Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and Canelo and the author Megan goldin for an early copy of her book.

Rachel Krall is working on a true crime podcast,she was left a note by a listener it said her sister died years ago and wantd her to investigate her death will she help her?shes also covering a rape trial case.I really enjoyed her first book escape room,but wasnt so keen on this storyline..


This book will be reviewed on goodreads and Amazon uk.

My rating 4,5 stars

I was so excited to finally getting my hands on this one after seeing some fantastic reviews!

And I have to say I absolutely loved it! Podcasts have been very popular for thrillers lately, but not all of them are well executed.
This one, thank goodness, was particularly well done.

This is the story of Rachel, a famous podcaster, who travels to the small town of Neapolis to cover a sensational rape trial. Once there, she is contacted by Hannah, via a note on her windscreen.

Hannah wants justice for her sister Jenny, who she believes was murdered on a beach 25 years ago. At the time, Hannah was nine years old and her life was turned upside down when her mother died of a broken heart after Jenny's death. She has never spoken of what she saw that night. But now she is ready to talk.

It was so engaging to follow the stages of the trial as Rachel simultaneously investigated Jenny's death. As Hannah's letters kept coming in we were told Jenny's story right up to the night of her death. Did she drown, as the townspeople believe, or was she murdered?

This was a solid investigative thriller and it ticked all my boxes. If you love legal thrillers, secrets and podcasts, you need to read this. You won’t regret it. I loved Rachel’s character and how she didn’t give up on Hannah. Each chapter prompted you to read the next. The rape trial was equally gripping with a family drama thrown in for good measure.

This author has really cut to everything that is wrong in the justice system when it comes to punishing rapists. Some parts are truly harrowing to read, but that is the whole point. The double standards of male and female sexual experience is well covered here, with girls being branded ‘sluts’. I really enjoyed the dual timeline and thought the format of podcast/letters/first person narrative was very clever. This book tackles all this within a gripping plot. Powerful reading.

Megan Goldin is a new author to me, but I heard really good things about "The Night Swim". And while I can't say I enjoyed the content due to how horrible its themes are, I did really enjoy my reading experience as a whole. "The Night Swim" is highly relevant in a world in which rape culture is everywhere, that sees most rapists going free and seemingly having an entire army of apologists ready to fight for them and against the victims. The role of social media, the victim blaming, the power dynamics, the trauma of not just the crime itself but having to relive it during your attacker's trial - "The Night Swim" doesn't hold back and looks at all of these issues at point blank. It's at times tough to read, but important nonetheless.

The thriller elements are alright, this is not a nail-biting pageturner and the twists didn't blow me away, though the final one definitely threw a punch. Our protagonist is Rachel, an already famous podcaster who started the big true crime podcast hype that is sweeping the nation, and for her third season she chooses a horrible case of rape that is on trial at the moment. At the same time, a fan and kind-of-stalker named Hannah keeps writing her letters about a cold case involving her deceased sister - who officially drowned in the very town the trial is being held, but Hannah knows she was actually murdered.
The writing is solid and I quite enjoyed the mixed media approach, using a traditional narrative style mixed with podcast episodes and Hannah's letters.
All in all, this is a good thriller but a very important read and I'll be reading Goldin again.

The subgenre 'true crime podcaster gets intimately embroiled in a case' is probably one of my favourites... in theory. I cannot resist reading them but I rarely find one that I actually enjoy. Unfortunately, The Night Swim was another unremarkable example. The story follows Rachel Krall, a breakout true crime podcaster covering a rape case in real time. Intertwined is a cold case with eerie similarities. In investigating both, Rachel uncovers the sordid underbelly of a small town. While I found the cold case interesting (if a little predictable), the ripped from the headlines 'star swimmer rapes a student' storyline was a slow, depressing grind i found myself skimming to get through.

I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for a review.

True crime podcaster Rachel Krall has come to Neapolis, a small seaside town being torn apart by a devastating trial. A local golden boy – a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness – has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief.Gripping and heartbreaking with an undercurrent of unease running through it. Half can’t bear to read/half can’t bear to put it down. It’s marvellous - so tautly plotted and don’t see the twists coming! Will be a smash hit!

I didn't realise I had already read this title when it first came out, but I enjoyed the story a second time. Gripping and pacy, I read it all in one sitting. 4 stars

I feel like true crime documentaries seem to have exploded in the last couple of years and like everyone else I’ve binged a couple of popular series on Netflix. When I read the blurb of this book I knew immediately I wanted to read it. Rachel is the voice behind a popular true crime podcast, her latest season follows a live rape trial in the small town of Neapolis. While covering the trial someone mysteriously contacts Rachel looking for help to bring the case of her sisters murder to justice. ⁣
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I don’t read a lot from the crime/thriller genre. One look at our grid and you can tell we definitely tend to stay along the lines of romance. So that said, this is a relatively unexplored genre for me but the blurb really intrigued me. ⁣
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Throughout the narrative comes from Rachel as she covers the trial, Jenny’s sister Hannah as she writes to Rachel for help and Rachel’s podcast ‘Guilty or Not Guilty’. I haven’t listened to any podcasts but I could clearly imagine listening to Rachel as if she was speaking to me as a listener. I could imagine her voice which is part of the reason for her success lulling me into being hung up on the season waiting for each new episode. ⁣
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I found this to be a page turner particularly after the trial started. With the subplot of Jenny’s murder running alongside the main plot around the trial I was constantly trying to work out where the story was going to go and asking myself did both girls’ story have a connection? I didn’t see the end coming, and remember being shocked reading through to the end. After this I’m definitely looking forward to more from this author.