Dark Corners

Summary: This is the second book in the series about crime podcaster Rachel Krall. Rachel is brought to Daytona by the FBI because of a link between her and convicted criminal Terence Bailey. Bailey is due to get out of prison in a couple of days and the FBI suspects him of being involved in the disappearance of an influencer who visited him in prison. Before incarceration, the FBI strongly suspected Bailey of being a serial killer who abducted a string of young women, but they could never find the proof to link him to the crimes. Now they are hoping to use Rachel to get information out of Bailey that they might be able to use. However, they have exposed Rachel to the attention of a dangerous, obsessive serial killer, and now his thoughts have turned to Rachel.

Thoughts: Many reviewers commented on the differences between Krall’s demeanor from book one to book two. As I didn’t read The Night Swim, I didn’t have anything to compare it to and so this didn’t bother me. Some aspects of the novel were executed well. In particular, I enjoyed the vicious skewering that Goldin unleashes on influencer behaviour and culture, as well as her ability to misdirect the reader. But Rachel Krall is an unbelievably reckless character, given that she knows full well the types of sinister characters she is interacting with and receives ample warnings from FBI agent Martinez. The trick used to entrap her near the conclusion of the book makes her look ridiculously amateur and naïve. It was an eyeroll moment for me. And one thing that bothers me excessively even now is this…

What happened to the kitten!?