I was so excited when I got pre-approved for Dark Corners. I really enjoyed Megan Goldin's previous books The Night Swim, and Stay Awake had me HOOKED! Unfortunately while I still enjoyed this one, I wasn't blown away the way I hoped to be.

Dark Corners follows Rachel, a podcaster who we met in The Night Swim. I really liked reading about Rachel's life as a podcaster however a large part of this book focuses on the world of social media influencers and I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't enjoy those characters or the world which I think was a large part of the reason I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book.

One of the reasons I love Megan Goldin's writing is she writes multiple POVs and uses short chapters, both of which contribute to making it so easy to keep reading and speed up the pace. I did enjoy reading the multiple POVs and did guess one of the twists however not the main one.

Overall, this was a quick read that was enjoyable but definitely not one that will stick with me long term. I will absolutely be reading more from Megan Goldin but this one just didn't hit the bullseye for me.

Reading Between the Wines book review #85/115 for 2023:
Rating: 3.5 🍷 🍷 🍷1/2 (rounded to 4)
Book: Dark Corners
Author: Megan Goldin
RELEASES on August 8, 2023!!!

Sipping thoughts: I really like Goldin as an author and the way she writes. I also loved Rachel Krall in The Night Swim. She was really good in this one too, but I feel I was more surprised with what happened in the first installment. However, book 2 was good with a lot of deceit, lies, and twists as well. I did not feel like there were major reveals in this one which is the reason I gave it 3.5 stars but I was really invested in the truth and enjoyed the ending so I rounded it to 4 stars. I hope to continue to read more books in the Rachel Krall series.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for an advanced copy of @DarkCorners.

#DarkCorners #MeganGoldin #StMartinsPress #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

I had the same trouble with this book as I did with the first one in the series. The FBI just wasn't realistic enough and gave too much information away too easily. There were too many plot holes and Rachel got herself into some really ridiculously dangerous situations. When a book is so far over the top that the reader is shaking their head and rolling their eyes you know something is wrong. Some of these characters pull the stupidest of stunts.

The format of the book didn't work for me either because in the last book we had podcast episodes and even a Netflix series thrown in. That elevated the first book for me and I missed that in this one, I also missed the courtroom action. I was really bored with the influencer angle, it did not appeal to me at all (even in real life). The Buzzcon convention was not something that interested me. I don't use TikTok or Instagram and I use Twitter only for bookish accounts.

There was also a lot going on in this one and it felt a little watered down. It also made me feel a disconnect from the story and the characters. I didn't like Rachel as much this time around either, partially because of her behaviour and partially because she just did such stupid things. All in all this book disappointed me and wasn't nearly as good or as interesting as the first one.

I really enjoyed this second installment in the Rachel Krall series. I find Goldin's writing to be engaging and you can read it in long sessions without losing interest. I also continued to think about the story between readings.

Without giving anything away, Rachel Krall is brought in to an investigation by an FBI agent when a young woman goes missing and Rachel's name comes up through an inmate. Rachel ends up attending an influencer conference in order to stay close and investigate. There is a lot going on and there is a bit of a love interest for Rachel in this one. It will be interesting to see where it goes in the next book.

There are also chapters told from the perspective of a person who clearly has some ulterior motives with his actions. However, we don't know exactly how this person plays into the story. This part of the storyline is slowly revealed throughout the story. Fortunately, this book isn't as graphic as the first book, so this gives it a good creep factor.

My only issue with this one is that I thought the end wrapped up a little too quickly with parts of it feeling more like lucky guesses than investigative work. However, the connections were pretty solid and make sense within the story.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

This is second in a series, I didn’t read the first and the author is new for me. After finishing this tightly paced serial killer mystery I will read more of her books. It exceeded my expectations, kept me guessing. The world these characters live in is generations removed from mine. I know what all the social apps are, choose not to use them, have never listened to a podcast, it would put me to sleep. What’s most interesting is all of the new careers opportunities resulting from these apps and it’s also created a new basis for plot themes. It’s been in several recent books I’ve read, it is fresh and lends itself well to unique settings, current events and exciting characters. This story uses some of these to weave a dark tale of secrets and grisly murders.
Rachel is a Podcaster with sudden notoriety. Maddison is an influencer and Terence Bailey is a prisoner, perhaps a serial killer. Torreno and Martinez are FBI agents. What brings them all together? There is a major conference in Florida for influencers to network, gloat and rub noses with rivals and idols.
Rachel holds her own secrets as she goes into the conference trying to help solve the crime. Bailey is about to be released, does he have an ally on the outside, is there a copycat? Is the killer leaving a distinct calling card on his victims as a clue? Who is the killer!?
This was a great read that took turns I didn’t anticipate, totally surprised me and kept me up way too long at night.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley for providing the digital advance reader copy of “Dark Corners” Rachel Krall #2, by Megan Goldin and to St. Martin’s Press. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Unfortunately not my favorite by Goldin :( "The Night Swim" is one of my top books I've read this year so I was immensely excited for more Rachel Krall. However, "Dark Corners" just seemed to have too many moving pieces. I definitely see what Goldin was going for, but I think it was just too chaotic. I also really missed having the podcast so heavily intertwined with the story. Some of the writing felt a bit awkward and overall it just didn't wow me. I'll still continue to read anything Goldin puts out, but this one just missed the mark.

This is the best thriller I have read this summer. I read the first in the series and loved it and this one was just as good!! I was left guessing and was breathless while reading this one. I highly recommend.

Great second book in the series. I would Consider this one better than the first. Both were great though and had some good twists. Kept me entertained the whole time.

“The scariest monster is the one that hides in plain sight.”

I’ve had overall great experiences reading books by Megan Goldin, and I was really looking forward to this one. I was excited to be back Rachel Krall from The Night Swim as she gets sucked into a new case.

The FBI turns to Rachel for help after influencer Maddison Logan visits Terence Bailey in prison and subsequently goes missing. There is no trail for Maddison: no family or friends or history. Rachel is intrigued, flying to Daytona Beach, FL where they are holding BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference. The authorities start to think Terence Bailey has an accomplice on the outside when they discover a body and it becomes clear that Rachel may also be in danger. It’s a race against time to put the pieces together before Bailey is released from prison.

I loved the way the book was presented, with different POVs intersected with episodes of Rachel’s podcast. A lot of the pieces of the puzzle are provided, but it’s difficult in the beginning to put them into place. Rachel is still relentless and curious, unable to leave the mystery alone. Her determination is one of the things I’ve loved about her character since The Night Swim. She is incredibly intelligent and she is amble to infiltrate BuzzCon and get information that the FBI is unable to obtain.

Her chemistry with Joe is fun and flirty, though it isn’t romance-level palpable. The more time they spend together, it’s obvious that there is an attraction there, but Joe is concerned about the case and Rachel getting to involved. But as in The Night Swim, Rachel worms her way in, gathering information as only she can. The podcast excerpts are compelling, and presented in a way that if it was a real podcast, I would want to listen to it.

My only issue was the ending. It felt so rushed compared to the rest of the book and left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. There wasn’t any shock value or jaw-dropping moment. It feels too abrupt and could have really benefitted from expansion. Everything leading up to the ending was intriguing and interesting, but it felt like it wrapped up too quickly and neatly.

Overall, though, I did really enjoy the story and was happy to have another Rachel Krall story!

Megan Goldin is an auto buy author for me, and The Night Swim was the first book I read of hers, and also the first book with our MC Rachel Krall, so I was very excited when I learned this book would bring Rachel back!⁠
I was immediately hooked on the story with the mystery of why Terrance Bailey wanted to meet Rachel, and as we dove into the greater mystery of our missing influencer, I literally didn't want to put this book down to do anything. ⁠
Rachel is such a fun and tough MC, and Goldin knows how to write fun, layered stories that keep you turning the pages. ⁠
This can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading both if you're looking for some good thrillers!

2.75 STARS - Rachel Krall, who we first met in The Night Swim, is a True Crime podcaster. In Dark Corners, the second book in the series, she is asked by the FBI to help on the case of a missing social media influencer by visiting serial killer Terence Bailey in prison to see if she can get info about the missing woman and discover if that case relates to unsolved cases, including a recently discovered charred body.

The premise is strong, and the story starts off with a creepy serial killer vibe, but soon loses steam when readers are told early on who is doing the killing. This means the bulk of this suspense read isn't about figuring out whodunnit, but waiting around to see how the killer is connected to the story. Kind of disappointing.

Unfortunately, I had a few issues with this book. Some were small issues (Rachel was rude and pompous, the forced and superfluous romance, repetitive and awkward dialogue) but one was a big problem - the heavy-handed focus on social media influencer culture.

Too much page time was spent at a conference for social media influencers (who come off as stereotypical, vacuous, self-centred jerks) and despite Rachel being a blogger and podcaster herself, she is frustratingly ignorant about social influencing. I soon started to skim pages and even debated DNFing the book, but instead I switched to the audiobook and things got better - especially the bits of Rachel's podcast which made more sense in audio.

I enjoyed The Night Swim but Dark Corners left me with a story that was equally over the top and underwhelming and didn't give me the chilling story I was anticipating.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to St Martin's Press for the complimentary advanced ebook and eAudiobook of this title which were given to me in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this one!

Rachel Krall is a true crime podcaster with a talent for solving crimes, and bringing justice to the wrongfully convicted. The FBI enlists her help, when Terrence Bailey is about to be released from prison for a B and E charge. Police have long suspected Bailey of the murder of 6 women, but have no proof or leads. When reclusive Bailey requests a visit from Rachel this might be their last chance to get information before his release.

This book has plenty of twists and turns, and great lead characters. Rachel is both complex and likeable, and her chemistry with the lead FBI agent Joe Martinez sizzles.

In my opinion, this is the perfect summer thriller.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

This was a really fun thriller to read! Although I hadn't read the first book, this sequel picked up as if it were a standalone. Anything from the past was explained, and I felt like I got to know the main character, Rachel Kral, really well.

Rachel gets called down to Florida about a case. Turns out that a famous influencer has gone missing, and she was last seen visiting a serial killer in prison.

This book took a lot of twists and turns, and I wound up really enjoying it.A few things were a bit predictable, but the storytelling has a great flow that made it a really fun read!

Out August 8, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Thank you, NetGalley, St-Martin’s Press and Megan Goldin.
I am a fan of Megan Goldin and enjoy her thrillers and this latest novel did not disappoint.
Terence Bailey, who has long been suspected of murdering six women is set to be free from prison.
Days before his release he gets a surprise visit from Maddison, an Instagram influencer. Hours later she disappears.
When the FBI hit a wall in the investigation, Rachel Krall, true crime podcaster is brought in to talk to Terrence in prison. After her meeting with Terrence her interest is peaked.
Using a dormant Instagram account of hers, Rachel Krall goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she meets other influencer in order to discover the whereabouts of Maddison.
Will she uncover the truth about Terrence or will she put herself in harm's way?
Great thriller, fast-paced.
I surely hope we get another Rachel Krall intrigue.
Highly recommend
5 stars

That ending!!!!! There were so many good twists throughout this story! It intrigued me right away & kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. So far I’m really loving the Rachel Krall series & I’m very much looking forward to another book (hopefully with Joe in it too.)

I really enjoyed The Night Swim and have fond memories of protagonist Rachel Krall from that book; unfortunately, Dark Corners takes Rachel and warps her into an extremely uninteresting and borderline unlikable character. She comes across as self-righteous and grating, and Goldin really goes overboard with mentioning how sexy Rachel is at least once a chapter. We get it - she’s a Cool Girl!

The premise is intriguing: a suspected serial killer is about to get out of prison because he could never be pinned down by the evidence. A young influencer randomly visits the prisoner and nobody can figure out why…then she goes missing mysteriously. However, there is just too much going on. The entire influencer angle felt phoned in and pointless; there’s an entire festival going on with a cast of influencers that adds very little to the plot. There is also a random romance that blossoms between Rachel and an FBI agent that was just not interesting to me at all.

Additionally, there is a lot of need to suspense disbelief in this book. I can handle that to a certain extent, but Goldin was going a little too far out there to really buy me into the plot.

Lastly, wow, the lack of communication between all characters in this sure led to a lot of shoddy police work! Rachel’s involvement in the case felt so random and oftentimes it was like she’d uncovered something important…but was like, “oh, I’ll let the police know about that later.” It happened multiple times, both ways! It also seemed weird how much privileged information the FBI and police shared with Rachel, whose only really credential is being a (super sexy) true crime podcaster.

Ultimately, this book felt half baked to me. I was intrigued enough to finish it, but am left feeling vaguely disappointed.

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin is book 2 of the Rachel Krall series. Rachel has a podcast where she researches cases to figure out if someone is guilty or not. She has cracked several cases that the police either didn't do enough detective work or maybe something happened in court where the wrong person might be sent to jail. This time a "serial killer" is getting out of jail in a few days and the FBI wants Rachel to talk to him to possibly acquire information that will keep him in jail. Then there is a share driver who smells like garbage. His story slowly is revealed while the story unfolds. What really happened to all the women murdered. What has happened to the missing influencer. Megan does a great job with character development. I didn't know what actually happened until I was pretty much done with the book. Megan did a great job making me guess and guess wrong what happened. I would read more of Megan's books.

I loved all the twists and turns in this story, and I especially enjoyed the bit of romance amidst all the craziness. The involvement of an influencer that seemingly only exists in the social media world was a nice touch and I love when everything comes together in a totally unexpected way. I couldn't stop listening as the audiobook is so well done and now I need to read The Night Swim!

I remember loving Night Swim, but I didn't like Rachel in this book (or really any of the characters). I didn't care about the plot either.

This was my second Megan Goldin read and I really enjoy the premise of a podcast host investigating crime, and I love a book with short chapters. This wasn’t my favorite read because I prefer there to be a little bit more of a mystery. I like to try and figure out what’s going on with the characters and not have the criminal identified up front. I also found it to be a bit repetitive, especially all of the influencer stuff.