Guest post written by The Shark House author Sara Ackerman
Sara Ackerman is the Hawaii born, bestselling author of The Codebreaker’s Secret, Radar Girls, Red Sky Over Hawaii, The Lieutenant’s Nurse, and Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers. Sara’s books have been labeled “unforgettable” by Apple Books, “empowering & deliciously visceral” by Book Riot, and New York Times bestselling authors Kate Quinn and Madeline Martin have praised Sara’s novels as “fresh and delightful” and “brilliantly written.” Amazon chose Radar Girls as a best book of the month, and ALA Booklist gave The Codebreaker’s Secret a starred review.
About The Shark House: An atmospheric exploration of the intricate/fragile dance between humans and sharks, set against a backdrop of stunning Hawaiian landscapes and deep-sea danger, The Shark House is a tale of resilience, redemption, and the raw power of the natural world—and of the courage to face what lies within. Out January 13th 2026.
“We are born of sharks. From the beginning of time, sharks have swum through our lives and our islands, sleek as river stone, elusive and ever present. They are our protectors, our ancestors, our future.”
When I first started dreaming up my new novel, The Shark House, I knew two things for sure. One, it had to be set in my beloved home, Hawaiʻi. And two, it had to feature sharks. Not just as a threat lurking in the background, but as central, complex figures woven into the very fabric of the story. I discovered a richness and complexity I could never have imagined while diving into the world of mainly great white sharks (called ‘white sharks’ by scientists), as well as tiger sharks, which are more common in Hawaiian waters.
A Near Encounter in Hawaiian Waters
Living in Hawaiʻi, much of my time is spent in the ocean, and sharks are often on my mind. But it wasn’t until more recently, after a near-fatal incident along the coast, that I really took notice. We were on our way to surf when a friend called to let us know of an attack just minutes away, as a shark might swim, from where we were headed. Did we still paddle out? Yes we did, because statistically, shark attacks are rare. You are far more likely to be hit by lightning or drown in your bathtub than be killed by a shark.
Soon after that incident, I had the good fortune to swim with some resident white tip reef sharks and realized what incredibly shy and beautiful creatures they are. That’s when I got the idea that maybe I needed to write a shark story that doesn’t paint these animals as frenzied, mindless killers, but rather as intelligent apex predators who keep our oceans in balance.
The Birth of Dr. Minnow Gray
And that’s how my main character, Dr. Minnow Gray, was born. She has dedicated her life to studying white sharks but also has a painful family history involving these same animals. That gave me the opportunity to delve into a more layered emotional realm. To deepen the story, I interspersed her storyline of coming to Hawaiʻi to investigate a string of mysterious shark attacks along the Kohala Coast with journal entries of her work in the field back in California and Mexico, including fascinating shark facts.
For example:
“Things found in a shark’s stomach: a whole reindeer, an unopened bottle of wine, a human arm covered in tattoos, license plates, car tires, porcupine spines, a dog with collar still on, a drum, a camera, a boat propeller. This is obviously just the tip of the iceberg, but it goes to show you that sharks use their mouths to sample and explore things. We might do the same if we had no hands.”
We Fear What We Don’t Understand
I took extra care to avoid sensationalism when writing about the sharks because I know that readers can feel when a story exaggerates danger for shock value, as is the case with many shark films and shows. Rather than needlessly scare readers, I wanted to enlighten them. These animals are intelligent and marvels of adaptation. White sharks are one of the most feared animals on the planet, yet humans have an incredible fascination with them. We often fear what we don’t understand, and fortunately, our understanding of sharks is changing dramatically in recent years. Nowadays, you can track satellite-tagged white and tiger sharks (with names like Deep Blue, Large Marge and Bella) online or on apps. You can follow shark photographers on social media who post daily drone videos of white sharks peacefully swimming underneath surfers, paddleboarders, and swimmers, most of whom are completely unaware. However, sharks are wild animals and they’re curious, and maybe 5 to 10 unfortunate people a year are killed by sharks.
Honoring Hawaiian Perspectives
I also thought it would be fascinating to take readers deep into Hawaiian waters, where they can experience what it’s really like to swim with massive sharks and see them from a new perspective. The Kohala Coast on the Big Island is the perfect setting, as it’s long been known by Hawaiians as a place where tiger sharks frequent, along with the occasional great white. To Hawaiians, sharks are revered and seen as protectors, ancestors, and powerful, majestic beings. Writing about sharks with nuance not only honors the real animals we share the planet with but also deepens the emotional resonance of the story.
Into the Blue Depths
In the end, this novel was so much fun to research, if not slightly terrifying! I must say that now, when I go for open-water swims on the Kohala Coast, I am always scanning the surrounding waters, expecting — dare I say hoping — to see a large shark swim by, completely uninterested in me. I can’t wait for readers to descend into the blue depths with Minnow and the sharks.
