Wild Dark Shore

 

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Fiction/Mystery

2025

Narrated by Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, Steve West

Finished on 2/11/2026

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

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 not far from Antarctica. 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. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

I read Migrations in 2021 and thought it was good, but not outstanding. I wasn't inspired to try Charlotte McConaghy's next book, Once There Were Wolves, since I hadn't been impressed with her debut novel. I don't even remember hearing much about that book, but when Wild Dark Shore was released, I decided to add it to my TBR list since so many readers loved it. I went with the audiobook, which is marvelous. I love a full cast of narrators and all four did an amazing job. The dialogue and vivid descriptions of the island and animal life are well done, and I was quickly transported to Shearwater and its inhabitants. McConaghy has written a beautiful tale with complex, yet lovable characters, and a haunting mystery. It's been a long time since a book has moved me to tears.

Highly recommend!