Untamed Shore

By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Narrated by: Maria Liatis

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Renowned author Silvia Moreno-Garcia's first thriller, Untamed Shore, is a coming-of-age story set in Mexico which quickly turns dark when a young woman meets three enigmatic tourists.

Baja California, 1979. Viridiana spends her days watching the dead sharks piled beside the seashore, as the fishermen pull their nets. There is nothing else to do, nothing else to watch, under the harsh sun. She’s bored. Terribly bored. Yet her head is filled with dreams of Hollywood films, of romance, of a future beyond the drab town where her only option is to marry and have children.

Three wealthy American tourists arrive for the summer, and Viridiana is magnetized. She immediately becomes entwined in the glamorous foreigners’ lives. They offer excitement, and perhaps an escape from the promise of a humdrum future.

When one of them dies, Viridiana lies to protect her friends. Soon enough, someone’s asking questions, and Viridiana has some of her own about the identity of her new acquaintances. Sharks may be dangerous, but there are worse predators nearby, ready to devour a naïve young woman who is quickly being tangled in a web of deceit.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of the most exciting voices in fiction, and with her first crime novel, Untamed Shore, she crafts a blazing novel of suspense with an eerie seaside setting and a literary edge that proves her a master of the genre.

©2020 Silvia Moreno-Garcia (P)2020 Recorded Books

Love/Hate Character

I enjoyed this book, and the reader did a good job. I struggled staying interested in the beginning, but I do with most audiobooks. The reason I put love/hate is I have mixed feelings about the main character. Overall its one audiobook that I will play again.

Feminist noir thriller with teeth

This cinematically told noir thriller takes place in tiny town in Baja California. A naive young lady, Viridiana, dreams of city lights and is a misfit in town. She is employed as personal assistant to a trio of glamorous American tourists. She becomes entangled in their web of deceit and ruthless avarice. While I love classic noir the roles for women are usually as decorative victim or selfish doll-face, while men get all the conflict and character. I will not spoil anything by telling what happens but our heroine is nobody’s victim and the ending has teeth. I first read the book and I loved the writers narrative so well I wanted to hear it read. The reader, Maria Liatis, captures Viridiana perfectly, using a Mexican accent speaking in the silver-screen mid-Atlantic style. The lines blur between the silver screen fantasies and realities of a young woman who is in over her head and determined to survive.

Strongly Recommend

Like all of her stories, this one starts out slowly, setting up the world and giving the reader a chance to get to know all the characters involved. She allows you a leisurely walk into a new world, but by about midway through, you'll find yourself rolling down an inevitable hill you knew had to be coming, but hadn't seen until your feet missed a step. I couldn't help but root for the MC, and before the end, I really wanted everything to work out in her favor.

The narrator is lovely, and reads the story well. I'm definitely listening to this story; might even start right now, even though I literally just finished it.

Lame

I just for the book could’ve been a little bit better. More action a little bit more climax a better ending

Don’t waste your money.

Truly a bad story. I finished it, hoping, somehow, it would get better. However, it is the worst book. I am listening to this year. Don’t waste your money or credit.