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.

The majority of this book takes place in Capri, where a famous and wealthy family rents a villa every year. There is a long history there, including the death of a wife of one of the two brothers.

I thought the book was a bit confusing, flipping from one character to another, and different time frames. Why did they come each year? What was the motivation for bringing an executive assistant? Why did this unhappy group persist in vacationing together?

It takes a long time to get answers and there are twists. I like stories with twists. There were certainly twists. Were they believable? Hmm. Sorry to say this book wasn't for me.

FABULOUS!!! “Salt Water” is a well-written psychological thriller. The storyline draws you in and keeps you until the last page.

The storyline takes place between the death of Sarah Lingate, a famous playwright, that is married to old money Richard Lingate. The wealthy live by different rules. Helen, their daughter, wants to know more about her mother. Each summer, the Lingate family spends a week on Capri. The villa is the same one where her mother fell to her death.

The cast of characters from Marcus & Naomi Lingate, her uncle and aunt to Lorena, Marcus’s assistant. They all have secrets and very interesting themselves.

Highly recommend this book!!! Go to your local bookstore and grab a copy today! Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this fantastic advance read!

Ohh this was such a lovely surprise! This was a thriller set in Capri, Italy and followed the wealthy and devious Lingate Family. Helen Lingate lost her mother as a child. Did she plunge to her death from an Italian cliff by her own hand or her husbands? Now so many years later, back in Capri Helen’s friend and her uncles personal assistant is missing. Can the family get away with murder twice? There are so many twists. and turns up to the very last page with this one. You will not have it fully figured out. The perfect summer read. Throw it in your beach bag and pretend you’re in Capri.

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine for my copy of SALTWATER. This one is out March 25.

I hate the characters in this one and just didn't care about them. The premise is too far fetched to even suspend reality for. This one was not for me.

I simply could not read Saltwater fast enough. The family drama, the mysteries, the twists, the symbolism… such a well written story!

📚: Saltwater by Katy Hays
⭐️: 2.5/5 (rounding up on #goodreads)

At the surface, this book looks enticing. Rich people doing despicably awful horrible things (in Capri)! The setting is dazzling, the secrets are dark and multi-generational, and the twists are seemingly twisty. It all gives White Lotus vibes.

But somehow, it all lands flat in execution. The big twist feels so out of left field (and for it to happen not just once, but twice, is something that I can’t even suspend reality enough for). By the end, I felt annoyed by this books’ ultimate conclusion.

Rounding up because, yet again, this is one that I did a bit of audiobooking while in the car, and it executed stronger on audio vs written.

Thanks to Random House - Ballantine via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Saltwater is out now.

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written, but it did start a little slow for me and took me a bit to get into. Glad I stuck with it because once I was into it, I was all in. Lots of twists and turns that keep you captivated!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

In 1992, while on the yearly trip to Capri with her husbands family, Sarah Lingates body was found below the cliffs, leaving behind her daughter, Helen. Despite rumors of a guilty husband, and the power of family money, her death is ruled an accident.
Now, 30 years later, Helen returns to Capri with the family, and family assistant Lorna for their yearly family getaway. With the arrival of an unexpected gift, and the discovery of another dead body, eerily similar to Sarah's death, the families dark secrets will soon be revealed.
Told from different perspectives, and from past to present, this book is full of twist and turns. I really enjoyed this read. And the ending, I was NOT expecting it at all. I definitely recommend!!!
Thank you to Katy Hays, Random House — Ballantine, and NetGalley for my ARC. I'm so glad you recommended it.

Wow what a twisty, riveting ride! The characters weren’t very likable, but the family dynamics, and the “life of the rich and famous” , kept me reading and I’m so glad I did. The ending had so many twists and surprises!
The writing style was so in-depth and the characters were so realistic, I felt like they were real people. Would definitely recommend!

A thriller with all the twists and turns that will have you captivated from the first page. A decades old mystery and the darkest of family secrets.

First, I have to say that I love the cover. It's so peaceful and sets a serene ambiance, so I'm not so sure it fits the plot. But I still love it.

Sarah Lingate is from a wealthy family and when she's in Capri in 1992, she is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs. Helen is her three year old daughter who is left without her mother. Sarah's death is ruled accidental or possibly suicide, but homicide is not found to be the cause. When the family goes back years later, they surprisingly find the necklace that she had been wearing the night of her death. Hmm...what's going on? Helen has brought Lorna Moreno to help while on their trip, but she goes missing. Due to various circumstances the Sarah's case is reopened. There are multiple viable suspects.

While I thought the plot was good but there were a few things that I questioned for believability, I still thought it was good and that the plot twists were good. I didn't see the twist at the end coming at all and I love it when I don't see how something ends. I like being surprised, and I was. What I didn't like were the characters. None of them were very likeable. There were several POV's, so pay attention to them! It took me a minute to keep them straight, but once I got into it there was no problem.