Megan Goldin has done again! This is a thrilling novel of suspense that keeps a reader engaged the entire time. Goldin is slowly becoming one of my favorite mystery authors.

Great one! A very enjoyable thriller that made me want to read more about this author which I haven't read before. I like discovering new author!

“When it comes to rape, it seems to me “if only” is used all the time. Never about the man. Nobody ever says “if only” he hadn’t raped her. It’s always about the woman. If only...”

Megan Goldin writes a compelling novel that simultaneously covers two different crimes from two different times. Rachel is the host of a popular podcast, “Guilty or Not Guilty,” and has decided for the third season she wants to cover something more controversial than a cold case to bump her ratings. She wants to follow a rape trial in real time, allowing the audience to understand what is happening in the court room with the “he said, she said” that occurs when rape is debated. She finds the perfect case in Neapolis where Scott Blair (think real life Brock Turner) has been accused of raping a young high school student, Kelly. As she follows the trial, she is pulled into the hidden mysteries in the town. She receives continuous correspondence from Hannah Sills, who has returned to town seeking the truth about her sister Jenny’s death years ago. Hannah is an avid fan of the podcast and knows that if she is ever to uncover the truth about that fateful night, she needs Rachel’s help to do so.

The book switches back and forth from the trial, Rachel’s interactions in Neapolis, and flashbacks courtesy of Hannah’s letters. Rachel is pulled into both cases and seeks to find the truth with Hannah, while still following Kelly’s rape case. It becomes apparent throughout the book that no one is who they appear to be and their secrets can’t be buried long.

I enjoyed this read and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I love podcasts so I loved imagining how it was unfolding. I also loved the important conversation it brings up about rape. The quote I used in the beginning is SO TRUE. There are always a million “if only” questions surrounding a woman’s actions- if only she didn’t drink so much, or go out, or wear that shirt, or talk to that guy... it’s never WHAT IF we teach young men it’s wrong to rape women? What if we just teach them respect to begin with? I think this is important to think about and I think the book approached that well. My only complaint is that with the back and forth between the main story and the side story (Hannah), it felt like neither one was as impactful as they could be. I wasn’t sure which one to be more caught up on or how they may tie together in the end. But all in all, compelling read!

Thank you @netgalley for my advanced reading copy! Well done, Megan Goldin!

I loved the structure of this book: each chapter alternated among present-day Rachel (the podcaster), Hannah (a woman leaving Rachel letters begging for her to look into her sister's murder), and Rachel's podcast called Guilty or Not Guilty. For Rachel's latest podcast, she is following a rape trial in a small town. While she is doing so, one of Rachel's listeners, Hannah, follows her around town and leaves her letters regarding her sister's unsolved murder, so there are two story lines running parallel that eventually converge into an explosive conclusion. While I was able to guess who Hannah's sister's killer was halfway into the book, it did not take away from my enjoyment of it.

In the podcast chapters, Rachel explores why rape is such a deeply divided crime that rarely results in convictions. She also describes the utter brutality that victims have to endure should they choose to press charges and testify in court, which is partly why rape is a shockingly underreported crime. She also speaks briefly about what is involved when victims undergo a rape kit. In summary, these chapters were eye-opening to say the least, and it makes me question the way the legal system works for sexual assault victims. I don't believe the way it is currently set up helps victims to get justice in an easy way; the path to justice for rape victims is utterly gruelling and frankly unfair.

Overall, The Night Swim is a great thriller, and I thought it was a terrific idea that it was structured the way it was. I really appreciated the sentiments that were shared regarding rape and sexual assault.

As with The Escape Room, Goldin's previous thriller, this novel was a definite page-turner. She knows how to keep readers engaged in the story and invested in the characters. And just as she held us in suspense by keeping 2 storylines going at once in her earlier novel, she does a similar feat here: keeping 2 mysteries alive, although separated by 25 years.

While one mystery had an obvious conclusion, the other was much more elastic in its possibilities and that was the heartbreaking one. I truly felt for the character of Jenny and the horrors she endured.

I would love to see Goldin return with another novel featuring Rachel and her podcast! That was a brilliant framing device and Rachel herself is a character I would love to know more about.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

Compelling read!

I was excited to read this as I enjoyed Megan Goldin’s first book. A warning for some…the subject matter was disturbing at times. However, it made the reader highly invested in the outcome. The juxtaposition between the modern setting of a podcast with the earlier, stark and impoverished setting gave the story two distinct voices. The author did an excellent job of tying both storylines together.

I would definitely read this author again.

I enjoyed this book, but I wouldn’t call it a thriller. It was more of a crime fiction novel. I any event, it had some good twists

I enjoyed this book. In essence the book is about a rape trial. It is interesting but sad to see both aspects of a rape trial, what is involved on the side of the victim etc. The main character in the book is covering the trial for a podcast. She updates her listeners on what happens every day of the trial, giving background so that readers can pretend to be the jury and decide whether the person accused of rape is guilty or not. A good plot with an interesting side story and a few twists to keep everyone guessing.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and Megan Goldin for an early copy of this book for an honest review.

AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!!! Once you start this one, you won't want to stop, so be prepared to let everything else go for the day.

This book is a top notch suspenseful read, and you can't imagine what is going to happen from one page to the other. Very unprepared for conclusion, but this book is one of my favorites this year. Add this to your TBR pile as you will be upset if you miss out on this one.

This book is addictive, gripping and heart wrenching. Rachel Krall is the host of the show Guilty or Not Guilty. After two successful seasons, she decides to go with a different angle and broadcast the live trial of a local athlete accused of rape. The story has a lot of small town drama and hidden secrets. Rachel receives a message from a stranger asking her to investigate the murder of her sister 25 years prior. Reluctant to take on additional work, she becomes intrigued with a mysterious stranger and the story of a young girl's death.
At first, I wasn't sure that I would like this twist, but it became my favorite part of the story.

This book focuses on the subject of rape, and some of the chapters were intense because of the graphic content. I felt myself cringe at times. But the intensity of the subject was balanced by the calming narrative of the podcast and a duel mystery. I would love to see a Rachel Krall sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

This was excellent and I really enjoyed reading it , despite the heavy plot. Filled with suspense, it follows the journey of a podcast presenter as she documents and tries to solve a mystery. 2 separate cases come together and go from past to present. I was hooked immediately and didn't put it down until I finished. A brilliant read! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

This novel explores the boundary between when a sexual assault can be considering rape. It uses the construct of a "Serial"-like podcaster who is covering a rape trial in a small North Carolina coastal town, where the town swimmer assaults a 16-year old girl. I liked the nuances of the book, the way the plot unfolds among the various voices and the characters aren't caricatures but have some interesting flaws and conflicts that drives the narrative quite nicely along. I highly recommend this book and if you were a fan of Serial you will be hearing its haunting piano intro as you start each chapter.

I read this well written book in one day as I could not put it down. It was a captivating read with dual plots covering sensitive topics. What is the connection between a horrific incident that took place over 25 years ago to a recent rape case? The injustice in this book is disheartening but not surprising. Why is it that low income individuals never quite get justice in the legal system. The ending was a complete surprise. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the release.

Rachel Krall does true crime podcasts. She travels to a small town to follow a rape trial. She investigates and also is receiving letters and someone is following her. She is also investigating what happened to her sister twenty-five years before. What really happened in both cases? This is a great thriller that I couldn’t put down and I highly recommend.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is a story of Rachel, an investigative reporter covering a high profile rape trial for her very successful true crime podcast. Rachel is putting you in the jury chair by reporting daily on the happenings inside the courtroom. When a listener reaches out about a death from 20 years earlier that may or may not be similar, Rachel is thrown into a dual investigation.
A town with secrets, a golden boy accused of rape and a long dead girl makes for a suspenseful, edge of your seat ride. Be warned, rape and sexual assault are addressed in this book.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press fro the early review copy of this book.

This is the second book that I have read by this author, the first being The Escape Room.

I must confess that I enjoyed this one far more than her previous novel; I finished this book in the matter of hours! The chapters are fairly short and there’s so much engaging content that you’ll not want to put this one down!

The story opens up with Rachel, a true-crime podcaster, being in town to cover the trial of a swimmer being accused of sexually assaulted a teenaged female. In the midst of covering this case, she is contacted by a girl named Hannah who has attempted to reach her a few times in the past with no luck.

Hannah’s older sister, Jenny, died in what was considered to be an accidental drowning, but Hannah and her mother never believed the report as Jenny was a strong swimmer. However, the police never did an investigation hence why Hannah needs Rachel’s help.

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever read a five-star thriller like this before and it’ll probably be a long time before it happens again. This one was filled with suspense, interesting tidbits of information needed to solve the cases, and caused me several tears and feelings of abdominal discomfort.

This one hits shelves 8/4/20 and I hope you’ve got it on your list! Thank you, NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved "The Escape Room" by Megan Goldin and have highly recommended it to others... but she has really outdone herself with "The Night Swim"! I am completely blown away by the level of detail and the storytelling.

You may want to read the summary for the book before reading my review. One thing I really enjoyed about the protagonist, Rachel Krall, is that she isn't your typical "strong woman" in a story. I feel like in many stories lately, the writer has to work hard to prove that the woman is fitting the 'strong female lead' type. With Rachel Krall, Goldin tells her as she is- an investigative podcaster. Goldin makes a believable character that is interesting to read about without feeling too forced.

A few other things that Goldin has done to make this book really stand out:
1. As mentioned, the main character is a podcaster-- I love when books in this genre can effortlessly make the book feel modern.
2. No forced romance. This book isn't about Rachel+convenient man nearby. It truly is a mystery/crime fiction.
3. The ending was satisfying- the various different pieces of the story really came together in a way that made the book memorable.

Reading about rape is hard. There are many details about rape that may make people uncomfortable to read this. Of course, reading the actual rape scene is very difficult, but reading about the trauma and the investigation afterwards also made parts of this hard to read. The rapist in the story, as well as the press surrounding him, reminded me a lot of the Brock Turner trial a few years back and I think that parts of this story were very loosely based on that. This book would be great as a group read- I want to discuss this book with people!

I highly recommend this book! This is definitely not a "thriller" and shouldn't be categorized as such, but this is a wonderful mystery. I will likely remember parts of it for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. "The Night Swim" was amazing and I am so happy to give it its well-deserved five stars!

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of NIGHT SWIM for an honest review.
I really enjoyed Megan Gold in first novel The ESCAPE ROOM, and I loved The Night Swim even more .I so hope Rachel Krall is a reoccurring character and novels filling her podcast become a series. Great exciting read.

Without a doubt the best book that I have read all year. It’s smashing! I love the way the author developed the plot and kept the reader hanging on. I haven’t been this excited about a book in quite awhile. I will be recommending this book to all my book friends.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read this book for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book from the beginning. It started with a recent rape case getting ready for trial to begin. You knew from the beginning that there way so much more to this book. How did it correspond to a rape and murder years ago in the same town and who was guilty. I especially liked the podcast perspective where Rachel was trying to be unbiased and give the facts of the case. It definitely was a hard to put down book and the ending what not what I expected at all. You will be questioning each of the suspects but not guess the outcome. Definite Read!!