Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

37 reviews

neville_lvr_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

 I picked up The Night Swim after winning a @goodreads giveaway for the sequel, Dark Corners. It was definitely a solid read and I highly recommend the audiobook!

The Night Swim follows Rachel, a true crime reporter and podcaster covering an active trial for the rape and sexual assault of a teenage girl in a small town in North Carolina. While there, she learns about a similar rape and murder that happened 25 years prior and jumps right in to try to solve it.

I’ve been getting a little burnt out on thrillers lately, so I was pleasantly surprised to get fully sucked into this one. There’s mystery and intrigue, but also very real world topics and concerns. I liked how well the author handled those sensitive topics through Rachel and her podcast as she covered the trial. I also loved how all the pieces clicked into place in the end - I found the ending very satisfying to the story as a whole!

It also definitely gave me some Good Girl’s Guide to Murder vibes, but adult instead of YA. If you enjoyed GGGM, you should check this one out!

Overall would recommend The Night Swim to folks who like a good true crime-esque mystery, but take note of the trigger warnings. If you read this, I definitely recommend the audiobook version! In addition to the full cast narration, we also get to actually hear Rachel’s podcast episodes, with music and background noises at times that made it very immersive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Domestic abuse and Child abuse

alliskarathe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

first megan goldin book and pleasantly surprised but admittedly, there were some slow parts though not an excruciating drag ; worth a read if you like this genre or the idea of a podcaster and law/court proceedings (discusses in detail tw: rape and elements of contention/discussion include justice system and feminism)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, and Bullying

Minor: Murder, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Misogyny

courtneypaigea's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Terminal illness and Child abuse

horizonous's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, and Self harm

◦ Alcohol = Underage drinking
◦ Death = Sibling
◦ Mental illness = Depression, PTSD

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Alcohol, Bullying, Terminal illness, Child death, Violence, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Cursing, Classism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Stalking

smdamm's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Too much mention and detail of rapes and other traumas. The author seemed to want to write a book of her own musings regarding the treatment of sexual assault cases by the criminal justice system. She didn’t seem to come to an explicit conclusion. I slogged through this book for a very disappointing and predictable “twist.” I should have DNFed this one. All trauma and a poorly formulated plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Child abuse, Car accident, Rape, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Cancer, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Chronic illness

suzyh5317's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Physical abuse

forthelove's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

Whew this was a book! The book has two stories running in tandem, one in the past and one present. Rachel is our main character and has created a popular podcast. She is covering a rape trial in a small coastal town and is mysteriously approached by another woman to help solve her sisters murder. The story has lots of twists and turns and there really aren’t that many plot gaps. The ending was well paced and didn’t leave you scratching your head. I will definitely read more by this author 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Murder, Rape, and Cancer

rachelsbookishlife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Violence

onceandfuturereads's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I picked this book up at little free library because I was intrigued by the true crime angle. In a word, this book is predictable. It's also just not well written. If I had to read "her shoulder length auburn hair" one more time I was going to start yelling. It wasn't so much the plot as the dialogue that was unbelievable to me (though the plot was...laughable). The cryptic letters that Hannah writes to Rachel, her podcast hero, are written in a way that nobody actually writes. Same with the dialogue. I wouldn't have cared so much because I know it's supposed to be a fun mystery, but it really took me out of the story. 

Furthermore, there are ethical problems with this story. The author clearly drew inspiration from the rape trial that made headlines when Chanel Miller made her victim impact statement as Emily Doe. Scott Blair, Gildon's antagonist, is a reproduction of Brock Turner, even in the final few pages. I was hoping to see an acknowledgement of Chanel Miller, or other survivors, but...nothing!

I am being generous in giving this book 2 stars, and that is because the true crime podcast was a cool idea and I haven't seen it done before.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Rape

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Suicidal thoughts