Review: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is told from multiple perspectives, and I appreciated that the audiobook had multiple narrators, all of whom I enjoyed.  It really helped to know which person from the island you were with for that chapter based on the voice you were hearing.

This mainly follows Dominic and Rowan.  Dom is a widower and his three children on a tiny island that has been used for research and as a seedbank.  All of the scientists have left the island, as the sea is threatening to overtake the island and the lighthouse Dom and his family live in.  He and the kids are responsible for packing up the seeds and whatever else they can salvage when the last ship comes to get them.  The kids Raff, Fen, and Orly really don't know a home other than the island and spend their days among the plants and seals.  Their lives are about to be completely turned upside down when they have to return to "proper" society, but as they are packing things up a strange woman washes up on shore during a storm.  When Rowan finally wakes up she finds Dominic's strange family nursing her back to health.  As she gets to know them she finds that while they are kind, something strange is going on and she is determined to find out what they are hiding.  Turns out she has secrets and motivations of her own.

As far as thrillers go this was pretty tame, it is atmospheric though.  The themes of isolation, desperation, and loneliness played a much bigger part than the actual mystery elements.  This is very much about the human condition and what each character is going through and their connection to the island.  This is highly character driven, and the characters are well developed.  I felt the pacing was a bit slow, but I chalk that up to the fact that we swap POVs almost every chapter. While  much of the story is told from Dom or Rowan's perspectives, we also get chapters told from each of the children, that tends to slow things down for me because just as you think you are getting somewhere the author takes you somewhere else.  It all does come together in the end.  I wasn't a big fan of the romance element, I didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters.  I feel like the romance wasn't necessary and the story would have been fine without it. I did think that the world building was excellent and I felt like I was on the beach with the seals or in the storms with the characters.  The setting and flora and fauna were all described very well and you can tell that the author did her research which I always appreciate.  

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