** “Sharply drawn characters, rich dialogue, and a clever conclusion bode well for any sequel.” —Publishers Weekly * * “Smith skillfully bridges police procedural and espionage fiction, crafting a show-stealing sense of place and realistically pairing the threats of underworld crime and destabilized regimes.” — Booklist **For International Espionage Fans of Alan Furst and Daniel Silva, a new … International Espionage Fans of Alan Furst and Daniel Silva, a new thriller set in post-Soviet era Poland.
It is 1992 in Warsaw, Poland, and the communist era has just ended. A series of grisly murders suddenly becomes an international case when it’s feared that the victims may have been couriers smuggling nuclear material out of the defunct Soviet Union. The FBI sends an agent to help with the investigation. When he learns that a Russian physicist who designed a portable atomic bomb has disappeared, the race is on to find him—and the bomb—before it ends up in the wrong hands.
Smith’s depiction of post-cold war Poland is gloomily atmospheric and murky in a world where nothing is quite as it seems. Suspenseful, thrilling, and smart, The Fourth Courier brings together a straight white FBI agent and gay black CIA officer as they team up to uncover a gruesome plot involving murder, radioactive contraband, narcissistic government leaders, and unconscionable greed.
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This well-written thriller places the reader in post-Cold War Poland. Smith excels at re-creating the atmosphere of that era. I was in early high school back in ’92, so while I vaguely remember when Yugoslavia was a country, the crumbling of the Soviet Union, and the hesitant, troubled change from socialism to capitalism in eastern Europe, it still feels unfamiliar. (Face it: teens usually know more about the politics in their high schools than the politics in other countries. Ask me who the supreme dictator of the “cool” girls was in ’92 and I’ll know; ask me who the leaders of Yugoslavia and Poland were that year, and my mind is blank.)
Anyway, all that to say, Smith does a great job describing this changing country. And he does it in subtle ways, never through long lectures or info-dumps. The image he weaves haunts me, just as Warsaw is haunted by its long and troubled past.
A few things I had mixed feelings about:
1. General Dravko Mladic, head of the State Security Service of Yugoslavia, tends to daydream and reminiscence a lot, often in the form of flashbacks. I have nothing against flashbacks, but at certain parts, his flashbacks occur during “non-scene” scenes. Standing in the kitchen staring out the window, riding in a car, etc.: nothing significant happens, so why include the outward trappings of a scene? Just make it narrative.
But then I realized that Mladic’s daydreams of (fill in the blank: military glory, forbidden sexual escapades with men, etc.) are appropriate for his character: he is a man who lives in fantasy. Who he believes himself to be (important, destined for glory) exists in his mind. The only way he can make that man exist in real life is to act out his fantasies. (Thankfully, Smith spares us the details of his sadomasochistic, sexual torture of male prisoners.) While I still found Mladic’s mental screen reels a bit annoying and somewhat repetitive, I understand why they are necessary for this particular character.
2. The second thing I had qualms about was the use of sexuality. It’s not the explicit sex scenes. It’s the characters’ (both female and male) willingness to exploit their own attractive bodies and others’ sexual weaknesses to manipulate for personal gain. For example, one woman uses her physical attractiveness to get power over a sexually-deprived man. (No spoilers. Let’s just say that it doesn’t end well.) In another, better developed example, a male uses his sexuality for a similar purpose. (Ditto that ending.)
I don’t know how I feel about that. On the one hand, this is true to life. It is also, in its heterosexual form, fairly standard material in fiction. (Think the femme fatale of noir.)
On the other, the exploitation of others’ sexuality makes me uneasy. Does presenting oneself as a sexual object make the objectification acceptable? I don’t know. I am possibly overthinking things. (That pesky degree in literature again!) Smith does balance out all the sexualized power plays with a sweet, consensual love affair.
Overall, The Fourth Courier is strong.
1. Great character development.
In particular, Jay had my sympathy. Newly divorced, his ex has taken his two sons and refuses to allow Jay visitation because his job is “too dangerous”; he wants to be back in America with his kids, particularly as one has a birthday soon. Yet he wants to find the killer, too.
2. A subtle theme of troubled father/son relationships.
Almost every man in the book has some issue with his son (and vice versa). I mentioned Jay’s custody issues, but there’s more.
The Soviet state has forced a brilliant scientist to donate his sperm to help create more geniuses, and thus he has unknown children in the world.
Another fears that because he was physically scarred by his father, he will scar his own son.
another man is childless yet he wants to “father” a new nation.
Then there’s Lilka’s hopeful, America-obsessed brother-in-law, Tolek. His young son is a gifted pianist, yet Tolek is conflicted about the child’s musical gift. How will that help them in America? The boy’s mother tells Lilka, “He plays only for his father. (…) He continues his conversations with his father on the piano, saying what he can’t say because he’s still just a boy, only Tolek doesn’t hear it.” (The Fourth Courier, p. 237)
It seems to me that many of the men have things they can’t say and other things that they don’t hear.
3. Terrific dialogue.
When Poles or Russians are speaking, their English “sounds” like the words of non-native speakers who are almost fluent in English: few contractions, a bit too formal, and the occasional struggle for the right word. The Americans, well, they sound like Americans: casual, breezy, and sometimes overconfident.
4. Lighter notes.
Smith includes running jokes about Polish coffee (hint: this ain’t Starbucks coffee!); the sweet old embassy secretary whose “helpful” reminder notes only confuse her; the unqualified and jittery Consul General; Jay’s banter with his secretary in America; and plenty of quips and playful competition between Jay and Kurt. All these help balance out the post-Cold War harsh reality.
5. Fast-paced plot.
I read the book in little over a day because I was so absorbed in the story. Through his beautiful writing, Smith has created a full world of realistic people caught in a rapidly changing world that they cannot control. Tense. Suspenseful. Haunting. Read it.
(Note: I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.)
Set shortly after the Soviet Union imploded, this international intrigue takes FBI agent Jay Porter into Poland. There he’s quickly involved in a case where three men have been found dead on a riverbank. All have a minor genetic deformity: the stub of a sixth finger. The more pressing concern, however, is that they all have radioactive hands.
Porter and CIA agent Kurt Crawford along with their Polish counterparts are concerned about the security of nuclear material stockpiled by the USSR during the Cold War. Power in the Communist countries now lies in the hands of a Mafia-esque cohort composed of former intelligence and military men.
The cast is interesting. First, General Drako Mladic, the head of Yugoslavia Secret Services. He dreams of being the next leader of his country and plans to consolidate his power by buying the most dangerous weapon imaginable. Dr. Sergej Ustinov is a Russian scientist who has developed a portable nuclear bomb and thus can answer Mladic’s prayers. The Director of Organized Crime, Basia Husarska, is a femme fatale well-worthy of such a name. She beds Mladic and anyone else necessary to achieve her personal goal of escaping Poland. CIA agent Kurt Crawford is the gay black male version of Husarska who doesn’t hesitate to use his sexuality or his coloring to gain information. The protagonist, Jay Porter, handles his current case while, in the background, dealing his divorce and custody battle and looking toward a new love.
The Fourth Courier is well-plotted with murders, crosses, and double-crosses enough to snag any reader’s interest. Smith captures the late-winter gloom of Poland as well as the edgy nervousness of the 1990s post-Cold War uncertainty in the Communist bloc. As someone who grew up with parents who considered putting in a bomb shelter, The Fourth Courier played upon those uncertainties. Though at times the writing was a bit superficial, it was action-packed from start to finish and kept me turning pages.
Smith, with his natural-born ear for dialogue and eye for description, drops us right into the narrative and the moment he does we’re as much a part of the Polish landscape as the characters themselves. You’re going to want to read The Fourth Courier for its arresting plot, but you’ll remember it for the crisply wrought and indelible images of a Poland on the brink of change.
At the very start of Timothy Jay Smith’s The Fourth Courier, we know we are in for a furious, riveting ride. His writing is humane, precise, relentlessly exciting. I dare you to read the opening and not want to race to the finish in one tightly held breath.
Are you a Crime Fan or even a detective Fan? Well you may be missing out on another amazing book. This book is called “The Fourth Courier” by Timothy Jay Smith. I enjoyed this book once I got into it.
The setting is set in Poland. You will learn a bit of the lifestyle. I never been dropped into Poland in a book setting or any historical fiction book. This author does this and I can see myself walking along the sidewalks.
The author does wonderful for his crime and detective of this book. It even got a thriller to it. I just love the way this book grabs you and take you for a ride. I am now wanting to learn more about Poland and it effects on it people and landscape.
Amazing and riving is my way to describe this book in all. Though I suggest children be at least aware that there a murders and a murder and some sex scenes in it. Nothing to bad but I would suggest children be at least the age of 14 and up. It up the parents to decide for there own children though.
We got a adventure with and FBI agent and an agent that in the embassy in Poland. Will they find the missing bomb and it Courier? Will they be able to stop and save Poland from an Atomic bomb or will be the end of their new world?
Followed the genre for a satisfying ending.