Untamed Coast

 

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris
9/1/26; 304 pages
Ballantine

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris is a very highly recommended debut mystery set on the Alaskan coastline and told through three timelines. 

In 2017 Marconi (Marco) Franco is still grieving the loss of his wife, Michelle, while carrying on their dream aboard their boat, Radio Flyer, in the coastal waters of Chichagof, Alaska, by Pelican, when he receives a garbled radio message on a SSB (single sideband ) radio from a woman who seemingly has fallen overboard and is in the water. She says something about an island and a red metal roof. Marco switches to VHF and contacts the coastguard about the message, but he is determined to also search for the woman. 

In 1938 Joe Baxter is on Radioville, an island off Chichagof in a cabin with a red roof.  It is a communication outpost and temperature monitoring station and Joe, the radio operator there, provides radio contact via Morse Code for the locals to the mainland. He also has a secret gold smuggling operation. Currently, the island has been offline for 70 years. Then, in 1982, Anya Baron is in the same waters operating the fishing boat Lady Melinda with her abusive husband.

As Marco continues his search for the missing woman, he learns that two other women have also gone overboard recently. Since he is sure the coast guard will only be doing a perfunctory one, he continues searching. Then it seems that someone doesn't want him to continue looking and he might be in danger. 

This is a well-written debut novel that uses the three different timelines to it's advantage. All three stories are interesting and quite different from each other. The danger also increases, due to both the setting and the characters/actions, in all three  time periods as the narrative unfolds. I appreciated that the individual stories in each timeline played out before everything began to come together. It also has a very strong sense of place and time in each storyline. 

Rest assured, the stories from the three individuals do all eventually converge and make sense in the very satisfying final denouement. I appreciated the descriptions of the setting and the way everything came together in the plot. This is a good debut novel and I enjoyed Morris's writing style. 4.5 rounded up when needed.

Untamed Coast is a great choice for those who enjoy intricate mysteries in a unique, authentic setting. Thanks to Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.