This was one of the most riveting books I have listened to this year. The three narrators did an awesome job with this book. They brought the characters to life for me. I feel the need to put a warning here. If you are a survivor of rape, there are areas that might be intense for you. I did not know to expect that and was taken by surprise. It took me back and I’ll be dealing with that, at the least, tonight. I don’t know if it was hearing it that hit me so hard or if it would have anyway if I was reading an ebook or print. I think with E-book or print I could have skimmed ahead but I don’t really know. In case someone is thinking the author was unnecessarily graphic with the rape, it wasn’t that part. The author describes what happens after. I didn’t even realize how much that stayed with me until today. Even though it affected me so much, I think it was important for the story. I think it plays an educational role for those who haven’t gone through it and may help with understanding and helping survivors. It’s kind of double edged for me.
What is this book about? A popular podcaster, Rachel, is covering the trial for the rape of a teenage girl. In doing so she uncovers another rape and suicide, that may be a murder, of another girl from that town years earlier. No one was convicted in that case as the victim was deceased. Rachel is covering the recent rape while also trying to unravel what happened with Jenny 25 years prior. The story was riveting for me. I listened to it all day, only stopping when I was triggered. I took a breather and kept pushing through because I needed to know how it would all end. There were some surprises along the way.
I do think it’s an important book as it brings up just how difficult rape trials are. I don’t have an answer on how to address that while insuring the accused gets a fair trial. I am grateful for the advances in DNA. Perhaps we can move forward to a place where survivors have options on how to testify that won’t be so traumatic.
I was given an audio copy by MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for review purposes. My review is my honest feelings and thoughts about this book.

I just finished the audio for The Night Swim by Megan Goldin and I really liked it. As the chapters alternate through the characters, the podcast is done right and develops the story perfectly.

While the story itself is heartbreaking, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrative was on point. I will recommend this to everyone!

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of The Night Swim in exchange for an honest review.

Am I the only one who loves listening to audio books as a way to relax? For me there is nothing more calming then listening to a good audio book and doing other things like crocheting to feel myself completely relax. What makes that even better? When the book is great and the narrators are super awesome! Bailey Carr; January LaVoy; Samantha Desz are great narrators that really captured the feel of the novel and the mood of the characters.

The actual story was really awesome as well. I read a really good book by Megan Goldin (The Escape Room) last year and was blown away by it. I have to say I enjoyed The Night Swim a bit more which surprised me! I think one of the things I liked so much about this is we followed a true crime podcaster as she decided to dedicate her latest season to a rape trial. I think this book is made for audio because as someone who listens to true crime podcasts the chapters actually sounded like a real podcast! Besides just being a mystery this also was a bit of a courtroom drama as well.

There is a trigger warning because of rape. You need to be prepared for that when going in to this.

Would I recommend this? I most certainly do. Pick this up and spend a quiet night at home getting lost in the story.

This was a whirlwind of a thriller. Firstly, I'd argue that this was much more of a suspenseful courtroom novel rather than what we've come to know as a traditional 'thriller'. It had some mystery elements but was by no means something that keeps you on the edge of your seat. But it was very entertaining and kept my brain turning.

Rachel, a true crime podcast host is trying to switch things up for the new season of her show, so she ventures off to a small town to cover a controversial rape case that is underway. But after she gets to the town, she begins to receive peculiar letters from a girl named Hannah who is hoping that Rachel will help her unravel the death of her sister. The case itself was eerily similar to the Brock Turner case that Chanel Miller wrote about in her memoir 'Know My Name'. That left this book feeling a little.. icky. I think the author was heavily influenced by the true story, yet I can't find a similar comment by the author saying anything about this. Maybe it was just one very odd coincidence. I don't know.

Overall, I liked this book but wouldn't read it again. The audiobook was great though, I really liked the narrator.

Thank you to #NetGallery for the ALC. #NightSwim

Wow. What a great book. I needed this in my life right now. Rachel has a true crime podcast and she is covering a rape trial in NC. She tells the audience both sides of the story and they decide who is guilty. In the same town, a woman has been contacting her for some years about her sister's death 25 years prior.

Hannah has been contacting Rachel in the hopes that she can get her sister's case reopened and maybe Rachel can help dig up evidence of what happened. Her sister Jenny was found dead on the beach, but as an experienced swimmer, the facts just don't add up. While covering the rape trial today, will Rachel be able to uncover secrets from the past?

This book shocked me, and there is not a lot that shocks me anymore. The book was written so well that I didn't see what was coming until it was on top of me. I knew one of the twists, but I honestly expected something completely different. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a good thriller. Trigger warning: there is rape and some of it is graphic details.

The narrators did a fantastic job, this audiobook was very well done. Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and the author for an early audio copy of this book.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audio book.
The narrators for the book are: Bailey Carr; January LaVoy; Samantha Desz I recognize the name January LaVoy, but I'm not sure which portion she was narrating, and I'm not sure if I recognized the other narrators voices. I listen to a lot of audio books, and this one I feel was done really well. The alternating narrators for the alternating POV's was very helpful. I'd previously been approved for the ebook ARC of this book, and had finished reading it before listening to this audio. I didn't care for a lot of the ebook, but the audio solved a few of those problems. Having a change of narration for differing POV's is so helpful for a book like this.

Overall, as much as I liked the production of the audio book, and do like the idea of a true crime pod caster following a trial and telling us the behind the scenes with research and additional character development, I just don't care for the subject matter of the book. And I still feel that the details about the rape should have been noted in the description of the book. Maybe it is a sign of a good author to make the reader feel so uncomfortable with the described scenes, but it was very hard to read - and to listen to.

I previously read the author's other book and just did not like it at all. I liked this one better, for the writing, the description. But the subject matter didn't work for me. The audio book was well done and exciting to listen to.

*Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook!*

I loved the premise of this audiobook in that it had the feel of a "movie within a movie" except this was a podcast production, which was a unique idea. I love podcasts and listen to them frequently so, this book appealed to me a great deal. The subject matter -two different stories of rape -could be disturbing for some, but I didn't find it to be excessively graphic.
The Night Swim contained dual POV's and storylines, and the author perfected writing about them simultaneously. The end had an incredible twist that I did not see coming. This is a sad story, and I truly felt deep compassion and empathy for the victims because no one wins here except for getting some semblance of closure. My favorite thing about The Night Swim was the sheer fact that this is a book that should be listened to. The narration was excellent, and the podcast segments were recorded like a real true-crime podcast, music, interviews, and all. Loved IT!! Well done Megan Goldin.

This was emotionally devastating, but like, in a good way. Megan Goldin hit the perfect balance between the present narrative, the letters about the past, and the podcast episodes. This book had me absolutely gripped. As a side note, I have got to stop reading books that make me cry while I'm at work.

TAKE THE PLUNGE!

"The Night Swim" is a dark, intense, and powerful book about the victimization and rapes of two teen girls in the same town-- 25 years apart. One girl was allegedly raped by the town's "golden boy"/ Olympic hopeful and she has made the decision to testify at her rapist's trial. The other girl was gang-raped 25 years ago and her rapists were never brought to trial with the victim never living to testify.

The book is fast-paced and I was unable to put the book down -- finishing it in two days. I listened to the audio version of the book and the publisher did a superb job with the book's audio production. I always love it when a book has multiple narrators and this book had three of them. January LaVoy is one of my very, very, very favorite narrators and she was one of the three talented narrators narrating this book.

The only reason why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 stars is that I would have preferred if the book just focused on one crime instead of two crimes. I felt that some of the details of both crimes were slightly contrived just because of the author's desire to show their relationship to each other.

Before listening to this book, I was a huge fan of Megan Goldin's "The Escape Room". Even though this book was a very, very different read than "The Escape Room" -- Megan Goldin did not disappoint. She is a very talented writer and I will be looking forward to her next book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with the opportunity to review this book. I highly recommend this title.

This book makes you think. It was raw and uncomfortable at times, but explored the subject of rape and sexual assault from every angle while staying highly entertaining. If you like high stakes and complex characters, look no further. This is your book.

My only complaint is that at times I got frustrated with the POV character. She made some decisions that I think would have had more consequences in real life, like leaving a trial she is supposed to be covering to chase a lead for a different case simply out of curiosity.

Even so, the story was beautifully narrated, well-paced and so engaging that I’m still giving it 5 stars.

Okay I LOVED this book so much! The audio was so awesome I felt like I was listening to a real podcast. There were so many moving parts and twists I wasn't sure how it was all going to play out. I went though this book so fast. I loved the court case and the detective work. Also really eye opening to see how rape is handled compared to murder. GREAT BOOK I HIGHLY recommend!!! Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC

Rating: 6.5/10

The Night Swim is a mystery/crime novel that follows two different narratives, both cases involving Rachel – the host of a popular true crime podcast. The first is Rachel’s coverage of a current rape trial. The second is a murder case from 25 years ago that Rachel is being asked to investigate.

I enjoyed reading this book and trying to interpret the clues of each case: needing to know what happened, who was guilty, who was not, and where the connection between these two cases meet. There was a decent amount of tension that led to a feeling of wanting to continue reading. It was mysterious enough that I did not want to put it down. It was also a relatively easy read that I finished in a few sittings, which definitely has its perks.

The character set was good, too. Rachel is the main character, and I came to really like her during the story. She was strong and assertive and dedicated to finding the truth. I like the idea of her being a podcast host, because it forces her character to look at each scenario from many different perspectives. Rachel did not really pass judgment on any of the other characters early in the book – she would stay neutral and balanced until she found the truth. This appeals to me as a reader because it has me constantly doubting myself. I kept thinking, he did it. No, he didn’t do. Maybe he did it. Maybe he is covering up for someone. No, he definitely did it. I like being forced to constantly rethink things during a mystery/crime novel.

As much as I enjoyed reading it, this book did have some major flaws. The biggest flaw for me was that there was not a lot of “wow!”. No real surprise factors. There were a few twists and turns, but nothing that made my head spin. I like to be caught off guard. I want to finish a crime novel and think, that author made a fool out of me. Megan Goldin did not accomplish that in this novel. The other big flaw was the execution of the podcast storyline in the book. Every few chapters is a transcript of Rachel’s most current podcast episode. This is a great idea, except that each of these chapters is only about 5-8 pages long. This would make for 3-5 minute podcasts. That is unrealistic, especially for a popular true crime podcast. I understand that there is no way to include transcripts of 30-60 minute podcasts, but there had to be another way. It felt like a half-completed idea to me.

Overall, The Night Swim was a good read. I did not find it to be particularly exciting, but if you are looking for a good mystery that is an easy read I recommend it.

Wow!!! 4.5 stars! The Night Swim deals with the topic of rape (more specifically two rapes), but delves deeper into the justice system and what victims are put through if they try to seek justice. It’s told from the POV of a neutral 3rd party who is presenting the current case through a podcast while simultaneously trying to determine what happened 25 years ago. The narrator was fabulous (I listened to the audiobook), she drew me in and made it feel as if I was truly listening to a true crime podcast.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin reminded me of watching a true crime show. Sometimes hard to watch/read, but somehow, we are still drawn to the story and want to know more and how it ends!

I struggled a bit with The Night Swim in terms of the graphic rapes, and the courtroom scenes. The story goes between a “cold case” that happened 25 years ago, along with a modern day rape case.

My favourite aspect of the story was how parts of it were told in Podcast form. Rachel runs a podcast called Guilty or Not Guilty, and I loved the modern edge it brought to this story. While Rachel is covering the modern rape case between Scott and Kelly, she also decides to help Hannah solve her sister’s case from 25 years ago.

The story was constantly moving and was extremely well paced. Some of the twists at the end really surprised me as well.

I found the narrations were all good. I found some of them sounded a little too similar, so I would have liked more distinction. Whoever voiced Rachel did the best job. I can still hear her voice in my head.

This was my first book by Goldin, and I would read more by her. I hear her first book Escape Room is fantastic. If you like thrillers this is a good one, but just be warned of the graphic nature of this story.

I received an advanced audiobook from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

“Guilty or Not Guilty, the Podcast that puts you in the jury box.” Rachel is a reporter/investigator. After her phenomenal podcast success, she’s set for the start of Season Three, an explosive rape case in the town of Neapolis. The town is divided as they are either for Scott, a decorated college swimmer on his way to the big leagues or Kelly, a high school girl from a good family. As Rachel prepares, she finds herself distracted as she keeps getting letters from a person named Hannah. Hannah wants Rachel’s help solving her sister’s murder 25 years prior. The only problem ... her sister drowned! As Rachel delves deeper into Hannah’s claims, she decides to help her even while she’s embroiled in her Podcast and the rape trial. Goldin does a great job keeping the reader completely engrossed with two different cases intermixed with a riveting podcast. A truly fascinating tale that will keep you captivated until the last word.

I'm not going to lie, this was a difficult book to read (or listen to in my case). The Night Swim deals with rape and doesn't shy away from the truth and from what happens in court.

Rachel, our main character, produces a crime podcast where she talks about the rape of a sixteen high school girl by the local popular swimmer. This book however, doesn't only focus on this case but also on a mystery that happened twenty-five years ago where a girl "accidentally drowned". Turns out, these two crimes might be linked in some way and when Hannah, the dead girl's younger sister keeps leaving her letters to talk about what happened, Rachel can't stop herself from investigating where the police didn't.

The Night Swim was compelling in a way that I couldn't look away. It was thought provoking, emotional and heart wreaching at times. The writing was good and I thought the way the author linked the mysteries was well-done. I also loved the podcast format!


(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

Night Swim is the second book I’ve read this year by Megan Goldin and both books were brilliant. Whereas Escape Room was a psychological thriller mixed with dark humor as a bunch of backstabbing Investment Bankers/Hedge Fund Analysts are trapped in an elevator in what they think is an Escape Room exercise, The Night Swim is in a whole different class. No humor here, but the sober and disturbing story of violent rape, told over two timelines, taking place in a small backwater town in North Carolina.

The novel begins with a police officer bringing an eight-year-old Hannah home to her mother together with the bad news that her sixteen-year-old sister, Jenny, has drowned in the ocean. Hannah knows things that she is afraid to tell anyone, things that at the time she doesn’t fully understand. Her mother is terminally ill with cancer and in the space of several months Hannah loses both her sister and her mother. She has no other relatives.

Skip forward 25 years and Rachel, a successful True Crime podcast journalist, arrives in town to cover the trial of a contending Olympic swimmer who has been charged with the high-profile rape of a local High School girl, Kelly.

About half of the story unfolds in epistolary fashion, described in Rachel’s podcast episodes and in the letters she receives from Hannah. Hannah tries to involve Rachel in finally getting justice for her sister, who she now knows was beaten and gang-raped on numerous occasions, and she suspects was then murdered and thrown into the sea. Jenny was a strong swimmer and Hannah knows she did not die from crashing into rocks in the sea as the coroner’s report stated.

The book details the violent rapes of the victims, the horrible shaming that Jenny was subjected to by her schoolmates and the shaming Kelly suffers in the courtroom at the hands of the defense attorney. This is about all I want to write because the book is brilliant, and I don’t want to spoil the reader’s experience by disclosing anything more about plot or about the characters. There are surprises – lots of them, and there are links between the past and the present.

The plot and character development were excellent as were the narrators, Baily Carr, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of this Macmillan Audio Production from St. Martin’s Press.

The Night Swin by Megan Goldin
Pub Date 08/04/2020
Thriller

Rachel the podcast host of guilty or not guilty, the podcast that puts you in the jury box! Rachel travels to a small town of Neapolis to cover a rape trial on her podcast that will put the millions of people that listen into the jury box. They can decide after listening to the trial and going over the evidence if the man is guilty or innocent.
While Rachel is in town covering a trial someone is following her, leaving notes, asking her to investigate it 25 year old case. Rachel decides to look into this old case while working on the second season of her hit podcast.
Rachel soon uncovers startling connections between the two cases. Which will change the lives of everyone involved in the two cases. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the publisher and to #netgalley for the free book for an honest review.

I am getting use to this audiobook thing! This time around, I really like the way the narrators captured the characters. The different voices for the points of view/podcast chapters helped me stay in the story instead of being pulled out of it or distracted by it as I have been previously.

Rachel is a journalist with a popular true crime podcast, Guilty or Innocent. She has had two very successful seasons rehashing former cases for new results. I, personally, love those kinds of podcasts, books, and documentaries. I was hooked. The Innocence Project has me. I will listen to, watch, or read anything thing they are involved in. Rachel may be leading or she may be capitalizing on the popularity, but either way she has made such a splash that someone seeks her out to get justice for her sister.

A note left for Rachel brings back the case of a young girl whose death was ruled an accident. Rachel has come to Neapolis, a small seaside town, to cover a live rape trial. She is lead into the incestuous underbelly of the town itself as she weaves together the past and the present to investigate both crimes.

Here is where I feel the need to remind people that this is delicate and troubling subject matter. It may not be for everyone. Some people who have survived such crimes find the reading of justice for victims to be empowering and satisfying. Others find them to be traumatic to read. This is a trial. A victim will have to describe the crime against her. You may want to skip it, depending on your experience. It is raw and realistic in its portrayal of what a person goes through when they are a attacked. If you believe women make rape claims in order to get attention or revenge, read completely. It is never going to be worth what is required to try to get a conviction.

Thank you to Megan Goldin, Netgalley, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to experience this book for my honest review.

The Night Swim is a must read for anyone that likes thrillers! I could not put it down.

The Night Swim is about Rachel, a popular true crime podcast host. She goes to Neapolis for the current season of her podcast which is about a rape instead of a murder. Rachel is at the trial. While in Neapolis, Rachel gets notes from Hannah who's sister died years ago. Hannah believes her sister was murdered even though it was ruled a suicide. Rachel investigates both cases throughout the book.

Bailey Carr, January LaVoy, and Samantha Desz did a fantastic job narrating. I could not imagine better narrators for this book. I also enjoyed the audio clips of the podcast which I think made The Night Swim better as an audiobook than a regular book.

The Night Swim has so much suspense. This is one of the best thrillers I've read in a while. I recommend The Night Swim to mystery/thriller fans. This was my first book by Megan Goldin and I plan on reading her backlist and future titles.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this audiobook in exchange of an honest review.