The Night Swim followed the story of a podcast star covering a rape trial, when she is also convinced into looking at the suspicious death that occurred 25 years earlier in the same town. The book was fast passed and engaging. You want to know the outcomes of both storylines, but then you start to think, are they both possibly intertwined? Definitely recommend this one!

Thank you for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This story was one that I couldn’t put down. I often find that when an author weaves two stories into one that I tend to speed through one to get to the other. This was not at all the case. This was the story of a true crime podcaster following a rape trial as it went on to allow the public to simultaneously experience the trial with the jury. While in town for the trial, Rachel, the podcaster, is tracked down by a fan who needs help finding her sister’s killer 25 years after her death. The sister slowly sends Rachel letters and emails unwinding the story for her. Rachel investigates this story as well as the trial.

The story was gripping. Characters were well developed. I have already recommends this book to friends. I thought it was an excellent read.

I honestly went into this with low expectations. I don't know why, but the subject manner isn't up my alley and it also seemed like it was going to go the normal route.

I was wrong.

This had a lot of the court drama early Jodi Picoult books did and two intertwining stories spanning decades apart.

What I didn't like, let's shit sandwich this shall we, was the writing seemed a bit choppy. Now granted I am by no means a writer, but something just sounded off at times.

However, I really did like the intertwining stories and how I couldn't put this book down. I honestly was shocked at the ending which is rare! I had a slight feeling, but definitely didn't seem that coming!

BUTTTT...big butt coming ha, I liked all the characters, but felt there were so many that you didn't get to really get to know any of them really well. I personally wanted to know more abotu Hannah and why Rachel felt compelled to help her despite being a semi stalker?

Really good summer read that is going to sure be a hit!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the free review copy. All opinions are my own.
I enjoy this new trend of podcasts being featured in books, especially when it comes to covering crime, so this book was right up my alley. I will add that I would not define it as a thriller, but it is a legal/courtroom drama with a good mystery thrown in. This book centers around the trial of a man accused of raping a young girl. The book explores rape in depth and the differences that come with this kind of trial. I enjoyed the courtroom part of this book and the mystery with Hannah and her sister, Jenny. I think the two different times and events worked well in this book. Each chapter ended leaving me wanting to know what was happening next with all of the characters. If you like a fast paced mystery with a lot of courtroom scenes, I recommend checking this one out.

©2020 All Rights Reserved Lynne Perednia

The Night Swim
By Megan Goldin
Thriller
St. Martin's Press

A small North Carolina beach town is deeply divided about the rape trial of a star swimming athlete, accused by a local high school girl of a brutal attack. A true crime podcaster arrives to cover the trial, bringing her listeners daily updates from the courtroom. In the days before the trial begins, she is drawn to a 25-year-old case of another young woman who died there but who seems to have been forgotten.

The Night Swim is an intense thriller of both the current case and the old one. Podcaster and investigative reporter Rachel Krall discovered facts that freed a wrongly convicted man and, in her second season, solved a cold case murder. Her new season revolves around the case of Scott Blair, a potential Olympic swimmer visiting his parents during college break. He crashes a high school party thrown while parents were gone, gives the victim a ride, gets her pizza and takes her to the beach. The town, and the early evidence, are split between whether he raped her or whether she changed her mind after the fact. People in town who back Blair are quick to blame the victim.

Victim blaming is a big part of the cold case, as well. Hannah, the younger sister of the girl who died all those years ago, leaves notes for Rachel, begging for help. Her sister Jenny was called a drowning victim and a second-generation slut. But Hannah and their late mother insist she was killed. When Rachel begins digging into the case, immediate red flags pop up in basic autopsy protocol.

But the cold case cannot take all of Rachel's attention. She is able to interview the parents of both Blair and the girl he was with that night, as well as defense counsel. Both the high-priced criminal attorney and local district attorney trying the case have local ties, as do generations of the families of the two young people.

The two narratives of past and present cases are balanced so well, especially as the information revealed rachets up the storytelling pace. Issues surrounding rape are presented within the context of what happens to women. Goldin also enriches the novel with attitudes about the differences between prosecutors and defense attorneys, podcasting and reporting, and parenting through a crisis. But most of all, the focus is on what happened in these cases and how people remain affected, even years later.

The Night Swim is a strong work about crime and it affects those involved. For a thriller to be both entertaining and meaningful is the mark of a very good writer.

I was offered an advance copy of this by my friends at St. Martin's Press. I want to thank them for the chance to experience this author again. She comes up with some excellent plots and has a unique presentation style.


Rachel is a reporter with a true crime podcast, given the opportunity to attend a rape trial in Neapolis, No. Carolina, and to broadcast a day-by-day accounting of it based on what she will personally witness at the trial. While in Neapolis, she is distracted by frequent letters and emails from Hannah Stills, whose sister drowned accidentally many years ago on the same beach where the alleged rape has now occurred. Hannah wishes to prove it was no accident. We are treated to two potential crimes that Rachel wants to do right by, thus the chapters alternate between Rachel's time about town, Rachel's podcast text, and reading what Hannah's letters contain. It really is quite gripping, especially as the details surrounding the rape charge are revealed and the two storylines begin to converge.

I had a big problem with the credibility of Hannah's letters, that being that they were supposedly written in tremendous haste, yet they contain much more superfluous detail than a rushed account of an event would ever have. To be specific, why include exact quotes of old conversations, quotation marks and all, when a summary of what was said would suffice? Why say a red apple was in the road rather than just an apple, or really, who cares about an apple lying in the road when you're rushing to tell a story? Or the color shoes she wore all those years ago. It was more like Hannah was writing a story for publication rather than a letter asking someone for help and it niggled at me constantly.

The rape trial was handled really well, and had me guessing how it would turn out right up to the end. It very powerfully depicts how rape victims are treated, from victim blaming to having to relive the rape at trial every day, vs. hometown hero defendent who everyone adores.

Riveting and raw. Bold and brutal. Disturbing and demanding. Megan Golden! Bravo! This book was so. Damn. Good. Not sure what I was expecting, but I do know what I got was so much more. Part mystery... part courtroom drama... part social commentary... all tied together by a brilliant podcast. Rachel Kral is in a small town in North Carolina for the third season of her popular crime podcast, GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY. Rachel is covering live, a polarizing rape trial. Rachel is known for her voice not her appearance, so it is unsettling when she finds a note on the windshield of her car. The note is from a girl named Hannah asking Rachel to help her Saul the 25-year-old murder of her sister Jenny. Jenny’s murder was over two decades ago, but it happened in the same small town Rachel finds herself presently. Rachel gets lots of requests and is hesitant at first, but the more she hears from Hannah the more Rachel is drawn into the past.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Rachel and Hannah with podcast episodes seamlessly woven in. With short chapters that leave you wanting more. Both Rachel and Hannah were compelling and sympathetic characters. I was completely invested in both the present day rape trial and the past murder mystery. Rape and murder are ugly subject matter but I thought it was handled thoughtfully in this story, never graphic or gratuitous. Bailey Carr and January LeVoy two of my favorite audiobook narrators skillfully narrated this book. The podcast snippets lended well to the audio format giving the story even more authenticity. I cannot wait to see what is next from Megan Goldin, would love to read about Rachel Krall’s next podcast season. You know in case she’s looking for ideas, LOL

This book in emojis ✉️ 📱 🔦 ⚖️ 🎤

*** Big thank you to St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

I loved the suspense of this book. The description really intrigued me. The alternating point of views were woven together very well. This is my first book by this author and her writing style was different in the best way possible. This is definitely a book for anyone that
loves suspense.

This book's topic captivated me and I loved how it played out. It was interesting to see the different dynamics of the characters involved and how the story paralleled that of Jenny Stills from 25 years ago. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a great story that will resonate with you for a while afterwards!

All it took was for me to read that quick little blurb and know I wanted to read this book. But it wasn’t until I turned to that first page that I knew this was a book I wouldn’t be able to put down.
The book read itself, the pages turned, the story continued, the ending came and I wasn’t ready.
If you are looking for a fresh read, a voice that is unlike others you’ve read, if you are looking for a story that is current and timeless and will leave an indent – you need to prepare yourself for THE NIGHT SWIM by MEGAN GOLDIN.
I was immediately mesmerized by the style of writing – to the point that I found myself wondering why I’ve never considered writing like this and why I haven’t read anything like this before now.
There are so many current ties to life today in this story – from the Podcast theme that runs through the book to the #metoo, to sexual abuse that happens way too often, to victims to continue to be victimized by our society when they attempt to stand up for themselves.
If rape is a trigger for you – this is your warning. It was hard for me to read at times, because I’ve been there and I understood the feelings involved.

Wow!! Completely shocked by who Jenny's killer was- This was such an emotional and tough book full of loss and heartbreak BUT was just so well written I couldn't put it down. When I've talked to friends about it as well, they felt the same way I did and experienced many of the same emotions.

With two rape trials set 25 years apart, the author seamlessly weaves the then and now into a masterpiece

Though Goldin's debut, The Escape Room, was just okay for me, this book sounded quite intriguing and I was excited for the chance to read it. The story grabbed my attention from the start, and I liked the shifting POVs. That said, I connected more to Rachel's story than Hannah's, maybe because Hannah was telling the story more or less from the perspective of a child, which isn't always my cup of tea. I will say, about two thirds of the way through, the story began to drag a bit, and I started to guess how it would end. I read a lot of crime fiction as well as write it, so I have to admit, it takes something to surprise me when it comes to mysteries, but that doesn't always take away from my enjoyment of a book. So while my guesses were proven right, I did think The Night Swim was clever and covered some timely topics as well. I'd recommend it to fans of authors like Mary Kubica or Lisa Jewell, or if you're looking for an entertaining and not too, too creepy mystery.

I enjoyed the podcast angle of this book, and I thought that the author did a good job of marrying together the two cases.

I totally enjoyed reading this book. Couldn't put it down. Perfect read at the end of the day. Definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller and mystery that involves the alleged rape and sexual assault of a young girl in a small town in North Carolina, and a devastating death that happened 25 years earlier. I liked the way the author interwove the two timelines, with the emails and letters from Hannah telling the story of her sister Jenny and the bullying and assault her sister had gone through.

Megan Goldin hooked me with The Escape Room, so I was excited to read The Night Swim. And let me tell you, this author doesn't disappoint. This one is definitely a page-turner and hard to put down. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it, anxious to get back to reading. Some of the subject matter was hard to read, but the story is so compelling, it's equally hard to put down. Goldin certainly knows her stuff when it comes to building tension and keeping a reader on the edge of her seat - at least that's where this reader spent a fair amount of time. Even when I figured something out ahead of a reveal, I still thoroughly enjoyed that reveal. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book. It's wonderfully written, gripping, and impossible to put down.

Courtroom drama and thriller. Two storylines going on which end up being slightly connected. The chapters which went into the radio talk show were ok but almost felt a little extra.

I really wanted to love The Night Swim, but I didn't. Honestly, it fell short for me. I loved the plot and setting but everything else fell flat. While I loved the idea of a podcast, I was easily confused. I was also intrigued that Megan Goldin actually set up two mysteries within one novel. I will say that was confusing as well. The book as a whole was likeable, and I give it a 3/5. Thank you for the ARC.

The Night Swim didn't grip me like I expected it to. I loved the inclusion of the podcast and how the duel timeline was presented, but I wasn't completely invested in either storyline. The pacing felt a bit slow. The ending was fine. The entire book was just 'okay'. I can't say anything negative about it, but it didn't knock my socks off.