Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I was excited to receive this book because of my recent trip to Italy.

But I felt like this book fell flat for me. It was slow and I had a hard time finishing.

Really enjoyed this one! Thought the characters were excellently written and I really enjoyed the direction of the story.

Lost sleep! I mean it in a good way; the storytelling is mysterious and intriguing and had me up reading late into the night. Poor Sarah, I had to know what happened! The dysfunction in the family is out of control. Loved the setting descriptions of beautiful Capri.
I loved The Cloisters (another book by the author) and was not disappointed by Saltwater. I like Katy Hays intelligent writing style but also the way she artistically builds multi=dimensional characters.
High Five or fist bump depending upon your preference.
Loved this book!

This one had a great setting and the perfect love to hate characters, but the pacing really threw me. It was just a slog to get through this one .

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

Interesting tale of suspense - no spoilers, but it did keep me guessing. Not sure I am interested in visiting Capri…..

In 1992, Sarah Lingate is found dead below the cliffs of Capri, Italy, leaving behind her three-year-old daughter, Helen. Despite suspicions that the old-money Lingates are involved, Sarah’s death is ruled an accident. And every year, the family returns to prove it’s true. But on the thirtieth anniversary of her death, the Lingates arrive at the villa to find a surprise waiting for them—the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died.

Haunted by the specter of that night, the paranoid, insular Lingate family begins to crack, and Helen seizes the opportunity with the help of Lorna Moreno, the family assistant. But then Lorna disappears, and the investigation into Sarah’s death is reopened. Everyone who was on Capri thirty years ago remains a suspect—Helen’s controlling father, Richard; her rarely lucid aunt, Naomi; her distant uncle, Marcus; and their circle of friends, visitors, and staff. Even Lorna, her closest ally, may not be who she seems. As long-hidden secrets about that night boil to surface, one thing becomes clear: Not everyone will leave the island alive.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Rich people, dark secrets, and a decades-old mystery in glamorous Capri? Murder and mystery. I enjoyed this read..

One of my favorite vacations was to Italy, where I visited Capri, so the setting is what drew me in. The characters aren't really relatable, but that's kind of the point. I enjoyed the second part of the book more when the pacing picked up a bit.

Thank you to Netgalley, Katy Hays and Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one dragged out for me. Too slow for my liking and all of the excitement happened in quick succession at the end. I needed more to keep me interested in the beginning

The Lingate's vacation in Capri every year, same time, same house. Even the fact that Sarah Lingate, wife to Richard and mother to young Helen, took a dive off the cliff thirty years ago doesn't stop their return every year on the anniversary of Sarah's death. On this year, the thirtieth anniversary of the death, now grown up Helen feels smothered by her father and her aunt and uncle and just wants to escape, but they have tight reins on the money. Helen has made a friend, Lorna, a friend she trusts, and together they hatch a plot to give them both the financial freedom they desire.

There were so many good things about this book. The author writes seamlessly and fluidly. The Capri setting is lush and slightly sinister. The author does a fabulous job of making the Capri setting a character itself. I was reading this in summer and it gave great vacation vibes and had me looking up Capri on the map. The story has many layers and should have kept me spellbound. So what was wrong?

In my opinion this book was way too long. About two thirds of the way through I was checking pages and couldn't believe I still had so many to go. There was just not enough happening to keep me intrigued and the pace of the story was slow. I will say, I was invested enough that I kept reading, but I think Saltwater, an overall good book, would have been a lot better with more focus and less words.

I was leaning toward a solid three star review, but then a couple of whiplash surprises at the end of the book put a smile back on my face. I'm giving it a four star review. If you want to immerse yourself in the world of disgustingly rich but not very nice people in a glamorous location, Saltwater may be the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katy Hays, and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Saltwater. I had high hopes for this one, but ultimately the story did not draw me in and I did not finish.

This book has been on my list to finish for a very long time but I struggled. The concept was intriguing but ultimately I felt the characters were all unlikeable and I didn't connect at all with the family or the reasons behind their actions. I did appreciate the twists at the end but by the time I got there I only wanted to finish the book. I also felt like the description of families with money and reputation was only superficially explored despite that being the theme of all the actions in the book. If you like family drama, mystery, and revenge this may be a book to consider.

Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for a review.

In Saltwater, Katy Hays delivers a gripping psychological thriller set against the sun-soaked backdrop of Capri, where a decades-old family tragedy resurfaces with deadly consequences. The story centers on Helen Lingate, whose mother, Sarah, died under mysterious circumstances in 1992, and whose death was ruled an accident. On the thirtieth anniversary of Sarah's death, a necklace Sarah wore that fateful night reappears, reigniting suspicions and unraveling long-held family secrets. As Helen and her ally, Lorna, plot to escape the suffocating grip of the Lingate family, they find themselves entangled in a web of deceit, betrayal, and murder. Hays' atmospheric prose and masterful pacing keep readers on the edge of their seats, making Saltwater a must-read for fans of suspenseful family dramas.

Saltwater was one of my most anticipated reads for the year after how enthralled I was by The Cloisters. A young woman, haunted by her mother’s death on the cliffs of Capri at a young age, plans revenge in order to sus out the truth on the family’s annual trip to their villa. Included on the trip this year is her friend, who also works for the family, that had her own secrets. When she goes missing the night of the big reveal, suddenly secrets long buried begin to surface faster than she can make sense of them, who killed her mother? And why? These questions kept me at the edge of my seat until the very end. A bit sexy, sultr, smart, and secretive, Saltwater was an excellent follow up to The Cloisters.

I found this book to be incredibly engaging. The setting was perfect for a summer read. The characters were unlikable, but I enjoyed that! I had to extend some disbelief but the ride was fun!

Saltwater
Katy Hays
⭐️⭐️

This book, from the outside had all the makings for a great mystery. Although for me, it fell short.

I loved the setting of this book in Capri, Italy. The author was very descriptive with the landscape and made you feel like you were there. Additionally, I enjoyed the rich family dysfunction. The Lindgates a prestigious, old money family who notoriously return to the island where a member of their family was murdered in 1992 caught my attention immediately. However, where a mystery should build in suspense, I did not experience that, which made the execution poor. It lacked character building and did not make me feel connected to any of the characters. In fact, I felt there was too many characters that made it feel chaotic. All in all, I muddled through this book but I was not excited to pick back up and continue reading. This book had so much potential!

Finished after mass publication. The story itself was very intense, with great writing and characters with discrete, clear motivations. Some characters felt a little more disjointed than others - what purpose did Stan or Freddy serve? Why didn’t we know Naomi was rich from the beginning?
There were also glaring plot holes. It felt incredibly obvious to me that once Helen’s trust fund from her mother was gone, there was no more Lingate money to speak of. How did they get away with telling the reader that two bodies were totally misidentified - they tested the fetus but didn’t bother to compare dental records? Was Lorna pregnant? Why were the two women allowed to go home/stay at the party after Marcus and Richard were disposed of?
Overall good but a bit too dark and fantastical for my taste.

A suspenseful, atmospheric thriller set on glittering Capri—dripping with family secrets, power plays, and jaw-dropping twists. At times the pacing feels slow.

Setting was key here… the quiet, almost tactile sense of place—the ocean, the storms, the tension between people felt alive. The characters aren’t heroic; they’re stubborn, hurt, and sometimes selfish, which made their moments of connection hit harder. By the end, I was left thinking about how memory and loss shape us long after the moment passes.

I loved this. The rich have the best drama.

The whiplash of the whodunnit. The toxic relationships, the affairs, the lies.

100% recommend.