Thank you Netgalley / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced copy of Dark Corners in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio
Published: August 8, 2023
Summary:
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.
Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his release date approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped—or worse. Is Maddison’s disappearance connected to her visit to Bailey? And why was she visiting him in the first place?
When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel Krall’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems to only exist on social media; she has no family, no friends, and other than in her posts, most people have never seen her. Who is she, really? Using a fake Instagram account, Rachel goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal.
When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tail—identical to a tattoo Rachel had seen on Bailey’s hand—the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krall herself. Suddenly the target of a monster hiding in plain sight, Rachel is forced to confront the very real dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the internet.
My thoughts:
I was thrilled when I heard that Megan Goldin was bringing back Rachel Krall in another book. Night Swim was one of my favorite books and I had always hoped we would see Rachel again!
While this is listed as book two in the Rachel Krall series, I will say that these are connected stand-alones. You really don’t need to read Night Swim before reading this one. Of course, I do highly recommend that, but that’s just my opinion.
Once again, we have a very cleverly crafted story that kept me engaged from start to finish. There are the elements of the podcast used here – which are definitely my favorite, though I will say that these parts weren’t as frequent as they were in the previous book, which I missed and would have loved to have more of. We also have an active missing persons case and this is tied to a serial killer. Of course, I loved this aspect of the story because I am a fan of serial killer stories – not sure why, but am. And I loved how this one played out.
I love that we once again see Rachel not only doing her work as a podcaster, but also actively investigating the case. Once she gets involved with something, she is like a dog with a bone and no one and nothing is going to stop her, not even when her life is threatened. She will get the answers she wants at all costs, and I love that determination.
This book took quite a few twists and turns, and I never knew what to expect next. It is most definitely a case of nothing is what it seems on so many levels and I loved that! Once I started this one I had a hard time putting it down because I was so wrapped up in what was happening…it’s that good and that addicting! I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Rachel…I want more of her and her podcast!
Audio thoughts:
This book really works best on audio as the narrators are amazing and there are sound effects to introduce the podcast segments. It was such a great audio production and I was glued to my phone while listening! The narrators – Andre Santana, January LaVoy, and Samantha Dez – did such a great job with the voices, infusing just the right amount of emotion and tension into their voices as needed.
Books in this series:
- Night Swim
- Dark Corners
