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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings: Explicit detail over the course of a rape trial of the night in question, death of a sibling, death of a parent, guilt and shame over the death of a sibling, rape, explicit cover ups of rapes/deaths going over a long period of time in the towns history, bullying, slut-shaming. cancer- leukemia, suicide, Car accidents, Two different intertwining cases of rape/assault are discussed.
*Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss/Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*
This book is raw and real and emotional. I had to put it down a few times to take a breather and compose myself and dive back in. If you are sexual assault survivor, please read this book with care and prepare yourself to be in the right mental space to read it. It is heavy, and dark, and is not skimpy on the details. Megan Goldin handles the story with a sensitive level of honesty that does sexual assault survivors justice and respect.
The story revolves around Rachel Krall, a journalist turned famous true crimes podcast, a sexual assault victim known as a “K” who is going through a criminal trial, Hannah Stills, and her sister Jenny Stills. The story is told through alternating POV’s and opens with Hannah sharing memories from her youth about her mother and sisters deaths. Jenny drowned in an accident, despite that fact that she is well known as an exceptional swimmer. Hannah tells us about her home in Neopolis, North Carolina. How they moved into it after her grandfather passed away. Megan brilliantly and sensitively narrates the story from Hannah’s view of what it means to be a nine year old who cannot understand the true weight of what is happening around her. Magan makes it clear through Hannahs narration of one her memories that Jenny has been assaulted -Jennys return home one night after she was taken “fishing” with some local boys from town. The description of bruising on Jennys body and the complete change of her personality makes it clear to the reader that something horrific happened to Jenny that Hannah is completely unaware of. Whispers and gossip spread through the town that Jenny was “that kind of girl – just like her mom” and that she is a “slut” and “easy.” Later in the book another memory is shared by Hannah that Jenny goes on a date with a boy from her school that Jenny seems to hold an affection for. Once again Jenny comes home after the date looking very disheveled and upset. Crying in the arm chair once she is inside, leaving Hannah not understanding what is happening and leaving readers to believe that something horrible has occurred to her again no doubt due to the reputation that others have thrust upon her. Jennys death is ruled an accident and no investigation is ever opened. Hannahs mother dies a month or so later and Hannah is put into foster care with Jennys death forgotten in time.
Within the first few chapters we are introduced to Rachel Krall. A journalist turned true crime podcaster whose investigative chops previously got a man who was found guilty of murdering his wife’s conviction overturned by proving his innocence. By the time we are introduced to her in The Night Swim, she is well renowned household name, causing many people reach out to her with cases they think she should investigate next, with a lot of those cases coming from people who have been failed by the justice system or have previously exhausted all their options and are hoping Rachel can be their last chance victory.
“This is Rachel Krall on Guilty or Not Guilty, the podcast that puts YOU in the jury box.”
Know for her smooth, sultry voice, and not her face (having gone to great lengths to remain as anonymous as possible) Rachel is on her way to Neapolis, the small seaside beach town on the North Carolina rocked by a sexual assault scandal. As a side note, for me Neopolis was very reminiscent of the small, seedy, beachside town of Neptune, California in the TV show Veronica Mars. One of my absolutely favorite shows. Now, I’m not pointing this out to claim that the idea was stolen from that show, just that they have a lot of similarities; small town coverups and secrets that involve the towns richest and most notable families and the towns officials, the death of a young girl who doesnt make sense, secrets, lies, things that arent as they seem. The stories are different and completely separate, but with similar themes. I love these types of murder-mystery-who-dun-it, things arent what they seem, everyone has secrets stories, and I highly recommend you check out Veronica Mars if you’ve never seen it.
Wanting something really big for the upcoming season three of her podcast, Rachel decides to travel to Neopolis to cover the rape trial of a 16 year old girl only known as “K” and Scott Blair – a college student who is the son of a wealthy family and on track to win olympic gold in the future. The girl he raped is the granddaughter of the retired Chief of Police, and despite the efforts of keeping her anonymous – everyone knows who she is. K, however, is determined to take the stand against her rapist at trial. The way Megan captured life in a small town was compelling and on point for me as a small town gal. I grew up in a small town and the way Neopolis is portrayed is stunningly accurate. As Miranda Lambert crooned in one of her country songs “Everybody dies famous in small town.” The town is deeply divided on who is guilty and who is innocent in this case. On the way to Neopolis, Rachel is recognized and someone leaves a note on her windshield while she is in a diner eating. The note pleads for her help with her sisters death as she can no longer keep silent and wants to be heard. Wants justice for her sister Jennys death. The note is signed Hannah.
Rachel is alone in Neopolis as her coworker, Pete, was massively injured in a motorcycle accident and had to stay behind due to his hospitalization and physical therapy. At first Rachel is not sure if she wants to dig into Jennys death and becomes unsettled when more letters for her from Hannah arrive, even in her hotel room while she is away. Curiousity gets the better of her and she becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Jenny, the more she learns about Jenny’s death and what happened in the town 25 years ago the more she realizes that Jenny’s death was not an accident. I don’t want to spoil anything for those who would be interested in reading this by giving a lot of details about what happens with this cat and mouse game Hannah and Rachel are a part of, but it is a compelling, read in one sitting, shake you to your core story. Megan is an expert at dropping nuggets throughout the story to help weave the two storylines together and leave you on the edge of your seat. There were several times where I was shouting out loud when those hidden connections between characters were revealed and those little hints were putting the story together.
I never would have ever seen the ending coming, I was literally blown away when it was revealed who Jennys killer was. I just sat there with my hand over my mouth for a good five minutes. Overall this story had terrific writing, great pacing – there was never a moment where I was bored or the story was moving sluggishly, the characters were dynamic, and it is clear that a lot of research and care went into crafting this story. There were several real life cases that inspired this fictional tale. It is an accurate portrayal of how sometimes the justice systems fails people, and sometimes the truth isn’t what matters, its all the posturing and showy peacocking from the defense and the prosecution to get their version of the story to win over the jury. At the end of the day they are no winners in a sexual assault case as the survivors will be always be haunted by the events of their assault. Their lives forever changed.
*Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss/Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*
This book is raw and real and emotional. I had to put it down a few times to take a breather and compose myself and dive back in. If you are sexual assault survivor, please read this book with care and prepare yourself to be in the right mental space to read it. It is heavy, and dark, and is not skimpy on the details. Megan Goldin handles the story with a sensitive level of honesty that does sexual assault survivors justice and respect.
The story revolves around Rachel Krall, a journalist turned famous true crimes podcast, a sexual assault victim known as a “K” who is going through a criminal trial, Hannah Stills, and her sister Jenny Stills. The story is told through alternating POV’s and opens with Hannah sharing memories from her youth about her mother and sisters deaths. Jenny drowned in an accident, despite that fact that she is well known as an exceptional swimmer. Hannah tells us about her home in Neopolis, North Carolina. How they moved into it after her grandfather passed away. Megan brilliantly and sensitively narrates the story from Hannah’s view of what it means to be a nine year old who cannot understand the true weight of what is happening around her. Magan makes it clear through Hannahs narration of one her memories that Jenny has been assaulted -Jennys return home one night after she was taken “fishing” with some local boys from town. The description of bruising on Jennys body and the complete change of her personality makes it clear to the reader that something horrific happened to Jenny that Hannah is completely unaware of. Whispers and gossip spread through the town that Jenny was “that kind of girl – just like her mom” and that she is a “slut” and “easy.” Later in the book another memory is shared by Hannah that Jenny goes on a date with a boy from her school that Jenny seems to hold an affection for. Once again Jenny comes home after the date looking very disheveled and upset. Crying in the arm chair once she is inside, leaving Hannah not understanding what is happening and leaving readers to believe that something horrible has occurred to her again no doubt due to the reputation that others have thrust upon her. Jennys death is ruled an accident and no investigation is ever opened. Hannahs mother dies a month or so later and Hannah is put into foster care with Jennys death forgotten in time.
Within the first few chapters we are introduced to Rachel Krall. A journalist turned true crime podcaster whose investigative chops previously got a man who was found guilty of murdering his wife’s conviction overturned by proving his innocence. By the time we are introduced to her in The Night Swim, she is well renowned household name, causing many people reach out to her with cases they think she should investigate next, with a lot of those cases coming from people who have been failed by the justice system or have previously exhausted all their options and are hoping Rachel can be their last chance victory.
“This is Rachel Krall on Guilty or Not Guilty, the podcast that puts YOU in the jury box.”
Know for her smooth, sultry voice, and not her face (having gone to great lengths to remain as anonymous as possible) Rachel is on her way to Neapolis, the small seaside beach town on the North Carolina rocked by a sexual assault scandal. As a side note, for me Neopolis was very reminiscent of the small, seedy, beachside town of Neptune, California in the TV show Veronica Mars. One of my absolutely favorite shows. Now, I’m not pointing this out to claim that the idea was stolen from that show, just that they have a lot of similarities; small town coverups and secrets that involve the towns richest and most notable families and the towns officials, the death of a young girl who doesnt make sense, secrets, lies, things that arent as they seem. The stories are different and completely separate, but with similar themes. I love these types of murder-mystery-who-dun-it, things arent what they seem, everyone has secrets stories, and I highly recommend you check out Veronica Mars if you’ve never seen it.
Wanting something really big for the upcoming season three of her podcast, Rachel decides to travel to Neopolis to cover the rape trial of a 16 year old girl only known as “K” and Scott Blair – a college student who is the son of a wealthy family and on track to win olympic gold in the future. The girl he raped is the granddaughter of the retired Chief of Police, and despite the efforts of keeping her anonymous – everyone knows who she is. K, however, is determined to take the stand against her rapist at trial. The way Megan captured life in a small town was compelling and on point for me as a small town gal. I grew up in a small town and the way Neopolis is portrayed is stunningly accurate. As Miranda Lambert crooned in one of her country songs “Everybody dies famous in small town.” The town is deeply divided on who is guilty and who is innocent in this case. On the way to Neopolis, Rachel is recognized and someone leaves a note on her windshield while she is in a diner eating. The note pleads for her help with her sisters death as she can no longer keep silent and wants to be heard. Wants justice for her sister Jennys death. The note is signed Hannah.
Rachel is alone in Neopolis as her coworker, Pete, was massively injured in a motorcycle accident and had to stay behind due to his hospitalization and physical therapy. At first Rachel is not sure if she wants to dig into Jennys death and becomes unsettled when more letters for her from Hannah arrive, even in her hotel room while she is away. Curiousity gets the better of her and she becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Jenny, the more she learns about Jenny’s death and what happened in the town 25 years ago the more she realizes that Jenny’s death was not an accident. I don’t want to spoil anything for those who would be interested in reading this by giving a lot of details about what happens with this cat and mouse game Hannah and Rachel are a part of, but it is a compelling, read in one sitting, shake you to your core story. Megan is an expert at dropping nuggets throughout the story to help weave the two storylines together and leave you on the edge of your seat. There were several times where I was shouting out loud when those hidden connections between characters were revealed and those little hints were putting the story together.
I never would have ever seen the ending coming, I was literally blown away when it was revealed who Jennys killer was. I just sat there with my hand over my mouth for a good five minutes. Overall this story had terrific writing, great pacing – there was never a moment where I was bored or the story was moving sluggishly, the characters were dynamic, and it is clear that a lot of research and care went into crafting this story. There were several real life cases that inspired this fictional tale. It is an accurate portrayal of how sometimes the justice systems fails people, and sometimes the truth isn’t what matters, its all the posturing and showy peacocking from the defense and the prosecution to get their version of the story to win over the jury. At the end of the day they are no winners in a sexual assault case as the survivors will be always be haunted by the events of their assault. Their lives forever changed.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is very well written and kept me invested the entire time. It was very difficult to listen due, due to the nature of the crimes described but it portrayed rape and rape trials in a way that really showed how horrible the crime is- first when perpetrated and secondly, during the trial.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix