Probably in the top 5 books I will read this year. Rachel has a true crime podcast that took off within the last year. She covers trials while they are happening giving her listeners the chance to feel like they are in the courtroom with her. When she comes to the small town of her the rape trial that will be the focus of her next season on her podcast, she gets pulled into a cold case murder that happened years ago in the same small town. Great book for all the true crime junkies and murderinos.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Brief Summary: Rachel Krall is the voice behind the hit podcast Guilty Not Guilty. While covering a rape trial in the fictional town of Neapolis, she receives letters from the sister of a girl who drowned years ago insisting she was murdered. Rachel starts asking questions and bringing up the past. This is my first read by Megan Goldin.

Highlights: This is an SVU fan’s dream story! I loved the focus on rape and how it impacts victims lives. I was so engrossed in this story. I loved the twists, pacing and plot. I loved Rachel’s curiosity and how she dug up all the info that she did. I loved how the present and past collided.

Explanation of Rating: 5/5 One of the best books I’ve read this year. Please give us a season 4 of Guilty Not Guilty! This is a must read for my fellow-Law and Order SVU fans!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very dark and twisty. The subject of rape is front and center, so do not read if you find that subject triggering.

I loved The Escape Room, so I was really looking forward to Ms. Goldin's next book. This was an interesting read. A podcaster travels to a beachside town to cover a murder trial, and during the process of covering the trial, she's swept into an investigation of an accidental drowning that took place decades earlier. The subject matter is a little dificult, and the book left me feeling like a needed a light read afterward. But Megan Goldin definitely knows how to keep her readers turning pages.

This is one of those books that's very hard to put down once you start, to the point I stayed up on a work night until 4am to finish. The story was well thought out and I like how the author incorporated the different areas of it (don't want to give anything away). I will say I guessed early on the mystery person but it didn't detract from the story. Definitely recommend!

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

What drew me to this book is how the main character, Rachel, is a pod-cast host. It makes it really fun to read when part of the book is told as though it were a podcast episode. I like how we learned more about Jenny and Hannah through letters that Hannah wrote to Rachel. I was engrossed in the story right up until the end - I just didn't really like the ending. I sort of knew it was coming, although I wasn't sure which present day characters were also from Jenny's time line. I doubt that the author will turn Rachel into a series character, but I would definitely read more if she did. Overall, I'd rate this 3.5, but I will round up to 4.

All the stars for this book. I was hooked from the beginning and I just did not want to turn off my audiobook or shut my kindle. I read The Escape Room last year and now that I have finished this one I can officially say : Megan Goldin please keep writing.

The storyline in this one does contain some triggers of sexual assault, rape and criminal trials. I just loved the way the dual time line of a crime solving attempt during a trial covered by a podcast all came together. This was so well done.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Publishing for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

**I received this book from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley for an honest review**

Rachel is the host of a popular true crime podcast. She decided to change things up with her upcoming season, sending her to a small town that has a dark past. Hannah is the younger sister of Jenny, who tragically drowned twenty-five years ago. Hannah being such a young girl at the time did not have the same questions that she does now. She is finally back in town and will do anything to find out the truth of what happened to her sister.

This was a very captivating read that had me from the jump. You get two timetables, past and present, which helps provide a lot of insight into the upbringing of Hannah and Jenny. I found myself flip flopping from wanting to know more about one dynamic over the other. I was curious about the current case but was more wrapped up in the Still sisters and their possible justice. Their story had me more upset than anything else. Some people were terrible and treated the sisters like they were not even kids.

Starting out I had some issues remembering who was who and what their role was. Once I got more into it and got more of the backstory, it was easy going. I started out not really trusting Hannah because she was being so evasive. I found Rachel a bit crazy at times for being so trusting and moving around the way she was. Those same crazy moves were for sure what sure drew me in though.

Overall, this was a great story to me. Once I stopped trying to guess who did what I enjoyed the flow and let it all unfold how it did. I was kept on my toes the entire time and could not help but try and guess everything that could possibly happen.

I really liked the format of this book with the chapters back and forth between the podcast and current day. I did feel like this was way too similar to the real life event that happened which made me feel icky. The pacing was also a little slow. Overall it wasn't my favorite but I think many readers will like it.

I'll admit this book took me longer than it should have to read and I can't for the life of me work out why because it's brilliant. It's completely engrossed me from the start. The crime pod cast elements brought the story together. Giving you the inner thoughts of Rachel about the case. Hannah's reliving of her past flowing side by side with the present left me feeling angry at the male presences in these women's lives. The twist of the plot at the end was wonderful because I had my money on someone completely different. Overall a brilliant mystery with the added spice of the true crime element. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I was excited to read this author after hearing such wonderful praise about “The Escape Room” but sadly this book didn’t work for me at all. This book is billed as a thriller but I was rather bored while reading this book. I really wish books would stopped being billed as thrillers when the story is especially slowed paced. I do applaud author for tackling such a tough topic in regards to rape culture and victim shaming. I did read the last few chapters to see who the killer was and that did take me by surprise.

The Night Swim
By Megan Goldin

Megan Goldin became a favorite author for me since reading The Escape Room last year. So when I heard about Goldin's new release, The Night Swim immediately became my most anticipated read for this summer, and it was amazing.

The story is centered around Rachel Krall, a true crime podcast host who has a huge boost in following since her investigative work proved one man's innocence. As popular as she is, she is only known for her voice, so when all of a sudden, she starts receiving notes (in her car, in the hotel room) asking her to investigate this woman's older sister's death from twenty five years ago, this leaves Rachel very unsettled. Rachel is covering a rape trial for her podcast in a small town called Neapolis, where an Olympic hopeful swimmer is being accused of raping a local high school student. As Rachel covers the rape trial, she finds herself weaved into the mysterious death of Jenny Stiles in the same town. As she investigates and interviews people in town, she slowly unravels the truth that her death is probably not an accident as the family had been led to believe. How the stories weaved seamlessly was Goldin's brilliance in storytelling.

The podcast, the courtroom scenes and the multiple investigations were incredibly well written and so well done. The writing and the plotting was brilliant, and made this a compulsive read that I cannot put down.

* If you have an opportunity to listen to this in audio, I highly recommend it - it's just simply fabulous. The narration is perfect! Another thing is that the way the podcast portion of the story was told was really incredible on audio. You have to listen to it.

“The Night Swim” is a tale of social media, obsession, and murder. Rachel Krall is a crime beat journalist covering a rape trial for her “Guilty or Not Guilty” podcast. She finds a note on her car window; Jenny tragically died when she was just sixteen. This is both a tip for a future podcast and a desperate request for help. Events are documented day by day as Rachael does background investigation, observes trial proceedings, and follows this lead for a new potential story. Transcripts of the podcast detailing the trial are interspersed with chapters detailing Rachael’s investigations, experiences, actions, and reactions in addition to a first person narrative from Hannah, Jenny’s sister, telling her side of the story.

The trial is complex and controversial, just the thing to spark conversations and arguments. A young man’s good name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, and yet the teenage girl who made the accusations is equally traumatized. Why make false accusations knowing the devastating consequences for all involved? A social media frenzy surrounds the trial, and ordinary things are far from ordinary. Politeness and etiquette do not apply in the virtual world, and scathing comments are posted about all involved. People say things online they would never say to someone’s face. The situation becomes a crowdsourcing of justice, almost an online poll to decide innocence and guilt, without regard to the jury system or the law.

As Rachel continues her coverage and investigation, readers find the stories intertwine, two stories, two girls, twenty-five years apart. The stories are separate, detached, and different, but somehow parallel, similar, and related. Both had drawn Rachael to the same city.

“The Night Swim” seeks justice for diverse participants. I received a review copy of “The Night Swim” from Megan Goldin and St. Martin’s Press. It is compelling and thought provoking.

When I first saw the cover I was instantly intrigued about this book. I hadn't even read the synopsis before I knew I had to read it! I know they say "Don't judge a book by It's cover" & all that but I love a beautiful cover, what can I say? This was one of my favorite books I have read this year. It had so many different angles and characters that I never lost interest. I loved Rachel's character and the podcast she had too. What a great idea! To have a true crime podcast that literally put the fans in the jury box! So interesting. I also loved Hannah's character and the emotions she felt and held on to for her sister and the tragedy of her sisters death. Such a powerful story. I highly recommend this book and will be talking about this one for awhile! Thank you so much to Megan Goldin, St.Martin's press and Netgalley for a egalley of this book. I also purchased the physical copy of this book too!

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Between getting a new puppy, starting piano lessons and not having NEARLY as much time as I would love to have on Goodreads (I’m really missing everybody), I almost forgot to post my review for this fantastic book!

I really enjoyed reading The Night Swim. This was my first Megan Goldin book, but now I really, really want to go and read The Escape Room as soon as I can.

Rachel Krall has become very well known (by her voice only - not appearance) since launching her true crime podcast GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY - which has helped overturn convictions after shedding light on new facts. When Rachel travels to a small town to cover the trial of a teenaged boy accused of rape, she receives a note on her car from a girl named Hannah asking for her help in solving the murder of her sister. The murder happened 25 years prior in the same small town.

I would not put this book in the psychological thriller genre. There are no twisty shockers like you’d see in a thriller, but there is mystery and suspense. I would put this in the crime fiction category. It didn’t diminish how much I enjoyed reading it.

The story is told in alternating POV’s - Rachel and Hannah - plus a few episodes of the podcast sprinkled in between the short chapters. I love short chapters, but they can be a blessing and a curse - especially if you’re trying to go to bed at 2:00 AM but can’t stop reading!

Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Megan Goldin for my advanced copy to read and review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I loved the fact that this book weaved 2 different crimes/mysteries into 1 story. However, I felt that marketing this book as a "podcast" based story was a little misleading. The podcast that the main character hosts has very little to do with either mystery. Despite that, it was quite an enjoyable read. Even though neither storyline had me on my toes, I found myself very interested in both. This is definitely more of a mystery though, not a thriller.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I loved this book! It was such a great way to combine my love of books, podcasts and true crime. Plus not one but 2 crimes kept me interested in the book the whole time.

It's funny how many books I've read recently that have featured true crime podcasters who end up solving the crimes they're covering. Not sure how much that's happening in real life, but it is entertaining to read about. This podcaster, Rachel, comes to the small town of Neapolis to cover a major case of a popular college athlete who's accused of raping a teenage girl. While she's in town, she gets wrapped up in solving another case - a murder that happened nearly 25 years ago.

First off, there are definitely major trigger warnings for this book - because it goes into detail about sexual assault and about rape culture in general, it could be really difficult for a lot of people to read. However, I appreciated how Goldin was able to incorporate discussions about this topic without it feeling sensationalized. The toxicity of victim blaming and the all-encompassing trauma that comes out of abuse like this is so important for people to hear about.

This was a fast-paced read that had lots of suspense and was effectively told through segments of the podcast, Rachel's own point of view, and letters that were written to her from someone who was connected to the old murder. The only thing keeping this from a five star review is that I did guess a few of the twists before they happened. Otherwise, I'll definitely be checking out other books from this author.

I’ve read one previous book by the author and…it was not a good experience. As a result, I was reluctant to read this one, but intrigued enough by the plot that I wanted to give it a try.

It’s…better?

The overall plot is an interesting one and I liked the idea of our podcast exposing truths past and present. I also wanted to find out what really happened to our young women – and whether anyone would pay the price.

But – the characterization is paper thin. Our ‘Plucky Girl Reporter’ is only successful because every time she meets someone, her ‘Plucky Girl Reporter’ magic makes them immediately tell her everything they know (okay, in one case she does need to promise a guy a fish sandwich). The rest of our characters have zero depth and just exist because they exist.

There are plot holes and so many things that are just convenient.

3 stars because it was better than the last, but I think the author just isn’t for me.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Wow, what a book!
Lately I somehow often end up with stories, that include some kind of potcasts. And so far I loved all of them. This book by Megan Goldin, which was my first but not last read from this author, touched a lot of sensible topics in a "tender" way. I don't know how to put it in other words. IMO the characters are very realistic, as well as the plot.
If you are looking for a story that catches you, even in rough times, this is one for you!

Thank you for a copy #St. Martin's Press