Wild Dark Shore

Classifying this as a thriller doesn’t do it proper justice. It’s a literary, slow-burn psychological thriller with the most beautiful writing. Olivia Muenter recommended it, and I pre-ordered it immediately as I love her taste in books. A small family (Dominic and his three children, Fen, Orly, and Raff) lives on a small island off the coast of Antarctica. The weather is brutal, and they’ve lost a lot of their power + connectivity to the outside world. It is their job to care for the island (and its seed bank) until they eventually leave in six weeks (the island is slowly crumbling into the sea). When Fen finds a woman washed up on the shore, they are shocked to find her still alive. As they nurse her back to health, we realize she is keeping secrets . . . but so is Dominic. Like I said, this is a thriller, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a meditation on nature (especially plant life and seeds), a family story, a redemption. There are twists and turns, but it’s one of those rare thrillers where the writing is even better than the plot. I really loved this and think it’s probably my favorite book of the year so far.