There was a lot going on - especially at the very end. I can respect was Hays was attempting to do, but I can't say it was done flawlessly.

The multiple POVs and timeline jumping was off - it didn't feel like hearing from all the folks added anything to the story - if anything, it felt like it detracted and made you distracted. The ~suspense and mystery~ was also super short-lived and while I was like "huh no shit" it didn't elicit a gasp (idk if that makes sense in terms of the different volumes of a shocked reaction lol but iykyk).

Overall an ok read. I wouldn't say it's something you have to go out of your way to read, but if you come across it on Libby in the "Available now" (and not the "Skip the line" section) consider checking it out.

Crazy story with lots of twists and turns that made for an interesting read. But it was also an entire book full of horrible people, each one worse than the last. Definitely kept me guessing!

I liked the setup and the Italy setting, but really could not get into this story. I feel like it wasn't grabbing me or holding my attention at all.

There will be a reader out there that may like this one, but it's not for me.

Taking place on the beautiful island of Capri, the Lingate family gathers for their annual family vacation. The same vacation home in which Sarah Lingate mysteriously died. Helen, Sarah's daughter, and her friend and employee Lorna begin to research Sarah's death, and all of the relatives are suspects. Lorna disappears, and with reputations and money at stake, Helen must get to the bottom of her mother's tragic ending.

While this story took me a while to get invested in, it quickly picked up in part two and I found myself reading later into the night. The setting of Capri seemed to be a character in itself; the tall cliffs, ocean, and year-round inhabitants. This novel makes for a good summer read for those who like mystery as well as stories containing strong but flawed female characters.

Who doesn’t want to go to a villa in Italy every summer? It sounds spectacular, unless you’re the Lindgates- a family holding secrets. But it turns out the secret they think they are all protecting isn’t even the real secret.

If you want to be wrong over and over again, read Saltwater! The twists kept twisting and the turns were SHARP leading me on an enjoyable journey through family drama and deceit!

📖 Book Review 📖

📱🎧”Saltwater" by Katy Hays

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
published March 25, 2025

Thank you @netgalley for this eARC.

Messy twists, lots of secrets, family drama and a wealthy family, set in Capri I thought I would love this book. It started a little slow, but picked up once more details were learned. In 1992, Sarah Lingate died in Capri, and her 3 year old daughter Helen never found out what really happened. It was ruled an accident, but the family was suspected. But money can cover up a lot, until 13 years later another young women dies in a very similar death. The whole book was a little like a season of THE WHITE LOTUS, set with beautiful blue waters, and striking cliffs and lots of mysterious and ominous characters. 

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3,5 Stars

This one was just fine to me. The storyline was interesting and I enjoyed it, I found it hard to follow in some parts and slow in other parts. Especially listening to it on audio, it was hard to follow in some parts. I did enjoy the ending and how everything played out which bumped my rating up a little bit but overall this was just a mid read for me.

In the glittering yet treacherous world of the ultra-wealthy, you're either the one pulling strings—or the one being pulled apart by them. Katy Hays’ Saltwater dives deep into that dynamic, centering on the enigmatic Lingate family and the decades of tragedy, manipulation, and secrets that haunt their annual summer retreat on the island of Capri.

Thirty years ago, Helen's mother was found dead at the bottom of the cliffs below their villa. Now Helen, stuck in a life of isolation and quiet control, returns to the same place—this time desperate to unravel the truth about her mother's death and, perhaps, find her own way out of the gilded cage she's grown up in. As the past echoes louder and darker, the family finds itself once again under scrutiny, caught in a cycle of repeating history.

This is less a thriller in the traditional sense and more of a gothic-tinged, slow-burning family drama. The narrative unfolds through multiple perspectives and shifts between past and present, which adds layers to the mystery and keeps the reader engaged. Admittedly, none of the characters are particularly likable—but that feels intentional. Their privilege, entitlement, and dysfunction are central to the book's themes: power, legacy, and the lies families tell to survive themselves.

What truly elevates Saltwater is the setting. Hays paints Capri in vivid, almost cinematic detail. The sun-bleached cliffs, the sea, the decadent villas—it all comes alive in her prose, transporting the reader to a place that is as beautiful as it is dangerous. That immersive atmosphere does a lot of the heavy lifting, especially when the plot slows down in the middle sections.

If you're drawn to stories of wealthy families unraveling at the seams—with just enough mystery to keep the pages turning—Saltwater delivers. It's moody, stylish, and sharply observant, even if it never fully leans into the thriller territory it hints at.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine Books and NetGalley for my DRC!

A fun beach read for those looking for a bit of mystery and family drama. A bit of a slow burn, but the ending makes it worth it. While it started off slow, it really picks up in the second half. The way Saltwater was written allowed the story play out in my mind like a movie. I can totally see this being turned into a film.

Saltwater is an eerie saga of a wealthy family whose secrets go back generations. Within the beautiful backdrop of Capris in Italy, it tells the tale of deception, greed, jealousy and death. The family, dysfunctional yet able to put on an exceptionally good act until suddenly it all falls apart when another death occurs.

In 1992, Sarah Lingate, writer and wife of wealthy Richard Lingate was discovered dead on a cliff in Capris. Was it suicide or murder? At the time, her daughter, just three years old witnessed the aftermath of the terrible situation. Suspicion immediately fell upon the family/husband of Sarah, but wealth has its privileges but only while it lasts.

Through the years, the Lingates would make a pilgrimage to Capris to go to exclusive parties and make a show that they are still there and even more powerful than ever. Now, thirty years later, with Helen an adult who unfortunately had a miserable childhood and was basically kept hidden and found no joy from her life. She has befriended the family assistant Lorna, and they have decided to hatch a plan to figure out what exactly happened to her mother all those years ago.

But something goes terribly wrong, and Lorna disappears. Helen begins to see the cracks in her family...her father, uncle and aunt. She will soon discover the mystery of the Lingate family and all that it encompasses, one tragedy at a time.

The story which is told by Helen, Lorna and Sarah is mystifying and shocking. Family corruption and selfishness will erupt for what? To save a name.

Saltwater is a suspenseful story in which you can't imagine the twists and turns coming, but when they come, they are paralyzing! Such a good ride!

Thank you #NetGalley #BallentineBooks #KatyHays #Saltwater for the advanced copy.

Saltwater by Katy Hays certainly ticks a lot of boxes for a Summer beach read: glamorous setting in Capri, secret-keeping rich people, an unsolved murder, handsome strangers and fashion. The dual timeline of this novel folds Sarah’s life before her murder into her daughter Helen’s life 30 years later, and it serves to keep the intrigue building smoothly. These two female narrators are well-realized characters and the resolution Helen finds at the end of the novel is more than satisfying.

This was my first Katy Hays book; this is her second, and her first book, The Cloisters, is on my TBR! I was intrigued by the premise—rich family with lots of secrets—and the setting being in Italy. It’s told across two timelines and from the points of view of multiple characters.

I found Saltwater to be a very slow burn. It was hard for me to get into the first 40-50% of the book; there are a lot of characters that I had trouble keeping straight. The second half was more interesting, but what I REALLY loved was the ending!!! I did not predict it at all. I was shook! I shrieked and yelled “OH MY GOD” out loud and surprised Korri, ha.

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House for the ARC!

The Lingates are old money. Proud and entitled, they obsessively protect the access, reputation, and prestige their money brings. To Marcus Lingate, no goal is greater. No cost is too high. Ruthlessly willing to seclude anyone who might hiccup in public, when his only niece Helen gives him scant justification to do so, Marcus restricts her to a lonely, insular life. He could do so because Helen lost her mother, Sarah, to tragedy when she was a small child, and her father is weak and compliant with Marcus. By the time Helen makes it into her thirties, she has had enough.

The Lingates, Marcus’s assistant Lorna, and Helen’s boyfriend Freddy arrive in Capri on the thirtieth anniversary of Sarah’s death. They are seated at a table on the terrace, surrounded by blooming shrubs and Cypress trees, a low stone wall and jagged cliffs the only things separating them from the Mediterranean Sea below. A package addressed to Helen is resting on the floral tablecloth when they arrive. Inside, a note with the Lingate brothers’ names on it and a box that holds a necklace of gold, writhing snakes. The one Sarah Lingate had worn the night she died. It had never been recovered.

The Lingates reacted just as Helen and Lorna had hoped they would, but witnessing Helen’s smooth, almost guileless, delivery and the fear that drains the color from the Lingates faces gives Lorna an unanticipated sense of foreboding. It is real now. The planning stage is over.

Despite Marcus’s efforts to the contrary, Sarah’s case is resurrected. The rarified air this family breathes will not save them from their moral bankruptcy. Or from their past. The question is, how far will Marcus go to protect the family name?

Many thanks to Random House Publishing—Ballantine and NetGalley for providing this e-galley.

This was an okay book. Nothing about it really stood out to me but it kept my attention for the most part

Saltwater was a bit slow for me and drawn out. The plot was different but Helen for a ms rich as was a prisoner. The ending of the book made it a worthwhile read I enjoyed seeing it all fall i to place. The backdrop of Clark was beautiful and different more like 3.5 stars for me

this one was just okay for me. While I enjoyed the storyline I found it a bit confusing at parts and a little slow in others. I did like the ending and how everything played out which bumped it from a 3⭐️ to a 3.5⭐️ read for me.

A great beach read about the uber rich and the lengths they will go to to protect their assets. Sarah died in mysterious circumstances whilst vacationing in Capri and now her daughter Helen and her friend Lorna have a plan to force her family to admit the truth of what happened as well as to set Helen up financially. The secrets are far deeper than Helen could imagine and the family is still willing to kill to keep them..
A twisty edge of your seat thriller- but a little confusing to start as the timeline switches constantly.
Worth hanging in for the ride.

I had a feeling this would be a 5 star read from the beginning, and I'm so glad it really was one all the way to the end.

Saltwater by Katy Hays is a slow burn mystery that focuses on the lives of the filthy rich and the lengths they're willing to go to keep their secrets. Set on the backdrop of the atmospheric island of Capri, the Lingate family is confronted by their past after 30 years of a mysterious death on the island.

Where do I even begin? I am left speechless as to how good this book is. From the incredible prose of Katy Hays, to her sheer knack of captivating storytelling, as well as her skillful use of alternating POVs and timelines, I am absolutely in awe of this book. Even though I've never set foot on the island of Capri, I could clearly see everything that she describes, and I get so absorbed in the story of each character that I'm savoring every minute of it without wanting to jump to the end for the whodunnit. I also love how whenever I start to think that I know what's going on, I get proved wrong again and again, especially as I got closer to the end.

Whether or not you are stepping foot on a tropical island or having a staycation, this *needs* to be your next summer read!

Very special thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review, and for giving me my first true 5 star read of the year!

Saltwater is available everywhere now.

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.

Saltwater is a well written mystery with a. LOT of family drama. It's a slow burn, with all of the twists happening in the second half of the book. The pacing for the first half was a little slow for my liking, but it was setting up for the second half. Once those twists start coming at you, watch out because it's one after another until the end.

There are multiple POVs and timelines, telling the story of what happened to Sarah in 1992 and what is going on in the present. I loved the setting of Capri. The way the cliffs are described helped me visualize the story as it unfolded. The characters aren't particularly likable, but I think that added to the story for me. I don't think this is the type of story where you should be pulling for a specific character, as you can't trust anyone.

I don't think this book is for everyone, but it will definitely have its audience.

3.5 stars