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The Night Swim

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Member Reviews

It's been a long time since I read a good well-written mystery. This was fast paced and easy to read, a story within a story and dual timelines so there was a lot going on but the author did a good job of interweaving the stories. There was also some courtroom drama thrown in for those that like that. I really enjoyed this one and hope this is not the last of the character Rachel Krall, as I think this would be the start of a great series.

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I have to rethink what I consider to be a thriller.

The Night Swim is a book that checks a lot of boxes on my reading wish list. I've read more than one thriller/mystery that features a podcast/book/tv show insert. Full disclosure, I consume a ton of true crime podcasts so I'm sure I am the target audience.

In Night Swim, Rachel (journalist/podcast host) travels to a small beach town to cover a rape trial. Much like reality, people in the town are divided on whether or not a crime even took place. Naturally, Rachel finds herself entangled in an older case involving another teenage girl twenty years prior. If Rachel's podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty existed, it's probably one I would binge. It's particularly enjoyable to hear her try to present both sides equally no matter how the case develops. You have to read the book to see if she succeeds on that front.

I do worry that classifying this as a thriller may upset the thriller group I follow, but I am going to encourage them to treat it like a mystery instead. I'll definitely be reading Megan Goldin's next book. I enjoyed the story-within-a-story aspects and tore through this book as fast as I could find time for. Nice setup, interesting characters and a conclusion that didn't feel pandering.

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Last year Goldin came out with Escape Room, which was freaking brilliant. She has done it again with The Night Swim. A tale of two mysteries woven together by a podcaster. This was one I've been looking forward to for months. I was originally going to order it via BOTM (if they had it, which they did!), but then NetGalley blessed me with a digital copy.


Lots of craziness and drama goes on in The Night Swim. Of course, that usually makes an amazing book, and in this case, it definitely did. There are two mysteries going on, a rape and an unresolved suspicious drowning. The main character reminded me a lot of myself, and how once my mind is set on something, it's hard to get my thinking to change. I loved the courtroom drama, I loved the podcast. I loved all of it. Can't wait for Goldin's next one.


5/5 Stars

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This is my second read by Megan Goldin (Escape Room), and I LOVED it. Some of this is because it hits several of my interests at once: cold cases, true crime podcasts, small town court drama, etc. But it’s very good. I’ve tried to read other books with podcast aspects and found it frustrating. It really works here. Recommend to true crime fans who are interested in fiction as well and thriller readers.

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Have you ever said you're going to go to bed early because you're bone tired, but then end up staying up way past your normal bedtime binge reading a book? Yeah. That's what happened with me last night with The Night Swim.

I got to the 50% mark and just couldn't go to bed without knowing how the book ended.

I won't get into the summary of the book, because that's what Goodreads is for, but just know that it deals with a very sensitive and triggering issue of rape and how our legal system essentially puts the victim on trial, traumatizing them even further. So reader beware if that is a topic that you can't read about for your own well-being.

4.5/5⭐️

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I loved this book! Not a surprise as I loved The Escape Room. Totally riveting but very different books. Held my interest throughout. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me an early arc in exchange for my honest review. Wonderful!!!

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DNF @ 50%.

I was hesitant to read The Night Swim after not liking Escape Room, but figured I’d give Megan Goldin another chance.

I was super excited when I started this book to feel intrigued and genuine enjoyment; however that didn’t last long.

The story of a podcast host, Rachel, going to a small town to cover a rape trial sounded exciting. What could go wrong? Well when a stranger starts leaving her notes it amps up the excitement... until it becomes redundant.

I really wanted to love this book, but it’s slow moving and while I can sense what Goldin was hoping to accomplish with this duel stories meeting in the middle it just took too long to even get close. Outside of the note leavers requests happening in the same place as the trial, there’s very little that connects the two stories.

Definitely do not recommend this book.

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Wow! What a great thriller! The Night Swim follows the podcast of Rachel, a popular broadcaster of trial history which lets listeners vote about the trial as if they were the jury. This doesn't set well with the judge for her latest trial, a rape of a young high school girl by a potential Olympic swimmer and son of some of the wealthier people in this coastal town.

If that is not enough intertwined in this mystery is one that happened many years ago and that has been brought to Rachel's attention by Hannah the sister of the victim. Was she murdered or is she really the town slut? What happened to the boys in the fiery wreck that died on the same night. Are the two attorneys as good as their reputation. Everyone in town seems to know a little about the past and has an opinion about the present. All this and more is packed into this suspense filled read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it as an entertaining book that will keep you reading nonstop until the end. I loved the main character and the background character, her producer. I can see this book becoming a series of books and even a tv show series. I hope that Ms. Goldin keeps spinning her stories.
Thanks #Net Galley#TheNightSwim for allowing me to review this great book!

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I requested this book back in like February and I am just now finishing it. That should say something. The trope of a podcast and a killer mystery pulls me in wanting to read the story every time but I don’t know why it took me so long to read this book. Maybe the podcast situation wasn’t wrote well. Or the writing wasn’t for me. But it should not have taken me this long to read it. It read like any other book that tries to do this trope and it was just ok for me. Thank

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The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Two women traumatized
Twenty-five years apart
One suffered and died long ago
One alive suffering every day

Two other women
Invested in the traumatized
Looking for answers
Looking for truth

This is more than one story with the lives of four women in two eras enduring a similar traumatic experience. The story is told in chapters that speak of the present as seen through the eyes of Rachel who will be presenting information for the followers of her true crime podcast and what she says in the podcast presentations are interspersed in the story in true time as if shared while she is speaking on her program. The other portion of the story is told in letters and notes written by a person that seems at first to be a stalker but then later proves to have a story she wants Rachel to hear and in hearing she hopes that Rachel will help her find the truth about her sister and perhaps in so doing find justice for Jenny. The trial is also experienced through the eyes of Rachel and I felt as if I were there hearing it beside her.

What I liked:
* Rachel: a tenacious, insightful, curious, intelligent woman who as a journalist looks for the truth and presents her story without bias…or would like to think she does. I would have enjoyed hearing a bit more of her backstory and wondered if perhaps she might star in a series of books in the future with each one about a podcast she is preparing for.
* Hannah: a woman with a childhood nobody should have lived through. I liked the way she was finally ready to find answers, seek justice, and perhaps find a type of closure so she can move on.
* K – the rape victim taking her rapist to trial. I was able to see through her experience the travesty rape victims face within the the court/court system
* Jenny – I think she was the star of this book even though she was long gone.
* The way the clues about the past (and the present) were revealed
* The unflinching look at bullying, rape, and other difficult topics in this book
* That the truth did finally come out before the end of the story
* The look at how people can see the same situation so differently
* That this left me caring, thinking, and wishing life could be different
* The nightingale…

What I did not like:
* Knowing that what is was written as fiction in this book is not fiction to those who have experienced what the women in this story did.
* Being reminded again that rape victims are put on trial almost more than their rapists
* Realizing once again that the courts are not always just or that justice is not always served within courts

Did I enjoy this book? Hmm…I did but it was unsettling in some ways and yet very very good
Would I read more by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

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A true crime podcast host, Rachel Krall of 'Guilty or Not Guilty' goes to Neapolis after her first two seasons of the podcast have uncovered new evidence that overturned a conviction of murder and solved a cold case. Now her third season takes her to the small North Carolina coastal town of Neapolis where she will be following the trial of Scott Blair, a college student arrested for raping a sixteen year old girl.
While in Neapolis, she gets notes left by an anonymous person that wants her to investigate the death of a teenage girl that happened 25 years ago. She’s intrigued and starts to ask around town. As the story flips between the past and the present, Rachel learns that there are people in the town that rather not speak about the past.
I enjoyed this book, the pacing although slow at the beginning it did pick up and kept me intrigued to want to finish it in one sitting.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for the eARC.

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This book is an AMAZING MUST READ!! I loved the way it was written and executed to the reader. Definitely in my top 10 so far for this year!!!!There were 2 story lines going on throughout of 2 rapes 25 years apart, and then everything came full circle at the end. I was suprised by who actually was guilty in some of the story and some others not so much. This is a raw, dark, thrilling story where the secrets of this small town that have been intertwined for years are exposed by Rachel Krall in her podcast. This book really is a good one to open up talking about one of the biggest problems that have been going on for way too long, rape isn't ok and it isn't handled justifiably in most cases. This book gave me all the feels.... I felt sad,angry,happy, excited, scared.... there are just so many emotions to it and so much truth that a victim is the one who is violated over and over in cases like this it was surreal to read. If you can't read about the hard things such as rape culture and somewhat graphic scenes this may be a pass for you, but I think topics that seem to be very uncomfortable for a lot of people to talk about need to be and a way to bring notice to that is to write about it, you can't just make it disappear if it is written. Writing makes people talk whatever the topic it starts the conversation and I think this book is great to get a real topic with some mystery and thrill and really get you thinking! Thank you for Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy to rate and review!!

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This is a captivating story that is told in a unique way. The story begins with Rachel, who is a True Crime/Courtroom Podcaster set to report daily from a small town rape trial. The case involved a teenager who was allegedly raped by a college swimming star destined for the Olympics. A second story was told through messages sent to Rachel from the younger sister of a girl who endured a similar rape and death, possible murder 25 years previously in the same town. The story wove its way back and forth between these two threads and did so very convincingly. The historical story is compelling and the current story is also interesting and hard hitting.
This book pushes both stories forward in equal measures. This made for a fantastic plot and fast paced stories.
I found this to be a terrific book and well paced. I highly recommend this for those who love thrillers and courtroom dramas.
#TheNightSwim #Netgalley #StMartinsPress

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WOW! I wasn’t expecting the depths of pain, heartbreak and sadness I felt I as I read this novel. The Night Swim delivers the harrowing tales of three girls. Two separated by time, but not circumstance. The Night Swim speaks to small town bias, socio-economic disparities, family bonds and corruption. It speaks to the worst of human behaviour. Mistakes made and irreparable harm done. At its core this compelling story is about society’s views and treatment of women-both past and present. Goldin unearths the heart of matter with characters that are ready for the tide to turn.

I could not put this book down. It was with blurry eyes and tear stained cheeks that I finished well into the early morning hours. On many different levels these are characters that you can’t help but identify with. As a woman, a mother of daughters, a wife, a friend, I felt the pain for the incredible loss and repeated trauma all three girls experience.

The writing is impeccable. The characters fleshed out to the marrow of their bones. This is a story that will stay with you. It challenged me to look at the issues. It challenged me to expect more of myself and of others. Hannah implored me to look hard at the facts. Never giving me more than I was ready for – timed to perfection. I cannot recommend this thriller enough.

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The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is a fast-paced and engaging thriller from beginning to end. It's evocative of the podcast Serial without being derivative.

Podcaster Rachel Krall is in Season Four of her hit podcast, which takes her to a small town. This will be her first time covering an ongoing trial. When she starts receiving letters in her hotel room and her car, the plot thickens, and she is pulled into investigating another local case that has gone cold.

I had the chance to listen to this as an audiobook, which really enhanced the experience. There's a stellar cast of narrators - Bailey Carr, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz - which helps delineate between the podcast and the present and the past. The run time for this production is 9 hours 58 minutes.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Macmillian Audio/St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

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I have to admit that I was reluctant to read about rape and the details of this, because the subject of rape is very squirmy to the average person, including me. However, Megan Goldin's stellar writing and intricately woven plot turned a difficult subject into a fascinating lesson in forensics, assault, the court system, witnesses, perspective, and podcasts. She has a special way of storytelling that kept me reading all the way until the end.

This story is about memories, trauma, truth, lies, scandal, assault, bullying, secrets, betrayal, social class, money, and the justice system. It's a well-written psychological suspense that is fast-paced and alternates between two stories that are equally as enthralling. The ending is satisfying and gives closure to the many plot lines that are woven throughout the book.

I really enjoy Megan Goldin's writing. She takes a difficult subject and brings in all of the facts in an objective manner, telling the both sides of the story and lets the reader form their own opinion. This story has the undertones of Where the Crawdad Sing, another book that I hold in high regard. This is a must read.

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This engrossing story follows Rachel, a true crime podcaster who is covering a rape trial in a small coastal town. This town was also the home to a teenage girl who drowned in the ocean 25 years ago. Her sister believes it was actually murder and wants Rachel to help her finally prove it.

This story is more courtroom drama than thriller, but it hooked me immediately and I didn’t want to put it down. I think fans of true crime podcasts will love it.

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I loved this book!! Great story!! Loved that it was from a season from her show!! 1st book I have read by this author will read more of her books!! Received this book from netgally!!

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This was a really good thriller. It involves two crimes-one from the past and one in the present. They, of course, intertwine. This book had me hooked from the start and really kept my interest. There was also some societal commentary that added a bit of depth to the book as well. There were unforeseen twists at the end without feeling too outlandish, which is what I seek in such books. I also thought the pacing was really good-alternating between the times to have you anxious to return to each specific mystery in the book. I really enjoyed this one and will now add Goldin’s recent previous book to my TBR list. 4.5 ⭐️ stars rating. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with the advanced copy of this book,

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Guilty or not guilty, Rachel asks her podcasts listeners to be the jury.

Just like the authors last book, this surpassed all my expectations. While this did take me longer to read and maybe some would call it a slow- burn I would say every single page was worth it. With major trigger warnings for rape and sexual assault you will want to pace yourself with this one.

The author does an excellent job at showing the true difficulty of being a rape victim.

Highly recommend reading. It reminded me of important stories like Chanel Millers and so many others.

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