The Night Swim

Rachel Krall is known for her voice. She has a true crime podcast with a wide following. People know her voice- not her face, so when she finds a note under her windshield wiper, she is a little unsettled. The note is asking Rachel to investigate a listener’s older sister’s death twenty-five years earlier. Not an easy feat, as Rachel is in the small town of Neapolis , to cover a rape trial. A local swimmer bound for Olympic greatness has been accused of raping a local high school student. Rachel throws herself into covering the trial and sets about interviewing as many people as she can on both sides of the trial, all the while receiving letters about Jenny Stiles death years earlier. Jenny Stiles was believed to have drowned but her younger sister, Hannah is determined that the truth come out. She knows that her sister was murdered and wants the truth to be known. Intrigued Rachel begins to ask some questions and learns that small towns have secrets, secrets and long memories, and there are still some around who would prefer that the past remain in the past.

Whew! Another solid book by Megan Goldin. I loved the Author’s previous book, The Escape Room and had to read this one right away. It did not disappoint. I was hooked from page one. I loved how this book was about reputation – how they are formed, how people can make them for you and the damaging consequences when people begin to become identified by their “reputation”. This book also shows the divide between the haves and have-nots, how money and influence also affect and can pre-determine how you are viewed in society. But in the end, this book comes down to the brutality of rape.

There are two mysteries in this book and the Author blended their stories beautifully. The transitions between the past and present were flawless. Both stories were interesting, gut wrenching and intriguing. There is a lot to discuss with this book – rape, how blame is assigned, the treatment of rape survivors, court testimony, pod casts, reputations, guilt, silence, etc.

I found this book to be captivating, hard to put down, intriguing and thought provoking. Plus, I am really hoping that this will become a series – don’t know if it will but would love if it was. Either way, this was a fabulous book and I look forward to more books by this author in the future.

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and Edelweiss in exchange for and honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.