At a Glance

Title: The Night Swim

Author: Megan Goldin

Published: August 6, 2019 by St. Martin’s Press

Page: 352

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Goodreads Rating: 3.95 out of 5

My Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis

My Thoughts

I love true crime books. I especially love True Crime podcasts. Someone Knows Something is one of my favorites and this book really reminded me of that. Basically Someone Knows Something are all unsolved cases. They review the facts and interview those involved again, their hope is that someone listening to the podcast will be able to help solve or shed new light on the case. They strive to solve cold cases, and they are written wonderfully.

This book is very similar. Rachel Krall, after two successful seasons of past murders and even getting an innocent man released, Krall is ready for a new angle. She decides her newest season will follow the trial of a current rape case in a small east coast town. She expects to interview the townspeople, the families involved, the police, and anyone else she can. What she doesn’t expect is that one of the townspeople is looking for Rachel’s help to solve a rape and murder that happened 25 years ago.

Besides just being an amazingly written thriller this book tackles very real topics of rape, public opinions, and the criminal justice system. Goldin was able to weave these topics within the pages of this novel so seamlessly. This book makes you think! Especially in today’s ‘Me Too’ world, Goldin has posed the question asking, ‘why are rapists so hard to convict’? In addition to this she explores the idea of reputations and how nobody wins in a rape case. Even someone wrongly accused of rape, will forever be followed by the shadow of the accusation. At the same time, why must it fall to the victim to prove they’ve been traumatized. Doesn’t this traumatize the victim all over again? Why is the victim the only one who has no option but to testify and reveal the most intimate and horrific events of their own lives. I just don’t know but I did not think this thriller would ignite such powerful questions!

With the active rape case, the podcast entries, and the cold case plot; there is a lot that goes on in this book. However, Goldin does a great job of keeping everything straight, and kept the pace of the story moving nicely and you won’t see the ending coming that’s for sure.

This book is one I recommend for any podcast or true crime lovers. I only wish I could actually listen to her podcast now. It’s important to note that there can be alot of triggering events in this book, especially about sexual abuse, child abuse, and substance abuse. However, Goldin writes the right amount of each to be enough to fill the plot but not get too graphic, at least for me.

This book is out now, get it HERE!

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on The Night Swim If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books. 

About the Author

Megan Goldin is the author of The Escape Room, a 2019 thriller that Lee Child called “one of my favorite books of the year” and Harlan Coben called “thrilling and unforgettable”. Megan’s new novel The Night Swim will be released in August 2020. Before becoming a novelist, Megan worked as a reporter covering the Middle East and Asia for the Reuters news agency, the Associate Press and the ABC as well as other news outlets.

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