The Night Swim

Shaken to the core! This book will haunt me for a while to come. I’ll definitely need to read a light romance now, LOL. The narrations are captivating, I was pulled from the first chapter. Strong 5 stars!

Overwhelmed, frustrated, furious, disheartened, sad, intrigued, fascinated.

These are just a few of the emotions I am still processing after reading The Night Swim by Megan Goldin.

The mark of a great book is if it actually elicits an emotional response from the reader and this one fits the bill beautifully.

Rachel Krall is an investigative reporter with a successful true crime podcast. In order to separate herself from copycats, her most current season will follow a criminal court proceeding in real time. Rachel will attempt neutrality and provide transcripts and information in order to put her listeners "in the jury seat. The crime in question? A local teen accusing another local teen (who happens to be a the son of an old well do to family, and a prominent swimmer with a huge social media following) of rape.

Rape is a divisive topic and Krall documents this throughout her book. Many times it feels like the reader is a listener of the podcast as we learn about how a rape trial is a constant violation of the victim and the gray area of the crime itself. How she or he can be demonized and threatened. She also touches on how the life of the accused is affected in our Me Too society.

But this story isn't just about the one Rachel covers in her podcast. A haunted listener begs Rachel to find out the truth about her sisters death 25 years ago. A death that she believes is a murder despite it being ruled out as accidental. Which coincidentally occurred in the same town where the current trial is taking place.

Ms. Krall will take you on a parallel journey of 2 girls in the same town. Their stories have strong similarities but one of them ends in death. While the town of Neopolis is no longer the sleepy little town where everyone knows each other, many of those locals from the past still live in the bustling North Carolina city. As Rachel deals with the backlash of covering a rape trial, is she also putting herself in jeopardy of angering a murderer? And what happened to Jenny?

This book is simply an excellent read. Well though out plot, parallels to real life, great characterization, and an intriguing subject. Krall puts all of the clues out there for the reader, making the reader both a juror and a sleuth.
While fiction, there is no doubt this may be triggering for anyone that has dealt with rape. It is brutal about the justice system and our own society in the way we regard the prosecution of rape.

Thank you NetGalley and St, Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Megan Goldin is a new author to me and I look forward to reading more from her.
The Night Swim is a very emotional read. It covers two heartbreaking, suspenseful events, one in the present and one in the past. As both stories unfold, there is so much mystery going on, you just can’t stop reading!
The main character is Rachel, a podcaster covering a high profile rape trial in a small town. While there, Hannah, reaches out to Rachel about her sister, Jenny, that was possibly killed or drowned 20 years ago. The suspense mounts as both stories unfold. Are the two cases related? You will be shocked at the outcome.
I highly recommend you read this book, it will draw you in and not let you go until the last page.
Please note: there is sexual assault/rape/violence in the story. If you find this a difficult subject, I do not recommend this book for you.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author, Megan Goldin, for the opportunity to read and give my honest review about this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Night Swim centers around Rachel, the host a true crime podcast called Guilty or Not Guilty. In the third season of her podcast, Rachel comes to the small town of Neapolis to cover a rape trial. However, this is not the only mystery/crime that Neapolis is hiding.
This is the first time to read a book by Megan Goldin and I can hostly say that I am not disappointed.
Thank you St. Martin's press, NetGalley, and Megan Goldin for the ARC!

I freaking loved this book!!! What a story! I wasn’t a fan of The Escape Room so I was excited to give this one a shot.
2 girls, 2 rapes same town-25 years apart. The story about Jenny and K are heartbreaking. The twists and turns and who done it left me guessing the entire time. I though I knew but I had it wrong! Loved the podcast concept and Rachel was a fantastic lead.
Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy! Put this on your TBR for August 2020!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the ARC provided.

Oh this book, I had a mix reactions after finishing it. Tense, curiosity, sad, shocked, winning, upset and relieved. Each pages successfully brings me to higher level of those reactions above. Rape issue has been growing high enough nowadays and this book bring that issue, how us the readers able to understand the feelings as the victim and how to voicing it out without being judge, how and the reason why the rapist done that, and how the justice system works for all of them.

Had three different parts of Hannah, Rachel and podcast listener, I put as a victim, the reporter and the jury which all leads with a same story. I personally enjoyed “the podcast” chapter, Megan Golding can make me imagining that I’m listening to a podcast episodes about crime case for real! The plot is clear, great narratives, intriguing, and since this is about justice for woman whose been raped, had sexual assault, I’m SO MUCH hooked. The trial part also successfully brings tense feeling, how the judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, jurors, all well written without being overly graphic.

There are two cases, two crimes happening in this book, but Megan Golding able to bring the whole story all connected, moves along chapter by chapter without stopping, element of surprises are also works very well. Really enjoyed this book from the beginning until the end...and much surprisingly I did cried for Hannah’s part.

Memorable quote : Sometimes a man has to speak up or be responsible for the repercussions of his silence - Rachel Krall

Recommend this book who enjoy gripping thriller story, solving mystery type, true crime reads.

It’s a superior novel!!

I found this to be a gripping novel of mystery plus a very topical subject. The author employed the devise, a novel one, of a podcast investigative journalist doing the newest season following the actual trial of a rapist. Although she says she tries to be nonjudgmental I feel she is clearly on the side of the tape victim. At the same time the sister of a past victim is trying to get her help in proving her sister was murdered to cover up her rape. It sounds complicated and hard to follow but it wasn’t and I found it extremely well done. This one will stick with me and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Brava to Megan Golden for #thenightswim and thanks to #netgalley for the opportunity to read it ahead of publication.

This book really held my attention. There were 2 story lines going on within this story. The trial of a young man who has his eyes on swimming in the Olympics accused of raping a high school girl; and a young woman possibly murdered many years ago. I really didn't see the tie in coming. Definitely surprised me!
Great writing, easy to follow even though there were 2 story lines. I really enjoyed this book.

Another home run for Megan Goldin! I really enjoyed The Night Swim and couldn't put it down. I was looking forward to the end of every work day so I could get back to it! It's a great thriller and the author really keeps the story moving. This is a well written book and one that I will definitely recommend!

This story will haunt me. This book needs to come with a trigger warning ⚠️ rape, and sexual assault ⚠️ But with that being said this book was beautifully written and the author did such an amazing job.
2 rapes 25 years apart in the same small town, this book unravels two horrific crimes committed and the fight for answers and justice and healing. This is definitely going to be one of my top favorite books!

This was a quick read that switches between two perspectives, the past and the life of Hannah, whose sister, Jenny, was possibly killed or accidentally drown in the past, and Rachel, a podcaster, who has come to Neapolis in the present to cover a high-profile rape case.

With Hannah reaching out to Rachel through letters, the past and present start to show parallels and the weaving of both stories keeps the suspense high.

I really felt for all the characters and enjoyed Megan Goldin's writing and ability to keep the tone of suspense alive.

A great, enthralling read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ms Goldin has written an absolute brilliant follow-up book to "The Escape Room". This book was engaging from the first page and kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next.

Rachel Krall has a crime podcast that is extremely popular and is in it's third season. She has chosen to follow a rape trial in Neopolis where the town's golden boy, an Olympic hopeful swimmer has been charged with the crime. Many people in this town hold secrets to not just the present but to the past.

Rachel has ever released her photo so she has total anonymity on her podcast but someone recognized her at a truck stop and left her a message asking her to help. The crime is very similar to the one she is there to follow. Rachel is intrigued by Hannah and the story of her sister. She wants to help her and along the way many secrets are brought to light.

This book is worth a minimum of 10 stars because it was absolutely fabulous and I can't wait to see what Ms. Goldin writes next!!

Stayed up all night to read this one. After hearing great things about The Escape Room by Megan Goldin, when I saw The Night Swim on NetGalley I knew I had to request it! I loved this book. It was suspenseful and exciting until the last page. Thank you for the opportunity to read. I will definitely recommend to others when it comes out in August, although that seems so far away! So lucky to have been able to read this book so far ahead of time.

This is the third Megan Miranda book I've read and as usual I wasn't disappointed!

This latest book starts a little differently and at first I was a little worried that I wasn't going to like it but not very far in I was riveted to this story. The story is set in a small coastal town that has the usual characters. The biggest difference is this time there has been a terrible crime committed that has turned friend against friend and things will never be the same. Along with the current issues a serious crime from the past comes to light and oddly enough they are connected.

This book had twists and turns that surprised me and made gasp out loud. If you like a highly charged thriller than Megan Miranda is your author! (less)