The Fourth Courier: A Novel

Timothy Jay Smith’s spy thriller The Fourth Courier is set in 1992 Poland. A series of grisly murders shock the country. As the authorities dig deeper, they realize that the victims were all couriers smuggling new material from Russia. As the country is undergoing fledgling capitalism, the couriers believed that this would bring them money to feed their families. Soon, however, a Russian atomic scientist is kidnapped by a Serbian general who is using him to acquire a nuclear bomb so that he can wield ultimate power. The Americans soon catch wind of the news and send FBI agent Jay Porter along with Kurt Crawford, a gay black CIA agent. Porter and Crawford get on the case and soon discover a vast conspiracy involving multiple actors and agendas.

Perhaps the main theme of The Fourth Courier is darkness, both literally and figurative. The book is mostly set at nighttime. Likewise, darkness is prevalent in men’s souls, as the reader sees various characters’ dark machinations in their quest to achieve power. The author creatively manipulates the theme of darkness to craft a story full of intrigue and suspense that grabs the reader and makes them feel like they are right there in the midst of all the action.