The Fourth Courier

A fast paced espionage mystery for Alan Furst fans set in post-Cold War 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. "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 

Timothy Jay Smith was raised traveling across America in a small trailer, sparking a lifelong wanderlust that has taken him around the world and inspired the vivid, international characters in his work. His extraordinary career includes smuggling banned plays from behind the Iron Curtain, navigating occupied territories, representing the United States at high diplomatic levels, and even stowing away on a “devil’s barge” to Africa – experiences that inform his award-winning writing. Smith has earned top honors across novels, screenplays, and stage plays, including the Gold Medal in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition for Fire on the Island, the 2023 Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize for Istanbul Crossing, and the Paris Prize for Fiction for A Vision of Angels. His novel Cooper’s Promise was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2012, and he was nominated for the 2018 Pushcart Prize. A dedicated playwright and theater enthusiast, his play How High the Moon won the Stanley Drama Award, and he founded the Smith Prize for Political Theater. Timothy lives in Nice, France.