Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I was captivated from page one and was so excited that I had both the audio and ebook versions available to me as I couldn’t put it down and was able to easily switch back and forth. Loved it!!!

CW: rape/sexual assault.

A true crime podcast host covering a controversial rape trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years earlier.

Very hard but important read.

Because of the cover and description, I went into Megan Goldin's The Night Swim thinking that it was going to be a psychological thriller. Instead, it's more of a crime drama that you might see on television -- with some surprises, but mostly predictable twists.

Rachel Krall hosts a true crime podcast, with each series of the podcast covering a particular trial. This time, she is in Neopolis for a rape trial. Here, a star swimmer and Olympic hopeful is on trial for raping another high school student. In between covering the trial, she also begins receiving letters from Hannah Stills, whose sister Jenny was brutally raped and murdered in the same town twenty-five years ago. Hannah asks Rachel for help in finally bringing her sister's murderer to justice. While investigating, Rachel finds startling connections between the two cases.

Goldin covers the topic of rape with sensitivity, however, I didn't find the writing very powerful. As I said, I expected more suspense. All in all, I found The Night Swim to be very average.

MY RATING - 3

When I discovered that Megan Goldin had a new book, I jumped on the opportunity to read it, because I absolutely loved The Escape Room, her debut. This one is completely different, and yet just as addictive than her first book.

I'm not fond of legal/court stories. I'm just not interested. But the different twist of this one kept me at the edge of my seat. It made me realize the many gray areas of a rape case. How this is complete torture for the rape victim. Everything they have to get through to see their rapist convicted is absolutely terrifying. They really are the most courageous people.

The ending blindsided me completely. I am still not sure how I feel about it, hence the 4 stars.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Night Swim follows Rachel, a famous true crime podcaster, as she is present in the courtroom of the rape trial where a small town hero is being tried. While in Neapolis, she is also getting messages from Hannah, a local woman, asking for Rachel's help in solving her sister's murder twenty five years earlier. I like the podcast media and courtroom aspect of this book, just wouldn't consider it an edge of your seat thriller. This was not one that had me speed reading through the pages, but more of a legal, slow-burn kind of thriller. It gave me a little bit of fictional Know My Name kind of vibe, so if you loved that book as much as I did, you may want to pick this one up!

Thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher for my e-arc of this read!

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin was a funny one for me. I started with the physical copy as a buddy read, but it didn't grab me right away, so I decided to wait and listen to the audiobook instead. And what do you know, it became a 5-star read for me! The audio is SO well done, with 3 different narrators that all did such an incredible job. I think it has a slower start and I just needed to hang in there a little bit longer since once I started the audio (from where I had left off in the physical copy), I couldn't put it down and listened to it all in one sitting. The narrators are Bailey Carr as Hannah, January LaVoy voicing the podcast, and Samantha Desz as Rachel, or at least that is what I think... Feel free to correct me if that is wrong! Either way, if you are a fan of any or all of them, or a fan of podcasts, the audio is going to be for you!

I also read The Escape Room and absolutely loved it, but The Night Swim is a very different book than that was. I wouldn't go in expecting a thriller, but more of a suspenseful drama with a legal aspect. Parts of it were really hard for me and if rape is a trigger for you in the slightest it will be hard for you as well. I felt so incredibly awful for some of the characters and I thought Goldin did such an amazing job of making this book realistic as far as rape culture and how rape victims are treated. Which is probably the reason this book hits you so hard.

Goldin was an immediate autobuy author for me and I'm so glad that after the slow start, The Night Swim was able to pull me in and hold my attention for the rest of the book. The end was also pretty shocking and there is one point I actually gasped out loud. I love when an author can do that, and this is part of the reason I will continue to read everything she writes. I can't wait to see what her next book will be because you know I will want it!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

The Night Swim is my first read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rachel Krall is doing very well with her true crime podcast. Season three takes a turn she didn’t expect when Hannah starts leaving her notes. Hannah’s sister was murdered and she wants Rachel to investigate.

I don’t think I’ve read a story with a podcast so this was nice and different. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

This is the second book I’ve read by Megan Goldin but it won’t be the last. A tense psychological legal thriller that grabbed me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down. Great characters, lots of suspense , well written and a couple of good twists. Highly recommended.

This book captured my attention early on and didn't let it go. As a true-crime podcast fan, I loved the angle that the author took taking us through the podcast while also diving into a real time storyline. It was my first book by Megan Goldin, but I am a fan!

I devoured this novel. I love books that feature cold cases and the dogged pursuit to solve them. I finished this book in one sitting and was not disappointed.

I was given this book by netgalley as an arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I wanted desperately to like this book and unfortunately it fell very flat for me. While the synopsis sounded amazing I just couldn't get into it and struggled to finish.

Thanks to @stmartinspress #partner for providing this free review copy.

This book was super suspenseful and I couldn’t put it down, much less go to sleep last night when I only had 20 percent left to finish.

This tells two stories simultaneously. Rachel Krall is a host of famous podcast: Guilty or Not Guilty that puts listeners inside the jury box from the comfort of their own homes. While reporting on a rape case in Neapolis, a small tourist town, involving a star swimmer, Scott Blair accused of brutally raping Kelly Moore, the granddaughter of the former chief of police, Rachel receives a letter from a woman named Hannah begging her to investigate the death of her sister, Jenny Stills, that occurred 25 years prior.

Rachel is alarmed by the mere fact that someone recognized her in public and reached out to her via putting a series of letters on her car and outside her hotel room, but as she reads the letters she grows more intrigued. Soon she finds herself investigating two crimes simultaneously — reporting on one in real time as the trial unfolds and following up on leads to this cold case in between.

I was on the edge of my seat wanting to find out what really happened the entire time.

This book does not come without a warning however, as it does deal with a very sensitive subject matter - rape. Having endured sexual assault many years ago in college, parts of this were hard for me to read. I was furious with some the selfish, disgusting characters and I felt heartfelt sympathy for others as I’m sure you will too. I do think this deals with a very important timely topic, and I thought it was handled well.

While I liked The Escape Room, I enjoyed this one more. I highly recommend this to readers of suspense, with the caveat that there is significant parts of this book that discuss and describe rape and sexual assault, so this may not the book for everyone.

I finished this in one sitting, it was so good. True crime podcaster visits a small town to cover a rape and murder trial of a local girl. While she’s there, a local woman contacts her to get her help in solving her sister’s suspicious death 25 years earlier. There are some coincidental parallels between cases but the ending was a satisfying surprise.

What a great thriller! I will admit the rapes were very triggering for me, but otherwise, I loved the writing style and enjoyed that there were two different stories being told in one book. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this fast-paced thriller by Megan Goldin, as I'm a HUGE fan of true crime podcasts (My Favorite Murder is my absolute favorite!), and I loved how the author intertwined her own mystery as well as the rape trial she was in town to cover for her show. I read this book in one sitting because I couldn't wait to figure out whodunit and was shocked to find out at the end. Loved the small town setting, the mysterious characters, as well as the jumping back and forth in time from the previous crime and the current crime Rachel's podcast is covering. It's not often that I'm totally stumped by a crime book, but I totally had no idea who was behind the murder of Jenny...well done to the author!

4 out of 5 stars for The Night Swim by Megan Goldin. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book...all opinions are my own.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

Wow. This novel was incredible! I love having the different points of view and the now and then storylines that have a SURPRISING connection that I had not guessed at all. This novel is primarily told from Rachel Krall who is a trained investigative reporter and is now famous for doing a true crime podcast. This is similar on the lines of the show Conviction (which I loved, so of course it was cancelled) where sometimes they are looking at old cases and sometimes current to really figure out the truth.

I am in awe at how well the author handled the questions/criticisms that come up for rape cases while in a court room and really did explain things well without making excuses for the perpetrator or the victims, all while solving a cold case too! I really enjoyed this novel and would absolutely come back to Megan Goldin again.

3.5 This is a slow burn suspense that follows two crimes, one from twenty five years ago and one that is current. Rachel Krall is a true crime podcast reporter covering a current a sexual assault in a small coastal NC town. A second sexual assault and murder from the past is woven in. I thought I would like this more but it was too graphic at times and very predictable. The author does handle victim shaming well, and is a topic that always needs to be addressed more. Warning - graphic content that could trigger. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Megan Goldin for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

I liked The Escape Room, and I was looking forward to the new book by Megan Goldin. I was not disappointed one bit.

A journalist, Rachel Krall, who rans popular true crime podcast, come to a town to cover ongoing rape trial for her third season. She never did podcast in real time, she usually covered only closed cases, but now she invites her followers to a "jury box" and to form their own opinion based on presented facts. While working on her podcast, Rachel starts to receive anonymous letter with the request to investigate a 20 year old murder that was considered to be an accident.

Both story lines are interesting and the ending was mind blowing - I did not really see that coming. I believe Goldin does a good job by setting the scene in the court and trying to be unbiased. I still wonder if she feels for the victim or for the alleged rapist. She drew a picture of court with its in and outs, its loopholes and injustice. Goldin also does a great job interlacing the present story with the past.

I could not out it down.

If you are looking for a book to keep you on the edge of your seat, this is it. Twists and turns abound and the podcast interwoven was frosting on the cake. The author wove together the past and the present in perfect detail. The Podcaster goes to cover the story of the rape of a 16 year old girl by the college star athlete in a small town. While covering this story bits and pieces of the story of a murder 25 years prior start seeping out.
Grab this book now but be prepared to not want to put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley, St Martins Press and Megan Goldin for an ARC of this book. My thoughts are my own and the audio of this book is awesome!!!

So here's a bookworm fact to know about me-I am immediately drawn to a book if it is a mystery/thriller centered somehow around a true crime podcast. I love listening to true crime podcasts, and something about a book that includes transcripts of a (fictional) one (the mixed media? the use of another something I love?) hooks me right away. A lot of the books on my TBR shelf and Kindle are this exact type of book.

That's what got me excited about The Night Swim. I had enjoyed Goldin's previous book, The Escape Room, but had also felt a little let down by it, and was very curious to see how her second book went.

The plot is definitely intriguing-a true crime podcaster famous for solving cold cases, heads into a small town for a trial, and finds a mysterious note on her windshield from someone she has never met, pleading with her to please solve her sister's murder. The way these two plots intertwine is clever, and there's such a sense of foreboding in the way even just the town itself is described. The use of podcast transcripts I of course loved, though they did seem a little short if they were being presented as full episodes. I found the ending definitely a surprising twist, and I thought it was well done.

This is not a book that shys away from material that can be hard to stomach, in particular sexual assault and rape. But because of this, this book also has a lot of important things to say.

While not my favorite in the book with a fictional podcast genre, I found Goldin's second book did not disappoint.