The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is the story of Rachel
Krall who covers a rape trial for her podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty. After her
podcast helped freed an innocent man, she has become a household name and now
the current season needs to be a smash. She arrives in the small town of
Neapolis, North Carolina ahead of the trial of a local young man who has been
accused of rape. At the same time, she is hounded by a fan who is from the same
small town about the murder of her sister 25 years ago. Hannah, who was a young
girl when her sister died, begs Rachel to find her sister’s killer. At first,
Rachel brushes it off as she needs to focus on the new case. As she covers the
case from victim blaming to the courtroom to the verdict, Rachel finds just how
polarizing the topic of rape can be. Unlike the black and white view that
murder is wrong, the subject of rape shows ugly shades of gray. While she tries
to stay focused on the current case, she can’t help but be pulled into another
case of Jenny Stills whose death was ruled an accidental drowning. However, the
details don’t sit right with Rachel as she tries to find the truth. Was the
victim raped that night? Will the perpetrator be punished? What is the
connection to the death of Jenny Stills? Is there a connection?
After I read this book, I read some of the reviews, as I
normally do, to see if my impressions match the impressions of other readers.
And just like in the book, the topic of rape polarizes the reviews. I found The
Night Swim to be a thought-provoking, dramatic story as it shines a light
on the complicities of a rape case. How and when does consent need to be given
and expressed? Why is a promiscuous man known as a stud, but a promiscuous
woman is a slut? A few reviewers demanded that the story come with trigger
warnings. I think the book’s description as a podcaster covering a rape case
wasn’t warning enough. Overall, I liked Rachel with her dogged curiosity for
the truth and justice. I liked that she didn’t just push the Jenny Stills case
aside simply because it wasn’t the case she was covering. There was also a
twist that I didn’t see coming. I thought I guess it but boy, was I wrong! I
recommend reading it with care as the story deals with the important issue of
rape and the details of the case are graphic. Ms. Goldin doesn’t pull any punches;
she writes a rape case that is as real as it gets. As I read, one case seemed so
cut and dry and the other one was not so straight forward. As the cases unfold,
there’s more than what meets the eye. It opens the conversation of how rape
cases are handled, investigated, and prosecuted. I recommend The Night Swim.
The story grips you from the very beginning and keeps you hanging on until the
very end.
The Night Swim
is available in
hardcover, eBook and audiobook
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