to Rachel Krall's next story, DARK CORNERS. This one seemed different than NIGHT SWIM --I think due to the fact that the story wasn't necessarily centered around her podcast. As a true crime podcast lover myself, that was one thing that I particularly loved from Goldin's other novel. While I wished that DARK CORNERS would've included more of the podcast element, it still was an intriguing read that I couldn't put down! So many twists and turns!

This audio was absolutely fantastic! Loved Goldins previous book, this is second in the series (can be read as standalone). I loved the podcast format and the twists and turns. Even when I’d figured pieces out, I still had no idea what else was coming and what to expect.

Okay so I adored the night swim and when I saw there was another Rachel Krall coming out, I was stoked.

Though this book was full of so many amazing things (hence my 4stars), I can’t help but compare to the night swim which had everything AND more. I felt like the ending was missing just a little something in Dark Corners.

The setting was really interesting, being at an influencer conference. I liked that Goldin talked about the dangers and unflattering parts of being an influencer.

Thank you Netgalley, Megan Goldin, and St. Martins Press for the eARC.

I love The Night Swim so was very excited to read Dark Corners. Dark Corners was a little harder to get into because there are so many characters that it was slightly overwhelming. I felt I needed to take notes to remember the characters.

I tandem read the ebook while listening to the audio book and I much preferred the audio book due to the podcasts.

Overall, I really liked this book. It keep me guessing as to what was really happening.

Rachel Krall is a great character to follow. She's a journalist turned podcaster who is thrown in the midst of a missing person investigation when asked by the FBI to meet with an inmate in a Florida correctional facility. After finding out she'd been contacted by the missing young woman she can't extricate herself from the investigation. This unfolds at a great pace right up to the end.

An amazing follow up to the Night Swim. Rachel Krall, true crime podcaster extraordinaire, is thrown into the middle of an unfolding investigation when she gets a call from the FBI to fly down to Florida. I absolutely love the multimedia element of the audiobook so I recommend listening to this one. Megan Goldin’s writing is so captivating. You won’t know what to believe.

I love megan goldin and this book was absolutely no disappointment! I read in nearly one sitting and highly recommend.

▪️ This is my third Megan Goldin book and I continue to love her awesome thrillers!

▪️ This book is a standalone read in the Rachel Krall series. I’m a huge fan of Rachel Krall! She is so relatable! She’s smart, observant, brave (maybe to a fault), and I really like her.

▪️ I love the social media tie-in. Sadly, social media influencer deaths aren’t fiction. I see headlines at least a few times a year about influencers found dead or murdered or missing.

▪️ I thought the plot was very current and compelling. There was a lot going on - influencer conventions, prison visits, murdered women, and more. The plot lines felt pretty random until suddenly they weren’t… and everything came together quite well in the end.

▪️ I loved the true crime podcast interludes between chapters.

▪️ I really loved the introduction of Special Agent Martinez! I’m hoping he might be a regular character in future installments!!

▪️ I’ve been a fan of Goldin since I read The Escape Room back in 2018 (it was one of my very first ARCs!) and I’ll continue to read everything else she writes.

Thank you @NetGalley and @stmartinspress for an eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Rachel Krall is back! Her true crime podcast is a hit and the FBI wants her help tracking down a missing influencer, Maddison Logan. The social media star met with Terence Bailey, a convicted criminal, days before he was to be released from prison and she went missing hours later. Terence hadn't been released yet, so it couldn't have been him, but the timing seems too coincidental. Can Rachel help put the pieces together to find Maddison? Is she putting herself in danger by getting in the middle of this situation?

If you liked The Night Swim, definitely pick this one up. I really enjoyed this thriller. Rachel is a great character with a good head on her shoulders, which I really appreciate for the protagonist in a suspense novel. I found the story to be interesting, well-written, and truly suspenseful - highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book.

3.5 Stars.

I think it's hard for a sequel to live up to the original and this was no different. I loved Night Swim and it felt so unique at the time. The podcaster angle isn't quite as innovative years later and I'm not sure that I connected enough with the main character to follow her throughout multiple stories. I did like the story and the characters but didn't love it as much as Night Swim

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately, this was not for me. I was unable to get into the story and did not finish it. I encourage others to give it a try for themselves!

“I’ve been looking for a predator. It turns out that a predator has also been looking for me.”

“Always know what you’re walking into. Dark corners can be danger points.”


I read Goldin’s book The Night Swim, which is when we are first introduced to Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster and main character of this series.

This second book is quite a bit different than The Night Swim in terms of content. The Night Swim is a hard book to read because it’s about two rapes and a trial revolving around them. The mood in that one is darker and more emotional and could be a trigger for some.

Not so with this one.

This one still has murder and such, but it’s overall not such an emotional or controversial mood.

Goldin is becoming one of my automatic read authors because she is good at writing suspenseful plots without a lot of swearing or graphic content.

This book is formatted somewhat similarly to The Night Swim in that the chapters are broken up by snippets of her podcast. So there are Rachel POV chapters, podcast sections, and then chapters told from other characters’ PsOV.

At one point something happens to Rachel. But the podcast parts sound like she is telling them after the whole thing is over implying that you know she ends up okay. Perhaps they are a spoiler, but I think it’s pretty obvious as a reader that the main character isn’t going to die in most books, especially series.


One thing that is a big part of this book is the world of social media influencers. I’ve seen a lot of reviewers recommending this book to social media influencers as if it’s mainly written for them, but I would disagree.

I wouldn’t say Goldin writes them in the most positive light. I think it’s written more for readers with a skeptical and annoyed perspective of influencers.


The Plot

Dark Corners is a book about a prisoner— Terence Bailey— about to be released after his two-year-turned-six-year sentence. Police had speculated he was working with an accomplice in a series of unsolved disappearances/murders of young women, but could never prove it.

The FBI brings in Rachel Krall, under false pretenses, because after six years in prison Bailey gets his first visitor—Maddison Logan, a young girl, and a social media influencer— who then goes missing just days later. During her visit with Bailey he writes down Rachel Krall’s name for a reason unknown.

Rachel’s commitment to finding the truth and helping find Maddison before they find her body in the swamps of Daytona Beach keeps her in the area working with one of the FBI agents, instead of keeping herself safely away from someone who may have the motive and means to come for her too.

She goes so far as to attend the social media influencer conference happening in town that Maddison had been a part of in order to see if anyone had information that would be helpful to who she knew and where she went. (Maddison was a #vanlife travel lifestyle vlogger, etc).

[Reminded me of the Gabby Petito disappearance.]

So it’s these parts that open a curtain to behind-the-scenes of a highly curated influencer life and the cutthroat environment for those competing in the same markets.


Comments

I’m not sure if Rachel is more or less likeable in this book.

She has a romantic interest in this book and I felt myself being happy for her.

However, she does seem to have a sense of entitlement and a chip on her shoulder when it comes to working with law enforcement.

At one point in the book she was the last person to see a victim alive. They bring her in for questioning. By the time she is walking out of there she is muttering ‘Bite me.’ to one of them.

Whether or not you think police are competent at their jobs, to say that is pretty disrespectful and says a lot about how you view people in authority.

I, personally, am not a fan of journalists or ‘media’ people and think this sense of entitlement is a feature, not a bug, to the whole lot of them. Their belief that they are entitled to do whatever they want for the case of a story or ‘the truth.’ That they are somehow superior to the law or those who deal with the law and are not required to play by the rules.

At least Krall does seem to care about the truth instead of just a story.

It’s possible that my sensitivity to this thought trail is because I’m also reading Prince Harry’s book, Spare, where he talks about the paparazzi’s role in his mom’s death and the fact that they were taking pictures of her body after the crash instead of actually helping.

Anyway, Rachel Krall saying bite me to a police officer when it makes perfect sense that they would question her for being the last to see someone alive makes me like her less.



Let’s talk a minute about the social media thing since that’s such a big aspect of the book.

My husband works a normal job as a financial advisor, but, surprise, he is also a content creator:

“Chad had warned her earlier that influencers preferred to be called content creators.” (Haha)

He doesn’t make fitness videos or try to make people live their best life, he makes fun trickshot videos (@Thatll.Work) on YouTube, TikTok, etc.

He’s told me a lot about what it’s like to create content and try to get views or followers. And it’s easy to see how chasing those numbers can consume people. We’ve put healthy boundaries in place so even though he has millions of followers, he can live a normal life where we can eat our meals without taking photos of them or go on an actual vacation that isn’t a series of photo sessions.

It was both a little comical, but also a good reminder, reading about the influencers and their curated and mostly fake lives. The shine of the ‘fame’ and the pull of the ‘fortune’ are deceitful.

For those who question whether you can actually make money, it is possible.

“‘Being an influencer is the twenty-first-century American dream… It’s a lifelong vacation funded by brands paying big dollars for influencers to promote products to their social media followers.”

Even as a ‘trickshot artist,’ as we sometimes call my husband, he can be sponsored and paid by brands to use products in his videos. He has done trick shots with Body Armour, Nerf, and right now Lego, to name a few.

It can be fun and it can be lucrative, but I think the book does a good job of taking off the rose-colored glasses for people who think it’s just cake.

“What people don’t realize is that being an influencer is like feeding a monster. An insatiable monster. Nothing is ever enough. No matter how much you give, there’s always someone giving more. Eventually you have to give your soul. Even that’s not enough. People self-destruct all the time.”

There isn’t really a way to ‘win.’ Or to stop. In the book, the influencer pod’s insignia and pod name was called The Infinity Project. Which is fitting because creating content is infinite. Nothing lasts, there is always a demand for more, and bigger, and better.

You may make a lot of money in certain months here or there, or one year as a whole, but it’s a pretty fickle place to earn money when a lot of it depends on algorithms for your videos that are out of your control.

I know a lot of kids are growing up now wanting that career but what it takes to become successful is probably not worth it. The ‘success’ they think they’ll find is most likely elusive.

And like the book shows, it really affects your relationship with your family and friends. It becomes harder and harder to prioritize them above your content.


So maybe this book could be a little bit of a wake-up call to social media influencers to step back from their life and see what messages they’re sending and what person it’s turned them into.

But it also acts as a reminder to the rest of us that we’re not missing out on anything by living normal lives. Stay the course!



As for the ‘mystery’ of it, I wouldn’t say that the twist was out of left-field. I had it mostly figured out pretty early on, but there were some extra pieces that I wasn’t sure how they fit so I liked that.

And of course, even though I thought I knew what was going on, I still had to finish reading to see if I was right!


Daytona Beach is a new setting for me. Can’t say this book made me want to visit there, especially the whole rat-infested trailer with snakes climbing through the windows part. Hard pass on that one.


Trimethylaminuria is the very rare condition one of the characters has where you smell like rotten eggs or fish and it’s incurable. I think I’m personally in the clear, but it’s now added to my list of fears for my kids or grandkids because wow that is not something you want to be diagnosed with and apparently it can present at the time of puberty. There’s not a whole lot you can do for it and the implications of that for someone’s life is really sad!


Ouroboros is the symbol of a snake eating its tail which is referenced in the book a lot. It said that snakes really do that in real life so I obviously looked up a video of it and it was low key disturbing.


I learned a fun bee fact:

“A bee flaps its wings more than 200 times a minute to stay airborne… also bees remember faces. Every human face is like a different flower to a honeybee.”

Which led me to look up the fact to confirm it because it was really interesting, and then I found out ANOTHER fun bee fact: Criminologists use bees to study serial killers because bees’ feeding patterns are similar to serial killers’ killing patterns as far as geographical profiling goes.

So that’s crazy.

I also learned a new phrase in this book: “Cottoning on.” It means to begin to understand.

As in: I’m cottoning on to bees.



I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a suspenseful, clean read with a good and unique plot.


[Content Advisory: 0 f-words, 7 s-words; no sexual content]

**Received an ARC via NetGalley**

Rachel Krall is a famous true crime podcast in the world of anyone who loves to listen to podcasts and is working on a new case when she unexpectedly is contacted by the FBI to come to Florida on official business unrelated to any work she had previously tackled. A hardened criminal named Terrence Bailey has just served six extra long years for attacking another inmate and is scheduled to be released in forty-eight hours. Through Bailey's entire sentence he never received any visitors until a week ago when a young, beautiful and popular travel influencer came to visit him under an assumed name and the only link the FBI have was Bailey told this woman that he wanted to see Rachel Krall immediately. Rachel.had become very popular with many inmates all over the country due to her helping free a couple of innocent men that had been convicted of horrible crimes and never would have stood a chance of another trial without her help with her crime podcast work. The feds can't figure out the connection between the previous visitor and Bailey so they need Rachel's help immediately since the young woman has disappeared from her camper and signs of violence was left all over the scene. Unbeknownst to Rachel, Bailey had been a major suspect in several horrific murders which occurred over eight years ago but the police never came up with any tangible hard evidence in which to arrest him for these crimes although they thought maybe he had worked with an accomplice at the time. Now, with this missing woman and Bailey's release in two days the FBI are hoping to find relevant information to keep the guy locked up until they find this woman hoping that she will still be alive.

Rachel doesn't like being strong armed or played by the cops but she is intrigued by this case and of course wants the young woman to be found alive but she has no knowledge or information that could be.helpful to police but when they inform her that her safety is at risk she knows trouble and danger have found her once again and she will never run away or hide when innocent lives are on the line. While over in the Daytona Beach area where Rachel was staying at a five star hotel where a week long influencer conference was being held another influencer appears to be missing. Is it possibility that the cases are connected in any way? Especially when Rachel heard some rumors that both missing people had more in common than a business relationship.

As Rachel digs deeper she finds herself at a false bottom where she can't seem to climb out by herself and since she let her independence and self righteousness get carried away she now finds her own life is on the line and she might not live long enough to host any more podcasts and her story just might become the new subject for another true crime podcast of one of her own competitors!


Another great mystery/thriller from author "Megan Goldin" whose extremely suspenseful novels never fail to pull me in each and every time I begin reading from the very first chapter. This book had a little bit of everything including a possible romance that was subtle yet promising but didn't get in the way of the hard core crimes that powered through the different storylines. The Florida atmosphere was spot-on and I felt as if I was right there with the characters experiencing the oppressive heat along with the beauty of the state itself. This was an intriguing and complex storyline with quite a few main characters yet their stories weren't difficult to follow since the writing was so good and entertaining. A fast page-turner to be sure and very enjoyable with the current trend of social media being a main focus and priority so that the book will have an appeal to a youthful as well as an older audience since the author's writing style was clever and captivating throughout the book. I highly recommend this novel for any reader who enjoys current topics along with plenty of crime drama. I can't wait to find out what new thriller "Megan Goldin" will once again write in the near future!

I want to thank the publisher "St. Martin's Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have give a rating of 4 CLEVER AND ENTERTAINING 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!