SALTWATER was a thrilling family drama about a rich family with a deadly secret: the mysterious death of Sarah Lingate on an island in Italy. While the beginning is a bit slow and the end a bit rushed, the book is a compulsive read and it becomes hard to put down the more you read.

I love a good thriller and drama about a family with too much money. That’s exactly what this book provides. It gives such vivid descriptions about Italy that it feels like you are there with the characters. It has thriller and mystery elements, but I would really describe this as a character focused novel and highlights the inner thoughts and feelings of multiple characters. I think the author did a great job fleshing all of these elements out in a way that was well written.

My only issue is it does take a bit to get into the book and I do feel like the ending was rushed a bit. The twists at the end of the book got me, even if I felt they were a bit unrealistic and, because the end was rushed, not explained as fully as I wanted.

Once I started the book, I couldn’t put it down and I truly think this is worth the read. I definitely recommend this for those that love mysteries, family drama, rich people problems, character driven novels, and well written books.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Isle of Capri, a beautiful but dangerous Mediterranean hotspot for the rich, sets the stage for a twisted family drama. It all begins in 1992 when playwright Sarah Lingate vanishes after a fight with her husband, Richard, during a family dinner. Richard returns alone to their villa, and Sarah is never seen again.

Fast forward 30 years, and Helen Lingate, Sarah's daughter, returns to Capri with her father, Richard, her uncle Marcus, aunt Naomi, and Marcus’s assistant, Lorna, for their annual vacation. Helen feels suffocated by her family and teams up with Lorna to escape, but things quickly spiral out of control. The family’s toxic dynamics—entitled, dangerous, and controlling—create a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere that keeps you on edge.

The character development is top-notch, making the characters easy to visualize—even if you’ll probably dislike most of them. Katy Hays brings Capri to life with vivid descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells, and the setting adds to the suspense with its steep cliffs and constant threat of disaster.

The plot is full of twists and turns, and there’s always the lingering question of who’s a friend and who’s a foe. The tension builds as you wonder why the family keeps returning to Capri after Sarah's disappearance. While I was hooked most of the time, I did feel the story dragged a little at points. There’s one twist that raised some questions, but it was still an unexpected surprise.

Overall, it’s a gripping read that kept me entertained, despite a few minor reservations.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Saltwater by Katy Hays is a gripping thriller that masterfully intertwines family secrets, betrayal, and the haunting beauty of Capri. The story centers on Helen Lingate, who returns to the island thirty years after her mother's mysterious death, only to find new evidence that reopens old wounds. Hays's vivid descriptions transport you to the sun-soaked cliffs and opulent villas, creating an atmospheric backdrop for the unfolding drama. While the plot is engaging and filled with unexpected twists, some readers might find the multiple timelines a bit challenging to navigate. Nonetheless, the complex characters and suspenseful narrative make this a compelling read. If you enjoyed Weyward, Saltwater offers a similarly immersive experience with its rich storytelling and intricate exploration of family dynamics.

Personally, I didn’t really enjoy the writing style of this one. It went back and forth from past to present, which doesn’t bother me usually, but something about the way it was done made it a little confusing and hard to follow. It just felt a little chaotic.

The story itself needed a bit more suspense too. I think a lot of people will like this one more than I did. For me, it just wasn’t my favorite read, but it is still readable.

Thanks to netgalley for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Saltwater by Katy Hayes tells the story of the wealthy Lingate Family. 3 year old Helen’s mother is found at the bottom of a cliff in Capri. The story is told through multiple points of view. I didn’t really like the characters. The author did describe Capri very well and now I want to go travel there. It was a good story line that kept me reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Saltwater centers on the Lingate family, a wealthy family with some dark secrets, It is set on the island of Capri which I really appreciated. Sarah Lingate is found dead on the rocks below the cliffs in Capri. She leaves behind a daughter, Helen who is only three years old. Now, thirty years later, the Lingates are in Capri and a necklace that Sarah was wearing when she died is sent to the Lingate family home. No one knows who sent it, but it stirs up the past enough that people, especially Helen, start asking questions.

This was a slow burn thriller. Very atmospheric in nature. The Capri setting is beautiful and descriptive, the perfect place for wealthy family drama. I typically prefer a faster paced thriller, but was not turned off by this slower story. I really enjoyed how the story came together at the end.

I would recommend it for people that enjoy rich people behaving badly, an island setting, and family drama or domestic thriller. For fans of B.A. Paris, Lucy Foley and/or Ruth Ware,

The whiplash I had from all the twists in this captivating and atmospheric thriller!!

Sarah Lingate is found dead below the cliffs on Capri in 1992. Her death is ruled an accident. The wealthy Lingate family continues their yearly vacation on the island but on the 30th anniversary of Sarah's death, the necklace she was wearing the night she died is delivered to their villa. The secrets that come pouring out will leave them gasping for air...

Did I immediately want to book a trip to Capri while reading this? Absolutely yes. There are few micro-tropes I love more than the 'rich-behaving-badly' when murder and a beautiful island are also involved. Talk about FAMILY DRAMA. Even though the story is a slow burn build-up in the beginning, I was still so interested to figure out what really happened to Sarah and Lorna. And boy was I wrong with my predictions! All the delicious and scandalous secrets just continue to pour out, especially in the last 20%. The storytelling is so riveting with dual timelines and multiple narrators. WHO is lying and who can you trust?! I was HOOKED! One cool little detail - the timeline of Sarah's death occurs on my birthday, July 19.

This book will be a perfect beach read. If you loved LADYKILLER by Katherine Wood, you'll love the suspenseful escape of SALTWATER.

I really enjoyed this book! There were so many elements that hooked me. A rich family hiding secrets, a decades old murder, and it’s all set on the beautiful island of Capri. It definitely met my expectations for the genre, and I loved the fact that one of the characters was a playwright. (I love reading anything about writers.) The characters felt real, their relationships complex and infuriating. The entire Lindgate family were super entitled. I rooted for Sarah, Helen, and Ciro the most, especially after reading the past timeline chapters. The rest of the family were loathsome, (especially Naomi) which made the ending so satisfying.

There’s a disturbing scene in the marina when Helen and a couple of crew members spot a body floating in the water, and it reminded me of a scene from The Talented Mr. Ripley. Very dark and vivid. I loved all the reveals, but a lot happened in the last 70% of the novel which actually slowed the pace for me (except for the huge twist). The end felt satisfying to learn what happened to the assistant, and also Helen and Ciro’s relationship. An awesome novel! I can’t wait to pick up The Cloisters now.

4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For readers looking for the ultimate beach thriller, and who love twisty stories about dysfunctional rich families.

I had a great time reading this novel. I found the characters very interesting and could not guess what would happen next.

I thought this book sounded good based on the synopsis. Unfortunately, it was not for me. I found the story hard to follow with too many POV's. I did like the setting. The island of Capri seemed to be a beautiful place.

This was a fun mystery/thriller set in GORGEOUS Capri...the setting was reason to read it alone! I hadn't read a thriller in a while so was ready for something totally different. Helen is the daughter of Sarah, who suspiciously died in Capri...and although her death is ruled an accident, the wealthy Lingate family remain suspects. Helen wants answers, but wealthy families will not tolerate newcomers trying to expose their secrets. I will say, it was a bit too long and I think it would have packed a bigger punch if it was a bit more high and tight. I would definitely give this author another try in the future, as I also liked The Cloisters a while ago when I read it!

Pour yourself a Negroni, iron the creases out of your nearest linen sundress, and dust off those leather sandals, because we need to solve a murder-mystery in Capri — well, on the page, anyway.

Saltwater by Katy Hays is primed to be thee book of the summer (at least I think it should be). Who doesn’t love a good ‘wealthy people doing bad things while on vacation in luxurious locales’ story? Especially one with a scandal surrounding a young, talented woman’s untimely and tragic death? It’s practically a genre in and of itself at this point. One I’ll never pass up reading, for what it’s worth. (Or watching, now that The White Lotus has returned — thank you, Mike White.)

This twisty, electrifying thriller — which hits shelves on March 25 and is also being published under the name The Vipers in the UK, for some reason? — has a true crime feel to it, opening with a newspaper clip from 1992 announcing the death of Sarah Lingate, a celebrated playwright who married into the old-money Lingate family years earlier. Her body has been found floating in the ocean below the cliffs of Capri, leaving behind her three-year-old daughter, Helen, and making a widow out of her wealthy husband, Richard. Everyone on the island (and beyond, for that matter) believes that the Lingates — Richard, his older brother Marcus, and Marcus’ wife Naomi — had something to do with it, but there isn’t enough proof to overcome the money and influence that the Lingates wield. It’s ruled an accident, and every year at the same exact time, the family returns to the same exact villa, to prove to the world that it’s true.

Flash forward 30 years, and Helen is now an adult — an extremely sheltered, friendless adult, withering under the confines of her family’s über strict rules and regulations due to being the sole heir to the Lingate fortune. She can’t get close to anyone, lest she accidentally let slip important information about her father, uncle, or aunt. She can’t travel freely, or even run errands without an escort. The bars of her gilded cage might be invisible, but she never has any doubt of their claustrophobic existence. After discovering a shocking betrayal within her family, Helen has vowed that this year’s trip to Capri will be different, especially since reformed party girl Lorna, personal assistant to Helen’s aloof uncle Marcus, has become a confidante. When they descend upon the villa for the year’s annual trip, a surprise is waiting for them: the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died, which everyone assumed fell off in the ocean, has arrived on their doorstep from an anonymous sender.

Who sent the jewelry? Do they know something about the night of Sarah’s death that the police don’t? And could this somehow be Helen’s ticket out from under her family’s thumb? The paranoid, insular Lingates begin to unravel at the possibilities, especially once the investigation into Helen’s mother’s death is officially reopened. Try as the Lingates might, the truth of what happened is bubbling up to the surface, and once it does, there’s no guarantee they’ll make it off Capri in one piece.

Author Katy Hays weaves a compelling mystery here, complete with shocking twists that genuinely caught me by surprise. What, exactly, are the Lingates hiding? Why go to such lengths to keep their own daughter under lock and key? I devoured this book in two days, desperate for answers.

There’s a sheen of languid glamor clinging to everything in this novel: a stunning, cliffside villa with mold blooming in its corners; gorgeous blue and white tile, chipped on the edges; elaborate gold plating concealing ordinary tin; declarations of love and devotion that ring hollow. The more the elite, moneyed world the Lingates have grown accustomed to crumbles before their eyes, the more they try to freeze it all in amber: the same furniture in the house, the same vacation, the same parties. All the while, Helen is essentially kept in stasis. They’re holding on so tight to the past that they don’t realize it’s already turned to dust between their fingers.

At times the story reminded me of Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart a great deal (and of course Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley), crossed with Other People’s Clothes and a dash of The Fury. With flashback chapters giving us Sarah’s point of view scattered throughout the book, we get a complete picture of how this disastrous vacation to Capri came to be. The information we glean from her perspective is dropped like breadcrumbs, ultimately leading us to a deadly (and surprisingly bittersweet) conclusion.

I also really love how Hays writes the female characters in this book; they’re prickly, complicated, and complex. Even though Helen is our main narrator overall (despite some POV chapters from other characters here and there), I could so easily see this same story playing out entirely from Lorna’s perspective, or through Naomi’s eyes, and still be equally as compelling. They all have such interesting backstories, and have had to make devastating (and often straight-up evil) decisions over the years.

So, would I go on vacation with the Lingates IRL? Well, no. Obviously not. But I would read another 100 pages about these characters’ deliciously devious and underhanded exploits around Capri.

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

3.5/5 stars

The perfect summer read honestly. It was very flowery in its descriptions which made it super immersive but I think at times it stretched too far. Like it was almost trying to be super insightful and then go back to being more of a summer read. I wish it sticked to one or the other instead of muddling things together. I agree with a lot of people that it was too many POVs with little flow between them. I felt like I was reading one of my mothers soap operas where it cuts to a new POV every 3 minutes and then we have a commercial and we don't get anywhere.

If you're looking for a lightish read that is very atmospheric this is for you!

Even though I loved the setting of the book I felt like it should have had more twists. I thought the ending was great but I wish those types of moments were through out the book to keep it going. Also I do wish the twist was a bit more original.

Coming March 2025! Saltwater is a very picturesque novel taking place in Capri filled with lots of old-money family drama. Usually I do love rich people problems, especially when a big scandal is involved, but this one was a bit slow moving for me. Lots of POVs going on here: sometimes I would have to go back and check whose chapter I was reading. Overall, it was a fine read but definitely didn’t hit the mark when it came to overall thrill.

This was a fun and interesting read. A totally different storyline, well told in elegant language. I love the twists and turns, and the final ending. Completely unexpected.

I wanted to love this more based on the synopsis and cover, but I just didn’t love the characters. Everyone was hard to like and I couldn’t get on anyone’s side!

This was such a fun story! It was so messed up and twisty but I had an amazing time. I feel like it was really well written and the setting really stood out but at times felt confusing. I feel like it didn’t feel like a thriller at times (a little slow) but I love a story about families!

Enjoyed this thriller. The writing is attention demanding and the dual timeline keeps you guessing. I didn’t expect the twist at the end. This could easily be a movie. Italy , beautiful people, luxury life and lies and deceit . Sign me up.

Not for me. DNFed. Not for me. DNFed. Not for me. DNFed. Not for me. DNFed. Not for me. DNFed. Not for me. DNFed. Not for me. DNFed.