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

This is fiction at its best. The writing is just mesmerizingly beautiful. The setting, an island somewhere between Australia and Antartica, is isolated, harsh and haunting, but home to some breathtaking animal colonies. The island is also home to the largest seed bank and a research facility. But now, with rising sea levels, the island is sinking, and all of the researchers have left. The caretakers are left to pack up the seeds so they can be moved to a safer location.

The story is told in multiple POVs, one for each of the main characters, a father and his three children, the caretakers of the island, and a mysterious woman who washes ashore during a storm. Through each of their narratives we are pulled into and gripped by their stories, their grief, their trauma, and ultimately their resilience and survival.

The mystery and suspense unfold, layer by layer, as we become spectators in a terrifying unveiling of what has happened on the island.

This book is so unique as it blends multiple genres, literary fiction, thriller, family drama, even romance.

I loved it so much that I bought a physical copy for my shelf as soon as I finished it on NetGalley. This will be one of my favourite reads of the year.
I urge you all to read this book. You can thank me later.

Tense, atmospheric, twisty, mysterious, scenic, beautiful

Well written
Strong female characters
Isolated and vividly written setting

Based on a mishmash of Macquarie Island and the Svalbard Seed Bank with a sprinkling of the NSW bushfires and some climate change emergency a la Emmerich's 2012 this novel is gripping and gorgeous and I am absolutely passing on to all my friends and family.

Equal parts mystifying and sad, it opens with a woman washing up on the shore of an island halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica. How did she get there and what is she doing there when the only inhabitants are the caretaker and his 3 children?
The caretaker is fighting his own battles, having been isolated on the island for 9 years - now radio contact with the outside world has ceased and a strange woman has washed up on shore and is disrupting their idyllic life. But how idyllic is their life really on Shearwater? What dangers lurk on the island with them?

Wild Dark Shore is another fascinating, thought-provoking book from Aussie author, Charlotte McConaghy. She is brilliant at describing the locations her books are set in. You really feel the isolation and wildness of the island in this book; you get a feel for the life of the animals and the impacts of human presence over the years.

Personally, I find seed banks fascinating. There is an incredible amount of work put in by so many different people over such a long time, collecting and sorting and housing and maintaining them. There's a sense of life and newness but also death and doom; an overhanging awareness of preparing for the end. McConaghy did a wonderful job (as she always does) of educating us all about them in an easily digestible and non-lecturing way. Having Ollie as the little walking seed encyclopaedia to help with this was perfect (he was a stand out character overall).

This book is haunting and mysterious, atmospheric and emotional (I was sobbing). It deals with families and a parent's love and the bond between siblings, as well as grief and love and connection and hope. It's about trust and lies and innocence and deception.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Australia for letting me read and review this book. I would definitely recommend it.

The setting of this story is just as wild, lonely and desperate as the characters within it. They are mysterious, all holding back something but are not willing to give, just like Shearwater Island and the research family where this story is based. The fictional island was based on Macquarie Island, located about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica.

Initially I thought Wild Dark Shore was going to be a foreboding piece of literary fiction, a reflection on a time not too far away from now, where an international seed bank is needing to be protected and moved before the impacts of climate change erode the facility. There is a sense of mystery emerging. There is a quiet friction and tension buzzing across the caretaker family – Dominic and his three children (Raff, Fen and Orly), and the woman who washes up on their shores, literally (Rowan). Her name is almost a metaphor for her place in this story: pulled into the shores of Shearwater Island and saved, and the hand that reaches out to save this family. All the characters are quite extraordinary and peculiar: grief and loss has them in a holding pattern and with an unnatural connection to the flora and fauna of the island. Some are talking to those they have lost, because they are also lost among each other. Within this disconnection there is love, all sorts of love: love that protects at all costs, and binds, love at a safe distance, a love compounded by memories, and a yearning that love could bring about change.

Rowan’s connection to the island is a puzzle, made clearer as the tides rise and start to engulf the seed vault, where more things are brought to the surface. There are so many dark secrets on this little island, all threatened by the oceans wanting to wash them away. The lack of communication is the make or break for survival. Tenacity is up against determination and suspicion. They are so isolated from the world as much as they are isolated from each other. Thanks #penguinaustralia, such stirring and beautiful writing.

*I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review- all opinions are my own*
This book! Wild Dark Shore drew me in from the first page and I devoured it in a day and a half. The prose is so vivid, the setting is beautifully rendered and the characters (especially the children) and captivating. I went in with very little idea of what this book was about and I think that was perfect- there is an unsettling tension from the very beginning and while I thought I knew what was going to happen, the twists and turns meant I didn’t until the very end. What a delight- strong contender for my favourite book of the year and it’s only March. 4.5 stars rounded up.

“Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy is a psychological drama set on a remote, inhospitable island between Australia and the Antarctic.
The widowed Dominic Salt and his three children live in the old lighthouse as caretakers to a seed vault. They are making preparations to leave as the effects of climate change are endangering both themselves and the seeds and they must try and save as many as possible. Each of them have issues and coping mechanisms that may make their return to mainland life tough.
Into their unusual existence, a wild storm throws a barely alive young woman onto the shore and the family must tend to her. How and why she is there is a mystery that slowly unravels along with the secrets that the family are keeping for reasons of their own, Radio communications from the island have been damaged so these characters are marooned until the ship arrives in a few weeks to pick them up. They are damaged souls who slowly find solace in each other, working their way through grief, loss, trauma and pain.
While the characters are interesting enough I found the motives and actions of Rowan, the “intruder” a little puzzling. The contrast between her early life and marriage and what ensues on the island doesn’t really mesh for me. Although, since some people can definitely present charming enough fronts to hide unsavoury traits beneath, perhaps her mixed emotions are understandable.
What I enjoyed the most was the atmosphere and the descriptions of the harsh natural environment and abundant wildlife. From the tropics, I could almost feel the biting wind, freezing water and taste the salty air.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and this is my honest review.

After experiencing McConaghy’s wonderful Once there were wolves I was eager to read Wild dark shore. It is set on Shearwater, a tiny island near Antarctica, and the home of a large seed bank. With sea levels rising, the researchers have departed leaving Dominic Salt and his three children to pack up the seeds before a ship arrives back to take them to safer ground. Then a mysterious woman is washed ashore. Why was she trying to reach this remote island and what secrets are the Salts hiding?

Told from multiple points of view McConaghy gradually builds up a picture of the Salt family and Rowan the woman the sea have brought to shore. Dominic Salt is still grieving the death of his wife many years before, his eldest son Raff is trying to get over a broken heart, his 10-year-old son Orly is obsessed with botany and fearful of what will be lost from the seed bank and Fen, his 17-year-old daughter is isolated from the family, sleeping with the seals on the beach. As they care for Rowan, she uncovers sabotage of the radio and a fresh grave.

Wild dark shore is multi-layered with gripping suspense on many levels. I found myself holding my breath wondering what damage the incoming storm would do to the human and animal inhabitants of this rugged island and whether the Salts would be able to rescue the precious seeds from the flooding waters. The inner struggles of Rowan and the family and the secrets they were hiding were gradually revealed and I became engrossed in the stories of these six people. I was desperate to find out about Rowan’s experience with the bushfire that destroyed her property and its beautiful ghost gums, and Fen’s reason for sleeping with the whales. I held my breath as Orly sorted through seeds and told the reader about the wonders of different plants and related to Raff’s suffering from losing his first love and determination to hold his family together especially as Dom seemed unable to let go of the ghost of his wife. And as a lover of the mystery genre I was kept guessing about the possibility of murder on the island.

Wild dark shore is certain to appeal to readers of different genres because of its evocative writing and themes of mysterious death, life on an isolated island and climate change. It is highly recommended.

The Wild Dark Shore is a stunning read, a rough, wild and emotional journey through the wilderness of an isolated island and humanity on the brink of ruin.

The prose is mesmerising and has a cadence which seems to mimic the ebbs and flow of the tides and the wind, so that it feels like you are surrounded by the wilderness of Shearwater island. The story of the Salt family is so entwined with the natural world around them that surrounds them that the chaos and wilderness starts to blur. This is a heart breaking story of the wonder and cruelty of both nature and humanity, and the resilience of both as our climate starts to crumble.

I can’t speak more highly about the heart wrenching and heart lifting experience of reading this book. McConaghy writes with passion, wonder and honesty, making this a must read.

Thank you Penguin Random House Australia for an advance copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

This was a beautiful, honest and thought provoking read that I absolutely devoured. I think it will be my top read of the year!!

Dominic and his three kids are caretakers of a remote island between Australia and Antarctica called Shearwater. It is home to the largest seed bank and was once filled with researchers. When a woman washes up on shore, the Salt family must determine how to go on with a new person among them, and how to keep their secrets safe. How will they protect their millions of seeds?

From the first pages, I was drawn into the authors stunning descriptions, and I loved the different scientific perspectives from the kids. It was easy to fall in love with these characters and to feel their grief, isolation, pain and fear. McConaghy illustrates complex relationships with ease but as I read I could feel the love this family had for one another. This book bends genres with aspects of a thriller, slow burn romance, and also well researched biological information. There were also a couple of twists I did not see coming!

After living on the island for 8 years, things have begun to become more dire, with violent storms, endangered animals, and flooding just to name a few. I was immersed into this world and was glued to the pages of this book late into the night. There are such powerful and impactful messages within about climate change, our earth and family. The realities faced by these characters were confronting, raising countless questions for the reader. The writing throughout was beautiful and I loved the different styles for each characters- Orly and his plants, Fen and her seals, and Raff and his whales. There’s a powerful journey Dominic travels as well through grief, and fatherhood. Wild Dark Shore was atmospheric, haunting and drawing connection between the human spirit and our earth. It was a beautiful and emotional but tumultuous love letter to our earth. Absolutely Breathtaking!

Thank you so much to @netgalley @charlottemcconaghy and @penguinrandomhouse for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was delighted to read this one early!

There's so much to love about McConaghy's latest novel - the story is propulsive and the setting truly comes alive in such a beautiful way. I loved the nature writing and the exploration about what we are collectively doing to our beautiful planet and how some of these consequences might play out. I particularly loved the chapters narrated by Orly that looked at various types of seeds and what makes them unique and incredible.

Unfortunately, overall, it just didn't come together for me the way it has for so many other readers. There are (many) parts in the novel that require the reader to suspend belief on what is possible or likely which is often the case in this genre; however, I struggled to do this here, particularly in the final quarter. I didn't fully believe the central romance plot or their apparent deep emotional connection which I think ultimately left me less emotionally invested and less forgiving when it came to suspending belief for other plot points.

I completely understand why so many people love this book and have no doubt that it will find its audience. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Australia for the copy of this book.

I really loved reading the book and the story is immersive and it is well written. The gripping mystery of this atmospheric island that weaves in emotions of grief, survival, love and trust makes this book compellingly sad and hopeful.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher Penguin Random House Australia for the ARC.

This was a profoundly moving book.
The plot twists were unpredictable, but not shocking and added to the tender mood.
I’m glad I read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Australia for the arc.

Charlotte McConaghy is no doubt up there with some of the best who write so painfully and beautifully of the insidious and widespread devastation of climate change and all of the ethical dilemmas we humans grapple with in the face of it. WILD DARK SHORE is her latest!

In short, it takes place on a tiny island between Tasmania and Antarctica, where a man and his three children have been its caretakers for about 8 years, all the researchers have abandoned the station and the family is left to pack up one of the last seed banks in existence as the island begins to sink and they wait for their boat ride out of there. Their isolated existence is interrupted though when a woman, barely alive, washes up on the shore….

I found a lot to love about this - the mystery and uneasiness of it’s opening and the set up, the changing of perspectives, particularly between Dominic and Rowan, with each character’s motivations and suspicions dropped like breadcrumbs for the reader, the sense of place and atmosphere invoked by McConaghy’s writing, and her ability to balance a story between humans’ ability to cause extraordinary damage to the planet while being at the complete mercy of its forces of nature. The writing is undeniably captivating and this is a real page turner, no doubt about it.

However this one didn’t quite meet the high expectations I had of it and didn’t seem to pan out where I thought it was going to head. The story started out really great for me but I found it got a bit weighed down in by its own earnestness. I also found I had to pretty much suspend all belief as the story took one twist and turn after another towards the end. I’ve seen other readers really resonate with this book though and find it to be very powerful and moving - which I can also see!

I have no doubt this will fly off the shelves and my gripes didn’t stop me from powering through it. It also hasn’t stopped me from admiring her work or knowing I’ll always pick up anything she writes! Just not sure this is my favourite of hers to date.

Charlotte McConaghy’s third novel Wild Dark Shore is, as the title promises wild. It is a beautiful but also harrowing cautionary tale that fits in the climate fiction category but is also much much more.
Wild Dark Shore opens with the body of a woman, washed ashore on the rocky coast of a small sub-Antarctic island called Shearwater. The woman, who we learn is called Rowan, is patched up and brought back to health by the remaining inhabitants of the island – father Dominic and his three children – Raff, Fen and Orly. Shearwater was a research station but all of the researches have gone. It is also the site of a global repository of seeds, but the storage facility is failing due to the melting permafrost and a rescue mission is coming to salvage as many of the seeds as possible. Rowan has come to the island to find her husband Hank who was the lead researcher, although she keeps this from her rescuers who themselves seem to be holding secrets about the island and what happened to the other people who were working there. But even with all of this obfuscation, Rowan develops relationships with all of the family, helping them and herself heal, at least until those many secrets come to light.
Wild Dark Shore is absolutely a climate story. Set sometime in the near future when fires and floods have affected the mainland and sea level rise is threatening the island and its inhabitants. The seed rescue mission is focussed on replenishing seed stocks needed for human survival, not the decorative or unique. And there is a strong thread in the narrative about whether it is right to bring new children into a world that is under this kind of threat.
While the climate effects drive much of the ticking clock element of the novel, Wild Dark Shore is much than just a clifi novel. Through its limited cast of characters and strict bounds, the island becomes a microcosm through which much broader issues can be distilled down and considered. This is a book about parents and children, about dealing with grief, about what we choose to prioritise and about how we live in the world.
A key aspect of this novel is McConaghy’s description of the island and its animal inhabitants. Shearwater is based on the very real Macquarie Island, a place where in the past sealers and whalers had indiscriminately slaughtered the native wildlife. McConaghy brings the windy, freezing wildness of the island to life but also manages to get across its fragility as rising sea level and temperatures threaten its hardy but delicate ecosystem.
Wild Dark Shore feels more contemplative in its opening stages but as its secrets emerge, it becomes more dramatic, building to some breathless action scenes. But McConaghy has earned these beats and always keeps the characters and their shifting relationships at the centre, deepening those scenes and making them land with plenty of impact.

INCREDIBLE. This is an absolutely gripping novel. First 5 star read of the year for me. Cannot wait to sell this to everyone who walks into the store. I will be RAVING about this book from the mountain tops to whoever will listen. Unforgettable, atmospheric read.

Dominic Salt and his three children Raff, Fen and Orly are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island in between Tasmania and Antarctica. Here the world’s biggest seed bank is stored in a bunker and due to global warming the sea levels are rising, the Salts are packing the rarest and most important ones, before the ship arrives to transport them all to safety.

Dominic hasn’t gotten over the loss of his wife, the solution was to move to Shearwater, once it was busy research station and now it’s just the four of them left and soon it will be deserted and taken by the sea. After a terrible storm, a woman washes up on the rocky shore and Fen rescues her, they wonder why Rowan on a boat in such a remote area and are suspicious of her at first and she integrates herself into the family.

Rowan isn't telling the whole truth about why she sailed to Shearwater, her husband Frank Jones was the senior botanist and he sent her a couple of odd emails and she hasn’t heard from his since. Rowan discovers the radios and power supply have been damaged and they have no way of communicating with the outside world, oddly Fen is staying on the beach with the penguins and not with her family and Dominic is keeping secrets and he’s not the only one.

As their time at Shearwater ticks over, all the characters have to 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, both Dominic and Rowan have experienced loss and create a new life together.

I received a copy of Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy from NetGalley and Penguin Random House Australia in exchange for an unbiased review. I now understand why there’s been so much hype about this book, the narrative is full of twists and turns, and set in a remote and harsh place, and where whales, birds and penguins come to mate, have their babies and raise them and the Salts worry about what will happen to the animals and the diverse ecosystem of the rugged island once they leave.

A psychological thriller, one that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next, and full of complex characters, family dynamics, secrets, mystery, missing people, empty buildings, creepy ghost stories and acts of sabotage. Please make sure you read the author’s notes at the end, she mentions a famous explorer and as a child my eighty eight year old mother-law knew him well and five stars from me.

Wild Dark Shore is an atmospheric and poetic tale; with the perfect blend of mystery, secrets, heartbreak and love. While half the story focuses on the natural world and the unbelievable achievements it preforms daily; The other part focuses on the complex relationships that we have with family and those around us.

Despite the intriguing yet slow beginning, this story will hook you in without your knowledge. Strongly recommended having a box of tissues next to you as you read this unforgettable and powerful story.

Charlotte McConaghy has a way with words that flow off the page and will imprint into your consciousness long after you have finished the book. The historical details she researched and blended with the story were powerful and showcases some of Australia’s unique natural wonders and the impacts of bushfires on living things too.

I highly recommend everyone to read this when it comes out March 2024. This definitely will be my favourite book of the year!

Thank you to Netgallery and Penguin Random House Australia for this amazing ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Truly a devastating and haunting experience of a novel. It explores what it means to be human, how us as a species has impacted an entire planet and the resilience of nature in all its forms. It weaves beautifully in and out of family, tragedy and compassion without a hitch. The final 15% of this book had me gripping my chair!

There were so many topics touched on within this book, it made it very easy for there always to be something to think about. I especially appreciated the notion of how women are seen by society. It is very true when we say we don't want children, the looks we receive are bewildering.

I can definitely see this book being one that sticks with me for a long time. I can also see this one being a reference to others. I highly recommend this book, it has important discussions laid within the beautiful writing that should be explored.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After finishing the last page, I was completely spent after wiping the tears from my eyes and experiencing all the feels.

This book got to me. It got under my skin and into my psyche.

Charlotte McConaghy you are an exceptional writer!!

I don’t know the last time I had such a physical and emotional response to a book!!!

I went in blind and I almost think that is the best way to read this.

It’s beautiful.
It’s breathtaking.
It’s heartbreakingly good.

The Salt family live on an island 1000s of kilometres between Tasmania and Antartica.

No review can give it justice, so I’m not going to summarise it. Just read it.

I know it’s only March but I’m calling it - this could be the book of the year for me. It’s going to take something fairly spectacular to change my opinion.

It needs to win all the awards. 🏆🥇🎖️

Thank you @charlottemcconaghy @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for a copy in exchange for a review.

Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore is a masterful blend of suspense, emotion, and environmental reflection. This novel is set against the haunting backdrop of Shearwater Island—a remote landmass nestled between Australia and Antarctica. The narrative intricately weaves themes of survival, grief, and the profound bond between humanity and nature, delivering a story that resonates deeply with readers.

The plot unfolds with the mysterious arrival of Rowan, a woman found injured and washed ashore on Shearwater Island. The island's caretakers - Dominic and his three children take her in, unaware that her presence will unearth buried secrets and challenge their isolated existence.

McConaghy's writing is both lyrical and evocative and she paints vivid images of the island's rugged beauty and the escalating tension as nature's fury approaches (timely for me now as Cycone Alfred is approaching!). The character development is profound, with each member of the Salt family and Rowan portrayed with depth and authenticity. Their individual struggles and collective resilience form the emotional core of the novel, making their journey both compelling and relatable.

This would not be a book I would necessarily pick up from the bookstore, but I am so glad I did read it. It is worth more than 5 stars!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!