A review by meeklovestoread
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

Honesty, there's not much to say about this book. I flew through it. I think this book, despite its themes, was very bingeable. And weirdly enough, I found myself highly immersed in the story. Whenever I'd put it down I'd get a mini wave of whiplash because I was so into the story that it felt so weird to be out of it. I cannot comment on the accuracy of criminal law practices (the lawyers and their arguments) or the validity of the autopsies. However, for a thriller, I was very surprised at how good the insight was on the issues of rape and sexual assault.
Especially that scene where Kelly had to testify and she was succumbed to the pressure at the beginning of cross. I'd never seen that in a book before and I applaud the author for thinking about the victim first. It would've ruined Kelly to be put on cross and would've traumatized her all over again.
Although, I'm inclined to side with the "alleged" victim first unless there's evidence to the contrary, I think the book (and the podcast) did a great job demonstrating both sides and just how ambiguous rape cases can be. Also when reading this book, I highly HIGHLY recommend you put yourself in the victim's shoes; imagine you're feeling the things she's feeling. When I did that oh my gosh it just made things so real for me. It really takes courage to say something let alone pursue a criminal case so I genuinely admire ANYONE to has the courage to take action. I'd like to note that the audio for the podcast was phenomenal. I definitely recommend the audiobook!
The twist of Bobby seeing the whole thing and testifying was fine, I guess. The ending did confuse me though. I thought the whole gun scene with Dan and everything was cool. Not surprised it was him. What was the purpose of that nightingale>
Expand filter menu Content Warnings