Read This Book If…you’re a fan of Lucy Foley!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Saltwater by Katy Hays

Genre: mystery thriller
Spice Level: 0/5🌶, no spice
Setting: Capri, Italy
POV: multiple, 1st/3rd person, present/past tense
Tropes: dual timeline

My Thoughts:
If you love bad people behaving badly, look no further! This story feels like a combination of Succession and White Lotus season 2. I couldn’t put it down! Now, I read enough thrillers that I called a few of the twists, but I still very much enjoyed the storytelling.

Memorable Quote: “But then, Lorna used to always say men take rejection worse than women. They kill over it.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

Saltwater by Katy Hays is a captivating and chilling novel that immediately drew me in and kept me hooked until the very end. This book is a must-read for anyone looking for a thrilling and engaging story.

The book begins with Sarah Lingate's unexplained 1992 death. Despite all the rumors, her wealthy and influential family maintains that the event was an accident. Her body was discovered beneath the rocks. When her daughter Helen visits Capri thirty years later, she discovers a terrifying surprise: the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she passed away. Then came the suspicion that not everyone on this island would survive, the paranoia, and the revelation of secrets.

Slow burn of a read that picked up within the last few chapters. The scenery of Italy while the Lingate family vacationed was a beautiful backdrop for the terrible things revealed that had transpired amongst them. Great read for lovers of suspense, mystery, and stories with great twists and turns.

While I did find this very digestible (I read it within one day!), by the end, it started to drag and felt like there were 5 separate endings. I also wasn’t a huge fan of how the plot is resolved, specifically, some of the plot twists at the end felt too outlandish for me. I also really disliked the epilogue, it felt like it was explaining way too much, and I think this book could have used a little ambiguity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC of Saltwater by Katy Hays.

If you are picking this book up expecting something like Katy Hays’ book The Cloisters, you may be disappointed. But give this a chance, it is good, but different! I found it a bit slow to start as it develops the characters and the back story. But you need that to understand why Lorna, the assistant, is so important and what her connection to Helen, the daughter/niece, is. Add in a few time jumps back to Sarah who is really the driving force behind the current day, and let’s just say the Lingate family is a mess. But the twist at the end, was not what I was suspecting…actually several of them. The only reason this wasn’t a 5 star read for me is the slowness at the start, and that’s nothing against the writing just simply my preference. Easily could be a 5 ⭐️.

Add this to your summer beach reads list. You'll want to head straight to Capri after reading this. I loved feeling like I was sitting in Capri and experiencing the story. Lots of twists and overall a quick read.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

I appreciated the chance to read an advanced copy of this book!

This was a solid 3 star thriller for me. The twists were fun, the setting was really enjoyable (perfect for a summer read), and the cover is outstanding. Even with all of that being said, this story was very confusing. The dual timeline was tricky (especially the dual timeline within the present day timeline--so maybe it's truly three timelines in this book?) to follow at points. There were also SO many twists at the end of the story that it really felt far fetched. I wasn't bought in enough to suspend my disbelief as much as the author needed me to.

Overall, I think this book is fine. I think plenty of people will enjoy reading it poolside, but it's also not going to stick with me and I think many people could pass on it for stronger thrillers.

2.75 stars

Oh, how I was hoping I would enjoy this novel more. In a nutshell, Saltwater has an interesting premise, but ultimately gets bogged down by one too many twists.

Let’s start with what I enjoyed about the novel. The setting felt lush, yet sinister in a way that immediately draws readers in. The characters are interesting, some more than others, but I felt pretty committed to the story. So much so that, for the first half to three-fourths of the book, I thought it might even be a four-star read.

But then all the aforementioned twists start happening, and they proved to be too much for the narrative to handle. I can’t get into it further without spoiling the plot, but suffice to say, the ending was pretty meh and also way too convenient. The author wants to keep readers in suspense for too long, and wants to misdirect them for too long. The story ends up feeling purposefully manipulative rather than deftly told.

The cover is gorgeous, though. And the ending is as happy as it could be. So, there’s that.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.

When I read about this book, it sounded very interesting, but the execution of the actual novel wasn't for me. It never fully drew me in, and I wasn't captivated by the story.

I've always wanted to visit Capri and was drawn to this book because of its setting there. The descriptions of Capri were beautiful, but unfortunately, that wasn't enough for me to recommend the book."

The first 60% of this one was so slow, I almost DNFed it. I felt like it was more about traveling in Italy than a family drama/mystery and that was the main focus of the book. I wish I would've gotten more information from Lorna as to why her plan with the Lingates was in effect and what she planned on doing. The last 30% of the book was really good and I did enjoy some of the twists regarding Sarah's plot point but then when the same thing happened with Lorna, it was too far fetched.

Thirty years ago, Helen's mother was found dead below their vacation house on Capri. Every year since, the Lingate family has returned as if nothing happened. However, this year's family trip rivals the drama of their vacation 3 decades ago. When Sarah Lingate's missing necklace shows up shortly after they arrive at the villa, everyone is instantly on edge. Haunted by what happened 30 years ago, the Lingate family is closer than ever to falling apart. Luckily, Helen wants to distance herself from her family and this event is the perfect opportunity to not only become independent but also uncover what really happened that night. Lorna Moreno, the family assistant, also seems to be in on what Helen is planning. Until she turns up dead in the same spot Sarah was discovered. Helen immediately suspects her family but isn't prepared to discover what else her family is hiding. Not everyone who arrived in Capri will be leaving Capri - alive or otherwise. The buried family secrets are coming to the surface whether the Lingate family wants them to or not.

I wanted to love this one but it gave me The Fury vibes (and I *hated* that book - lol). A lot of the plot seemed somewhat unnecessary and dragged on a bit too long. Naturally, the last 20% of the book was the best part. It took me sooo long to get through it because it just was not going anywhere. The plot has a lot of potential, but it just fell flat for me. Maybe it's because it had The Fury vibes or maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to read this. Some of the twists were obvious from the start, but others did actually catch me off guard. I didn't love the ending but it made sense given the rest of the book. It's not a bad book! I just...something wasn't working for me.

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this one. The pacing is great and the story hooks you pretty easily. I was afraid the alternating narratives and going back and forth in time would make it hard to connect to the characters but I felt like I got to know each of them pretty well.

I knew there would be some sort of twist but I couldn’t figure out when it would come and involving who. There was more than I bargained for and they hit the mark.

This would be a good summer read for sure.

What a fun, deliciously twisty mystery! I really liked the dual timelines and how the two stories intertwined. The book gets off to a bit of a slow start, but the tension and the pace builds to a satisfying, awesome ending. There were so many puzzle pieces and the final picture kept shifting as new details were revealed. I had so much fun trying to guess the ending… some things I got right, and some things I didn’t see coming! The only thing that would’ve made my reading experience better would’ve been a warm bucket of popcorn to munch on while racing to the conclusion!

This book has such a strong sense of place- Italy (and especially Capri) were described so well I felt like I was there with the characters. I think this would be a great book to read on vacation, or even a staycation! Overall this was a great slow burn mystery with a fantastic atmosphere and lots of family drama. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys layered mysteries/thrillers or stories about dysfunctional families!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was so much more than what I expected. The atmospheric setting of Capri, the twists and turns, the uncovering of old family secrets - this was so good and executed so well.

I know, based on The Cloisters, that Katy Hays is an expert at the atmospheric setting but Saltwater took that to a whole new level.

Nowadays, it really takes a lot for a twist to shock me - but this one truly gave me whiplash. Loved it!

4.5 stars ✨
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

The setting and voice pull you in fast, and the pace keeps moving from character to character so you have to pay attention. Quite a few great lines in the prose, and it’s a great beach read!

This was an okay thriller for me. I did like the dual timelines (past and present) but it just fell a little flat for me. The plot was interesting to me and I do think others would really enjoy it. The setting was in Capri, and it did make me want to go there.

An incredible setting. A decades old mystery. Generations of family dynamics. The perfect elements for a captivating read!

Saltwater will keep you guessing until the end. It would make a great book club selection as there is plenty to unpack and discuss.

Set primarily on the Italian island of Capri, this story follows a famous wealthy family, who is now most known for the mysterious mystery that occurred on the island. Get ready to unpack family legacy, true crime-style mysteries and so much more.

This is the perfect twisty summer book! Secrets, family drama, old money, summer on Isle of Capri.

I really loved the beautiful atmospheric setting of this book- makes me want to visit in the summer but without all the family drama! This book was full of juicy family drama, lies, secrets, twists, betrayals. Buckle up it’s a wild ride the last portion of this book is a wild ride.

Told in past and present timelines and various perspectives slowly unfolding the mystery of what happened in 1992. Go in blind. It really was such a well told twisty story.

Family, you can’t live with 'em, can’t live without ‘em! In this den of snakes, treachery, lies, betrayal and secrets slither throughout, and if you turn away for just a moment, you might be the next one struck.
Set on the Isle of Capri, with a desperate cast of wealthy characters and their twisted relationships, a murder mystery, and a plan to escape all come together and fall apart spectacularly. The overlapping scales of the story, along with the layers of the characters, kept getting deeper and more complex, and figuring out the intricate pattern to the end was nearly impossible.
I literally exclaimed ‘oh my God!’ while reading and was so excited for the author’s cleverness by the end. What an excellent novel, so well done!