While Hays' THE CLOISTERS was not my favorite, I wanted to give her a second chance and the cover alone sold me on this one. I am glad I did because this was much more my style. The Capri setting was fantastic and acted as its own character, brought to life by Hays' descriptive writing. The Lingates felt like a real family and I could envision them perfectly. The multiple POVs worked well and helped to keep the plot moving. Read this next to a pool/beach for the best vibes.

Saltwater was a surprisingly enjoyable mystery of family secrets and regrets. I loved the twists and turns until the final page. Was most certainly not a conclusion that I was able to predict. I would recommend this book for a quick engrossing story on a picturesque Italian escape. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced reader copy.

I love books about rich people behaving badly and this one is all about that. Unfortunately, it took me forever to finish the book because I found it rather boring at times and I feel the author had too many reveals in the last part of the book.

Tropes: unraveling woman, dark academia-adjacent, seaside isolation, social stratification
Vibes: slow descent into chaos, slippery truths, stormy with a chance of judgmental rich people

I had high hopes going into this — The Cloisters absolutely owned me — so I was ready for more razor-sharp prose, secret societies, and feminine unraveling. And while the writing was just as beautiful and unsettling, this one didn’t fully hit the same way for me.

The pacing felt a little too meandering for most of the book, and the main character's voice didn't quite grip me like I wanted. But the last 25 pages? Hello, drama. The tension snapped into place and suddenly I was devouring it like it owed me something.

I did predict one of the major twists early on, but there were two or three others that took me by surprise — and I really appreciated how layered and complex the ending turned out to be. It left me with that delicious unsettled feeling I was craving all along.

What Worked:
🌊 Moody, immersive setting
🌀 Complex, layered reveals
📖 Beautifully written with literary bite
💣 That final act snapped

What Didn’t Work (for me):
🐌 Slow middle with not enough tension
🪞A bit emotionally distant at times
💭 Didn’t quite match the energy I loved in The Cloisters

Final thoughts:
While not fully my vibe, this was still a smart, twisty, well-written read that snuck up on me in the end. If you like slow burns with layered secrets and a sharp turn into chaos, it’s definitely worth picking up.

This mystery is set in the picturesque isle of Capri. The Lingate family is full of dark and twisted secrets. Sarah Lingate was murdered 30 years ago and every year the family returns to Capri as a remembrance. This year a surprise is waiting for them, the necklace she was wearing the night she was murdered. Her daughter Helen was three at the time of her mother’s murder. On this trip Helen discovers the manuscript of the play her mother was writing called Salt Water. All the family secrets will soon be discovered. Wow I was not expecting that ending!!!


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There were things I really liked about this book! First of all, the setting and the atmosphere were next level. I also loved the level of family drama intwined. Other than that, I struggled here. The writing style felt a bit chaotic and confusing at times, the characters didn’t draw me in too intensely. I can see a lot of people loving this, but I couldn’t fully connect.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

So many twists and turns - some that I saw coming and some that really threw me. The cast of characters is small but it never felt like I was running out of options for who to suspect in this multiple murder mystery.

This story was a bit tricky because I feel most murder mysteries have a detective or amateur sleuth we are rooting for. However, these secretive Richie Rich’s are all super unlikeable - even Helen and Lorna who are trying to uncover the truth and get away from the family.

CW/TW: death, murder, alcohol/drug abuse, classism, toxic relationship, infidelity, violence, gaslighting

Does the last 25% of the book make up for the 75% that I felt like I had to trudge my way through…maybe? Typically, I’m not a fan of following rich, hoity-toity characters but the allure and glamour of it all was fascinating. I’d say this felt more drama than mystery but boy, the twisty ending sort of made up for it all. I think a lot of people will really love this book.

If you enjoyed the second season of White Lotus you will enjoy this. Rich people behaving badly, and family drama set on a beautiful Italian island. The boom flips back and forth between two timelines, and I was equally interested in both! Great summer read!

Saltwater is a novel about wealthy people acting badly. Usually that's fine, but while I enjoyed the plot twist at the end there was not a single likable character. I like having at least one character who has some redeeming qualities but there were none. The story moves along quickly and I enjoyed the ending but still it was rich people acting badly and getting by with it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for my review copy of this book.

The storyline is told through multiple POVs and timelines, it moves a little low in the beginning but picks up in the end. The pace really picked up at the end and had many satisfying twists and turns.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good novel where you’re dealing with the past colliding with the present? Helen Lingate was born with a silver spoon in her mouth or so it would appear outwardly. Her life, up to this point, has been all but a mystery and while visiting the villa, the cliffs of Capri, where her mother, Sarah Lingate, was found dead below in 1992, was about to become solved or so she thought.

Sarah’s necklace was mysteriously left at the villa. It has been thirty years and the necklace, out of nowhere, shows up. The Italian authorities always believed that Richard Lingate, Helen’s father, murdered his wife. There were always whispers within the Lingate clan that Richard killed her mother, but why? Sarah was a brilliant playwright. Helen ends up receiving a copy of her mother’s last script. Perhaps there might be clues that could help her find out if her father really did kill her mother.

Only problem was, as usual, the Lingates were silent. No one wanted to talk. That is until her father’s assistant, Lorna, ends up pretty much in the same predicament her mother found herself in thirty years prior. Helen knew without a doubt there wasn’t any way Lorna’s death was an accident or mere coincidence. No, there was a murderer in the Lingates midst and Helen needed to find out who it was before the same fate would become her.

Hmm, so as exciting as that may have sounded to you, I found the story to be extremely boring, slow and just unengaging. And the biggest reason for this is because of the amount of detail the author threw in the story line. I get that to build a story you must give some context as to what is going on, but when every single detail is spelled out and you leave nothing to the reader to discover on his/her own, it becomes very frustrating and grating on one’s nerve—especially this reader’s nerves.

To be fair, the story is very well written, and perhaps therein lies another problem. The story was just too detail-oriented and long. I feel there would have been so much more substance to the characters if a lot of the detail was left out. Having said that, when I got to about seventy percent of the story, it really began to heat up and hold my interest. The fragmented pieces of the puzzle began to come into focus, and I pieced together what was happening and once I did, I enjoyed. It’s just unfortunate that it had to take so much time for me to get there—literally the very end. The Lingates were a very interesting family dynamic, and the ending was sort of what I was expecting.

A novel about rich people behaving badly? Count me in! I was definitely interested in the premise of this novel, so I was eager to read it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a good but not a great read for me. Although the setting was a great one, the characters seemed pretty flat and none of them were appealing in the least. The storyline is told through multiple POVs and timelines, a writing style that I usually really enjoy, but in this case it fostered too much of a slow burn and oftentimes wordiness and repetitiveness. I did, however, really enjoy the last portion of the book, in which the pace was really picked up with satisfying twists and turns.

I wanted to love this so badly, but it just wasn't for me. The multiple narrators was okay, but the timeline jumping just got to be a bit much.

4.25 stars rounded down. So twisty and same vibes as The Cloisters. Enjoyed it! Salt Water had all the luxury and tedium I would expect from this type of family, plus the mystery, too. The end felt satisfying and sad at the same time, plus maybe a bit unbelievable, too.

Advanced reader copy provided by Random House Publishing and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

This one took me a while to get into. I almost DNFed but I'm glad I didn't. At just after a quarter of the way through, I ended up getting so into it. The tangled webs of this story are expertly woven together and the ending was propulsive and unforgettable.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"I am dead now. And it's never felt so good to be alive."


Saltwater took me on a fucking wild ride. One I had no idea I signed up for. Well, okay, that's a lie because I did request the ARC... but details! I had no idea what kind of murder-mystery-family-betrayal-shitstorm I was walking into. My mind is still blown over all the reveals towards the end of this book.

It's so blown; I don't know if I will ever recover. Will my brain remain mush-like for the entire week? For the rest of my life? Who knows!

In this, you will meet people who are like family and basically hate everything. Well, okay, most of the people on this trip to Capri are actually family. There is one person who is an assistant and another who is the boyfriend. Anyways, it's hard to keep track of who you can or can't trust on this trip. The moral of the story is to basically trust no one and never talk to these people ever again.

There's so much betrayal in this family that I kept switching up who the actual suspect was. So many people had their reasons to do something bad. Then something else would come up and completely distract me. Again, like I mentioned earlier... my brain is hurting so much right now. The reveals towards the end were freaking brilliant, and now I realize what clues I missed.

Am I annoyed with myself for never questioning? Yes, of course, because that's my thing. I love to question every little thing. But then again, I just wanted to know what each person was hiding. What was the overall big secret? Because, again, things just weren't adding up when they were so casually being mentioned here and there.

This book was just something else. It was interesting and mesmerizing at the same time. Especially the second part of this book. My goodness, there was so much to digest. I feel like I need to travel to Italy soon.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katy Hayes, and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the eARC. This is a hauntingly beautiful and deeply heartbreaking story—a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit. Set against a vivid and atmospheric backdrop, the characters are richly drawn and emotionally resonant, pulling you into their world with every page. It’s a story that lingers long after the final chapter.

I loved Katy Hay's take on The White Lotus (kidding!!), but in all seriousness, this book reminded me exactly of the infamous TV series. Characters will questionable moral character and plenty of morally grey moments. Hays did an excellent job of keeping me hooked through the book and I was surprised at the end.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise and setting of this book. A rich family with hidden secrets goes to their vacation house together. It’s a little hard to follow along at first as there are so many characters involved but as you read more it gets less confusing. I liked how I never knew where it was headed and kept twisting the story right when I thought I had it figured out. I would remember to anyone who enjoys family drama, psychological thrillers, and mysteries!