4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at NerdGirlLovesBooks.

This is a quick and enjoyable mystery/thriller that has a story within a story. Rachel has a true crime podcast (think "Serial") that grew in popularity after her first season when she investigated a murder trial and found evidence that set the defendant free. Now in her third season, she is following a rape trial in real-time in the small town of Neapolis. The town is being torn apart by the rape trial of a young teenage girl by a popular teenage boy training for the Olympics.

Rachel is focused on prepping her trial coverage, but starts getting mysterious letters from a woman named Hannah asking her to investigate the death of her 16 year old sister Jenny in Neapolis many years ago. The official cause of death was drowning, but Hannah believes that her sister was murdered and that the culprits will be attending the rape trial Rachel is covering. Intrigued, Rachel starts to look into Jenny's death, but no one wants to answer her questions and people are clearly hiding things. When Rachel realizes that the two cases may be connected, she jumps into danger to find the truth.

I really liked this book. It is well-written and very easy to read. The chapters alternate between Rachel and Hannah's perspectives, which helps build tension. The short chapters makes the book easy to read, but they also suck you in because you figure you'll read "just one more chapter" and before you know it, it's 1am. LOL While I was able to figure out some of the mystery before the ending, other aspects caught me by surprise. I enjoyed reading how the story played out and was satisfied with the ending. Will this be a book that you'll want to read over and over again? No, but it's an entertaining book that you will be glad you read. I recommend you do so.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name—and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

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.

My Thoughts: A small town in North Carolina is the centerpiece of The Night Swim, focused on a current rape trial and a possible murder twenty-five years before.

As the story sweeps back and forth in time, we are led along by Rachel’s narrative, Hannah’s mysterious letters, and bits of Rachel’s podcast as she documents the current trial.

It doesn’t take long to see that many characters are interwoven into both stories, reminding us that the past can follow us into the present, as the secrets and crimes are untangled and revealed.

With an intensity that is enhanced by the short chapters and the fast pace, I sometimes felt confused by how many similarities existed between the separate events. Were these facts coincidental, or were many of the players repeating their bad behavior in the present?

One thing I’ve learned about small town life is how desperately the people depend on friends, and even enemies over whom they have leverage, and as a result, they sometimes escape justice. 5 stars.

***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley

I had a brilliant time with The Escape Room last year, and I have been looking forward to read more of Megan Goldin‘s writing ever since. I couldn’t resist joining the blog tour for The Night Swim, as I had a feeling I was going to enjoy my time with this story… And my instincts turned out to be right, as I had a brilliant time the second time around as well. In fact, I might have enjoyed this one even better, although both stories are very different and it’s probably not fair to compare the two. Dark, harrowing as well as powerful: The Night Swim talks about the very difficult topic of rape and helps show just how hard it is for victims to find justice and peace of mind.

First of all, I have to say that I loved the podcast element in The Night Swim. While the whole podcast element has been done before, I really liked how this element was incorporated into the plot here. Our main character Rachel is the crime podcast host and for her third season she decided to cover a rape trial in a small town live. The plot includes transcripts of those podcast episodes called Guilty or Not Guilty, in which Rachel talks about what happens during the trial and gives background about the participants, always trying to be objective of course. This story includes controversial and strong opinions and is used to talk about rape and show just how much a victim struggles and how they are often judged unfairly. On top of that, this story also shows that as a consequence victims often prefer not going to trial to avoid having to relive their trauma over and over again. Especially since it is very hard to get a conviction in the first place as it is the classic ‘he said/she said’ scenario. Even today, there is a lot of stigma around rape and victim blaming; I thought The Night Swim did a great job showing the different issues in play.

The story uses a dual POV structure in between the different podcast episodes. We switch between podcast host and journalist Rachel and Hannah, who is less present but basically key to the cold case investigation part of the plot. Because The Night Swim isn’t just about the upcoming rape trial which will be covered in the third podcast season, but it’s also about what happened to Hannah’s sister 25 years ago. Back then her death was ruled an accidental drowning, but Hannah claims that her sister was actually murdered and Rachel cannot help but feel intrigued. She is determined to try her best to find out more, especially after Hannah’s unusual way of contacting her. This cold case part of the plot is used both to take a break from the harrowing rape case as well as to add suspense and mystery to the plot. It was intriguing to slowly discover more about the past and the story definitely had some surprises in store along the way.

While the pace is slower in points, it didn’t bother me as much as I liked the balance between the present, the podcast episodes and the investigation into the past. The mystery around Hannah and her not wanting to meet Rachel in person to discuss her sister’s death had me fully intrigued. Why not come forward sooner? Was it a cover up, was it really a drowning, what happened exactly and who was involved? What does Hannah know? There were a lot of questions to keep me busy, and I always like it when a plot keeps me on my toes. The characters weren’t all that likeable, but their development was solid and felt realistic. It’s an interesting cast to shoulder both the past and present storyline, and they fit their different roles very well.

The Night Swim is a well written, dark and harrowing read that divides its attention between an upcoming rape trial and a death that happened 25 years ago. Both storylines are equally fascinating, and I ended up having a brilliant time with this story. The rape element can be hard to stomach, but I thought it was well done and the story definitely helps to shine a light on the issues rape victims still encounter while trying to find justice. Without doubt a powerful read!

I really enjoyed this book. Interesting premise with a crime podcast doing a live podcast during a trial of a local swim hero, accused of rape. They also weave in the story of a young girl who died mysteriously but was ruled an accident.

This kept my interest and move quickly. Very entertaining.

This book is UNputdownable; it's hard-hitting; it's told in a manner that will reach into your soul, especially if you've been a victim or have know someone who has been a victim of sexual assault/rape. I'm not a huge fan of trigger warnings, but in this case, Yep....highly needed.

This book is a MUST for true crime podcast lovers. I loved the formatting of this story; some told in Rachel's perspective as a narrator of the current time and additional mystery told within the story, some told in Hannah's perspective as the sister/narrator of the heinous things that happened to her sister in the past, and some told in podcast format (as if you were listening to it but the text form).

This book also made me angry at our justice system and how a lot of times the verdict comes down to who can present the best case vs who is actually guilty and who has to live with the awful things that were done to them.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be a good read, with a great plot and interesting characters. Although I wouldn’t say it’s a thriller, It is a great mystery with a lot of suspense. I felt a lot of emotions during the read. There are two storylines to follow, but the way the author set it up it is easy to keep track of each one. I would definitely recommend The Night Swim if you are into a great mystery.

This is a book that I wasn't sure about since it dealt with rape, but I'm so glad that I read it. For the third season of her podcast, Rachel's show is going to focus on the crime while the trial is ongoing. Rachel starts finding notes from Hannah about a crime in the same North Carolina coastal town that happened twenty five years ago. At first, Rachel is a little spooked since she tries to stay anonymous, but she soon starts investigating. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. One of the things that I liked about the book is the effect of rape not only on the woman, but also on her family and her community. There is a line in the book that really spoke to me about how everyone sees murder as wrong, but with rape, some people still see with shades of grey. I am giving this book five stars because this book had me thinking about how lawyers operate and how much the onus of the truth is on the rape victim. This is a well written book that I will read again in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and author for the ARC. This is how I love my thrillers, suspense, drama, and guess work without too much of my own brain work. I really liked Rachel's podcast and how she played a critical role in the case.

This book covers really heavy topics. While the description addresses the rape trial, it does not explain how much that topic pervades the book. It is grim and terribly sad. I think that there should be more of a warning about it. Times are grim enough right now and not everyone wants more grim reading.

The writing starts out fairly weak but gets better as the book goes on. The most engaging part of the story is the podcast portions. The mystery of what happened in the past not so much. It was very easy to determine who the bad guy was in the story line from the past. And to put various pieces together.

All in all, a powerful look at a still way too prevalent event and how it is viewed but not overall a big success.

This book is one giant trigger warning, but it was also so good. It centers on a woman named Rachel who runs a true crime podcast. Going into its third season, the podcast will be centering on a rape. Little did Rachel know she would also be solving a 25 year old murder also.

I enjoyed this book despite its brutal crimes. Rape and murder are both really tough subjects to write delicately but still with enough "hook" to keep the reader drawn in, and I think Goldin manages to.do with sensitivity. I enjoyed this book, but if you're at all triggered by rape or death, give it a pass. 4 stars!

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book considering the subject matter. It didn’t really matter if I liked it or not; this book was not going to be an easy read. I found The Night Swim to be upsetting enough at times that I had to put it down and walk away. The chapters told from the point of view of Hannah are particularly descriptive and could be triggering for those who are sensitive to the topic of sexual assault and rape. I felt the character of Rachel could have been a better advocate for the actual victim in the case she was covering. I found her to be somewhat cold. Aside from that and a couple flaws that I won’t get into so as to avoid spoilers, I think this book was well written.

Considering the magnitude of the topic I think the author did a satisfactory job telling this dual story. This book won’t be for everyone but I do think it’s an important read and serves as a reminder of how victims of violent crimes (especially women) are treated and that they deserve better from society.

I liked a lot about this court room mystery. It was written in dual points of view and timelines. Rachel Krall is a well known host of The Guilty or Not Guilty Podcast. She travels to a small town in Carolina to cover the trial of a local golden boy accused of raping a 16 year old girl. Alternating chapters are written by Hannah, who is "stalking" Rachel, to help her investigate the drowning death of her sister 25 years ago, which she believes to be a murder. The book was a slow burn for me and picked up momentum as the trial covered important issues such as who is really on trial, the victim or the accused rapist? There was suspense towards the end as Rachel started to uncover secrets and clues about the death of Hannah's sister Jenny. The two stories intersect at the end and kept me frantically turning the pages to find out the outcome of both cases. Goldin was both sensitive and realistic as she handled the topic of rape. However, there were some graphic descriptions throughout the courtroom scenes. I would definitely recommend this one and look forward to her next one!

From the depths of Nicole’s Book Cellar (Instagram.com/nicoles_bookcellar):

Book: The Night Swim (Release Date: Aug 4, 2020)
Trigger ⚠️ Rape/Abuse

Author: Megan Goldin

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Rating: 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Plot: Rachel runs a podcast and has been employed to do a season 3 of her show based off a rape trial. While she is attending the court trial for the rape case, a mysterious letter is left on her car windshield. Hannah Stills has left Rachel letters to find out what happened to her sister, Jenny, twenty-five years earlier. Hannah’s memory recollections are spotty and the case was closed as an accidental drowning.

Thoughts: I loved that this book includes two stories in one. You go on a journey of a case trial trying to find out if the jury will convict a young boy of rape or if they will think the victim is lying. Concurrently, you get to see Rachel dive into a twenty-five-year-old case that doesn’t have much evidence other than the memories of a ten-year-old, now thirty-five.

Final drinking thoughts: Just as Goldin did in #TheEscapeRoom, you think you have figured out what is going on then she drops another little nugget for you to ponder over. I loved that when you find out what happened to Jenny the story doesn’t just end there. It has a lot of pieces to it. Furthermore, Goldin does such a great job with bringing up the polarizing ideas and feelings on rape. I really liked Rachel’s character and would love to see a series made just for her.

Thank you to @NetGalley @Stmartinspress and @megangoldinauthor for the advanced copy of #TheNightSwim

#MeganGoldin #TheNightSwim #Stmartinspress #NetGalley #thriller #mystery #Books #Wine #LitFiction #BookReview #ILikeBigBooksAndICannotLie #Bookstigator #GoodReads #WinerRead #wineandread #Kindle #AmazonReads #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #advancedreadercopy #ARC

As Rachel arrives in a small town to start recording the new season of her hit true crime podcast she begins receiving letters asking for her help in solving a murder that took place in the town years ago. She has enough on her plate covering the rape trial that has the local golden boy in the defendant’s seat but cannot help but be intrigued by the mystery the letters present. Captivating and emotional this was a read in one sitting book.

Wow!
Goldin meshes two separate timelines with two separate crimes seamlessly.
I really enjoyed getting absorbed into both investigations.
Much love to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for my DRC.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC. This review is what I posted on the audiobook.. The narrators did an amazing job bringing life to this story. (hence the reminder it is a book) They did a fabulous job differentiating between the different characters of the story. The chapters where Rachel was airing her True Crime Podcast was so like listening to a real podcast. This audiobook is different from other audiobooks which is why it was so amazing.. I would definitely recommend this audiobook to friends.

Rachel Krall, true crime podcaster, has decided that this season of her podcast should be a real-time trial, something controversial an current. She finds the perfect opportunity when Olympic hopeful, Scott Blair finds himself facing trial for raping the granddaughter of the beloved former chief of police in his sleepy hometown of Neapolis.

Rachel became instantly famous when, during the first season, she uncovered new information proving that a high school teacher wrongly convicted murder of his wife. Her fame only grew when in season 2, she solved and previously unsolved murder. For these reasons, she protects her anonymity, she doesn’t mind being instantly recognizable for her voice but makes sure to use old photographs that don’t quite resemble her.
After stopping for a meal at a truck stop on her way to Neopolis, Rachel is surprised to find an envelope stuck under her windshield wiper addressed to her. Afraid she may have a stalker, Rachel is both a little scared and very intrigued.

Rachel begins interviewing people in Neapolis and begins her background investigation, trying to put the letter out her mind. Her curious nature prevents her from ignoring the letter and follows the instructions in the letter to a jetty where Jenny Stills supposedly drown twenty-five years ago. Her stalker doesn’t show but instead leaves another note.

As Rachel begins to cover the rape trial, more letters arrive, in unsettling ways. Hannah, Jenny Stills’ sister, recounts the time running up to her sister’s death through the eyes of the 9 year old she was at the time, asking for Rachel’s help to get justice for Jenny. Was Jenny’s accidental drowning during a night swim something much more sinister or are these letters the ranting of an emotionally fragile woman who lost her whole family before she was even 10 years old?

Rachel begins to see that sleepy little Neapolis has a convenient way of ignoring the things they don’t want to be true. The longer Rachel stays, the more connections she sees between the trial she is covering and Jenny's fatal night swim.

The trial is told in present tense and recapped for the podcast with thoughtful reflections. The letters bring us back to a time 25 years ago, and told through the voice of a woman who witnessed or nearly witnessed events as a 9 year old.

There is so much ebb and flow to this story, past and present, turmoil and calm, things seen and buried and seen again. The tone and the setting are perfect for this novel.

4.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

True crime podcasts have become really popular these days, so it’s no surprise that authors are starting to use that premise in stories. Megan Goldin did an excellent job incorporating the podcast episodes into the coverage of an on-going rape trial.

Rachel Krall, who records the podcast, has traveled to a small coastal town to cover the rape trial. Right away, she gets involved in more than she was expecting when a woman named Hannah starts leaving her notes pertaining to a rape and murder that occurred twenty five years ago.

The nuances of living in a small town complicate matters in both cases. Misguided loyalties prevent witnesses from coming forward and even provoke some to helping cover up the crimes.

It was bit confusing keeping track of the men involved because there was some overlap between the two crimes. This is one story that begs attention to the early interviews conducted by Rachel. At times I wanted to go back and reread comments by a few of the characters.

Throughout the story readers hear two points of view. One from Hannah, who tells the details of the past rape, and from Rachel, who tells of the current rape trial and simultaneously investigates the past rape. The courtroom scenes in the story were anything but boring. The ending of the trial was quite shocking.

The subject matter was brutal. The cruelty of the young men in the story was extremely disturbing. In spite of this, I found the story very well done and interesting.

I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy crime stories and mystery/thrillers. I’m looking forward to reading more from Megan Goldin in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Swim-Novel-Megan-Goldin-ebook/dp/B0818N4HC8
WOAH baby! Most of my friends know me for my light and fluffy reads, unless they hand me a book or recommend a book and say-READ THIS! This book stumbled into my lap and is so far from light and fluffy. Dead and buried are the light and fluffy days, I guess. When #METOO happened, so many people wanted to know why these woman waited so long- this book tells the story so clearly! I live in the North. There are a lot of laws that we have here that are or were laws that made no sense-like it was illegal for a woman to use the men’s bathroom. I remember that the bars that would serve underage kids would get busted for this, because they couldn’t prove that the IDs that the kids used were fake. This book talks about the definition of rape, uh, I actually didn’t think it wasn’t cut and dry. Uh, I also didn’t know there were SEVERAL definitions of it. This book takes place in North Carolina, so before I start spouting untruths, I figured that I would go to the website and verify -that was just a black hole that ended up somewhere that I didn’t even think would be needed. First Degree Forcible Rape is defined as this, according to RAINN in North Carolina:
Engaging in vaginal intercourse with another person by force and against the will of the other person, and:
• Uses, threatens to use or displays a dangerous or deadly weapon or an article which the other person reasonably believes to be a dangerous or deadly weapon; or
• Inflicts serious personal injury upon the victim or another person; or
• Commits the offense aided and abetted by one or more other persons.
Upon conviction, a person convicted under this section has no rights to custody of or rights of inheritance from any child born as a result of the commission of the rape, nor shall the person have any rights related to the child.

So; if someone had sex with you without your consent, but you were not threatened or injured, it isn’t first degree Rape- WHAT???!!!! If someone is larger than you and does not threaten you, not first degree. The fact that the rights to such child conceived under such act in question is completely mind boggling to me! Why would they have rights? This right here is why so many women did not come forward prior- the rape kit process alone. Imagine being in the worst situation of your life…then think about having to relive it over and over and being poked and prodded intimately for hours and interrogated like you did something wrong and them making you feel that the clothes you wore or things you said made them do that to you. The things that men get away with is INSANE! Any bartender or waitress can tell you how awful men are!
This book toggles between different points of view. This begins at the twenty-fifth anniversary of Jenny’s death. Her sister tells the story of what she remembers and how she felt. The next chapter is about Rachel. Rachel is from the podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty. Rachel receives a letter from Jenny’s sister, Hannah on her windshield. We spend the next 300 pages reliving the life that was Jenny’s and how social situations and high school stereotypes mold people. I could not stop reading this book. I read this cover to cover in a few hours. I could NOT believe some of the things that went on – they were so awful, but that is what these true crime podcasts talk about-awful things that happen that we always think could never happen to us. This book was so well written, I was screaming at the characters and begging them to stop and almost in tears at one point, the situations were so awful. This was quite the book, but I may need to go back to light and fluffy for a little bit, after reading three deep books in three days!

An interesting story from the author of The Escape Room, which I liked a lot more than this new book. The story moves along at a good pace as a podcast host is covering a small town trial and also gets dragged into investigating a murder that happened a long time ago. It was a fast read. It kept moving but I feel like it was missing that special twist of an experienced writer.