Salvaged
Paperback | Kindle
Written by Madeleine Roux
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: October 15, 2019

We’ve all heard the old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover.” While this can certainly be true, for me, the cover is typically the first aspect of a novel that sparks my interest. Upon my initial glance at the gorgeous cover for Madeleine Roux Salvaged‘s, I knew that I needed to take the next step and read the synopsis on the back. Well, with a beautiful cover and an intriguing concept, the obvious next step was to read the book, and boy am I glad I did.

Rosalyn Devar is employed by Merchantia – a large, space-faring corporation – as a spaceship custodian; when things get messy deep in space, she cleans up. And this is just what she’s tasked to do on the Brigantine, the third salvage ship to cease communication with Merchantia in recent months. Though the crew is presumed to be dead, Rosalyn’s boss wants her to find out any information she can, as he has suspicions that something is not quite right. Despite her somewhat secret secondary mission, Rosalyn is prepared for a fairly routine clean-up; but what she discovers not only proves right her employer’s suspicions, but is much more dangerous and terrifying than she could ever have imagined.

Let’s start with the plot. Salvaged is an engaging, gripping, expertly paced novel. The main story is interwoven with each character’s backstory, always at the right time and always with the purpose of carefully driving the plot forward. Every bit of information about Rosalyn’s life and the lives of those around her is important and adds to the story as a whole.

This brings me to the characters. Wow, I did not expect to love the characters as much as I did! I was immediately pulled into Rosalyn’s story through her absolute candor and beautifully fallible humanity. Though Rosalyn is the protagonist in Roux’s novel, the supporting cast all have equally unique stories for the reader to discover. These characters develop, continue to develop, and develop some more.

Part science fiction, part horror, part suspense, Salvaged is all awesome. I had never read any of Roux’s novels before Salvaged, but it definitely will not be the last. Take my word for it: there’s no mess to clean up here.