So gripping. It’s honestly the perfect vibe for a summer thriller. And would be perfect for anyone looking for a good pool or beach read. Hooked from the start

"Saltwater" is a twisty mystery set in the lovely island of Capri, Italy. The setting can't be beat, and i was on the edge of my seat throughout all the twists and turns of this mystery.

Saltwater is a dark, elegant slow-burn that pulls you into a world of privilege, secrets, and long-buried grief. Set against the backdrop of Capri, the story follows Helen, a woman tangled in her family's wealth and silence, as she returns to the island where her mother died decades ago.

The atmosphere is rich and haunting, with that perfect tension between beauty and dread. As Helen starts digging into her family’s past, the mystery deepens—and so does her sense of unraveling. It’s layered, emotionally complex, and full of quiet suspense.

If you love character-driven stories with gothic vibes, twisted family dynamics, and a lingering sense of unease, this one is a must-read.

this melodramatic-ass book. ughhhhhhhhhh

literally could not have cared less about what happened to these people. rich people doing bad things is not a good premise if they're BORING. affair, stealing money, murder, repeat. blah, blah, blah.

also don't attempt pov chapter shifts if your characters are one-dimensional and have no differences in voice. it will just sound like the same person is narrating every chapter. and that's a yawn. the worst characters i've read in a loooong time.

major skip. could not be more of a skip.

Saltwater was so atmospheric I felt like I was on the island of Capri every time I picked up this book. It was such a slow burn family drama - I would hesitate to call it a thriller - but I was left satisfied! Every time I thought the final twist had arrived there was more. This book follows Helen Lingate the daughter of the wealthy Lingate Family who is tired of having her life controlled and is essentially a prisoner in her family. She and her uncle's assistant, Lorna, have a plan to finally get out of this toxic family. Helen's mom Sarah tried to do the same 30 years ago in Capri and had died because of it. I really enjoyed this book and found Katy Hays writing more elevated than your usually thriller or drama. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Sally Hepworth or similar stories. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this eARC.

Saltwater is an unevenly entertaining mystery. While I struggled to maintain interest early on, it did pick up the pace and draw me in a bit more as it went on and began to spiral.

Thank you Katy Hays, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 ⭐️ One thing that seems to accompany the Lingate family’s prestige is secrets, manipulation, and deception. Every year they return to Capri as a family, but one year, playwriter, mother and wife, Sarah Lingate, is found dead. The mystery behind her death and disappearance went cold, until family assistant, Lorna, and Sarah’s daughter, Helen, start to unravel discrepancies and truths. That is, until Lorna disappears as well, leaving Helen to uncover the missteps.

The book is alright, containing mixed timelines jumping between Sarah’s timeline prior to her death, the timeline prior to Lorna’s disappearance and the timeline after it all. The family drama is interesting enough and the twists at the end were well done, though a bit far fetched.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

Sarah Lingate was found dead below the cliffs of the island of Capri. Every year her wealthy family returns, but this year when they enter their villa, they find the necklace she was wearing the night she died.

I enjoyed the multiple POV’s, the present and past (when Sarah was alive), and the setting. Every character was suspicious and their own secrets so I wasn’t sure what really happened to Sarah all those years ago. The pacing was a little off with the middle slow, but then it picked up at the end. And that ending…I didn’t see that one coming! It was an ok read, the perfect book to read on the beach or at the pool. I think this one is considered a thriller, but it was more of a mystery filled with family dynamics.

This book delivers a potent mix of tragedy, mystery, and dysfunctional family dynamics. The wealthy and privileged Lingates are haunted by the 1992 death of Sarah Lingate, whose body was discovered on the cliffs of Capri when her daughter Helen was only three. Despite being ruled an accident, the mystery surrounding Sarah's death lingers.

Every single member of this family is truly unlikeable. As they gather together again the central question of whether Sarah's death was murder or suicide hangs heavy in the air, especially with the sudden reappearance of her long-lost necklace, a key piece from that fateful night.

While the storyline was intriguing to me, I found the constant timeline shifts disorienting, and the complete lack of likable characters made it hard to connect to the story. I am intrigued by this author’s writing style though and look forward to reading more of her work.

I struggled to keep the characters and years in order. I saw other reviews describing this as a beach read which sounded good to me, so I was disappointed when the book failed to deliver.

Do you like stories about rich people behaving badly? Sameeee.

Saltwater drops you into a crumbling villa in Capri, where the wealthy but fractured Lingate family returns every year to mark the anniversary of Sarah Lingate’s death. It was ruled an accident at the time, but nobody’s really convinced. When Sarah’s long-lost necklace she was wearing the night she died pops back up at the villa thirty years later, sh*t really hits the fan.

The whole book has this thick, simmering tension, with each chapter peeling back another layer of the family’s dysfunction. It’s got that locked-room mystery vibe but set under the Italian sun, and the privilege and rot in this family are so well drawn (and while I can’t say I liked many of the Lingates, I was totally fascinated by them).

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

"On glittering Capri, anything can be a mirage. And no one holds a grudge like family."
What happens when a rich family goes on a retreat to Italy? Things don't go as planned when a decades old crime comes back to the surface. This was a new author to me and I can not wait to read more books from the author. The book was written really well and all of the characters in this were interesting. I was turning pages until the end and the ending I did not see coming. This is one that I highly enjoyed and would recommend to any reader who loves mysteries or thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this great read in exchange of my honest review of Saltwater by Katy Hays.

2.5- I was expecting a family drama and got a murder mystery. While this book wasn’t bad, it wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t like any of the characters and the drama between the characters was a little too over the top for my taste.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this. Saltwater hit the shelves March, 25th.

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. i love a good story about messy, obnoxious rich people. i got all of that plus a murder mystery. i never saw either of the twists coming, i guess rich people really do know how to hide the secrets.

This book was one Wild ride with continuous sharp turns. I kept thinking it was wrapping up only to realize I still had a bunch of chapters left to go. What more could they possible say, it had all been wrapped up, right? Wrong!

If you are a fan of twisting turns and just keep coming, check out Saltwater.

This was my first read by the author. I really enjoyed the plot of this one. I highly recommend the audio if you can get your hands on this one. The narration was great!!

Read if you like:
Rich People Drama
Murder Mystery Dual Timeline
Slow Burn Suspense
Family Secrets & Betrayals

The Saltwater is a haunting, lyrical exploration of grief, identity, and the fierce pull of the sea. Katy Hayes weaves a quiet, powerful narrative that unfolds like a tide—slow, deliberate, and deeply affecting. Her prose is lush and poetic, filled with aching beauty and emotional undercurrents that linger long after the final page.

Set on Ireland’s wild coast, the story pulses with atmosphere and quiet intensity. Hayes captures the rawness of loss and the complexity of motherhood and memory with an almost elemental force. It’s not just a novel you read—it’s one you feel, bone-deep.

Meditative, mournful, and mesmerizing, The Saltwater is a stunning debut that leaves a lasting impression. Hayes is a writer to watch.

This was definitely a slow burn. Slower than I liked but the twists and the revelations at the end were fabulous. The final truths were actually mind blowing and didn’t see them coming.

I wasnt able to read this before the publishing date but now that I have read it I give it 3.5 stars.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so twisty! Every time you thought you had figured out the twist there was another twist you weren't expecting. It's another novel about rich people being messy (and murderous) and I'm here for it. I also love that it has an open-ish ending. We got some answers but we are left curious about our character's future. It was a bit slow paced at times but I took my time and enjoyed reading it.