I think a lot of people will really enjoy this one. A mystery where Helen’s mom disappeared many years ago and now they are back in Capri and someone else disappears. But not only that, the way Helen is treated by the family is just bizarre and very controlling.

Personally, I didn’t really enjoy the writing style of this one. It went back and forth from past to present, which doesn’t bother me usually, but something about the way it was done made it a little confusing and hard to follow. It just felt a little chaotic.

The story itself needed a bit more suspense too. I think a lot of people will like this one more than I did. For me, it just wasn’t my favorite read, but it is still readable.

Thanks to netgalley for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Set in capri, Italy. The story flips back and forth between past and present. It’s about a rich family with secrets that end up with a mother/wife dead and the family’s Assitant gone missing who turns up dead. I felt it started a little slow but then it picked up very quick, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the ending and definitely wasn’t expecting it to end the way that it did.
Thank you random house publishing group-Ballantine for the arc through NetGalley. This book comes out 3/25/25 and it is a must read!

A twisty Patricia Highsmith style story!

Helen's mother Sarah is found dead in the early 90's in the cliffs of Capri. Part of the powerful and well known,Lingate family, the death is big news but ruled an accident. Helen has wondered what transpired that night, and lived almost a half life in the shadow of her mother's absence. It's now 30 years later and the family has gathered for the annual vacation on the island. This time, there is enough planning and scheming that the secrets that have been buried will rise up.

It's a very, very slow burn, but the end is stupendous! #randomhouse #saltwater #katyhays

The Lingate family has it all….money, exotic vacations, exquisite houses, family in fighting, brothers who don’t see eye to eye….and wives who can’t be trusted
OMG I never saw the ending coming. What a surprise! It’s a thriller, a mystery, a family saga.
Great setting and well depicted characters. Character developed was well done! This would be a great bookclub novel. Kudos to Katy Hays.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this roller coaster story.

I've been loving an Italian setting this summer. Capri is ideal for murder and mystery. I love rich people behaving badly, and this book definitely had a lot of that! I enjoyed the twists and turns, and I was happy with how it all played out. While at times, I found some of the characters hard to follow and wondered if they were really important to drive the story, I enjoyed the read!

Saltwater is a challenging read. The story told in present and past voices builds the intrigue and mystery as it is intertwined among aristocracy and the common folk. It definitely holds surprises as it twists and turns to the end.

I am calling this now… this is THE book of the summer.. of the YEAR!!! Katy Hays was a new to me author and MANNNN she did not disappoint! I looooved this book and am so thankful I was able to live in this world for a little while.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.

This was a slow burn full of family drama inside a very rich family.

With picturesque descriptions of Italy's Island of Capri, endless drama and jealousy, and death, this really drew me in.

The best thing about a slow burn mystery is crazy twists at the end that you never saw coming. Katy Hays really tricked me, not once, but twice, and I love her for it. The surprises at the end were so shocking to me, I finished this book with my jaw on the floor.

I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a great mystery about a crazy family willing to do whatever it takes to "protect" their own.

Set on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy among the rich and not-so-famous, is the Lingate family who comes once a year to visit their beautiful villa and swim in the salty sea. The terrible secrets these family members carry to maintain their lifestyle are deadly.
I was surprised at the lengths some of them would go to uncover the lies and harm the ones they are supposed to love.
Great book.

#Saltwater
#KathHays
#NetGalley

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t put it down from the beginning. The multiple POVs and going from the past to the future really helped set the storyline. So many twists I didn’t see coming and the end!!! I truly was not expecting it.

Couldn’t recommend this one enough.

This is a fascinating look at a family and all their secrets from 1992 to the present. Initially, Sarah Lingate's dead, bloated body is found in the sea and no one knows anything, Now in the present, her daughter Helen awaits her best friend, Lorna as it appears they hatched some plot together. But Lorna has apparently disappeared and that worries Helen as "the plan" involved both of them and Lorna wouldn't do this to her. Hays reveals lots of duplicity that leads to blackmail, extortion, and murder which always proves that families can be messy--especially wealthy ones!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I was invited by the publisher to read this book. I have to admit I was very happy when I learned of this book - I enjoyed the author's previous work, The Cloisters, and I was excited to see another book of intrigue coming down the pipeline. Also, as a side note, I really like the cover - it is very eye catching. As for the book itself, I wound up flying through the book - it isn't terribly long, but it just kept my attention from start to finish. I liked how the author had multiple characters in this book and presented convincing reasons why each of these wealthy people could have committed murder in picturesque Capri. There are tons of characters in this book to root for, and dislike! And the twists in the book were engaging, and nothing was very obvious about how everything would play out - especially the last twist!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really good book! I’d didnt see most of it coming and that’s just how I like my books. It was surprising and fresh, the characters were great and the plot was a new twist on an only story. I loved that the author took a common trope and turned it on its head. Brilliantly done!

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Katy Hays’ new novel Saltwater might bring us the the most intriguing death since Natalie Wood. From the glitz and glam of Bel Air to the grandiose villas of Capri overlooking cerulean colors of the Mediterranean Sea, mystery follows the Lingate family. Decades after the death of playwright Sarah, her daughter Helen returns once again to the island off the Amalfi Coast with her very twisted cast of characters that make up her family in what seems to be their very own version of Clue. Written from multiple perspectives spanning the decades, Saltwater provides an absolutely gripping family saga worthy of a modern Greek tragedy. Beautifully written and absolutely captivating, Hays gives us an unputdownable read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Review is on Goodreads and will be posted on instagram closer to publication date and on Amazon when published!

“Saltwater” focuses on the old money Lingate family, who return to the same rented villa in Capri every summer, despite the fact that Sarah Lingate, wife of Richard Wingate, died there under mysterious circumstances in 1992, after falling from a cliff behind the property. It was ruled accidental at the time, but lingering suspicions kept the Lingate family out of the public eye, closing ranks to protect the family despite tensions among its members.

The novel focuses on three POVs. The first perspective is Helen, the 33 year old daughter of Richard and Sarah, who is stifled by the family and wants to escape but is not provided money of her own to pursue her own interests outside of the family. The narrative also flashes back in time to Sarah’s perspective (the second POV) in the days leading up to her death. The third POV is Lorna, a friend of Helen’s who is also the personal assistant to Helen’s Uncle Marcus. Her POV includes headings with a countdown to her disappearance. There is also a hint that Lorna and Helen have devised a scheme to extort money from the family, which they will split if they are successful.

The cause of Sarah’s death and who, if anyone, could be responsible, keeps the reader intrigued, while Lorna’s disappearance is an added source of tension. It is hard to categorize this novel, as it is too slow a burn to be considered a thriller, so the best description would be mystery/intrigue with some literary fiction aspects with its theme of decay, both within the Lingate family and the villa in Capri.

On the negative side, the plot seemed slow and meandering at times, while the multiple time periods sometimes made it difficult to keep track of the different storylines, as the reader would lose the thread of a particular storyline when it was ultimately brought back into focus. That being said, the novel was well written with complex characters, a beautiful setting brought to life by vivid prose, and an intriguing plot. Although the ending seemed somewhat improbable, if the reader is willing to suspend disbelief, it makes for an interesting twist.

This was such a great book to read on my cruise. Enthralling and I loved the twists… I can’t wait to share this title with everyone.

Saltwater is a delightful murder mystery/thriller that is brilliantly written and will captivate you from the start! This book honestly gave me “Rebecca” feels, which is one of my all time favorite books, so it’s no wonder I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. While mainly told from Helen’s POV, it does occasionally switch to other characters POV, and you can’t help but picture yourself on the beautiful Italian island of Capri because Hays’ writing style and descriptions are just perfection. The ending delivered a shocking twist that I loved and never saw coming. This was the first book I read by this author, but I absolutely love her writing style so it will not be my last. Also, can we talk about how beautiful the cover is! This book needs to be on my shelf for multiple reasons so I will be snagging a copy when it releases!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing- Ballentine for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Fabulous mystery, loved it and kept me going.. will be the beach read of the summer. I read the earlier book and this was far better.. As I. was reading I could also imagine the screenplay or the tv series... Saltwater meets the white lotus and with the right cast, would be totally amazing.

The characters and stories were really clever and interestingly woven together. I guessed about 90% of the ending but still enjoyed it and looking forward to the authors next book... The one real give away was the regular housekeeper not attending to the villa for the week.. if not for that little clue, I would have only guessed half..

Wow! I loved this! I couldn’t put it down and read during every free second I could spare. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my review!

Saltwater is a dazzling and intense thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. The glamorous setting of Capri is a perfect backdrop for this intricate, high-stakes drama, where family grudges and long-buried secrets ignite like fireworks. The twists are sharp, the stakes are sky-high, and the tension is palpable. I was utterly captivated by this riveting tale, an absolute must-read for fans of thrilling family dramas and dark secrets.