Thank you for this book. It was awesome and I will now always read all off this author's books as they come out as the writing is easy to read and just a nice pace. I feel giving too much information in thrillers is very spoiling so let me not disappoint. Get out and get this one to read it!! thanks again NetGalley!

Great crime/thriller novel! 👀

This book tells two stories - one, a rape trial currently taking place; and two, a “murder” that occurred 25 years prior. The story is clear and alternates between chapters of the two plots. Of course, these inevitably intertwine.

There could have been more detail, or at least some foreshadowing of the conclusion. Even though the ending was abrupt, this was a fantastic story that I definitely recommend! *Warnings for sexual violence and rape*

*Many thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Rachel Krall, the main character, has gotten pretty famous for her addicting crime podcast. No one knows what she looks like. When she is covering a rape trial, she starts to receive mysterious letters begging for her help to solve a crime years ago.

Overnight Rachel Krall's name, and voice, have become recognizable by millions of people. Her podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty, has become a pop-culture phenomenon ever since she helped to prove a convicted man was innocent. Her new season is going to focus on the rape trial of a future Olympic athlete. He is young, handsome, and quite privileged. Rachel isn't in town a day before she finds a plea for help in the form of a letter on her windshield. And just like that, Rachel is pulled into another woman's story and a woman who dies twenty-five years ago. Will Rachel be able to find out what happened to Hannah while keeping a partial eye on the trial that brought her to town?

It has only been in the last couple of years that I have started listening to podcasts. There is something about the tone of a lot of podcasts that make them seem calming. The steady cadence of the narrator is almost hypnotizing. I was able to listen to The Night Swim in audiobook and I loved hearing that "tone" in this book. Rachel Krall had a very calming tone to her. She wasn't really looking to be pulled into helping Hannah, but she couldn't resist. The rape case ended the way that it should have, but Hannah's story was a little more shocking. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.



Bottom Line - The Night Swim tackles a really relevant topic in a really relevant way through the use of the podcast. Be sure to check it out if you are looking for a good read.





Details:

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
On Twitter
Pages: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 8/4/2020
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Krall, the host of a true crime podcast has found a controversial case for her 3rd case. Scott, a college swimmer and an Olympic hopeful, has been accused of raping a high school girl, and the coverage by Rachel’s podcast shoots the trial to national headlines. At the same time, someone is following Rachel, begging her to investigate a drowning case that is 25 years old. The farther Rachel dives into this small town, the more she realizes the court case she’s covering and the drowning case may not be unconnected.
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I looooved THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Goldin so much that I listened to the audio book at the same time as reading the physical book. I could not get enough, so of course I finished this very quickly. I wouldn’t say it ended on a cliff hanger, but it does seem open ended enough that I’m really hoping for another book following Rachel Krall!
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A big thank you to the author (@megangoldinauthor) the publisher (@stmartinspress) and @netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. (less)

WHY DID I LISTEN TO THE NIGHT SWIM BY MEGAN GOLDIN?
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin was pitched to me as a book that explores rape culture. To me, that topic is interesting and tragic. And well, something that I think a lot of women can relate to unfortunately. So, I decided that I would absolutely give The Night Swim a chance, even though I don’t really read a lot of adult books in this genre. Seeing the audiobook show up on Libby made me prioritize this all the more and I am so glad I listened to the audiobook.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
Rachel Krall is a podcaster whose show went viral in the first season. She’s a household name and recognizable by her voice, not so much by her face. When she stops at a diner, she goes back out to her car and sees a note addressed to her on the windshield. It freaks Rachel out because she’s been so private about her appearance. Rachel has come to the small town of Neapolis to base her podcast around a small town rape trial. This trial is about the town golden boy who has been accused of sexual assault by the granddaughter of the police chief. While Rachel is investigating and podcasting, she receives these letters asking her to find out who murdered Jenny Stills, twenty five years ago. You see, Jenny’s death had been written off as an accident due to her taking a night swim. But the letter writer, Jenny’s sister, believes it was murder and wants to find justice for her sister.

WHAT DID I THINK OF THE NIGHT SWIM?
The Night Swim was different from how I expected. It ended up being really engaging and making me think. Obviously, the theme of the book is a big issue in our society today. The whole golden boy swimmer thing could be ripped from headlines, right? I thought that Goldin handled the topic with sensitivity and was really thoughtful in her writing. It didn’t feel like she was sensationalizing sexual assault.


HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The format of The Night Swim was perfect for audio. It’s a story told using podcast format for some chapters, others are told by Rachel, and others are essentially narrated from the past. Now, the audiobook does the podcast portions like a real podcast which was really cool. It also utilizes three narrators – Bailey Carr, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz. The three narrators do an excellent job. This audiobook is 9 hours and 59 minutes long – yet the ten hours goes by so quickly and it is absolutely due to the audiobook production and narration. If you are going to read The Night Swim be sure it is in audiobook format.

Great book! It started off a little slow paced but quickly picked up! I was reading non stop until the very end of the book.

Loved the true crime podcast theme of the story!! Excellent book!! One of the best I read this year....

Rachel Krall has become pretty high-profile since her true crime podcast has become so popular. But it’s still unsettling when she finds a note on the windshield of the care asking for her help.
She has come to a small town to follow the trial of a young man, a swimmer who was supposed to be heading for the Olympics one day, who has been accused of raping the granddaughter of the local police chief. She begins investigating that case, and also the case of the young woman who asked for her in finding out what happened to her sister 25 years prior. It turns out that these two cases may be connected in spite of the number of years between them.
I’m looking forward to the next book.

What a fabulous book! The premise really intrigued me as I am addicted to both true crime books and podcasts. The author kept the story going at a quick pace and the characters were interesting. I would definitely read more books by Ms. Goldin and I would recommend this to anyone who likes intriguing mysteries.

Rachel Krall goes viral when her true crime podcast sets an innocent man free, prompting someone from a small town to reachj out to her regarding a trial for a golden boy accused of raping the police chief's granddaughter. As she investigates, detailing progress on her podcast, she's returned to the night her own sister disappeared through inextricable links to the present trial. Goldin expertly shifts the story back and forth, not only between the past and the present, but between the innocent and the guilty. This is a worthwhile read for the shades of gray characters, tension-filled storyline, and superb storytelling. I was fortunate to receive a digital copy from the publisher St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this one! It's a very tough read, with lots of rape descriptions. However, I really thought it was a interesting read. It kept me guessing throughout the entire book. I really liked the dual storylines and how they ended up connecting in the end. This may be my first time reading a Megan Goldin book, but it certainly won't be the last. Highly recommended!!

The Night Swim is an interesting mystery with a true crime podcast focus. In this book, podcaster Rachel Krall finds herself spending a few weeks in Neapolis, North Carolina to cover the Scott Blair trial. The “golden boy” swimmer of this small town, Scott has been accused of rape by a local teenager, which he denies and many in the town are vilifying his accuser. While in town, Rachel begins to get notes from Hannah Stills, begging Rachel to help her find the truth of her sister’s death in Neapolis 25 years ago. As the trial begins and Hannah’s letters continue, there are many parallels happening between the two cases.

The Night Swim is well paced and well written, but as a warning to readers – I found it at times to be an emotionally difficult read. Ms. Goldwin wove these two mysteries together throughout along with episodes of Rachel’s podcast Guilty or Not Guilty to create an engaging story. This one is another read that will keep you turning pages late into the night.

I am a sucker for any book that includes a podcast element. Megan Goldin has done it well here, and I was definitely intrigued by the way the alternating timelines tied together at the end. No real surprises, but well written and sad throughout.

THE NIGHT SWIM is raw and real. It felt like something we’d hear about on the news today, specifically the trial scenes. The writing and the pacing were great. I felt it was a little slow to start, but the result was well worth it.

Night Swim is a tough review to write as it blends the most heartless, ugliest, damaging, atrocity, with a compelling mystery to investigate crimes committed in both the present and the past. An unsettling novel that illuminates the very deep sense of blame, depravity, vicious physical and psychological damage, horror, and loss, that crimes of rape causes.

Podcast host Rachel Krall’s latest project in her true-crime series is to cover the rape case of the popular Olympic swimming hopeful, Scott Blair, as he is accused of raping a sixteen-year-old girl, K.
“I'm Rachel Krall and this is ‘Guilty or Not Guilty’, the podcast that puts you in the jury box.”
Rachel travels to the small town of Neapolis in North Carolina, where feelings are mixed and news passes through the community in a way every close-knit community experiences. While in Neapolis, another woman, Hannah Stiles, starts secretly leaving packages with information about her sister Jenny, who she believes was raped and murdered, twenty-five years ago. Gradually Rachel feels compelled to investigate this murder and drag up old stories and suspicions. The heart-breaking aspect of this investigation is the reputational damage to Jenny as a licentious girl who accidentally drowns at sea. As Rachel and Hannah provide the narrative throughout the novel flipping back and forward over the twenty-five-year period the plot thickens, the suspense rises, the suspicions increase, the truth becomes clear and always there is this sin that hangs over the town that evil lurks. This is especially difficult for Jenny riddled with guilt and sorrow who can’t really move on with her own life when her older sister’s was taken away so brutally.

Megan Goldin approaches the crime of rape very sensitively but ensures that she paints an authentic portrayal of the emotional impact on the victim in terms of both the offence and the courtroom trial to be endured. In another, he said she said situation the uncovering of new information and evidence as the trial progresses seems to only way to achieve justice. A difficult task considering the Blair family has financial resources and power to pay for the best legal representation and manipulate support within the community.

Rachel plays a wonderful role in covering the current courtroom trial with K and the investigation into the old rape case of Jenny. Night Swim is a fascinating and absorbing story that manages a wonderful balance between sensitivity and faithfulness to the crime of rape, while also delivering an intriguing mystery that unearths secrets that the perpetrators hoped to keep hidden.

A truly unforgettable story that is one of the best this year. I would like to thank Megan Goldin, St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book!

The book alternates between the main character Rachel Krall, letters from a woman named Hannah, and episodes of Rachel’s true-crime podcast. The podcast really set the tone for the book and provided such a unique recap of facts and opinions that I found myself eagerly looking forward to those sections and wishing they were longer. I loved the idea of Hannah’s letters, which were retellings of past events, but I found that they weren’t as compelling as the current-day sections of the book. It also bugged me a little that no-one ever saw Hannah but she always showed up at exactly the right time to leave a letter for Rachel to find, which seemed impossible.

Overall, this book was hugely entertaining and I didn’t want to put it down. I ended up binging the entire thing in a weekend, and my husband got so sick of me talking about it that he decided to read it too. I will say it is more of an unfolding mystery (almost a procedural) more than a thriller. But like I said, I found it so compelling I couldn’t put it down and I’m already feeling jealous of people that still get to read it for the first time.

The Night Swim follows Rachel, the host of a popular True Crime podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty. Rachel is headed to the small coastal town of Neapolis, NC to cover a controversial trial. The town’s golden boy, Olympic swimmer Scott Blair is accused of raping a high school student, referred to only as K. While investigating, Rachel comes across a series of letters addressed to her from a mysterious girl named Hannah. Hannah wants Rachel’s help to find out what happened to her sister Jenny Stills, who drowned in Neapolis under mysterious circumstances twenty-five years ago. As Rachel investigates, she starts to find alarming similarities between the two cases, similarities that will change the lives of everyone involved.

Told in alternating perspectives between Rachel in the present, and Hannah as a combination of letters and flashbacks, The Night Swim tackles America’s fascination with true crime and the often polarizing subject of sexual assault. Part true crime, part legal thriller, The Night Swim largely takes place in a courtroom. If not evident by the synopsis, this book should have a massive trigger warning. The entire book deals with the topics of rape and sexual assault, often delving into graphic details the way a typical trial would.

At times I found this book incredibly challenging and infuriating, in the same way, a typical sexual assault trial would be. Overall I loved it and could not put it down. I loved Rachel as a character, and the premise of her podcast is so interesting. I think Rachel and her podcast would make an excellent series if Megan Goldin was willing to return to her story.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

While the premise of the book was interesting the book was ultimately just disjointed and awkward. It was just missing that added "umpf" from one of the storylines.

5 stars

I am fast becoming a #fangirl of Megan Goldin. Last year, I read Escape Room and was immediately hooked. So when I saw she had a new book out, The Night Swim, I knew I had to get my hands on it.

While, written in a completely different vein than Escape Room, The Night Swim is equally compelling and a total page turner. Exploring the shades of gray of rape is nothing new in the literary world, but Goldin puts a new, current twist on it by telling the story partially through a podcast.

The story explores the present day rape trial of Kelly Moore and a 25 year old suspected rape and murder of Jenny Stills. Told in alternating viewpoints of the podcast journalist covering the present day rape trial and the memories of Jenny’s sister, this story weaves together the past and present bringing the ending to a crescendo that will leave you speechless.

I don’t want to say anything more because well, this book is just one of those books that you just keep thinking about even after you finish it. And might I say that there is definitely a tee up for this to become a “Rachel” series, which I really, really, really am hoping happens.