Wild Dark Shore cover art

Wild Dark Shore

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026

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Wild Dark Shore

Written by: Charlotte McConaghy
Narrated by: Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, Steve West
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THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
SELECTED FOR BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME , REESE'S BOOK CLUB AND TIME's MUST-READ BOOKS FOR 2025
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026
LONGLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE MEDAL

'I am in awe. I am in love. I am heartbroken. All of it possible, all at once, after a book as extraordinary as this one' CLAIRE DAVERLEY
'Breathtaking' HANNAH KENT
'Spellbinding' Washington Post
'Had me gripped from the very first page' RACHEL JOYCE

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A storm gathering force.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world’s largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the island’s researchers have fled, and only the Salts remain.

Until, during the worst storm in living memory, a stranger washes ashore. The family nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, but it seems she isn’t telling the whole truth about why she’s there. And when Rowan stumbles upon sabotaged radios and a recently dug grave, she realises that she’s not the only one on the island with a secret.

A novel of breathtaking twists and dizzying beauty, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love.

 Psychological Thriller & Suspense
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Critic Reviews

"A ferociously smart read, timely and poetic, and had me gripped from the very first page" (RACHEL JOYCE)
"A breathtaking novel of romance, mystery and twists that will shock you" (REESE WITHERSPOON)
"Wild Dark Shore is absolutely astonishing. McConaghy's writing knocks me over every time" (FREDRIK BACKMAN)
"Enthralling . . . A finely written novel that’s also a family saga — the kids, Raff, Fen and Orly, are brilliantly portrayed — a masterclass in using multiple perspectives, and an evocation of an ecosystem that’s both poetic and science-driven"
"Spellbinding . . . Captivating . . . McConaghy keeps the novel moving at a blustery pace, thanks to her deft plotting and shared point of view . . . To read this exceptionally imagined, thoroughly humane novel feels like following the last people on Earth as they prepare to leave some part of their souls to the most beautiful place they'll ever know"
"Vivid . . . Moving . . . Wild Dark Shore abounds with evocative nature writing . . . We're shown why a person might withdraw from the messiness of life after tragedy and trauma . . . The novel also offers its injured characters a path back to connection and community, a risk McConaghy argues must be worth taking, no matter how fraught the future"
"I am in awe. I am in love. I am heartbroken. All of it possible, all at once, after a book as extraordinary as this one" (CLAIRE DAVERLEY)
"At once a gripping mystery, an exquisitely written ode to the natural world, and a taut, psychological thriller, Wild Dark Shore is a triumph. Charlotte McConaghy is masterful in her ability to show the intricate connections between place and the human heart, and Wild Dark Shore shows her at the height of her powers. Breathtaking" (HANNAH KENT)
"McConaghy writes beautifully about the natural world and expertly ratchets up the tension, as mutual suspicion increases and secrets are gradually revealed... A powerful read"
"

Sublime . . . Charlotte McConaghy’s climate thriller was my absolute favorite book of 2025. I’m a sucker for vivid settings and the way Charlotte captures Shearwater, a remote island near Antarctica, and its marine life is stunning. It’s part family drama, part mystery and completely absorbing

" (CARLEY FORTUNE)
All stars
Most relevant
This book left me speechless and crying. An absolute masterpiece. A part of me is left behind in the Shearwater Island.

What a marvellous book

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An end-of-the-world setting with a set of brilliant characters in an extraordinary thriller suspense - this book has the full package. The characters - Rowan, Dom, Raff, Fen, Orly along with the location - Shearwater island are powerfully written to create a lasting impression on the readers. I absolutely recommend this book for fiction lovers. Audible was a great experience too.

Amazing location & well written characters

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I am on a mission of reading new genres. When I started reading this book, I thought that maybe I could like atmospheric and climate based thrillers. I was slightly too optimistic, because I ended up skipping all chapters and paragraphs where the scientific names of plants and seeds showed up. I really wanted to like this book but the pacing felt off. I ended up making an audible subscription and getting the audiobook because I did not want to DNF this. The audiobook was worse, because it was even slower somehow.

Coming to the meat of the book, I really liked the characters, the portrayal of grief and the urgency of the drowning seeds. I started enjoying the book after we find out that Hank is being held captive underground of the seed bunker. However it took us two-thirds of the book to get there. It was at this point that everything prior to it made sense. I felt awful for Fen in fact I felt awful for all of them to grow up without a mother.

I wish Rowan was a little bit more skeptical. I could not digest that she had a romantic relationship with Dominik, knowing very well that she had not found her husband and she spot him hiding her husband's passport in the floorboard. Like girl, I know you have to spend 6 weeks with only 4 people on the island but this was disturbing. I did not like how very very selfish Dominik was, he was the sole reason they were in isolation. He kept his wife's trinkets away. He sought to teach Raff to box rather than to be gentle. I hated him, and then Rowan slept with him. She gave so much of her away to shearwater all for a cheater and a selfish man with no spine. I am so sorry

Maybe I should have slowed down and taken my time to really imagine each and every sentence, but this time it was a mid hook for mel

First audiobook, pretty mid 🙁

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