The Salvage
On sale
7th October 2025
Price: £24.99
‘A gothic tale with a powerful sense of place and an eerie atmosphere’
The Sunday Times, Best New Historical Fiction Picks
‘A heady, entertaining brew…asks questions about guilt, superstition, desire, power, and historical inheritance’
Scotland on Sunday
It is 1962, and Marta Khoury, a trail-blazing marine archaeologist, has travelled to Cairnroch, a small island off the east coast of Scotland. An Arctic shipwreck containing the remains of a famous Victorian explorer has been towed back to the island at the behest of his wealthy descendants. Marta’s job is to retrieve valuable artefacts from the vessel, deep beneath the freezing Scottish waters. But on her first dive, she becomes convinced she has seen a ghostly figure lurking in the wreckage.
When Marta discovers objects from the vessel have inexplicably disappeared, she must work to uncover their whereabouts before her boss – who is also her ex-husband – discovers their absence. As a series of unsettling and strange occurrences begins to unfold, Marta’s work trip turns into a long winter as the worst snowstorms of the century sweep in and trap the islanders, and their ghosts, in an icy wilderness.
‘With her signature wit and unflinching eye for historical detail Anbara Salam brings a remote Scottish island chillingly to life. The Salvage plumbs the icy depths of memory and colonialism and explores whether love can survive in the frostiest of outposts’ Francine Toon, bestselling author of Pine and Bluff
The Sunday Times, Best New Historical Fiction Picks
‘A heady, entertaining brew…asks questions about guilt, superstition, desire, power, and historical inheritance’
Scotland on Sunday
It is 1962, and Marta Khoury, a trail-blazing marine archaeologist, has travelled to Cairnroch, a small island off the east coast of Scotland. An Arctic shipwreck containing the remains of a famous Victorian explorer has been towed back to the island at the behest of his wealthy descendants. Marta’s job is to retrieve valuable artefacts from the vessel, deep beneath the freezing Scottish waters. But on her first dive, she becomes convinced she has seen a ghostly figure lurking in the wreckage.
When Marta discovers objects from the vessel have inexplicably disappeared, she must work to uncover their whereabouts before her boss – who is also her ex-husband – discovers their absence. As a series of unsettling and strange occurrences begins to unfold, Marta’s work trip turns into a long winter as the worst snowstorms of the century sweep in and trap the islanders, and their ghosts, in an icy wilderness.
‘With her signature wit and unflinching eye for historical detail Anbara Salam brings a remote Scottish island chillingly to life. The Salvage plumbs the icy depths of memory and colonialism and explores whether love can survive in the frostiest of outposts’ Francine Toon, bestselling author of Pine and Bluff
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
A rich, gothic mystery, The Salvage has a moody, salt-drenched atmosphere, and layers of intrigue that span centuries. I couldn't put it down
As chilly as the icy sea, as haunting as the prospects of ghosts, The Salvage is a novel to keep you up all night. Anbara Salam is a master of suspense. Be careful when you start this book, because you won't want to stop
With her signature wit and unflinching eye for historical detail Anbara Salam brings a remote Scottish island chillingly to life. The Salvage plumbs the icy depths of memory and colonialism and explores whether love can survive in the frostiest of outposts
A gothic tale with a powerful sense of place and an eerie atmosphere.
A heady, entertaining brew... asks questions about guilt, superstition, desire, power, and historical inheritance.
An atmospheric gothic... a driven heroine...An unusual and gripping read.