Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

66 reviews

nicksalex's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Car accident, Bullying, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Cancer, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

vj_thompson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A thought provoking story that depicts why sexual assault cases next see the light of a court room. The process is time consuming, lawyers can brutal, and it may do more harm than good. 

Megan Goldin is an auto-buy author. The first book I read by her was Stay Awake. She does an amazing job at character building and touching on subjects matters like sexual assaults or mental health conditions. These topics are normalized in Megan’s stories. I found myself both times rooting for the main characters, and the side characters, wishing them all a happy and successful outcome.

I am looking forward to reading the sequel, and I hope our main character Rachel continues to fight the good fight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Grief, Bullying, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Alcohol, and Murder

Moderate: Car accident, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Stalking, and Gun violence

haleysversion's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child death, Blood, Mental illness, Sexual content, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

zach_off's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.5

Captivating murder mystery with a chilling subplot that seamlessly connects the dots. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death, Suicide, Torture, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

This was an absolutely incredible thriller! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not stop reading. It got to a point where I had to know how it ended.  I really liked the podcast sections and the dual pov. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Stalking, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Murder, Blood, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Cancer, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

titanium_liv's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Car accident

lilawsahar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I listened to the audio book and I highly recommend! There were three narrators hired to read the book and they all did a remarkable job. I love how the chapters alternated between Rachel’s POV (the podcaster), Hannah’s letters (the sister of a tragic incident), and Rachel’s podcasts. Hannah’s letters had me at the edge of my seat every time. I loved how the two cases were tied together and the whole time I was thinking “who was Jenny’s murderer?”.

I can’t wait until the next book!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Panic attacks/disorders

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

lottiebrooks's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.5

**Disclaimer: I got this through Book of the Month, so it’s possible my copy was an ARC, and some of this didn’t make it into the Final Cut, but I feel the need to write a lengthy review here despite all the 5 star hype**

The author clearly had done a lot of research on rape and sexual assault cases, but it felt to me like that was at the expense of understanding North Carolina, true crime podcasts, and how humans talk to each other in real life. 

The rape case was handled realistically, but this was more of a courtroom drama than a thriller. I felt that the graphic descriptions of the incident were unnecessary to the plot. 

The grammar in this book, and how the characters talked to each other, made me re-read at least one sentence per page, questioning my degree in communications. I don’t think anyone said hello a single time, nor did they introduce themselves? 

Other things that were bizarre: 

• The author uses the word niggling no less than 6 times. Surely there’s a better option that doesn’t sound adjacent to a slur? 
• A #1 true crime podcaster simply wouldn’t post in real time about where she is staying, where she’s going, and that she’s doing it alone. That’s like safety 101. She also wouldn’t be #1 if her episodes were 2 minutes long. Also most true crime podcasts who post about active cases like this get sued. 
• Nearly everyone is blond(e). 
• The author referred to a “vagrant” selling cans to make money in North Carolina, which is not a state that offers that program. She also calls it a small town, then says there are 98,000 residents - This would make it the 7th largest town in the state. 
• We are simultaneously told that the judge of the case has never had a decision reversed and had one reversed 7 years ago. 
• The author used the phrase “jelly and peanut butter” sandwich. It really rocked my world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Car accident, and Cancer

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

I cannot give this book a star rating. While the writing was good and the mystery compelling, this was a really challenging book to read, and it deserves more nuance than a 1-5 rating. This story is heavy. It is graphically detailed at times. It is tragic and disheartening and just the tiniest bit hopeful. And I honestly think it’s important. This book treats rape and sexual assault victims and trials in a way I haven’t seen enough in popular media, especially in the thriller genre, which often sensationalizes tragedy. It explores the challenges and injustices of the justice system when it comes to trying a sexual assault case. It explores class differences and politics in a small town and shows how power can be abused. It explores the guilt that can come with doing nothing to help someone in a time of need, and it explores redemption from the horrors of the past. I want to recommend it because it’s a good book, but I don’t want to because it was heavy. If you choose to read this, go in with as much information as you can, and be kind to yourself while you read it. 

From a thriller perspective, I did find it a bit predictable, but overall I thought the mystery was well paced. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Car accident, Grief, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicide, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Xenophobia

Detailed descriptions of a trial process. Graphic and disturbing details of manipulation, sexual assault, bullying, and more.