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!

Rachel Krall, famous podcaster, has been called in to help on a case by the FBI. Terry Bailey is being released from jail in a few days. No one has visited him his entire sentence, until one week prior when influencer Maddison Logan visits him- and then goes missing. Rachel goes undercover at BuzzCon to find out if anyone has any idea what happened to her.

I read this immediately after finishing The Night Swim. The format is very different from the first book in the Rachel Krall series. I loved the format of book 1, so it did take me a little bit to get into this book, but once I did I could not put it down. I loved how the different storylines came together in a way that did not feel overly far fetched. Rachel was a little more annoying at the start of this book than in book 1, but she did grow on me. My biggest wish would be for the podcast chapters to be more clearly labeled. Maybe it was an ebook issue, but the slight font change took me a few chapters to notice so it ended up being pretty confusing for me at the start.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the new book by Megan Goldin, wonderfully narrated by André Santana, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Rachel Krall, who has a podcast called Guilty or Not Guilty, and has been called upon by the FBI to go to Florida to assist on a case. The search is on for a missing social media influencer, Maddison, who disappeared hours after visiting Terence Bailey, convicted for breaking and entering, but suspected of murdering multiple women. When Maddison goes missing, authorities wonder if he is working with someone on the outside and why Maddison even went to visit him. Rachel goes undercover at BuzzCon, a convention for social media influencers, to try and find out more about Maddison. But suddenly Rachel may be in serious trouble.

This is the second in the Rachel Krall series and while it can definitely be read as a stand alone, it's a great series to start from the beginning! This was an interesting look into the dark side of social media influencers and a peek into that surreal world. Rachel is a great character and this is at its heart a good police procedural, with lots of tension and twists. A must read series and I can't wait for more to come!

This story is told is told in multiple points of view in alternating chapters including third person from podcaster Rachel Krall, rideshare driver Thomas McCoy and FBI Agent Joe Martinez interspersed with episodes from Rachel’s podcast in first person. This is the second book in the Rachel Krall series but can be read as a stand-alone although I highly recommend The Night Swim.

This story finds Rachel traveling to Florida on the FBI’s dime to speak to a prisoner when his recent visitor, a media influencer goes missing. Rachel finds herself in the midst of a social media influencer convention along the way, which made for some head shaking at some of the obsessions over engagement and stress over content that I’m sure a lot of us can relate to if we let ourselves get too caught up in it. It also created a mix of characters to get mixed up in the case of a missing girl, previous murders and even new bodies to be found.

While I enjoyed the mystery here, this story had a less personal feel for me. I was missing an empathetic victim point of view here that I felt like I needed to really engage. I prefer mysteries where I have to guess the identity of the perpetrator and I’d rather not view the story from a serial killer’s point of view, but that’s a personal dislike of mine. Other may enjoy it. I enjoyed the story, but I didn’t find it twisty and wasn’t surprised by the end. Hopefully I’ll enjoy the next one more.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy provided for an honest review.

I am so glad to be back in the world of Rachel Krall and her Guilty or Not Guilty podcast. Since reading The Night Swim, I’ve slowly devoured every book that Megan has written and this is officially ranking as my next favorite.

From the first few chapters, I was hooked. I love the multiple perspectives, the budding romance, and especially the bad guy’s chapters. I do wish there was a LITTLE more podcast as part of the book, but there was so much other drama and plot that it wasn’t lacking a thing.

I saw a few of the turns coming, but the ones I didn’t see had me reeling.

Now that there’s a sequel to The Night Swim, I can only hope that Rachel Krall becomes a series. Please?

Dark Corners brings back, Rachel Krall, the popular podcaster of “Guilty or Not Guilty” a podcast that has helped wrongly accused criminals. We first met Rachel in The Night Swim.

Rachel is asked by the FBI to come to Florida to see an inmate, Terence Bailey, who has asked to see her. Bailey is due to be released.
He was suspected of the serial killings of young women, unfortunately there wasn't real evidence to convict of him of those crimes. He was charged with a different offense. Bailey had a visitor, a social media influencer, Maddison Logan. Maddison goes missing and a body that could be her, is found by her home. Rachel begins to investigate, butting heads with the FBI Agent, Joe Martinez. She begins to infiltrate the world of social media. There are a few more bodies and some twists to keep the story moving.

I had high expectations for this book based on the previous Rachel Krall novel. I am sorry to say I was disappointed. I found Rachel to be unlikable in this book. She was argumentative much of the time. This is not a bad book, per se, just not up to par with The Night Swim, which I enjoyed. I found it to be somewhat predictable and therefore, it left me with a "blah" feeling at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for an ARC. The review is my own.

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin is a highly recommended mystery/thriller and the second novel after Night Swim featuring Rachel Krall, a famous true crime podcaster.

Maddison Logan, a popular influencer, disappeared after visiting inmate Terrance Bailey. Bailey, convicted for breaking and entering, is scheduled to be released in two days, but he is still a suspect in the murders of six women. Rachel Krall's name came up in the investigation of Maddison's disappearance so the FBI asked her to visit Bailey before his release. The visit yeilds no new information but Rachel decides to stay in Florida and even agreed to attend, undercover, BuzzCon, a popular conference for social media influencers. She thought she would be able to get more information about Maddison from those attending.

Readers will assiduously have suspend all disbelief that FBI agent Martinez would ask a true crime podcaster (no matter how famous or how many followers she has or how insistent she is) to assist in an investigation. Yeah they might infiltrate a conference undercover, but it would be with their agents. Sure, Rachel certainly has the right to stay in Florida and look into the case on her own, but the FBI wouldn't be giving her info. Rachel herself is an not entirely believable character.

Chapters in the narrative alternate between the voice of the killer, the FBI investigation, and Rachel. Adding to the mix are occasional excerpts from Rachel's podcast of the case, obviously told after the fact. Sometimes this presentation of alternate viewpoints and transcripts work for me and sometimes it doesn't. It wasn't entirely successful this time. Perhaps reading an increasing number of books all including excerpts from influencers, podcasters, or content creators in the plot is beginning to wear thin.

After a slow start the pace does pick up and the novel becomes more compelling. Dark Corners can be read as a stand alone, even though it is the second in a series. The ending is satisfying
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.