"Saltwater" by Katy Hays is a gripping thriller with a unique island setting. The atmosphere is eerie and suspenseful, and the twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end.

My experience with Saltwater was colored by my inability to get into the story quite quickly; it wasn't until nearly to the end of part one that I truly felt gripped.. If the pacing was uneven though, that should not deter readers who enjoy mysteries with high tension, mistaken identities, and many 'I did not see that coming!' moments peppered in between the likely perpetrators who were in abundance, a bit like an Agatha Christie novel. Katy Hays is generous with sumptuous descriptions of beautiful Capri, lavish vacations and complex, suffering main characters who desire to live a life that is more than skin-deep. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives in the narrative, and the frantic hurtle towards resolution that kept me glued to the page.

Thirty years ago, Sarah Lingate was found dead at the bottom of a cliff in Capri, leaving behind a young daughter. The death is officially ruled an accident. The Lingate's are a very wealthy family, and they return every year to the town. This is a family with many secrets. On the 30th anniversary, a necklace that Sarah was wearing is waiting for them. This spurs an investigation from Helen, Sarah's now-grown daughter. Maybe the death wasn't an accident? Who can she trust? This is definitely a slow-burn and not really a thriller. Once I got past that original disappointment, I found a really interesting family drama-type story. This book is well-written and atmospheric, and I did enjoy finding out what really happened. Not my usual cup of tea, but I'm glad I read it!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Katy Hays and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication.

This book was an interesting look at a wealthy family. Similar vibes to "White Lotus" in that wealthy people always somehow win, except when they don't.

Saltwater by Katy Hays offers an intriguing premise, weaving a mystery around the death of Sarah Lingate, who fell from the cliffs of Capri in 1992. While the novel builds a strong atmosphere, blending family secrets and long-held suspicions, it didn’t quite keep me on the edge of my seat as much as I hoped. The story had a slow build and though the mystery itself was compelling, the pace felt a bit too drawn out. The family dynamics were interesting, but some parts of the narrative didn’t fully come together for me.

If you enjoy a slow-burn mystery with a touch of family drama, Saltwater is worth checking out.

I agree with other reviewers that this was less of a thriller or mystery and more of a family drama. The setting seemed idyllic and the descriptions of the locations and points of interest were well done, but I found this book kind of a slog to get through and had to force myself to finish. I found the back and forth between timelines annoying and it was hard to care about any of the characters - regardless of whether or not I "liked" them. It was fairly slow in terms of progression in the story (regardless of timelines) and I found it pretty repetitive. I feel this book could have been about 30% shorter and accomplished the same goal. I did see a couple of twists coming throughout, but I was also really surprised by a few I didn't see coming, which I enjoyed. This book was pretty middle-of-the-road for me.

I've always been prone to thrillers, but Katy Hays' Saltwater doesn't start to get interesting until the end of the book. Up until then, the story centers on what seems like stream of consciousness narratives from various characters, and it all moved at a very slow pace for me.

Centering on the 30-year-old question of whether wealthy Sarah Lingate's death was an accident or murder, the story is filled with the complexities of family secrets of the rich and powerful and those associated with them. While there are some interesting twists toward the end of the book, none of them seemed believable to me, but it's fiction, so I could make that leap of faith.

While not my cup of tea, I was curious to finish the book to find out how this story would end.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Ballantine Books for this electronic ARC of #Saltwater.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this book I had a hard time jumping into it. I would rate this a 3/5 I think it was good but something I wouldn’t pick up again.

I'm glad I stuck with this until the end because I did end up liking the twists and turns but man the first 3/4 of this book was a slog for me. This was 75% boring and 25% intriguing. This book has a lot of pomp & circumstance, plenty of drama and a plethora of unlikeable characters all set within a glamorous backdrop. I do think a the majority of people enjoy this one but it was a little off the mark for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed this read, I really had to suspend reality for the plot.

This is a good book. It is suspenseful, intriguing, and had characters that kept me hooked. However, (I’ll use more vague language to avoid any spoilers in my review) the explanations offered at the end of the book were so fantastical that it destroyed any believability. This would….never happen. And yes it is fiction, and I enjoy works of fiction immensely, but I need to believe that the story is at least a little relatively possible. This one was not.

It’s worth the read if you can just enjoy the ride and not think too hard on the plot.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

I love the debut novel by Katy Hays, The Cloisters, and was so excited to receive an advanced copy of her newest.

This book is a wild ride! I thought it was such a rollercoaster -- so many twists that I didn't see coming - I loved being kept on my toes. I absolutely loved the setting of Capri -- Italy is one of my favorite places and Katy Hays writes settings so well. I could vividly picture all of it.

I loved how this book switches between narrators and time periods, with the occasional news article as well. It made the book go quickly and I didn't want to put it down -- and was a good way to have the story unfold.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers that are more literary with a lot of twists! I am so excited to read what Katy Hays writes next -- I will be a fan for life!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

First, I love the title and the cover. It's so picturesque and beachy. Second, the plot was good, but not great.

I think the twists - IYKYK - were interesting, albeit a tad predictable.

I enjoyed the luxurious life of the Lingates and the mystery as to what happened to Sarah.

However, I found the plot to be too confusing at times and I just couldn't really get invested in any of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an e-copy of SALTWATER to review.

I rate SALTWATER three out of five stars.

Helen and her family visit an estate in Capri, every year since her mother died there. During their visit on the 30th anniversary, they find the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died. And the mystery begins.
Helen enlists the help of a family assistant, Lorna, to help unravel the mystery but not everything goes to plan.
This one was a little slower than my usual read, with lots of unlikeable characters and bad behaviour. There were plenty of lies and secrets but I just didn't find myself cheering on the characters. 3.5*
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted review copy.

Thank you so much for the review copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's exactly what I would expect from Katy Hays.

I'll be promoting the book on my Instagram account. @stressiereads

Katy Hays’ *Saltwater* is an atmospheric mystery set on the picturesque island of Capri, Italy. The story follows Lorna, an assistant to a wealthy family, as she navigates the intrigues of the ultra-rich. Lorna befriends Helen, the niece of her employer, whose mother Sarah mysteriously died on the island decades earlier. When Sarah’s necklace reappears, long-buried secrets resurface, and the tension escalates as Lorna herself vanishes.

The narrative alternates between Sarah’s past and the present, creating a suspenseful tale filled with family drama and hidden motives. Although the beginning is slow, the book’s mysteries and rich setting make for an engaging read.

*Saltwater* is perfect for fans of twisty, character-driven mysteries and tales of family secrets. Its exploration of power, betrayal, and freedom makes it a compelling journey.

Thank you to Random House Publishing for allowing me to review this story through NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Saltwater by Katy Hays was a good story, but did tend to go back and forth within the timeline, which for me, was a little hard to follow. It was an interesting read for sure. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

While the premise and setup of this novel sounded promising, I ended up feeling let down. Firstly, how the book was set up really detracted from the overall reading experience. Jumping back and forth between 1992 and present day felt like whiplash -- even though I've not had issues in the past reading past and present timelines. For the first half of the book, I really couldn't tell *what* the mystery was supposed to be. Of course, there was the overarching "mystery" of Sarah Lingate's death. However, the first half of the book didn't create a feeling of suspense or mystery -- are we supposed to be looking for clues? Who are the suspects? Why do we have all of these points of view? Even in the second half of the book, I couldn't tell which direction the author was taking the story in, which, is usually what you want in a mystery, but in this case, I was just confused what the plot even was. Although the last 10% of the book provided several plot twists that I didn't see coming (because I never even knew what we were supposed to be solving), I can't say these plot twists and reveals redeemed the other 90% of the book. For these reasons and more, 2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC. I loved escaping away to the gorgeous and atmospheric island of Capri with the Lingate Family and their assistant, Lorna. The immense wealth of the family and their ability to indulge in such luxury was intriguing, especially with the dark undercurrent following in their wake. The tale is told through multiple narratives and in a double timeline. This kept me on my toes and made the unraveling of this mystery even better.

Sarah, a successful playwright who married Richard of the Lingate Family, became entwined with a family full of secrets, corruption, and the desire to keep a positive image at all costs. When she mysteriously dies on a trip to Capri with her husband, and brother and sister-in-law, Marcus and Naomi, the family name is tarnished in suspicion. Years later, Sarah and Richard's daughter, Helen, comes back to the island with the family and this time, Lorna, Marcus's assistant comes along for the ride.

Will secrets of the past finally be revealed when a clue from Sarah's death resurfaces? Will everyone make it off the island, or is history doomed to repeat itself? I couldn't stop reading and loved the twisted plot line. The characters are kept in shadow in many aspects, which makes the mystery even darker. I highly recommend this one! Look for it on March 25th, 2025!

#Saltwater #katyhays #NetGalley #bookstagram #mysteryreads #netgalleyprofessionalreader #netgalleyreads #arcreader

3.5 ~ Atmospheric & well written. I enjoyed the white lotus summer vibes and the moody writing. Very rich people drama and the rage of the have nots vibes. It’s a bit dramatic/confusing at first as the timelines/povs ping pong back and forth + it takes awhile to set up the plot. However, it was fun once it got going + the mix media/newspaper documents were also a nice touch that kept me actively reading.

Katy Hays' "Saltwater" is a mesmerizing and atmospheric novel that explores the complexities of family secrets, trauma, and the power of the past to shape our present. This haunting and thought-provoking tale is a must-read for fans of literary fiction, mystery, and family dramas.