Author: pleasantnites

Title: Dark Corner

Author: Megan Goldin

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I read The Night Swim when it came out, and although I don’t remember a lot about it, I gave it four stars, so I must have enjoyed it quite a bit. So when I saw there was a new book about the same main character, Rachel, Krall, I was excited to revisit this awesome podcaster. However, this book definitely fell flat.

Rachel is summoned by an inmate who tells her cryptic information. The FBI believes this man, who is incarcerated for breaking and entering, is actually a serial killer. Rachel and the FBI come up with a plan to send her to an influencer convention to dig into that world, who seems to have a connection to this inmate. Still with me??

This book relies way too heavily on convenient plot points to make connections, then in the last few pages, all the loose ends are tied up, rather than while the plot is happening. This book really made no sense in parts. The law enforcement characters relied on a random podcaster to do their work for them. And parts were like the writer knew an end point but had no idea how to get there, so invented random things to draw them together. I was just really disappointed with this one.

Title: Magic

Author: Roland Lazenby

Genre: NF

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

When I requested this book, I had no idea how long it was. Over 800 pages. To my delight, it’s so well-researched, and as a huge Magic fan since my childhood, I loved every page. This book was so much fun to read.

The book follows Magic’s life, mostly his childhood and basketball career, and briefly touches on his business ventures. There isn’t a lot to say in a review, other than, if you want to read a giant book about Magic Johnson, then you will love this.

Title: Down the Hill

Author: Susan Hendricks

Genre: Non-fiction/ true crime

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’m reasonably well-versed about the murders of Libby German and Abby Williams, following the case through the news, and was so relieved when an arrest was made. So when I saw this book, written by a CNN anchor, I was interested to see what more she had to offer about the story. This book was fine, but the author wrote the book more like a reporter, using giant chunks of interviews, rather than as a writer.

Susan Hendricks tells her story and how she got to know the families. I feel like she truly cared about them and their pain and didn’t use them to get a bigger story. In fact, this book’s forward is written by Libby’s sister, Kelsey. I enjoyed the book and felt the families’ pain of their loss. Susan tells a lot about her side of meeting with the families, attending CrimeCon, and discussing the case with the police. This book is worth the read for anyone interested in the case or in true crime in general.