Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster star of Megan Goldin’s acclaimed Night Swim returns to search for a popular social media influencer who disappeared 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 freedom 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? Why was she visiting him in the first place?

When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems only to 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 Krall 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, the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krell herself. Suddenly a 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.

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Expected publication August 8, 2023 

by St. Martin's Press

4/5 stars

Dark Corners though the 2nd book in the Rachel Krall Series definitely works as a stand alone.  I loved The Night Swim and eagerly awaited this the sequel.  For me this was a different Rachel verses the one I met in book 1.

Rachel is called to Florida by the FBI after her name is mentioned by a convict long suspected of murder.  Lacking evidence for a conviction or even charges, can Rachel uncover clues to the unsolved murders of young women.

Told from a couple view points made this an addicting read.  I was lucky to get both the audio and digital arc.  A road trip had me binge listen, I was am to finish in a 24 hour period.  So worth it!

This was a wonderfully mysterious, suspenseful story.  It showcased influencers in their glory (or rather addiction to social media).  It was intricately woven with twists I didn't see coming and an ending that I liked.

The audio narrator was spot on, a pleasure to listen to.  Both versions are available for preorder now with an August 8th release date.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillian Audio for advanced copies in exchange for a honest review.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers—a stranger who now lives in her apartment and forces her out in the cold. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing, and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.

Two years ago, Liv was living with her best friend, dating a new man, and thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, the same message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing as she tries to piece together the fragments of her life. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget—permanently.

A complex thriller that unfolds at a breakneck speed, Stay Awake will keep you up all night.

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Audiobook, 10 hours, 59 minutes

Expected publication August 9, 2022

 by St. Martin's Press

3.5/5 stars

This is my second Megan Goldin book, I loved The Night Swim and eagerly awaited this her new book.

This book sounded familiar as soon as I started reading it with reminders of Before I Go to Sleep, fingers crossed the plot was not similar. This was both an audio and a digital read for me. I was very thankful to have the audio and managed to polish it off in just over a day.

Liv wakes up in a taxi and when arriving home finds it’s 2 years later. Where has she been all this time? That’s the million dollars question.

Stay Awake is told from Liv’s pov as well as a detective. Though I couldn’t connect with Liv this was an intense read.  Taking place over a one day period there were glimpses to the past to bring this story full circle. It was part repetitive not just with the 'stay awake' and other messages written on her hand but in other aspects also which took away from the mystery and intrigue.

The ending was okay and actually I didn't see it coming but it did lack some parts to make it feel authentic. All in all an fun read.

My thanks to  Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for advanced copies in exchange for a honest review.

Review: The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

In this new thriller from the author of The Escape Room, a podcast host covering a controversial trial in a small town becomes obsessed with a brutal crime that took place there years before.

After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name—and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating—but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Expected publication: August 4th 2020

by St. Martin's Press

4.5/5 stars

I knew going into The Night Swim that there were triggers but not to the extent it was, definitely a book that will stay with me.

To say this is an emotional story doesn't really give it the extreme it is due. It's one thing to have the current day story but to add the 25-year- old one really adds that extra punch.  Told mainly with 2 points of view, a current day with podcaster (is that a word?) Rachel, she hides behind a face that is unknown even though her voice is.  The mysterious notes and what they reveal goes back 25 years where things aren't as they appeared. I’ll admit that the podcast angle isn’t a favorite but with this story I get the role it played making it a good fit.

The Night Swim is a sad, disturbing and emotional story that had me frustrated, angry, heartbroken and out for justice. There is some serious subject matter that the author handled authentically with feeling and respect. It is well written with characters that I couldn't help feeling for.  I think I read the last 70% in like a day, not only did I need to know what was going to happen but was curious as to the author's direction, I didn't know what to expect with the ending.  Maybe I will stop right there before I reveal too much.

Megan Goldin is a new author to me, her novel The Escape Room is getting rave reviews, so that is now added to my TBR pile.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for a digital arc (via Netgalley) in exchange for an honest review.