Synopsis

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.

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.

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Review

I have become a fan of Megan Goldin’s ever since her first novel, The Escape Room. Each book she has written takes us to the underbelly of society and the crimes they commit.

This is a follow-up book to The Night Swim. While you don’t have to read that book to enjoy this one, it might give you a little more background on Rachel Krall. However, the author does provide quite a bit of history on Rachel so that the reader does not feel lost.

I was drawn into the story when Rachel is flown to Florida, by the FBI, for a reason that we don’t discover until later. However, this sets off a chain of events that put her life and others in danger.

I found the world of influencers very interesting and probably very true. Nothing they post is real. It is all staged. It makes me wonder why people give so much power to these people. But it was also intriguing to get a glimpse into that world.

Rachel is a smart investigative investigator, and that might be how she was able to uncover information that the FBI couldn’t find. A lot of it comes down to trust and the fact that she is not part of the government. I enjoyed the special report that was shared every few chapters that reflected what she learned about this situation.

As I read this novel, I wondered if Terrance (Terry) was guilty, or was it circumstance? Was there a partner, or was he working on his own? There are many holes in the case against him, but what was fact or fiction was buried until Rachel starts digging into the missing persons case and his case.

There were many twists and turns. Some I expected, and many I did not. I had a hard time putting the book down, wondering what could possibly happen next.

Overall, we give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Megan Goldin was a journalist before she became a writer. She reported from the Middle East for the Associated Press, Reuters, the (Australian) ABC, and other news outlets. She worked in Asia as a reporter and editor for Reuters and Yahoo.

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