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jane_kelsey's review
4.0
The fourth courier is a slow-paced espionage/thriller so if you are expecting James Bond stuff, you will be disappointed; the tone of the story is more in the lines of Red Sparrow (which I believed to be brilliant). The main character is Jay Porter, an FBI agent sent to Poland to help investigate the murders of these couriers and the concerns around the smuggling of nuclear agents, but there is also a CIA agent (Kurt), a local detective (Kulski) and the director Basia Husarka. It is really hard to go into details without spoiling things, but I actually enjoyed the dynamics between the characters, even if it was a little bit too “lucky” at times for things to have happened that way. Sometimes a little bit too convenient for the plot to meet the right people, however suspending my disbelief I found myself enjoying this novel.
The backdrop is a grey Poland, still struggling post-communist era and seeing these people trying to cope with the new reality made this novel even more important because their issues felt very real. The writing was good and I prefer a to-the-point style of writing and Timothy Jay Smith delivered. The heaviness of the subject was interspersed with dark jokes, revealing more of the bleakness of their lives, and moment of joy. It is clear that the author has a great knowledge of Poland not just as a nation, but also about the people.
On the other side, initially the sex scenes didn’t make much sense, I could not see why it matters, but for these characters, in the end, it mattered very much and it had logic. As already said, the plot is very slow and I not a lot is happening in the first half, then things start to pick up, but even so, it felt like convenience and luck that helped solve the case rather than actual policing. I am not sure I am believing in Jay’s skills as an FBI agent because I haven’t seen much of that.
Overall though, I recommend this book if you like slow-paced, character-based espionage thrillers, especially if you are interested in post-communist Poland.
The backdrop is a grey Poland, still struggling post-communist era and seeing these people trying to cope with the new reality made this novel even more important because their issues felt very real. The writing was good and I prefer a to-the-point style of writing and Timothy Jay Smith delivered. The heaviness of the subject was interspersed with dark jokes, revealing more of the bleakness of their lives, and moment of joy. It is clear that the author has a great knowledge of Poland not just as a nation, but also about the people.
On the other side, initially the sex scenes didn’t make much sense, I could not see why it matters, but for these characters, in the end, it mattered very much and it had logic. As already said, the plot is very slow and I not a lot is happening in the first half, then things start to pick up, but even so, it felt like convenience and luck that helped solve the case rather than actual policing. I am not sure I am believing in Jay’s skills as an FBI agent because I haven’t seen much of that.
Overall though, I recommend this book if you like slow-paced, character-based espionage thrillers, especially if you are interested in post-communist Poland.
beastreader's review
3.0
I did like this book. It has the vein of a really, good thriller. There is intrigue, action, and plenty of movement to keep the story from becoming "stale". So, why did I not "love" this book? Well that is because I struggled to find my footing with the characters. There were many and yet none of them fully grabbed me where I could form a strong connection with them. Therefore, it does not matter how good a storyline a book can have; if I the reader can not form a connection with the characters who are supposed to tell and live the story, than, the rest fall to the wayside.
I will admit that the main lead Jay, was engaging. There were times that I did find myself really getting into this book and other times I could become easily distracted. It was like a roller coaster. If I had become fully engaged in this book, I can tell you that it would have been a five star read for me. Thus, I would read another book from this author. Just because I did not love this book does not mean that other readers should not check it out.
I will admit that the main lead Jay, was engaging. There were times that I did find myself really getting into this book and other times I could become easily distracted. It was like a roller coaster. If I had become fully engaged in this book, I can tell you that it would have been a five star read for me. Thus, I would read another book from this author. Just because I did not love this book does not mean that other readers should not check it out.
zglotz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
vandana_onmyshelf's review
3.0
Agent Jay Porter of the FBI is sent to the US Embassy in Poland to assist with an Investigation, joining CIA agent Kurt Crawford, where 4 murders have been carried out wherein bodies have been dumped by the same river and victims have nuclear radiation on their hands and a slash to the face. It is 1992, and the recent collapse of the Soviet Union poses threats with its porous borders, poorly protected nuclear arsenal, and the badly paid or now redundant nuclear scientists and military. General Drako Mladic, head of security of Yugoslavia sees his chance to resurrect Serbia, and hatches a plan with brilliant nuclear scientist, Dr. Sergev Ustinov to smuggle enhanced uranium into Poland to build a nuclear weapon in exchange for 1 million US dollars. Assisted by Director Husarka Basia the corrupt Chief of Organised Crime, a sneaky mischievous, old school villain, and drug dealer Jasek, they arrange the crossings of the couriers carrying the Uranium and the safe arrival of Dr. Ustinov, but things obviously don’t go as planned. So who is the fourth courier?
for full review please visit www.bibliogyan.com
for full review please visit www.bibliogyan.com
bridgets_books's review
A Russian/Polish/American spy thriller, a romantic love story, a study of family dynamics, and so much more. The Fourth Courier by Timothy Jay Smith has something for every reader. My heart broke at the living conditions of hard-working, regular Polish citizens as the communist era ended in 1992. I cheered for the families trying their best to make life better. But the most critical aspect of this book is the mystery. Will you pick up on the right clues? Who is pulling strings in this nuclear master plan? I know I changed my mind several times.
It is refreshing to see gay characters written as an integral part of the plot without the story becoming about the gay aspect. This is how it should be. When we stop focusing on straight vs. gay, the world will be a much better place. We are all humans.
If you are a lover of espionage, thrillers, and mysteries, this is the book for you. The details put you right in amongst the characters. You live the desperation, hope, misery, and more as if you were right there.
The Fourth Courier has deservedly won several awards and nominations.
The author has written a beautiful tale to keep you turning pages until the very end.
It is refreshing to see gay characters written as an integral part of the plot without the story becoming about the gay aspect. This is how it should be. When we stop focusing on straight vs. gay, the world will be a much better place. We are all humans.
If you are a lover of espionage, thrillers, and mysteries, this is the book for you. The details put you right in amongst the characters. You live the desperation, hope, misery, and more as if you were right there.
The Fourth Courier has deservedly won several awards and nominations.
The author has written a beautiful tale to keep you turning pages until the very end.
briarsreviews's review
4.0
If you're looking for a book full of mystery, thrills and deceit then The Fourth Courier by Timothy Jay Smith might be for you!
This book was action packed, fast paced and full of intriguing characters (all of which seem to meet at the final climax of the book). Not only that, but Timothy Jay Smith had such a way with words that it was hard to put down! To just quote the opening lines of the book, "their steel girders booed thunderously" had me hooked, and his way with his prose continued to be spotless and marvelous!
In this book, we follow Jay Porter the FBI agent while he is in Poland. Dead men are popping up everywhere and they all have very specific pieces of evidence about them suggesting there's a murderer on the loose. Throw in the 90s setting with Russia, Poland and nuclear weapons, and you've got yourself a great start to a thrilling mystery novel. Along the way we meet characters who seem to belong to the mafia, a lovely lady named Basia who feels like a Bond girl, and lots and lots of deceit.
This book gave me Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and James Bond vibes. It's really intriguing and dark yet still made me feel totally hooked on the book. I read it all in one sitting because I NEEDED to know how it ended. To top it off, having the incredible writing style of Timothy was just amazing! It was enchanting to read the story and see it happening in front of my eyes so well! He's so descriptive!
If I had to give this book a rating, it would be R. There's blood, guns and sex (lots of sex, among different genders too!).
If I had to list some of the "cons" of this book, it would be as followed:
1. There's a lot of small side plot/comments that may throw some readers off. For example, Jay's trouble with his ex-wife and son pop up briefly a few times. It's not totally necessary to know all of that information to know about Jay, but it's there. I could see that being a distraction for some readers.
2. Jay and Lilka had more chemistry than Jay had murder-solving capabilities, in my humble opinion. I would have liked to see him work a little harder on his crime solving abilities or flesh out the romance full out. But that's just me - I like romance novels and I like mystery novels and I find them hard to mix together.
Overall, this is one great addition to your mystery and thriller shelf! I would 100% recommend this book if you like a good mystery novel or want something to spice of your reading! And, it's relatively short! The copy I received was under 300 pages which made it nice and quick for me!
Four out of five stars!
I received a free copy of this book from the author, Timothy Jay Smith, in exchange for an honest review.
This book was action packed, fast paced and full of intriguing characters (all of which seem to meet at the final climax of the book). Not only that, but Timothy Jay Smith had such a way with words that it was hard to put down! To just quote the opening lines of the book, "their steel girders booed thunderously" had me hooked, and his way with his prose continued to be spotless and marvelous!
In this book, we follow Jay Porter the FBI agent while he is in Poland. Dead men are popping up everywhere and they all have very specific pieces of evidence about them suggesting there's a murderer on the loose. Throw in the 90s setting with Russia, Poland and nuclear weapons, and you've got yourself a great start to a thrilling mystery novel. Along the way we meet characters who seem to belong to the mafia, a lovely lady named Basia who feels like a Bond girl, and lots and lots of deceit.
This book gave me Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and James Bond vibes. It's really intriguing and dark yet still made me feel totally hooked on the book. I read it all in one sitting because I NEEDED to know how it ended. To top it off, having the incredible writing style of Timothy was just amazing! It was enchanting to read the story and see it happening in front of my eyes so well! He's so descriptive!
If I had to give this book a rating, it would be R. There's blood, guns and sex (lots of sex, among different genders too!).
If I had to list some of the "cons" of this book, it would be as followed:
1. There's a lot of small side plot/comments that may throw some readers off. For example, Jay's trouble with his ex-wife and son pop up briefly a few times. It's not totally necessary to know all of that information to know about Jay, but it's there. I could see that being a distraction for some readers.
2. Jay and Lilka had more chemistry than Jay had murder-solving capabilities, in my humble opinion. I would have liked to see him work a little harder on his crime solving abilities or flesh out the romance full out. But that's just me - I like romance novels and I like mystery novels and I find them hard to mix together.
Overall, this is one great addition to your mystery and thriller shelf! I would 100% recommend this book if you like a good mystery novel or want something to spice of your reading! And, it's relatively short! The copy I received was under 300 pages which made it nice and quick for me!
Four out of five stars!
I received a free copy of this book from the author, Timothy Jay Smith, in exchange for an honest review.
inkishkingdoms's review
5.0
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Brewed in a crumbling and miasmic city of post war Poland, the awarded style of Timothy Jay Smith delivers in our table a first class crime-scene concoction! Treason, crossing hearts, and foul play are the main events in this glorious novel written by this emerging crime author whose potential can grand the best selling title! The communists have crashed like the giants they were: loud, hard, and with a shock, and as people attempt to survive and find their freedom, others try to bring havoc for selfish decisions.
Full review https://inkishkingdoms.wordpress.com/2019/04/05/indie-book-review-fourth-courier-by-timothy-jay-smith/
Brewed in a crumbling and miasmic city of post war Poland, the awarded style of Timothy Jay Smith delivers in our table a first class crime-scene concoction! Treason, crossing hearts, and foul play are the main events in this glorious novel written by this emerging crime author whose potential can grand the best selling title! The communists have crashed like the giants they were: loud, hard, and with a shock, and as people attempt to survive and find their freedom, others try to bring havoc for selfish decisions.
Full review https://inkishkingdoms.wordpress.com/2019/04/05/indie-book-review-fourth-courier-by-timothy-jay-smith/
goodvibesgoodbooks's review
3.0
If you are a mystery buff, pick this up. It was intriguing and gripping, you were transformed into what its like to live through life not only in Poland, but through their own civil war. I however am not a huge mystery buff, it was really hard for me to get wrapped into a mystery novel. It has to be a thriller with mystery add in's, otherwise I probably would have rated it higher.
si0bhan's review
3.0
I love a good espionage thriller, having a soft spot for such stories that results in me diving in whenever one catches my eye. With Timothy Jay Smith’s The Fourth Courier, we have an espionage thriller that caught my attention instantly. It promised so many things I really enjoy, and I powered through the story.
Without a doubt, The Fourth Courier was one that kept me turning the pages. I was sucked in, curious to see how everything came together, and was happy to keep reading. It was an interesting tale, one that brings the history to life and shows how much the author knows about the time and location, yet personal preference prevented me from loving this in the way I had hoped to.
Note I said personal preference, meaning this will not apply to all.
With my mysteries and thrillers, I love the whole unknown aspect. Not only of the how things come together, but of the who is behind things. With The Fourth Courier, we have one of those thrillers where we follow both sides of the story – we get to see what both the good and the bad are up to. There is nothing wrong with this, it simply isn’t the way I favour my stories to be told.
Despite the fact the way the story unfolded wasn’t to my preference, I did enjoy watching the way everything came together. The different elements played out well, and we were sucked deep into the time in which the story played out.
Overall, The Fourth Courier was a story that easily kept my attention.
Without a doubt, The Fourth Courier was one that kept me turning the pages. I was sucked in, curious to see how everything came together, and was happy to keep reading. It was an interesting tale, one that brings the history to life and shows how much the author knows about the time and location, yet personal preference prevented me from loving this in the way I had hoped to.
Note I said personal preference, meaning this will not apply to all.
With my mysteries and thrillers, I love the whole unknown aspect. Not only of the how things come together, but of the who is behind things. With The Fourth Courier, we have one of those thrillers where we follow both sides of the story – we get to see what both the good and the bad are up to. There is nothing wrong with this, it simply isn’t the way I favour my stories to be told.
Despite the fact the way the story unfolded wasn’t to my preference, I did enjoy watching the way everything came together. The different elements played out well, and we were sucked deep into the time in which the story played out.
Overall, The Fourth Courier was a story that easily kept my attention.
bookshelfsos's review
2.0
I picked up this book in spite of it being outside my usual genre preferences (I don’t generally read spy thrillers). It caught my eye with the promise of an interesting historical setting, Poland in the aftermath of the Cold War, and the inclusion of a gay main character. That’s the way it was sold to me, but unfortunately neither of those elements were enough to hold my interest in the ticking time bomb mystery plot.
From a technical standpoint, I really enjoyed the writing. Timothy Jay Smith has a gift for adding idiosyncrasies to characters that really bring them to life and make certain moments and scenes extraordinarily memorable. Many of the characters, especially the bit parts like the office assistants and ticket sellers, jumped off the page with life and seemed very finely drawn. I truly believed that this was a real world populated by real people. I did, however, have an issue with how poorly women were represented in this book. Most descriptions of women throughout the book are sexualized, whether to point out how attractive a woman is or to denigrate her as the opposite. By contrast, none of the male characters are given this treatment. It felt very tone-deaf to me, considering how many prominent conversations have been going on lately on social media regarding how poorly some men tend to write female characters. I highlighted quite a few quotes from this book that would fit right in with other examples of how male authors tend to reduce women to sexualized objects or awful shrews.
As I wrote above, part of my motivation to read this was the inclusion of a gay main character. From the description, it sounds like the story will be equally about Jay and Kurt, the respective FBI and CIA agents. In reality, Jay is the sole main character and Kurt only appears in the second half of the book to help out by seducing one of the antagonists to get intel. The “main character” CIA agent is in only TWO scenes for the first 50% of the book. I was very close to giving up on the book, feeling completely mislead. It can probably be chalked up to the low word count, but Kurt’s personality didn’t feel as well-rounded as even some of the side characters. It was disappointing, since I thought he would be sharing the spotlight as one of the two leads.
While I liked the historical setting and vivid details of the side characters, I don’t think this book had much beyond the basic spy thriller format to appeal to readers outside of that genre. For those who do enjoy mysteries and spy thrillers, maybe they would find something here to appreciate. In the end, I was disappointed enough by the representation of women that I wouldn’t personally recommend the book to anyone, regardless of genre preferences.
Please note, I received this e-book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
From a technical standpoint, I really enjoyed the writing. Timothy Jay Smith has a gift for adding idiosyncrasies to characters that really bring them to life and make certain moments and scenes extraordinarily memorable. Many of the characters, especially the bit parts like the office assistants and ticket sellers, jumped off the page with life and seemed very finely drawn. I truly believed that this was a real world populated by real people. I did, however, have an issue with how poorly women were represented in this book. Most descriptions of women throughout the book are sexualized, whether to point out how attractive a woman is or to denigrate her as the opposite. By contrast, none of the male characters are given this treatment. It felt very tone-deaf to me, considering how many prominent conversations have been going on lately on social media regarding how poorly some men tend to write female characters. I highlighted quite a few quotes from this book that would fit right in with other examples of how male authors tend to reduce women to sexualized objects or awful shrews.
As I wrote above, part of my motivation to read this was the inclusion of a gay main character. From the description, it sounds like the story will be equally about Jay and Kurt, the respective FBI and CIA agents. In reality, Jay is the sole main character and Kurt only appears in the second half of the book to help out by seducing one of the antagonists to get intel. The “main character” CIA agent is in only TWO scenes for the first 50% of the book. I was very close to giving up on the book, feeling completely mislead. It can probably be chalked up to the low word count, but Kurt’s personality didn’t feel as well-rounded as even some of the side characters. It was disappointing, since I thought he would be sharing the spotlight as one of the two leads.
While I liked the historical setting and vivid details of the side characters, I don’t think this book had much beyond the basic spy thriller format to appeal to readers outside of that genre. For those who do enjoy mysteries and spy thrillers, maybe they would find something here to appreciate. In the end, I was disappointed enough by the representation of women that I wouldn’t personally recommend the book to anyone, regardless of genre preferences.
Please note, I received this e-book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.