Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy is an epic and heart-wrenching story about love and impossible choices.
Charlotte McConaghy is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her stories are so evocative, and the characters feel real and well-developed. The settings are some of the most vivid I’ve read in recent memories. Not quite a part of our current reality, but it serves as a warning of what could come with climate change.
There’s also quite a bit of tragedy and a melancholy tone to her stories. But yet, while the subject and the plot developments might feel like too much with any other author, Charlotte McConaghy truly handles it all with care and respect.
Wild Dark Shore is fantastic, and it will stay with me for a long time.
What’s the Story About
Dominic Salt and his three children live at Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Here is the world’s largest seed bank, and while Shearwater was once full of researchers, it’s now just the Salts. And soon they will be leaving as well.
But everything changes when, after a terrible storm, a woman mysteriously washes ashore. The Salts help nurse the woman, Rowan, back to health. And while the family is used to being on their own, they start to form a connection with Rowen.
However, Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And she learns this family has secrets of their own.
An Emotional Journey
Wild Dark Shore is an in-depth character study. We really get to know the inner thoughts and motivations, especially with Rowen and Dominic. But both have secrets, and the audience is kept in the dark for sections of the book. Until all is eventually revealed.
While these secrets are crucial to the plot, the story is really about people, choices, second chances, love, and passion. Both Rowen and Dominic are richly developed with many layers to them. They bond over grief, but also so much more. I found their growing relationship to be quite compelling, and I believe it made sense in the greater context of the story.
The children are also a focus; two are teenagers, and one is a child. Dominic is a caring father who will always protect his children first, and that becomes more apparent as the story goes on.
The Setting
In addition to a rich look at the characters, the author provides a vivid landscape at Shearwater. You’ll feel like you’re on this island with the Salts and Rowen. And with every stunning landscape, there is potential danger at risk.
There’s also the element of being so far isolated and having to fend for yourself that provides another chilling quality to the narrative. So when Rowen suspects Dominic is withholding information, being on such an isolated island makes it more suspenseful.
Charlotte McConaghy based Shearwater on the real-life Macquarie Island, which is located halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. This island is home to more than four million seals, penguins, and seabirds.
Verdict
This is one of the best books I have read in 2025. I was so engaged and emotionally invested in the story. There’s suspense, romance, and more wrapped into an excellent literary fiction experience.
It is quite heavy, so be prepared for that before you read it.
An excellent selection for book clubs with so much to discuss and analyze. For book clubs, check out my discussion questions here.
