An enchanting but sinister look into how the 1% live. At first glance, all seems to be quite enviable, filled with exotic trips, famous people and every need and desire met with the click of your heel. As you look deeper, the cracks start to show. Maybe the money isn't what it once was, maybe the tightly controlled family dynamic is more focused on control than on safety.

The book switches to several different characters, Helen mainly, the daughter of the famous Lingate family. After tragically losing her mother at a young age, she has been tightly encased inside the family with little exposure to the outdoor world. After meeting a friend, Lorna, she starts to see things for what they really are and focuses on getting out.

So many dramatic twists and turns, enough to keep you up until you finish the very last page! Fantastic and captivating novel by Katy Hays, highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

4.5 Stars! Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of Salt Water.

This book takes place with the beautiful backdrop of the Mediterranean and the island of Capri. If they made this into a movie what a beautiful setting it would be!

I read this book so fast even though the second half kind of dragged. There were times where the plot was a bit confusing although I think that was intentional for the “mystery” vibe. I was never sure who knew who previously or knew certain secrets etc.. so it got a bit muddy in the middle.

I enjoy a good “who done it” every once in a while, although it’s not my typical read. Overall this one was worth it and I enjoyed the characters it focused on, flaws and all. I was able to figure out one of the reveals, but not the other. Although the “big” one felt very unlikely and also a little messed up but I don’t want to spoil anything. Overall, worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I think I found this to be a bit drab. I skimmed the pages to find out what happened. I didn't particularly like any of the characters. The twists did take me by surprise, especially with Renata. I did enjoy the twists, but other than that, I didn't really enjoy reading the book. I was bored.

I loved THE CLOISTERS, so I didn’t want to have overly high hopes for Hays’ second novel but I LOVED this book. I think I even like it better. Things aren’t overly surprising regarding the truth around the mysterious death from the 1990s, and I did suspect one big “twist” from the jump — but I audibly gasped at the other. It seems obvious now, but Hays did such a great job hiding the truth in plain sight. I also really appreciated the various red herrings and the gorgeous scenery. Manipulation in the best way and scandalously fun.

I received an email from the publisher with a suggestion that I read and review this book through NetGalley and as I love mysteries decided to give it a try. The writing was a little more sensationalized than I usually prefer, but I did enjoy the shifting narrator and the shifts in time. The multiple perspectives were conveyed convincingly without becoming confusing or overdramatic. There were multiple mysteries to solve and there was a twist which can completely out of nowhere for me.

I thought the very wealthy family seemed a little bit like a caricature and some of that dialogue and those relationships felt forced and unrealistic. But the mystery itself was well done with multiple levels of clues, deception, and discoveries.

Rounding up from 3.5 stars as it was a compelling read.

3.5 stars!

This book started off with so much promise-- Italian summer, old money, family secrets. I thought the characters and the plot were interesting but the pacing was a bit off. There were parts of the build-up that really dragged on while the ending seemed rather rushed. I wished the plot twist was more dragged out since I found it so interesting and wanted to know more. Similarly, I think it would have been interesting to follow the two characters at the end for a bit longer.

Overall, I enjoyed it and will definitely read another book by Katy Hays! The writing was really descriptive and made me feel like I was in Capri with the characters :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for this Advance Reader Copy.

It took me a while to get into this but it kept my attention! The author wrote in such a way that was almost like they kept interrupting their sentences with another thought, only to loop back around to the original thought. It was a bit distracting at first but you get used to it.

A few things were hard to believe…apparently everyone had face blindness and people could easily slip into someone else’s lives.

Overall, it was an interesting read. A glance into the lives of the 1%.

Thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for my honest opinion.

This story follows the Lingate family, who returns to the island of Capri every summer because of or in spite of the fact that one of the daughter's in law fell to her death from the cliffs 30 years prior. Adult Helen is determined to untangle herself from her family but their grip on her is tight. She is monitored 24/7 and while coming from a very wealthy clan is controlled by the short leash and allowance they give her. For this year's pilgrimage back to Capri she enlists a confidant (Lorna) who also happens to be her uncle's assistant in the family "business" and they hatch a plan to escape the family with enough money to secure their freedom. This is a fun mystery as their plans develop.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ok so I was surprised by the twist at the end (even if I had kind of guessed at it)

However, this was a slow struggle to get through the initial 60%. I just wasn't gripped by the characters and there was a lot of surprise plot points given out before the characters knew them. I did like having the POV of the victims leading up to the crime interspersed.

Overall, just wasn't my jam but I can imagine it will be for others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for this ARC. A mystery involving money, jealousy, and family secrets. This is a beautifully written story about the lengths people will go to keep a certain status. I enjoyed getting to know every character and their experiences with multiple tragedies over 30 years, even if the majority of them were terrible humans.

I do think it could have been shorter, but I did feel myself wanting more.


I will be going back to read The Cloisters ASAP!

I'm sorry I did not read this book. I thought that It was something else. So, no offense to the book I'm sure it's great I think I may have requested it by mistake... But I Hope for everyone to read this book. Support our creators.....this has to be 100 characters Long everybody GO out and buy SALTWATER by Katy Hays

Since I have to leave a star review for a book I am not going to read and I requested it by mistake, I have to err on the side of 5 stars!

Love, love, loved this book. I really enjoyed Katy Hays book the Cloisters and had high hopes for Saltwater and it didn't disappoint. Katy is so good at weaving the story lines and keeping you guessing with her thrillers. In Saltwater you have Helen who's mother passed when she was young. Helen has lived a very protected and sheltered life until she meets Lorna. Everyone has an agenda as Helen, Lorna, and the rest of the family head to Capri. Every time I thought I had it figured - it took another turn. Totally recommend!

Hays is a literary thriller master. The way the relationships in this story mix and mingle in such a tangled web is *chef’s kiss* 👌🏻 I couldn’t put it down.

Chapters alternative between two timelines and multiple POVs and I was kept guessing the whole way through. The twist at the end was unforeseen and incredible. Highly recommend going in blind to this one!

Saltwater is a tough one for me to review because it started out really strong, and I couldn't put it down at first. Then towards the middle, it slowed way down and became just tedious. It really dragged for me. I almost didn't finish it, but I'm glad I did because it picked back up and there were twists that I didn't see coming. I was pleasantly surprised. But it's still not without its flaws. There's one character, whose name I won't say so it won't spoil anything, that started out as an interesting character and then just sort of disappeared. The resolution to that wasn't satisfying for me. But I did enjoy the book overall and look forward to reading more by Katy Hays. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

What a tangled web we weave when we first practice to decieve...this book was everything and more. The story is told from Sara, Helen, Naomi, Lorna and Renata and what a tale they tell. Secrets, murder, money and a great location. Like an opera...it starts off soft and slowly builds into a crescendo ...and what an ending.
Thanks to Netgalley for the approval to read and review.

Sarah the main character becomes like a friend as you read this book and you're pulling for her all the way. Lots of twists and turns and you're never sure who is who.

I liked the Capri setting and the wealthy people behaving badly aspects of this book, and it was a page-turner. I did enjoy the read.

But in the end I was left unconvinced.

Spoiler alert:

It was hard to fathom that such inconsequential secrets would lead to murder, that so many women (and it was always the women) would kill others so ruthlessly, and that not one but two corpses would be misidentified..

I felt also in the end that I was being told the story rather than living it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for allowing me the early read.

Read if you like: family dramas, old money, class relations, shady pasts, multiple POVs and timelines.

I enjoyed this book for the writing and the atmosphere. It had a number of twists as well that were (mostly) well executed, if not entirely believable or shocking.

However, I felt the pacing was really slow and a lot of unnecessary detail was given. I also had a hard time with all the jumps back and forth between timelines and characters. There were also parts where the characters reflect on the past for a paragraph or two in the middle of a regular chapter that always threw me for a loop.

All the characters are quite unlikeable but that is the point. This book shows flawed characters with sometimes the best intentions. The family dynamics were interesting. The way the codependency on one another was explained was both sad but seemed authentic in their reasoning.

Overall I wouldn’t recommend this book but that may be because I was expecting a thriller and this is really more a drama about a family.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was more family drama than a mystery/thriller. Set on Capri, the Lingate family is once again vacationing at the home where Sarah Lingate died in 1992. Her death was ruled a suicide but many people disagreed with that verdict. Now in the present another disappearance has occurred and events seem to be repeating themselves. Told from several different points of view the reader is left wondering what really happened to Sarah, and Lorna.

I enjoyed reading about the picturesque setting however in terms of keeping my interest this book failed. The book was a little slow and predictable at points. I also ended up not liking any of the characters. All of them were selfish and money hungry. It is hard to be invested in a book when you really don't like the characters. There were a couple of twists at the end but I am left with several questions. Overall, this book was only ok for me.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

For me this book was a slow start making it hard for me to stick with it. I felt there were too many. Characters, which made it confusing. At times, the plot was hard to follow. This was a no for me. Sorry.