There were pros about this book and I could see it doing wonders for the right reader. The description of the scenery took me right to Capri, for example. The writing was way more elevated than I’d usually expect for a thriller. But ultimately it didn’t work as well for me as I hoped and I think that’s because I felt like it hopped around too much in time and character and it was one of those books where you’re dropped in and expected to acclimate but have no idea who people are…that doesn’t usually work for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
The Lingate family has spent many summers vacationing amongst the warm waters and rocky cliffs of Capri, enjoying all the islands beauty and serenity. However to the islands residents the Lingates are known for much more than their old money. For the Lingates have a dark cloud of death that has haunted them since their 1992 visit when Sarah Lingate is found dead in the rocky waters edge below their summer rental home. Now 30 years later questions begin to swirl over if Sarah’s death was truly an accident or if it was actually an act of murder.

Told thru alternating timelines and duel POV this family dynamic driven suspense thriller was filled with twist after twist as you unravel the secrets, betrayal, deception, and murder that haunted the Lingate family. Everyone in this book was absolutely hiding something and I could not stop turning pages to find out what darkness lurked beneath each of them. And while the characters themselves weren’t particularly any that I could relate to I was still invested in seeing if these characters would get their owed karma. As stated the plot does include quite a bit of flashbacks and different character POVs however I personally did not find these to take me out of the present timeline or events as they all slowly became interwoven and connected. The ending absolutely had me completely surprised as well with a truly shocking twist that I absolutely did not see coming at all.

If you are a fan of suspenseful twisty mysteries and family drama then be sure to pick this one up on release.
Saltwater comes out March 25th, 2025.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books, Random House for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Sarah Lingate is found dead off the island of Capri in 1992. Despite rumors surrounding the Lingate family and their involvement in her untimely death, the wealthy Lingates carry on as normal. Years later, Sarah’s daughter Helen, hires Lorena the family’s assistant to help uncover the mystery behind her mothers death. However, both Helen and Lorena quickly find they are out of their depth and that both are keeping secrets from one another.

Rich people family drama. A cast of complicated and hard to like characters. Timeline hopping, multiple POVs. Family secrets. Murder and mystery. I love all of those things in a story but this one just fell a bit flat for me. It was slow moving and didn’t pick up until over half way through. Also the ending and epilogue just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing the advance digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

From the author of the wonderful novel The Cloisters, comes her amazing second novel set on the island of Capri. Hays has three women narrate this intense twisty story of possible murder, intrigue, uber wealthy society, and family loyalty drawn claustrophobically tight.

In 1922, Sarah Lingate, a fiercely independent playwright who has married into the Lingate family who made their vast fortune in oil, falls to her death below the steep cliffs of the Capri villa where the family is vacationing. Her death sparks endless societal and journalist rumors of murder, which continue to overwhelm her daughter Helen who was 3 years old then but now has reached her young thirties. There’s Richard, Sarah’s jealous and controlling husband, his older brother Marcus who serves as the family patriarch, and Marcus’ long-suffering wife Naomi who longs for more of Marcus’ attention. There’s also Renatta, the caretaker of the property who lives in a cottage next to the village and her now thirty-something son Ciro. The Lingates have been returning each summer to vacation at the villa on Capri where Sarah died, and this vacation have brought along with them Lorna, who serves as Marcus’s personal assistant, as well as Freddie, a wealthy cad-about who’s been dating Helen. Arriving before their trip from an anonymous sender is a gold snake necklace that Sarah was wearing before falling to her death but had never been recovered by her remains.

EVERYONE has profound secrets they’re holding on to laced with repercussive danger, and these secrets get slowly revealed as the book unfurls. You feel both enveloped in the suffocation of the family demands on secrecy and loyalty and rooting for Helen to find some independence of her own. Contrasting the lush and gorgeous setting of Capri are threats lurking around every corner.

The whole plot emerges as sinuous as the encircled snake necklace that Sarah wore around her neck, with a body count continuing to rise along with myriad jaw-dropping revelations. The narrative mostly weaves in unique points of view from of the women connected to the Lingate family: Helen, Lorna, Sarah, Naomi. At the end as the adage goes, everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.

Thanks to Random House, Ballantine, and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader’s Copy.

On the thirtieth anniversary of Helen’s mother’s death, the family has returned to Capri. Sarah Lingate’s death had been determined to be an accident, but there were always doubts among the island’s residents. Some say the family’s wealth determined the outcome of the investigation rather than factual evidence. This year, things are going a lot differently than previous annual vacations. Many secrets are revealed, there are a couple of more “accidents”, and things are quickly unraveling for the Lingate family. Things will never be the same again.

I found the story slow getting into, but then it picked up and the ending was quite unexpected. Talk about a dysfunctional family!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

On glittering Capri, anything can be a mirage. And no one holds a grudge like family.
Saltwater by Katy Hays follows the Lingate family and their annual summer trip to Capri. Sarah Lingate was found dead in Capri in 1992, and our story goes back and forth from that fateful summer to the most recent, focusing on her daughter, Helen, trying to break out from the family any way she can.There's a a lot of set up and character development here, a story where you trust no one and you can't pinpoint who is possibly double crossing who! The slower pace helped build the tension but as secrets start spilling out and point of views shift, the pace picks up and leads into the twists that I really didn't see coming.I love a good family drama and this didn't disappoint- we've got money, affairs, lies, and secrets, and that's just to start. Saltwater is going to be the perfect summer time thriller. 
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an early copy of this book in exchange for a review

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A family takes a vacation every year to the island of Carpri, where Sarah, the marry-in and mother to the main character died 30 years before and her death- murder or accident- was never solved.

The book was written in multiple time lines, which did not bother me, but also multiple character perspectives, which did. A couple of the characters only narrated one chapter towards the end of the book, and I saw this as a weakness in writing that the author had no other way to bring the story together except to introduce another perspective. The first half was very choppy, bouncing all over which then causes the story and mystery to lose momentum and makes it difficult to follow and feel part of the story. Part II does focus more on Helen's perspective, which then draws you in a bit more and makes the story feel faster paced, more of putting together the pieces of the puzzle and establishing a timeline. The end of the book has several twists and the last just becomes to ridiculous and almost repetitive that it made me frustrated with the whole book.

The setting of the book was beautiful, but all the characters were so sinister and there was just TOO MUCH- too much motive, too much jumping around, too much that just didn't make sense that I couldn't particularly enjoy the book. It's a decent read if you don't let yourself get absorbed in the details, frustrating if you do. Still one thing that was left unresolved that bothered me at the end. Started off not great, improved, but by the end I was saying "Oh, come on!" and ready to close it and move on.

Thank you to @netgalley and @RandomHouseBallatine for this ARC. 1992: Sarah Lingate was found below the cliffs of Capri. Every year since, the Lingate family and all their money come back for a week. Sarah's daughter, Helen, who is now in her 30's brings her friend Lorna to help investigate her mother's death. When Lorna disappears, Sarah's investigation is reopened. Was it a suicide or murder. This book was easy to read but the last few chapters didn't seem plausible to me. Good mystery? yes. Wishy Washy ending? Also yes. I would round up and rate 3.5 stars. #Saltwater #KatyHays #RandomHouseBallatine #March2025

**This review contains spoilers**

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in exchange for an honest review.

For decades, the wealthy Lingate family has been vacationing on Capri for a week each summer. Despite the fact that Sarah Lingate died there under suspicious circumstances in 1992, the family continues to return year after year over the anniversary of Sarah's death. This story is set thirty years later with a completely unreliable cast of characters which makes for a twisty, fantastic story.

Helen Lingate did not seem like a woman in her 30s. Her behavior, thoughts, and comments came across as juvenile and she seemed more like a teenager than a grown woman. However, I think the author wrote her that way on purpose to portray the stunted growth of someone kept essentially prisoner by her own family her entire life. In that instance, her portrayal was perfect.




**SPOILERS**


I loved a lot of this book and most of the twists. However, in a book with faked death and switched identities, I found it completely implausible that two people would get away with that. Additionally, Lorna's heartless killing of Martina made me lose any sympathy I had for her. Helen's kiilling of Naomi, though, was justified.

I was approved to receive an early copy of Saltwater. The blurb said it’s “Succession meets The White Lotus by way of Lucy Foley’s The Guest List. Rich people behaving badly, family secrets, the sunshine of Capri…. There’s so much to sink your teeth into here.” I haven’t gotten around to watching Succession yet but I love White Lotus and Lucy Foley so I had to accept.

I think the story had potential but it was quite slow, which made it hard for me to get into the story. It’s only 336 pages but it’s seemed way longer. It didn’t get interesting until the end.

Once it’s published, I’ll give the audiobook a try to see if it’s any better.

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for this ARC.

It took me a while to get through the first half of Saltwater but only a couple days to read the second half. I was quick to say yes to the option of getting to read Saltwater before release via NetGalley, because the plot sounded intriguing- family drama, lavish vacation on a beautiful island, a decades old murder mystery reopened... sounded great. The first half of the book just went really slow for me. I kept going because I did want to know what would happen but the build up just wasn't moving enough for me for a while. That being said, once I hit about the halfway point, I couldn't put it down. It got twisty and turny and I found myself never wanting to pause at the end of a chapter. The twists at the end were awesome. Even though it started slow for me, it ended so well I give it four stars, because I would read another book by the author, Katy Hays.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the digitial ARC.

Such a fun twisty thriller. Saltwater is filled with family drama, love, and the mystery of a death. As the secrets unravel and the truth is revealed! This book had me hooked from the beginning wanting to know what happened and what was next. I never expected the twists!

Saltwater by Katy Hays immediately transported me to Capri and the Amalfi coast! The food, wine, villas and yachts had me hooked!

Lorna is working for the Lingates. A wealthy family riddled with secrets— especially surrounding the mother’s death years ago. Was it murder or an accident?

I loved Katy Hays debut— and couldn’t wait to pick up Saltwater. This is the perfect summer read to keep you turning the pages and also transported to Capri and the Amalfi coast (which I think is the most magical place on earth)! I can’t wait to read whatever Katy Hays writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy of this book!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"Saltwater" by Katy Hays was a slow burn mystery that was told in dual timelines from multiple characters. This book will keep you guessing until the very end.
I would definitely read another book by Ms. Hays.

A mystery set in Capri, where the Lingate family vacations every year. It’s also where Sarah Lingate died, and now her daughter is trying to find out what led to her mother’s death.

The premise is interesting but I felt it meandered for the first half and I struggled to keep reading. Some of the details were easy to figure out and there are a couple twists at the end that keep things interesting.

It’s a solid 3/5 stars for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the arc.

Give me a good thriller or mystery, and I can generally just rip right through it. This started off so slowly that I had to drag myself to finish it. The characters, for the most part, were entirely despicable, spoiled and unrelatable. Helen, whose mother died when she was a child, is somewhat sympathetic because her rich family cordoned her off so thoroughly from reality, yet she doesn’t really rebel. Her friend, Lorna, is hired as an administrative assistant, had a rough upbringing, and so she generates a bit of sympathy as well. Mostly this is simply rich people behaving poorly.

I didn’t care for the style of the writing. The voices of the four main female characters were basically identical. Even with each chapter labeled with the character whose point of view it is in, I sometimes couldn’t tell the POV had changed. The time frame bounces from past to present which usually is intriguing, but since the voices were so similar, it seemed pointless. The beginning was slow, then it ramped up quickly. The plot twists at the end seem just too far-fetched. Hays managed to capture some of the essence of Capri but missed the mark on Milano and Napoli.

SALTWATER by Katy Hays is a tense and twisty thriller featuring family secrets and Rich People Behaving Badly, with a strong sense of place transporting the reader to the glistening shores and plummeting cliffsides of the Italian island of Capri.

The Lingate family is Old Money with a fixation on maintaining appearances, even when this means closing ranks when one of their own dies suspiciously. As an adult, Helen, the daughter of the deceased, just wants to live in the present, but her family seems tied down by the past. She would do anything to escape the bonds of her overly controlling family in order to experience true freedom for the first time in her life. Lorna is similarly ready to free herself from the life she is forced to live in the shadow of the rich and powerful. The two women plot together to free themselves from the unwanted constraints of the Lingates and other families like them.

This was a decent thriller with conspiring, betrayal, and murder, all set in enticing locales such as an Italian villa and on the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Who can trust whom? One aspect of this story that didn't work so great for me was that the chapters alternating amongst three timelines, but each occurring in the same locations with almost the exact same characters present, got confusing at times. "Okay, so this chapter picks back up with Helen on a boat with Ciro, but is this the time Freddy was there with them, or Lorna? Was this before or after that other event? I can't remember!"

Things get a tad bit convoluted and farfetched as truths are revealed, but overall I enjoyed this bracing story of suspense.

I plan on posting my review to my blog at jessicacrawfordwrites.com on March 25, 2025, and to my Instagram account @shelfesteem101 around the same time.

This was a suspenseful and tragic novel. How far will a family go to protect their legacy of fortune? What happened 30 years ago when Helen's mother disappear and then was found dead? Was it suicide, an accident, or murder? Why won't her father, uncle or aunt discuss Sarah's life? Who really know what happened and why does the family return to Capri every year?

Helen is ready to find out what her family knows of her mother's death and she has a new friend to help her, her uncle's assistant. What happened all those years ago and what is going on when the assistant Lorna goes missing?

This is a story full of secrets. Helen's secrets, her families' secrets, Lorna's secret. Who will be the first to crack and who has the upper hand? Lots of twist and turns in this fun novel. My heart went out to Helen who was basically a prisoner in her own family. Only 3 when her mother died she longs to "know" her mother. And Lorna is going to to help her. Lorna has almost as many secrets as the Lingate family.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend to all

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for the ARC of this ebook. All opinions expressed are my own.

In the mystery aspect and backstory, I liked it. The island of Capri and a wealthy family with dark secrets? Absolutely for me. And it was a good story, truly. The only reason I’m docking a star is the chaotic ness of it. It felt TOO chaotic, and for all that chaos, it wasn’t as suspenseful as I wish it was for what the setting gave, If that makes sense? The start was slow, but it does pick up and redeem itself the further we get into Helen’s story. The family drama was a nice touch and even there wasn’t a wedding or anything, it gave me Elin Hilderbran vibes. To sum up my absolutely chaotic thoughts, I would recommend it if you want a quick and fun little mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. What will people do to preserve a family’s reputation? How far will they go to maintain the status quo and to protect an appearance of wealth and stature? What drives people to the actions they take and the apparent lack of remorse they feel? These are all questions i asked as I read Saltwater. “I used to think people like you didn’t get jealous.” “No. We get it the worst, actually. When you think you have everything, it’s impossible to imagine someone having more.” Successful playwright, Sarah Lingate, goes missing and is subsequently found dead, on the Isle of Capri while vacationing with her husband and family in 1992. Fast forward to present-day Capri. The family returns for a week each year to commemorate Sarah. Her daughter, Helen, just a child when her mother died, is now grown and feeling smothered by the family and looking for a way out. “Isn’t that what family is? A cult you can never leave, a set of behaviors that are burned into you?” The stage is set for great family drama and a peek at how the rich live. “That’s the worst part about rich people; they want to give you things, but only so you can acknowledge their generosity. Every kindness is a reminder that you exist in their world out of pity or usefulness…They’re all the same.”

There are twists galore that come at you quickly at the end. I liked the last part of the book but felt it took a while to set the stage. What contributed to that, for me, was confusion presented by the story going back and forth between 1992 and the present, voiced by so many different characters.