Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - 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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alicialoebl's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Keeps you building towards the end reveal, I really liked the shifting perspective and original concept

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carissa230's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-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? No

4.25

This is the story of 2 different teenage girls. One drowned as a teen and one was raped, years apart, but in the same small town.

The story is told in 2 different timelines. In one a girl is a victim of a rape, and the case is preparing for trial. The trial is the setting of the newest season of a hit podcast. Rachel is putting her fans in the jury box and letting them be there as the case unfolds.

The other timeline is Jenny drowned as a teenager. Her sister Hannah doesn't believe that Jenny drowned. Hannah is convinced that Rachel can help her solve the mystery of Jenny's death, if only she could get Rachel to listen.

Content Warnings

mirandareadsca's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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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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starletise's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

I have quite mixed feelings about this book. I struggled with the shifts between the story being told in the first and third person, along with chapters that were podcast dialogue. Because of those shifts, I also felt there was a lot of repetitiveness of information throughout. However, the story was incredibly powerful and highlights the ‘slut-shaming’ of women and discusses the trauma associated with rape trials. I appreciated that the book didn’t try to stay impartial and almost outright stated the injustices that exist in rape trials and the reliving of trauma that victims experience. There were definitely sections of the book that were incredibly difficult to read, but I felt the author treated both the characters and the subject matter compassionately. If you’re looking for a page turning thriller, this wouldn’t be the first book I would recommend. There are also several strong trigger warnings, some of which include sexual assault, domestic violence and death.

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soobooksalot's review against another edition

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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? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Night Swim is both a tough read and an unforgettable thriller.
It spent far too long on my TBR and once started, I couldn't put it down.
Rachel Krall is a journalist, famous for her true crime podcast called Guilty Or Not Guilty. For her third season feature, she heads to the resort town of Neapolis to cover a rape trial.
The victim is a 16-year-old high school student; the accused a 19-year-old swimming star - the case is divisive before the trial has even begun.
While driving to Neapolis, Rachel happens upon a letter left for her on her windshield. In it, Hannah Stills chronicles the manner in which her sister, Jenny, died in the town 25 years earlier. She is seeking Rachel's help to investigate her case.
Chapters alternate from Rachel's perspective, to Hannah's, intercut with transcripts from the podcast.
It's a fascinating take on heart-wrenching subjects. The journeys through both events are intense and emotional, and questions abound if they are linked despite the quarter-century time difference and seemingly random nature.
We are taken through the nightmare of a sexual assault; from the event, to investigation, trial and lasting personal impacts.
I definitely need to backtrack to author Megan Goldin's The Escape Room, and look forward to her future publications.
Recommended, but do be aware of the content.

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