Dark Corners by Megan Goldin Book Review

About the Book:

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 Review:

I enjoyed this mystery that built slowly to a suspenseful end. The structure of the narrative is interesting. Rachel has a popular podcast and some of the chapters seem to be the text of a podcast. As I recall, they are in first person. Other chapters feature Rachel's action in real time in third person, past tense. There are several other chapters that seem to be of the villain, these are third person but present tense, setting them off from the others. It seems like a complex structure but once understood, the parts of the plot are easily identified.

Rachel attends a conference of social media influencers. While it was part of her investigation into a missing woman, I learned a great deal about the whole influencer concept and how they create a faux reality. And I found it very interesting to learn about a genetic disorder involving body odor.

I appreciate how all the loose threads got tied up in the end. That was well plotted. Rachel is a good heroine and now we also have a handsome hero. I hope to see them again in future adventures.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

MEGAN GOLDIN, author of THE ESCAPE ROOM and THE NIGHT SWIM, worked as a correspondent for Reuters and other media outlets where she covered war, peace, international terrorism and financial meltdowns in the Middle East and Asia. She is now based in Melbourne, Australia where she raises three sons and is a foster mum to Labrador puppies learning to be guide dogs.

St Martin's Press, 352 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)