5 whole stars from me on this one :)

Excellent Book!! Lately I've been leery of any books that I've been "given" (mostly first reads) because most have been duds but wow this book was exceptional. I loved how the author meshed two different stories together & basically told each story consecutively, without getting the reader lost or confused by alternating between the two.

Short rundown of the story, podcaster Rachel visits the little town Neapolis to cover a trial for a recent sexual assault while also getting roped into an old (20+ year old) story of a teenage girl that died/was murdered (we don't know which, which is part of why Rachel is involved). Throughout the book we are with Rachel while she interviews people, follows the trial for the Kelly/Scott B rape trial, and simultaneously investigates the death of Jenny Hannah's 16yo sister.

I don't always enjoy books that are a dual storyline but Goldin did great at alternating between them with Rachel & Hannah's pov without taking away from either story. I find myself often getting lost or confused when authors do this because they get so far off track into one story or the other but not with The Night Swim-I also loved how both stories somewhat intertwined even though they really have nothing to do with each other. I also have found many times it's easy for me to dislike/borderline hate stories that the storyline spends a lot of the time in trial because it's easy for things to get drawn out & boring but I didn't feel like that with this one at all.

I found myself loving Rachel's character & her personality. I felt like she was someone that was perfect for all of it, her job of being a podcaster & her 'strong woman' personality was perfect for the investigative part of her job. She just seemed like someone I would want to be friends with. Hannah I saw as a little girl the entire book, even when she was telling her story current times as an adult, which I think really worked for the book as far as helping the reader establishing a connection with Hannah & feeling the emotions of what she felt, & also her helplessness since she was so young. She tried so hard to be a grown up in trying to help her ailing mother & vulnerable sister but at her age could only do so much especially since she didn't realize/know what was going on especially with her sister.

I wouldn't say this was a thriller but it was definitely suspenseful especially as we're given more information to who was (surprisingly) involved in each story. I couldn't have read this fast enough, as more of the stories developed I needed more. What happened to Jenny so long ago?! Is Kelly telling the truth?! As far as the storyline of rape, I don't know if it's because I'm a woman or not, but this had me more emotionally invested in the book & story (I guess invested is the word?). Hearing the details of the rape for Kelly & Scott's trial, and how people do victim blame in real life, really had my mind going & just got me thinking about how hard it must be to come forward after something so traumatic while also realizing many will not believe you. I could see this definitely being a emotional book for someone that's been through an assault like this.

Well this is my first book by Megan Goldin & I loved everything about it!! I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys the whodunnit type stories :)

Thank you so much NetGalley (and thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press for another fantastic book) for the opportunity to read this book!!

Fast paced suspense. Great summer read that is difficult to put down. “Just one more chapter” will be said more than once.

This book was a page turning and kept me
Wondering what was going to happen next. I kept asking myself who in the community is sending these letters to give tips. Is it someone involved in the crime or just out to tarnish someone else’s name?

THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Goldin is a captivating thriller that follows Rachel, a true crime podcast host, as she reports on a trial and encounters a decades old murder. I loved the unique storytelling as we get multiple points of view including the episodes of the podcast. The plot is really compelling right from the start and I read most of this book in one day as the mystery and suspense was so enticing. I loved the blend of murder mystery and courtroom drama. The pacing was excellent and I liked how the main character wasn’t trying too hard. I’d recommend this book to any thriller lover!

What an incredible book. I absolutely loved it. I am from North Carolina and spend a lot of time on the Crystal Coast so it was kind of fun imagining where the little town of Neapolis would be. I was sucked into the book immediately. I really liked the main character Rachel, who has a true crime podcast. Of course the topic of rape is never a fun one, however reading about the two different cases and their similarities was interesting. The ending was the best part. I didn’t see it coming yet, in the back of my mind I think I had an idea. I don’t want to give anything away in this review but I really really enjoyed this book!

I really enjoyed this one. The podcast chapters mixed with the main character’s chapters made things interesting and different and kept my attention.

I read this author’s previous book (“The Escape Room) and loved it until the end, so I was curious to see how this book wrapped up and was pleasantly surprised that it was unexpected but not far fetched.

Really enjoyed this one.

Three paths diverge in a courtroom, where an old probable crime and an alleged new crime battle to claim the lives of two women.

Guys, this is a hard book to explain because there is a lot to unpack here. There are three levels of this story;
1) Rachel. She hosts a popular true crime podcast called Guilty or Not Guilty, “the podcast that puts you in the jury box.” She’s in North Carolina to cover a rape trial, but she receives a note on her windshield begging for her help in solving a cold case of sorts.
2) Hannah. 25 years ago, her sister died in what was ruled as accident, but Hannah believes it was murder, and she needs Rachel’s help to prove it.
3) The Trial. Scott Blair is on trial for rape in a town where all the actors—defendant, victim, lawyers, and even the judge—grew up together and still know each other.

Sounds ambitious, right? It is, and Megan Goldin makes it all look easy. From the very beginning, I was fully invested in each storyline. Don’t fret, all these storylines mingle and interweave into this beautiful patchwork quilt of goodness. I loved everything single thing about this book!!

I want to add a word about a possible trigger. Yes, this book deals, in part, with sexual assault, so I want to put that out there as a warning; however, it is not done in a glorifying manner or, apart from a few scenes, even in an overly-descriptive way. Rather, it is tackled through the lens of social commentary. It focuses on relevant issues like double standards, victim-shaming, a town divided by which side of the case its residents support, and the tremendous burden of proof in cases like these. In other words, there is a purpose to its being discussed. I would suggest that it’s thought-provoking and reminiscent of an episode of Law and Order. I just wanted to give the warning and let you decide.

I can say that I’m highly recommending this one. It packs an emotional punch; and it’s important. In fact, I read an ARC, and I’ve already pre-ordered it. I need a copy for my shelves. It’s just that good!!

Dear Megan Goldin,
I am such a fan! Last year’s The Escape Room kept me glued to my seat, and Night Swim was no different. Please keep writing things. Write lots of things. I’ll keep throwing my money at you. If your name is on it, I’m so in!!

Thank you netgalley and @stmartinspress for this digital copy of The Night Swim !
This is Rachel Krall on Guilty or not Guilty, the podcast that puts YOU in the jury box ! That's all I needed to be hooked right from the start. I felt like I got a 2 in 1 deal with this one. Dual storylines unfold simultaneously as we follow Rachel's true crime podcast and take a seat , if you will, in the jury box. The trail at hand - the rape of a 16 year old girl - Kelly.
As this unfolds, another heart wrenching story is narrated through a letter written by Hannah. Hannah's sister died more than two decades ago - it is said that she drowned but Hannah insists that she was murdered. She reaches out to Rachel to help her prove her right. This had me in tears several times, not only for Hannah but for her sweet innocent sister. Not to even mention the mother - so incredibly sad!
As the trial moves on and the reader plays jury, you can't help but wonder if the defendant is guilty or innocent ? I could never imagine being a juror and holding the fate of someone else's freedom in my hands...could you ?
Does Rachel decide to help Hannah and finally vindicate her sister's reputation once and for all ?
An incredibly compelling novel - I wish there would be a sequel . Can not wait to read more by this author. Amazing read !

Night Swim centers around Rachel, the host a true crime podcast called Guilty or Not Guilty. For the third season of her podcast, Rachel goes to the small town of Neapolis to cover a rape trial. Rachel starts to receive notes from someone who has returned to Neapolis and wants her help.

The book flips from the current story of K and to twenty five years earlier to the story of Jenny. K is 15 and has accused a Local boy who is popular and an Olympic hopeful. People judge her saying that she is lying because he could have any girl. She must just regret her decision.

Jenny was found dead twenty five years ago. It was said that she drown while swimming at night. The consensus is that Jenny was that type of girl who had a reputation. Her death was ruled an accident but her sister is pushing to have the investigation reopened.

This book was really good. The book has a lot of twists and turns. It really focuses on how girls are perceived by their choices and rumors. It shows how one thing can change everything.

The Night Swim follows a true crime podcast host, named Rachel Krall. Rachel is on her way to Neapolis to observe and podcast about a rape trial that is occurring when she gets a letter on her car from a listener. The listener, Hannah, wants justice for her sister's unsolved murder that occurred 25 years ago.

This story jumps back and forth between Rachel and Hannah's perspectives as they attempt to discover what really happened. I loved this story, which was a surprise to me. I wasn't a big fan of Megan Goldin's first book, The Escape Room, despite the interesting premise. I think Megan has greatly improved since publishing that title, though. The Night Swim was incredible. It was creepy and full of mystery, and I was instantly drawn in by the premise. I highly recommend this story to anyone looking for a thrilling murder mystery.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook.
Rachel Krall is a trial-related podcast host on her way to the small town of Neapolis, NC to record her next podcast – a rape trial where a young potential Olympic swimmer is accused of rape.
On Rachel’s way there, she gets a mysterious letter from Hannah who has written to Rachel before requesting Rachel look into her sister’s murder in Neapolis 25 years earlier. Once in Neapolis, Rachel keeps getting these letters – in her hotel, on her windshield – but has yet to see and/or meet Hannah. Through these letters, Hannah tells her the story of what happened to her sister.
The book alternates between Rachel looking into Hannah’s story and being in the courtroom for the trial.
I really enjoyed The Escape Room and this one didn’t disappoint, either.

Excellent. This book had me hooked from the first chapter. Not only do I love podcasts, I love a good mystery. This one covered all the bases.

Goldin's writing was on point. I look forward to what she has to bring us next.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

*Warning- this book often goes into graphic detail about rape.*

This is the third book from Megan Golden, but it is so completely different from her others.

Rachel Krall, a true crime podcast host that seeks to provide unbiased justice finds herself in a small town not only researching a new case, but a case from more than two decades ago.

(The rest of the description from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press)

“The new season of Rachel's podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation—but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases—and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?”

I don’t always like dual POV novels, but I think Goldin makes it work well, and I think this is going to be an incredible audiobook. I did really like so many aspects, but I found it to be more of a creepy, slow burn than a heart-stopping thriller.

I really liked this book, and even though I called a few of the major plot points ahead of time, I would still recommend it.

I do wish I had known before reading it how graphic and triggering some of the passages about rape would be, but I also think that this book will prompt conversations about rape culture in America.

Solid 4 stars.

*Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me a free copy in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.*

This was a tough book to read. It centers around a true-crime podcaster who goes to a North Carolina beach town to report on a rape trial and ends up investigating a 25 year old death of another teenage girl. Both situations were incredibly bleak and I felt like it was just hit after hit of negativity. I would have liked to have had some element of lightness... I know a romance for the main character would have been cliche but I think it would have made this book easier to read. It was well-written and thought-provoking in spots. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars.

This is an excellent psychological thriller and I thank NetGalley for the uncorrected digital copy. Rachel Krall has a successful podcast and decides to turn it up a notch by broadcasting an ongoing trial instead of revisiting past crimes which had been her format. In her words, this will put her listeners in the jury box. This trial is a rape case and the accused is one of the town’s golden boys, while the victim is —you guessed it—a girl portrayed as promiscuous. While this might appear trite, Megan Goldin’s handling of this formulaic plot is not. She compares this crime to that of another rape case in the same town that occurred 20 years previous, telling the story in three “voices,” Transitioning between Rachel herself, when she is host of the podcast, and Hannah, sister of the girl from the 20 year old case, is extremely well done. Well written, well developed.

I read The Escape Room from this author and I really loved it, so when I saw a new book from her I new I had to read it.
This book was unputdownable. I loved the way the story alternates between present and past, and how it slowly uncovers the two stories. An addictive and fantastic psychological thriller that kept me at the edge of my seat.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for review based upon my honest opinion.

This is one of those books stays with you for a long time. It is a thriller and it did keep me on the edge of my seat, but it also made me think; the details were hard to read at times. This book is about rapes 25 years apart in a small town seemingly unrelated. This book is about a woman trying to solve what she knows is the murder of her older sister, for which the town has brushed under the rug as an accidental swimming death. This book is about a young man on trial for rape, about his victim a 16-year-old who is clearly traumatized. Our main character, Rachel, is a Podcaster, she is using this trial for her latest podcast as a guilty or not guilty podcast as she follows the case she gets a mysterious letter from Hannah who claims her sister was murdered 25 years ago. Speaks her interest and she starts to look into it, but will she find the answers she thinks she will, and who is Hannah, is she who she says she is, is she imagining a past that happened differently? Will finding the answers put Rachel in danger?

What really makes you think about rape in today’s society, how victims are still being penalized for the way they dress, the way they act, and so many other factors that have nothing to do with a crime that has been inflicted upon them. This is a good book; it was a touchy subject but well written and haunting.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Megan Goldin for the complimentary advance readers’ edition of THE NIGHT SWIM for an honest review.

Publication Date: 8/4/2020
Rating: 4.5 / 5
I really enjoyed Megan Goldin’s THE ESCAPE ROOM last year, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her newest book! THE NIGHT SWIM follows investigative reporter Rachel as she embarks on a new season of her hit podcast Guilty or Not Guilty. This season she is following a case as it unfolds in court. At the defense table is the sea town’s golden boy swimmer and Olympic hopeful Scott Blair, accused of raping a teen girl.

As Rachel comes into town she begins to receive letters from someone named Hannah, a woman who is reaching out for help in solving the death of her sister Jenny twenty five years ago in the same town. Though the common belief is that Jenny drowned in a tragic accident, Hannah’s letters and Rachel’s own investigation begin to tell a different tale.

I thought that THE NIGHT SWIM was fantastic! I will caution you that it is a slow burn, but that burn is really well done! The book is laid out with three different components. From Rachel’s perspective we get to see her observations of the town and the different players in the rape trial as she interviews them. Interspersed with that, we get chapters of Hannah’s letters explaining Jenny’s story. Due to Hannah’s struggle with her own memories and the traumatic loss of her older sister, she is only doling out portions of the story to Rachel at a time. Both of these perspectives have their own mysteries to uncover as the book goes on.

The third perspective get also comes from Rachel, but it is written as her podcast narrative. For each of her episodes, we get her thoughts on why she chose this case for her season and her thoughts about how the trial is unfolding. These chapters were especially powerful as there is a strong message coming through about the trauma inflicted on women. This trauma doesn’t end when the rape is over, but it continues through evidence collection and rehashing every moment over and over again. Though this is of course a fictional account, I think this is a much needed discourse! That it is wrapped into an engaging and gripping thriller is fantastic!

This is not always an easy read and there is for sure a strong trigger warning when it comes to rape and sexual assault, but it was a very powerful read in a way I did not expect and I highly recommend you check out THE NIGHT SWIM when it is released 8/4/2020!

This is a fantastic thriller set in a small town where a local teenager "golden boy" is on trial for rape. Told from three different points of view, one being a podcast transcript, this story grabbed me from the start and kept my focused on the mystery. Rachel runs a famous true crime podcast and has decided to be present in the courtroom for a trial. She receives information about the death and potential murder of Hannah's sister 25 years prior. The mystery about both is well done ,as is the court case. This story dealt with some pretty heavy topics and brought to light some of the issues regarding both physical assault and the truth. Excellent thriller. I will be looking for more by this author. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

THE NIGHT SWIM
BY MEGAN GOLDIN

This was more of a mystery that is being marketed as a psychological thriller or thriller and read more like a slow mystery. I like and enjoy books with a slow burn but this one was rather lack luster and got to be bogged down towards the middle and was not able to pick up the momentum. Rachael Krall used to be a journalist and as the book begins she is kicking off her most explosive season yet with her third podcast series in Neopolis which is a seaside town where everybody used to know everybody else's business a generation ago. She is there to record a podcast about an upcoming rape trial where the town's golden boy is accused of raping a 16 year old girl named Kelly Moore. Kelly is a traumatized victim of the town's hopeful Olympic swimming competitor who we all know is presumed innocent unless twelve member's of the jury say otherwise.

While Rachel is famous for her voice from them getting known over the sound waves she becomes quite freaked out when she returns to her car after eating breakfast at a truck stop diner. There is a letter left under her windshield wipers left by Hannah who is begging for her help to solve her sister Jenny's murder 25 years ago. At the time of Jenny's death the police ruled it as an accidental drowning. Hannah is certain Jenny was murdered.

My favorite part's of this novel were the courtroom scenes about the rape trial. I am currently watching an episode every night on Netflix called, "Unbelievable." It is about a girl who reports she was raped by which their wasn't any forensic evidence. The detectives don't believe her and she withdraws her statement and says she wasn't raped for which they charge her for filling out a false police report. I am guessing she really was raped by her actions but she tells her foster mother's that she wasn't raped. Meanwhile in three other counties it has happened by the same description by the girl who gets one year probation for filling out a false police report. She also gets a $500.00 fine.

It is really sad to see what women are put through when they do report being a victim of rape. This story has trigger warnings for those who have gone through this ordeal or have loved ones or friends that have. It is not easy on the victim so I understand why anybody who has had to go through it has a piece of them stolen forever that they can never get back. This book in my opinion tried to do too many things at the same time and even though I wanted Jenny to get justice it took some of the emotion off of the rape trial while trying to solve a cold case simultaneously.

Thank you to Net Galley, Megan Goldin and St. Martin's Press Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

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