Review: The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

I don't quite know how to begin this review other than to say that The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is an amazing read! If you like murder-mysteries and are a fan of true crime podcasts, then this book will be right up your alley!

The story follows Rachel Krall, a podcaster who has made quite a name for herself in the true crime genre, much like the real-life Serial. The latest season of her hit podcast "Guilty or Not Guilty" centers around a violent rape case very reminiscent of the Brock Turner scandal that was in the news a few years ago. A rich, talented college kid is accused of brutally raping a high school girl. He claims that the sex was consensual and she's made up the rape story because she was angry when she found out he rated her sexual performance poorly to his friends. His family has money and pays everyone and anyone they can to portray their son as this angelic, kind-hearted young man on his way to earning a spot on the Olympic swim team.

Rachel attends the trial and records her podcast episodes in real time as a way of putting her listeners "in the jury box." The chapters in the book alternate between Rachel in real time, her podcast episodes, and letters from Hannah (more on her later). The rape trial itself is very interesting. Goldin does a great job making the trial experience seem authentic and suspenseful. She shows how rape accusations divide people. Defendants of the accused claim that women can be vengeful and falsely cry rape whenever they get their feelings hurt and want to destroy a man's life. Defendants of the accuser cry out against the unfair treatment victims often undergo after they've summoned the courage to come forward. Some would say that victims are violated all over again by the justice system when they go through the painstaking process of testifying in court only to see their rapists set free because of reasonable doubt. 

I was very invested in the court case and loved how Goldin was able to tie it into a second mystery within the same novel. While she is attending the trial and recording her podcast episodes, Rachel is sent several messages asking for her help in finding out the truth behind a murder decades earlier. This subplot revolves around Jenny, a young girl who supposedly drowned while swimming in the sea at night. Her sister, Hannah, knows that her sister was murdered, but needs Rachel's help to figure out who was responsible. Rachel divides her time between the rape trial and this murder mystery from the past. It turns out the two cases are connected, but in a way that I wasn't expecting. 

Overall, I couldn't put this book down. I loved every bit of it. Goldin did a wonderful job weaving the two storylines together seamlessly. The story was fast-paced and kept me reading late into the night. There are some scenes that were hard to get through because they were so heartbreaking and unsettling, but Goldin handled the sensitive material in a way that kept it from crossing a line for me. I will absolutely be checking out what this author comes up with next! 

My Rating: ★★★★★
At the time of this post, this title is set to be released on August 4th, 2020.

*Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Review: They Did Bad Things by Lauren A. Forry

I immediately jumped into reading They Did Bad Things when I saw it was by Lauren A. Forry. It was awhile ago, but I read and reviewed her novel, Abigale Hall, and absolutely loved it. (Read my review here!) While the premise of this novel seemed quiet different from Forry's previous novel, I loved the horror movie vibe the summary was giving. I'm sad to say that this was one of those books I expected to love, but ultimately disliked it enough that I almost didn't finish it.

The premise of They Did Bad Things is interesting enough. A group of college kids are brought together by the dilapidated, rundown house in which they each rent a room. The students couldn't be more different than each other, but they somehow make coexisting work until it, well... doesn't. The morning after a crazy party, the roommates awaken to find that one housemate has been murdered, clearly by one of the roommates themselves, but no one knows who for sure. After covering up evidence and making the crime look like an accident, the surviving roommates go on to live their lives for the next few decades until they are all lured to a mysterious hotel on an island in Scotland under false pretenses. It quickly becomes clear that no one will be checking out of this hotel alive until the truth about what happened all those years ago is revealed and justice has been served. Death and mayhem ensue and the rest of the novel plays out like your cookie-cutter horror movie.

Now, normally, I would like this, except something just doesn't work here. I could envision the story in my mind and I bet it could be a successful movie, but it just wasn't working as a novel for me. I found it very confusing to follow. The story is told from several narrators' perspectives and jumps from the past to the present to the near-past to the long ago past again, etc. Three of the characters were very similar and I kept getting them mixed up in my mind. I feel like this is something that needed to be cleaned up a little bit to make the experience less arduous for the reader. The twists and turns were far from shocking and even the gruesome bits felt like the author was trying too hard. So much of the mastermind's plan is laughably far-fetched (getting plastic surgery to assume someone else's identity???). None of the characters were likable and the ultimate reason the roommate was killed in the first place never made much sense to me. I also never fully understood how the bad guy knew which one of the roommates was responsible for the original death.

I'm frustrated because I really thought I was going to like this novel. I hate to rate it so low when I've loved her previous work, but I almost quit several times. It's never a good sign when you've made it to 90% completion and you still aren't sure the last 10% is worth your time. Forry did do a nice job when it came to creating a creepy setting in both the college rental house and the Scottish manor, but everything else just fell way short.

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆
At the time of this post, this title will be available June 2, 2020.

*Thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Review: The Dilemma by B.A. Paris

I have been out of the reading loop lately since having a baby, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. I was so excited to see that one of my favorite recently-discovered authors had come out with a few new books while I was in my reading slump. I was first introduced to B.A. Paris when I read her novel Behind Closed Doors and devoured it within hours. (You can read my review for that title here.) I just finished reading her latest work, The Dilemma, this morning. It is being marketed as suspense and women's fiction, which is very accurate, but I can honestly say I was not emotionally prepared for this novel.

Despite the odds, Livia and her husband Adam have survived the trials life throws at young couples and seemingly have made it out the other side without too many scars to show for it. A teenage pregnancy out of wedlock stole the chance for Livia to have her dream wedding, so to make up for this, she has spent almost half her life saving for an extravagant 40th birthday party. The novel takes place mostly on the day of the party, alternating the narration between Livia and Adam every hour or so. We are immediately made aware that Livia feels some guilt over a secret she's keeping from Adam involving their daughter, Marnie. She loves her daughter, but is relieved that she won't be able to make it to her party because she wants to enjoy her night before the secret changes their entire lives. 

Meanwhile, Adam and Marnie have a secret of their own. Marnie is in another country studying abroad and is planning on traveling home to surprise Livia during her birthday party. Unexpected complications arise and Adam is forced to decide whether or not to keep a monumental secret of his own. There's not really a correct answer to his particular dilemma, but he self-consciously analyzes all his options until he's sure he's doing the right thing. Wracked with guilt and fear for the future, Adam does his best to make it through the party which seems to last a lifetime. He knows nothing will be the same once it's all over and he no longer has the party as an excuse for keeping the awful truth from his wife.

I was actually surprised at how suspenseful this domestic drama turned out to be. For me, if there isn't a blade-wielding psychopath chasing someone down, it usually tends to drag on, but I could not stop reading. Paris did a great job at making the party c-r-a-w-l by at the pace of a tortoise on sedatives. It was frustrating at times how slowly the night was moving, but it seems obvious to me that the novel was written this way intentionally as a way of letting the reader feel the hell Adam was experiencing as each second slowly ticked by. The party itself serves as this larger-than-life character all on its own. On one hand, it celebrates the loyalty and resiliency this couple has demonstrated over the last few decades. But on the flip side, it is also this ominous bomb that is set to explode when its time is up, potentially shattering the lives of this family. 

I didn't anticipate really feeling much for the two protagonists, so I was in disbelief when I realized I was crying while reading the final chapters in the novel. That just never happens for me. I think maybe three books have made me cry in my entire life and they almost all had to do with animals. Paris knows how to paint a picture of grief in such a way that will have readers revisiting past heartaches as if they happened yesterday. I feel emotionally raw after reading this book and I think there's something to be said about writing that can do that.

My Rating: ★★★★★
At the time of this post, this title is set to be released on June 30, 2020.

*Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!