Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: August 4, 2020
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: ★★★★

In The Night Swim, a new thriller from Megan Goldin, author of the “gripping and unforgettable” (Harlen Coben) The Escape Room, a true crime podcast host covering a controversial trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years before.

Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name ― and the last hope for 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 new season of Rachel’s podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation ― but the mysterious letters keep coming. 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 insist she was murdered ― and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases ― and a revelation 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?

Wow, this was a tough book to read, yet it was very well written. The author’s previous novel, THE ESCAPE ROOM, was an fun, entertaining thriller, while THE NIGHT SWIM was a different type of novel altogether. It’s a slow-burn dark mystery that tackles some very heavy, timely subject matter ― rape & rape culture.

True-crime podcaster Rachel Krall has come to Neapolis to cover the trial of a young man accused of rape. When someone starts leaving notes asking for her help, Rachel discovers that the drowning death of a local teenager 25 years earlier may be tied to the current case ― so many disturbing secrets buried in this small town.

The story is told through podcast transcripts, mysterious letters, and Rachel’s POV as she investigates the crimes of the present and the past. Rachel was a brave, clever, and determined character, and I liked hearing her take on the trial through the podcast.

NIGHT SWIM is more of a fictionalized true-crime story rather than a thriller. Given the nature of the book’s subject matter, I can say that I appreciated it rather than enjoyed. Poignant & thought-provoking. I’m very curious to see where Megan Goldin takes readers next.

— 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: July 30, 2019
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Rating: ★★★★

In Megan Goldin’s unforgettable debut, The Escape Room, four young Wall Street rising stars discover the price of ambition when an escape room challenge turns into a lethal game of revenge.

Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive.

In the lucrative world of finance, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are at the top of their game. They’ve mastered the art of the deal and celebrate their success in style ― but a life of extreme luxury always comes at a cost.

Invited to participate in an escape room as a team-building exercise, the ferociously competitive co-workers crowd into the elevator of a high rise building, eager to prove themselves. But when the lights go off and the doors stay shut, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary competition: they’re caught in a dangerous game of survival.

Trapped in the dark, the colleagues must put aside their bitter rivalries and work together to solve cryptic clues to break free. But as the game begins to reveal the team’s darkest secrets, they realize there’s a price to be paid for the terrible deeds they committed in their ruthless climb up the corporate ladder. As tempers fray, and the clues turn deadly, they must solve one final chilling puzzle: which one of them will kill in order to survive?

THE ESCAPE ROOM is a crazy & claustrophobic thrill ride. Four of the most unlikable investment bankers you’ll ever come across are summoned to a team-building exercise in the elevator of a vacant high rise office building. They’re not inside long before realizing there’s something sinister about this particular escape room challenge…

I went into this book not knowing much about the plot, and I think that’s the best way to read it. The chapters alternate between time in the elevator, and time before, where we get a good look at the four “contestants,” Vincent, Sylvie, Sam, and Jules. Really, their life & work style made me cringe. It’s hard to believe people would live, work, and behave this way for the sake of money, money, money.

It was fun trying to figure out the puzzle as the elevator occupants sweated away & got to learn more about each other than they bargained for. This book is a darkly satisfying thriller that might make you think twice about willingly entering an escape room!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.