Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Night Swim

Sooooooo, I was pretty disappointed with this one. I saw a lot of love for it, the rating on GR is high, but I just did not love it.

I did like that it handled the issue of rape with tenderness and respect. The author wasn't gratuitous in her descriptions, and she respected the survivors enough not to make them "just the rape victim". I thought the verdict in the Kelly Moore timeline was realistic (not going to say much more because spoilers, but I have more thoughts.) I also found Hannah's timeline intriguing, although a little disjointed and hard to get a read on who she actually is beyond a grieving sister.

Now the negatives. I really, really did not like Rachel. She was SO BLAND, and I found her grating on my nerves. How did this woman solve 3 crimes? Why did everyone feel open to talking with her, when she had zero personality? On top of that, I thought the podcast aspect did not work. It's not going to age well, and I think in even a few years that will seem dated. The podcast aspect was pure filler, didn't add anything to the story, and just made me dislike Rachel even more.

I found the writing to be stilted in parts, and the dialogue to be very clunky throughout. It took me out of the story several times. I also have a pet peeve where the author sets the story in America but uses british/aussie slang or terms. That happened a few times (car park, called vs named, etc) and I found it to be bordering on sloppy editing. On top of that, there were 2 or 3 times where an entire sentence is printed twice in different places. Not sure if that was just my copy, but that also caused the flow to become disrupted to me.

At the end of the day, it was a slow paced, mildly predictable, entry level thriller around rape culture. Some parts felt like Rape Culture 101, but maybe that's needed for some people. I didn't hate it, but I don't think I'd recommend this one.

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ktdakotareads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

booksof_fern's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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rachelb313's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I thought this worked really well as an audiobook because you got to hear the “podcast” chapters almost like an actual podcast. It tells the story of two girls from the same town 25 years apart. I knew their stories would connect somehow, but the person linking them wasn’t who I expected. I really liked Rachel and Hannah as characters and the ending was satisfying. Would definitely recommend.

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Rachel Krall - former journalist, now host of a true crime podcast - chooses to cover an ongoing rape trial in the small coastal town of Neapolis for the third season of her podcast. During her stay in in town she receives mysterious letters from a fan called Hannah about the death of her sister Jenny in Neapolis 25 years ago. Jenny's death was declared a drowning accident but Hannah believes Jenny was murdered and urges Rachel to find out the truth.

I am impressed!
I love mysteries from the past that are uncovered in the presend and this one was done SO well. Loved the mystery aspect, the subtle clues, the way Rachel handled both cases. I thought it was balanced so nicely between the current case, the one from the past and the podcast elements. To be honest I wasn't prepared for the amount of emotions I went through.
First of all there is the recent rape trial. The trial elements were so good, it felt like I was actually in the courtroom. All the characters involved were flashed out, even though you only get little information on them. The judge, the jury, the lawyers, the witnesses, they all felt like real people. Plus the way the subject was handled was impressive. It was done in such a sensitive way. And the commentary and critique on rape culture and rape trials was so good.
But Jenny's story. Uff. It broke my heart. Repetedly. The way it was presented, through Hannah's memories, was gut wrenching. You get all the descriptions from a child's point of view, a child that doesn't understand what is going on. But as a reader you understand and it hurts. It was so hard to read. But at the same time it was interesting and gripping and you just wanted to know what happened next.
You actually get enough information to figure out what happened long before it is revealed. You just have to pay attention because some of the clues are really small and subtle. But at the end it is really satisfying how every small detail fits together. I really enjoy reading books that are thought out so well that every question is actually answered at the end.

If this becomes a book series (there is actually a lot of potential), I will totally read it. Rachel is a great protagonist and her podcast is super interesting.

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