Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the advanced copy. I've been anxiously awaiting a new book from Charlotte McConaghy as her previous two books are among my favorites. Wild Dark Shore was well worth the wait. A haunting story of the need for connection set in an imminent future in which the planet is overcome by climate change and trust is hard to come by. The deep desire and longing for trust — between nature and humans, as well as trust between humans themselves — is present within each character in this novel. The author's vivid descriptions of the sea, the island, and the various species affected by our decisions to destroy the world in which we live, set the scene for a heartbreaking story with a glimmer of hope for the future. I found this book difficult to put down and I cannot wait to give it a second read.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wild Dark Shore is haunting and atmospheric, and will stay with you long after you’ve finished it. I loved reading about Shearwater Island and the creatures that made their home there. The mystery element of the plot was very intriguing to me and kept me hooked throughout. I think my one criticism is that I felt there were a lot of excess plot lines that perhaps could have been whittled down. But all in all a lovely book that I would recommend to others.

Charlotte McConaghy is one of my favorite writers. Her novels are a special blend of unique settings and eerie atmospheres while also raising questions about the survival of our planet. As the title suggests the story takes place on a research island between Tasmania and Antarctica where the Salt family must survive. A real page turner!

Run, don’t walk. This is the first book I’ve read by Charlotte McConaghy, but I know I’m going to read her backlist after this one. First, I haven’t felt so grounded in a setting in a long time. The landscape of the island felt so vivid to me, and the intricate ways the living creatures (animal and human) were tied to it brought the whole thing to life. Second, this was an excellent literary mystery. Solid balance between plot reveals and reflections on everything from grief to parenthood to the climate crisis. I struggled to put it down, but I also really tried to read it slowly because I didn’t want it to be over too quickly. Cannot recommend enough!

Set on an island between Antarctica and Australia, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy is intensely atmospheric and character driven. We meet a man and his children who are frantically trying to complete the task of rescuing precious seeds from a sinking seed vault as the permafrost melts and waters rise on their island. A woman is found unconscious and injured on the rocky shore. This story is hauntingly beautiful and full of secrets. It left me emotionally gutted by the grief and tragedy these characters face, but somehow hopeful. Absolutely stunning.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Wild Dark Shore, the forthcoming novel from Charlotte McConaghy, who is possibly my favorite novelist working today. I'm so grateful to have had the chance to read this early.

Once again, McConaghy has crafted a wholly original piece of near future climate fiction, this time set on a remote subantarctic island, home to the world's largest seed vault. One small family, the Salts, has been tasked with caring for the vault and the island -- but the island is sinking, and their time before evacuation is limited. Then, a woman washes up on shore. This is where our story begins.

I adored all members of the Salt family, especially Fen and Orly, and I'm so glad we got to hear their voices in alternating POV chapters. It's hard to imagine what a childhood on a wild, remote island would do to a person, but McConaghy writes it beautifully, plausibly, hopefully, and heartbreakingly.

This book is a love letter to our natural world and to family (human & animal & earth), a mystery, and a love story. I read it straight through in one day, and I know I'll be back to revisit Shearwater again.

This is absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking. I cried multiple times. McConaghy writes with so much vivid detail that you can almost see the ocean and feel the pain of the Salt family.