Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Cloisters | 2022 | Katy Hays | Buy |
| 2 | Saltwater | 2025 | Katy Hays | Buy |
Katy Hays writes standalone literary thrillers that share a common DNA: atmospheric settings, characters entangled in secrets, and a strong undercurrent of art and culture. The Cloisters (2022) is set at the famous medieval branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a summer researcher becomes obsessed with a set of Renaissance tarot cards that may have real predictive power. The story builds tension through academic rivalry, manipulation, and the allure of forbidden knowledge.
Saltwater (2025) is her second novel, continuing Hays’s approach of grounding suspense in specific, vividly realized places. Both books reward readers who enjoy thrillers that take their time building atmosphere and who appreciate stories where the setting is as important as any character. Hays’s art history expertise gives her fiction an uncommon texture, making these standalone novels feel both intellectually engaging and genuinely tense.