Book Review: The Night Swim (Rachel Krall, #1) by Megan Goldin

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“When school kids are shot by a random shooter, nobody asks whether the victims should have taken more precautions. Nobody suggests that maybe the victims should have skipped school that day. Nobody ever blames the victims. So why is it that when women are attacked, the onus is on them? “If only she hadn’t walked home alone.” “If only she hadn’t cut through the park.” “If only she’d taken a cab.” When it comes to rape, it seems to me “if only” is used all the time. Never about the man. Nobody ever says “if only” he hadn’t raped her. It’s always about the woman. If only …”

Rachel Krall hosts a true crime podcast “Guilty or Not Guilty” with a wide fan following. The third season of her podcast takes her to the small town of Neapolis where she is reporting on a rape trial in real-time. A popular local boy, Scott Blair, a talented swimmer with Olympic potential is on trial for brutally raping a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl.

We follow Rachel as she explores the town of Neapolis on a fact-finding mission of her own, gathering information on the victim and the accused and their families while also trying to gauge how the residents feel about the incident and the trial. The town is divided on their opinions on the matter and a lot rests on the victim’s testimony – a child who will have to relive the horrific episode of her life as she testifies while the defense tries to discredit her and prove that she is lying.

Parallel to covering the rape trial, Rachel is also drawn into looking into the death of a young girl from 25 years ago. Hannah Stills reaches out to Rachel through strategically placed letters and messages requesting her to help bring her sister Jenny’s killers to justice. While official records indicate that Jenny died from drowning, Hannah insists that her sister was murdered. Initially reluctant, Rachel eventually agrees and embarks on uncovering what really happened all those years ago.

As Rachel tries to strike a balance between her current podcast and coverage of the trial and research into Jenny’s death while also trying to locate the elusive Hannah, she discovers that the small town and its influential residents harbor long-buried secrets that could not only shed a light on what happened to Jenny but also change the trajectory of the current trial.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is a gripping read that I found hard to put down. The author paints a sad and infuriating yet realistic picture of what victims of sexual assault have to go through in seeking justice – from cover-ups and faulty investigations to victim shaming and blaming to being humiliated on the stand. Intricately plotted and tight-knit, the narrative is shared through alternating perspectives of Hannah and Rachel with episodes of the podcast interspersed throughout the narrative. The author does a great job of bringing both threads of the plot together in a way that you do not see coming. This is the second Megan Goldin novel I’ve read ( Stay Awake was the first Goldin novel I read) and I’m eager to explore more of her work.