Author: Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name―and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating―but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

This was another one that was recommended by one of my friends who shares the same tastes as me. I believe she mentioned that there were some mixed reviews about this book, but I personally found that it was pretty good! Overall quite plausible, and the story is very sad, and dark at times but not too overbearingly so. It was just the right amount of dark for a sad story, though I’ll get into a few more details later about that.

The Night Swim is a story that has a few elements to it. Our main protagonist, Rachel, is the latest hit in true crime podcasts, having unearthed decade-old cold cases successfully while podcasting about it. Her latest case takes place in the small town of Neapolis, where everyone knows everyone, and there is a rape trial going on. At the same time, a girl seeks Rachel’s help solving a desperate mystery from her past that was never solved. Rachel investigates both, and it becomes clear that the town hides many more secrets than it first shows, and Rachel wonders what will happen in the end at the trial and with this girl.

The characters in this book were pretty good. Nothing to really speak of in the character growth/development department though I think that can be rare for thriller/mystery novels. Essentially, most people are exactly how you’d expect them to be, and that paints the air of suspicion in a certain light and really frames the story. If people were changing all the time, it might be too hard to follow. This is one such novel where there are numerous characters from the past and present, and so most of them do remain static as the story progresses to reveal the ultimate truths. Of course, more and more is revealed about certain characters so they “grow” in that way.

The plot is fairly interesting. Yes, there is the classic protagonist butting her nose into the past and in the present to dig for her podcast, which is classic. But in my opinion that’s where the common tropes end. The use of the podcast is very interesting, and we really do get to listen (read) through each episode as she goes through the trial and addresses her readers. The implausibility here is probably attending a trial all day while recording a podcast in the evening, that sounds crazy. But it was cool to follow along with the podcast. While there were suspense elements (as to be expected in a mystery novel), the podcast really toned down a lot of the suspense, so if you’re looking for a true crime creepy mystery, this was totally not the vibe here.

The ending was overall good. Perhaps a little bit too convenient in how everything tied together, but I certainly didn’t hate it. In fact, as I was reading it, I was fairly happy nodding along to what was a very simplistic ending. However, upon further reflection I’m not sure it was really the best way to just have things work out, but again, it was far from “magically” working out so I’ll give it a pass there. I overall really enjoyed reading a book in this kind of format, and the tying together of two timelines (of different characters!) I felt was pretty well done.

Trigger warnings of course for rape and sexual assault, and some parts did get quite into the weeds (though nothing too graphic). I overall felt it was handled pretty well, the subject was quite objectively approached and really urged readers to think about the standards that are in the justice system. Delicately handled yet still got to the truth, I felt that the author could have pushed it even further, but I don’t have any qualms with how it was handled – I certainly felt frustrated for the victim!

Overall Recommendations

The Night Swim is a story of our protagonist making her true crime podcast, this time about a rape trial. At the same time, Rachel also researches into the past of this town in the cover-up of a murder 25 years past. As the trial drags on, the town (and her listeners) both get heated all around the subject of rape and the double standards it imposes. Follow along in this journey as the past and present collide, and the trial comes up to its spectacular finish. It isn’t the most suspenseful and thrilling novel, but it certainly executes its murder mystery element well. Hope you enjoy!