Book Review: Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris

“A late-night mayday call drives a grieving man to embark on an unexpected journey along the wild Alaskan coast, unraveling a decades-old mystery of stolen gold, missing women, and murder in this atmospheric and propulsive debut novel.”

Blurb for Untamed Coast

Review:

An eerie mystery set on the coast of Alaska? Radio operators? Gold mines? Missing persons? Morse code? Sign me up.

Told over three decades (1938, 1982, and 2017), we mainly follow Joe, Anya, and Marco’s lives on the Alaskan coast. While initially, each of their stories feels independent, they slowly connect as the book goes on. Each character has a unique voice and situation, adding an array of emotions to the story.

I enjoyed each of the timelines, but I did struggle with the fast pace of the chapters and how quickly it jumped between decades. I eventually got into the rhythm, but by the end, much of the beginning had become a blur. That said, it was worth it to see how everything came together toward the end. The tone of the book is conveyed wonderfully, and the narration kept me engaged from beginning to end. 

A huge thanks to Ballentine Books for sending me a free ARC of the book!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• I loved the chapter headers in Morse code.
• Atmospheric.

What I didn’t like:

• Extremely short chapters that jumped between timelines frequently, making it hard to focus.

Afterthoughts:

I’m looking forward to following this author’s future books!

Where to buy the book: