I didn't love it, but i didn't hate it. The concept and setting were fantastic. The cover was absolutely breathtaking. It was set up to be an epic past/present mystery thriller, but the characters killed the story for me. I felt no connection to any of them, and I was lost throughout part 1. I might not be in the majority, but I hate unnumbered chapters. This book was just part 1 and part 2, making the book feel neverending.

This was everything I wanted in a summer thriller. A beautiful setting, rich people behaving badly, and twists that kept me guessing. The first half was a little slow but it picked up in the second half and I couldn’t put it down

3.5 rounded up

Old money family drama with lots of twisty turns. Mo money, mo problems. Bet you can’t guess the ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This thriller had all the components to be a hit... the beautiful location of Capri, rich people, dark secrets, and a decade old mystery. But unfortunately it just didn't deliver the excellence I hoped it would. I did like the different perspectives but the pace was a bit took slow for a thriller for me. Overall this was just an OK story that had the potential of being so much more.

Rounded to 4.5 stars.

I fell in love with Katy Hays’ writing before I had even finished The Cloisters. Requesting this book was something that didn’t involve any conscious thought, and I was really curious to see what Hays was going to do with this book. Her previous book left the standards high, and I thought this was a wonderful follow up.

To start with, this is a slow, meandering story that unfolds over two timelines and through the eyes of multiple characters, matching the laid-back island vibe associated with Capri itself. The end is pretty fast-moving, but I liked that it went at the pace that it did. It isn’t a mad dash through a story, instead we get to know the major players, see the events through different perspectives, and really become invested in the story.

The summary sounds fascinating, and I really liked the way that Hays incorporated a lot of great elements that I gravitate towards—a fascinating location, getting a view of a world that exists right beside the ordinary one, and an old-money family full of secrets. Reading this was like going on vacation with an old-money rich friend, and getting to see all of the behind-the-scenes dirt that happens.

There are a handful of characters in the story: the Lingates in the 1992 timeline, and only a few more in the present timeline, and those are the people who have been added to the family, or are associated with them in some way. To start with, my feelings about the characters changed over the course of the reading, with my impression of characters changing based on their thoughts and behaviors.

As a whole, the Lingates are the kind of people who seem to be surrounded by tragedy. The death of Sarah Lingate in what is ruled to be an accident, but the family makes it a point to return to Capri each year in an attempt to quell rumors that have persisted since 1992. And while the family members vary significantly in terms of how likable they are and where they are in the spectrum of moral grayness, I found myself actually not liking any of the characters outside of Helen. She has grown up in the shadow of her mother’s mysterious death and is pretty thick-skinned as a result, but she also gets to see the way her family’s money has served to protect and insulate her from reality, so while she is pretty clear-eyed in some ways, there are other things that her family has obscured.

I’m sure it is no surprise to any mystery reader that there are secrets in a rich family. But the deliberate choice of setting this story during the week that the family is in Capri for vacation, when they’re all living in the same villa, going through their days on a slow-paced island, made it feel significant, almost as if Capri itself, or at least its cliffs and rocky shores, were a threatening character lurking around the bend.

But the real star of this book is the twisty, turning, dark plot and the stunning plot twists involved. Every time that I thought I knew what was going to happen next, the plot took a hard turn in the opposite direction, and it was refreshing to see such an unpredictable story without veering too far into unbelievable territory, although there was something towards the end of this book that had me reducing my star rating from 5 to 4.5 stars because it felt too over the top. Aside from that, I was really enjoying this book.

Overall, this is a really well-written and tightly plotted mystery, although I didn’t like how one loose end was tied up. However, the other ones were done so well. This was the kind of book that I savored and wandered my way through, rather than the kind I had to race through at breakneck pace. I liked seeing how everything unfolded, and the slower pace wasn’t bothering me because the mystery wasn’t as urgent to solve, allowing me to just hang on for the scenic ride. Also, this book kind of allows me to feel like I get to see how the other half lives, and see what a week on Capri might be like.

This was a slow burn of a thriller. It was a story about a rich family that takes an annual trip to the island of Capri.
The book begins with the death of Sarah LIngate in 1992 .Her body is found at the bottom of the cliffs. Despite all the speculation, her powerful, family gets it called an accident.
I liked the atmosphere of the novel with Capri as the location. It felt very mysterious, lush and suspenseful. The writing that bounced back and forth between the different perspectives was confusing at times and hard to follow. I never really connected with any of the Lingate family, they are not a very likable bunch and have many secrets from each other and others.
Overall, if you are looking for a fast paced thriller, this is not the book for you. It is however, a steady, dark, mysterious thriller with MANY twists, especially at the end. The last one I did not see coming!

I recommend this book.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group, Ballentine book and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

👉🏻 For my friends who are patient enough to wait for the story to unfold.

SALTWATER by Katy Hays

Thanks, Ballantine Books, for the review copy via NetGalley. (Available 25 Mar 25)

The blurbs comparing this to “White Lotus” caught my attention, but the story was a bit slow and scattered for my taste. Brothers Marcus and Richard Lingate return each year to vacation in a villa on Capri despite the suspicious death of Richard’s wife, Sarah, decades prior. I enjoyed the flashback chapters from Sarah’s POV, but the remainder of the story alternated between Richard and Sarah’s daughter, Helen, and Marcus’s assistant, Lorna, and I often lost the thread.

There was too much storytelling and not enough story.

Saltwater is a twisty family drama and thriller that had me enthralled from page 1! It follows the wealthy Lingate family on their annual vacation to Capri, where Sarah Lingate famously died thirty years ago under mysterious circumstances. Wanting to break out of the controlling family, her daughter Helen teams up her uncle’s assistant to try and escape, but instead unleashes a new series mysteries and unveils the dangers of the past.

I loved the characters, the setting, and mystery of this book! I’m ready to pack up and head to Italy now haha. I liked how the author expertly dropped clues and revealed new information subtly as the book went on. I was certain I knew what was happening and then another bomb would hit. I was left guessing and wanting to know more. Every character is morally grey but you’re still rooting for a happy ending for Helen. I would highly recommend for fans of twisty thrillers and stories where the rich get their coming justice.

Thirty years ago successful playwright Sarah Lingate was found dead off the cliffs of Capri. She left behind her husband and three year old daughter, Helen.

Despite the suspicious circumstances of her death, it was ruled an accident. But the Lingates have never been able to fully remove themselves from the tragedy which is compounded further by the fact that they still vacation on Capri - in the same villa in fact - year after year.

Now, thirty years later, the family shows up once again at the villa, but so does something else: a necklace belonging to Sarah, one she was wearing the night she died.

The family has no idea who sent the necklace and what it means. There is one thing known for certain: the Lingates will go to any length to preserve their name.

This story takes a deliciously long time to unfold. Delicately balancing the lines between past and present, true and false. Often blurring the latter. I mean this is, after all, a story centering on a family who will do anything to keep up appearances, including warping the truth for their own gains.

I thought that Katy Hays navigates everything really well in that there's just enough pull at the end of each section to make readers anticipate what is coming up in the next section. It was an easy book to get pulled into.

I do feel like it's not breaking any new ground in regards to how we view the Lingates as this affluent family with a name that "means something". It still weaves an intriguing story of wealth and power and just the general self-involved thoughts about how much stake people do place on these things. It's interesting, because I can honestly not remember if the story ever said how the Lingates acquired their wealth. I have a vague recollection of the story stating it, but I also look at it in the context of our real life society and the paradox of how people are rich and famous for being rich and famous

While some of the narrative of the story has been trodden before, there were some pretty clever twists and the way everything fit together was done quite nicely. It never felt too out of reach to believe that events could unfold exactly as they do which I thought was interesting because usually there's some suspension of belief that needs to happen to make a story gel together.

I will say that it was a read where I didn't care for any of the characters. They were all, essentially, out for themselves. Even Helen. Although I could definitely sympathize with her need to be free from her family and feel her desperation which made her kind of the lesser of all evils. Maybe the biggest commentary on wealth and family legacy is that I felt mostly pity for these characters and the roles they put themselves in in the name of upholding some misbegotten sense of loyalty to the family.

Overall, I enjoyed the read, the descriptions of the locale were especially done well. I think it's certainly a book worth your while.

Set in Capri, this mystery toggles between 1992 and the life and death of Sarah and years later with the life of her daughter Helen. As she tries to learn about the truth of her mother’s death.

I had not ready anything before from the author Katy Hays book but definitely not my last! This was action packed with thrills and chills. Nice and twisty with lots of surprises. Great characters that kept me engaged and involved.

Thank you NetGalley, Katy Hays and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My first Katy Hays book but definitely not my last! This was action packed with thrills and chills. Nice and twisty with lots of surprises. Great characters that kept me engaged and involved.
Thank you NetGalley, Katy Hays and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The story took place in 1992 on the beautiful island of Capri just 15 miles from Naples.
Each year the Lingate family spend time in Capri. Their family own a villa where the large entourage stay. Helen is just 3 years old when her mother, Sarah dies due to a fall from the cliffs. Despite suspicious circumstances, her death is ruled accidental. Helen remains with her father living in Bel Air. The Lingates are exceptionally wealthy. Brothers Richard and Marcus see to the business after their father grew older. Daytime for Helen spent next door with her caregiver, Renata. She spent time with her son, Ciro. He was just beyond Helenś age and they enjoyed playtime together.

This is a great read, the storyline flows between the present and the past. Each adding to the mystery and the tension the family is experiencing. Each mystery storyline provides clues but until the very end, you are not completely sure what is the truth. Well written, smoothly unfolding mystery, the characters are well developed and even the island of Capri is a wonderful addition to the novel. This is a not to miss story!

Okay this one is for the White Lotus fans who need a solid thriller on their bookshelf.

In 1992, on the island of Capri in Italy, Sarah Lingate falls to her death off the cliffs of the island. Its ruled an accident despite the dark secrets and suspicious circumstances following the affluent Lingate family. Thirty years later, Sarah’s daughter Helen is on vacation with her family and a discovery is made that opens up all the family’s secrets and reveals what really happened to Sarah.

I always love a good thriller because they usually suck me in, and this one did not disappoint (literally could not stop reading it). There was a great mystery behind all the events in the book and the lush backdrop really added to the narrative. The plot was also interesting and paced decently for a thriller.

The themes were also great - I always fall hard for the “affluenza” and “rich people acting like shit but getting their dues” tropes in stories and this one delivered. There is a lot of wonderful closure and fair punishment at the end of the story that fulfills you.

That being said, there were some issues with the narrative. The suspense at the end was really flat, which really hampered my enjoyment of the book and the impact of the twists. There was a bit of filler but arguably not too much that it takes you out of the story. The multiple POVs worked for the telling of the story but not necessarily the development of the characters.

All in all, I did really enjoy this read and if you need something that feels like White Lotus or Knives Out, this would be a great option!

Thanks to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book!

3.5* I will automatically love any book set on the Almafi coast because it's magical. This book did not disappoint either. There was money, greed, jealousy, deceit, and murder. Truly, what more could a girl ask for?

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for a copy. This is on shelves now!!!

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a digital advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I've been getting into mysteries/thrillers a bit more this year, so I was quite excited to read this. This story goes back and forth between the present and past and also spans multiple characters' POVs. I really loved the setting of Capri, Italy, it felt very lush and beautiful. Personally, I think most of the family characters were not likeable. The Lingates (Richard, Marcus, and Naomi) were all just genuinely deceptive people with too much at stake to uphold any morals. I might’ve felt a small connection to some of them at some point and then I find something out, and I just couldn’t feel for them anymore. Helen and Freddy, were not as awful as them but they still weren't perfect by any means. Lorna was just trying to get through life, but she definitely tipped the scale more towards immoral. Ciro and Renata were always just caught up in the drama of the Lingate family, whether they wanted to be or not. The death of Sarah, where all the jealousy and murderous intent started to come out to play. Sarah was resilient to say the least, with how long she dealt with the Lingate family and their choices.
This complex family drama kept me engaged and I often couldn’t stop reading because I needed to know the secrets behind all these mysteries. I would say the answers start coming out towards the second half of the book, but the beginning still had me intrigued. I will just say that at the end, there were two big twists- one I didn't expect at all and one I had assumed for a while. I loved how vital a role the actions and consequences of the characters played in this story. These privileged people are living their best lives not worried about others, but their actions finally catch up to them. Overall, I enjoyed this story that was definitely more of a slow-burn with smaller twists throughout leading up to the main twists at the end.

Saltwater is the perfect read for anyone enjoy "The White Lotus"--a rich family drama with lots of drama, the beautiful scenery (and people) of Italy, and a dead body with no explanation, but a lot of theories.

It's written well--once you get the characters straight and understand the relationshi between the stories in the current time (told from multiple--but not too many--perspectives) and the past--you'll be hooked and will not to try and figure out what happened...both in the present and the past.

Some of the characters were a little over-the-top for me, but I dont really run around with "the haves" so I'm not sure if they were completely overddone.

While I figured there would be a twist or two, there were enought that the book did surprise me and it's the first time I've been surprised like that in awhile.

Book: Saltwater
Author: Katy Hays
Genre: Thriller
Places Featured: Capri, Italy
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Saltwater was an amazingly twisty and suspenseful family drama. Through alternating timelines between present and 1992 we unravel the secrets and lies surrounding the suspicious death of Sarah Lingate in idyllic Capri 30 years ago.
Everyone in this book had so much to hide, with various connections to each other unbeknownst to the rest of them, I had to keep reading to figure out who was hiding what. There were so many twists I didn’t anticipate, especially the final one, I was truly invested all the way to the end.
If thrilling family dramas full of suspense are your thing, definitely don’t skip this one!

Thank you so much to Ballantine Books - Random House for providing me with this eARC from NetGalley!

I was so excited to read a book set on the island of Capri in Italy, one of my favorite places! While the setting was lovely, the story unfolded so slowly that I really had to force myself to finish reading. I’m glad I finished so that I learned all of the secrets this family was hiding, but the pace was way too slow for me to really enjoy it. Read if you don’t mind a very slow pace and enjoy reading about rich people who will do anything to keep their reputation clean.

I was anticipating reading this book, but sadly this wasn't for me. I had a hard time keeping interested in this story. I liked the setting in Capri but that was about it. The characters were bland and the mystery wasn't that intriguing.

Thank you Ballantine Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Saltwater" is a thriller full of family drama, secrets, and lies. I struggled a little to get into this book at first. It was a bit of a slow burn, and it was hard to connect with or like most of the characters, especially the elder Lingate family members. What really worked for me was the atmospheric setting of Capri, which was perfect for such a twisty murder mystery. And I do mean twisty! There were some really mind-blowing and well-executed plot twists that I definitely did not see coming. I also really enjoyed the dual timeline and multiple POVs, which added to the suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.