Book #177: Salty by Kate Myers

  

Salty

Kate Myers

 Released: June 24th, 2025

My 43nd book for 2026 was Kate Myer’s Salty.  

A couple months ago, I was going through a rough patch in life.  I figured a trip to Barnes and Noble was just the pick-me-up that I needed.  I grabbed this book as part of their $5 coffee & book deal (the same one that set me up with Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice).

I'm not gonna lie, I struggled to follow this book.  The writing style seemed efficient.  The were people.  It went through a murder, a hurricane, sinking of a yacht and lots of other crazy events.  But if you were to ask me to recall a part of the book...I'm blank.  I honestly do not have a memory of a specific moment in this book.  It just never caught on the way other books do.

The story is about Captain Denise who has built an impressive career as a Yacht pilot.  She gets a job with a shady family.  Her less formal sister has returned home to join her as a coworker in this voyage career.  I'll venture a guess and say essentially what happens is they work for this shady family, they discover some weird things.  A murder happens, then they brave a hurricane, and then sink the ship for revenge?  I'll be honest, none of this book clicked with me.

I feel bad because I have read reviews, and there are fans of this book.  I'm sadly just not one of them.  I need a book to connect to me.  An event.  A Moment.  A Character.  A Place...and this just didn't read well to me.

I know the coffee readers tend to be more feminine-interest in content (Romance, intriguing Murder Mystery) but they are generally good strong stories that can be enjoyed by most.  So I wonder if having a more masculine-biased (Ian Fleming, David Baldacci) reading style does affect the way I am able to enjoy books.  Who knows.

I hate that I really didn't enjoy this book.  For some reason the beach and water are places that sound nice, but I struggle to fully embrace and enjoy in the literary sense.  This book and Beach Money have been difficult books despite their seemingly innocent readability.  I'm not sure if I just want to hear about other places, or if living so close to the mountains has changed my love for what I have interest in.  But tis fascinating in its own frustration.

Here is what I learned:

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• For Zoe

• “Across all the passing lives and deaths, the endless waves of swimming joy and quiet losses of exquisite creatures... there is nothing the ocean has not seen.” - Sally Andrew.

• Water is a very effective muffler.

• Denise has been with Ahoy for over 20 years

• Stew is the first mate.

• Heracanes is a 65+ all-women community.

• Randy owns Heracanes.

• His dog is named Styx.

• Denise and her sister Helen had grown up in a rancher.

• Their dad passed way when Denise was 10 to a car accident.

• Helen lost her virginity on Denise’s kayak.

• Denise made Helen sleep in the treehouse alone all summer when she was 7.

• Poppy’s boat is carbon neutral, gay-friendly, gun free, and only captained by a female.

• Grace Bay has horseshoe crabs.

• Raul Williams was Denise’s favorite owner.

• Musha Cay is owned by a successful magician.

• Operational costs of a yacht are about 20% of the purchase price.

• Tasmania has a margarita-like drink called a limequat.

• Kaylee came from a world of luxury spas.

• Raul and Denise drink beer.

• Helen loves Jules.

• The two benefits to registering your boat in the Bahamas are, you can sail around there and nobody has to know when or where you’re coming or going; and if something does happen, you’re dealing with Bahamian cops, not U.S. ones.

• Donna’s the chair of the landscaping committee.

• “Superior service, he knew, meant addressing the desires of your clients before they were even aware of those desires themselves.”

• Alden cut corners on the lagoon’s lining.

• Denise & Helen’s mother Babs moved to the Bahamas 10 years ago, and has not returned to the U.S. since.

• A group of lawyers is called a “firm”.

• Kamalame Cay is a 96-acre private island owned by a merino wool tycoon.

• Pythons and Boars are invasive species.

• One of the boats called “Cirrhosis of the River” is owned by a private practice hematologist.

• “Here ends Kate Myer’s Salty.”

—————

Overall, I can't recommend this book.  I was unable to connect with the author and the story.  The words were there.  The ideas and concepts.  But something didn't click, and I wandered through it like a zombie.  Maybe I'll pick it back up one day and do a second read.

Not Recommended.

On to Book #43: Back to the Future by George Gipe.

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Need to catch up?  See previous blog post: Out Of The Corner.