Song of the Saltings

Rachael King

Jul 2026 · Bolinda · Narrated by Rose Riley

Audiobook

11 hr 26 min

Unabridged

Eligible

Want a free 14 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.

Add

About this audiobook

On the isolated island of Brack, the people live by an ancient bargain: every year, a sacrifice must be made to the Glimm, the creature that haunts the salt marshes. Eight years ago, it should have taken Lotta. Instead, the monster spared her and claimed her pony, shattering tradition and anointing her both folk hero and object of suspicion. Now 16, Lotta tends the Council's sacrificial horses, keeping her distance from the islanders who whisper about her fate. But something is stirring. Is the Glimm calling Lotta back? When she crosses paths with Moss – a boy once hidden from sacrifice – a daring bog rescue sparks a chain of events that forces both of them to question the Council's rule and the lore that binds their people. As crops and animals are blighted, and uncanny weather plagues the community, Lotta and Moss must decide whether to obey the Council or risk everything to uncover the island's deepest secrets. Because on Brack, monsters come in many forms.

Discover more

About the author

Rachael King is a bestselling New Zealand author, reviewer, former literary festival director and ex-bass player living in Ōtautahi Christchurch. She is best known for two children's novels: The Grimmelings, (2024) and Red Rocks, which won the Esther Glen Medal. It was adapted as a screen series under the name Secrets of the Red Rocks (the US book title), with Season 1 released by SkyNZ in 2025 and Season 2 currently in development. Two of King's adult novels, The Sound of Butterflies and Magpie Hall, have been published in nine languages. King received a Waitangi Day Honour Award in 2020 from the New Zealand Society of Authors for her work at WORD Christchurch in bringing Behrouz Boochani to New Zealand. In 2023 she was named Best Reviewer at the Voyager New Zealand Media Awards. Her latest work includes a junior fiction series Violet and the Velvets and a book for young adults, Song of the Saltings (2026).

Rose Riley is a British actor and has worked extensively across theatre, film and TV. Notable theatre credits include: Macbeth, starring Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma; award-nominated Othello at the Riverside Studios, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation of Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in London’s West End for the National Theatre. Rose is best known on screen as Sandy Talbot in BBC’s Call the Midwife. Rose is also a Michael Chekhov practitioner, teaching acting in leading UK drama schools and institutions.

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets

Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.

Laptops and computers

You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

Flag as inappropriate