Now here's the thing. Novels about wealthy people doing bad things? I'm here for it. Unfortunately, this book just didn't keep me interested. Once I reached the end, I enjoyed the plot twist, but throughout the book I found myself not wanting to continue. I thought that the structure of the book was hard to follow and a bit chaotic. The jumping from timeline to timeline the way it did left me confused most of the time. I also wasn't really getting the suspense as much as I'd hoped. The characters were interesting, but I just kept finding myself wanting to read something else instead of this one sadly.

Thank you for this ARC - I appreciate it!!

✨SALTWATER✨

4.5/5 ⭐️

READ THIS IF YOU LOVE:
🕵️‍♀️ Who Dun Its
🌪️ Twisty Mysteries
💰 Rich Behaving Badly
👫🏻 Family Drama & Secrets
👯‍♀️ Dual Timelines & Multiple POV
😬 Diabolical Characters
🐢 Slow Burn

REVIEW:
Holy wow. I didn’t realize how much I needed this twisty mystery. It’s a slow build, but insanely worth it at the end. Katy Hays has a knack for atmosphere and I could picture everything so well. The rich behaving badly trope is absolutely what brought me in, but the character development and the lengths at which they all go is what hooked me. You follow Sarah, Lorna, and Helen throughout the novel and of course all their interactions with the Lingates. Are all the characters likeable? Absolutely not, but they’re so interesting and unhinged. I can truly say I didn’t see the twists coming. So much that I had to do a double take because it hit me that hard. I stayed up late (even though I shouldn’t have because I’m sick and need all rest) and it was incredibly worth it.

A huge thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballentine and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I really want to go to Italy, and this just made me want to go more. The book started out kind of slow, but it picked up about halfway through. The rich behaving badly trope isn't usually my thing, so that may have been why I struggled with the beginning of the book. There is a lot of skipping around, which I think readers need to be aware of. Recommend if you are looking for a slow burn mystery with an amazing setting.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

This has all the trappings of a captivating novel: rich people behaving badly, a 30 year old family secret, lies, betrayal, and the dreamy island of Capri. At first, the plot felt slow and stilted. The characters were annoying and dull, and I wasn’t intrigued.

The first half was very slow and almost lost me several times. I stuck with it and am glad I did, because I enjoyed the second half a lot more. There was one juicy twist after another that made the slog of the first half worth it.

If you can get past the first half, the rest is really quite a treat and I kept turning the pages!

I also badly want an Italian vacation after reading this book!

Many thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

I really liked this twisty, atmospheric thriller set in Capri. I’m a sucker for dual timelines and great twists, and Hays’ latest didn’t disappoint.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher and NetGalley for my honest review.

Reading Saltwater by Katy Hays was a challenge for me. I simply did not relate to or like any of the characiers- not one. That's usually a deal maker for me; if by the half-way mark I haven't made a connection, I'm likely to not finish the book. In the case of Saltwater, I kept thinking there is more to this story than meets the eye. Hays description of the beauty of Capri, her writing style and the surprising ending certainly made finishing Saltwater worthwhile.
In the summer of 1992, playwright Sarah Lingate, wife of the wealthy Richard Lingate apparently fell to her death in the wee hours of the morning after attending a party where many guests saw them arguing. Was it an accident, suicide or murder? Reputation is paramount to the Lingates so they return each year on the anniversary of Sarah's death. Is it to honor her memory as they say, or is it to convince people they have nothing to hide? There's too much to share without spoilers so I encourage reading the recently released Saltwater, to explore the the lengths the Lingates will go to to preserve: their reputations, their secrets, their weath and power. Thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books and Katy Hays for the opportunity to read an ARC of Saltwater; my review reflects my honest opinion. 4 stars

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC of this novel.

This was a fun summer thriller. The setting was honestly my favorite part. It really brought the story to life and it was just a magical setting to tell the story.

I loved the twists in this book and the last one I didn’t see coming at all. I also love a story about rich people behaving badly and this worked well for me.

I do think it was a little slow for a thriller and it took me a while to get into. I also found it a little difficult to keep track of. With multiple POV’s and lots going on sometimes I felt lost in this story.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and if you are looking for a slow burn summer thriller this is the book for you.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.

In 1992, Sarah Lingate is found dead below the cliffs of Capri, leaving behind her three-year-old daughter, Helen. Despite suspicions that the old-money Lingates are involved, Sarah’s death is ruled an accident. And every year, the family returns to prove it’s true. But on the thirtieth anniversary of Sarah’s death, the Lingates arrive at the villa to find a surprise waiting for them—the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died.

This book had 3 separate timelines tangled together. I found it very hard to follow at times and had to go back and review characters. I think the meat of the story had potential but the execution of telling the story felt short for me. Due to the skipping around, I never felt truly connected to the characters.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

Wasn’t able to read this one digitally but I did order a copy of the book so will be reviewing it after I’ve read it. I’m really excited for it as I’ve only heard great things about it.

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.