For me this started really slow but did pick up later. It has a few twists and turns, and while parts of the story are unique and well done by the author, it just wasn't compelling enough to be a truly memorable or page turning books for me. I'd seek out others from the author since I liked her perspective.

Rachel, a successful podcast star, is heading to a small beach town to cover a controversial rape trial. Little does she know that she will have another mystery on her hands. Hannah is looking for help to solve her older sisters 25 year old mysterious death. With clues from Hannah, Rachel starts digging into a death that some people wanted to keep buried. Will justice be served in both cases? You will be put in the jury box.

This is the first book I've ever read by Megan Goldin and I really enjoyed it! I thought it was a well rounded book. All the characters had a purpose, which I really like. I also liked that there was no loose ends. By the end of the book, all the questions I had were answered. This is a quick read. I finished this book in under 10 hours

Wow I loved this book. It was so creepy and the setting just felt DARK! I was invested and so glad I requested this. The themes were tough and slightly taboo but I had to keep going.

First of all, thank you to Ms. Goldin, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to recieve an ARC of The Night Swim. As an avid reader of mystery/thriller novels, I was very impressed with the plot and writing style of this one. Goldin takes the common, almost cliche plot line of an unsolved murder/cold case and presents it with a very fresh take. Posing the protagonist as a popular podcast host and using the very salient narrative of a rising athlete turned alleged rapist, Goldin gives this genre a breath of fresh air, moving away from the typical "sleuthing detective" aspects of this genre. Its a very 21st century storyline, not to mention the exploration of topics surrounding rape in the 21st century, like consent, revictimization, and equal accountability. These points are what I believe make this novel stand out amongst others in its class. Besides those, I also found that the novel was a real page turner and maintained suspense throughout, which is of course what I would hope for in a mystery/thriller. All in all, I would reccomend this novel to anyone who's looking for a great page turner to read, especially if looking for something refreshing and written with today's culture and events in mind. Thanks again for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide my feedback!

This book puts a whammy on you and you will be pondering it for quite some time! I am actually surprised this is a debut writer she weaves a hauntingly captivating tale of betrayal, pain and dark secrets. This is a very emotional read and the story has so many things happening as these two cases intertwine.

The MC Rachel, a pod-caster covering a high profile rape trial in a small town. Also receives requests to investigate the death of another girl from 20 years before. this book is so suspenseful as story of both young women unfold.

I highly recommend you read this book, it drew me in from the very first chapter and I could not put it down. This was a very gripping book.

This book spans some very difficult topics and discusses sexual assault/rape/violence and death. If you find any of these to be difficult subjects, I do not recommend this book for you.

I received this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an honest review.

In The Night Swim, Rachel Krall, true crime podcaster, arrives in a small town to follow the rape trial of an accused local swim hero. Little envelopes and emails began to show up, drawing Rachel into a murder of a local girl from twenty-five years ago. Rachel investigates the new case while reporting on the rape. The town clearly discriminates against young girls and hides its secrets well. Fast paced and hard to put down, The Night Swim grabs you by the seat of your pants as your heart cries out for the victims in between its pages. The ending will flip your lid with its twists and turns. A thrilling good suspense novel that will have me adding this author to my must read shelf. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

This was not terrible but it was far from good or memorable.
The writing is not bad but the plot is really weak. It relies basically in people never telling things, not for any particular reason, just because they were never asked. And also in one character creating suspense by hiding till the last moment, also just because.

The trial never feels real or tense enough and the reporter is so distracted it's a wonder she can put episodes together. Also, those were pretty short podcast episodes... Oh, and why would people just tell her things when they didn't even know her a moment ago? That's not how things work in real life.

And finally, the revelation. It feels like the author just went for shock, not caring that much about plausibility. It all feels far fetched.

So, all in all, it's not the worst book I've read this year but it's one that I'll soon forget.

I"d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me and ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The Night Swim is the latest book by Megan Goldin (Escape Room). In The Night Swim Ms Goldin managed to give the reader two stories in one book and each would be difficult to put down on it's own. Fair warning, this is a can't put down story. Megan Goldin is now on my list of must read authors. I want to thank Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.

Wow! It takes a lot for me to give a thriller 5 stars because I am usually let down by this genre but I found this one sucked me in right away with the story line, the characters and the pace. Every chapter gave a piece of the puzzle that was perfectly placed as the story played out.

The story introduced the main character Rachel, a true crime podcaster on her third season of her highly rated and popular podcast, covering a rape trial in a small beach town. We then met the second main character of the novel, Hannah, who needed Rachel’s help to uncover her sister’s 25 year old murder case that had been covered up and written off as an accident. The two plot lines played so well together and were interwoven to create a truly engaging mystery/thriller. I never was bored with this book and couldn’t put it down! I can’t wait to read more from this author. Thank you Netgalley for the Sneak peek!

Fabulous read! Deep mystery as well as a novel in the different aspects of rape. Whether victim, Taoist or witness. I read this in one day & if I hadn’t had other things to do, I’d have easily read it in one sitting. FIVE STARS

Wow! While this started a tiny bit slow for me, the stage(s) all had to be set and were quite intriguing. I got caught in that snare, getting deeper into the events all leading up to the pending rape trial. Rachel, a true crime podcast host, coincidentally gets mail addressed to her, begging her to investigate a suspicious suicide from a quarter of a century ago. The sender claimed it was murder, and it happened in the exact same small east coast town she was traveling to. What are the odds, right?
Rachel had a gut feeling, so was trying to dig up information on both cases. Not easy! Small towns tend to close up and take care of their own, well that, maybe along with some greased palms, and prominent families.
Very well written with freakishly good twists and information coming from left fields, this follows the trial of Scott Blair, aged 18, accused of raping K., aged 16, the prior year. The narration is very blunt about the court systems and though fiction, it actually runs parallel to some true crimes. Believable! The cold case she was digging into also realistic, gruesome, and so tragic, for so many.
I can't say which one was more interesting, they both had the holy hell factors. In the end, no one really wins. Both made my heart break, and not just for the victims.
A great read, but rather unsettling for me, there are finalities to each.
I received an ARC thru Netgalley and this is my honest opinions given voluntarily

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic! This one had me riveted from the beginning.

When true-crime podcaster Rachel Krall arrives in Neapolis, North Carolina to cover the upcoming tape trial to be featured on her program, she is also intrigued by notes left by someone who wants her to investigate a young girl's death from years ago. As the story flips between the past and the present, Rachel learns that there are so many in the town that wishes all of it would just go away.

Just as I was with The Escape Room, I quickly became swept away into another Megan Goldin suspense novel. I know this is a bold statement but I believe I enjoyed it even more than its predecessor. It's her characters with all their flaws and on the case of Rachel, the dogged determination that kept me on the edge of my seat.


No doubt this will be one of the hottest reads of the summer.



Goodreads review published 02/05/20
Expected publication date 04/08/20

Twisty, ripped from the headlines, hard to put down! There is more to this book than meets the eye.

I love mystery/suspense novels that provide social commentary in addition to a good story, and Goldin's The Night Swim does just that. Rachel Krall hosts the podcast Guilty or Not Guilty, and the 3rd season brings her to the small town of Neapolis to cover a rape trial. Olympic swimming hopeful Scott Blair has been accused of raping K., a 16-year-old girl, but that's not the only mystery in this small town. The mysterious Hannah keeps pleading with Rachel to investigate the death of her sister Jenny, who drowned in Neapolis almost 25 years prior.

The two timelines really worked here - I was surprised how well they connected at the end. There were a few good twists - enough to keep me interested but not so many as to be unrealistic. Rachel's voice as an advocate for women was a strong point as well; despite having to stay objective on her podcast, she clearly articulates the tragedy of rape for its victims.

Rape is a tricky topic for a novel, but Goldin handles it in a measured way. This story is more about how rape affects a victim and how it is prosecuted in the legal system rather than the violence itself. It's still hard to read to at times, especially seeing the re-victimization of K. at the trial.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

The Night Swim is an engaging mystery thriller. Loved the podcast aspect of the story too. I had tears streaming down my face as I read the last few pages of this book,. I began to weep as two stories, of past and present, came to a surprising conclusion. My full book review and my podcast book review of The Night Swim are coming soon on my website: Bookclubreporter.com

feel very fortunate to have been granted an advanced reader’s copy of Megan Goldin’s upcoming novel. I enjoyed Escape Room but definitely preferred this storyline. The Night Swim follows a true crime podcaster covering a controversial rape trial while simultaneously receiving breadcrumbs of details about a previously squashed probable homicide from decades earlier. This one kept me on the edge of my seat and had a truly OMG twist. Highly recommend! Be on the lookout for it’s release in August 2020!

I liked the format and the story of this book. The writing was okay, not amazing, and none of the characters really gripped me, but there were some great twists and turns and I enjoyed it overall.

I found this thriller to be very middle of the road, and the rape trial being the only unique aspect about it. I enjoyed the way the author covered the rape, and the sometimes graphic detail she went into as well as all of the ethics regarding consent. IT was very tastefully done and elevated it. However, the small town drama in a "small town" of 96,00 people was extremely farfetched and early on intruded on my reading experience. I also found the ending very predictable, and the characters, other than the rape victim, very flat and one note. The red herring was too obvious to be realistic and in that way forced me to turn my eye on the real whodunit. The pace was really fast and at times thrilling but there is ultimately no sticking power for this reader. A solid three stars.

My full review on goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3240396581

Thank you for this arc, I truly enjoyed this book! I liked the writing style, the different perspectives from the past and present, building up to information being revealed regarding the incident in the past as well as the ongoing trial in the present. It felt as though I was watching a show in my mind as I was reading, seeing everything unfold from the past to the present, waiting to see if my theory was correct while learning new information as the main character did. I look forward to more novels from this author, as I genuinely enjoyed this book!

Wow. OK NetGalley, you just made my month with this thriller! Thank you for early access to The Night Swim by Megan Goldin, set to be published on August 4 by St. Martin's Press.

Rachel Krall is known for her famous true crime podcast; she's even had murder convictions overturned due to her journalist investigative skills and unflinching curiosity. 

For her next podcast season, she heads out to a local town where a "golden boy" soon-to-be Olympic swimmer is on trial for the rape of a local girl. He said/she said is already a fierce debate when she arrives. 

Speaking of arrival, Rachel starts getting strange letters. Begging her to look into the death of her sister Jenny, that happened in this same small town 25 years ago - saying it wasn't an accident as it was labeled back then - but a murder.

The further Rachel goes into these cases, she's shocked at some connections. What does it all mean?
You guys - THIS WAS SO GOOD. It was beyond intense, but man, this author can paint visuals with her words in an amazing way. I felt like I was truly there at every point of this book, and I couldn't put it down.
This was a top-notch thriller in my book! 

#NetGalley #TheNightSwim #MeganGoldin

Such a great read! This book really shows how it is to live in a small town and how secrets are covered up. Rachel dives right in to find out what happened and also to assist Jenny. This is one book you will not be able to put down.