Wild Dark Shore (Charlotte McConaghy, Penguin)

In Charlotte McConaghy’s latest novel, the aptly named Salt family are the last caretakers of a seed vault on an ocean-battered subantarctic island. In the final weeks before the base is set to be shut down, the island’s secrets are at risk of being exposed when a mysterious woman washes ashore. McConaghy, who won acclaim for her previous literary eco-thrillers Migrations and Once There Were Wolves, delivers the same winning formula in Wild Dark Shore. While the constant unveiling of new traumas sometimes left me wishing for more time to reflect on their significance, this is a gripping story with genuinely surprising and largely satisfying twists. Drawing inspiration for the novel’s setting from a trip to Macquarie Island, McConaghy expertly conveys the awe-inspiring majesty of the extreme climate and terrain of the fictional island, bursting with rich and remarkable natural life. The novel’s environmental themes are a highlight, particularly the discussions around the impact of climate change on our homes and the difficult choices we face in preserving what matters most. These complex moral issues are given emotional resonance through McConaghy’s memorable characters. Her depiction of the mingled pain, joy and tension in the parent-child relationship is especially striking. Thrilling, romantic, and with an atmosphere of gothic mystery, Wild Dark Shore contains echoes of Hannah Kent and Daphne du Maurier, overlaid with timely modern-day concerns.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Megan Koch is an Adelaide-based writer with a background in bookselling and libraries. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews