I received this book from netgalley. I really loved this book.
I loved the characters and the cover this 2nd book I've read by this author. I hope there will be more.

I absolutely adored this book! I loved that the podcasts episodes were included as separate chapters. The criminal trial was very explosive. Rachel's investigation was never boring as there was always a new facet to discover. The seaside setting really help set the tone for the novel. I can't wait to read more books by this excellent author!

Constantly on the lookout for a thriller that actually satisfied, this one is IT. If you liked the podcast, Serial, on This American Life, you will recognize the style. The main character, Rachel, is back for a third season after hitting it big solving crimes in her first two podcasts. This time around, she is covering a live trial, as a young college student (Olympic-level swimmer, sound familiar?) from a well-to-do-family has been accused of raping a high school girl in a small North Carolina town. Juxtaposed with this trial, is the story of twenty-five years ago when a high school girl was found dead. The sister still wants answers and believes Rachel's podcast can give her those. This book explores the troubling state of rape culture in society, as well as the question of who to believe when an accusation is made, how society treats the accuser, and how to actually mete out justice. This book kept me up way too late, trying to not only find out whodunnit, but to question how society goes so wrong in dealing with these crimes. Tough read, but well done.

4.5 out of 5 stars. Megan Goldin's latest thriller is very culturally relevant this summer & will not disappoint!

Rachel Krall is a true-crime podcast host whose first two seasons gained her a strong following. She is now covering a controversial rape trial in a small town where folks have already chose sides. While in town for the trial, Rachel begins receiving mysterious notes prompting her to look into a 25 year old tragedy that occurred in this same town. As she uncovers connections between the two cases, Rachel needs to get to the bottom of both before it's too late.

I really enjoyed this book and it was a perfect read for my socially distanced trips to the park! Megan Goldin was able to weave together a story with twists & turns that kept me on my toes with an engaging story that keeps you flipping page after page!

Thank you to Megan Goldin, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #TheNightSwim

Rachel Krall has finally made it as a true crime podcaster. She helps those who seek justice, and her success at getting a man freed from prison skyrocketed her into fame. Now she's looking to make the 3rd season of her show, Guilty or Not Guilty, even bigger....she heads to Neapolis. A town in turmoil. A local athlete is on trial for raping the daughter of the local police chief.As Rachel starts asking questions and researching for her show, she discovers that there might be a link between this case and the death of a 16-year old girl years before. Someone is following her....leaving notes on her car....begging for her to solve the cold case. What happened to Jenny?

I enjoyed Megan Goldin's earlier book, The Escape Room, and looked forward to similar twisted, suspenseful awesomeness from this new book. I was not disappointed. OMG....this story is unsettling, disturbing, suspenseful.....and incredibly entertaining! I was glued to every word from start to finish.

Every small town has....That Case. A death, a disappearance, a secret. Something that never got solved, but nobody talks about. In Neapolis, it was Jenny. All it takes is one person willing to talk....wanting it solved....and someone willing to dig into the past.

Another great suspenseful story! I can't wait for the next book by this author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martin's Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Escape Room, I was very interested in seeing what this author would serve me up next. I wasn't disappointed!
Rachel Krall is a true crime podcaster famed for her investigation which righted a miscarriage of justice, and got a wrongly convicted man free. That said, she's famed for her voice rather than her face so she is unsettled when, on her way to cover a high profile rape trial, she finds a note on the windscreen of her car from someone begging her to look into an unsolved case. This piques her interest, not just for the tenacity of the writer, but she's got a job to do. The case in question being of the town's golden boy being accused of rape, protesting his innocence at every turn, painting his victim in a bad light. But there's room to do both...
This grabbed my attention right from page one and held it tight throughout, spitting me out at the end exhausted but satisfied. We see the action as it plays out in the one case, with the other - the rape - being documented in the form of the daily podcasts. I found this method of storytelling very effective as it managed to keep the two threads separate throughout. Blending where necessary as they share quite heinous similarities.
Characterisation was excellent. This shone through and evoked all sorts of emotional responses from me as a reader. I really invested in the characters and, as with some, sought the truth, desperate to cut through the secrets and lies that the characters and town had been hiding. As you would expect, there's a lot about the crime of rape contained herein. Motivation, suspicion, blame, and how victim and perp are both treated. How testimony is skewed. All very powerful stuff delivered in a very sensitive way, leading to a very emotional, and wholly satisfying ending.
All in all, a cracking, albeit hard hitting, read that I have no hesitation in recommending. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

‘That’s the thing about mistakes. Not all of them can be fixed.’

Rachel Krall ‘s true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation after it resulted in an innocent man being set free. And plenty of people would like Rachel’s help. But it is her voice people recognise usually, not her face, which makes it unsettling when she finds a note addressed to her on her car windscreen begging for help. Rachel is heading to the small North Carolina town of Neapolis where an upcoming rape trial will be the subject of the third season of her podcast Guilty or Not Guilty.

The people in the town of Neapolis are polarised by the case. A local boy, destined to be an Olympic swimmer, has been accused of raping the granddaughter of the former police chief. Rachel is determined to report the case objectively, but she keeps receiving letters from a woman called Hannah. Hannah wants Rachel’s help to find out what happened to her sister Jenny Stills in the town of Neapolis 25 years earlier. Officially, Jenny drowned but Hannah is sure that she was murdered.

‘It was Jenny’s death that killed my mother.’

The story alternates between Hannah and Rachel, between past and present. While focussed on the present-day case, Rachel is drawn to Jenny’s case. She starts asking questions and runs into a wall of resistance. Hannah’s letters, Rachel’s narrative and parts of her podcast keep the story moving. A number of those who were young when Jenny died hold positions of power in Neapolis now. And almost no-one seems to have a kind word (or memory) of Jenny. She has been judged and dismissed. Rachel keeps investigating. In both cases there are inconsistencies. There are also similarities. What is the truth? Is the swimmer guilty of rape? Was Jenny murdered?

This novel held my attention from beginning to end. I worked out some aspects before the end but was pleased, overall, with the conclusion. To say more might spoil the story.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Wow. What a tough but incredible read. Goldin really kept me on my toes with her writing- switching formats between podcasts and modern investigating, letters and memories from a victim’s past- I was always engaged and guessing.
This book is graphic and heartbreaking but so important. The topic of rape is always difficult to read and think about, but - now more than ever - victims need to know that that can and should speak out. It won’t be easy, as this book clearly portrays, but justice is necessary.
“Yes, I have been the victim of a sexual assault. Well, probably several really. Funny how we were conditioned to accept these situations as unpleasant instead of outrageous.” ...but now really “funny” more like disturbingly accurate. It’s time for everyone to take victims more seriously. It shouldn’t be a vicious rape and multiple witnesses that finally gets a sexual predator in trouble. Sexual assault, no matter how seemingly small, needs to become commonly accepted as UNacceptable.
I also thought Goldin pun an interesting and different spin on “small town coastal life” by certainly not painting it as all picturesque and roses.
A very, very well-written and with-the-times book.
I’d recommend this one to ALL women, victims advocates, lovers of true crime, and podcasts junkies.
Major trigger warning for rape.

Every once in a while a book will come along that is impossible to put down. Megan Goldin’s The. Night Swim is one of them. The book involves a blogger whose Guilty or Not Guilty blog allows the listeners to feel involved as she not only follows the trial but also interviews participants and investigates the events leading to the trial. This is Rachel Krall’s third season and she has chosen a rape trial in the town of Neapolis. Because her blog is often controversial, she shuns publicity and guards her privacy. At a rest stop before reaching Neapolis it is disconcerting to find a note on her windshield addressed directly to her, asking for help on a twenty-five year old case.

Hannah’s sister Jenny’s death was ruled an accidental drowning, but Hannah never accepted that. Hannah was ten at the time and events that she didn’t fully understand left Jenny listless and detached. As Hannah leaves additional notes for Rachel, she reveals the story of her sister’s abuse at the hands of some of the local boys. The stories lead up to a heartbreaking conclusion. It is one that Hannah has not been able to confront until now. Rachel resists Hannah’s efforts at first but finds herself unable to resist bringing justice for Jenny.

This is also the story of “K”, who accused Scott Blain of rape. Scott is a champion swimmer with a shining future ahead of him. His parents stand by him and support his claim of innocence. While K’s family deals with her trauma, Scott’s parents use social media to their advantage. Rachel’s podcast is also finding a very divided audience on such an important and timely subject. As she interviews the citizens of Neapolis she also realizes that there is a connection between these cases. This is an emotional read and I can not recommend it highly enough. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for my review.

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at NerdGirlLovesBooks.

This is a quick and enjoyable mystery/thriller that has a story within a story. Rachel has a true crime podcast (think "Serial") that grew in popularity after her first season when she investigated a murder trial and found evidence that set the defendant free. Now in her third season, she is following a rape trial in real-time in the small town of Neapolis. The town is being torn apart by the rape trial of a young teenage girl by a popular teenage boy training for the Olympics.

Rachel is focused on prepping her trial coverage, but starts getting mysterious letters from a woman named Hannah asking her to investigate the death of her 16 year old sister Jenny in Neapolis many years ago. The official cause of death was drowning, but Hannah believes that her sister was murdered and that the culprits will be attending the rape trial Rachel is covering. Intrigued, Rachel starts to look into Jenny's death, but no one wants to answer her questions and people are clearly hiding things. When Rachel realizes that the two cases may be connected, she jumps into danger to find the truth.

I really liked this book. It is well-written and very easy to read. The chapters alternate between Rachel and Hannah's perspectives, which helps build tension. The short chapters makes the book easy to read, but they also suck you in because you figure you'll read "just one more chapter" and before you know it, it's 1am. LOL While I was able to figure out some of the mystery before the ending, other aspects caught me by surprise. I enjoyed reading how the story played out and was satisfied with the ending. Will this be a book that you'll want to read over and over again? No, but it's an entertaining book that you will be glad you read. I recommend you do so.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name—and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The new season of Rachel’s podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation—but the mysterious letters keep coming.

Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases—and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

My Thoughts: A small town in North Carolina is the centerpiece of The Night Swim, focused on a current rape trial and a possible murder twenty-five years before.

As the story sweeps back and forth in time, we are led along by Rachel’s narrative, Hannah’s mysterious letters, and bits of Rachel’s podcast as she documents the current trial.

It doesn’t take long to see that many characters are interwoven into both stories, reminding us that the past can follow us into the present, as the secrets and crimes are untangled and revealed.

With an intensity that is enhanced by the short chapters and the fast pace, I sometimes felt confused by how many similarities existed between the separate events. Were these facts coincidental, or were many of the players repeating their bad behavior in the present?

One thing I’ve learned about small town life is how desperately the people depend on friends, and even enemies over whom they have leverage, and as a result, they sometimes escape justice. 5 stars.

***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley

I had a brilliant time with The Escape Room last year, and I have been looking forward to read more of Megan Goldin‘s writing ever since. I couldn’t resist joining the blog tour for The Night Swim, as I had a feeling I was going to enjoy my time with this story… And my instincts turned out to be right, as I had a brilliant time the second time around as well. In fact, I might have enjoyed this one even better, although both stories are very different and it’s probably not fair to compare the two. Dark, harrowing as well as powerful: The Night Swim talks about the very difficult topic of rape and helps show just how hard it is for victims to find justice and peace of mind.

First of all, I have to say that I loved the podcast element in The Night Swim. While the whole podcast element has been done before, I really liked how this element was incorporated into the plot here. Our main character Rachel is the crime podcast host and for her third season she decided to cover a rape trial in a small town live. The plot includes transcripts of those podcast episodes called Guilty or Not Guilty, in which Rachel talks about what happens during the trial and gives background about the participants, always trying to be objective of course. This story includes controversial and strong opinions and is used to talk about rape and show just how much a victim struggles and how they are often judged unfairly. On top of that, this story also shows that as a consequence victims often prefer not going to trial to avoid having to relive their trauma over and over again. Especially since it is very hard to get a conviction in the first place as it is the classic ‘he said/she said’ scenario. Even today, there is a lot of stigma around rape and victim blaming; I thought The Night Swim did a great job showing the different issues in play.

The story uses a dual POV structure in between the different podcast episodes. We switch between podcast host and journalist Rachel and Hannah, who is less present but basically key to the cold case investigation part of the plot. Because The Night Swim isn’t just about the upcoming rape trial which will be covered in the third podcast season, but it’s also about what happened to Hannah’s sister 25 years ago. Back then her death was ruled an accidental drowning, but Hannah claims that her sister was actually murdered and Rachel cannot help but feel intrigued. She is determined to try her best to find out more, especially after Hannah’s unusual way of contacting her. This cold case part of the plot is used both to take a break from the harrowing rape case as well as to add suspense and mystery to the plot. It was intriguing to slowly discover more about the past and the story definitely had some surprises in store along the way.

While the pace is slower in points, it didn’t bother me as much as I liked the balance between the present, the podcast episodes and the investigation into the past. The mystery around Hannah and her not wanting to meet Rachel in person to discuss her sister’s death had me fully intrigued. Why not come forward sooner? Was it a cover up, was it really a drowning, what happened exactly and who was involved? What does Hannah know? There were a lot of questions to keep me busy, and I always like it when a plot keeps me on my toes. The characters weren’t all that likeable, but their development was solid and felt realistic. It’s an interesting cast to shoulder both the past and present storyline, and they fit their different roles very well.

The Night Swim is a well written, dark and harrowing read that divides its attention between an upcoming rape trial and a death that happened 25 years ago. Both storylines are equally fascinating, and I ended up having a brilliant time with this story. The rape element can be hard to stomach, but I thought it was well done and the story definitely helps to shine a light on the issues rape victims still encounter while trying to find justice. Without doubt a powerful read!

I really enjoyed this book. Interesting premise with a crime podcast doing a live podcast during a trial of a local swim hero, accused of rape. They also weave in the story of a young girl who died mysteriously but was ruled an accident.

This kept my interest and move quickly. Very entertaining.

This book is UNputdownable; it's hard-hitting; it's told in a manner that will reach into your soul, especially if you've been a victim or have know someone who has been a victim of sexual assault/rape. I'm not a huge fan of trigger warnings, but in this case, Yep....highly needed.

This book is a MUST for true crime podcast lovers. I loved the formatting of this story; some told in Rachel's perspective as a narrator of the current time and additional mystery told within the story, some told in Hannah's perspective as the sister/narrator of the heinous things that happened to her sister in the past, and some told in podcast format (as if you were listening to it but the text form).

This book also made me angry at our justice system and how a lot of times the verdict comes down to who can present the best case vs who is actually guilty and who has to live with the awful things that were done to them.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be a good read, with a great plot and interesting characters. Although I wouldn’t say it’s a thriller, It is a great mystery with a lot of suspense. I felt a lot of emotions during the read. There are two storylines to follow, but the way the author set it up it is easy to keep track of each one. I would definitely recommend The Night Swim if you are into a great mystery.

This is a book that I wasn't sure about since it dealt with rape, but I'm so glad that I read it. For the third season of her podcast, Rachel's show is going to focus on the crime while the trial is ongoing. Rachel starts finding notes from Hannah about a crime in the same North Carolina coastal town that happened twenty five years ago. At first, Rachel is a little spooked since she tries to stay anonymous, but she soon starts investigating. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. One of the things that I liked about the book is the effect of rape not only on the woman, but also on her family and her community. There is a line in the book that really spoke to me about how everyone sees murder as wrong, but with rape, some people still see with shades of grey. I am giving this book five stars because this book had me thinking about how lawyers operate and how much the onus of the truth is on the rape victim. This is a well written book that I will read again in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and author for the ARC. This is how I love my thrillers, suspense, drama, and guess work without too much of my own brain work. I really liked Rachel's podcast and how she played a critical role in the case.

This book covers really heavy topics. While the description addresses the rape trial, it does not explain how much that topic pervades the book. It is grim and terribly sad. I think that there should be more of a warning about it. Times are grim enough right now and not everyone wants more grim reading.

The writing starts out fairly weak but gets better as the book goes on. The most engaging part of the story is the podcast portions. The mystery of what happened in the past not so much. It was very easy to determine who the bad guy was in the story line from the past. And to put various pieces together.

All in all, a powerful look at a still way too prevalent event and how it is viewed but not overall a big success.

This book is one giant trigger warning, but it was also so good. It centers on a woman named Rachel who runs a true crime podcast. Going into its third season, the podcast will be centering on a rape. Little did Rachel know she would also be solving a 25 year old murder also.

I enjoyed this book despite its brutal crimes. Rape and murder are both really tough subjects to write delicately but still with enough "hook" to keep the reader drawn in, and I think Goldin manages to.do with sensitivity. I enjoyed this book, but if you're at all triggered by rape or death, give it a pass. 4 stars!

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book considering the subject matter. It didn’t really matter if I liked it or not; this book was not going to be an easy read. I found The Night Swim to be upsetting enough at times that I had to put it down and walk away. The chapters told from the point of view of Hannah are particularly descriptive and could be triggering for those who are sensitive to the topic of sexual assault and rape. I felt the character of Rachel could have been a better advocate for the actual victim in the case she was covering. I found her to be somewhat cold. Aside from that and a couple flaws that I won’t get into so as to avoid spoilers, I think this book was well written.

Considering the magnitude of the topic I think the author did a satisfactory job telling this dual story. This book won’t be for everyone but I do think it’s an important read and serves as a reminder of how victims of violent crimes (especially women) are treated and that they deserve better from society.