It is 1962, and Marta Khoury, a trailblazing marine archaeologist, has been called to Cairnroch, a small island off the east coast of Scotland. A Victorian shipwreck, dragged from arctic waters, holds the remains of a celebrated explorer and the treasures of his final expedition. But on her first dive down to the ship, Marta becomes convinced she has seen a dark figure lurking amid the wreckage.
When the Cuban Missile Crisis and the deep chill of a record-breaking winter keeps Marta stranded on Cairnroch, she forms a relationship with Elsie, a local woman working in the island’s only hotel. When the ship's artifacts inexplicably disappear, Marta and Elsie have to brave the freezing conditions to search for the missing objects before anyone else catches on. As something eerie seems to follow her at every step, Marta must confront if the haunting is a figment of her imagination, the repercussions from a terrible mistake from her past, or if something more sinister is at play that will trap her and everyone on the island—and their secrets—in an icy wilderness.
The Salvage by Anbara Salam was published October 7, 2025 by Tin House Books.
My Thoughts: This is a gothic tale set in the 1960s. It starts in the water, but spreads to land. Marta's dive is creepy in and of itself. But, then she sees a figure amidst the wreckage of the ship. Later she thinks she might have also seen it on land. Convinced it is a ghost, Marta has to figure out who or what it is haunting. She keeps the sightings of the ghostly figure to herself for many reasons including fear that she wouldn't be believed. As she works to recover the stolen artifacts, there are more clues as to the mystery of the figure.
I liked Marta and her love interest the best, but there are other good characters. There are bad as well as morally questionable characters also.
The plot was interesting, but moved slowly for the most part. The slowness seemed to echo how life had slowed down on the island with the uncharacteristic amount of snow and freezing temperatures. Still, I felt like it could have moved a tad faster.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. The haunting is mysterious. And it is infectious. More people are aware of it than are willing to admit to it. And it affects people in different ways. There is a question of whether or not it is a real haunting. It is definitely gothic in tone. And it is generally well-written. If you like gothic books with some effects from the real world, then this would be a good book for you. I would buy it for a fan of gothic literature and I enjoyed it as a fan of gothic literature. This does make a good spooky season read.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinions.
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