My favorite way to read a book is on the beach, in the sun, listening to the waves crash on the shore with a refreshing drink by my side. Saltwater has the perfect vibes for just that! It starts out with a newspaper clip from 1992 recounting the death of Sarah Lingate, a playwright that married into the wealthy Lingate family. Sarah was found off the coast of Capri, an island in Italy, where her family was vacationing. Sarah leaves behind her toddler, Helen, and husband, Richard. Her death was ruled an accident, but the community is convinced the Lingate family had something to do with her suspicious death. Fortunately for the Lingates, there is nothing to prove otherwise. 

Thirty years later, Helen is an adult and is unable to get out from under her family’s thumb. She feels suffocated by their rules being unable to live her life the way she wants. She promises the trip to Capri this year will be different because she has made a friend, Lorna, who happens to be the personal assistant to Helen’s Uncle Marcus. When they arrive on the island, Sarah’s long-lost necklace is mailed to the house, which begs the question: who sent it and why? 

Saltwater is a captivating, intense, twisty psychological thriller that will have you salivating for more. This book has everything you want: rich people behaving badly, secrets, lies, and, of course, murder. Hays tells this story through multiple POVs, which allows you to truly see who the characters are. Each character is complicated and morally gray with some bordering on villainous. The Lingate family, who radiate blatant arrogance and avarice, is not a family I would want to be renounced by. I suggest you put this book at the top of your TBR because it is an unguessable game with twists that will give you whiplash in the best way! 

Originally posted to BookshelfbyTori on Instagram!