Wild Dark Shore cover art

Wild Dark Shore

'A triumph . . . Breathtaking.' – HANNAH KENT

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Wild Dark Shore

By: Charlotte McConaghy
Narrated by: Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Steve West
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.97

Buy Now for $24.97

About this listen

 REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK FOR NOVEMBER 2025!

'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

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, packing up the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. Despite the wild beauty of life here, isolation has taken its toll on the Salts. Raff, 18 and suffering his first heartbreak, can only find relief at his punching bag; Fen, 17, has started spending her nights on the beach among the seals; 9-year-old Orly, obsessed with botany, fears the loss of his beloved natural world; and Dominic can't stop turning back towards the past, and the loss that drove the family to Shearwater in the first place.

Then, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman washes up on shore. As the Salts nurse the woman, Rowan, back to life, their suspicion gives way to affection, and they finally begin to feel like a family again. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting her heart, begins to fall for the Salts, too. But Rowan isn't telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers the sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realises Dominic is keeping his own dark secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, the characters 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 heartstopping twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is a story about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us is ending. Best of 2025 Editors Select Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Scary Thought-Provoking

Editorial Review

Sub-Antarctic noir meets a love letter to the natural world
Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of a remote island near Antarctica, home to the Shearwater research base and the world’s largest seed bank. Rising seas have been threatening the island, so the family must prepare to evacuate. When a woman named Rowan washes up on shore, the Salts take her in and nurse her back to health. As Rowan recovers, she gets to know the family: Raff, Dominic’s oldest son, is doing his best to channel his grief and rage from tragic heartbreak; Fen, his 17-year-old sister, is such a water creature that she lives among the seals; and Orly, the youngest boy, is consumed with love for the natural world. The storytelling moves through each character’s perspective, voiced by a stellar cast of narrators: Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, and Steve West. It’s an immersive, moody listen that left me in tears in the best way possible. —Tricia F., Audible Editor

All stars
Most relevant
I gave this book 5 stars. What a moving, important story. A must read.

Incredible Read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazingly beautiful. So well written I felt like I was really there feeling everything experiencing it all. The characters are richly crafted and the environment and all the different fauna are all characters too. Well narrated.
Charlotte M has done it again.
Her work is gift.
I didn’t want it to end……..

From start to finish: Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved the feeling of place of both the Island and the Snowy Mountains. The characters were wonderfully depicted.

The feeling of place

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I visited Antarctica in 2007 and the descriptions in this book were so mesmerising it was I was taken back in time.
Loved every word. Sad when it finished. Great performance by the narrators as well

Antarctica Revisited

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved the environment, beautifully described, fabulous "endtimes" theme. Incredible description of the resilience of human beings. (Well, some human beings.)

Unexpected Twists with Eco Theme

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.