A review by ihateprozac
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

5.0

The Night Swim is a dual POV story where two timelines converge around a rape trial in a small seaside town. The story follows a podcaster covering the trial and it feels like an adult version of [b:Sadie|34810320|Sadie|Courtney Summers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556559178l/34810320._SY75_.jpg|56026767] meets Serial!

Be warned: this is a brutal read. This book has so much to say about rape culture, white male privilege, and how the justice system continuously fails young women - especially when they're not from "desirable" backgrounds. There are clear nods here to the Brock Turner case, Eurydice Dixon, and more. It's physically painful to read at times and please be mindful of content warnings going in.

The book had a bit of a slow start and it took me a while to sink equally into both storylines, so give it 100 pages before you make up your mind. From the 100 page point I was hooked and needed to know how these timelines were connected, how the trial would end, and if we would have justice for both women. The Night Swim is valuable both as a seething indictment of rape culture and a mystery/thriller in and of itself.

If you have the ability to, please pick this up as an audiobook! The sound production is fantastic and really brings the podcast to life, and there's a very clear nod to Serial and Sarah Koenig.

CW: rape, sexual assault, victim blaming, suicide