I really enjoyed The Night Swim by Megan Goldin, and was looking forward to Dark Corners, the second book in the Rachel Krall series. Rachel is a journalist turned podcaster who finds herself in the middle of an influencers’ event and a missing person investigation. This is a great blend of thriller and social media influencer culture. Not everything is what it seems including the perfect lives the influencers portray. I was hoping the ending was going to be a little more twisted, but overall, this is a solid sequel. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Dark Corners is Book 2 in a series by Megan Goldin. I enjoyed the first book - Night Swim - and while it wasn’t necessary to start with Night Swim, I recommend you do! Both books are enjoyable, and Book 2 is enhanced by having read the first one.

In Dark Corners, Podcaster Rachel Krall, takes on an investigative role in an FBI case involving a missing person. While that in and of itself was unrealistic, I was happy to see this side of Rachel. She’s a very well-developed character, likable, smart, and tenacious. I was fascinated by the serial killer aspect, and the FBI’s involvement.

I particularly enjoy police procedural books, but they need to ring true. Unfortunately, this one fell a little short for me in that regard. I just didn’t buy the FBI’s willingness to work with and share the investigation with Rachel. (The FBI doesn’t even like to work with other law enforcement agencies!) Having said that, the story was interesting enough, and Rachel’s character was strong enough, that I still very much enjoyed the book. I hope to see more of Rachel in Goldin’s next book.

Solid 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

I'm a fan of Megan Goldin, and was excited to get a chance to read her latest! Dark Corners is atmospheric and engaging and while I did guess a few of the twists, that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. Recommended!

I've adored all of Megan's previous books, including The Night Swim, where we first meet Rachel Krall, so I was thrilled to get the chance to read Dark Corners to see what she has gotten herself into next!

Rachel Krall is a true crime podcaster, this time following the disappearance of vanlife influencer, Maddison Logan. Being a former vanlifer myself, I was immediately sucked into this storyline!

After Maddison visits inmate, Terence Baily, who is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, she then disappears and all eyes are on Terence. To help with the investigation, Rachel finds herself wading through BuzzCon, an influencer conference Maddison was supposed to attend, and its participants, who all seem to only care about one thing.. their social presence.

Rachel is smart, tough, and has great instincts and I loved watching her and Joe's relationship bloom throughout the book. Highly recommended read and author!

Almost three years ago, <i>The Night Swim</i> was one of my favorite Summer reads of 2020. I thought that book, which I thought at the time was standalone, did a masterful job of blending a story with multiple points of view and timelines with (what was at the time) a fairly fresh angle of an intrepid podcast host investigating the crime. I read it in a little over a day. When I found out that there would be a second book in the series, I jumped at the chance to get an advanced copy.

So did <i>Dark Corners</i> live up to my hopes?

...Basically?

It's a bit of a slow starter. I found that early, the narrative and point of view changes actually did more to stall momentum than build intrigue. The first thirty percent or so of the book is kind of a muddled slog, trying to introduce too much and tease things that probably could have waited until they naturally arrived later in the book.

But when the story gets rolling it maintains a nice, tight pace for the rest of the book. Its more of a thriller than a mystery, since the identity of the main villain is known to the reader from the very beginning, but there's nothing fundamentally wrong with that. Rachel is a fun, likable protagonist, the villain, and supporting characters work, the attendees at the convention are realistically obnoxious, and the mystery generally makes sense. There's not much more you can ask for from a mystery series. I look forward to book three.

I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin's Press for my advanced copy.

Wow!! I stayed up so late at night to finish this one . I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. I really hope this author writes another Rachel Krall book. I loved this book even more than The Night Swim!

This was a good read. I haven’t read The Night Swim yet but planning to. I liked the short chapters and the mystery on the book. What I didn’t like much are the influencers and social media part. There were times I was bored. I hated the police work, and what they did with Terry. Overall this could have been better. I just felt it needed more depth.

Wow what a book I devoured it in a few days definitely keep me reading losing some night sleep. It's definitely one of my favorite books this year.

This was another great book my Megan Goldin! Her Rachel Krall series is great. The book was suspenseful and exciting. It had romance and humor as well, and kept the reader guessing until the last page.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced digital copy of Dark Corners by Megan Goldin! After reading and really enjoying The Night Swim, I was super excited to get this copy of the "sequel". I put that in quotes because you wouldn't necessarily have to read the first one to enjoy the second one. Megan does a great job of catching you up without boring you. I will say though, I enjoyed the podcast aspect of The Night Swim a lot more, especially the audio version of that one. You knew which chapters were meant to be the podcast episode, whereas in Dark Corners it was hard to tell if some of the chapters were even meant to be the podcast. Overall, it kind of felt like a run of the mill, average suspense book that I won't remember down the road, but it still kept me guessing and wondering what would happen next.

True crime podcaster Rachel Krall is back in this entertaining slow-burn crime/thriller novel. Rachel heads to Daytona Beach for her next podcast investigation: Social media influencer Maddison Logan disappears right after she meets with soon-to-be-released convict Terence Bailey in prison. The FBI and Rachel suspect the two incidents are related. As the FBI conducts its own investigation, Rachel goes undercover at huge social media influencer convention BuzzCon to solve the case.

While Dark Corners has its fair share of gruesome content and depictions of violence against women, it's more frivolous, less serious than its predecessor The Night Swim—which focused on a sexual assault trial. The novel had dark elements, but it was a quick read and thoroughly entertaining with some clever twists. I hope we see more of Rachel Krall in future novels from Megan Goldin. She's a bada** woman who knows how to get things done, and therefore, she's a fun main character.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this ARC. After reading and loving The Night Swim, I knew I had to read Dark Corners. I think it was a great continuation of Rachel’s podcast! I enjoyed that this one focused more on the police/FBI side of investigating. Rachel is a very interesting and intelligent character, I’d love to read more books with her as the main focus. Dark Corners is more of a slow burn thriller, but I really enjoyed it!

I was so excited to read this book and it didn't disappoint! Love the authors 1st book. I was hooked from the first chapter! I was guessing all the way til the end and when there was one part I had to reread 3 times to make sure I was understanding what happened! So so good. Loved the characters and their chemistry. Highly highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Earlier this year, I picked up The Night Swim and was completely blown away. The audio was beyond incredible. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found out she was publishing a sequel this year! To say I was pumped would be an understatement. This book completely delivers.

The first book in the Rachel Krall series spends a lot of time in the courtroom. This one diverts from that narrative by having Krall be a part of an FBI investigation into a serial killer. The FBI is convinced their guy is already behind bars, but Rachel is brought in to move the case along. Was I surprised at her ability to find info/evidence faster than the cops? I was, but that’s what makes the story more interesting.

I loved FBI Agent Martinez. I enjoyed seeing Rachel and Martinez work together to solve these crimes. You also get to see a little more of Rachel’s personal life in here. Goldin did a great job making you feel invested in Rachel’s story. She’s set this series up nicely for longevity. There is so much potential to keep this series going. Martinez’s character…I’d love to see a whole series with him & Rachel teaming up to solve crimes.

The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 was because of the predictability. With mystery/crime novels, I like the element of suspense. It was pretty easy to guess what was going on & who the antagonist is. That said, it was a page turner. Even while it was easy to figure out, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the story line and the characters. I can’t wait to listen on audio. I think it’ll be even better in that format!

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC that will be released August 8, 2023!
Podcaster Rachel Krall is back again in this second book in the series. She is helping FBI agent Joe Martinez investigate the disappearance of influencer
Maddison Logan who disappears from her van in the middle of the woods after meeting with prisoner Terrence Bailey. Many secrets and lies are revealed as she goes undercover at a BuzzCon influencer conference.
This book had many twists and turns and was just as exciting as her first book The Night Swim.

FBI agents call upon true crime podcaster Rachel Krall to talk with a suspected serial killer Terence Bailey. He was charged with breaking and entering initially then he assaulted another prisoner extending his sentence. In two days he’s about to be released unless the FBI can find evidence linking him to the crimes from six years ago.
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Rachel was a reporter before becoming a podcaster. Her show is popular amongst the prisoners. The FBI lured Rachel to Florida hoping to gain leads on Maddison Logan’s whereabouts whose a social media influencer. She was last seen visiting Terence Bailey in prison.
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Since Rachel’s visit with Terence a few bodies have turned up. As a social media podcaster she’s using an alias name and an old Instagram handle to gain intel from BuzzCon a local influencer convention where Maddison was suppose to attend.
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Rachel has a reputation from her podcast show of helping people who were wrongly accused of crimes to be able to reverse the conviction. She’s not a cop, yet she functions like one being able to gather information to lead her in the right direction. Rachel works loosely with the FBI to get more information about Maddison.
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Meanwhile, Thomas McCoy is giving young girls rides with his rideshare business. He’s a weird character with bad body odor. Giving rides to rude people or people who think themselves more important than him rubs him the wrong way.
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I was drawn by the cover design. But It was the premise that had me requesting an early copy. This is my first read by Megan Goldin. I favor reading psychological thrillers. I’m not opposed to reading a good thriller as long as it’s fast paced and intense. Dark Corners begins in the middle and works its way back. The reader doesn’t know all the details regarding Maddison. In order to solve this case Megan Goldin chose to dig into her backstory to build a profile about the type of influencer Maddison was in order to figure out why an influencer chose to visit a prisoner in prison. Calling upon a social media user to help gain intel about another social media user is the technique FBI agents need to solve this investigation.
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It’s a new approach to solving a case. I thought there would be more podcast content in the storyline. I’ve read a few other podcast books where the podcaster calls upon their readers to help solve a cold case. The technique Megan Goldin chose to use was different. Instead Rachel’s expertise as a media expert is the root factor for aiding in the search. From one media expert to another.
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I can’t really pinpoint what has me not entirely invested in this book. It’s always a risk investing in new authors. Finding new books and authors is a rewarding experience. I was hopeful I had found a new author to absorb my time in. The prospect of reading her backlist was exhilarating. I’m still on the fence regarding this book. I think it’s the agents I don’t like. They don’t behave like I expect FBI agents to conduct themselves.
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Megan put her own spin on a familiar storyline of using podcasters to help solve investigations that the police and FBI haven’t been able to. There was a constant and steady flow of sourced information helping move the story along. I still found myself not completely immersed in this book. I felt with the logical direction of the murderer it prevented me from experiencing that exhilarating breakthrough experience of being surprised.
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I wasn’t feeling the connection between Rachel and Joe. In fact, it wasn’t until Rachel mentioned an interest in Joe did I wonder how I missed the signs. I know there weren’t any which leads me to believe this was an unnecessary attraction.
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I did enjoy combining efforts with a podcaster and FBI agent. Megan left a few secrets to uncover. For the most part the disclosure of the murderer was introduced from the beginning. I was hoping for more shocking twists at the climatic ending. The twists came as a subtle revelation. It was more like fitting in the last piece of the puzzle. My mind just nodded with approval not really surprised. I felt this story could’ve been bigger and better. It had a lot of great working parts. The execution and timing of these pieces was too simple.

I read this author's book NIGHT SWIM recently because it was listed as the first book in the series, and I thought that I should probably begin by learning about the series characters and their backstories. However, it really wasn't necessary because this book, DARK CORNERS, could definitely be a read as a standalone novel.,

This is an interesting police procedural type of book, investigating the murders of young women and conducting a search for a serial killer or a pair of killers. The main character, Rachel Krall, is a true crime podcaster in the series but in this book she acts much more like an amateur sleuth. She is brought in for questioning by the FBI because her name has been connected to a social media influencer who has disappeared, and also to an inmate at the local prison in Daytona. If she's not careful, Rachel may end up as a target herself.

What I enjoyed most about this story was learning about the narcissistic lives of some of the social media influencers. The narrative highlights both the glamour and the ugly side of this ever-growing phenomenon. Fans of this series or mystery and suspense lovers will all want to add this book to their TBR list. My favorite book by this author is still STAY AWAKE, but I liked this book too.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC of this book.

Really enjoyed this one!

After reading The Night Swim last year, I knew I wanted to get my hands on Goldin's next book, specifically back to Rachel Krall's story. As with The Night Swim, Dark Corners kept my attention. I was engaged and couldn't wait to see what was going to Sm happen. While there were some strong hints of what was going to happen with some components in the book, I still found myself surprised as there were many unpredictable pieces. I did miss the recurring podcasts that we saw in The Night Swim, but it did not hinder me from enjoying this book.

This was so good, I enjoyed every moment of it. Rachel krall is a bad ass. The story is unique and I love the podcast angle. Megan Goldin has done it again and I’m hooked on their writing style

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. I was happy to see another story involving Rachel and this did not disappoint. It is helpful to read the first book but not entirely necessary. This was a well plotted storyline but started out a bit slow. Stick with it because it picks up and has a satisfying ending. Hoping there will be another Rachel Krall book soon! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.