Last year, I was privileged to review Timothy Jay Smith’s Lambda award finalist spy thriller The Fourth Courier. So when he asked me to review his new romantic thriller Fire on the Island, I was thrilled to do so. If you like beautiful Greek settings, undercover FBI agents, and keep-you-guessing storylines, you may love Fire on the Island. Read on for more details.

Fire on the Island by Timothy Jay Smith

Genre: Romantic suspense/thriller

Publication: July 7, 2020, Arcade Crimewise

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.

A long time devotee of the Greek islands, Smith paints the setting with gorgeous color and empathy, ushering in a new romantic thriller with the charm of  Zorba the Greek while shedding bright light on the very real challenges of life in contemporary Greece. (from Amazon)

My thoughts

This book was an absorbing read. Once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop. Timothy Jay Smith writes gorgeous, evocative prose, and he’s a master of re-creating the mood of a particular time and location. Here, he whisked me away to Greece, with all its challenges and beauty, and enticed me to stay with a beguiling story of fire, passion, and mystery.

The Story

The arsonist has struck again. Eleven fires in eleven months. Each grows closer to the village of Vourvoulos. Closer to the village’s crumbling church tower, its struggling restaurants, its inhabitants. Closer to gigantic fuel tank that looms over the village. If the arsonist strikes there, the village will be destroyed. But why would anyone want to do this?

Just as Nick arrives in the village, the eleventh fire breaks out. When he jumps in and rescues an endangered dog, the villagers nickname him “superman.” As he’s welcomed into the community, he begins to investigate . . .

Characters

Multiple points of view give us insight into this diverse community. Smith creates very human characters, each with strengths, weaknesses, and motives, and does this with sympathy, understanding, and humor. They felt real, as if I might travel to Greece and eat at Lydia’s Kitchen or see the crumbling church bell tower or wander to the pier to watch the fishermen unload their catches–or see desperate refugees being rescued by the Coast Guard.

We get to meet Nick, the gay FBI agent posing at a writer in search of a book. His new lover/suspect Takis. (There’s plenty of steamy activity between those two!) Takis’ widowed sister Vassoula, who runs a restaurant. Then there’s Lydia, who runs the restaurant/bar next door, and her family: her parents, Shirley and Lukas, victims of the arsonist’s latest attack; her teen daughter Athina, determined to win the local beauty pageant with a scandalous costume of the Virgin Mary; and Ridi, the Albanian refugee who works at their restaurant, and has an incomplete grasp of the Greek language. He strives to learn the language and win Athina’s heart. But will he? (Their romance is one of the highlights of the book; I was cheering for them throughout the story!)

Don’t forget the handsome but duplicitous art forger/priest Father Alexis (who you’ll want to see get his comeuppance!) An endearing deaf boy nicknamed Koufos who wanders the village in search of food. There’s the mayor, the captain of the coast guard station, and are many others. It’s a large group of characters. Yet Smith draws each with such distinction that I never felt confused by anyone’s identity.

The Setting

The village bears the marks of its communist past. But it also shows the scars of the conflicts in culture and religion for centuries. The Exchange is one scar that even now, the village must grapple with. Smith does an excellent job of weaving in these historical events without it ever seeming like a history lesson. He shows the resilience of the survivors while also showing the violent resentment that lingers throughout the years.

Smith is good at showing the villagers’ conflicting responses to the refugees. There’s simmering resentment that refugees are being fed while the locals watch their businesses die as tourism shrivels up. The economic toll this takes on the already-struggling Greek economy is horrible. But so is the war that the refugees flee. It’s a real-life conflict, and Smith shows this with heart-breaking clarity and compassion.

The Mystery

Smith is good at giving tantalizing clues to the arsonist’s identity. As a reader, I was constantly guessing at their significance. Is it a clue? Is it a red herring? The plot swept me along and, though the book had a great literary depth, it was also fun to read. Even though I did guess the arsonist’s identity, it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the trail of clues the author led me along, nor did it diminish my thrill when the arsonist is finally revealed.

One Favorite Thing . . .

As a writer myself, I thoroughly enjoyed Nick’s “cover”: he’s posing as a wannabe writer. Apparently the village gets quite a few of these types, because they accept this. It’s brilliant: this cover gives him license to ask nosy questions, and everyone wants to share the local gossip and legends with him because it “might make a great story!” And if anyone asks too many questions about the still-to-be-written book, Nick always says he’s still looking for inspiration. Writer’s block, you know.

Overall, this is an excellent book. Be forewarned that there are references to rape, depictions of racism, and some homophobic slurs used toward the gay characters. (However, these are realistic for the setting and add to the realistic portrayal of the country.) Highly recommended for mystery readers, especially those with an interest in LGBT-themed thrillers.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Buy Fire on the Island!

It’s available on Amazon in both Kindle and hardcover format.

About Timothy Jay Smith

Tim has traveled the world collecting stories and characters for his novels and screenplays which have received high praise. Fire on the Island won the Gold Medal in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition for the Novel. He won the Paris Prize for Fiction for his first book, A Vision of Angels. Kirkus Reviews called Cooper’s Promise “literary dynamite” and selected it as one of the Best Books of 2012. Tim was nominated for the 2017 Pushcart Prize for his short fiction, “Stolen Memories.” His screenplays have won numerous international competitions. Tim is the founder of the Smith Prize for Political Theater. He lives in France.