Rachel Krall’s true crime podcast has had an exceptionally successful first 2 seasons. Now, for her third season, Rachel wants to bring it. She’s decided to report on a rape trial as it’s happening. The case is controversial. He’s a local hero, a college student, and a competitive swimmer so good he may make it to the Olympics. She’s just in high school, with no witnesses. It’s her word against his, and his family has enough money to hire one of the top defense attorneys and a team of expert witnesses.
Rachel came to this small town to cover it all.
But on the drive, Rachel was surprised to find a handwritten letter on her windshield. A podcast listener named Hannah begs her to look into her sister Jenny’s death, which she categorizes as a murder. Rachel is nervous and feels like she’s being stalked, but she is also drawn in by Hannah’s story. Jenny’s death had happened in the same small town where the rape trial is taking place, so Rachel decides to do a little digging in her free time.
As the trial starts and the testimony starts to unfold, Rachel reports on the intricacies of an accusation of rape, taking her listeners through what happened that night raising important questions of what a woman goes through when she accuses a man of sexual assault. Having to recount intimate details over and over in front of strangers. The rape kit, where her body is treated as a crime scene. The sneers and threats from those who don’t believe her. The wounds to her body, her mind, her spirit. Rachel’s sympathies seem to lie with the accuser and how painful a situation the trial is for her, but she also reports on the accused’s point of view. She tries to leave the judgments to the jury, and to her listeners.
In the moments she’s not reporting on the trial, she is looking into Jenny’s death. What she finds is a brick wall of secrets, missing records, and misdirection. However, not one to be distracted from what she wants to know, Rachel keeps digging, willing to expose the town’s darkest secrets to find the truth. But in her quest to find the truth, just how far will those who seek to keep the past buried go to stop her?
The Night Swim is the latest from Megan Goldin, who brought us last year’s The Escape Room (side note: loved it!). This complex look at the justice system, at the voyeuristic nature of true crime reporting, at the complicated relationship that accusers have with the law, and at the brutal impact of reporting sexual abuse evokes a strong and bittersweet reaction to the truths it contains. The writing is strong, the characters interesting, and the story inviting. But it does deal with difficult topics with an honesty that can be painful.
I really enjoyed reading The Night Swim. I recommend it, but it’s not for everyone. Golding goes into detail on sexual assaults, the reporting process, and the trial. Anyone dealing with wounds from a similar experience may be triggered by the honesty in this book. But for those who love a good true crime podcast, who enjoy a good thriller, or who want to read an exceptional novel, then The Night Swim needs to be on your TBR, or on your bookshelf or e-reader. It’s that good.
Egalleys for The Night Swim were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.
