St. Martin's and MacMillan audiobook, thank you for Megan Goldin's amazing thriller. I am such a fan of this writer and this might be one of my favorites from her. I love the true crime podcast format and that readers get to return to Rachel Krall (Night Swim main character); Rachel is smart, empathetic, and strong, the perfect main character to drive this suspenseful examination of social influencer lives, murder, and the darkness of being "internet/influencer famous". I love stories that examine social media and influencer themes and in the hands of a kind of behind the scenes true crime podcast trope... oh yes please!

Goldin understands how to make a thriller work: she uses pacing well, brings in effective changes in tone/style for the podcast chapters, and drops in twists and reveals that keep the plot moving without ever feeling like the twists and reveals are out of left field (which I hate in a thriller). Part of the fun of this book is also seeing how the story comes together, how seemingly unexpected connections make sense and how reveals bring the reader into the story.

I want to say that the audiobook production, from MacMillan, is outstanding for this book. The podcast chapters sound like a true crime podcast and the narration from André Santana, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz is excellent (this book really benefits from the different narrators to really bring the podcast and thriller plot together).

I am never bored reading Megan Goldin's books and I really love that we got more of Rachel Krall. Recommended for fans of the author and for thriller fans in general. A strong recommendation for mystery and suspense fans and book clubs, I am thinking of adding this to one of my own book clubs for a change up from the usual historical and contemporary fiction reads.

NOTE, I would recommend reading Night Swim first but there are no spoilers in this book (I am just a traditionalist, I read in order as I like to see character growth, etc etc).

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this if you like: Crime podcasts, missing person, influencers

I honestly think that this one moved a lot slower than the first one. I also liked Rachel more in the first book. She seemed pretty combative for no reason in this one. That stuff aside, I did enjoy this. I thought the story was interesting. I liked trying to figure out what happened to the missing influencer and how it ties to the prisoner. I mostly just expected more action. I do recommend it!

Was a decent follow up to the first. I just couldn't get into this one. The first was the same, I'm not sure if it was the characters or the plot

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this eARC of Dark Corners in exchange for my honest review.

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

In Megan's second book featuring main character Rachel Kroll, a well known true-crime podcaster, Rachel gets lured to Florida by the FBI under false pretense. The FBI made it sound as if they were giving her an inside scoop into a case for the podcast. Instead, she's drawn into an active case- she needs to be questioned because her name came up during the investigation. Maddison Logan (#vanlife) goes missing just after visiting a prison inmate named Terrance Bailey. Right before her disappearance, Maddison leaves a voicemail for Rachel asking for her help and sounding scared. Unfortunately, Rachel's correspondence gets screened by her producers and the voicemail isn't found until after Maddison is gone. Rachel is determined to find out why Maddison reached out to her and where she went. Rachel gets caught up looking into multiple missing people and deaths throughout this story.

Looking back at this book as a whole, I did really like the overall plot and storyline. I thought that the twists were good and I liked finding out surprises about who the reader believed to be the bad guy. I enjoyed the wrap up in the end that explains what happened in the past- the night two young girls went missing- and how those girls and another main character are linked together. I thought the conclusion was satisfying and gave me the answers I needed, despite me questioning how realistic some of the aspects of the conclusion were.

The lengths Rachel went through as an investigative reporter (and not a law enforcement official) were super risky and at times, I expected her actions to compromise the case. Overall, Rachel Kroll was much less likeable in this book than she was in The Night Swim. In Dark Corners, she was constantly defensive, hard-headed, and seemed to have a chip on her shoulder towards everyone.

There were a few deaths mentioned in this book that had nothing to do with the cases the FBI were investigating. These red herrings kind of threw me off of the storyline until the causes of death were completely explained in the ending. Also, the character that smells so awful that everyone remembers meeting him and can identify him? Obviously I understand medical conditions like this exist, but I felt like for a thriller storyline it made things a bit too obvious. In my opinion, the romance that went on in this storyline was also unnecessary. Lastly, I thought there was some extra filler in the book (like a romance) that really didn't matter to the storyline.

Also, maybe it was because it was an ARC that I read on my Kindle, but it was difficult to tell which chapters are podcast episodes (or possible notes for podcast episodes) because there was no header clarifying this to the reader. I figured out the smaller font chapters are either the podcast or her personal notes, but initially I was really confused.

Dark Corners will be published on August 8th, 2023!

After loving the Night Swim, Dark Corners was one of my most anticipated summer thrillers. Unfortunately it was a bit of a let down for me.

The podcast in this isn’t seamlessly integrated to the story, I guess it’s supposed to be something recorded after the story took place and just randomly dropped in between chapters 🤷🏼‍♀️ It was hard to know that it was a podcast in the ebook bc it wasn’t marked with any information or font change and it wasn’t until I switched to audio that I understood.

I don’t know what happened to Rachel Krall from the Night Swim but Dark Corners Rachel is arrogant, stubborn and kinda rude. Her “I do what I want” attitude was annoying. I found the plot to be pretty far fetched and the POV of Thomas McCoy felt unnecessary for the majority of the book. There was an unnecessary romance that felt super forced. The dialog felt clunky and unnatural. There was too much use of names in it and no one talks like this, it’s just so awkward sounding and completely pulled me out of the story. The book also uses the full names of characters sporadically throughout, like “Joe Martinez was relieved when Rachel Krall agreed to meet with Terence Bailey.” I can only assume was a style choice by the author, but it was super distracting to me.

There is also repetitive info and phrases throughout, included the same descriptions used by two different characters a few pages apart. There were some minor plot holes and perplexing choices made by a professional journalist. The ending didn’t fully add up for me. I was invested enough to want to finish it, but was a bit let down because of how much I loved The Night Swim. I’d definitely read more by the author, but this wasn’t the book for me.

Thanks to St. Martins Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC/DRC.

Omg where I do I start with this review?!?! I LOVED IT!

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

Let me tell y’all that Megan Goldin writes my kind of “true crime” books. The characters are just creepy enough without being scary and the suspense here is chef’s kiss. Add in some mini cliffhangers and you won’t be able to put this one down. The mixed media format of a podcast is so fun and really makes the book come alive. Highly recommend the audiobook for a fully immersive story.

Thank you @stmartinspress for the E-ARC and @macmillan.audio for the ALC! Dark Corners is out 8/8/23

What was the last book that creeped you out?

I liked Rachel Krall in Night Swim, and I loved her in this. She seems to have found her footing as an investigative journalist, with gumption to spare. Joe Martinez made me suspicious from the beginning, so when she shrugged off his authority, I cheered.

Overall, this is another amazing Thriller from Megan Goldin!

This book absolutely 100% lived up to my expectations. This was such a fun thriller to listen to. It was not gripping, fast paced and exciting!
•
What I loved
• The format with the podcast was perfect and was done so well via audio
•POVs from multiple characters including the villain which I also enjoy
•The MC Rachel Kroll is such a well written character and I sure hope Megan Goldin continues with her storyline
•The twists were well delivered and solving the case along with both Rachel and the FBI was a blast

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of Dark Corners in exchange for my review.

Megan Goldin has done it again! This book kept me in suspense until the very end.

Rachelle Krall is a true crime podcast host, who is summoned by the FBI to Florida. She believes she will have exclusive access to a murder story, but when she arrives, she finds that she has become a character in the story.

Terrence Bailey has been in prison for the past six years and is days away from his release. The police believe that he is a serial killer, but have been unable to prove their suspicion. The clock is ticking to avoid another innocent victim losing their life.

This book gives the reader a peek into the ultra competitive world of social media influencers, the uneasy relationship between local police and FBI agents, and the mind of a serial killer. A great read that will keep you guessing.

2.5 stars

This was...fine. Kind of. It had potential in some ways but ultimately fell pretty flat for me.

Firstly, I'm really not sure The Night Swim needed a sequel; Rachel Krall's story was wrapped up nicely as it was. But I digress. I'm going to break this down because my thoughts are disorganized.

THE CHARACTERS: I enjoyed seeing more of Rachel's investigative nature, but overall I liked her character less in this as compared to her in The Night Swim. It seemed like the author was trying super hard to make Rachel a badass, which she already was, and in Dark Corners she came across as forced and needlessly combative.

Also, guys, in case you didn't know, Rachel is sexy. How do we know? We are told...repeatedly, Joe Martinez, the FBI agent introduced in this book, is immediately simping over her. Which, like, cool, but Kim, people are dying.

"As for the husky bedroom voice mentioned in one of the articles in the dossier, he had to admit that the reviewer had been scarily accurate..." "Rachel Krall's sexy voice had nothing on the rest of her".
Joe, I'm begging you to stop.

THE PLOT: As a whole, the story in Dark Corners was pretty good. I'd say the bones of the mystery and how it unfolded were the best part of the book. There are a lot of plot points and red herrings throughout this, and at times it was a bit hard to keep track of them all, but ultimately it all came together.

THE WRITING: I gotta be honest: I don't really notice an author's writing unless something about it particularly impresses me or particularly bothers me. In this case, it's the latter. I think the thing that most annoyed me in this was the constant and needless use of characters' full names. We know who Rachel and Joe are, there's no need to keep saying 'Rachel Krall got up.', 'Joe Martinez headed to'. It drove me crazy, not gonna lie.

Then, the writing was also palindrome-y (is that thing? no, but I'm using it because I can't think of anything else), in the sense that a sentence would start and end with the same thing, so that we were being told things twice. This happened a lot, but the example I made sure to note was "He eats his lukewarm meal in the privacy of his car and listens to the latest news updates on the car radio while he devours the burrito and fries." You already told us he's eating, no need to repeat. I definitely think this book really would've benefitted from more editing.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for giving me access to this title so that I could read and review it! All thoughts are my own.

Wow I am on a seriously good sprint of amazing thriller audiobooks.

Dark Corners might be one of my favorites of the year so far.
Thing i loved:
- Police procedural
- Multiple POV
- Serial Killer vibes
- Fast paced

Dark Corners is the second in The Rachel Krall books. I hadn’t read the first and i dont think that you would need to read them in order. I didnt find anything about this to be confusing having not read the first book.

So I absolutely loved The Night Swim and was beyond excited to get this book. And I can’t decide now which I like more. They’re very different, and I think that may be jarring for some readers but I immediately got a Kinsey Millhone vibe with this. Rachel Krall fills all the Kinsey-shaped holes in my reading heart!!

This was exciting from page one, and the killer was sickening and twisted. It also reminded me a little of Silence of the Lambs just in the way they’re tracking a killer.

Rachel is determined and independent and focused on getting answers, which is awesome. All the side characters are fun, too. I definitely see this building to a long-running series especially now that we’re attached to Joe. And I anticipate Brian and his law school experience may come into play in later books.

I really really enjoyed this and I hope there are a ton more to come. I need a character like Rachel to follow. I don’t usually do series but the first two in her series are so great that I’ll be first in line for the next one!

2.5 stars


I am a big fan of Megan Goldin but this one completely missed the mark for me. Such a huge difference between this one and all the others, which I loved. This was hard to read, felt long, boring, I didn't care about any of the characters or the story.

Hoping the next one will be better.

Thank you Netgalley or allowing me to read this book!

Thank you St. Martins Press for my Netgalley copy of DARK CORNERS by Megan Goldin, out 8/8/2023.

I loved the Rachel Krall novel #1, The Night Swim, and I SUPER loved this follow-up to it!! Give me all the Rachel Krall books!!! I want 17,482 books with this character. Make Megan Goldin the new James Patterson, please please please. After recently reading PEOPLE TO FOLLOW, I love the inclusion of influencers in thrillers! It makes for fun and dramatic reading, and the twist in this is shockingly gripping.

Compared to the first book, I loved the addition of romance. I was so nervous of this inclusion (I hate when women sleep with a man and then find out he’s a killer after having such enticing intuition the rest of the novel) so I’m glad they didn’t go that route.

I also liked how spicy Rachel was in this book compared to the first. She takes no ones shit and is incredibly sassy at times. I feel like we go to know her more as a character instead of just a bystander to the crime. She’s a whole piece to the puzzle as we uncover the story.

This book is EXTREMELY readable - I read it in less than 2 days! I’ve said it a hundred times, but I will read anything Megan Goldin reads. Big thanks to the publisher for giving me early access to one of my fave authors!

Highly recommend checking this one out after you read The Night Swim (but it can also be read as a standalone!).

3.5/5 stars.

DARK CORNERS is the sequel to THE NIGHT SWIM but can be read as a standalone without any issue.

Maddison Logan, a young social media influencer, disappears after visiting Terence Bailey in prison where he is set to be released in the next few days. The FBI are stuck at a dead end in their investigation and request Rachel Krall's help, famous true crime podcaster of Guilty or Not Guilty, to find the missing influencer. Rachel attends BuzzCon, a popular influencer event, using a fake instagram account to dig up some leads, uncovering information that she never would have expected.

I really enjoyed that DARK CORNERS allowed us to revisit Rachel after getting to know her in THE NIGHT SWIM. Rachel is a journalist/reporter who has her own true crime podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty, which she has used as a platform to have trials revisited. DARK CORNERS has what I believe to be podcast snippets interspersed throughout which I thought was interesting. I liked the podcast angle in THE NIGHT SWIM so was curious how Megan Goldin would include it here. I would have enjoyed more of the podcast angle than what was provided though.

The pacing of DARK CORNERS is what really missed the mark for me here. I felt like there was a lot of things happening while simultaneously nothing was happening between the 25 to 75% mark. There were disappearances, deaths, and discoveries going on, but nothing that really moved the needle so to speak. It was becoming monotonous and I was starting to wonder if anything would ever spark up. The last 15-20% is where all the suspense really builds up and had me waiting with anticipation to find out what would happen next.

I enjoyed the many subplots, particularly that of the influencers. The backstage view into a the cutthroat world of an influencer convention was unique and added a little something extra to the story that I've not encountered in other thrillers of late.

I did not particularly enjoy the romantic subplot, feeling that it was forced and lacked believability. This addition felt like it was thrown in to add more depth to the characters and their working relationship, but it ultimately didn't really work for me.

I was disappointed in how neatly tied up the ending was without much detail really being shared with the reader. The reader is kept at a distance and is told what happened rather than seeing it first-hand which I thought broke the connection the reader has with Rachel throughout the rest of the story.

Pacing issues aside, I will still pick up the next book Megan writes!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions shared are my own.</i>

3⭐️

Rachel Krall had never heard of Terence Bailey or Madison Logan before the FBI reached out to her a few days before Bailey was set to be released from prison. While he was only in prison for breaking and entering with an extended sentence after an assault, Bailey was suspected of killing several girls prior to his arrest. In the six years he had been in prison, influencer Madison Logan was his only visitor and during that visit, Rachel's name was brought up. Madison went missing shortly after the visit.

Rachel arrived in Florida with the thought that she would have an exclusive to a FBI investigation that she could use on her podcast. When Agent Martinez attempted to send her home, Rachel decided to investigate on her own. Which is how she found herself in the middle of Buzzcon, an influencer convention, attempting to find out what happened to Madison Logan before Bailey is released.

I absolutely loved The Night Swim last year and so I was excited to see a new Rachel Krall book being released. Unfortunately, Dark Corners did not live up to my expectations. I was able to predict most of the twists very early on and I was never pulled into the story as much as I was with The Night Swim.

For whatever reason, the writing felt more stilted to me. The influencer convention could have been interesting but instead came across as a stereotype of what people think influncers are. The conversations between characters didn't feel natural; no one says the other persons name EVERY sentence. My biggest complaint was the number of times a persons first and last name was used. The number of times something like "Rachel Krall said to Joe Martinez" or "Rachel Krall did xyz" was said was absurd. It was like every few paragraphs we needed to be reminded what each characters full name was.

This is also more of Kindle book/ARC complaint, but for the chapters that were exerts from Rachel's podcast, their was nothing to designate that. After a few I just made the educated guess that that was what the chapters from a different POV were. In the finished book, or at least the BOTM copy, there is something at the beginning of these chapters to show that they are podcast exerts.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC to me!

I was very excited when I learned I was approved for an ARC of Dark Corners (Rachel Krall, #2) by Megan Goldin. Once I started reading the story I had hopes that it just had a slow start and would eventually pick up. But alas, it never did (at least for me). I found the characters to be very flat and unlikable. I found I had no interest in the "influencer" world as detailed in this story. The story had no edge, or tension like the author's previous books, nothing that kept me on the edge of my seat, it was just bland. I tried to like it, but I guess this book just wasn't a good fit for me.

I wish to expend a thank you to St. Martin’s Press, the author and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary advanced copy of this book.

The expected publication date is August 8th, 2023, it will be available in all formats.

For me this was a 2 out of 5 star read. All opinions are my own.

Rachel Krall, true crime podcaster, returns to help find a popular influencer after she goes missing after visiting a suspected serial killer. Days before Terence Bailey is set to be released for. Prison, Maddison Logan visits hi, and then goes missing. When Rachel is called in by the FBI to help, a female body is discovered deal. Unwilling to go home, Rachel goes undercover to help find answers at BuzzCon, an influencer conference. As Rachel starts to find links, she uncovers more questions and and another body.

Great read. Was hooked early on trying to piece everything together. Highly recommended!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for my honest review

Such a fan of Goldin and her writing. She creates strong, resilient female characters and I can’t get enough. I really enjoyed Dark Corners and the twists it provided. I’ll be eager to read what Goldin produces in the future and she remains one of my top authors.

Synopsis:

Terrence Bailey, the primary suspect in a string of abductions and murders, is about to be released from his six-year prison sentence. As he approaches his release date, he receives a surprise visit from the famous influencer, Maddison Logan. After leaving the prison, Maddison disappears. The FBI calls upon Rachel Krall to infiltrate the world of influencers at the annual BuzzCon conference. When a body appears with the same tattoo that Maddison has, the FBI and Rachel consider an unnerving possibility: Terrence has an accomplice on the outside. As Rachel dives deeper into the case and the true horrors of the influencing world, she finds herself the target of a monster hiding in plain sight. Rachel must crack the case before she falls into the hands of a disturbing monster.


Review:

As always, let's start with the positives.

Megan Goldin's writing is compelling and holds your attention from the first page. With short chapters and action throughout, Goldin's novel is a quick read that is near impossible to put down. When I wasn't reading, I wished I was, or I was thinking about the book. Megan does a great job with the police procedural aspects of the novel and creates a dark crime involving young sex workers and drug addicts. As these young women begin disappearing, the police first doubt the parents and shrug them off as simple runaway cases. Much like the police's reception of Bob Bordello's victims, the police didn't consider the crimes significant due to the victims' jobs. I believe this is an accurate portrayal of society's perception of sex workers. Regarding this idea, Rachel Krall (and by extension Megan Goldin) focuses on the lives of the victims for her podcast. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for true crime and enjoy reading about serial killers and cults. However, this is the point Goldin makes - we don't focus on the victims of crimes nearly as much as the crime itself. I enjoyed this commentary and felt a kinship with Rachel as she fought for the victims and their families.

Regarding the previous element, I did find the crime interesting and was invested in the investigation. The idea of a copycat or accomplice, while a suspect is in prison, adds a high-stakes element. Typically, with abduction cases, the police must think and act quickly. After 72 hours, the likelihood of finding the missing person alive is significantly decreased. Therefore, as the police race to find Maddison, the reader is caught up in the high-octane chase and investigation.

Lastly, the best part of the novel rests in the characters, especially Rachel Krall. Because this is a sequel, we already have a relationship with Rachel and understand her motivations. The series just expands upon Rachel's character and introduces special agent Joe Martinez. While we only get some of Joe's background, we are rooting for him to fit the case together and find Maddison.

Now, the parts I didn't enjoy. Slight spoilers ahead.

I'm no stranger to police procedural novels. Karin Slaughter's Grant County series consumed my life earlier this year. My issue with this novel lies in the ending. Just as the killer is about to act again, Joe Martinez solves the case and rescues the abductees. I do not like this trope at all. It feels so unbelievable. Karin Slaughter's series excels in discussing the terrible crimes that happen and solving them slowly and meticulously. I"m not a cop or detective, but I know that crime cases do not always end tidily with a neat, little bow. As such, the ending of Dark Corners feels rushed.

My next problem is small and did not affect my rating; however, it may turn some readers away from the book. Dark Corners is branded as a thriller. Going back to Ms. Slaughter, her books revolve around crimes, but they are dark and action-packed; therefore, they make sense being branded as thrillers. Because Dark Corners focuses so much on police investigation and investigative reporting, I think labeling the novel as a crime thriller would be more accurate. Where Night Swim is certainly a thriller, its sequel does not follow the same formula and plot structure. If you read this book and are expecting a dark thriller in the vein of Jennifer Hillier or Karin Slaughter, you might be disappointed. However, if you are looking for a crime thriller, this is the perfect novel.

Overall, I had a fun time with this novel. While I didn't like it as much as its predecessor, I enjoyed my time. If you are looking for a fun read with a crime investigation, you will enjoy Goldin's book. I give this sequel a solid four out of five and would recommend it.