I can absolutely see how a lot of people are going to devour this book. It has everything everyone seems to love these days, but it didn't work for me. Mostly because I found it very predictable, every twist I saw coming from the very start and I continued on hoping I was wrong.
But mostly Freddy was the worst and him proposing the day after everything goes down was insane. I hope he lives the life he deserves.

A haunting tale set on the island of Capri, delving into family secrets and the complexities of relationships. When the mother of a three-year-old is found dead below the cliffs in Capri, suspicions start flying. But the family of the deceased doesn't let it get to them—they return to Capri year after year as if they've got something to prove. Until... they receive a gift, waiting for them upon their return to Capri, 30 years after the haunting death. Mystery and thrills set amidst a lush landscape!

This is a tragedy, a mystery, and an all-around messy family story! The Lingates are wealthy and privileged, and Sarah Lingate’s body was found on the cliffs of Capri in 1992. Her daughter Helen was three years old at the time. The mystery of Sarah’s death was never solved, although it was ruled an accident.

The family still comes to vacation in that villa in Capri every year. This year there’s Richard (the father), Helen, her boyfriend Freddy, Uncle Marcus, Aunt Naomi, and Marcus’s assistant Lorna. What a bunch of vipers this bunch is! Because at the bottom of things is the question—-was it murder or suicide? And all these people are dancing around the issue now because Sarah’s necklace has appeared, the one she was wearing that night that no one has seen since.

I found the story hard to follow because of all the jumping back and forth in the timeline. Also, none of the characters were likable and honestly, I couldn’t seem to care what happened to them. Even Helen, who should have elicited sympathy, just seemed like a spoiled brat.

The writer is very skilled at creating a brooking, dark atmosphere and the book made me interested in reading The Cloisters.

Three stars!

I received a copy of the digital ARC via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

I'm not going to lie... I totally judged this book by its cover. It's gorgeous! It drew me in and the description made me want a front seat in order to be privy to the Lindgate family drama. I was so ready!

Unfortunately, I quickly realized that Saltwater was not written for me. I was expecting to read something along the lines of Succession in Capri. Of course, just like with every other rich family, there's murder, secrets and intrigue galore, and I am all for rich people behaving badly and unsavory characters, but these people are awful. And it seems like the plot moves at a slower pace than it should. Overall, I did not find this one as enjoyable as I had hoped.

Saltwater by Katy Hays
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Thirteen years ago Sarah Lingate was found dead on a family vacation in Capri. Now her daughter Helen has come to Capri with her family, and she is determined to get answers about her mother and if her death was truly an accident.
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Oh this book was just secrets upon secrets upon secrets.
The more I read, the more invested I became in the present plot surrounding Helen and her friends. At the same time we are reading Sarah’s backstory in the days leading up to her death. I found myself very stressed with each of Helen’s POVs though.
I really enjoyed the twists and turns this story took me through. 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you like lots of rich family drama and secrets, this book is for you! Capri was so beautifully described, and i was drawn to drink wine in solidarity with the characters during the whole book.

I liked the twists in both the past mystery as well as the present-day one, they were very surprising.

The book kind of plodded along at an even pace. However, the multi-character POVs and timelines did get confusing a few times. The characters were superficial and the typical hired help vs entitled wealthy, so i wasn't really able to connect emotionally with any one.

All in all, a solid twisty mystery with the decadence of the gorgeous setting of Capri.

A twisty domestic thriller with secrets and lies aplenty. I liked the compelling setting, the shifting POV, and the fast paced ending.

Unfortunately the pace of the beginning and middle of the book were slow and the details a bit frustrating to keep up with. The characters seemed to blur together a bit.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Saltwater follows Helen and her family as they return to the coast of Italy on the 30th anniversary of her mother's death. It has long been suspected that the family was somehow involved in Sarah's death and when her necklace mysteriously reappears, Helen enlists her friend Lorna to help her find out what happened. But when Lorna disappears, Helen isn't sure who she can trust or who may have been involved.

I love a family drama and rich people behaving badly. However, there was no one in the book that I wanted to like. It was very slow and the mysteries of Sarah and Lorna were not enough to keep be invested when it began to drag. Sadly, this did not work for me.

With the arrival of a family heirloom, Helen becomes to determined to discover what happened to her mother, who was discovered dead in 1992. The story is told from Helen's perspective and her uncle's assistant, Lorna, who gets wrapped up because of her friendship with Helen. The story shifts point of view and timelines so that the reader can discover what happened to Helen's mother, Sarah, but we also unravel a mystery in the present.

This book had a lot of elements to it that I like: rich family with secrets; shifting POV; dual timelines; and messy relationships and family dynamics. But the execution of it was a little too much of a slow burn for what I prefer. I felt like it took a long time to get to the bottom of the issues, and then all of the reveals happened at one time.

If you read The Cloisters by this author and really enjoyed it, then I think this one would work for you. This one moves slowly like the other one, but the setting was very atmospheric and immersive.

Couldn’t put it down!
This one starts off a bit slow with a lot of character setup, but once it gets going, wow. I really liked how each chapter is told from a different character’s point of view, it was easy to follow even with all the secrets and drama. You’re never sure who to trust, and the last few chapters had me hooked. I stayed up until 3 AM because I had to know the ending! Great twists right up to the end!
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC!

Saltwater by Kathy Hays is the kind of thriller I want to read on the beach. Atmospheric, with twists and turs, and a unique story line. The characters were incorrigible and I loved it!!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book surprised me! I enjoyed the unpredictable nature of the story line and was sucked in by the Character development. The setting was just as much a part of the story as the characters. Very much enjoyed!

Suspense, drama, rich family secrets... This book has it all. The story dragged for me at times, while at other times, I lost the plot and had to go back to find where I was lost. I wanted to love this, because the premise is so good, but it fell flat for me.

I really enjoyed this one! The setting is beautiful island in Italy, the characters are terrible rich people doing bad things to save their name. There’s mystery and crime and adultery. A sordid past that has now come to the front again after decades. Drama and twists.. the twists! A couple predictable things but the ending completely surprised me. This was such a fun read.
I liked the creepy vibe. It reminded me of how it felt watching the TV series Ripley. Something unsettling all along and you don’t know who to trust and who is truly evil.
I also appreciated things were all pretty wrapped up by the end.
I would recommend this one!

I was intrigued by the synopsis and Italian setting, but unfortunately, this book is reading a little too slow for me. DNF for now, as it's just not keeping my attention.

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Saltwater" by Katy Hays is a mystery set on the island of Capri that explores the mysterious death of playwright Sarah Lingate in 1992, told from multiple POVs. The story centers around the Lingates, a rich family consisting of Sarah's widower Richard, their daughter Helen, Helen's boyfriend Freddy, Richard's brother Marcus, his wife Naomi, and their assistant Lorna.

While it's billed as a thriller or a suspense novel, I found the pacing to be very slow with relatively few twists and turns for the first three-quarters. It's only in the last fifty pages that the story really heats up, and even then, the twists are so left-field that they honestly took me out of the story. I had to go back and re-read portions to make sure that I understood what was happening. The female characters in "Saltwater" are much more interesting than their male counterparts, but the changing POVs and timelines made it hard for me to keep track of the story, particularly when people started being revealed as having secret relationships and who knew what about whom, etc. It almost felt at times like there was too much exposition and that this could be boiled down to a much more interesting and taut novella or short story.

I won't go too deeply into spoiler territory, but the final "twists" of the book require so much suspension of disbelief that I just couldn't find them satisfying. I think that readers who get into the mystery/thriller genres tend to know what that may entail and where their line of enjoyment versus eye-rolling lies within those genres.

Fans of "Big Little Lies" might enjoy this one since it employs the multiple POVs, upper class, and mysterious death elements. Those who like the escapism of reading looks set in luxurious, opulent, jetsetter locales might also get into this one. It's intended to feel like "White Lotus" where it's luxurious and beautiful but also a bit moody and unsettling. Hays's best writing comes in setting the scene; the book made me want to plan a trip to Italy immediately.

Those looking for a fast-paced, twisty suspense novel would likely be disappointed by this one, but it does deliver a moody, setting-driven mystery that might be fun to read if you're looking for something a little darker with a slower burn for a summer read or looking to avoid fluffy rom-coms.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Katy Hays' Saltwater is a compelling exploration of identity, transformation, and the slow erosion of self when immersed in an unfamiliar environment. Written in Hays’ signature luminous prose, the novel traces the journey of a protagonist seeking reinvention and escape, only to find that personal reinvention comes with unpredictable currents.

Set against a richly atmospheric coastal backdrop, Saltwater captures both the beauty and menace of the sea — a perfect metaphor for the internal struggles of the main character. Hays excels at creating a sense of place; the setting feels alive, with the rhythms of the ocean mirroring the emotional tides of the story. Her attention to sensory detail pulls the reader deeply into the experience, making the environment feel almost like another character in the narrative.

Thematically, the novel wrestles with questions of authenticity, ambition, and belonging. Hays probes the vulnerability that comes with change, and the risks inherent in abandoning one’s former self in pursuit of a new identity. The emotional landscape is handled with nuance, avoiding melodrama while still delivering resonant and at times haunting moments.

Hays’ previous work, The Cloisters, showcased her ability to blend literary suspense with psychological insight, and Saltwater continues that tradition while expanding her range. The pacing is deliberate but never plodding, giving readers time to savor the evolution of both character and theme.

For readers who enjoy atmospheric fiction with emotional depth — reminiscent of works by Julia Armfield or Claire Fuller — Saltwater will be a memorable and rewarding read. Hays confirms her position as an author capable of blending lyrical storytelling with sharp psychological observation.

I was so excited to read this book, just from the cover. It was way too slow paced for me, but I think other readers will love it.

I loved The Cloisters by Katy Hays so I was eager to read her newest thriller, Salt Water. This one was just okay for me. Overall, I enjoyed the premise, but found that it lagged in places and I found myself having to push through it quite a bit. I did love the setting of Capri, Italy but wish Hays had used it more to create atmosphere. I really wanted to feel that sense of place. I did love the twist at the end. That alone made it worth the read for me. Overall, bit of a mixed bag.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine for the book #Saltwater by #KatyHays. Helen grew up without a mom spice she was three. They say it was a suicide but Helen is determined to find out the truth even though her family won’t help her. She receives a note and a necklace that had belonged to her mother while on vacation. Can she figure out what truly happened that day? This is such a great book about family and money and how corrupt they both can be.