“A blistering plot and crisp writing make The Night Swim an unputdownable read.” –Sarah Pekkanen, bestselling author of The Wife Between UsIn The Night Swim, a new thriller from Megan Goldin, author of the “gripping and unforgettable” (Harlan Coben) The Escape Room, a true crime podcast host covering a controversial trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime … into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years before.
Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name—and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.
The new season of Rachel’s podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation—but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases—and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.
Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?
more
Rachel is a popular podcaster going into her third season. In the past two seasons, she has helped free an innocent man and helped solve a previously unsolved murder.
In her third season, the pressure is on to keep her podcast fresh and innovative. So, she has made her way to Neapolis to follow and report on the rape trial of Kelly Moore vs. Scott Blair.
While there, Rachel receives mysterious notes, from a woman named Hannah, at odd places as well as places that nobody should have access to. These notes ask for help to find out what truly happened to her sister 25-years earlier. Hannah believes her sister Jenny was murdered. She does not believe the previous filed case by police that it was a drowning.
As Rachel explores, she retraces “K’s”, steps and reports on the court case and her findings, she is also intrigued by these letters.
As the court case unfolds so does the story behind a young girl’s death.
Can Rachel report on the current rape trial and help someone put their fears to rest?
Will “K” get the closure she needs or will it all be too much?
Evocative and thought-provoking.
Being placed alongside the jurors and hearing testimony and the cross-examination brought a new light to what rape victims must endure. It brought up a host of conflicting emotions.
It affected me and made me think. The legal tape that surrounds a rape trial is something we never truly think about, or at least I didn’t. Not only do these victims have to testify and go through an invasive body search for evidence, they must also endure and suffer through a cross examination. An examination that must, by nature, disprove what the victim went through. That in some way, must also demean her and everything she has gone through in search of truth. This story touched upon that only briefly, but is stayed with me long after.
There is a part in the book where Rachel describes a rustling of wild grass and correlates it to what K heard when she walked through it that fateful night, it gave me shivers and put me in this victim’s shoes if only just for a few brief moments.
There is mounting tension throughout the book. It was also gripping. My eyes and attention stayed glued to my ipad while reading. I needed to know what happened and how it would end. I wanted all the answers instantaneously but didn’t want the story to end.
The ending is bittersweet but fitting. At the end of the day, there are no heros in this story. Only flawed humans doing the best they can with what they have been given.
I received an ARC via NetGalley of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.