Fire on the Island will take you on a ride through a Greek island village and how it could be us living there. Through different scenes, the author shows his skills by making us taste, feel, smell what is going on. The story is so well concocted that the twists come with a big surprise. I also appreciate the efforts on a diverse set of characters.

The main thing a person wants in a beach read is escape, right? A chance to see something new and different in the world while baking on a sandy stretch of not-my-problem, with a little light romance/sex tossed (!) in for fun. And here it is, laddies and gentlewomen: The prescription substance for your beach-read needs.

Nick is our sort-of PoV character, though I think the novel's fairly ensemble-cast-y. He provides the action that solves the problems, so it's not unfair to promote him to centrality. He's a Greek-American settled in Athens, where he does Greek-themed stuff for the FBI. Considering how important Greece is to many and various criminal enterprises within the US, this didn't raise my eyebrows. The situation in which Nick arrives...an active refugee crisis, a local problem with criminal arson, a subplot of Russian-mafia troubles...was, then, one in which I could certainly imagine US federal law enforcement taking enough of an interest to send someone to monitor.

I'm a little more skeptical about Nick's open gayness. Not so much in Greece...the history's there, and the Greek townspeople's homophobia isn't over- or under-played...but in the FBI. Gayness within the federal law enforcement establishment isn't surprising but its openness is to me. I suspended disbelief on the subject because I could simply be behind the times and am most certainly sour and suspicious of all law enforcement personnel.

That said, those were my principal struggles with the book's set-up; its delivery of them, and of the remaining elements of the plot, was most agreeably deft and disarming. I knew from the start that the idea of the village was to offer the storyteller a pressure cooker. The Greece-to-Australia pipeline is well and truly attested for generations now, and plays a large part here in this story. The ways Author Smith brought the connection to life were sneaky and very nicely executed, having the desired effect of making the guilt of Nick's local fling Takis look inevitable while making sure that he couldn't really be guilty. (You'll work that out in mere moments when the means of linking Takis to the crimes is presented.) So, while it plays out, enjoy the mummery. Likewise Nick, the scion of Greek emigrants, is treading a well-worn real-world path from Greece to Baltimore and back again. The refugee crisis is horribly real. Its dreadful, cruel scope isn't even as severe in the story as in reality. The ongoing Greek debt crisis is presented but not explored because, honestly, would you rather read about a sexy young guy setting his sights on a silver fox and then bedding him, or microeconomic consequences of predatory capitalism?

Me neither. And, for the ewww-ick homophobes, the sex is not explicit or more than sketched in. Perfect beach-read level sexytimes, with plenty of happy coupling left to the adult relationship veteran's inner eye. What sex wasn't pleasant to view to one's inner eye was the sadder-but-wiser loss of virginity for a teen girl, an event she precipitates and, while it was happening, realizes is pretty damned disappointing. She doesn't leave the experience with good feelings about it. She also realizes what her own responsibilities in the situation are when it threatens to run her true love's course into a brick wall. Luckily she's a sensible person and makes very sure to exert her quite considerable will towards the resolution she wants to bring about. I was pleased that she was both a teenager...moody, nasty, angry as hell about whatever it is that makes teens so angry...and a burgeoning adult, with a clear goal she sets when things are at their most bewilderingly loud. I liked her for that trait.

Her mother and grandparents have a surprising connection to the arsons that bring Nick to the island. Her family's Australian connection and resultant outsiderdom are played for some clear plot advantages. The family isn't as outside as they feel themselves to be. The village, in fact, doesn't come out of the arsons and the other terrible crimes that occur while Nick is there entirely unchanged. The problems Nick knew were festering and which his mere presence were always going to lance were the sorts of issues that confront small, tight-knit communities the world over. In the end, Nick's actions in pursuit of solutions are as well-aimed at the dark and ugly past as at the creepy present.

While I liked that aspect of the story, I think I might've liked Nick a lot more for his characterization than his actions. He's in the early stages of midlife. He's got a terrible, nightmarish trauma in his past that he doesn't like to reveal. As it has physical marks on his body, he's reluctant to be as slutty as most gay characters in beach reads are (goddesses please bless their anti-gravity underwear). His body dysmorphia comes from literal scarring events, and it's shown as being truly troubling for Nick to confront. Takis is the agent of his reassessment of the problem. It is shown that Takis is singularly uninterested in Nick's scars and quite empathetic with his scarring. That was a very nice side-show in their passionate seasonal fling.

I also particularly resonated with the fact that everyone from the island is shown as possessing a very solid motivation for their actions, and those motivations (dark or bright) were delineated in enough detail that I could make them part of my response to the tale as a whole. I think the author's investment of time in revealing the town's traumas caused and endured paid off...even the revelation of the arsonist led to the revelation of the motives and the sheer awfulness of Hatred, that dark miasma clouding the haters' ability to see the essential sameness of all human beings. It was well handled. I didn't condone the actions that led to the actions I didn't condone, which matryoshka-doll of a response is far more complex than most beach-read thrillers I've read over the years.

But there are no perfect experiences in this, our life, are there. I wasn't really impressed with the handling of the art-forgery subplot. and its blatant gaudy obviousness. I was moved, and saddened, by the reasons for arsonist's tricks. I wasn't at all impressed that the consequences were so severe for the present-day crimes and not equally severe for those that motivated them in the first place. I was very amused with the by-play between Takis and Nick, the way they make what can only be a season's romance into something both fun and important to them both. I suppose a door was left open at the end for them to reconnect but it was pretty heavily deterministically set down as "nevermore." A bit less of a hammerblow to the gauzy soft-focus desire for A Happy Ending to their happy endings wouldn't have come amisss, and as it was felt more like the author was caving in to pressure to close down that Happy Ending.

None of these are deal-breakers, I hasten to add. I want to read more Timothy Jay Smith stories and I can definitely recommend this one to you for your beach reading pleasure.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I think that the way the book was written was well thought out and well done. The author did an amazing job with referencing a lot of different things.

It was a very good book but as a Greek person who grew up and lives in Greece I found some detail be out of touch. You could tell that it was written by a non native Greek and at some time it bugged me. But I have to point out that it was well written, with an interesting plot and relatable characters.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy of this book. I really enjoyed it - more than I thought I would!

I know they always say “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but I was initially drawn this book because of its vibrant cover. The story lived up to the promise of the colorful snap on the cover, with vibrant characters and a lot of intrigue. Some of the characters leapt off the page, particularly the amorous singing fisherman Stavros and the seductive bar owner Vassoula.

The main mystery of the story - who is the arsonist setting fires all over the island? - remained a mystery until its reveal. The author did a great job of building up suspense and identifying numerous possible suspects, any of who could have been the arsonist.

Only a few small things kept this from getting a 5-star review. Towards the beginning of the book, it seemed like the author was using a lot of highflautin jargon with no real purpose for doing so. That didn’t work with this particular story about small town life on an idyllic Greek island.

My other minor complaint is that the relationship between Athina and her mother Lydia didn’t seem particularly realistic. Sure, teenage girls and their mothers frequently have tense, volatile relationships. But some have perfectly happy and loving relationships without major blowouts or the kind of secrecy depicted in this book. Because there wasn’t much development of the relationship to explain why Lydia and Athina acted how they did towards each other, their relationship came off as cliche and based entirely on exaggerated stereotypes.

That being said, I did really enjoy the book and would recommend it.

Quick and easy romance was exactly what I need in 2020. However Fire on the Island was so much more and I enjoyed every second of it!

This thriller is set in Greece and Smith does a great job of playing up the beauty. Nick, an FBI agent, is set on a job where he needs to investigate an island town and their declining tourism. He is investigating fires that are leading to the downturn of their local tourism and main source of income. Nick finds much more along the way.

I enjoyed this quick read and could really picture myself on the island with Nick!

I liked the book! I found a very attractive story, a good plot, but in my opinion it sinned in some things. But in general a good experience!

I was asked to read and provide an honest review of Fire on the Island, by the award-winning author, Timothy Jay Smith. The book was both heartwarming and disturbing. There was love and romance; there was also an examination of what people become when they are mistreated or have the perception of being mistreated. This is another look at the plight of immigrants, both those of today, and those of many years ago.

Vourvoulos is one of the beautiful Greek Islands, home to a small community attempting to cope with declining tourism, too many refugees, poverty, and family disagreements. Among them is an unknown terrorist/arsonist and a priest who is an art forger. FBI agent, Nick Damigos, is sent undercover as a writer tasked with finding the arsonist.

It seems almost everyone in town has his or her own agenda, and those who are not breaking the law, are skirting it. Mr. Smith has created wonderfully life-like characters, some loveable, some not so much. The island and the people have a tragic and violent history to overcome. In helping them to do this, Nick finds he is saving himself, as well.

I highly recommend Fire on the Island, to anyone who enjoys a mystery with a little romance and poignancy woven into the story. You won’t be sorry you took the time to read this one.

What made The Grumpy Book Reviewer grumpy?

• A few typos;
• verb tense disagreement;
• a lot of missing commas.

Set in a small coastal village in Greece, Vorvoulos, this book has many fascinating characters, such as the main character, a gay Greek-American FBI agent called Nick Damigos, a rebellious teenager enamored with an Albanian waiter, her mother, an restaurant owner of the brink of bankruptcy, an appalling priest, a successful (more than her neighbor, at least) bar owner and her brother, among many others.

As a novel about the daily life of the villagers of Vorvoulos, this book is very good, and the characters were very well rounded, even the ones I hated, I loved to hate. As a romance i liked as well, the couples are very likable and I kept rooting for them. As a mystery it isn't very good, it is there, and you feel it looming all throughout the novel, but there isn't much investigation as I expected from a mystery novel.

Overall is a good book. Mostly because of the characters and romance than the mystery itself, which may put some people off the novel.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

I really wanted to like this book because it was a Mystery novel with an LGBTQ+ main character. However, I felt that the genre did not fit into either of these categories. The book did not have a lot of mystery / suspense and it had next to no romance. Unfortunately, I thought that there were too many perspectives which led to the storyline getting lost, and the the characters' dialogue felt forced (i.e. the priest and the bell ringing plot). One thing I really liked was the deeper themes i.e. the refuge storyline. I thought that was very well integrated, but overall it was a miss for me.

FBI agent Nick Damigos arrives on the island just in time to rescue a beloved dog from the latest in a string of suspicious fires he’s come to investigate. Embraced by the community for his heroic actions, Nick is troubled by the discovery that Takis, a young bartender with whom he is having an affair, could be his primary suspect. But his undercover work reveals secrets among the residents, and a violent history hiding beneath the island’s sun-drenched surface. As he races to unveil the truth in time to prevent catastrophe, Nick comes to terms with his own past trauma.

I picked up Fire on the Island because a thriller with an LGBTQ+ romance is not something easy to come by; coupled with an idyllic Mediterranean setting, this book has the makings of a lush summer mystery. It has a full cast of characters with their own gripes and struggles, and deals with difficult issues currently facing Greece—the refugee crisis, an unstable economy, homophobia, sexism, racism—with great care. Unfortunately, the nuances of the islander’s day-to-day weren’t interesting enough to keep me hooked, and the different characters didn’t interest me in the same way Nick did. However, rather than deter other people from picking this up, I must say that I’m not a big mystery reader to begin with, and those more predisposed to enjoy this genre might enjoy this story much more than I did. Overall, it’s a playful thriller and beach read, but it doesn’t stand out as particularly memorable or unique on a first read.

I really wanted to like this book. From the description, it promised to have a lot of the elements I enjoy reading about. Unfortunately it failed to deliver on any of them and I gave up after struggling through half of it waiting for it to improve. Everything about it was two-dimensional at best, from the setting to the characters. A gay FBI agent seconded from Athens to a Greek island to fight ISIS terrorists? Really? Forget that the FBI does not have any law enforcement duties outside of the US, and the legal attache (traditionally an FBI agent) in an embassy is there to liaise with local law enforcement over matters of mutual interest. The cover promised that this was a romantic thriller, but there was no romance and zero thrills. It was particularly disappointing that the author's knowledge of Greece seems to have come courtesy of a Lonely Planet guide.

Enjoyed reading this satisfying mystery. I picked it up while I was reading a non-fiction work that was heavy in the details. This work was just the relief I needed.
When Nick Domigos, a gay, Greek-American FBI agent, arrives on the Greek island to investigate a series of mysterious fires, he finds that there is a number of suspects. The island is being besieged by a large number of immigrants fleeing Turkey. The history of the island saw the removal of Turks from the island and the emigration of the Greeks from Turkey. This small island where everyone knows their neighbors fosters a familiarity amongst them.
Yes, there are a number of fires to investigate, but here are more fires in pants of the residents of the island. Who hasn't heard of the idyllic Greek islands with sun and sea being a conduit for love and sex.
In the end, Smith gives us lots of motives, and the journey to the solution is well outlined.
I really enjoyed was that the author didn't give in to a rom-com ending.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this electronic edition.

Even if it's sometimes is a bit confusing it was an entertaining and engrossing read.
I appreciated the plot and how the author faces the different issues.
The characters are quite well rounded even if not always likable.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Well, one thing is for sure: there is a lot going on in this book. The author writes about some difficult topics and tells it like it is. I like this approach. Why sugar coat? Those things happen and they should be out in the open.

I would not call this book a romantic thriller. It's more a romantic suspense to me, but hey what's in a name? As long as the story is good, that's what matters the most. A lot of boxes were ticked for me: 

a mystery to solve: check
romance: double check
well developed characters: check 
well structured story: check
great setting: check

If I have to pick a favorite character, it has to be Ridi. He is so sweet, lovable and adorable. 

Once again this story makes me realize that a person's youth is very important to how they behave in the future. Children can be pushed and pushed and then someday they just can't take it anymore with all its consequences ...

There are a lot of reasons for tears in this book. Some brought on by pain or guilt, others by love or laughter. 4 stars.

Thank you, Timothy Jay Smith

This book confused me. It was full of woke thoughts mixed with non-woke ones. Is the author just trying to show the dichotomy of life and the people in society or is he just confused and wanted to fuse a bunch of issues together in a book?

The premise of the book is that a gay FBI agent is sent to a small town in Greece to investigate a bunch of fires that are taking place there. This FBI agent, who we are made to try to love in the first chapter itself when he saves a dog from a burning fire. I mean, meh, that felt a little manipulative.

I did however, like the way the author tried to showcase a bunch of societal issues such as the refugee crisis. I thought that was well done where he showed you the two sides of people who react to the crisis - the ones who want to help and the ones who are afraid and think they’re going to pillage their country.

This book promised to be a romance thriller, I don’t know about the romance, but it was a thriller. Though the book did keep me guessing as to who the arsonist is, I was never fully invested in the characters - I thought their arcs were jagged even though the author did try to give us a backstory for most of them.

It still was an okay read and would give this 3 stars. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

Sigh. Another book lately that I am having to review as DNF. Within the first 20 pages I knew it wasn't going to happen. I thought it was incredibly boring and I wasn't pulled in at all.

2/5 Star only because it wasn't offensive, just boring.

Really enjoyed this fresh book. Real romance and mystery to boot!
Nicely paced and great characters

This book had a lot of heart. It was clear that the author really loved Greece, especially the island he invented. That made me really happy as a Greek-American reader. The mystery was fun and light and kept me wanting to read. It was also very refreshing to see LGBT+ characters in this setting. I don't know if publishers actually read it, but some things did bother me. First of all, a Greek person would be named Luka, not Lukas. Second, I felt like the bouncing between characters made me a little disoriented and confused. Still, I had fun reading this and appreciate you representing my culture!

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 . . .

THE 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 from the author and Netgalley and was not required to write a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Note #2: This review will appear on my blog on July 7, 2020.