What do you think?
Rate this book
Win a free print copy of this book!
17 days and 10:28:21
10 copies available
U.S. only
Untamed Coast
Not yet published
Expected 1 Sep 26Win a free print copy of this book!
17 days and 10:28:21
10 copies available
U.S. only
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.
After the loss of his wife, Marconi Franco is content drifting alone on his boat through the isolated waters of Southeast Alaska with no real destination in mind. But when a mysterious distress signal cuts through the static on his radio one sleepless night, Marco feels an overwhelming pull to help the woman whose plea he heard—a pull he can't explain or ignore.
His search for the missing woman draws him to Radioville, an abandoned 1930s communication outpost now decaying on an uninhabited island off the coast of Alaska. There, Marco begins uncovering fragments of a story long a Depression-era theft, a shattered marriage, and a disturbing pattern of disappearances. As he sifts through the past, his own grief starts to mirror the tragedies that echo across decades, and his search draws the attention of someone determined to keep the truth buried.
Told across three evocative timelines—a radio operator in 1938 collecting more than just telegrams, a young woman in the 1980s fighting to survive her abusive husband, and Marco in the present day searching for a voice in the static—Untamed Coast is a story of fierce determination, missed signals, loneliness and connection, and the unseen ripples that reverberate across generations, standing the test of time and the tides.
After the loss of his wife, Marconi Franco is content drifting alone on his boat through the isolated waters of Southeast Alaska with no real destination in mind. But when a mysterious distress signal cuts through the static on his radio one sleepless night, Marco feels an overwhelming pull to help the woman whose plea he heard—a pull he can't explain or ignore.
His search for the missing woman draws him to Radioville, an abandoned 1930s communication outpost now decaying on an uninhabited island off the coast of Alaska. There, Marco begins uncovering fragments of a story long a Depression-era theft, a shattered marriage, and a disturbing pattern of disappearances. As he sifts through the past, his own grief starts to mirror the tragedies that echo across decades, and his search draws the attention of someone determined to keep the truth buried.
Told across three evocative timelines—a radio operator in 1938 collecting more than just telegrams, a young woman in the 1980s fighting to survive her abusive husband, and Marco in the present day searching for a voice in the static—Untamed Coast is a story of fierce determination, missed signals, loneliness and connection, and the unseen ripples that reverberate across generations, standing the test of time and the tides.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication September 1, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Read
July 1, 2026Review of uncorrected eBook file
Alone on his boat, Marconi Franco is drifting along the Alaskan coast when he picks up a mysterious distress call. He searches for the woman needing help, eventually ending up on Radioville Island. Marco soon finds himself enmeshed in a mystery, a story of lies and greed, and murder.
Will Marco find the woman sending the distress call? And can he solve the mystery from the past?
=========
Anchored by believable, relatable characters and a strong sense of place, the narrative unfolds in three time periods: the 1930s when Radioville Island was inhabited and radio signalman Joe Baxter was sending messages for the miners; the 1980s when Anya Baron struggled to survive her husband’s abuse; and the present-day [2017] when Marconi Franco continues to struggle with the death of his wife, Michelle.
Pulling readers into the telling of the tale from the outset, the narrative is both compelling and intriguing. Tension and suspense continually build as the three timeline stories come together and readers turn the pages as fast as possible as the story heads toward a denouement that is both satisfying and compelling.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this eBook from Ballantine / Ballantine Books and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.
#UntamedCoast #NetGalley
Alone on his boat, Marconi Franco is drifting along the Alaskan coast when he picks up a mysterious distress call. He searches for the woman needing help, eventually ending up on Radioville Island. Marco soon finds himself enmeshed in a mystery, a story of lies and greed, and murder.
Will Marco find the woman sending the distress call? And can he solve the mystery from the past?
=========
Anchored by believable, relatable characters and a strong sense of place, the narrative unfolds in three time periods: the 1930s when Radioville Island was inhabited and radio signalman Joe Baxter was sending messages for the miners; the 1980s when Anya Baron struggled to survive her husband’s abuse; and the present-day [2017] when Marconi Franco continues to struggle with the death of his wife, Michelle.
Pulling readers into the telling of the tale from the outset, the narrative is both compelling and intriguing. Tension and suspense continually build as the three timeline stories come together and readers turn the pages as fast as possible as the story heads toward a denouement that is both satisfying and compelling.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this eBook from Ballantine / Ballantine Books and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.
#UntamedCoast #NetGalley
June 27, 2026
Enjoyable mystery set in beautiful Southeast Alaska. I liked the descriptions of the places as I have kayaked around the inside passage and I love the area. I can just picture the islands and boats. The three timelines of the mystery were all very interesting with a satisfying ending. I loved the Morse code chapter headings and had fun figuring them out.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Having lived in Alaska for forty years, this novel brought me back there again. The land and seascapes in this novel portray the rugged, isolated, and beautiful aspects of this wilderness state. Sure, there are people, but the mountains, seas and glaciers create a narrative of their own. Man is only a visitor, dependent on the mercurial wiles of nature.
The novel takes place during three timelines, each representing a different protagonist. We visit Joseph Baxter on Radioville Island in 1938. Anya Baron, a native of Sitka, has her story told in 1982. And then there is Marconi Franco, boating the southeast waters in 2017. Each has a story to tell, and interesting ones at that.
Marconi, in 2017, is a grieving widower, having recently lost his wife Michelle to cancer. As he is navigating his boat, The Radio Flyer, in Southeast Alaska, he thinks he hears a distress call from a woman gone overboard. He is intent on finding her and saving her life. He searches throughout the Southeast waters, especially near Chichagof Island. What he finds is more surprising than he anticipated.
Anya Baron is a native of Sitka. She is an abused wife, working on the Lady Melinda fishing boat with her alcoholic, abusive husband. Her bruises are plentiful and her body aches from the beatings she endures. It is 1982 and she feels out of options. Her husband is not the same man she thought she married.
We travel back to 1938 and the island of Radioville Alaska, This is where Joseph Baxter lives in isolation, sending messages from their families to the nearby gold miners via Morse Code. He edits the messages to suit his needs but his main goal is collecting gold from the mine illegally. He is in cahoots with two other men who are involved in his criminal activities.
This book is several things: an adventure story, a mystery, an homage to the great state of Alaska, and an exploration of the inner and outer lives of the three protagonists. Once I got into the swing of things and understood the time changes and the characters, I became riveted. As Marconi's visiting friend says to him, "This is an adventure of a lifetime - antique radios, code breaking, hidden gold, glaciers, bears, rapids", and of course, Alaska.
This only things keeping this novel from being rated '5' is that the end was a bit convoluted to me. However, the pieces came together like a good puzzle and knocked my socks off. There was some repetition to remind readers of what transpired previously, and that is a pet peeve of mine. I want authors to trust that their readers are sharp and remember the details.
If you're looking for a book with great characters, a truly haunting and enigmatic mystery, and a sense of the grandeur of nature, this one is for you.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Ballentine Books for letting me access an early review copy of Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.
The novel takes place during three timelines, each representing a different protagonist. We visit Joseph Baxter on Radioville Island in 1938. Anya Baron, a native of Sitka, has her story told in 1982. And then there is Marconi Franco, boating the southeast waters in 2017. Each has a story to tell, and interesting ones at that.
Marconi, in 2017, is a grieving widower, having recently lost his wife Michelle to cancer. As he is navigating his boat, The Radio Flyer, in Southeast Alaska, he thinks he hears a distress call from a woman gone overboard. He is intent on finding her and saving her life. He searches throughout the Southeast waters, especially near Chichagof Island. What he finds is more surprising than he anticipated.
Anya Baron is a native of Sitka. She is an abused wife, working on the Lady Melinda fishing boat with her alcoholic, abusive husband. Her bruises are plentiful and her body aches from the beatings she endures. It is 1982 and she feels out of options. Her husband is not the same man she thought she married.
We travel back to 1938 and the island of Radioville Alaska, This is where Joseph Baxter lives in isolation, sending messages from their families to the nearby gold miners via Morse Code. He edits the messages to suit his needs but his main goal is collecting gold from the mine illegally. He is in cahoots with two other men who are involved in his criminal activities.
This book is several things: an adventure story, a mystery, an homage to the great state of Alaska, and an exploration of the inner and outer lives of the three protagonists. Once I got into the swing of things and understood the time changes and the characters, I became riveted. As Marconi's visiting friend says to him, "This is an adventure of a lifetime - antique radios, code breaking, hidden gold, glaciers, bears, rapids", and of course, Alaska.
This only things keeping this novel from being rated '5' is that the end was a bit convoluted to me. However, the pieces came together like a good puzzle and knocked my socks off. There was some repetition to remind readers of what transpired previously, and that is a pet peeve of mine. I want authors to trust that their readers are sharp and remember the details.
If you're looking for a book with great characters, a truly haunting and enigmatic mystery, and a sense of the grandeur of nature, this one is for you.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Ballentine Books for letting me access an early review copy of Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Kevin C. Morris’ debut novel, Untamed Coast, was one of those books that grew on me as I read it. It is a fast paced book, but it is told across three different timelines by multiple characters, and for most of the book there is little to connect them to one another.
The earliest timeline is primarily told by Joe Baxter, a radio operator on the remote coast of Alaska, who is also running a scheme at a gold mine nearby with several partners.
Years later, in 1982, Anya Baron is running a fishing vessel with her alcoholic and abusive husband. Desperate to be free of him, she doesn’t realize someone even more dangerous could be after her.
In the most recent timeline widower Marconi Franco is on his boat when he hears over the radio a woman’s distress call. In his attempts to save a woman when he couldn’t save his wife, Marco attracts unwanted attention and faces perilous danger of his own.
There are some connections between the Joe and Marco storylines earlier in the book, but they don’t all start tying together until about three quarters of the way through the book. The way they connect and that they are interesting enough stories as they stand alone is worth the fact that the book feels somewhat disjointed when the only thing they seem to share in common is their location.
One of the things I found really interesting was how Joe, while he did some good things, was not a particularly good person. Anya is a mostly good person who does a bad thing. And then there’s Marco, who is a good person always trying to do the right thing and gets in over his head because of it.
This sets up an ending to the book that I wasn’t expecting, but really liked, and does a good job of wrapping up the three different storylines and providing closure to how the book started, with Marco trying to find a missing woman overboard.
Untamed Coast is a solid debut effort, with a stark, beautiful and dangerous setting, highlighting the difficult lives of miners during the Depression, limited options for abused women in a remote location, and how thin the line is between life and death on the waters off the Alaskan coast.
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The earliest timeline is primarily told by Joe Baxter, a radio operator on the remote coast of Alaska, who is also running a scheme at a gold mine nearby with several partners.
Years later, in 1982, Anya Baron is running a fishing vessel with her alcoholic and abusive husband. Desperate to be free of him, she doesn’t realize someone even more dangerous could be after her.
In the most recent timeline widower Marconi Franco is on his boat when he hears over the radio a woman’s distress call. In his attempts to save a woman when he couldn’t save his wife, Marco attracts unwanted attention and faces perilous danger of his own.
There are some connections between the Joe and Marco storylines earlier in the book, but they don’t all start tying together until about three quarters of the way through the book. The way they connect and that they are interesting enough stories as they stand alone is worth the fact that the book feels somewhat disjointed when the only thing they seem to share in common is their location.
One of the things I found really interesting was how Joe, while he did some good things, was not a particularly good person. Anya is a mostly good person who does a bad thing. And then there’s Marco, who is a good person always trying to do the right thing and gets in over his head because of it.
This sets up an ending to the book that I wasn’t expecting, but really liked, and does a good job of wrapping up the three different storylines and providing closure to how the book started, with Marco trying to find a missing woman overboard.
Untamed Coast is a solid debut effort, with a stark, beautiful and dangerous setting, highlighting the difficult lives of miners during the Depression, limited options for abused women in a remote location, and how thin the line is between life and death on the waters off the Alaskan coast.
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Net Galley, Ballantine Books, and Kevin Morris for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
Told through three different timelines, Untamed Coast reveals the harsh and unforgiving nature of the Alaskan Coast where gold mining, the fishing industry, and adventurer seekers intersect. Although the story is told in the third person, each timeline tells the story through the perspective of a character.
The present day timeline is told through the perspective of Marco Franco, a boater, fisherman and widower, who stayed in Alaska after his wife died. He is still dealing with her loss as the story begins. After Marco hears a frantic call on his radio from a woman asking for help, his life becomes a series of dangerous encounters with man and nature.
The characters in the other timelines, a team of unscrupulous men in 1934 (Joe, Virgil and Sam), and a young woman in 1982 (Anya) who is attempting to break away from her abusive husband, fight to survive in this brutal but beautiful landscape. These three storylines are kept separate (through alternating chapters) and form a puzzle that the reader must slowly put together. Morris creates a suspenseful and engaging story with enough crumbs of information to keep the reader interested in how these lives eventually interconnect.
There are quite a few technical terms about boating, boats, fishing and gold mining which can be confusing unless you are knowledgeable in these areas. However, the details are not distracting enough that they take away from the mystery or suspense of the storyline. The descriptions of the Alaskan coast are haunting, expansive, and gorgeously detailed through Morris' evocative imagery,
Overall, Untamed Coast is a well-developed mystery/thriller that surprised me with its depth and emotional pull. It goes far beyond the idea of what lures people to Alaska to reveal the strength of the human spirit in times of despair.
Told through three different timelines, Untamed Coast reveals the harsh and unforgiving nature of the Alaskan Coast where gold mining, the fishing industry, and adventurer seekers intersect. Although the story is told in the third person, each timeline tells the story through the perspective of a character.
The present day timeline is told through the perspective of Marco Franco, a boater, fisherman and widower, who stayed in Alaska after his wife died. He is still dealing with her loss as the story begins. After Marco hears a frantic call on his radio from a woman asking for help, his life becomes a series of dangerous encounters with man and nature.
The characters in the other timelines, a team of unscrupulous men in 1934 (Joe, Virgil and Sam), and a young woman in 1982 (Anya) who is attempting to break away from her abusive husband, fight to survive in this brutal but beautiful landscape. These three storylines are kept separate (through alternating chapters) and form a puzzle that the reader must slowly put together. Morris creates a suspenseful and engaging story with enough crumbs of information to keep the reader interested in how these lives eventually interconnect.
There are quite a few technical terms about boating, boats, fishing and gold mining which can be confusing unless you are knowledgeable in these areas. However, the details are not distracting enough that they take away from the mystery or suspense of the storyline. The descriptions of the Alaskan coast are haunting, expansive, and gorgeously detailed through Morris' evocative imagery,
Overall, Untamed Coast is a well-developed mystery/thriller that surprised me with its depth and emotional pull. It goes far beyond the idea of what lures people to Alaska to reveal the strength of the human spirit in times of despair.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was an interesting story of three people living in the remote Alaskan wilderness. I have not yet been to Alaska, but this book only encourages me to get there ASAP. The imagery and descriptions that the author provides are really magnificent.
The story follows Joe in the 1930s, Anya in the 1980s, and Marconi in 2017. Joe is a radio signalman acting as the only means of communication between a remote mine and the mainland. Anya and her husband are commercial fisherman. Marconi is a widower haunted by the loss of his wife and just trying to get by. The story weaves between the three perspectives, and we find out more about each of them throughout. I was never confused despite the different time periods and storylines.
I think the author did a great job with all of the characters and created a story that was believable and very interesting. I really enjoyed the Morse Code featured at the beginning of each chapter. It was a unique touch.
Thanks to NetGalley for the book to review.
The story follows Joe in the 1930s, Anya in the 1980s, and Marconi in 2017. Joe is a radio signalman acting as the only means of communication between a remote mine and the mainland. Anya and her husband are commercial fisherman. Marconi is a widower haunted by the loss of his wife and just trying to get by. The story weaves between the three perspectives, and we find out more about each of them throughout. I was never confused despite the different time periods and storylines.
I think the author did a great job with all of the characters and created a story that was believable and very interesting. I really enjoyed the Morse Code featured at the beginning of each chapter. It was a unique touch.
Thanks to NetGalley for the book to review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
“Untamed Coast” pulled me in at page one and kept me turning pages until the end of the book. It takes place in Alaska in the 20th century, but in three timelines. I knew the characters had to have something in common with each other, but I was never able to figure out how they were connected.
“Untamed Coast” is a story about love, loss, salmon fishing, gold mining and crime. The characters range from likable to detestable.
Marconi Franco is one of the good guys. He and his wife had planned to tour Alaska in their boat. Instead, she became ill and died. Marco went to Alaska, alone. When the story begins, Marco has just heard a barely audible radio request from a woman begging to be rescued from the sea. The Coast Guard has had no reports of women in trouble. That is all it takes for Marco to begin a tireless search for her.
“Untamed Coast” is a page-turner. The story lines are engaging and the action moves quickly.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review.
“Untamed Coast” is a story about love, loss, salmon fishing, gold mining and crime. The characters range from likable to detestable.
Marconi Franco is one of the good guys. He and his wife had planned to tour Alaska in their boat. Instead, she became ill and died. Marco went to Alaska, alone. When the story begins, Marco has just heard a barely audible radio request from a woman begging to be rescued from the sea. The Coast Guard has had no reports of women in trouble. That is all it takes for Marco to begin a tireless search for her.
“Untamed Coast” is a page-turner. The story lines are engaging and the action moves quickly.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Untamed Coast follows three separate storylines, all taking place in the same area of southeastern Alaska. A grieving widower in 2017 hears a garbled mayday call from a woman in distress; a radio operator on a small island in 1938 has a plan to become rich; and a wife tries to survive life with her abusive husband in 1982. All three characters were well developed and their stories equally engaging. Each storyline moved at a brisk pace with a strong underlying sense of suspense and tension. I wanted to see how they would come together and tore through the book. The ending was uniquely satisfying. This is a debut novel that doesn’t read like one.
The Alaskan coast comes across as a character in its own right. Morris spends his summers leading boating expeditions up the Inside Passage and his knowledge of the area (and of boats) shines through. It was easy to envision the rugged shorelines, the isolation and the struggle when time on the water became dangerous.
My thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this book.
The Alaskan coast comes across as a character in its own right. Morris spends his summers leading boating expeditions up the Inside Passage and his knowledge of the area (and of boats) shines through. It was easy to envision the rugged shorelines, the isolation and the struggle when time on the water became dangerous.
My thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a mystery that begins with a boat captain receiving a distress call and then proceeds to tell the story of a theft at a gold mine in Alaska in the 1930s. The story is told over three time periods, the 1930s, 1980s and current day. I was initially concerned about the three time periods but with just a few main characters, the story was easy to follow. The author did a great job of engaging the reader into the story and artfully weaving all these three time periods together. The story was told so well that I wondered it it was based upon a true story or true events. The place, Radioville, and the gold mines were real but the rest is fiction. Overall, a great effort for this first time author.
This book is a mystery that begins with a boat captain receiving a distress call and then proceeds to tell the story of a theft at a gold mine in Alaska in the 1930s. The story is told over three time periods, the 1930s, 1980s and current day. I was initially concerned about the three time periods but with just a few main characters, the story was easy to follow. The author did a great job of engaging the reader into the story and artfully weaving all these three time periods together. The story was told so well that I wondered it it was based upon a true story or true events. The place, Radioville, and the gold mines were real but the rest is fiction. Overall, a great effort for this first time author.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Untamed Coast by Kevin C Morris uniquely places the reader in the unmatched majesty of the Alaskan wilderness as the perfect setting for crime and intrigue. Three timelines populated with unforgettable characters converge in a tale filled with superb mystery and adventure. The suspense builds and tension mounts in masterfully crafted prose. You can practically feel the gritty salt spray and raw glacial chill of Southeastern Alaskan waters in Morris’ powerful and compelling story. As a seasoned Alaskan mariner and adventurer, Morris has the raw experience to deliver a truly engrossing story. Do yourself a favor and read this page turning thriller!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. I thought this book had good pacing. It kept my interest throughout. It goes between multiple timelines and POV, but it's always very clear which timeline you are currently reading. The descriptions of the Alaska coastline make me want to visit. We get to know the characters at a good depth for this length of book. The story has some adventure, mystery and danger to keep you reading.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Utilizing three timelines, Kevin Morris weaves together an indelible portrait of Southeastern Alaska in all its power, majesty and mystery. At the core is a story of greed and deception, with a plot that spans 80 years, each with a believable, highly relatable protagonist. Morris has a wide ranging knowledge of the landscape he brings to life as well of the mechanics of boating through it. The action sequences are stunning, the resolution, satisfactory. Highly recommend.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantyne Books for the eARC.
What a marvellous book this is; it has history, adventure, a great sense of place, terrific characters and superb writing.
I couldn't put it down and couldn't get it out of my head afterwards. We've had temperatures in the high 90's and this was the perfect book for that.
Here's hoping there will be many more books to come from Kevin C. Morris!
What a marvellous book this is; it has history, adventure, a great sense of place, terrific characters and superb writing.
I couldn't put it down and couldn't get it out of my head afterwards. We've had temperatures in the high 90's and this was the perfect book for that.
Here's hoping there will be many more books to come from Kevin C. Morris!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Fast paced, action packed. And solving the morse code throughout was one of my greatest reading pleasures in recent memory.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Truly make you want to take a trip to southeast Alaska to go see all the beautiful places and the beautiful sea. Great mystery and fast read. Truly enjoy it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews