This book is absolutely phenomenal. After I finished listening to the audiobook, I immediately ordered the physical copy to re-read and keep in my library, something I have never done before. So there you go, need I even say more??

From the very first sentence I knew this book was going to be special. Every once in a while the author will hit you with a sentence so full of emotion yet so direct and unexpected it just punches you right in the gut. Set on a remote island, a sinking island, where the seeds for the world's supply of plant life is being preserved against climate change, the descriptions of the natural surroundings, the wildlife, and the connectedness of the ecosystem are beautiful and haunting and make you think.

Then we have the characters and the plot. The author somehow managed to write a character-driven story that is packed with plot. It's both emotional and suspenseful. It's a slow burn and it's action-packed. When a boat crashes in a storm, stranding a woman on the island, the family charged with closing up operations finds their quiet world and their comfortable routines upended. How did she end up on this remote island? Can they trust her? She, in turn, finds the arrangements on the island suspicious, and keeps her true motives close. As the family and the woman get to know each other and secrets are revealed, the pace of the story picks up rapidly, escalating to a tense and heartbreaking conclusion.

This book publishes on March 4th and trust me, it's going to be one that everyone is talking about.

“𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮.”

A massive thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced listeners copy through Netgalley - this was one of if not my top anticipated release of 2025 and it did not disappoint! Unlike her previous books, there’s a few POVs and each are done by their own narrator (Saskia Maarleveld did fantastic with her portion as I knew she would; she also does Once There Were Wolves).

McConaghy has such a beautiful way of writing descriptive and atmospheric literary fiction that pulls you in with the depth of the characters and weaving of the story. Incorporating environmental crises with mystery, suspense, drama, passion, grief, secrets, forgiveness, and loyalty makes for a stunning story that you’ll be left thinking about again and again. The title alludes to more than just the weather and nature slowly taking claim of the island; it reflects the turmoil within each character and the tension of secrets, of the consequences of choices and their ripple effects. And goodness, that ending!

Content includes minor profanity, references to severe bodily injuries and dead bodies, various losses of loved ones, and some brief sexual content.

I give this 4.5 (rounded up to 5). McConaghy is one of those rare authors whom every work she creates is top tier; you know what to expect and yet it still surpasses. I loved it but Migrations remains my top favorite (though not by much!) The audiobook is fantastic and I eagerly await for a physical copy that I can go back through to really savor, but since I’m a paperback girlie I guess I’ll have to wait.

Publication day is March 4th!

A widowed father and his three children find a woman washed up on their remote island during a violent storm. Dominic Salt and his family appear to be the only inhabitants living in the Lighthouse and tending a vacant research facility and seed bank located between Tasmania and the Antarctic. This is a fascinating mystery set on a bleak island teaming with wildlife and threatened by the ever- rising ocean. Everyone has a secret in Wild Dark Shore and readers will race to finish.
Unputdownable.

*Wild Dark Shore* by Charlotte McConaghy is a hauntingly beautiful tale that skillfully blends suspense, mystery, and emotional depth. Set on the remote Shearwater Island, the story captures the isolation and fragile beauty of a world on the brink of collapse. McConaghy’s prose is evocative, pulling readers into a cold, storm-battered world where secrets and survival intertwine. The characters, especially the enigmatic Rowan and the resilient Salt family, are deeply compelling, each grappling with loss, hope, and the need for connection. This is a captivating novel about trust, redemption, and the power of new beginnings in the face of relentless adversity. A gripping, atmospheric read that lingers long after the final page.

Wild Dark Shore is an absolute triumph—a dazzling blend of lyrical prose, unraveling mystery, and profound environmental urgency. Charlotte McConaghy has done it again! As an early reader and listener of Migrations and Once There Were Wolves, I was already captivated by her storytelling, and this latest novel has only deepened my admiration.

Set on the remote Shearwater—a tiny island near Antarctica—McConaghy crafts a world where isolation and nature’s relentless fury collide. The Salts, led by Dominic and his three resilient children, maintain the world’s largest seed bank, a poignant symbol of hope amid rising sea levels. Their lives are irrevocably changed when, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a mysterious woman washes ashore. Her arrival not only disrupts the fragile balance of their isolated existence but also unravels hidden secrets: sabotaged radios, a freshly dug grave, and truths that challenge the very bonds of trust.

What I adore most about Wild Dark Shore is how it seamlessly marries the introspection of literary fiction with the suspense of a mystery. McConaghy’s writing is atmospheric and immersive, pulling you into every storm-lashed moment and intimate revelation. Each character is vividly drawn, making their triumphs and tragedies feel deeply personal. I found myself sorrowful when the journey ended, yet profoundly grateful for the emotional ride.

In a world where climate change is an ever-looming threat, Wild Dark Shore serves as both a beautiful narrative and a timely warning. It reminds us of the impossible choices we make to protect the people and the precious fragments of nature we hold dear—even as the world around us shifts and disappears.

I can confidently say that I will read anything McConaghy writes. Wild Dark Shore earns a resounding five stars from me—a must-read masterpiece that enchants, provokes, and lingers in your heart long after the final page.

I always love an audiobook with multiple narrators and this one was exceptional with Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, Steve West. Theu all four perfectly embody their characters.

I have to applaud an author who can create such a unique story with really complicated characters in a setting that is so unusual that I go down a rabbit hole to try and find out more. This book definitely fits this bill. I did discover that Shearwater island does not exist but is based on an island that does exist between Antarctica and Australia. The book involves Rowan, a woman who mysteriously washes ashore on the island inhabited only by a man and his three children, the youngest being about 8 years old and the other two being older teens. All of the characters, including Orly, the eight year old are extremely complex and we slowly discover all their layers and backstories as the book progresses. The purpose of the island is to store seeds for future use as Earth is destroying itself with climate change so there is almost a dystopian futuristic aspect to the story but this is mostly secondary to the slow (but not boring) revelations around what has happened with the characters who remain on the island and the ones who are no longer there. And to add more suspense, the island is not so slowly sinking so the inhabitants are faced with trying to save the seeds while wondering when they will be rescued and negotiating their own complex relationships. The story is told from several different POVs, including the five main characters but also some who only make rare appearances. If you enjoy complex situations, characters and storylines that really keep you thinking and can tolerate endings that aren’t neatly wrapped up, I would highly recommend this book.
I listened to the audio version which featured several narrators (or at least one male and one female) and were all excellent. They made the story immersive and real.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica, and they live in the lighthouse on the island. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers. But with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants, packing up the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. During a violent storm a woman washes up on shore and the Salts nurse her back to health.

This is quite different from most of the books I read and I was quite involved in the story. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Cooper Mortlock; Katherine Littrell; Saskia Maarleveld; and Steve West. I have no idea which parts were narrated by which narrator but they all did a great job. Whoever narrated Dominic had a very deep gruff voice and sometimes delivered his lines in a husky whisper which I had trouble with but I think that's more my hearing than anything and it got easier as time went on. I loved the realistic-sounding voice of the youngest child - Orly (even though I thought his name was Ollie until more than half-way through).

There's a lot going on in this book and descriptions of the island, the buildings and the weather are very detailed and atmospheric. The story is a little bit to do with climate change and a little bit speculative and a lot to do with family dynamics, with a mystery thrown in. The cover perfectly depicts the tone of this book. If it hadn't been for the romance scenes I probably would've given it 5 stars. The romance seemed totally out of place to me even though I see how it fits into the story. I had been hoping for a different ending and yet it seemed appopriate. I confess I shed a few tears throughout the book.

TW (could be spoilerish): Sexual activity between an adult and a minor, animal cruelty (historical), mental health issues.

My thanks to McMillan Audio, via Netgalley, for approving my request to listen to this audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: March 4, 2025

"A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon."

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island off the coast of Antarctica. They are still reeling from the loss of Dominic's wife, and the children miss their mother. All of the researchers have left the island. But with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants, packing up the seeds for the seed bank before they are transported to safer ground. The wild beauty of nature is all around, but isolation has taken its toll …

One day, a woman is washed ashore, and they rescue her. The family develops a relationship with her, but Rowan and Dominic both feel that the other is keeping secrets from them. It is also discovered that the radios have been destroyed and they have no way to get outside help. And - sea levels are rising.

Charlotte McConaghy's writing is atmospheric and eloquent. You are immersed in the beauty of nature and captivated by its unforgiving nature. This makes the island itself and its wildlife a character, and the isolation creates the tension of a locked room mystery where the inhabitants are at the mercy of nature and each other. The tension is palpable, and that combined with a stranger in their midst creates a compelling plot. This riveting story combines themes of isolation, family, trust, grief, parenthood, nature, and the environment. It also includes a moral dilemma. I loved McConaghy's work and look forward to reading her other novels. This one makes me want to be an explorer!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Charlotte McConaghy for an advance listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Wild Dark Shore was a wow. Intense, complicated, nuanced - so much to unpack and rumination is necessary. Why then not a 5 star? It's deep. It's heavy. It requires thinking. In a normal world timeline, getting wrapped up in a book which requires effort to process would have been great. The 4 star is on me - my brain is already taxed and I'm not sure I was the thinking audience for this one. But that's life inside a 2025 USA Black Mirror episode.

I listened to this on audio and narrators Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, and Steve West made this feel like a true audio event. It's 1950s sit around the radio to listen to the story level good. Thank you to the producers who put in the money and effort to make the book magnificent on audio.

Set on an isolated island with few inhabitants and some mystery......a family with the awesome responsibility of curating seeds should the world take a darker turn.....a storm....a stranger - all the elements for an interesting tale. Give it a listen.

<I>Wild Dark Shore</I> just joined my shortlist of very favorite books. Both <I>Migrations</I> and <I>Once We Were Wolves</I> were beautiful, but Charlotte really popped off with this one. I was enamored with the audiobook and the last hour had me shook. Will be highly recommending to anyone and everyone.

Dominic Salt and his three children are the caretakers of a
seed collection stored on Shearwater, a small Antarctic island.
Those seeds will one day repopulate the flora of the world when
the floods, fires, and other natural disasters brought on by
climate change destroy the world's plants. But the rising
sea-level has jeopardized the seed collection, and the Salt
family must leave. A few weeks before they will be evacuated, a
woman washes up on shore, and it quickly becomes clear that
her arrival is not just a coincidence. Charlotte McConaghy is
quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. Her stories strike
just the right balance of emotion, suspense, and wonder. The
mutual POVs in this one are done perfectly, and I absolutely
adored the precocious nine year old Orly's perspective. The
narration in this audio was spot on, and enjoyed both narrators
immensely.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Narrated by Cooper Mortlock; Katherine Littrell; Saskia Maarleveld; Steve West

Dominic Salt was never aware of just how much his wife did to raise their first two children until he had to raise their newborn son. If it wasn't for his two older children, still very much children when their baby brother was born, Dom could not have survived that time. Heartbroken, he moved his three children to a remote research island where the four have lived for years now. On one hand, his children have had a very special and enlightening childhood, away from all the distractions of a more normal type of life. But on the other hand, Dom's children had to grow up way before they should have done so and even in this remote place they have had to face perils and heartbreaks that even adults would hope to avoid.

But this time is coming to an end, the island is succumbing to rising sea levels and the family is dealing with the threat to the world's largest seed bank. Time is limited, the ability to save everything is limited, provisions could run out before rescue arrives. Then a woman washes up on shore, here, near Antarctica. The secrets of the Salt family are vast, secrets children shouldn't have to know or keep, and if discovered, this family could be torn apart forever. Dom will do anything for his children and this almost drowned woman has ties to the very worst of the island's secrets.

The story has a constant melancholy feel along with a constant sense of danger and inability to trust. Guilt feelings run rampant among the Salts and this new person, Rowan. So many secrets and actions can hurt others in irreversible ways. I adore the character of nine year old Orly, whose entire short life is wrapped up in this island, the plants, animals, all life. He has such a amazing sense of our connection to everything else and a strong sense of trying to do the right thing. Rowan fits in so well with the Salts, if only the island wasn't being swamped and if only the Salts didn't hide very destructive secrets. The audiobook narration is fantastic, with four narrators that I've enjoyed in the past.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

Oh my god. This book was absolutely fascinating. Why have I not read any of Charlotte McConaghy's other books? I need more. The research that had to have gone into this. Believe me, as soon as this book was over I immediately started googling the island the seed vault that the author used for research. This book was so good and the narration was just incredible. All the different voices just paired so well and they played off of each other and everyone just continued to build the tension. I couldn't stop listening.

This was a bit of a slow burn for me, but I feel like it was warranted and worth it in the end. I enjoyed Orly's botanical factoid interludes, but I'm unclear if he was meant to be talking TO Hank, or if they were supposed to be insights into his thoughts & feelings, OR were subtle nods to what was happening in the main story. I also always wonder why authors choose to write some characters from third person -- in this case, Raff -- when all the other characters are written from first person. I didn't mind; it's just something I noticed. I do, however, wish that there had been a separate narrator for Raff, or at least if one of the male narrators read his chapters. I didn't think the big twist/reveal about Hank was explosive, but it didn't seem like it was supposed to be, and I appreciate that it wasn't. I feel like that portion of the story really added to the nuance of the overall novel and lends itself really well to discussion.

Naturally I'm a bit upset by the ending in regards to Rowan. I understand why McConaghy made that choice, though I wish it didn't have to be that way. I would've liked an epilogue, but that's not a slight against McConaghy; I just love epilogues in general. Overall I enjoyed this book -- the writing, the multiple genres, the knowledge and research that clearly went into it (and sparked my interest enough to do some basic research of my own) -- and I will absolutely be reading more of this author's work.

Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore is a thrilling mix of dystopian drama and gothic mystery, set on the harsh, storm-lashed island of Shearwater. This isn’t just a story about climate chaos closing in—it’s about one broken family clinging to survival as their world drowns. The Salts, guardians of humanity’s last seed vault, are barely holding themselves together when a vicious storm spits out Rowan, a stranger with secrets sharper than the ice. Her arrival cracks open old wounds and buried lies, forcing the family to face their ghosts before the rising tides swallow them all.

McConaghy’s writing grabs you by the throat. She paints Shearwater in brutal, cinematic detail that paints the island itself as a character ravaged by climate change. The story moves like the tides: slow, haunting moments of grief give way to heart-stopping tension and shocking plot twists. While the middle sags under its own weight at times, and a key romance feels rushed, the final act delivers a gut-punch ending that’s equal parts devastating and defiant.

Bleak? Absolutely. This is a world where hope feels as fragile as frost. Yet Wild Dark Shore sticks with you—not just for its chilling vision of environmental collapse, but for its raw, messy look at how love fights to survive when everything else is crumbling. McConaghy doesn’t offer easy answers, but she’ll make you *feel* every desperate choice, every flicker of connection in the dark.

(Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ARC audiobook)

If you’re not sure what mood you’re in this book covers them all: suspense, drama, nature/science, relationships. It’s deep; it’s desolate; it will leave a mark on you. I could read it again to pick up on nuances I missed in the first listen.

Absolutely stunning. McConaghy has not once disappointed me and I can confidently say that after finishing this newest work from her, I still have yet to be let down. The writing is beautiful, the atmosphere is beautiful, the story is beautiful. If you have read any of McConaghy's previous books, this is a must read. I am extremely excited for release day and to be able to have a physical copy as there are so many parts that I need to annotate.

The Salts live on a tiny island close to Antarctica. Shearwater is home to the world’s largest seed bank. At one time the island was full of research scientists, but the sea levels are rising, and the researchers all deserted the island. Dominic Salt and his three children are the only inhabitants. The Salts are packing the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. Shearwater is a beautiful wild island, but it is also a lonely place. Raff is eighteen years old and after his heart is broken, he is usually found at his punching bag. Fen is seventeen years old; she spends most of her nights on the beach with the seals. Orly is nine years old and obsessed with botany.
A storm sweeps the island, one of the worse storms the Salts have ever seen. A woman is washed ashore. The family nurses, Rowan, the woman back to health. At first they are suspicious of the woman but they soon become attached to her. Rowan finds herself growing close to the Salts. But Rowan has a secret which she doesn’t want to share. But Domonic has secrets too. Can they trust each other and can they protect their precious seeds.
This tale is character driven and yet plot driven. There is a lot of action in this book. The characters are all likable.

There are 586 people on Goodreads who rated this 4 stars or higher and it doesn't come out till next month... and I am one of them. This was such an amazing audiobook! I felt like I was stuck on this remote deserted island right alongside the Salt family. This family ( Dom and his 3 kiddos: Raff, Fen, Orly) are on this island near Antarctica, the only remaining people part of a research team to protect and house the largest seed bank. (What a unique story already). They are the only ones left (we don't know why yet) and then after a horrible storm, a random woman (Rowan) arrives on the island, badly injured, beat up by the sea, and saved by Fen. She's got secrets and the Salts aren't sure if they should trust her, but they have secrets too! The sea level tide continues to rise and connections are made, lost, and secrets start coming to light during their race against time to escape the island. This story was equal parts mystery, family drama and second chances.  There were 4 narrators for this and for the most part I kept it straight, but I wouldn't have minded having a hard copy for reference, especially in the beginning as there are a lot of characters to learn. This amazing story comes out March 4th. Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. Can't wait to read more of Charlotte McConaghy's work.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Cooper Mortlock; Katherine Littrell; Saskia Maarleveld; and Steve West, all of whom do a fantastic job making the story come alive.

On an island in the middle of the ocean, somewhere between Australia and Antarctica, is Shearwater, where Dom and his three children serve as caretakers of the wild island, a few scientists, the world's largest seed collection and many, many animals. As the storms get worse, the scientists are leaving, and Dom is haunted by the death of his wife. Then a strange woman washes ashore.

This is a well written, complex story of family relations and imminent climate downfall, and how it is seen through the eyes of parents and children. The writing transports you to into the story and is very engaging!