Dark Corners: A Novel (Rachel Krall, 2)

Having absolutely loved The Night Swim (Rachel Krall #1), I was so excited to pick up its sequel Dark Corners. Both books follow Rachel Krall, host of "Guilty or Not Guilty" as she investigates crimes and tries to unearth the truth, while putting herself in the middle of the action.

The Night Swim tackles the important and complicated topic of rape culture. In it, author Megan Goldin beautifully weaves together two stories separated by 25 years, shifting between POVs and Rachel's podcast transcript. The novel felt unique in both its subject matter and narrative style, flipping between a classic thriller tale and a courtroom drama. I was sucked into the seaside village where this all takes place and the cast of characters we met along the way.

I was hoping Dark Corners would continue to suck me in and that it would be another five star read for me. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Dark Corners takes place a few weeks after The Night Swim.

Maddison Logan, a popular social media influencer, visits inmate Terrance Bailey in a Daytona Beach prison. Bailey is a suspected serial killer arrested for petty theft. He only has two days left on his prison sentence.

During their visit, the name Rachel Krall comes up. Then Maddison disappears.

Rachel is then lured to Florida. Invited by FBI Special Agent Joe Martinez. Martinez promises Rachel exclusive access to the case if she agrees to help him by meeting with Bailey.

After her meeting with Bailey and being ignored by the FBI, Rachel sets to investigating Maddison's disappearance by herself. She easily infiltrates BuzzCon, a convention for the world's top influencers.

While I have long been a fan of Goldin's writing, this book didn't work for me for a few reasons.

1. I felt like it stepped away too drastically from the narrative structure of The Night Swim. The Night Swim covers a rape trial in seaside Neapolis, the topic for season three of Rachel's podcast "Guilty or Not Guilty". Rachel is an outsider and a journalist gathering facts for her audience. We get her POV of how she gathers the facts and then the actual story she tells her listeners. It doesn't feel like we get that in Dark Corners. There are exerts from a podcast transcript in the book; however, it isn't season four. But a special episode, I guess? I don't know, it didn't feel clear. The whole component of her being a podcaster felt like an after thought in Dark Corners whereas it was central to The Night Swim.

2. We went from something as heartbreaking and nuanced as rape culture in The Night Swim, to tackling the vapid world of influencers in Dark Corners. Imagine if Emily in Paris were a thriller and that would be 80% of this book. Rachel has somehow achieved 19,000 followers on a running Instagram account before she ever started the podcast, but still knows nothing about social media? This following allows her to go "under cover" at the Influencer podcast. When there, each person is as unlikable, shallow, and vapid as the next. While The Night Swim humanized each character especially the victims, Dark Corner paints many of its characters as cartoon characters chasing clout by using social media lingo from 2015.

3. Ultimately, so much of the book is wrapped up in this influencer culture but the actual story has little to nothing to do with it. It felt like a red herring turned into a chance for the author to get on a soap box about how destructive and toxic social media consumption and those who chase it for monetary gain are.

4. I saw the ending coming a mile away. Actually, I saw it coming about 300 pages away.

With all this being said, I still enjoyed a lot of the book because I enjoy Golidn's writing. She is able to paint a fictional world that (mostly) feels so reflective of ours. If there is a third book in the series, I will definitely pick it up as well as any other books Goldin releases.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading. Publication date: August 8, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and. St. Martin’s Press for this ARC of Dark Corners by Megan Goldin. This book is a twisty story about a Podcaster and the dark side of being a social influencer. Rachel Karll gets pulled into an investigation that she can’t resist. While digging deeper into this case, she learns more about the world of being a social influencer and what it takes to make it in this career. Is this world so cut throat that the cost is your life?

Somewhat predictable but still enjoyable

In DARK CORNERS by Megan Goldin, influencer Maddison Logan mysteriously disappears after visiting a suspected serial killer. True crime podcaster Rachel Krall gets involved when her name comes up in connection with the inmate. As Rachel investigates, she delves into the world of social media influencers and uncovers fierce rivalries and potential dangers. The story unfolds with gripping suspense, multiple twists, and insightful exploration of the influencer culture. Rachel's character evolves, becoming gritty and outspoken as she relentlessly pursues the truth. With its engaging narrative and satisfying ending, DARK CORNERS delivers a compelling and thrilling mystery, showcasing Megan Goldin's skill in crafting gripping psychological thrillers.

Rachel Krall is back in another interesting story for her podcast work. This story was set up a bit differently than the first book. She wrote special reports for this case instead of episodes. I prefer the actual episodes, but I think it worked well for this story. My favorite line in the book happened pretty early on when Rachel says "…curiosity and procrastination are my kryptonite” (2)" because I can definitely relate to that. Maybe that's why I read so much, ha! I do not follow the influencer trend so I had a hard time with the parts surrounding her research at the party and what have you, but it just proved my theory that no one shows their real selves online. Reading this book also made me glad I am not part of the "influencer" generation who feel like this should be a big thing. One part that irritated me was how the FBI regarded Rachel throughout her time with them. I understand there are procedures, but it rubbed me the wrong way which also made me dislike Rachel after a certain point to. I know she was reacting to how she was treated, but ugh. This story had more romance in it than I would have liked. I am not against romance, but this story seemed to thrive on it when it didn't need to. Most of the deaths in this book made sense for the story, except two. Why did she even add those in there? Name of the game I guess, but I feel like something like that needed more of a reason than what the author gave us. I enjoyed this book despite some misgivings. It had good lines in it such as "The Scariest monster is the one that hides in plain sight." The character who said this wasn't wrong and I liked that based on who said it. It gave me pause because it made me rethink parts of the story. I would definitely recommend Dark Corners to other adult readers and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.