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.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin was a psychological thriller. The book was intense read that flipped back and forth between the present and twenty five years ago. Both stories were presented in small pieces and dragged the reader right into both stories.

The Podcast Guilty or Not Guilty looks at true crimes with Rachel Krall revealing information that then allows the listeners to determine what they think happened and what is the truth. Rachel is heading to Neapolis to broadcast about the rape trial of K. While she is covering this trial, she is receiving letters describing a story of what happened twenty-five years ago with Hannah’s sister. Rachel spends time investigating both stories and slowly is able to help resolve both of them.

The story was well written. The characters showed the range of emotions and made the stories even better. The two stories made me angry - as they will to other readers. This made the reading of the book even more important. Megan Goldin’s newest book, The Night Swim is a good read.

This was a wonderfully terrible book. Maybe I should say wonderfully told about a terrible horrible despicable town and traumatic subject matter. Two rapes twenty-five years apart. The older victim destroyed, I mean where was anyone in that frigging fictional town when she was raped? There were so many crimes perpetrated on Jenny besides the rape, I was SO Angry for her. And there's K, raped but not treated as badly as Jenny, but still horribly. This book brought out things you know happen, but somehow reading it was so much more disturbing and it gets you in the gut. I used to watch L&O SVU and still didn't get it. This book makes you feel it viscerally. Kudos to the writer is all I can say. I also wonder if this was based on any real cases. It definitely sheds more light on the horrifying way the justice system works (not) in rape cases. The victims are raped over and over again. It is seriously messed up. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.

I picked this up based solely on the premise: A true-crime podcaster receives creepy notes asking for help solving a 25 year old crime, while she covers a rape trial.
Hey, I’m a podcaster! I love thrillers!
Good news: The book did not disappoint!
The story is told in alternating perspectives - the story of Rachel, the podcaster investigating both the current trial and older case, the actual podcast transcripts, and the sister of the victim in the old case (via letters she is leaving Rachel). This structure worked at building tension and also making the story about something bigger.
It’s not just a who-done-it, it’s about rape, rape culture, victim-blaming and gas-lighting (all the content warnings!).
Where this book fell short was in the thriller-y aspects. At several key points the writing didn’t grab me, it just u folded slowly.
If anything, I think the problem is in labeling - it’s not a thriller, it’s a mystery.

I’d recommend the book to anyone who likes the podcast Serial

4 stars and a warning that this book is graphic with rape scenes that may trigger readers. Rachel has a successful true crime podcast, and begins receiving letters from Hannah. Hannah's sister, Jenny, passed away by drowning , but Hannah claims it was murder. quick page turner, and 4 star read. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Swim was such a great story, I did not want it to end. Yet it needed to end so I knew what had really happened. Great new way to present a courtroom drama. I loved the alternating chapters of Rachel’s podcast and Hannah’s letters. I felt like the podcast aspect did a good job of presenting the case in a non-biased manner while your heart was crying for justice for K. Getting justice for Jenny also was an added benefit. I am hoping this is a series!

| Story Review |

The Night Swim from Megan Goldin was on my radar from the moment I read the blurb. Much like everyone else these days, I really enjoy a podcast component, and I like the sleuthing that goes on with this one. And I particularly liked that it was a woman here doing the digging. There was so much going on in this book that I don’t even know where to start, and I mean that in the best way possible. This story focuses on two timelines - a current rape trial, and the mysterious drowning of a woman decades prior. We see the current timeline from Rachel’s point of view as she follows the case and updates her podcast, and the past is relayed from Hannah, the sister of the woman who died years before, as she communicates with Rachel via letters. I liked Rachel as the main focus of this story. I like that she tried to be neutral when it came to interviewing parties of both sides involved, but thought it was only natural that she’d gravitate towards the young woman. And I really like how, as the trial progresses and assault is examined, that she reflects on things that have happened to her in the past that could be considered assault even though she didn’t see it that way at the time. I thought it added another element to the story, and it really made me, as the reader, think of past instances where I felt the same. I found Rachel to be so relatable. Hannah was our other main character, and honestly, my heart broke for Hannah, Jenny, and their mother throughout this story. What Jenny went through, how it went beyond bullying and catapulted straight into taunting and terrorizing absolutely gutted me. Even though I knew what was going to happen to her, I kept hoping she was going to make it.

For me, it really was about the way the author made me care about these characters. That’s what made me love this story so so much. Yes, there were twists and turns here, yes, there were close calls, and yes, there were times when I thought I knew what was going on only to realize I didn’t. But those were the backdrop for these vivid characters for me.  In fact, if I had a niggle about the story, it would be that while I cared about what was going on in the present day, my heart was lost to the events of the past. I clearly had a storyline that gripped me more. And also, we never did find out how Hannah knew who Rachel was even though Rachel had done her best not to have pictures of herself available to possible fans or fanatics. But in the end, those things just didn’t matter much to me when the telling of this story outshone them.

I think it’s obvious how much I loved this story. It was so relevant to what’s going on today, and I was gripped throughout the entire thing. I’m calling it now - The Night Swim is going to be one of my favorite books of 2020.

| Narration Review |

The audio of this book was performed by Bailey Carr, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz. Honestly, if I had to pick a favorite out of the three, I don’t think I could. I think they all did such a great job with the parts they read. They really complemented each other, and I like that the tone of the story changes with each narrator, because it should. That we aren’t having one person read all the parts means we have three different people interpreting, and it makes each part more vivid and for me, the change of narrator jogged a change of imagery, and it made it that much more lifelike. There couldn’t have been a better audio cast for The Night Swim.

In The Night Swim, we are introduced to Rachel, the host of a popular podcast where the listeners determine if they think the defendant is guilty or not guilty. Rachel has historically presented old cases in her podcast. However, at the start of her third season, she decides to do something different and present a current trial as it progresses. She chooses a controversial trial where a young woman has accused a local swim hero of rape. Of course, he denies it and insists everything was consensual.

In addition to following the current trial, Rachel is contacted by a woman named Hannah who asks her to investigate her sister's death from twenty five years ago. What Rachel finds is a tragic miscarriage of justice where law enforcement failed to properly investigate this young woman's death and there was no-one to advocate for her at the time. The book goes back and forth between the present day rape trial and the past incident. The story is told from several viewpoints. It is told from that of Rachel. It's also told from letters Hannah sends to Rachel and lastly every few chapters has Rachel's podcast entry.

This is such a timely book. Not only from the podcast perspective, but in dealing with rape cases and how the women are shamed and put on trial themselves. It's such a galvanizing topic. People feel very strongly where cases like this are concerned. It can truly divide entire communities.

In addition to reading the book, I also listened to the audiobook. I love to be able to bounce back and forth when I'm reading between these two mediums. I've also found that any book involving a podcast lends itself well to audio narration. I found the narration of The Night Swim to be extremely well done. Because of it, I enjoyed the book even more.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book carries quite the impact. A small town in the middle of nowhere and there are two rapes. One in the past and one in the present. When a popular podcast reporter shows up to cover the current rape, she starts to get letters on a previous one in the same town.The author takes you on a journey through a small town with some very tragic history.

Overall this book keep you guessing and the twist at the end I did not see coming. Although I was so engrossed with the storyline that I really wasn’t putting a whole lot of thought into who done it.

*Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.*

Rachel has a well known true crime podcast. People from all over try to get her to take on old cases regarding their loved ones. On the newest season of her podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty, Rachel decides to follow a rape case.

Hannah is desperate to get help from Rachel to help solve her sister, Jenny Stills case. After Rachel's "people" graciously sent Hannah a rejection letter stating Rachel would be unable to help in her sister's case, Hannah tracks Rachel down and leaves a note on her car. Now Hannah has Rachel's attention.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Other than the beginning being a little slow, the rest of the book had the twists and turns that make a really good thriller. It definitely kept me on my toes.

Rachel is a podcaster who goes to a beach town to cover a rape trial. She receives notes from someone who asks her to investigate a murder several years ago. However, that death was not ruled a murder. Rachel spends time back and forth between the two cases.
The rape trial is so true in today's age .... the female is ostracized, the male is not.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press. for the enjoyable and interesting read.

The Night Swim
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Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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𝙏𝙒: 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙚, 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙪𝙡𝙩

WOW. This book deserves all the praise and positive reviews. Our justice system does more wrong than good when it comes to rape/sexual assault survivors. It enrages me to know rape survivors are torn apart on the stand, in the public, over media, and for the rest of their life to be honest. I have such a hard time reading about rape/sexual assault. The rapist on trial reminded me of the Brock Turner so I just automatically hated him. Our justice system reminds us of everything a rape survivor does wrong leading up to the assault; victim blaming at its best right. I could go on about this but our MC said something like this in her podcast..“Murder is black and white, but rape is somehow grey.”

I thought Goldin did an amazing job with the different chapter presentations: podcast episodes, letters from a fan, courtroom, and first person narration. I thought it was the perfect blend of legal suspense and investigative mystery solving. Goldin seamlessly blends the dual timelines together across decades. I never lost interest since it immediately grabs you from the first page.

Although this book is fictional, it is a high percentage that it might very well be non-fictional part of another rape survivors life. This was my first Megan Goldin book, and definitely won’t be my last.
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THE NIGHT SWIM had me hooked right away. I love the premise of a podcast within a book.
There’s something I also love about a small town story where the past and present collide. Maybe it’s spending the time trying to figure out how the two time periods are connected? Regardless, I really enjoyed THE NIGHT SWIM. It was the perfect combination of psychological thriller and police procedural. Rachel’s character was a strong female lead, and I could definitely see this type of book becoming a series! I also thought Goldin did a really good job writing about the topic of your small town golden by being accused of rape.

I really enjoyed this fast-paced and suspenseful thriller by Megan Goldin. The main character, Rachel Krall, an up-and-coming true crime podcaster, travels to the small town of Neapolis to cover the court trial of a rape case: the accused is the good-looking swimming champion; the victim is the granddaughter of a powerful police chief. Upon arrival, Rachel becomes immediately drawn into another rape case by virtue of her podcast fame--but this one has been cold for years, and as Rachel looks deeper into it, we soon come to realize how many secrets this small beach town has been keeping for over twenty-five years.

One of the better books I've read this year, The Night Swim will keep you awake all night turning the pages, desperate to find out how it all comes together in the end.

A suspenseful thriller with a powerfully emotional story at its center!
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We all expect murder and mayhem in thrillers. Megan Goldin caught me completely by surprise with the emotions she packed into this book. This was so much more than your typical whodunnit. There were parts that I found so difficult to read that I cried - that doesn’t happen when I’m reading a typical thriller. ⁣
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I knew from the synopsis that the book had to do with a rape trial. I was ready for that. However, there are two mysteries in this book - flawlessly blended, past & present. I was not ready for the parallel storyline of Jenny Stills. It was gut wrenching. ⁣
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This book was so hard to put down that I read it in a day. I loved podcaster Rachel Krall and the addition of her transcripted recordings. I find mixed media in books so interesting. I was so glad I buddy read this with a few book friends. There was so much to discuss - rape, the treatment of rape victims including victim shaming/blaming, sexual reputation, bullying, guilt, abuse, the misuse of power, corruption, wealth, poverty and social standing. There was a lot! Like I said, this isn’t just an ordinary whodunnit. ⁣
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The Night Swim is raw, intense and totally delivers! This is an exceptional read that will haunt me for a long time to come. Although some parts are upsetting she handled these sensitive issues with honesty and respect. I highly recommend this book! The only reason it wasn’t a 5 star read is bc I had the whodunnit aspect figured out. In the end though, the book was so good that I didn’t care I knew who did it from early on. ⁣

If you’ve been craving a thriller with a gripping fast-paced plot, a lot of twists, and really solid writing, you should dash to pick up The Night Swim.
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To sum it quickly, a true crime podcast host is in the insular southern town of Neapolis, North Carolina to cover the trial of the town’s golden boy accused of raping a 16 year old girl. Simultaneously, the host is receiving cryptic messages from a woman who claims her sister was raped and murdered in the town 25 years prior and never received justice for the terrible crime. And so the story is told, back and forth between the present and 1992 where we learn what happened to Jenny Stills through the voice of her little sister, Hannah. These stories of course converge over the course of the present day trial and it is a fast paced, taut ride to that climax.
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In short, I really enjoyed this one. I LOVE a thriller but I tend to burn out on the genre finding them too formulaic, too easy to figure out or just lacking in good writing, my biggest pet peeve. This one was refreshing to me in all of the above. I had an idea of how the stories would converge and while some of my guesses were correct, there was still a big twist. The story also dealt sensitively with the big issues around which it was framed, namely rape and how rape victims wind up the ones on trial, how our legal system will launch a character assassination of women - if they even come forward - in order to protect a man’s “bright future,” leaving them to defend their morals, their worth, more than it puts the man on trial for his terrible dehumanizing crime. Pick this one up if any of this sounds intriguing, it’s a really solid read.

A blistering plot and crisp writing make The Night Swim an unputdownable read. Megan Goldin is a new auto-buy for me. I was engrossed by the world and the characters. A story that is full of small-town secrets, mystery, drama, and intrigue. The Night Swim is the kind of book that will sweep you away and steal your heart, pulling you in like a magnet. The type of story that as soon as you read the first page, you cannot put It down. I highly recommend The Night Swim, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Really enjoyed this book. I don't do podcasts, but I imagine if I did that true crime podcasts would suck me right in. This book was told in alternating viewpoints of Rachel and her true crime podcast and Hannah whose sister died 25 years prior. Rachel is in small-town, NC recording the new season of her podcast with the subject matter being a rape trial. Hannah contacts Rachel for help getting justice for her sister who died 25 years prior in this small town, her death was ruled an accidental drowning, despite evidence to the contrary.

This was a face-paced read for me. I really enjoyed the podcast aspect of the book. It was interesting how the story kept building and all wove together. I will definitely read more books by this author.

A accidental drowning of a teenage girl,
A controversial rape trial featuring a popular swimming star,
Two cases, separated by 25 years,
How are they connected?

"This is Rachel Krall on Guilty or Not Guilty, the podcast that puts you in the jury box."

Those are the two things that made me pick up Megan's new book as The Escape Room was a flop for me. This story seemed very real very raw. I truly enjoyed this one and it was a quick read! It sucked me in from page one. I loved following the two cases and feeling as if I was in the court room or as if I knew the case also. I did not once get confused between the chapter with Rachel, Rachel's podcast or Hannah (a woman looking to find the murder of her sisters drowning). There were tow different timelines for this, present day and 1922 which were done so well I had images of the small town Neapolis in my mind! I had visuals of the characters. However, the ending and the who done it felt predictable. I was wanting more but at the same time, I'm not sure what I was wanting!

I got this as my Book of the Month pick for August! I will recommend it every chance I get!

Thank you St.Martins Press and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Rachel Krall's true crime podcast Guilty or Not Guilty achieved a high level of popularity in its 1st season. Now, Rachel is headed to the small seaside town of Neapolis, NC to cover a rape trial for her 3rd season. A 16 year old girl has accused the local swimming phenom of rape. The accused had aspirations of being on the Olympic Swim Team. Many find it hard to believe that this local golden boy would do what he is accused of.

On her arrival in Neapolis, Rachel starts receiving correspondence from a woman named Hannah who is begging Rachel to investigate her sister Jenny's death that happened 25 years ago in the same small town. Jenny thinks her sister was murdered, but the official cause of death was that Jenny drowned while swimming alone at night.

This character-driven mystery's narrative alternates between Rachel's story, episodes of season 3 of the podcast and letters from Hannah. I enjoyed this story as it allowed us to follow two crimes at once. I also loved the inclusion of a true crime podcast. Also, it discusses, the challenges women face when accusing someone of rape. The main female characters were all believable to me.

I listened to an audio ARC from MacMillan Audio and the narration was very well done. The Podcast chapters actually felt like mini-podcasts. Hannah's chapters had a melancholy vibe and Rachel's chapter's were more straightforward. I highly recommend listening to this one on audio.

What to listen to while reading (or taking a break)
(sorry, I had to add the 1st two...they are the first songs that came to mind when I saw the title)
Nightswimming by R.E.M.
Night Swimming by Soccer Mommy
Til It Happens to You by Lady Gaga
Sullen Girl by Fiona Apple
Watering by Big Thief