Wow! I have been totally absorbed into this book. I feel as though I have slipped into the pages of this book and lived for the day. I missed the first Rachel Krall book, but I will be going back to read it now. This was suspense filled, mysterious and was a multi-layered mystery which you solve as you peel back each layer one by one until the thrilling ending.

Terrence Bailey is about to be released from prison. Local authorities are not happy about his release because they feel certain he is responsible for the death of at least six women, but they do not have the evidence to back up their suspicions. When he is visited by a social media influencer, Maddison Logan, the puzzle grows even more puzzling as they try to figure out why she visited Terrence. When Maddison disappears hours after her prison visit, the FBI is in a panic. Reluctantly they call the famous crime podcaster, Rachel Krall. Under very mysterious instructions, they ask her to visit Terrence. Rachel gets pulled into this mystery after her visit. Maddison is an influencer on social media only. She does not exist in the real world. Rachel goes undercover to a social media influencer convention, Buzzcon, to investigate this mystery further. This is whole different world where rivalry runs rampant and everyone wants to be #1. This part of the story was very interesting.

Rachel Krall is not your average female character. She is a fearless woman with a sharp mind and her observation skills are off the charts. The deception is deep and the mystery is brilliant. Megan Goldin does a superb job of lining everything up and tying it up with a nice, neat bow with an ending that will blow your mind. I am still reeling from this story. I could not put this book down. The menace lurking just below the surface will give you chills even as you try to figure out how it all works out. Mystery readers and lovers of serial killer thrillers will inhale this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Megan Goldin's latest book could easily be ripped from today's headlines. It really brought out the downsides of being a social media influencer. Despite the contemporary nature of this story, I couldn't help but be reminded of the character Norman Bates from Psycho. I enjoyed the way that the author presented alternating perspectives. Hopefully, she will continue to write more books featuring Rachel Krall. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy to read and review.

I finished this book in one day. Started it with my morning cappuccino and finished it by dinner. I could not put this book down. The Night Swim had me hooked on Rachel Krall and her podcast to help prove someone was incorrectly charged with murder. This breaks into the crazy world of influencers and how one could be the victim of a serial killer. I liked the pacing of this story, I loved the flow and the build to the finale. It was a great read. I am looking forward to more Rachel Krall books.

True crime podcaster Rachel Krall is summoned to Florida by the FBI. A prisoner is due to be released in a few days and he requested a visitor he had to contact her, but no one knows why as Rachel has never heard of him. Also, the prison visitor has been abducted by an unknown person. The prisoner is suspected by local police of having committed multiple murders so the FBI hopes Rachel can help them prove it. Rachel helps, but what she finds leads to so much more.

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 was so excited to see that there would be a Book Two for Rachel Krall in Night Swim.

This time she is on a mission to find the missing influencer Maddison. She finds herself on a risky investigation on her own.

I was never fully invested in the storyline and the whole missing influencer has been popping it's head a lot in books lately. This isn't something that I've been invested in and we see SO much of this like overboard.

I also thought the police procedural aspects were also pretty fake. Just stuff that there is no way would happen in investigating a missing person.

I think this one fell extremely flat and was disappointed. The first book was amazing and this one just lost all talent in my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 8/8/23
Published to GR: 8/5/23

2.5/5 stars

Megan is an auto-buy author for me. My favorite book of hers was probably Stay Awake which was released last year. That book was off the charts amazing to me. I read the eARC and bought the hardcover to keep on my shelves. I loved it so much. This book, Dark Corners, is book 2 in the series. It can be read as a standalone so you don't need to read Stay Awake but I 100% recommend reading it. Rachel is back in this book and she is as strong and awesome as I remember her being in the first book.

I love the pages that were written like the transcript from Rachel's hit podcast. I thought it was unique and fit this book perfectly.

There were a few moving parts to this story. Terrance was in jail for murder!ng women but the evidence isn't solid. Maddison disappears just a few hours after going to see Terrance in prison. Thomas is in the story but not quite sure how he fit into it until about half way through. I knew I had an idea of what part he played in the story but the fine details were a surprise to me at the end.

On my Scale of Buy, Bargain, Borrow, Bud or Bust I'm rating this one a Bargain. I'm glad I read this book but not sure it is a re-read for most people. I am glad it is on my shelf right next to book One. If Megan writes a third book I will definitely read that one as well!!


(Review will be posted to IG 8/16)

While I enjoyed reading 'The Night Swim' and 'Stay Awake', I found myself able to put this book down and walk away. I didn't connect to the story or the characters and fond myself bored at times. I also found one of the points of view creepy. I ended up skimming the book and I wasn't surprised by the ending. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher. This is my honest and voluntarily given review.

I really enjoyed The Night Swim. In fact, I think it was one of the first novels I have read that included the Podcast element. Dark Corners is the second book in the Rachel Krall series although, I don’t think you NEED to read Night Swim in order to read this one.

This is very much a police procedural type of novel. I personally enjoy those, so I liked this one. We get Rachel’s POV, the POV of Tommy and transcripts of an upcoming podcast. I liked the different changes throughout the novel, and I appreciated the twists at the end. Goldin gives us some red herrings throughout to help with the mystery. I did guess a few of the twists but ultimately, I enjoyed the suspense. I also like Rachel’s character. She’s more of a bad ass which I always appreciate!

The suspense and the pacing were well done and I am curious to see if Rachel Krall and Detective Martinez come back for a third?! Thank you @netgalley for my advance copy!

My first read by this author and I really enjoyed this one!! I highly rec listening to the audiobook version. 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!

I had read the first book about Rachel Krall and was not a fan. But since i liked the authors last book so much I decided to give this a try. It was so good I want a third one. Really great mystery that had you guessing all the time.

I didn't realize when I read The Night Swim, that I had met a new favorite mystery series. I think Rachel is a fantastic character because she may be "famous" for her podcast series but doesn't come off like many of the "influencer" characters in this novel. I have never seen the appeal of being an influencer and now that I have a better understanding and it sounds like torture. Great twists and turns. I look forward to reading the next in the series. Also, I don't know what was so attractive about Terry, but I never not liked him.

Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his freedom approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped—or worse. Is Maddison’s disappearance connected to her visit to Bailey? Why was she visiting him in the first place?

When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel’s help in finding the missing influencer. Using a fake Instagram account, Rachel Krall goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal.

Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster star of Megan Goldin’s acclaimed Night Swim returns to search for a popular social media influencer who disappeared after visiting a suspected serial killer.

I was unaware that this was a sequel in a series. The cover is what drew me in and honestly I didn't read the synopsis. With that being said I enjoyed this book. I was lucky enough to receive both the E-ARC and the Audiobook. I chose to listen to the audio. I really enjoyed the audiobook. Especially the podcast chapters. It was an intriguing story and I enjoyed it. I did think the ending was a little rushed. Overall a good read.

Book Releases August 8, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

was really excited to be back in this world, the first book in the series was a solid read for me and I was looking forward to seeing what Rachel was up to. One of the things I liked most about the first book was the podcast aspect, it was really well done and I wanted more of that than what was given here but that’s a minor gripe. The first quarter of this one was really good for me, strong pacing and an intriguing plot but things did slow down for the middle sections quite a bit. Normally that would bother me but it actually didn’t this time, maybe it was because I enjoyed the influencer plot line or maybe I just liked seeing the growth of Rachel’s character but it did work pretty well for me. The suspense part of the story was great and some of the smaller twists came as a surprise to me, definitely higher tension in the very ending that bumped up my rating. If you liked The Night Swim I think you’ll like this too.

Popular true crime podcaster Rachel Krall, has solved several cases and freed an innocent man from jail, but she is still surprised when the FBI asks her to fly down to Florida to speak a prisoner in a Correctional Facility near Daytona. Terrence Bailey is about to be released on bail after two years jail for B& E, followed by a further four years for fighting with another prisoner. The FBI also suspected he is responsible for several murders of young women, but with only circumstantial evidence could never charge him. They will, however, be watching him closely when he’s released.

In all his time in jail, Bailey has never received a visitor, until recently when Maddison Logan came to see him. A highly successful social media influencer, Maddison blogs about her nomadic lifestyle and travels in her van and is currently in Daytona to attend BuzzCon, a convention for influencers. A few days after visiting Bailey, Maddison disappeared without a trace and the FBI is concerned that this is no coincidence.

When FBI agent Joe Martinez scrutinised the video recording of Maddison’s meeting with Bailey, he could tell they were having a disagreement and as she was leaving Bailey wrote on the desk “Bring Rachel Krall to me”. Unfortunately, when Rachel meets Bailey, he doesn’t tell her anything, but warns her that “the scariest monster is the one that hides in plain sight”. With what sounds like a veiled threat, Martinez tells Rachel she should return home, but with the scent of a good podcast in the air, she decides to attend Buzz Con undercover. Maddison appears to have had no history before she burst onto the influencer scene six years ago and Rachel wants to find out more about her and where she’s come from.

I enjoyed this second outing with Rachel Krall. She is just as tough, tenacious and resourceful as she was in ‘The Night Swim’ and not fearful of the risk to herself, although perhaps she should be. The world of influencers that Goldin immerses us in is a very unpleasant one filled with narcissistic, arrogant people more interested in outdoing their rivals in photographing their food, clothes and poses for their blogs than in connecting with others at BuzzCon. However, Rachel is able to blend in and find out information about Maddison that the FBI can’t access. She generously passes this onto Martinez, who gradually changes his opinion of her as stubborn and difficult to one of respect and even attraction.

The well written and carefully paced plot unfolds gradually with a few false turns along the way, so it’s not until the second half, when all the pieces are falling into place, that the suspense starts to build to the tense climax. The voice of of a ride share driver occasionally interrupts the narrative, leaving the reader wondering how he could be connected to Bailey. An entertaining and engaging novel, with perhaps more than you wanted to know about the world of influencers, this can be read as a stand-alone novel.

I thought this was a good second book in this series. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. It’s fast moving and has some surprises towards the end. Definitely recommend
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Dark Corners is the second book in Megan Goldin's Rachel Krall series, but it stands on its own. Rachel is a true crime podcaster who gets a call from an FBI agent to meet him in Florida to help with an investigation. Maddison Logan, a very popular influencer, has disappeared after visiting a prisoner who is about to be released on a breaking and entering charge, but is suspected of committing more than one murder. Rachel agrees to assist the FBI and learns a lot about the world of influencers while looking into this complex and dangerous case.

I enjoyed the prior book, The Night Swim, a little bit more than this one, but both are really good. The story alternates between a few different points-of-few and also includes Rachel's transcript on a special report she is making. Rachel sometimes stubbornly takes unnecessary risks, but I admire her dedication to finding the truth. Many things are what they seem in this story, and I like the surprising ending. I also liked the spark between Rachel and the FBI agent she is assisting and would love seeing both characters in a future book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this ebook at no cost. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

This is the third Megan Goldin book I’ve read and all of the, have been fantastic so far.

This one kept me guessing throughout. I had theories, but even when I guessed the twist, there ended up being more unexpected twists involved that left me surprised.

Overall, great read and I’d definitely recommend it to others looking for a gripping thriller.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED The Night Swim and couldn't wait to read this one. I did enjoy it, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. There was a lot going on in this story. I listened to The Night Swim and loved the podcast aspect. I'm wondering if I would've liked this better had I listened to it.

3.75 stars

2 stars

The first installment of the Rachel Krall series was my first experience with Megan Goldin; now three years later, it has been my only overwhelmingly positive one. I have read (or have attempted to read) two other books by her that just did not hit the mark and I found myself longing for the nuanced, atmospheric, and tense approach that she took to The Night Swim. When I learned that she was writing another Rachel Krall book, I figured that this would be my best chance of recapturing that magic.

Alas, that was not to be.

This book leans more into the crime genre rather than the mystery/thriller that I was expecting, which was really not an issue for me. What was, however, was the repetitive writing, the immense amount of telling and not showing, and above all, the stilted characterization of our protagonist. I remember Rachel of The Night Swim being a bit rash on occasion, but that was tempered by her relentless pursuit of justice and her care of others. The Rachel of Dark Corners felt like she was at the mercy of the crime genre plot beats rather than a character in her own right. Other than two or three throwaway lines sprinkled throughout, she was just moving through the investigation full steam ahead no matter the consequences.

The short chapters and the evidence reveals certainly make the book read quickly, but I am left wondering if maybe The Night Swim should have stayed a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!