Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of Saltwater by Katy Hays!

Rich people behaving badly usually makes an excellent book but this book was chaotic and so confusing that I reread the beginning multiple times and still had trouble with who was who and what they did.

I received a digital arc from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This book is everything I dislike in a thriller - rich people behaving badly and not a single likable, sympathetic character (therefore no one to root for). The worst part? I couldn’t put it down. It’s a well-written tabloid train wreck and I could not turn away from it. I needed answers and I had to see how the drama played out. Kudos to Hays for keeping me hooked!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for allowing me to read this eARC early.
I was immediately drawn in by the synopsis and the book did not disappoint. So many twists and turns and unforgettable characters.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group, Ballentine Books, and Katy Hays for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own; who else’s would they be?

Saltwater (ISBN 9780593875551) is a 332-page thriller by the New York Times bestselling author Katy Hays, and this book lives up to the hype! Saltwater comes out on 3/25/2025 and will be available in hardcover at major book retailers.

This book grips you by the hand and drags you along for a wild ride.

Years ago there was a mysterious death of the wife of a rich and powerful man on the island of Capri. It was ruled an accident, but the rumors still flew. Now Helen Lingate is on vacation on the same island, in the same house where her mother died. Desperate to escape from her overbearing family, she enlists the help of the family assistant, Lorna Moreno, to help ransom her future.

But when Lorna goes missing, Helen rethinks everything and wonders who to trust. In the world of the wealthy elite, everyone has secrets and now everyone is a suspect.

With excellent pacing and many skillfully executed twists, Saltwater will leave you breathless. From the glittering descriptions that make you feel like you’re really there to the masterful use of multiple POVs, Katy Hays delivers a whirlwind of a novel that definitely repays rereading.


The review on gmpotter.com is live now, and the YouTube review will be live on 9/12/24.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of Saltwater by Katy Hays!

Wealth isn't all that it appears for the Lingates. When Helen returns to the island of Capri on the 30th anniversary of her mother's mysterious cliff side death in the very same place, secrets long kept bleed out, and the Lingates, and everyone around them, is in danger. as they will find out what is more dangerous, the risk of death or the risk of becoming the worst possible versions of yourself.

I enjoyed this book! There were definitely pieces to the mystery I really wanted to understand, and a few twists and turns along the way. If you read Katy Hays book, The Cloisters, and enjoyed it, I think it is safe to say you will enjoy it too. While it has a brighter pallet than the backdrop of The Cloisters, the secrets and actions of everyone keep it just as dark.

I would recommend!

What a delicious psychological/crime fiction author Katy Hays has given us. You can escape to the Isle of Capri with a wealthy family and all their secrets. The book focuses on the mystery of Sarah Lingate’s death. According to the Lingate family, there is no mystery. Sarah accidentally fell off the cliffs of Capri, tragically leaving behind her three-year-old daughter, Helen.

Locals are not convinced the death was an accident, and to prove them wrong, the Lingates return annually to squelch suspicions. The family’s thinking: Why would we return to the scene of a crime we participated in? But thirty years after Sarah’s death, they return to more than rumors. The necklace Sarah was wearing on the night of her death reappears and sparks start flying in this strangely insular family.

The story’s packed with great characters—a controlling father, an assistant with a questionable past, a loopy aunt, rich friends, and more. Secrets and betrayals and surprising relationships abound! Will you figure it all out or will you ride along until every last mystery is solved?

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This book had my attention from the beginning! The constant changing of "who did it" sometimes had me confused but I think that added to the emotions felt when reading the book. When feeling a little confused you got the feeling of how the main character, Helen, had felt her whole life! Helen was constantly being gaslight, lied to and feeling like the last to know anything.

I could barely finish this book. The premise was nice - we follow the rich Lingate family who are on vacation in Capri, which also follows Sarah Lingate who went missing years ago.

The first few chapters I had to reread because the storyline was so confusing. I had no idea who was who, and for what reason. It should have been less complex, as the initial idea was so promising. I though Helen went missing, and then I thought one of their staff Lorna, went missing, it was all just a giant puddle of confusion. It was far too long as the main focus is not the mystery, but the family dynamics. It was just too bad I didn't care about any of these people.

While I love a good rich people gone bad family drama, I wish it wasn't so convoluted. It would have been so much better as the author is fairly talented.

I couldn't really get into this book. It was hard to keep tabs on characters and remember who was who with all the time jumping around and different character chapters. I also didn't really care for or feel aligned with any of the characters. I disliked all of them. I did enjoy reading about the scenery in Capri though.

Rich people behaving badly is one of my favorite subgenres, and this novel has lots of very rich people behaving very badly. It's moody and atmospheric and ominous and basically everything I want in a late summer read.

This book kind of reminded me of a chaotic HBO show - think White Lotus - and usually that time of genre is my jaaaaammmm! But, there was something about this book that felt... too chaotic? I found myself forgetting who was who and not really caring about the characters or the mysteries. I think the first twist was predictable but still good and the second one was just kind of like "sure, why not?"

I might be too judgmental on this book. I think a lot of people will truly enjoy it. This comes out in March 2025 but I wish the author would push it more towards an early fall release as I think that would better suite this novel.

I am between a 2.5 and a 3 for this book but if I go with my gut I would give it a 2.5. I do still think more people will enjoy this book than I did though.

I just couldn't get into #saltwater. I found the first several chapters to be confusing and disjointed, and the writing wasn't compelling enough to continue reading. Might pick up again at a later date. It's probably just me, since the book is rated well.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

I was asked to review “Saltwater” by (a new to me author), Katy Hays.

I have been to Italy twice and am part-Italian so I am always looking for novels set in my favorite country and what could be better than a novel set in glorious Capri?

Thirty years ago, Sarah Lingate was found dead below the cliffs of Capri, leaving behind her daughter, Helen, and husband. While there was some mystery following her death, it was ruled an accident.

Thirty years later the Lingates arrive back at the same villa in Capri for their annual vacation. When the necklace Sarah was wearing the night of her death appears, Helen uses the resulting chaos as an opportunity to escape her overbearing family with the help of her friend, Lorna, who then goes missing herself.

This book bursting with family dysfunction and paranoia as well as intrigue and drama. What I didn’t like about the book was the numerous points of view and the constant shifts from past to present. I felt pulled from the story more often than not.

Overall, I found this to be a decent thriller that will be a great beach read for Summer 2025.

Three and a half stars

Thanks to Net Galley, the publisher, and the author for a chance to read and review this book.

I really wanted to like this book but it was so hard to get through. The beginning was so slow and so confusing (I couldn't figure out who was who) so by the middle to end, even when it picked up slightly, I was so annoyed that I barely remember what happened.

This was a fascinating departure from my usual go-to genres. The cover art lured me in at first glance. After reading the book cover synopsis, I said, "Why not? Give it a whirl." The book had a slow beginning, requiring the reader to jog back and forth between two different eras, which, at first, I found disorienting and a tad confusing. But once the family dynamics played out, I was hooked. I never saw the ending until I did.

But do yourself a favor and find that break in your schedule, like a rainy weekend when the house is all yours, to give this book the read it deserves. With characters so real and exciting, you can practically reach and touch them as you walk beside them through their angst and family drama. Once you get into the groove, the family dynamics will have you hooked.

The setting makes you want to book a trip to Capri, and the twists and turns will have you shuffling back and forth between chapters to figure out who is speaking and what you might have missed. This is a great little beach read, packed with lots of suspense, mystery, and family secrets that will keep you glued to the pages until you figure out who did it.

The only negative aspect was the dual timeline flip-flopping, which kept me on my toes. Let’s say it’s a slow burn full of plot twists, and if you give it the time and chance, you will love Saltwater.

The author is great with imagery and believable conversations. However, I wish she had told the story from start to finish without the time-jumping angle so prevalent in books and TV today.

I reread chapters because I was like, WHAT? What in tarnation just happened here? Who was that?

So, give yourself the time and space to turn off all the noise around you and read a splendid book that will capture your attention and bring you 6-8 hours of suspense, far better than turning on the TV.

It might have been a solid five stars except for the flip-flopping between eras and characters, but a solid 4.5 once I got the hang of the author’s style. Just give yourself the quiet time to give this book its due. I want to thank Net Galley and Katy Hays for the opportunity to step outside my usual genre rut and read an advanced copy for free from a new author, who now has a permanent place on my bookshelves. This review was voluntary and is mine alone.

Sometimes people do get away with murder. For a short time? A long time? Maybe even forever in Katy Hays’ SALT WATER. The book’s setting in Capri, a Mediterranean paradise, is particularly well-done, especially the distinction made between the many day-trippers to the area and the real denizens, those whose lives intertwine with the ancient place. The role of money, who has it, who wants it, and what would they do to get and keep it, provides complex motivation in this family drama mystery. The action unfolds from multiple points of view along past and present timelines. While I enjoyed the book and found the end satisfying, I felt it could have been tighter.

With thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books of Random House Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars. Saltwater by Katy Hays was a quick and compelling murder mystery book set in Capri, Italy. The story line jumps between different timelines and follows two murders associated with a wealthy American family.

As I said, this read was intriguing largely because it was quick, easy, and fun to read. For the bulk of the story, I believed I had solved the murders, but little did I know I was wrong.

This book was almost 4 stars when a huge plot twist occurred at the end. However, Hays included yet ANOTHER plot twist to finish the book which I thought was unnecessary and drew from the original plot twist. I understand there was a dire need to tie up a loose end, but I thought the way in which she did lacked some creativity.

Further, I think the largest issue with this book is that many of the main characters lacked depth. With the exception of 1, maybe 2 characters, it seemed that they were solely driven by money, status, and looks. Evidently, it's very real that people do shady things, including murder, for worse reasons than money... but I was hoping that there would be more complex histories given to these characters that make them more empathetic.

Overall, I would still recommend to friends and followers as a quick palette cleanser; this just wasn't a mind-blowing 5 star for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for gifting me this ARC.

Oooooh! An island, a rich family, and a 30-year-old murder that comes back into play. This was all I needed to hear to want to get right into this book!

It started off a little bit slow and took me a while to get into. Once it got to 70% it really picked up and I finished it quickly! The premise was intriguing and I formed a love-hate relationship with each character. I didn't know who I could trust and found myself second-guessing all of my theories.

I could not believe the ending. There were some gigantic twists that might not have been realistic or plausible, but still made for a great read. I will be thinking about this book for a while.

The cover is also stunning.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

3.5 - I got an ARC copy of this as this book comes out in March 2025. This felt like a season of The White Lotus. I thought the last 30% was awesome but the beginning felt slow and it was a little hard for me to keep track of each character and what was going on. Overall, a decent thriller filled with lies, murder & secrets!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Saltwater by Katy Hays is a mixed third and first person multi-POV mutli-timeline thriller. In 1992, Sarah Lingate was found dead in Capri and everyone assumes someone in her husband's family had something to do with it despite it being ruled as a suicide. On the thirtieth anniversary of Sarah's death, her daughter Helen is back with the rest of the family for their annual trip to Capri, but not everything is what it seems.

What I really liked was how we went from Lorna's POV, a family assistant, to Helen's POV, and then all the way back to Sarah’s POV when she met Helen’s father. The multiple timelines (Lorna's POV is from before she went missing and Helen’s is afterwards) are conveyed quite clearly and quickly with a countdown at the top of Lorna's chapters and several newspaper articles detailing what the public and police know about what happened to Sarah. The newspapers called back to how we used to convey news more often via print than we do now while also feeding tiny bits of information that help set the stage without giving anything away.

I really felt for Helen. While I'm not sure she was my favorite POV (that might be Sarah because I love an ambitious female character and she is an ambitious playwright), her history is incredibly heartbreaking. Sarah died when she was three.and since the whole world thinks someone in the family killed her, Helen has essentially been telling everyone her whole life that she doesn't know anything. There's references for her knowing at age six to say ‘No comment’ instead of ‘No comment, please’ because the ‘please’ is often seen as an invitation. It made me think about how we often poke children of celebrities or public figures way too young and keep asking them to revisit tragic moments in their lives. It's not very compassionate towards them and Helen being so young when it started really brings that home.

The other main POV, Lorna, is really interesting to me. She’s an assistant to the Lingate family and is sleeping with Marcus, Helen’s uncle. When she disappears, everyone seems to be wanting to just forget that she had even been there or that there is an investigation. Helen’s fiancee, Freddy, is particularly willing to brush it aside in favor of his own interests. The way she was integrated in this family and was vacationing with Helen, Freddy, and Helen’s childhood friend and first love Ciro, enjoying Capri, and yet is tossed aside by most of the family the second she disappears shows how this ultra-rich and privileged family view people who aren't’ in their social class.

Content warning for mentions of suicide and depictions of alcoholism and infidelity.

I would recommend this to fans of thrillers that explore the lives of the rich, readers who prefer works with multiple timelines, and those looking for a female-led story that deals with heavy themes of infidelity.