Secrets . . . they eat away at a family like saltwater can erode a shoreline. Helen Lingate is the only daughter of Richard Lingate, who keeps her isolated and is very controlling . . . all for her own protection. She's been raised by her father and her aunt and uncle because her mother was killed when she fell off a cliff on Capri thirty years before. No one talks about her mother or what happened to her. She befriends Lorna, who becomes her Uncle's administrative assistant, and travels to Capri with the family on their annual summer holiday. Helen and Lorna have plans of their own and want to find out what happened to Helen's mother. Helen learns more than she bargained for. The story is written from three points of view - Helen, Lorna, and Sarah Wingate's. Lots of twists and turns I didn't see coming in this one. It will make a great summer read! I appreciate NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Saltwater by Katy Hays.

Saltwater by Katy Hays is a haunting and atmospheric novel that explores themes of grief, family secrets, and the connection between the past and present. Great tension drama.

I don’t know why I slept on this book for so long! There was really no reason and now I’m kicking myself! This book was a thrill ride and so atmospheric! I loved the setting of this book and the twists and turns were fantastic. The characters were so well-written, that even the unlikable characters were lots of fun to read about! Overall, fantastic book!

Thank you Ballantine and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. A thrill ride! When Helen was 3 her mother died on the island of Capri. While people suspected her family they ended up ruling the death an accident. Now, as her family returns, Helen is desperate for answers and to escape the controls of her family. Her only help is her uncle’s assistant Lorna. Together they’ll plot their escape. But when Lorna disappears Helen will have to navigate family secrets and lies to find out what happened both to Lorna and her mother. Could she really trust Lorna? Will she like what she finds? Or will she just put herself in danger? This one brings twist after twist and I didn’t see it coming! Ruthless characters, betrayal, wealth and power, all make this a non-stop delight!

Saltwater by Katy Hays is a twisty thriller that features family drama on the island of Capri. There were secrets, betrayal and murder and unlikable characters. Overall it was a good read and I liked it.

4.5 stars Katy Hays is at the top of her game with this atmospheric gothic thriller surrounding the wealthy Lingate family. Helen Lingate has been missing her mother, Sarah, since her mysterious death on the island of Capri when she was only three years old. Desperate to discover the truth of what happened and be free of her controlling father (Richard) and uncle (Marcus), she enlists the help of her uncle's assistant Lorna. They come up with a plan to free themselves of the family so they can lead independent lives. The plan is executed at the annual family trip to Capri, where the island itself and the water surrounding it become a character that sets the mood and tone of the novel. Hays' prose is engaging, and her characters superbly developed. Just when I thought I knew the outcome, there was another twist that I didn't see coming, even though the clues were there. Be sure to add this to your 2025 TBR and perhaps a trip to the island of Capri. Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books, and Katy Hays for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

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This is the best thriller of 2025! Saltwater is the perfect combination of your favorite thrillers, like Riley Sager and Lisa Jewell. Hays slowly unveils twist after twist and just when the reader is sure where the novel is going, a previously hinted at truth is revealed. Some of the best villan monologues, red herrings, and bait and switches in modern crime fiction. Be aware of every detail, because this book is masterly crafted and no plot element is wasted. highly recommended.

Destination thriller: subgenre rich people doing bad things. Set on the island of Capri, this thriller gets off to a slow start, but picks up the pace and drama in the second half. The first of dual timelines takes place in 1992, when young mother Sarah Lingate is found dead on the cliffs below the Lingate villa. Was it murder or suicide or an accident? Thirty years later, Sarah's daughter Helen, with help from her uncle's assistant Lorna, is in Capri with a plan to to finally find out what happened to her mother once and for all. The twists at the end were surprising and unexpected, which bumped this book up to four stars.

Thank you to the publisher Random House/Ballentine Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed reading Saltwater through the lens of various different main characters in both the past and present, I felt like the characters were not very well developed. As a result, I didn't feel particularly attached to any of them. Typically a mystery will keep me interested to see what happened, and I think this was true for the first half or so of the book. But then right when things should have amped up and really had me speeding to the end, I just didn't feel motivated to finish. Perhaps it's as a result of not feeling attached to any of the characters - not really sure. I did enjoy the twists and turns at the very end (i.e. last 2-3 short chapters), but overall, I just feel fairly indifferent after finishing the book.

This was an overall good mystery read. I read somewhere that it had Succession vibes with a twist. I couldn't agree more with that statement because one thing they had in common I couldn't find myself rooting for any of these characters. They were all slimy and out for themselves. They had different expectations for themselves and thought they were above the law. We have a family who has OLD wealth money. They are surrounded by the scandal of one of the brother's (Richard) wife (Sarah) dying under mysterious circumstances back in the 90s. We have multiple POVs in the now including Helen (Richard and Sarah's daughter) and Lorna, the other's brother's assistance. In the present, the whole family is on their way to Capri for their annual summer vacation. What we learn in the process of this story is Helen's wish to get out from under this family's thumb. She wants to know the truth. She plots with Lorna to help her with this. But then everything starts to unravel on this vacation. Lorna goes missing after a money demand is delivered. Helen doesn't know who to trust. She knows that she has to figure out what happened and she has to get out.

The characters were diabolical in this one. It was just so crazy the lengths this family and these people were willing to go to save face to the world. I felt like the book had good pacing but I did find myself wandering to other books midway through. It was just a slow build. And then I felt like the last 6 or so chapters there were so many twists and turns, it was a little overwhelming. While I liked the twists and found myself trying to unravel this book the whole time, I did not see EITHER of the twists happening. I do feel like they could have come earlier and spread out a little more. But that being said this would be a great summer mystery read!

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

DNF at 43%. I really gave this one a shot, but my god these people are tedious. This book does a great job capturing the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in the clutches of a terrible family and also literally trapped on an island. The wealth and glamour come through, but in the Succession way where the tradeoff is the consuming misery of existence. But like, imagine Succession except nobody tells a joke ever or seems to be having a good time and there's never a single moment where you like somebody even despite yourself. But also even the people who are trying to take them down from the inside are annoying so you don't root for them either. Life's too short, man. Next!

My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Saltwater by Katy Hays. Entitled Family, Murder, and Tense.

I rated this 4 stars.

In 1992 Sarah Lingate is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs of Capri, leaving behind her 3 year old daughter, Helen, and her husband. It was ruled an accident but people believe someone in the family did it. Years later the family returns to the villa for the annual family trip, only to receive a package of the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died. Helen then decides to have Lorna, the family employee help, but then she disappears as well.

Katy did a wonderful job of bringing the atmosphere to life, will definitely be a great beach or poolside read for the summer.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Balantine for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Ohhhh Capri!! The descriptions of the place made this one a joy to move through. The twist at the very end was pretty fun, though the actual plotting of mystery(s) beforehand were paced a bit slowly for me.

Saltwater by Katy Hays is a really good read. Helen returns to the Isle of Capri with her family and a friend thirty years after her mother’s death hoping for answers but what follows is more mystery and deceit. This story has murder, mystery, intrigue and a lot of twists and turns throughout. I was hooked from the beginning however there were a few slow spots here and there but the finale made up for those! I recommend for an angsty, drama filled family murder mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an eARC.

I enjoyed reading it, author did an amazing job but unfortunately it was not for me.

This is a literary thriller, a slower moving book full of vivid descriptions and strong portrayals. It is insightful, psychological and philosophical. It is both the story of a very wealthy family, their legacy and the damage they do to each other and to everyone around them. It is a story of lies, of control, of escape plans, of Family, jealousy. Told in three voices, three women, Sarah who dies, probably killed by the family, her daughter, Helen who longs to escape and Lorna her friend, on the outskirt of all that wealth and what men will buy. Slow to start but absorbing and a lot to think about.

A murder mystery set on the dreamy island of Capri. In 1992 Helen’s mother was found dead at the bottom of a cliff, with the police ultimately ruling that it was an accident. We follow Helen Lingate and the rest of the Lingate family as they navigate social dynamics inside their family and the extravagant scene on Capri as they return for their annual vacation.

These characters were so interesting to follow with time cuts back to 1992 and forward to present day. An interesting juxtaposition on how the past affects the present, and money controls nothing and everything. I totally thought I had the end guessed based on dialogue between Helen and Renata halfway through but boy, was I WRONG. The ending was great and well told. You will love this if you like a good slow burn.

A wonderful sophomore novel filled with angst, mystery, entangled family drama and a look into this family’s past while trying to figure out their current repeat of a situation. This read started off a little slow and the past to present could be jarring to follow but once you settle into the flow of the story it really engages you and gets you bought into to what really happened.

The story of what really happened to Sarah was good, but I did not enjoy the dual timeline. During a lot of the story Helen thinks she knows who killed her mom. Her mom died when she was a little girl, and it’s always been a mystery to her. She never accepted her family’s story of what happened. So now on the 30th anniversary of Sarah’s death they all go back to Capri where eventually Helen learns the truth about what happened to her mom and the truth about her family.

Who wouldn’t like to vacation on the Isle of Capri, the playground of the rich and famous.
In 1992, Sarah Lingate disappears. She’s found dead below the cliffs. Her death is ruled an accident. What really happened that night?
Thirty years later as the family vacations once again on the island., Helen, Sarah’s daughter has her suspicions of what really happened to her mother.
This is a wonderful mystery thriller. It is filled with twists and turns and ending I didn’t see coming.
The cover of this book just drew me in. The writing was superb. Katy Hays captured the sights and sounds of a summer in Capri. The characters were well drawn out, some not so like able. It is a perfect mystery thriller filled with family drama.
A perfect beach read
.Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy.