I read another book by Timothy Jay Smith and I can happily say that I will keep reading his books. This one was called Fire On The Island by Timothy Jay Smith and is actually being released into the world today!
Synopsis: FIRE ON THE ISLAND is a playful, romantic thriller set in contemporary Greece, with a gay Greek-American FBI agent, who is undercover on the island to investigate a series of mysterious fires. Set against the very real refugee crisis on the beautiful, sun-drenched Greek islands, this novel paints a loving portrait of a community in crisis. As the island residents grapple with declining tourism, poverty, refugees, family feuds, and a perilously damaged church, an arsonist invades their midst.
Nick Damigos, the FBI agent, arrives on the island just in time to witness the latest fire and save a beloved truffle-sniffing dog. Hailed as a hero and embraced by the community, Nick finds himself drawn to Takis, a young bartender who becomes his primary suspect, which is a problem because they’re having an affair. Theirs is not the only complicated romance in the community and Takis isn’t the only suspicious character on the island. The priest is an art forger, a young Albanian waiter harbors a secret, the captain of the coast guard station seems to have his own agenda, and the village itself hides a violent history. Nick has to unravel the truth in time to prevent catastrophe, as he comes to terms with his own past trauma. In saving the village, he will go a long way toward saving himself.
Just like his other book, The Fourth Courier, I really enjoyed this one because it feels like it gives you a lesson on culture while portraying a great romantic thriller at the same time. You learn so much about this little village in Greece and the culture surrounding it which is fascinating to me and really made me feel like I was there while this plot progressed.
The characters were are very real and had their own nature to them. The book is told in a bunch of different perspectives of various people that live in this village and I think it was perfectly blended to facilitate one good storyline. It’s like a puzzle that you are slowly putting together and trying to figure out what that end picture will look like and when you finally do, its not what you expected but you still like it none the less.
I enjoyed the fact that it had LGBTQ+ representation in it because I am bisexual and like to see more of that represented in books. I feel like I relate a lot more with the characters. I will admit that there were some parts of this book that got my heart racing a little bit (in the romantic sense).
Overall, I would check out this book if you want to feel like you travelled to a beautiful country and took part in an investigation while actually not even leaving the comfort of your couch.
Book Rating: 4/5
You can buy this book on Amazon and find it on Goodreads.
Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author in ebook format to read and give an honest review.
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