Saltwater by Katy Hayes on March 25, 2025
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / International Crime & Mystery
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
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In 1992 Sarah Lingate is found dead below the cliffs of Capri, 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 Sarah’s 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 recommend you go into this book blind. Even after reading it I am sincerely flummoxed. This story has multiple narrators, and thus multiple points of view. And so many twists and turns that it took me to the last page to figure out what I had just read. Is that good or bad? Personally, I didn’t really enjoy the writing style of this one. It went back and forth from past to present, which doesn’t bother me usually, but something about the way it was done made it a little confusing and hard to follow. It just felt a little chaotic.
I rated this novel 3.5 stars. If you love slow-burn mysteries with moody settings and complicated family drama, you might enjoy this more than I did. But if you’re looking for a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller? This might leave you feeling a little disappointed.