Rachel Krall is the host of a popular true-crime podcast. For the next season of her podcast, she heads to the small town of Neapolis to cover the story of a star athlete accused a raping a teenage girl. Her podcast and the novel itself recount the difficulties of being a victim of rape and the stigma and accusations that go along with reporting the crime.

While in Neapolis, Rachel is also asked to investigate the death of Jenny Stills by Jenny's younger sister Hannah through a series of mysterious letters. Rachel is drawn into the story of Jenny and her death, which was deemed accidental even though evidence points to murder.

The author recounts the horrific consequences of rape, both for victims that report the crime and victims that don't report it. The onus is always on the victim of the rape to prove that there was no consent and that she is not a "slut" or "asking for it". The current trial that Rachel covers and her investigation into what happened to Jenny Stills years ago converge to illustrate that there has not been much change in the attitude toward girls that are raped.

Both storylines are resolved satisfyingly and realistically. This novel will lead book clubs into interesting discussions about how society and the criminal justice system treats both victims of rape and those accused of rape.

This was one of the best books I have read in a long time.

The story is about Hannah who was a very young girl when her sister was raped and murdered. For years she has kept the details of that awful night to herself. Now, on the 25th anniversary she has decided to confront and hopefully, to reveal the responsible party. Rachel, who hosts a true crime podcast is going to be in Neapolis, where all of this happened, covering the trial of a medaled swimmer who has allegedly raped a high school student. Hannah wants Rachel's help and this is the perfect chance for her to get it.

The author is able to alternate between Hannah, Rachel and the content of Rachel's podcast in a manner that makes it very easy for the reader to follow. She also kept things moving along and introduced elements of surprise throughout the whole book and ended it with a very satisfying conclusion. I very much appreciated the lack of foul language and and the lack of explicit sexual assault details. As an animal lover, I especially loved the last line of the book.

I was given an advance copy of this book by NetGalley for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

I was weary going into this, as I read a previous book by this author and wasn't impressed as others were. This one however had me sucked in from the very first page.

This is a fantastic thriller/ mystery that keeps you guessing throughout. Highly recommended.

Trigger warning: Rape

This is an excellent book! It is about two rapes that occur about 25 years apart. It has literally left me speechless! It was fast-paced and held my interest from the first page to the last. I couldn't put it down. Everything in this book comes together so well--the writing, the plot, the characters--it's just one of those novels that couldn't get any better. I look forward to reading other books by this author, and I hope they are as good as this one. Don't miss this one!

After reading The Escape Room I was so excited to get a copy of this book because Megan Goldin is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. While the alternating storylines were slightly confusing I loved the way it all kind of melded together in the end. That both K and Jenny were able to get their stories told, and also that another gross miscarriage of justice was uncovered made this book a definite 5 star read for me. This book is so well written with such wonderfully developed characters that you can’t help but get drawn into the story. Can’t wait to recommend this to my friends that like to read!

This is a stunning story about two cases, twenty-five years apart in the same small town. Rachel Krall, whose voice is well known for her podcasts about true crime and trials, has arrived in Neapolis to begin the third year of her program following a rape trial. She thought her face was anonymous, but she begins to get letters from the sister of a girl who supposedly drowned there twenty five years ago. The sister does not believe she drowned, and asks Rachel to look into the death. While following the trial Rachel finds time to make inquiries about the 25 year old death. The circumstances of the two deaths are very similar. This book speaks of the age-old horrible and repulsive views people have of rape, and which party is to blame. This emotional story will stay with me for some time, and I would recommend it to anyone. I have also read this author’s book, The Escape Room, which is equally as good. I’ll be watching very closely for her next book! I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 stars to this unflinchingly raw look at two rapes set 25 years apart and their devastating aftermaths in a small town. Both stories were equally interesting (and gut-wrenching) and were weaved together well. Rachel's podcast provided a unique storytelling element that is very relevant to today. I would definitely recommend and am looking forward to reading more from this very promising author.

Rachel is a crime blogger who isn’t used to someone recognizing her face. While she is considered a household name, it’s her name and voice that are recognizable. She is shocked to find a note that asks her for help finding out who killed Jenny (Hannah, the note writer’s sister). This is during a large trail she’s covering for a small town. I would consider it pretty relevant to today’s climate, a story of a “good boy” accused of raping a girl in the town. The cold case about Jenny and the case being covered in the present seem to have quite a few parallels. Town and general media blame the victim while not wanting to ruin “good, athletic boys’ lives. There are parallels in both cases. The author writes Rachel in a way that she’s very modern. There are definitely similarities to a highly publicized case. Not only with her job but her way of thinking. I think this will and the subject matter of this book will appeal to a variety of people.

This book will be hugely popular. It was immersive right from the first chapter. This story of a rape trial in a small town is emotional and haunting. Interspersed is a 25 year old mystery.

I loved the podcast angle. Rachel has a true crime "Serial"-esqeue podcast where she follows trials and puts the listeners in the jury box. I loved Rachel. The podcast read as lyrical. The descriptions were illustrative. I felt like I was along side with her.

A local swimmer bound for Olympic greatness is accused of raping a high school student. Rachel interviews people on both sides, as well as covering the trial itself. At the same time, she is receiving correspondence from Hannah, who's sister Jenny's death was ruled a drowning, but she knows it was a murder and is determined to get Rachel to help her uncover the mystery.

The two stories are blended expertly. This book was completely captivating. I really hope Goldin writes more books with Rachel.

This book was a great read. Rachel, the host of a popular true crime podcast, goes to a seaside town to cover a high profile rape trial. The accused is a swimmer on his way to the Olympics. He comes from a rich and powerful family, but so does the girl accusing him.

While covering the trial, Rachel keeps getting letters from a fan begging her to help her solve her sister's decades old murder.

This book kept me on my toes!!! Highly recommend!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the e-ARC. I thought the premise was up my alley, writing was great as expected from this author, as I really enjoyed her previous book. The characters definitely were also keeping my interest throughout.

With The Night Swim, Megan Goldin has really honed her craft beyond her previous book, The Escape Room.

Told from the perspective of a podcast on trial proceedings, emailed letters about a past and parallel crime, and third person narrative of Rachel's investigations, this story focuses on crimes of rape and sexual assault, the ripple effect of being the victim vs. being the accused, and society's treatment of both.

While it was hard to read some descriptions of the rape(s), there were also passages that stayed with me long after I read the book. Rachel's voice in the podcast was spot-on - you could actually hear how it would play online. And the mysterious Hannah, who asks Rachel to look into her sister's death, takes a more prominent role as Rachel pursues her for answers. A few of the storylines had the potential for more development (Rachel's relationship with a local detective for instance), which I enjoyed reading to see how they played out.

Megan Goldin is definitely on my TBR list!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy for review.

The parallel stories offer double intrigue as Rachael Krall follows the court case of a young man accused of rape while being drawn into a past crime through mysterious letters. Liked the way the audience is left to decide if accused is guilty. The unfolding story of Jenny Stills is even more unsettling. Goldin does a good job of uniting the two storylines.

True crime pod caster, Rachel Krall goes to a small coastal town to cover the rape trial of a young college athlete who is also from the town's richest family. The accuser is a sixteen year old who had a bright future ahead of her, but now is a shell of her former self. The small town is divided down the middle in who they believe. While covering the trial, Rachel starts receiving messages from a woman named Hannah who wants her to look into the death of her older sister from twenty five years ago, which she believes was murder. Rachel covers the trial and helps Hannah prove her sister was murdered and who was responsible and why it happened.

This is my first book by this author and I really liked it. I don't listen to podcasts, but I liked the format this was written. Rachel and Hannah's points of view and then an episode of the pod cast. The story is about a current rape trial and then Rachel is getting letters from Hannah about the death of her sister Jenny. Jenny was listing as a drowning victim and no one wanted to talk about it. Turns out, this story is really about 2 rapes. The ending was a surprise to me, but made sense also. I liked Mitch and hope we get his story. Good read, emotional, but good

I have to be honest. I did not get past four chapters. It was so poorly written and so boring. I just stopped reading

Rachel Krall is a true crime podcaster and for her latest season she will be covering a rape trial that has polarized a small town. This book is part courtroom drama, part podcast, and part flashbacks to 1992 in the form of letters. I was hooked from the start and could not put it down until I finished. Sometimes books that involve violent crimes are too descriptive for me. This book was very well done. I never felt like anything was too graphic but I still knew what happened and was invested in the characters. I have really enjoyed both of the authors books and look forward to more in the future. The Night Swim is available August 4, 2020.

I was given an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Having recently watched Limetown on Facebook, I couldn’t help but picture Jessica Biel investigating and voicing the podcast. Different subject matter but same concept. I think Goldin could have fleshed out the podcast part more to sound more like a legitimate podcast but it wasn’t distracting.

This was a hard book to read, if rape is a trigger for you, better pass on this one. It’s so hard to read descriptions of sexual assault (it wasn’t overly graphic) and the evil men can have in treating women this way. It will probably get you riled up.

Rape is a sensitive topic. Unfortunately, those who have accused falsely have tainted how others’ stories are viewed and brought to justice. It’s interesting how persuasive writing can be. I would say I am not of the camp where we *always* believe all rape claims are true, though I think the vast majority of them are real. However this story definitely forces you to consider the cost to the rape victim to take allegations to trial. The fact that she is essentially experiencing the trauma and humiliation all over again but publicly, is hard to stomach, especially in the cross-examination. To think about it in those terms, puts rape trials into a new perspective. What an important topic to explore and challenge readers on! Ugh I just can’t even understand how a person can be driven to do this to another person and I want to go on rampage and bring justice to all victims of such evil!

Goldin brought the story to life. It focuses more on the court case and investigation than getting to know the characters on a deep level. I was okay with that. I did not feel unattached to the story and I feel like entering into the mind of the rape victims would have almost taken away from the effectiveness of the revealing.

I liked the connection between the two rape events to add another dimension. I wasn’t super keen about how Hannah handled requesting help- how would she really expect someone to respond to such a cloak and dagger approach? Maybe at first to get her attention makes sense but the continual refusing to meet and being creepy in how she delivered information was a bit much. But again, didn’t really take away my engagement in the story.

‘Enjoyed’ seems like a wrong word to describe how you feel about reading this book because the content is violent and heart-breaking, but I am glad to have read it. I feel like it is a meaningful story and was handled well. I will probably look into reading more of this author’s books.

Little pet peeves: overuse of the word ‘surreptitiously’; always using ‘getting hold of’ instead of ‘getting ahold of’ like a normal person; 96,000 people is not a ‘small town’ and people don’t know everyone and everyone’s business- live in a town of 2000 and try describing that again; and Hannah’s portions didn’t seem like a natural retelling verbally or in writing and was a bit frustrating and unrealistic how she split it up the way she did

**Received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Megan Goldin is a new auto-buy for me. Two books in a row where I was engrossed by the world and the characters, with lots of clues and details that came together nicely in the end. Really, I see Goldin as a "deep dive into a world" thriller writer. She nails immersion in a specific world that deftly flavors the thriller elements and is sticky for the reader. Over a year later and The Escape Room is so vivid for me. I imagine The Night Swim will be similar.

Where The Escape Room took you deep into the cutthroat world of high stakes New York finance, The Night Swim is all about rape culture. It does get intense, and thus I do not recommend this for anyone for whom depictions of rape and sexual assault are a trigger. While not graphic in the book, they are emotionally vivid. I ached for the girls in the book and all they went through. And the honestly realistic depiction of naysayers and victim blamers got my blood boiling in the best way. Neapolis felt like a real small town, and Goldin uses the "small town secrets" trope to take something big and overwhelming--rape culture--and narrow in on it via the lens of a small town and its history/characters.

The structure/frame device is is we get three POVs: Rachel the Serial-like podcast host, excerpts from the podcast itself, and letters from Hannah, whose sister was murdered 30 years ago and she's appealing to Rachel to help. Hannah was by far the most vivid character despite not even technically "meeting" her until later. Rachel was a deft narrator to follow, though I will admit I feel like I don't really know her ultimately... but in that sense she is the ultimate journalist character. She's warm and engaging but not intrusive. That said, I liked the book and the format SO much that I wouldn't mind reading more cases Rachel takes on, and getting to know her better.

I had a few tiny quibbles that obviously don't matter since I loved it, but I want to mention. I did find it borderline laughable that each podcast chapter was meant to be an entire episode but probably wouldn't be more than 5 minutes of airtime. Not how podcasts work! So there were moments where the podcast didn't quite feel authentic real, not like the transcript chapters in Sadie, for example.

There was also, I felt, a few missed opportunities for "mini-twists"/complexity in the third act. They can be found under spoiler tags in my Goodreads review.

Anyway. If you love small town secrets books, journalist investigators, and examinations of toxic masculinity/rape culture, The Night Swim is a homerun. I need Goldin's next book, like, stat.

The Night Swim is a phenomenal novel that approaches difficult subject matter in a unique, thought-provoking, and sensitive manner. Rachel, a famous podcaster, travels to the small, coastal town of Neapolis, North Carolina to cover the trial of a college-age star athlete accused of raping a high school girl. When Rachel arrives in the town, she begins receiving letters from a woman named Hannah whose sister died under mysterious circumstances 25 years ago. These letters lead Rachel to begin researching Hannah’s death while also covering the trial and recording her podcast. She soon uncovers eerie connections between the two cases.

Like many mystery/thriller novels, this story utilizes multiple POVs; however, the author does so creatively by alternating narration between Rachel’s POV, the letters written by Hannah, and the transcript of Rachel’s podcast. I found this storytelling style highly engaging and effective. What really sets this novel apart from other novels belonging to its genre, is the author’s careful exploration of highly sensitive themes, including rape, victim blaming, classism, and justice. It is both an enthralling legal thriller and a powerful critique of the justice system and society at large.