Title: The Night Swim
Author: Megan Goldin
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Edition/Pages: Audiobook, 9 Hours 58 Minutes
Goodreads page

I received an ARC & ALC copy of this from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Summary

“This is Rachel Krall on Guilty or Not Guilty, the podcast that puts YOU in the jury box.”

Rachel’s podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty, became an overnight sensation when she found evidence to set an innocent man free. With pressure to make season 3 the best yet, Rachel heads to small town Neapolis to cover a devastating rape trial that has rocked the city. The town is divided when the local golden boy, and potential Olympic swimmer, is arrested for the rape of a high school student. On top of the trial, Rachel begins to receive frightening letters from a woman named Hannah begging her for help. 
“The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.”

Overview

➸ POV: 1st Person, Rachel’s POV, Hannah’s letters, and Guilty or Not Guilty Podcast segments

➸ Rachel Krall: Host of the true crime podcast Guilty or not Guilty, Covering a rape trial in Nepalis

➸ Hannah Stills: Writes letters to Rachel, Sister Jenny was killed at 16, Adopted and left Nepalis after her family passed away

➸ Content Warnings: Murder, Rape, Victim Blaming, Graphic & detailed depictions of sexual assault, Cancer, Suicide, Death, Adoption, Sexism, Drunk driving

My Thoughts

Wow…. This book completely blew me away. I had heard amazing things about this author and the podcast element to this story intrigued me. I had no idea this would become a new favorite mystery/thriller!

First of all, if you are able to access it, I cannot recommend the audiobook enough. This has multiple narrators as well as music for the podcast portions. The audio for this worked so well for this story and really brought it to life. I was completely immersed in this story and finished all 10 hours in 2 sittings.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t get how we can almost unanimously agree that murder is wrong, yet when it comes to rape some people still see shades of gray.”

This book is extremely heavy. This deals with so many difficult topics and really highlights the horrors of rape culture and victim blaming. There were definitely many moments that were difficult to read and stomach. So make sure to check out TWs before going into this one! It does not shy away from graphic details. But I also learned a lot about trials and how damaging they can be for victims. Not only was this an amazing thriller, but it has an extremely poignant and important message as well. 

I loved watching these two threads unfold and come together. While I didn’t find the final reveal to be especially surprising, it was so well written and paced that it honestly didn’t matter. I was still blown away by the execution. I loved the format – between Rachel’s POV, Hannah’s epistolary chapters, and the podcast elements. It was such a unique and effect style. And it brought a lot to the story! Nothing ever felt info dumpy because we were learning everything right along with the characters. 

Overall this mystery blew me away. It was an immersive and chilling read that I won’t soon forget. I highly recommend checking this out immediately!

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