Podcaster – The Unseen Library

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 8 August 2023)

Series: Rachel Krall – Book Two

Length: 352 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

One of Australia’s fastest-rising crime fiction authors, Megan Goldin, returns with another awesome read, the moving and entertaining novel, Dark Corners.

Over the last few years, I have been really enjoying the works of talented Australian author Megan Goldin, whose releases have become something of a must-read for me. Goldin has written some amazing books throughout her relatively short career, including the very gripping and intense The Escape Room (one of my favourite Australian books of 2019) and the brilliant psychological thriller, Stay Awake (one of my favourite Australian books of 2022). One of Goldin’s best books so far was The Night Swim, which was one of my favourite Australian books of 2020. The Night Swim followed protagonist Rachel Krall, a true crime podcaster, as she investigated a notorious rape trial in a small American town. This was a particularly moving and intense read that really showcased Goldin’s range. As such, I was very interested when I saw that Goldin was releasing a second Rachel Krall book this year with Dark Corners, and I made sure to read a copy as soon as I could.

After returning from her latest recording exploit, famous true crime podcaster Rachel Krall finds herself dragged into another sinister case when a phone call from the FBI sees her flown to a maximum security prison outside of Daytona Beach, Florida. A famous social media star has gone missing shortly after meeting with Terence Bailey, a notorious inmate serving time for a relatively minor crime, who many believe is a serial killer. The only clue the FBI have is a message handed between the two requesting that the missing star seek Rachel out.

Unable to let go of such a curious and intriguing case that she is inexplicably linked to, Rachel resolves to remain in Florida until she finds the truth. Checking into a massive influencer convention being held at Daytona Beach, Rachel looks to find out more about the missing girl and finds herself being dragged into the cutthroat world of influencers, Instagrammers and internet celebrities. However, the more information she finds about the missing girl, the more she realises that there is something peculiar about the victim and her past.

Rachel’s investigation uncovers a series of sinister deaths and disappearances in the area, each of which may be connected to Terence Bailey, who is due to be released in a couple of days. Racing against the clock, Rachel and the FBI must uncover the truth before Bailey gets out of prison. But it soon becomes clear that there is another predator lurking around Daytona Beach, one who hides in plain sight and will do anything to cover their tracks, including taking Rachel out.

This was a very impressive new read from Goldin, who follows up The Night Swim in a big way. Dark Corners is a fantastic novel that beautifully combines an intense narrative with some unique and entertaining elements to create an awesome read I easily powered through.

Goldin really comes out of the gate swinging with Dark Corners, and I was swiftly drawn into the clever mystery and intense, character-driven narrative that she pulls together for this follow-up read. The author starts the reader off with the compelling mystery of a social media star who has been kidnapped after contacting an imprisoned convict. With the protagonist dragged in thanks to her internet fame, this swiftly turns into an intense personal investigation, as Rachel and the FBI attempt to find the missing girl and solve several unsolved murders and disappearances. Told through several key perspectives, including that of Rachel and a mysterious rideshare driver who has a dark connection to the case, the story evolves at a rapid and powerful pace, and the author sets up an intriguing series of mysteries both in the past and the present. The story effectively unwraps all of these interlinked and compelling cases, and you are soon powering through the intriguing web of cases, desperate to find the conclusion. With much of the story set to the fantastic background of an influencer convention, there are several great tangents and mysteries that emerge, especially as they provide some great alternate leads and red-herring suspects. The final solution to the case is very interesting, if somewhat spoiled by one of the alternate perspectives, and the big confrontation is well set up and filled with intense moments. While I was a little disappointed that some of the alternate cases were not as connected to the main mystery as they could have been, this was a very impressive and captivating story, and I had such a great time getting drawn in Goldin’s narrative web.

I really liked the captivating writing style that Goldin utilised for Dark Corners, which has some intriguing similarities and contrasts to the previous Rachel Krall book. The use of multiple character perspectives, as well as excerpts from Rachel’s true crime podcast for context, work extremely well to tell an extensive and complex narrative. I particularly liked the inclusion of a sinister antagonist perspective for much of the story, especially as it provides some compelling insights into the deadly case as they circle the protagonist like a shark. Despite some similarities in style, Dark Corners has a very different tone to The Night Swim, with more of a faster edge given to the story, and less focus on traumatic character histories. The story does still contain some powerful character moments, especially when the protagonist encounters several victims’ families, but the story was more thriller focused than the last book. Despite the connections to The Night Swim, Dark Corners can easily be read as a standalone novel, and this actually serves as a great introduction to Goldin’s flexible writing style. Dark Corners probably has the quickest pace of any of the Goldin books I have so far read, and you will really get drawn into this elaborate book as a result.

While the fantastic mystery and intriguing character-focused stories are great, I really must highlight Goldin’s entertaining take on the social media world as her protagonist attends an influencer convention at a glitzy beachside hotel. It does not take long for the protagonist’s, and presumably the author’s, true feelings about the influencer crowd to emerge and there is a certain amount of amusing disdain there. You really can’t help but laugh at Goldin’s mocking and somewhat over-the-top depictions of the typical social media stars’ day-to-day lives, including obsessively recording everything they do, exceedingly fake interactions, and hollow personal relationships. Goldin really does not pull any punches here, which I personally deeply appreciated, and it added quite a humorous edge to the book, especially when combined with the protagonist’s exasperated reactions to the various scenarios she encounters. Despite this somewhat critical edge, Goldin does include a lot of intriguing information about the community, such as the various types of influencers, their social makeup, the ins and outs of the trade, as well as the type of personalities that are attracted to the lifestyle. There is even a quite nuanced take on several key influencers throughout the book, and it was quite compelling to see what sort of people they really are. While this background setting is mostly entertaining and fun, it does serve quite a vital role in the story, and I felt that Goldin was able to weave quite an intriguing and unique mystery story around it. This ended up being one of the best inclusions of the entire novel, and I really loved how Goldin made Dark Corners stand out even further with her clever, if slightly acerbic take, on social media personalities and their influence.

Overall, Dark Corners was another outstanding book from Megan Goldin, who continues to shine as one of Australia’s premier authors of thriller fiction. Combing a clever mystery with an intriguing character focus and a unique background setting, Dark Corners was an addictive read from start to finish and I deeply enjoyed Goldin’s latest impressive novel. Highly recommended!

Amazon

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 31 August 2021)

Series: Standalone

Length: 454 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Impressive Australian author Sarah Bailey returns with The Housemate, an outstanding and intense murder mystery that takes a complex protagonist through a dark journey as they attempt to solve an infamous murder.

It was the crime that shocked all of Australia: one night, after a fractious party in the suburbs of Melbourne, three female housemates would become infamous for all the wrong reasons. In the morning, one of the housemates is found brutally murdered, another is found covered in her blood, while the third goes missing and her body is never found. Dubbed the Housemate Homicide, the unexplained murder, the mysterious disappearance, and the subsequent controversial court case has baffled and enthralled the country for years. This includes Olive Groves, a journalist who got her first big break covering the murder and who then became obsessed with cracking the case.

Nine years later, the body of the missing housemate is found in a remote property in the Victorian countryside. Despite dealing with her own dark personal issues, Olive is assigned to cover the story, and soon finds herself once again dragged into her deepest obsession. Teamed up with millennial podcaster Cooper Ng, Olive begins to immerse herself in the details of the murder, reigniting her fiery obsession.

As Olive and Cooper work to uncover new details about the case and the three women at the heart of it, they start to make some startling discoveries. None of the housemates were what they seemed, and all had dark and terrible secrets that have remained hidden for years. What really happened to these three friends, and what secret was so terrible that they would kill to protect it? Olive is about to discover that there is a dark conspiracy at work throughout this case, one whose roots may lay far closer to home than she ever imagined, and whose discovery may end up breaking her.

This was an incredible and extremely clever dark murder mystery from Sarah Bailey, who has previously produced some impressive and compelling pieces of Australian fiction. The Housemate was pretty exceptional read and I quickly found myself getting really caught up in this remarkable and well-written piece of crime fiction. The author weaved together a dark and compelling tale of betrayal, murder and tainted love, featuring an extremely damaged protagonist and multiple epic twists.

The Housemate has a pretty amazing and memorable murder mystery narrative that follows a reporter as she attempts to uncover the truth behind an infamous cold case. Bailey does a great job setting up the plot of this book in the early pages, showing the protagonist’s involvement in reporting the initial discovery of the murder, before initiating a time skip nine years in the future. Once there, the author spends a little time exploring how the protagonist’s life has changed in the intervening years, before swiftly starting the next stage of the mystery, with the discovery of a body out in the Victorian countryside that has connections to the murders. The rest of the book flows by at a quick pace after this, as the reader gets stuck into the re-opened investigation. Bailey starts the various twists flying early, and the reader is soon struck with a series of theories, leads, potential suspects and connected side characters, all of which add to the overall tapestry of the mystery, while also serving to keep you guessing about who is responsible for the murder, and that isn’t even mentioning the compelling flashbacks from the surviving housemate.

As the investigation continues, The Housemate’s story continues to get even more complex, as the personal life of the protagonist, Olive, gets dragged into the plot, especially as Olive is in a complex relationship with the widower of the primary police investigator of the original case. This results in some extremely intense moments as Olive begins to suspect everyone, which has a major impact on her grip on reality. I deeply appreciated the psychological thriller aspects that were worked in, as the reader starts to really question Olive’s grip on her sanity, and it helped to make the story even darker and more unpredictable. Everything really kicks off in the final third of the novel, especially after the case becomes even more potentially convoluted and connected to a wider conspiracy. There were some great reveals in this final third of the novel, and a pretty major and surprising event that really changes everything. I found myself absolutely glued to this book in the final stages, as I couldn’t wait to see what happened. While I did think that the author was a little too heavy handed when it came to suggesting that one particular character was the murderer, I thought the eventual reveal of who was behind everything was extremely clever. The solution to the historic murder was very impressive, especially as some of the elements were set up extremely early in the novel and you didn’t even realise it. I really loved the impressive way the case was wrapped up, although the end of the final confrontation was a tad too coincidental for my taste. Still, it was a really great way to finish the novel, and I was well and truly hooked by this awesome and dark tale of murder.

You can’t talk about The Housemate without mentioning the author’s great characters, especially protagonist, Olive Groves (a fun name). Olive is a complex and damaged woman, who has been obsessed with the novel’s central case ever since she saw the suspected killer and the various family members emerging from the house during the initial media coverage. Years later, Olive now has a complex life, as she is living with the controlling widower of the cop who was originally investigating the crimes, something she is immensely guilty and conflicted about. Her already fragile mental state is put at risk when she starts working on the latest developments in the Housemate Homicides case, which reawakens her long-dormant obsession. This obsession drives her to investigate the case by any means and takes her to some dark spaces as she tries to get into the head of the three housemates and figure out what happened to them. Olive slowly goes downhill as the novel progresses thanks to a combination of stress, obsession, anger, and multiple personal reasons, such as the actions of her emotionally abusive partner and her own massive guilt for sleeping with him while his wife was still alive. Olive has a big breakdown towards the end of the novel, especially after a major surprise event, and it was fascinating to see such a dramatic and powerful burst of emotion. This compelling personal crisis is perfectly worked into the plot of the book, and it really helped to enhance the main murder mystery storyline, especially as you become really concerned for Olive’s mental and physical safety. I appreciated the way in which Bailey wrapped up Olive’s character arc by the end of the novel, and I cannot emphasise what an impressive bit of character work Bailey did around her.

Aside from Olive, there is a great collection of complex side characters throughout the novel, each of whom play a vital role in the case. The main one is Cooper Ng, the socially shy tech expert and social media whiz who is assigned to help Olive investigate, with the two required to develop a new podcast for their paper. Cooper is a fun and energetic figure who stands as the complete opposite to Olive’s gruffer and irritable personality. Cooper and Olive make for an interesting partnership throughout the book, and it was fun to see them combine their vastly different skills and experiences. The author also spends a bit of time examining each of the three housemates who were at the centre of the book’s mystery. It initially appears that all three were bright and optimistic students when the fateful night occurred. However, as the book progresses you begin to see that they are a lot more complex than that, with all three involved in something dodgy. Seeing how they were driven to the events that occurred the night of the killing is pretty fascinating, and I really appreciated the dark and intense storyline that Bailey weaved around them. All these characters, and more, added a lot to the story, and I loved the fantastic and realistic interactions that occurred within.

The final thing that I wanted to highlight about The Housemate was its interesting examination of Australian journalism. I have always rather liked journalist protagonists in fiction, due to their less formal way of investigating crimes, and this worked very well in the context of The Housemate, with Olive employing some interesting methods to get answers. The focus on obtaining information for a story rather than attempting to bring someone to justice is very compelling and I loved seeing the protagonists setting up stories and podcasts. I also quite enjoyed the interesting examination of the evolving form of journalism that was represented by the two main characters, Olive and Cooper. Olive is the more old-school reporter, who just wants to do good journalism without resorting to popular gimmicks. Cooper, on the other hand, is the flash new kid, focusing on social media and podcasting, which he sees as the future of journalism. This fun comparison between reporting styles formed an interesting basis for their partnership, especially as they are brought together to do a podcast on the murders, and I felt that this was a great inclusion to an already exciting and entertaining narrative.

The Housemate by Sarah Bailey was an exceptional and captivating read that I had an outstanding time reading. Featuring a dark and thrilling mystery storyline, this Australian murder mystery was incredibly addictive, especially once you get caught up in the unique investigation and complex personal life of the protagonist. I really enjoyed seeing this fantastic story come together, and I was really impressed with how Bailey tied her brilliant mystery together. Easily one of the best pieces of Australian fiction I have read all year, The Housemate gets a full five-star rating from me and is a very highly recommended read.

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