Undertow by K. T. Konkoly
Wednesday, July 22, 2026 at 9:06AM 
Published by Thomas & Mercer on July 21, 2026
After consuming a large quantity of alcohol, Greg Stadt falls from his boat. A woman on the boat uses a boat hook to attempt his rescue, unless she’s pushing him under. The narrative leaves both possibilities open. The woman looks like Greg’s wife Stacy, with whom he has just had a loud and public fight, but the reader soon learns that she was not on the boat and did not kill Greg.
Stacy is nevertheless charged with Greg's murder. She retains Kari Sharpe, a former Navy JAG lawyer, to represent her. Kari has built a reputation as a winning criminal defense attorney. Kari has never liked Stacy because Stacy has been a bully since their childhood, but Kari decides to meet the challenge of representing a complete jerk, albeit at double her usual fee.
Greg was a member of the town board of Sweetwater, Maine. He opposed the local racetrack’s request to operate slot machines. Sweetwater is apparently the only government board that requires unanimous approval of zoning requests, as we are often told that Greg was the only board member standing in the way of the racetrack's request.
The racetrack is owned by Beth Thornberry. Her customer base has abandoned harness racing for the lure of nearby slot machine casinos.Greg may have a selfish purpose for wanting the racetrack to fail, which is certainlly will without the slots.
The bank is about to foreclose on the racetrack. Beth borrowed a large sum from Ryker Jones to keep the track afloat. Ryker is a thug and her only chance of repaying the loan and surviving as a business is to install slot machines. Greg’s death may therefore benefit her.
The other central character is Lori Spec, who takes her daughter in the middle of the night and runs away from her abusive husband. It isn’t clear how Lori fits into the larger story until the novel nears its completion.
Related plot threads involve Kari’s relationships with her alcoholic brother Jimmy and with her law school boyfriend, Bill McGovern. Kari resumes her canoodling with Bill despite the unusual interest he seems to take in her defense of Stacy. Readers are meant to view that fact as suspicious, but the truth about Bill’s character remains a mystery until after the main story’s resolution.
The novel’s only notable subplot involves Kari’s widowed secretary Ruth, who once had an affair with Mack, Kari’s private investigator. Now that Ruth’s husband has been in a grave for a year, Mack is putting the moves on Ruth again. Ruth and Mack may be the only likable characters in the novel, but their roles are too limited to give the reader a good reason to care about them.
Most characters in Undertow have disagreeable personalities. Some deliberately so, including Greg (whose murder is secretly welcomed by most of the community) and Stacy. Bill seems to be unbelievably nice, which only alerts the reader (but, surprisingly, not Kari) that his decency is a pretense.
Kari still holds a grudge against Bill for dumping her in law school after she suddenly announced her decision to work as a Navy JAG. She didn’t bother to consult with Bill before making the decision but is angry that he didn’t consult with her before he ended their relationship. Bizarrely, she complains that he didn’t care enough about their relationship to fight for her. Why is that his job and not hers? Kari’s entitled attitude left me with no character to get behind.
The story is far from exciting and the mystery is surprisingly easy to solve. This isn’t a legal thriller — there are no courtroom scenes at all — and K.T. Konkoly failed to convince me that Kari knows much of anything about law. The only significant plot twist is revealed in the final pages, but it seems to set up a new story rather than shedding light on the story told in Undertow. Konkoly’s prose style is capable and her pace is acceptable, but I would shelve Undertow low on my “To Be Read” pile, given the ready availability of stronger legal thrillers.
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