I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A closeted Syrian refuge helping other refuges cross over into Greece finds his life on the line when both ISIS and the CIA approach him about using his skills for their own needs, and his growing feelings for two men put his secrets within reach of those who would see him killed in author Timothy Jay Smith’s “Istanbul Crossing”.
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The Synopsis
In this coming-of-age literary thriller, Ahdaf, a gay Syrian refugee, after watching his cousin executed by ISIS for being homosexual, flees to Istanbul for safety.
Ahdaf’s reputation as a people smuggler has put him in danger once more. A Syrian refugee himself, Ahdaf earns a meager living in Istanbul helping others make the crossing to Greece – a perilous line of work, but no less so than what he would face if the truth of his sexuality were discovered by ISIS.
Yet when the CIA and ISIS approach him about transporting high-profile individuals and serving as a double agent for their causes, Ahdaf ’s life is thrown into turmoil. And when his feelings for one of his clients come to light and as another possible relationship grows, the decision is taken out of his hands. Now a new choice lays before him, between two men and two different futures – if Ahdaf will live to see either of them. Istanbul Crossing is a story of adversity, love, and the courage of an ordinary man who must brave impossible situations in order to survive.
The Review
What a compelling, tense, and emotional read. The author does a remarkable job of building a engaging cast of characters that drive the narrative forward while also allowing the realities of the conflicts in the Middle East and the impact it has on innocent people to have the spotlight. The heavy atmosphere and the tension brought to the narrative allowed the stress and emotion that the protagonist felt throughout the story to be more widely felt by the reader.
The heart of this narrative, though, was in the protagonist’s personal development and struggles. Life as a member of the LGBTQ+ community is tough enough in places like the United States, but in the Middle East, hiding oneself from the world is a means of survival, and the author highlights how dangerous and deadly living out in the open can be for people in countries where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death. The pain and heartbreak that come with living in this reality, along with the humanitarian and trafficking conditions found there thanks to the war being fought, put a special spotlight on these real-world problems.
The Verdict
Author Timothy Jay Smith’s “Istanbul Crossing” is a must-read domestic and political espionage thriller that is thought-provoking, haunting, and emotionally investing. The themes of LGBTQ+ life and the refugee crisis in the Middle East made this story stand out, and the tragic yet hopeful tones found in the book’s ending will stay with readers long after the book ends. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Raised crisscrossing America pulling a small green trailer behind the family car, Timothy Jay Smith developed a ceaseless wanderlust that has taken him around the world many times. En route, he’s found the characters that people his work. Polish cops and Greek fishermen, mercenaries and arms dealers, child prostitutes and wannabe terrorists, Indian Chiefs and Indian tailors: he’s hung with them all in an unparalleled international career that saw him smuggle banned plays from behind the Iron Curtain, maneuver through Occupied Territories, represent the U.S. at the highest levels of foreign governments, and stowaway aboard a ‘devil’s barge’ for a three-day crossing from Cape Verde that landed him in an African jail.
Tim brings the same energy to his writing that he brought to a distinguished career, and as a result, he has won top honors for his novels, screenplays and stage plays in numerous prestigious competitions. Fire on the Island (to be released by Arcade Publishing in July 2020) won the Gold Medal in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition for the Novel, and his screenplay adaptation of it was named Best Indie Script by WriteMovies. Another novel, The Fourth Courier, set in Poland, published in 2019 also by Arcade Publishing, received tremendous reviews and is currently competing in many competitions. Previously, he won the Paris Prize for Fiction (now the Paris Literary Prize) for his novel, 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 2018 Pushcart Prize. He’s an avid theater-goer and playwright himself. His stage play, How High the Moon, a gay love story set in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, won the prestigious Stanley Drama Award. He is the founder of the Smith Prize for Political Theater.
The hardest character to write in a romantic suspense? Or the villain conundrum!!
In an era where ‘morally gray’ is celebrated, writing a believable antagonist is tricky. To be contemptuous they need to be bad—like really, really bad, but of course, they can’t just be evil for the sake of evil. They need motivation and complexity.
And, as the author, I struggled—I struggled with the challenge to find the balance of moral ambiguity and flawed humanity. Luckily, my romantic suspense, DOWN THE LINE, is not a battle of good versus evil. So, all my characters can be a hot mess, no heroes required…
DOWN THE LINE is about how to find love and happily-ever-after.
I looked at my two protagonists and had a good laugh, because my characters go about it the wrong way.
Two men meet. Hook up. Spend a weekend together and, yes, it changes the trajectory of their lives, but not for the better.
Dean Hunt – has trust issues! So, all his interactions become tit-for-tat. Love is a transaction. And you better negotiate from a position of strength, or you have nothing to offer…
Noel Conway – judges himself through his father’s eyes and always finds himself lacking. He doesn’t deserve love just for being Noel. So, let’s just go out there and work undercover for the FBI to bring down a dangerous criminal. Well, that should impress any love interest, right?
Dean and Noel get a second chance. The dangerous criminal (yes, my villain!!) from Noel’s past threatens his younger brother and Dean might just be the only one who can help.
Noel is trying to protect the ones he loves, and Dean is chasing front-page news—the line between enemies and lovers gets blurred…
Hey, wait, you might say, what does all that have to do with writing a “good” villain?
Well, in DOWN THE LINE the villain holds up a mirror and forces my heroes to take a good, long look at themselves. Where do they draw the line between ‘morally gray’ and ‘unacceptably evil’?
So, for me, writing a “good” villain is mostly about the characters the villain is coming after.
AG Meiers has a new MM romantic suspense book out: Down the Line. And there’s a giveaway.
Revenge is a Dangerous Obsession.
Dean Hunt needs the story of a lifetime—Since his uncompromising attitude got him fired, the investigative journalist is hell-bent to expose the powerful and corrupt Conway family. It’s a career move, and absolutely not a vendetta against the oldest son Noel, who ghosted Dean after a mind-blowing weekend together.
Noel Conway needs a new start—After years away, Noel has come home to rebuild the bridges he’s burned. Too bad his past caused a ripple effect he can’t outrun. Now, he’s asked to save his family from the one man he never expected to see again but can’t forget.
Dean is chasing front-page news, and Noel is trying to protect the ones he loves. But the line between enemies and lovers gets blurred when a dangerous criminal from Noel’s past resurfaces. Will the truth shatter their tentative trust? Or do they have a shot at happily ever after?
But none of that matters when suddenly Noel disappears…
Down the Line, the final book in the award-winning Jake’s Bar series, is a spicy, M/M romantic suspense featuring a rainbow-colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle. So, download today, and get ready to fall in love with Jake’s Bar.
Warnings: smoking cigarettes and weed in the hot tub, kidnapping (on page scenes restrained), verbally abusive father
About the Series:
The award-winning Jake’s Bar series is a set of steamy, M/M romantic suspense novels, featuring a rainbow- colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle.
As Dean reached the top of the staircase, a man stepped out of the shadows in front of his door. Dean straightened his shoulders. “Detective Conway.”
“Hunt.”
In a parallel universe, they might have been friends. They were fighting the same fight. Had the same enemies. In this world, they weren’t brothers in arms. In this world, Dean had been cast as the villain.
“How can I help you this fine morning?”
“Open the door. We gotta talk.”
“Look, it’s been a long night—”
“Just open the damn door.” Conway snarled, pushing into Dean’s personal space.
Dean stood his ground. “Are you here in an official capacity? Because then, the answer is no, I won’t let you in. You have no warrant, no permission to search my property. I don’t consent—”
“Just shut the fuck up. None of us wants this shitshow to be on the record,” Con growled.
Dean, curious, took a step back and raised his empty hand, palm up. “Okay.”
He fished for his key, pushed open the door, and quickly disarmed his alarm system. Conway didn’t wait to be invited in, just crossed the living room, dropped his shearling coat onto the sofa, then walked over to the large window overlooking the river.
The view was the only redeeming feature of Dean’s otherwise-generic apartment. The mess didn’t help. There were dirty dishes piled up in the sink, a pizza box on the breakfast counter separating the cramped kitchen from the living room, and an unmade bed in the other corner of the room.
“For a guy who anxiously waited at my doorstep, you’re awfully quiet.” Dean smirked. “Coffee?”
“No.” Conway turned his back, now studying the row of framed newspaper front pages Dean had hung on the apartment’s interior wall. His personal collection of historic headlines—headlines that changed the world.
The oldest was from July 6, 1776. The Pennsylvania Evening Post, printing the Declaration of Independence on its front page. Next to it, the Daily Telegram, declaring the end of the Second World War. The two most recent, the New York Times’ “OBAMA: Racial barrier falls in heavy turnout” and, of course, the front page the day after 9/11.
Dean had added a few more personal favorites, like Moneta J. Sleet’s photography of Coretta Scott King at MLK’s funeral. The first Black man to win the Pulitzer for journalism.
Conway took his time examining each framed newspaper. Dean already regretted allowing the intrusion into his space. He felt exposed—vulnerable—under silent scrutiny.
Irritated, he started banging around the kitchen. He was in no mood to explain that looking at those headlines every day fueled his ambitions and inspired his dreams. Dean believed with every fiber of his being in the power of a free and independent press.
He turned on the coffee machine and leaned against the counter. As if Conway felt Dean’s angry glare across the room, he finally turned and stared right back. For a moment, they engaged in a silent standoff.
Unease flittered through Dean. Camille had been right. Her brother was seething with anger. And Dean had no fucking idea what he’d done to piss him off. He sighed and shook his head, then took two mugs out of the cabinet and put them onto the island. “Miguel, have a damn coffee. You look like you need it.”
“Says the man who clearly slept in his party clothes and crept home at sunup.”
“Guilty as charged.” Dean shrugged.
Conway curled his lip. “I do not know what my sister sees in you.”
It wasn’t a question, so Dean didn’t bother with an answer. “You wanted to talk? So, talk.”
Instead of talking, though, Conway pulled out a stack of papers. Pushing aside the coffee cups to make room, he spread them out over the counter.
Dean froze. The first blurry photograph featured Dean in another man’s arms. In the next, the same man was pressing Dean against a white porch railing, his own hands tangled in the man’s messy curls. Conway fanned the stack, revealing nearly a dozen more.
Dean and Noel Conway, kissing.
Suddenly, he was there again, the ocean breeze tugging on his clothes. Noel’s warm skin, tasting like sunshine and a hint of salt, his eyes blown with desire. Goddamn, so fucking beautiful, with that shy smile, whispered promises—
Dean’s throat was desert dry. His ragged breath and the hissing of the coffee machine came together like a fucking symphony. “I—”
“Save it. My sister thinks you’re this hotshot journalist. Full of passion. Braving adversity. Motivated by a noble cause. Yeah, fuck that. You’re after my family because Noel pounded your ass, then dropped you like he does everybody else. Your pride—your precious ego—is hurt because you’re just another notch in my brother’s carved-up bedpost.”
Conway grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. He turned and added, “Watch it, Hunt. You got no job. No friends. No prospects. But if you think you’ve reached rock bottom, think again.”
Dean contained himself until he heard his door close with a soft click. Only then did he allow himself to swipe papers, cups, and the fucking photos off his counter. The cups shattered
on the tile floor.
Author Bio
Eighteen years ago, AG Meiers came to the US for adventure and stayed for love. Currently, she lives in New England with her husband and two awesome kids—balancing work, friends and family, and writing.
When she has some free time, her favorite thing to do is travel and visit new places. Her past trips have already brought her to a variety of countries on four continents. She never passes up an opportunity to experience different cultures, diverse people and amazing locations.
Even though she has been dreaming up stories all her life, she has only recently started to write them down and share them with the world. As a writer she loves to put her characters through a lot of challenges, conflict and heartbreak, before she allows them to find their happy-ever-after.
