3.5 stars

I really loved Megan Goldin’s The Escape Room and was excited to read her next novel, The Night Swim.

If you’re a fan of the podcast Serial, then you may be intrigued by this book’s main character, who is shooting her true crime podcast week by week while following an ongoing rape trial in a small town.

This book held my interest for the most part but i did find myself not entirely loving the ending. Overall it was entertaining but didn’t knock my socks off.

-I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Goldin, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review.-

Wow! This is one of the best crime mystery books I have ever read. I stayed up late reading every night until I finished. I loved this book and will definitely be reading more by this author. I hope this becomes a series. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

What a great book! I loved the podcast episodes within it and the mystery had me guessing the whole time. Goldin did a great job at weaving it all together.

I've been in the mood for a mystery/thriller, so I was glad when I had quite a few on queue on Netgalley. However, four chapters in to The Night Swim and I just couldn't get into this one. I feel like it has potential but I just don't have the time or patience to continue reading something I can't connect with.

This book is an example of the podcast world colliding with the literary world and I am here for it! I ended up picking this up on audio and it really intensified the story so I'd highly recommend you give it a listen. The author did a great job of combining two different stories and timelines without making it too confusing. I was totally invested in both storylines. I only had one main issue that made me take it down a half a star in my final rating, but I can't really talk about it without spoiling it. While I am seeing a trend of podcasts in books, as long as they continue to be this good I'll keep on reading them.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress and the author for this ARC...The Night Swim published in August, so you know...go get it anytime.

The Night Swim is such a timely suspense, centering on themes of the Me Too movement. Also you’ll for sure pick up on the similarities between this fictional story and the real life monster Brock Turner. I know I’ve seen some reviews turn up their nose at this, but I really appreciated the author taking a real-life event and basically smacking us in the face with it. Like, pay attention, damnit.

I also enjoyed the podcast element since I’m one that is obsessed with serial crime pods, and I know that they really can make a huge difference (ahem, Curtis Flowers).

If you enjoy a good suspense that keeps you guessing and appreciate when fiction is timely and relevant, The Night Swim is for you!

I loved this. Fan of real crime podcasts this was a really clever way to treat a courtroom drama. Full of twists and a great ending fully recommend

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I was captivated from page one and was so excited that I had both the audio and ebook versions available to me as I couldn’t put it down and was able to easily switch back and forth. Loved it!!!

CW: rape/sexual assault.

A true crime podcast host covering a controversial rape trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years earlier.

Very hard but important read.

Because of the cover and description, I went into Megan Goldin's The Night Swim thinking that it was going to be a psychological thriller. Instead, it's more of a crime drama that you might see on television -- with some surprises, but mostly predictable twists.

Rachel Krall hosts a true crime podcast, with each series of the podcast covering a particular trial. This time, she is in Neopolis for a rape trial. Here, a star swimmer and Olympic hopeful is on trial for raping another high school student. In between covering the trial, she also begins receiving letters from Hannah Stills, whose sister Jenny was brutally raped and murdered in the same town twenty-five years ago. Hannah asks Rachel for help in finally bringing her sister's murderer to justice. While investigating, Rachel finds startling connections between the two cases.

Goldin covers the topic of rape with sensitivity, however, I didn't find the writing very powerful. As I said, I expected more suspense. All in all, I found The Night Swim to be very average.

MY RATING - 3

When I discovered that Megan Goldin had a new book, I jumped on the opportunity to read it, because I absolutely loved The Escape Room, her debut. This one is completely different, and yet just as addictive than her first book.

I'm not fond of legal/court stories. I'm just not interested. But the different twist of this one kept me at the edge of my seat. It made me realize the many gray areas of a rape case. How this is complete torture for the rape victim. Everything they have to get through to see their rapist convicted is absolutely terrifying. They really are the most courageous people.

The ending blindsided me completely. I am still not sure how I feel about it, hence the 4 stars.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Night Swim follows Rachel, a famous true crime podcaster, as she is present in the courtroom of the rape trial where a small town hero is being tried. While in Neapolis, she is also getting messages from Hannah, a local woman, asking for Rachel's help in solving her sister's murder twenty five years earlier. I like the podcast media and courtroom aspect of this book, just wouldn't consider it an edge of your seat thriller. This was not one that had me speed reading through the pages, but more of a legal, slow-burn kind of thriller. It gave me a little bit of fictional Know My Name kind of vibe, so if you loved that book as much as I did, you may want to pick this one up!

Thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher for my e-arc of this read!

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin was a funny one for me. I started with the physical copy as a buddy read, but it didn't grab me right away, so I decided to wait and listen to the audiobook instead. And what do you know, it became a 5-star read for me! The audio is SO well done, with 3 different narrators that all did such an incredible job. I think it has a slower start and I just needed to hang in there a little bit longer since once I started the audio (from where I had left off in the physical copy), I couldn't put it down and listened to it all in one sitting. The narrators are Bailey Carr as Hannah, January LaVoy voicing the podcast, and Samantha Desz as Rachel, or at least that is what I think... Feel free to correct me if that is wrong! Either way, if you are a fan of any or all of them, or a fan of podcasts, the audio is going to be for you!

I also read The Escape Room and absolutely loved it, but The Night Swim is a very different book than that was. I wouldn't go in expecting a thriller, but more of a suspenseful drama with a legal aspect. Parts of it were really hard for me and if rape is a trigger for you in the slightest it will be hard for you as well. I felt so incredibly awful for some of the characters and I thought Goldin did such an amazing job of making this book realistic as far as rape culture and how rape victims are treated. Which is probably the reason this book hits you so hard.

Goldin was an immediate autobuy author for me and I'm so glad that after the slow start, The Night Swim was able to pull me in and hold my attention for the rest of the book. The end was also pretty shocking and there is one point I actually gasped out loud. I love when an author can do that, and this is part of the reason I will continue to read everything she writes. I can't wait to see what her next book will be because you know I will want it!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

The Night Swim is my first read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rachel Krall is doing very well with her true crime podcast. Season three takes a turn she didn’t expect when Hannah starts leaving her notes. Hannah’s sister was murdered and she wants Rachel to investigate.

I don’t think I’ve read a story with a podcast so this was nice and different. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

This is the second book I’ve read by Megan Goldin but it won’t be the last. A tense psychological legal thriller that grabbed me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down. Great characters, lots of suspense , well written and a couple of good twists. Highly recommended.

This book captured my attention early on and didn't let it go. As a true-crime podcast fan, I loved the angle that the author took taking us through the podcast while also diving into a real time storyline. It was my first book by Megan Goldin, but I am a fan!

I devoured this novel. I love books that feature cold cases and the dogged pursuit to solve them. I finished this book in one sitting and was not disappointed.

I was given this book by netgalley as an arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I wanted desperately to like this book and unfortunately it fell very flat for me. While the synopsis sounded amazing I just couldn't get into it and struggled to finish.

Thanks to @stmartinspress #partner for providing this free review copy.

This book was super suspenseful and I couldn’t put it down, much less go to sleep last night when I only had 20 percent left to finish.

This tells two stories simultaneously. Rachel Krall is a host of famous podcast: Guilty or Not Guilty that puts listeners inside the jury box from the comfort of their own homes. While reporting on a rape case in Neapolis, a small tourist town, involving a star swimmer, Scott Blair accused of brutally raping Kelly Moore, the granddaughter of the former chief of police, Rachel receives a letter from a woman named Hannah begging her to investigate the death of her sister, Jenny Stills, that occurred 25 years prior.

Rachel is alarmed by the mere fact that someone recognized her in public and reached out to her via putting a series of letters on her car and outside her hotel room, but as she reads the letters she grows more intrigued. Soon she finds herself investigating two crimes simultaneously — reporting on one in real time as the trial unfolds and following up on leads to this cold case in between.

I was on the edge of my seat wanting to find out what really happened the entire time.

This book does not come without a warning however, as it does deal with a very sensitive subject matter - rape. Having endured sexual assault many years ago in college, parts of this were hard for me to read. I was furious with some the selfish, disgusting characters and I felt heartfelt sympathy for others as I’m sure you will too. I do think this deals with a very important timely topic, and I thought it was handled well.

While I liked The Escape Room, I enjoyed this one more. I highly recommend this to readers of suspense, with the caveat that there is significant parts of this book that discuss and describe rape and sexual assault, so this may not the book for everyone.

I finished this in one sitting, it was so good. True crime podcaster visits a small town to cover a rape and murder trial of a local girl. While she’s there, a local woman contacts her to get her help in solving her sister’s suspicious death 25 years earlier. There are some coincidental parallels between cases but the ending was a satisfying surprise.