Wild Dark Shore

Reese's Book Club Pick (A Novel)

A Reese's Book Club pick and a 2026 Audie Awards finalist for Audiobook of the Year!

This program features multicast narration.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • #1 AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR 2025

An ENTHRALLING new novel from the NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of Migrations and Once There Were Wolves

"A WILDLY TALENTED writer." ―Emily St. John Mandel
“SPELLBINDING...Exceptionally imagined, thoroughly humane.” —Washington Post
“Abounds with EVOCATIVE nature writing.” —The New York Times Book Review

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.

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. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all 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 breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

"This contemplative, heart-wrenching story is a unique and engaging listening experience made even more vibrant by its narration.” —Bookpage (Starred Review)

"The ensemble narration brings this intense story to life.” —AudioFile

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

Good, but not awesome.

Complex story with believable twists; compelling and interesting characters; a little preachy at times; one of the narrators whispers a lot so you have to rewind and turn the volume up quite often.

Stunning

Everything from the writing to the performance was gut wrenching and stunning. This is a book that will stick with me for a while.

Slow build

This book gives subtle a whole new meaning. It did nothing but dance around what was happening for 90% of the book. However, the author did a masterful job with that to keep you coming back for more. Then when you get excited that all the pieces are falling into place, she hits you with an awful ending.

Haunting

The timbre of the voices reflected the theme. The characters voiced the fear and the hope straight to my heart.

Love is greater than grief

Sad and dark, but redemptive and poignant. Good narration. Unexpected twists. Enjoyed though not my usual genre.