Salty

by Kate Myers

From the bestselling author of Excavations, a hilarious page-turner about two estranged sisters turned amateur sleuths who reunite to take down the luxury yacht owner who destroyed their childhood home—and might be responsible for the dead body next door.

Captain Denise is more comfortable facing down a stingray than a party guest, though she’s punched both in recent memory. After spending half her life at the helm of luxury yachts across the Caribbean, she’s risen through the ranks thanks to one never, ever mix with the owners.

Her sister, Helen, is a walking HR violation, one of many reasons the two haven’t seen each other in years. Recently fired after burning all her bridges, Helen returns home to work for Denise.

The clashing sisters’ first charter is for the Falcon family, shady real estate developers who mowed down Helen and Denise’s childhood home to build condos. But then the latest Falcon building collapses—and a dead body turns up beside it. Helen and Denise comb through the wreckage to uncover just how low the Falcons will sink in order to stay afloat—before the big storm wipes out the evidence.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Summer, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Humor, Summer Reads

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 24, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[♡]

I was very bored. This was an ensemble with the sisters’ storyline being the core. Felt like too many players, I lost track of who was who. I read most of the book through audio and tbh while I missed details here and there, it really didn’t take away from the ongoing plot. I can see the book being more compelling as an tv adaptation. Didn’t find it particularly funny as was claimed.

[Ashley Fresenius]

Don’t judge a book by its cover—this one hooked me with a gorgeous design and the promise of being a “hilarious page-turner.” It was not. The writing and settings are beautiful, but the story itself was flat as day-old champagne. There are a few shining moments, but overall the plot never rises above dull. I finished it only because the short chapters and atmosphere carried me through. Overall, though, it left me bored to salty tears. Trust the Goodreads reviews on this one.

[Toni]

I started reading this on vacation at the beach; (Down the shore for NJ natives.) 😎 and really got engrossed. I would have finished it quicker but I can’t use my Kindle in the sunshine. (Jealous of all those with new Paperwhite Kindles.)

Definitely a page turner with fantastic satirical humor running through it. The two groups I assigned to the characters were your basic good guys and bad guys.

Good Guys: Christine and her younger sister by ten years, Helen were my favorite characters. Christine was all business and had focused on her career as a boat/ yacht Captain, working her way through the ranks. Helen, very obviously younger and a bit immature (but not dumb at all), was hilarious on her views of everything. She left home at 18 and traveled the world by islands working on various boats. She may have been ‘on the spectrum’ since her interactions and logic were sometimes a bit off. She was great though. They now both worked for Ahoy Co. whose clients were yacht owners.

The women’s mother and her partner were on their side, as well as Randy, Christine’s boyfriend.

Bad guys: The Falcon Family and their pursuit of real estate and building condos with ‘lagoons’ with little regard for their ecological impact. Linnie the mother and her oldest son, Alden were the worst. Tim, younger son, was just a privileged ass. And Raul, millionaire running the soil testing company in cahoots with the Falcons.

Middle guys: Poppy, beautiful, gullible and a bit spacey, was engaged to Tim but was initially blind to the family’s deviousness. She was trying to do the right thing. Geoff, the concierge of the Ahoy Co. fell for Poppy but had set his sights on the money.

I really enjoyed the tale but was slightly disappointed with the ending. It came upon me quickly and I wasn’t ready; I wanted to know more. It seemed a bit rushed. Overall a fun read on vacation!

[Lyon.Brit.andthebookshelf]

I really enjoyed Kate Myers debut Excavations and was beyond excited to get an early copy of her latest release Salty… the perfect summer read for fans of Below Deck, yacht/destination vlogs and rich people behaving badly.

Two estranged sisters…Denise a Captain on a yacht, Helen a free spirit who returns home to work with Denise. Their first charter… the wealthy Falcon family…who are shady real estate developers, the same ones who are planning to build condos where the sister’s childhood home once was. Full of shenanigans and humor. A slim novel that if I had all the time in the world I could have easily read in one day! Making it perfect to pack in your beach bag. One that gives all the #summervibes

Thank you Harper Via for the gifted copy!

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...

[Keri Barlow]

Denise and Helen, sisters who grew up in a house that now is gone and the Falcon’s are developing. Poppy is about to marry one and is taking over ownership of their yacht. Geoff is a concierge who wants to climb the ranks. Denise and Helen want to stop the Falcons from continue their build.

That’s literally all I got from this book. It was painful to get though and I just couldn’t connect. I almost DNF but since it’s short, I pressed on hoping it would get better - it didn’t.

[Angela Baker]

I hate to say this but honestly the worst book I’ve ever read - I don’t like giving up on things so I plowed on and sped read, but it was terrible from the first chapter and I was so relieved to be finished. The characters were not set up well - it started really fast without much development - and there was just endless amounts of dialogue between characters we did not care about. No idea how this was deemed hilarious or White Lotus-like, sorry.

[Christa Sublett]

If you like Below Deck and White Lotus, you’ll love Salty. The story follows two sisters, Helen and Denise, as they work together for the first time to charter a yacht for the Falcon Family who coincidently mowed down their childhood home to build condos with a a problematic lagoon. The Falcons shady real estate dealings, and own personal gains, come to the surface and culminate with showing just how far they’ll go to keep their secrets.

This book was a like, not love for me. There are a variety of characters in the book and often times it was difficult to discern who was narrating a chapter. Helen was undoubtably my favorite character and I did find myself laughing out loud during points of the book. It felt a little long in the middle and then a rushed ending where it jumped to an unspecified time in the future with a snapshot of where everyone is now. I would have loved to hear more about the drama and fall out after the storm and what transpired.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Kayla Hirschmugl]

Skip it

[Kimberlee D]

Blech. I have nothing good to say about this book, I’m mostly upset that the cover looked so cute and appealing and it was so dumb.

[Bel lvndrgms3]

Denise and Helen, somewhat estranged sisters, are reunited when Helen comes back to down looking for a job on the luxury yacht that Denise captains. Helen is more free-spirited while Denise is more hard-lined. Their latest charter is for the Falcons, a rich family that’s had some questionable dealings in real estate, one of them being connected to the sisters’ family home. They decide it’s a good opportunity to do some undercover digging into that family’s shady business practices.

Told in multiple POVs the story flits from one to another which sometimes felt chaotic to me. Everyone has an agenda, and not necessarily nefarious, but there are several plates spinning in the air and who knows who is in charge. There are definitely some amusing moments. The Falcons reminded me of the Bluths from Arrested Development. Denise and Helen’s dynamic is tense and does ease up.

Basically this is a clash between the haves and have-nots, and the consequences of secrets, maneuvering, and bad decision-making. It’s entertaining overall!

Thank you @harperviabooks for my Nomad Edition copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Heather Bixby]

I can see "Salty" being a popular summer read this season! It follows two sisters, Denise and Helen, as they work to repair their estranged relationship while taking down a wealthy family working to develop condos on their childhood property. Is there a murder involved? Yes. Is there a big takedown plot? Also, yes. Are the events always believable? Eh...probably not, but it did not make this any less enjoyable to read.

I liked that we got the perspectives of several characters. I was able to get the insights of minor characters and felt like I knew the mindsets of all of the major players. If you're going on a trip this summer, this would be a great book to take along with you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for an advanced copy of this book.

[Erin]

2.5 Stars

The characters are ridiculous and hilarious. The whole situation is bizarre. I like that there are a lot of stories happening, but this is still a short quick read. The Falcon family - the Ahoy employees - Denise and Helen - Hernanes residents - all these characters groups have something going on in relation to the lagoon and it keeps the story interesting.

I giggled a bit especially reading Tim and Poppy, I can imagine how Myers felt writing Tim's dialogue, he is just so horrible. Poor Poppy is so innocent and dumb she can't help her ignorance and it leaves her win the same place she was before meeting Tim.

I don't think I am supposed to like any of the characters, and I love that about this book. But, this wasn't a book that impressed me, I appreciate book club for making me read another book I wouldn't have otherwise read! But the vibes weren't quite my reading preference ~vibes~.

[Sydney]

This was so terrible and there wasn’t even any grammar problems. I did not care about anyone or anything. This could’ve been a 25 page bad novella instead of a 301 bad book. I can’t even type about it anymore, it would be a waste of time. Goodnight 🌙

[Elaine]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Salty.

I was under the mistaken impression that this was a thriller.

It's not; its more of a Below Deck tale sprinkled with eco-terrorism featuring two very different sisters, Denise and Helen, and a privileged, entitled family, the Falcons.

I liked the rapport between the Denise and Helen; they're very different but loyal despite their estrangement.

On the other hand, character development is poor; the story begins with little exposition.

I liked the supporting characters, Denise's loyal and loving boyfriend, her crew, and how kind and loving the sisters' mom and wife is,

I couldn't stand the Falcons but I don't think readers are supposed to like them, especially Tim or Poppy.

I didn't understand all the unnecessary POVs; they were distracting and didn't move the narrative forward; Linnie is a ninny, Poppy is a silly twit, and all the sailing jargon went over my head.

But I'm not a fan of boats.

There's no urgency or suspense and the death mentioned in the synopsis happens more than midway through the narrative and is a minor footnote to the story of corporate greed, environmental destruction, and elitism.

[Susie]

Truthfully, I was confused a majority of the time, but I really loved the characters. I do know what happened, but I’m not 100% clear on why or how, and some of the who of it all is also a bit fuzzy. Was this whole book a fever dream? Possibly. I did this as a buddy read with Kristin, and I actually don’t know if she finished, but I don’t think this review will ruin the ending for her or anyone…

[Abby Sagle]

DNF at 44%

[Chelsie Potter]

DNF at 21%.

I could not get into this story. Nothing interesting was happening, and the characters weren't interesting.

[Jenna Valentino]

“you wanna join the ‘Goon Squad” made me laugh out loud

[Allison]

Easy summer read that’s even more fun if you’re a fan of below deck. Now that my palate is sufficiently cleansed you’ll see me back in my dark corner of the library.

[Elisha Schnitzler]

I enjoyed reading this book at the beach this summer.

[Kathy Torossian-putnam]

I hated this book it was boring as hell I would not recommend this book to anyone

[Keira]

It was fine. I would actually recommend it to someone going on vacation as it’s a fun beach read. I didn’t really love the characters and thought it was a pretty shallow book but it didn’t feel like a waste of time and that’s good enough for me

[Asia-Lee Young]

3.0⭐️ This was a light, fun read with a touch of humor as two sisters team up to take down a corporation—and quite literally a $60 million yacht. The story highlights the importance of taking a stand against an environmental crisis, giving the adventure a meaningful purpose without becoming overly heavy. It was entertaining and easy to get through, and I enjoyed the sibling dynamic throughout. There wasn’t anything wrong with the story, but it also wasn’t especially deep or memorable. Overall, it was an enjoyable palate cleanser.

[Brooke Rooks]

Boring. Confusing. Hard to follow. I can’t believe I didn’t DNF

[Daisy Sullivan]

Bought this book because it was mini and SO CUTE - like it fits in my palm. And I have small palms. But the story was confusing, jumped around a lot and overall just seemed more complicated than it needed to be. I was hoping for a juicy mystery with yachts, rich people, beaches but all I got was a broken relationship between sisters and annoying ass people with money trying to make more money. Anyways, don’t recommend unless you want to feel how cute this book is to hold.

[Rebecca Beck]

The number of plot diversions and red herrings in this book made it one of the most difficult stories to follow, the unfinished character threads were confusing, and the implausible ending was not only unbelievable, but extremely disappointing. I thought this would be a light-hearted, funny summer read, but instead, it just made my head hurt. SPOILER: It only took a few minutes to Google that dead Lionfish venom cannot leech into water and kill a human.

[Nikki]

This book overall was entertaining and a good story, with a side of justice. However, it was a bit painful to get there. It’s written from many different points of view and one of them isn’t chronological. So it felt a bit erratic and abstract to read and piece it all together - almost like a giant riddle. I probably had the most difficulty reading because none of the characters are exactly likable. Some are quieter horrible people, others are just free spirited or incredibly rigid. A bit of an odd cast all together. Somehow I feel like it could have been easier to read and follow in print version rather than digital - but that’s probably my own personal issue really. At the end everything comes together and wraps up nicely though.

[Val Boshart | VKB READS 💕]

4.5 ✨

Thank you HarperVia and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Salty is a funny, ridiculous, enjoyable ride. I really enjoyed the hint of a mystery here and the whole vibe reminded me a lot of Carl Hiaasen. The characters are so over the top — I wouldn’t say you particularly love any of them but you also don’t hate them. The whole spectacle is unfolding and you’re just happy to be along for the ride. And the writing in general is hilarious while also being really smart and a satire all in one.

What a ride! 🛥️

[Jessica Fitzgerald]

Good idea for a book, adorable cover, but the actual story need a little more twist/suspense. It was wildly predictable.

[Abbie Saunders]

I finished it but I’m still confused…