WILD DARK SHORE explores the impact of isolation and climate change on characters coping with loss and betrayal

Charlotte McConaghy's third novel is a skillful mix of plot and character, thought-provoking scientific and ethical problems, and a palpable sense of place.

Wild Dark Shore

By Charlotte McConaghy

Flatiron Books: March 4, 2025

$28.99, 320 pages

Australian novelist Charlotte McConaghy has carved out her own niche in the fictional world, a hybrid of character-oriented literary fiction, mystery/suspense, and plot-driven melodrama, all set in motion by climate change dystopian threats. Her previous novels, Migrations and Once There Were Wolves, established the McConaghy template: a single woman in the midst of a personal transformation heads off to an isolated location to do good work in the natural world, but the challenge turns out to be more complicated than she expected, both in its natural and human elements. An unusual death or similar mystery thickens the plot. An unexpected attraction develops, complicating matters further. Can the protagonist find some form of contentment in a world seemingly bent on self-destruction?

I realize this description may sound vaguely mocking. But like most readers, I find McConaghy’s books highly readable, with a skillful mix of plot and character, thought-provoking scientific and ethical problems, and a palpable sense of place that generates a sense of wonder. McConaghy writes smart commercial fiction distinguished by polished prose and depth of character.

Wild Dark Shore is her best book yet. Dominic Salt works as a caretaker on Shearwater Island, halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. His three children (Raff, Fen, and Orly) live in the lighthouse with him and have adapted fairly well to the isolation. The only visitors are scientists working at the research base, which is home to the world’s largest seed vault. This isolated location was intended to ensure its protection so it would be available to repopulate species affected by climate change.

When the novel begins the last group of researchers have fled the island ahead of rapidly advancing sea level. The Salt family remains behind for six months to supervise the seed vault and ultimately help relocate it when they leave. Then a tremendous storm deposits a half-dead woman on the shore. Who is she, why was she anywhere near the island, and how did she get there? The Salt family nurses her back to health, saving their questions for later. We soon learn that Rowan has suffered a climate change tragedy back home in Australia, which has something to do with her presence on Shearwater. As she gets to know Dom and his kids, she has as many questions as they do. Everyone is civil, even kind, but their mutual suspicion leads them to move gingerly around each other. Nothing feels quite right.

McConaghy uses shifting narratives to slowly reveal the characters’ back stories and depict the conflicts between these five people and with an unforgiving nature. (Rowan and Dominic’s chapters are told in first person, while those of Orly, Fen, and Raff are told in third person.) Dom and Rowan are grieving over their very different marital complications and loss. Raff, Fen, and Orly are carrying heavy burdens of their own. McConaghy particularly excels in her examination of the intelligence, resilience, and adaptability of children and the ways in which they inspire adults to keep moving forward despite daunting obstacles.

Wild Dark Shore is also impressive for its depiction of Shearwater, with its foreboding landscape, unpredictable weather, and unique flora and fauna. The island is home to king and royal penguins, seals, and an albatross family.

McConaghy weaves these strands into a wild and dark story that will keep you turning the pages as she reveals what has really happened on the island and the characters are confronted by a final challenge. Although Wild Dark Shore contains all these elements of a standout novel, I found myself having the same somewhat mixed reaction as I did to Once There Were Wolves. McConaghy tends to overstuff her plots, trying to do too much in one story, and the second half gets a little melodramatic for my taste.

Still, you can’t stop reading because it’s mysterious and intriguing, and you want to see what happens next and whether these damaged people will sort their lives out. So I’d give it an A-/B+ overall. And yes, I will read her next novel.