“Saltwater” is a mystery thriller by Katy Hays. This book started a bit slowly for me, but picked up pretty quickly. Ms. Hays’s descriptions of Capri made me feel like I was doing a great armchair visit. I wasn’t as thrilled by the Lingate family - meaning Ms. Hays did a great job describing them, but they were not good people (lovely location, horrible family). I found this book very engaging - who can be trusted? Who should be trusted? There are multiple timelines and I found myself getting confused a few times, but if multiple twists are your thing, this may be a book for you to pick up.

Lorna is the assistant for Uber rich Marcus Lindgate, His family is generationally rich after a shady deal his ancestor made to obtain land over an oil field years ago. She is invited to go on a family trip with them, their annual family trip to honor a lost family member and popular playwright, Sarah, who died on the island mysteriously 30 years ago.

Joining Marcus and his wife, Naomi, are Richard, Sarah’s husband and Marcus’s brother, and Richard’s daughter Helen and her long term boyfriend Freddy. Lorna struggles with embracing the trip but also being embarrassed and disgusted by the behavior of the rich.

She has developed a friendship with Helen prior to her work with Marcus and finds to be among the only person bearable, and Freddy who Lorna knows from a previous, drug induced life that they are both keeping from Helen.

Lorna has gone missing and we get the POV from Lorna up to 36 hours before she goes missing. We also get POV from present day Helen, and multiple other characters from the past with a look into Sarah’s death.

This family has always told lies as the truth and Helen is tired of it. She’s been monitored her whole life, allowed no freedom and is looking for an escape out. She can’t work, barely got to attend college, is given money on an allowance basis, and has a driver take her everywhere, monitoring everything. She wants to know the truth about her mother and she wants the money she is owed that’s been stolen and managed for her.

This ebook was excellent to read, had some of my favorite themes with rich privilege, missing person mystery, mysterious death and dark family secrets. I loved the different POVs and trying to guess who was truthful and going to come out on top. Lots of twists and turns! Would read more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 3/24/25.

4.5/5 rounded up

This thriller took me a while to get into, but once I did I was hooked in ways I didn’t see coming. Lovely Hays beautiful writing style, there were a few twists too many, but all and all a great read.

US pub date: 3/25/25
Genre: thriller (dual timeline)
Quick summary: Helen was 3 when her mother Sarah was found dead on the island of Capri. 30 years later, the family reunites and Helen realizes she may only have one chance to find out the truth.

Will I ever tire of reading dual timeline thrillers? Probably not :) I needed this armchair trip to Capri once winter hit, and I think readers will also enjoy it on the beach this summer! There was plenty of drama and suspense in the story, and I didn't see most of the twists coming. If you enjoy rich people behaving badly, give this one a try!

Thank you to Ballantine Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just don't think Katy Hays is for me, it was fine but not memorable. I found it hard to connect with any of the characters, and was never really drawn into the story

A slow burn surrounding rich people with broken moral compasses. I loved the dual timeline unraveling secrets alongside each other. My main qualm is that this is all entirely unbelievable. (Which doesn’t make it bad!) I just have to assume everyone in the area needs to update their prescription lenses and I suppose it works. Helen’s choice in partner is not inherently bad but it does feel kinda icky. Idk. The epilogue was shocking! But suffers a similar fate as the rest of the twists for me.

30 years ago, Sarah died on the cliffs of Capri. Now, all these years later, the case is reopened thanks to a turn of events leading everyone close to Sarah to wonder once again, who else could have been involved? This murder mystery was addictive, and I could not put it down. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for a copy of this book for an honest review.

A book set in beautiful Capri and a suspicious "accidental" death had me hooked. I also enjoy books that juxtapose between the past and present to tell a complete story. What happened the night that Sarah Lingate died? I thought this book was well written and the cover was just so alluring. While I read this in the middle of winter, this would be a fantastic beach read for someone else. Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for the advanced copy.

I think many people will end up enjoying this book, but overall it was not for me. The book began very slow, making it difficult to connect not only with the story but also with the characters. The characters were never fully fleshed out, which left the mystery aspect of the story lacking. Many people who like a mystery book will likely enjoy this one, but without the extra suspense to keep me intrigued, I often found myself putting down this book to get back to later.

It only took a few chapters for me to know this book was going to be good. The premise makes you think you know more or less how the book is going to go, but once you start reading it you know you're in for something else. Mysteries are brought up and get resolved almost immediately and you are left wondering where is the plot going then? Which for me was very nice because after reading so many thrillers, their endings get predictable. That did not happen here at all. I'm so happy I got to experience this book. Job well done. Props to the author for bringing something fun and fresh to the thriller genre.

There’s something about rich people behaving badly while at a glamorous location that makes a book enjoyable. Add in the 30 year anniversary of a suicide with new clues pointing to it maybe having been a murder after all, blackmail, hidden romances, and family secrets and you have an inkling of what this book is about.

However, the plot, which was actually intriguing, often seemed confusing and hard to follow. I think this was due to the way multiple POVs and timelines were used, especially in the beginning of the book.

It was all the twists that were slowly revealed that made this such a fun read. And there were a lot of twists. You never knew what these people were going to say, do or reveal next. There was at least one twist that was completely unbelievable. But, that’s what makes a beach read fun.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

Dual timeline. 1992 [when Sarah Lingate is found dead below the cliffs of Capri, leaving behind her 3 year-old daughter Helen, her husband, and his brother and sister-in-law], who all vacationed annually at a village in Capri. Fill in Sarah's backstory and the relationship with his family and the story of his family. Move forward to 2022 and all the intervening years. A somewhat new cast of characters outside the family who come to the villa. Add in the caretaker and her son--who go back 30 years.

There's quite a cast of characters, And it's an easy breezy read [perhaps a summer book as is also a mystery?]?

Description I liked: "Smile leaching across her face."


Several twists I did't see--kudos for that--which kept me going. BUT, towards the end I questioned the believability--which I ultimately dismissed as the story kept me engaged.

3.5.

In 1992, Sarah Lingate fell from the cliffs outside the family's annual vacation home in Capri. Her entire lie, Helen Lingate has been plagued by rumors that her father killed her mother. When the family returns to Capri on the thirtieth anniversary, Helen decides to blackmail her controlling paranoid family with the help of Lorna, her uncle's assistant. But when Lorna disappears with the ransom money, Helen doesn't know who she can trust.

Considering how much I hated Katy Hays' debut The Cloisters, I'm surprised I picked this one up but I'm glad I did. The sunny Capri setting belied the darker side of the family, whose overcontrolling ways leave you certain that someone is guilty. With plenty of red herrings, twists, and family drama, Saltwater was an entertaining read, although its mystery was extremely convoluted.

While I enjoy this book, I found myself needing to suspend disbelief, quite a bit to follow the plot. The story is suspenseful and intriguing, with characters that kept me engaged from start to finish. However, without giving too much away, the explanations provided at the end were so outer they shattered any realism for me. It is fiction, of course, and I love aWhile I enjoy this book, I found myself needing to suspend disbelief, quite a bit to follow the plot. The story is suspenseful and intriguing, with characters that help me engaged from start to finish. However, without giving too much away, the explanations provided at the end, were so outer that they shattered any realism for me. It is fiction, of course, and I love a good fictional escape, but I also need the story to feel at least somewhat plausible – and this one didn’t.

That said, if you’re able to simply enjoy the ride without over, analyzing the plot, it’s definitely worth the read.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC!

This book was a cluster in all the best ways. This was my first novel by Katy Hays and it won't be my last!

Multiple POVs, dual timelines, and intense family drama and family secrets.

I love how flawed Ellie (the main FMC) was throughout the novel and her dynamics with her family.

Thank you so much NetGallley, Katy Hays, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel!

Loves:
The setting is a whole character!
Love the dual timelines/dual POVs with extras sprinkled in
Love the thriller feel x family drama
Love the rich-are-awful-people and no one is much too likeable

Wishes:
Wish it had chapters in addition to parts -- would've kept me going more at the beginning when the build up of the story felt slow (but necessary)
Wish there was more of an ending with Freddy -- he just kind of vanished
More Ciro!!

This was an interesting suspense novel set in such a beautiful location. I was definitely surprised by the ending! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I greatly enjoyed this book. What made it such a pleasurable read for me was that I had no idea where the story was going to go. I read so many mysteries that I can often telegraph where the plot is heading but that was definitely not the case here.

The story is set in both 1992 when Sarah dies on a family vacation in Capri and thirty years later when the family is back on the island with Lorna, a personal assistant, in tow. Most of the book is from those POVs with others are mixed in. You can tell Helen and Lorna are up to something but it's not clear at first what and if they do, or should trust, each other.

I'll avoid further details to remain spoiler free, but I thought this was a fascinating tale of wealth and power and family loyalty. There were several moments that caught me by surprise, but even without them I really liked this book.

When I saw Katy Hays had a second book coming out, I knew I had to read it. Saltwater is about a rich family, The Lingates, and their dirty laundry (there is a lot). All their family drama comes to a head during their annual family vacation on Capri. Saltwater is a tense novel with so many juicy twists that I could not put it down. This book would be perfect to read while on a beach vacation or if you’re looking to escape the cold winter months (Hays’ vivid description of landscapes transports you to Capri).

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Wow! This one kept me guessing right up to the end! It started a little slow, but once the pace picked up, I was drawn into the world of the Lingate family. This book is set on the island of Capri and told from multiple points of view, as well as during both present day and flashbacks from the past. I was never really certain who was “good” and who was not. I can’t wait to reread once the book publishes in March!