First, I just have to say the cover on this book is beautiful! I would have totally judged a book by its cover and bought this one on the cover alone. This book took me forever to get through. I always read before bed, and there were several nights I found myself making every excuse not to pick this up. I did not care for the writing style and was confused for a very long time. I did eventually finish and found the twists at the end unexpected and enjoyable. Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC of this book.

The comparison to White Lotus is an apt one for this thriller set in Capri. For Italy lovers, for fans of twists and turns, for those who enjoy stories about complicated family dynamics, this is a great, quick summer read.

A glamorous and thrilling read, this murder mystery transports you to a picturesque setting that feels like a scandalous summer vacation. The book pairs perfectly with champagne and a lounge chair, it’s a captivating escape that gives until the very last sentence.

Saltwater is described as having White Lotus vibes, and this rings true. Set in Capri, the story centers around a famously wealthy family and the tragedy surrounding them. The result is an atmospheric mystery with compelling, albeit largely unlikable, characters.

The first part of the book moves at a slower pace, but it helps to build tension and provide the necessary background. It also showcases how carefully the veneer of the Lingate family is constructed, and the reader is given a good feel for who they are underneath the money. As more is revealed beneath the glamour, the less trustworthy the characters become, and the unreliable narrators add to the plot.

While the Lingate characters are well-developed, Lorna, the outsider with a storied past, feels the opposite. One can’t help but wish more had been revealed about her background. Additionally, while the first part works well, the second half becomes muddled. The more convoluted the plot, the less likable the characters also become, and in turn, it is harder to root for anyone.

Overall, this is an engaging mystery in a great setting, and this will appeal to fans of The White Lotus and Saltburn looking for more stories about wealthy people being bored, terrible, and self-destructive in the way we seem to crave.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ .5
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: March 25, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

This was a fantastic read. I read this in a weekend and enjoyed every moment of it. This pulls you right in and takes you alongside Helen, our main character. Helens mother suddenly passes while Helen is a young child and what is ruled an accident starts to look not so much accidental once her necklace turns up that she was wearing when she tragically passed.

Helen is now determined to dig into the past and find out the truth of what truly happened but she is unaware that while doing this, she is digging up skeletons and things that were meant to be left buried. On top of all of this…Helen is determined to break from her father and uncles stronghold that they have held upon her for so long, she is ready for her OWN life.

We are taken through this rollercoaster of emotions and twists as well as turns and it absolutely keeps you guessing until the very last page. The writing is beautiful and the setting of this book (CAPRI) … I couldn’t imagine a better place. Not everybody is who you think they are…who can you trust and who can you turn to. This book is a must read for anybody who enjoys a fast paced thriller with a slow burn mystery aspect and a GORGEOUS backdrop.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Slow Burn Mystery, Family Drama, Wealth, Secrets, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Secrets, Italian Glamour, Fast Paced Twisty

This book was so good, once I started reading I couldn’t put it down. Family secrets, lies, and betrayal after betrayal after betrayal. I was always trying to guess who was hiding what, and when the next secrets would be revealed.

For a suspense novel, this was pretty lack luster for me. Overall the story was decent but not something I would rave to my friends about.

The story goes back and forth between past and present, but it feels like it’s done so in an unorganized way. While you know of the present day murder throughout a lot of the book it lacks the feeling of sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to figure out what happened. Also to be honest, the ending about Helen’s mother didn’t quite make sense to me, but maybe I’ll return after this officially releases to talk more about that.

I think maybe if you don’t enjoy the uneasy feeling of reading a phenomenal thriller/suspense or want to ease your way into those kind of books this one would be good for you. Reminder this is just my opinion, read over the description and definitely pick this one up on March 25, 2025.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect book to read by the pool or the beach! It’s set in Capri, Italy, and sets the scene perfectly. You’ve got old money, brooding family drama, mystery, and murder. Yes, please!

The multiple POVs threw me for a loop a little bit, where sometimes it was confusing to keep track of everything properly, but definitely came together in the end. A lot of the characters and equally unlikeable, but I think that only aided in me not being able to put it down! I originally requested this book for the cover because it was so breathtaking, and I will definitely be buying a physical copy to display when it’s released next year!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Katy Hays, and Random House Publishing-Ballentine for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great read! It too me a minute to figure it all out, bit of a head scratcher in the begining but holy cow the end! Took me by surprise! Such a good one though! I would definitely recommend this!

Thank you Netgalley for this wonderful ARC.

This book drew me in from the first page. This twisted thriller weaving the beauty of Italy with a rich, entitled, dysfunctional family was a definite page turner.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to more by this author.

If you like a convoluted mystery set in a beautiful European destination then definitely dive into this novel. I was lucky to read this thru NetGalley and it is a page turner. The characters are well written and the family dysfunction is entertaining and frightening. Capri is like another character in this book too! Will definitely read the authors previous novel now

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for my ARC of Saltwater.

Saltwater is a twisty thriller about the Lingates, an old money family full of secrets. Set on the island of Capri, told from the point of view of a few different characters, and mixed with alternating timelines, we learn that nobody and nothing is what it seems.

This book hooked me from the first page and was a quick read. In the beginning it was a little confusing to follow but the author slowly pulls it all together in a fascinating way. What I loved most was that throughout the book you’re trying to figure out more about the death of Sarah Lingate, why Helen Lingate wants to be free of her family, and what happens to Lorna and it keeps you guessing until the very end. I like to think that when I read thrillers, I’m able to guess the twist or twists coming, but for this book, everytime I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong and the ending ended up shocking me.

It was such a fun ride to reveal the thought process and motives of the different characters. The author was able to show that people are complex and that when pushed far enough, you might end up meeting a side of yourself that you never realized was there.

I would definitely recommend this as a quick summer read and I will definitely be reading more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC!

I am a big fan of the author's first novel, Cloisters, and was intrigued by the premise of this one. I would have read this book, ARC or no ARC. However, in the end it did not hit as hard as Cloisters did for me.

The good: First half of the book was intriguing, if a bit slow. But as I like slow burns that take their time to build, I was enjoying myself. I was learning about the Lindgates and their relationships with each other and people around them. The tone was similar to the Cloisters, which I also enjoyed, even though I don't think real people ever talk like this.

The bad: at about half way mark it became clear who the main antagonist was, even if I didn't know exactly how everything would unfold. The second half as a result felt very drawn out, and Helen occasionally felt really stupid. However, my real issue with the book is the mess that this ending was. In the attempt, I can only assume, to shock the reader and provide a twist that most would not expect, the ending is amazingly unbelievable. To be fair, there are some breadcrumbs that would have allowed for one of the big twists to feel logical, but the suspension of disbelief required for some of these was a bit too much for me.

A slow burn family drama mystery. When I say slow burn, I mean slow burn. The family drama takes up most of the plot but between the writing and the secrets that unfolded, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The ending has a few twists that make you suspend your disbelief, but at the end of the day, this was a good time.

I read “Saltwater” at the beach and it was absolutely perfect, except I wasn’t in Capri, sadly.
The psychological thriller is told from the POV of Lorna, Helen, and Sarah and it addresses the mysterious death of Sarah in 1992 who was found at the bottom of the cliffs in their villa in Capri. The story had many interesting twists.

I got an ARC of Saltwater by Katy Hays, which is coming out on March 25th, 2025. This book is such a suspenseful ride! It keeps you guessing about what’s happening, who’s who, and who did what. The story jumps between different perspectives and time periods, diving into the family’s history and the dark cloud of an untimely death. Set on the beautiful Amalfi Coast, specifically the island of Capri, the book includes cool newspaper artifacts that give you extra bits of the story. If you love solving mysteries and enjoy atmospheric settings, you’ll really like this book! I’m hoping the final version will have a smoother flow to the events.

Playwright Sarah Lingate is vacationing with her husband on Capri, an island off the Italian coast, when she goes missing. Her body is eventually found and the death was ruled an accident or suicide. Thirty years later, her daughter Helen is on Capri with her family and the family's assistant Lorna. They travel to Capri every year on the anniversary of Sarah's death. During this vacation, Lorna goes missing. The Lingate family is very secretive and will do anything to keep their affairs/secrets private, especially by keeping Helen on a short leash. The book follows Helen, Lorna and Sarah. I love books that chapters have the point of view of a certain character.

I really loved this book. Having visited the island, I loved the description of Capri. It is spot on and it took me back there. I liked that the mystery was a slow burn, and at times I thought I had "figured it out" but in the end, it was a great twist on so many levels.

My only criticism and it is very minor, I did not like the Mediterranean was sometimes called 'the Med".

3.5 stars. My favorite part of this book was undoubtedly the setting. Hays's writing is atmospheric and creates such a strong sense of place in Capri, it definitely made me want to visit!

Though I mostly enjoyed the book, other elements didn't work quite as well for me. I didn't care much for the characters, and while I found the plot interesting enough to keep reading, it did drag in the middle, and the amount of twists toward the end got a bit unwieldy. Without spoiling anything, this is actually the third recent or upcoming mystery/thriller I've read in the last month or so with nearly the exact same twist about each book's contemporary protagonist's relative's past murder. As a result, I was able to predict the main twist here at around the 15% mark, though I don't think I would have called it so early if I hadn't just read two other books with similar storylines.

Overall, though Saltwater didn't completely work for me, it's an engaging mystery/thriller with a great setting that I think many readers will enjoy.

I really enjoyed this twisty mystery/ thriller and didn’t see the plot twists coming. The ending was a complete surprise and I never would have guessed who the killer was! The setting was amazing… I felt like I was in Capri- I’m a sucker for an Italian vacation! The book takes place in two separate timelines- now and in 1992. Thirty years ago Sarah is found dead at the base of the cliffs of Capri. She left behind a baby daughter Helen. At the time it’s ruled an accident, even though any of the wealthy Lingates could have been suspects. Each year the family gathers for a reunion but on the 30 year anniversary of Sarah’s death her necklace suddenly appears- the one she was wearing when she died. Now, Sarah’s daughter Helen is trying to uncover what really happened to her mother with the family assistant Lorna. Then Lorna goes missing and the case is reopened. Now it seems like everyone has a secret. Did one of them have something to do with Lorna’s disappearance or Sarah’s death? And if so who? No one is really who they seem to be and as Helen starts to unravel the mystery she sets off events that could leave someone else dead! I really enjoyed the cloisters and this new book didn’t disappoint! Thank you NetGalley for the digital copy.

I really liked this as a summer read! A wealthy family’s drama plays out in Capri and it was riveting.
All of the characters were flawed in realistic and three-dimensional. The setting of Capri itself felt like a character too.
This felt very different from the author’s last work but it was still a very good mystery