#book39of2023 Dark Corners by Megan Goldin Holy Moly. I don’t know why I don’t read more mystery/suspense or thrillers. This. Was. A. Ride. Everytime I thought I had it figured out a clue would emerge that made me question myself. I love when stories do that. This is the second book in the Rachel Krall series, but I can attest to its ability to read as a stand-alone. Rachel’s character and career is established in her first book The Night Swim. She is a very well known true crime podcaster and is called to Florida by handsome FBI agent Joe Martinez promising an exclusive if she can help them uncover a mystery. Terrance Bailey is incarcerated for breaking and entering. He’s been there for six years and is looking forward to freedom in t minus two days. Unless the FBI and local police can discover evidence supporting their theory that he is a cold blooded serial killer biding his time until he can find his next victim. Rachel decides to stay after the weird encounter with Terrance Bailey which works out because of an influencer conference is taking place and she just happens to have been invited. She’s only interested in seeking out one influencer in particular. An influencer whose name came up in the investigation and an influencer who is now missing. Super creepy and suspenseful. I was at the edge of my seat and ignored almost all of my responsibilities to read on and find the villain. #kristalreads

A very big thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinspress for an Advanced Readers eCopy.

Megan Goldin does it again! She continues to be one of my most recommended mystery authors. In Dark Corners, Rachel Krall (The Night Swin) is re-introduced as a popular podcaster who is well known for finding out the truth. The FBI is investigating a missing person and they call Rachael into the investigation after finding out she potentially has ties to an inmate that could be involved in the case. Rachael ends up staying at a hotel throughout the investigation where Buzzcon is going on (an influencer conference) as deranged and chilling events unravel.

I enjoyed how the author detailed the underbelly of the influencer world and depicted the lies, rivalry, politics and the long hours spent behind the scenes that goes into creating content.

The timing of this novel was pretty good, too. It kept me intrigued and guessing what was next.

I’d definitely recommend this one!

I read The Night Swim a few years back and really enjoyed it: the small town setting, the transcripts of the true crime podcast covering the trial, and Rachel’s character. It all came together so well and I was stoked when I learned that a sequel was coming.

What I liked about DARK CORNERS: The setting at the influencer convention was different and I liked the idea of it being the basis where Rach did her true crime podcaster thing. I also liked the cold case and present day case elements and was so curious about how they would come together.

What didn’t really work for me: I was hoping for the podcast elements to be similar to those in The Night Swim and was a bit bummed that there was less to those sections. DARK CORNERS also felt a little one dimensional to me and I ended up feeling like it was lacking in the thrills department.

Dark Corners explores the intersection of the social media influencer world + true crime. Rachel Krall, who we first see in The Night Swim, is back investigating the disappearance of a social media influencer, Madisson. Madisson goes missing after she visits a convict who is about to get out of prison. Personal preference -- I wasn't as interested in reading about social media influencers as I thought I would be. I was really more here for the crime portion of the novel. Reading about influencers felt as superficial as watching them on TikTok, however -- I love Megan's writing, her books fly so fast, and she wrapped up all her plot lines in the end which matters for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this second book in this series. I really like the main character. I love how author put the title into the storyline. This story had me engaged through story. Love had a little bit of everything in the story. Highly recommend!

Rachel Krall is back and this time she's infiltrating the world of....influencers? I really enjoyed The Night Swim and so got this ARC without even reading the blurb which is my bad because if I never hear the word influencer again, I will consider my life truly #blessed. I don't want to read about Instagram handles and hashtags and follower count--it's bad enough having to deal with it in the real world. The mystery wasn't enough to reel me in (and truthfully, I put the pieces together long before anyone else in this book did) and the dialogue and writing seemed clunky to me --something I don't remember having issues with in the first book. I think you'd be fine to read this as a standalone, they catch you up to speed pretty fast but to get a better understanding of Rachel's background, start with The Night Swim.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC

True crime podcaster Rachel Krall is back! Only this time she is investigating a missing social media influencer, Maddison Logan, who was last seen visiting an accused serial killer in jail. Alternating between various perspectives, including an FBI agent and town Uber driver, this fast-paced thriller explores the dangers surrounding the dark corners of the internet and the lengths you have to go to uncover the truth. I loved everything about this one, especially how all of the pieces and point of views were woven together. Crossing my fingers for a third in the series!!

Read if you enjoy:
-Twisty thrillers
-True crime / podcast segments
-Social media influencers
-Side romances storyline
-Short chapters
-Alternating POVs

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance readers edition of this title. My review is given freely and never contain spoilers.
Dark Corners is a suspense/ thriller centered on a true crime podcaster who I asked to assist in a FBI investigation. She meets with a convict who is suspected of serial murder. A social media influencer who visited the same man has gone missing and the FBI is searching for her. The story is fast paced with likeable characters. There is a flashback element but it is easy to distinguish through the use of a different typeface for the parts that occur in the past. Overall, I would recommend this book to my friends. I’m sure you will enjoy it too.

My Thoughts

What happens when all the clues seem to point in one direction?

Investigators only focus on the obvious and remain oblivious to any new clues that Rachel herself ferrets out as she does some investigating of her own.

As this story advances so does its intensity and focus until a clearer picture of our true danger, not only to the victims but to Rachel herself, emerges.

This makes my fourth book by the author and it hopefully will not be my last as each one has been built on a solid foundation with characters I like along with plots that are engaging as well as having twists to keep me going forward at a good pace.

Rachel Krall now has been main character in two stories and between them it is hard to choose which one I liked better.
[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

Megan Goldin does it again! Dark Corners is Goldin's follow-up to The Night Swim, which follows breakout crime podcast host, Rachel Krall. In Dark Corners, Krall finds herself wrapped up in a case surrounding a string of murders when she is summoned by FBI agents to meet with suspected serial killer, Terrence Bailey. While Bailey was long believed to be the murderer of several local women, police never had enough evidence to convict him. After being locked up for a few years on a much lower charge, Bailey is soon scheduled for release. But right before he gets out of jail, another woman, Maddison, goes missing just days after meeting Bailey in prison. Rachel helps agents with the case of Maddison's disappearance, in hopes of creating another season of her smash podcast. To better understand why Maddison, an up and coming "#vanlife" Instagram star, has gone missing, Rachel attends an influencer convention, and infiltrates their self-obsessed, sometimes dark world.

It's hard to say too much about this book because it truly is multilayered. There are many pieces of the story that interconnect, and provide a rich background of suspense.

I've truly loved Goldin's previous novels, and she is batting 4/4 in my opinion. I look forward to future releases.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback!

Another nice mystery that is as revealing about more than the mystery- this one involves podcasters, followers, bots and all the 'perception that drives social media.
A really awful guy may be getting out of jail, but things don't add up. But why?
Did he do things alone, how did he know all he did?
The podcaster finds herself going from the voyueristic sidelines of the internet to being in real life and real danger -
Fun and fast read.

I have read all of Megan Goldin's books, so I was excited to review Dark Corners and discover that it is a sequel to The Night Swim. Rachel Krall's true crime podcast has made her internet famous for solving cold cases and clearing innocent people. Prisoners and victim's families reach out to her on a regular basis, but when the FBI seeks her assistance her curiosity is definitely piqued.

Maddison Logan, a prominent social media influencer, has gone missing soon after visiting a suspected serial killer in prison right before he is due to be released. During their prison meeting, Rachel's name is mentioned. The FBI has Rachel meet with the suspect and nothing comes of their encounter. The FBI tries send Rachel home, but she continues her own investigation.

The story is told through multiple characters with short chapters that keep the plot moving along quickly. I enjoyed the social media/influencer background as it made the book feel current and relevant along with the podcast angle. Plus, I always love a good serial killer book. Without giving too much away, I think there will be more Rachel Krall books in the future and I will keep reading them!

I love all things Megan Goldin, and Dark Corners was no exception! Rachel Krall is a fun character, and I’m glad we got to revisit her. This latest mystery, involving a missing influencer and a suspected serial killer, had me turning pages late into the night because I needed to know how the story played out! Some of the subplots were a bit too convoluted for me, but I understand the characters were needed to keep the mystery going. Overall, another book by Goldin that I’ll be recommending. Thanks to #netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!

In the sequel to Night Swim we re join podcast host Rachel as she is flown down to Florida under mysterious pretenses. The FBI want her to talk with Terence Bailey, a man about to be released from prison, about a woman who has disappeared. As Rachel gets drawn in by the secrecy and her plain determination, much to the chagrin of her FBI contact, she infiltrates a social media conference in order to find out answers.

Like Night Swim, this story is fast paced and exciting leaving you guessing until the end. I love Rachel's character and her unwavering determination to find out what happened no matter what the cost. Hope there is another one to look forward to!!

While it is book 2 in the Rachel Krall series I feel it can be read as a stand alone.

FBI agents reach out to podcaster Rachel Krall to help find a possible serial killer.

While I loved the influencer aspect of the book. The rest just fell flat for me. It started off a little slow in my opinion and had me slightly confused with all the characters at the start. It does come together in the end which is nice. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This was a fun mystery with some predictable twists and turns, but completely enjoyable to read. I loved the storyline about all the narcissistic influencers. The main character frustrated me on more than one occasion, but did not take away from my investment in the story.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

I want to preface this review by saying Megan Goldin is one of my favorite authors, but this book was no exception!! This was such a good read! The chapters bounced around between different perspectives, which kept the pages turning. The end of each chapter left me wanting more information, but I had to wait a couple chapters to get the information I so badly wanted. Reading this way is so frustratingly delightful!!

I enjoyed getting to learn more about Rachel Krall (of the previous novel The Night Swim). The new characters introduced were a great addition to her storyline!

I will continue to read every single thing put out by this author!!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows Rachel Krall, back from her podcast and entering the lives of the influencers of this generation. Rachel has been named a person of interest after a soon-to-be released prisoner named her specifically, and asked for her to speak to him. Rachel travels to Miami to visit Terrance Bailey, and in turn, becomes involved in the disappearance of a popular Travel Blogger. Despite the FBI's Joe Martinez urging Rachel to go back home, Rachel stays in Miami and joins the influencer conference under a slight alias. In order to assist with the case, Rachel goes undercover as "RunningGirlRach," and gets the inside scoop on the world of influencers and the cut-throat competition that goes on behind closed doors.

Megan Goldin is one of my favourite thriller authors and The Night Swim is a clear-cut favourite. When I heard that this book followed Rachel Krall again, I was hyped for it. However, there are things in this book that just made me cringe with the predictability and it made me bring down the book in rating a bit.

For one, The fact that Rachel is in this conference under her Running instagram account and no one knows who her real identity is because she never shows photos of herself. She's supposed to remain anonymous... But she checks into the hotel using her real first and last name? And the fact that she does this leads her right into danger because the bad guy calls the hotel and asks for her by name.... It just came across as sloppy and, honestly, lazy.

Secondly, the little piece of romance seemed forced and quick. Joe Martinez did not show any sign that he was into Rachel, nor did she show any sign that she was into him... Until they had dinner in her hotel and had sex (closed door). All of a sudden, he's talking about how he can't keep his mind from her? The timeline just didn't make sense and I found myself rolling my eyes.

The suspect in this also was very evident from his initial introduction, but the reasoning behind his crime spree was never discovered. It's open-ended, and I guess there's a reason for that but I couldn't tell you what that was.

I really love Megan's writing, but the experience of reading this one was dramatically different than reading her others and I was left a bit disappointed.

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin infiltrates the world of the influencer, and peels back the curtain on the dark secrets that lurk behind the social media machine.

Rachel Krall, familiar to readers of The Night Swim, is a true crime podcaster who is brought in by the FBI to investigate the disappearance of popular influencer Maddison Logan. Maddison had visited serial killer Terence Bailey in prison just days before his release, then goes missing from an influencer convention only hours later. Can Rachel infiltrate the tightly knit, sometimes dangerous community of social media influencers before it is too late?

I enjoyed the return of Rachel Krall, though it should be mentioned that this can easily be enjoyed as a standalone read. Once again, Ms Goldin has crafted a compelling and addictive tale of timely relevance. I look forward to following wherever she leads us next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC.

This was more enjoyable than the last Megan Goldin book. It felt more thought out. Still not the best though.