I'm torn. I've read all of Khoury's other novels and enjoyed all of them (except for Devil's Elixir). I didn't even finish this one. I gave up after 150 pages because I was so bored.

Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of Russian history. Rasputin himself does interest me, but I know so little of Russian history, nor do I have much interest in it, as compared to the Templars. That might be affecting my opinion of this book.

I also did not realize that this was another Sean Reilly book (I refuse to call this series the Templar series, considering half of the books have not been about Templars). I thought it was a stand alone, like The Sign and The Sanctuary. I enjoyed Reilly in the first book. In the second book, I was a tad bit confused at relationships I'd forgotten. The third book had left me very confused about who was whom in his life. This one? Forget it. It's been so long since I've read the other books that I completely forgot he had a kid - let alone who that kid was with. It was very difficult to remember what had happened in his life and with whom he was involved.

Maybe I never noticed this before, or it never bothered me, but I wish he had just used third-person the whole way around. I can't stand authors who use first person for just one character, but still use third person on other characters. Pick a POV and stick with it. It looks amateurish if you don't. Also, I found Reilly's voice to be very annoying. I did not want to be in his head.

The story seemed so dull to me. The Last Templar still stands out vividly to me, because Templars stormed a museum within the first few pages. It was epic. Things got going quickly, and boy was it strange. This one? A guy gets pushed out a window over a Russian gang war. I wanted a lot more of Rasputin's impact, straight from the start. That was what I was interested in.

I quickly lost track of who was who and how they knew each other. It was really difficult for some reason. On top of that, I didn't care about any of them. At all. I tried, I really did. But I couldn't care.

I'm devastated. The Last Templar had such an impact on me. I loved it - considering it lead me to read the rest of the books, it was friggin good. But Devil's Elixir was disappointing, and I couldn't even finish this one. It might be my tastes changing, since it has been a few years since I read his first novel. Which also makes me terrified of going back and re-reading The Last Templar and finding out that my tastes have changed. Or maybe it's just this one and The Devil's Elixir. I don't know. But I had to force myself to read this, and I just couldn't finish it.

I like Raymond Khoury, but I had to let the book expire and then try to finish it when it was loaded back to the Kindle. It was a very jumpy book with a lot of story lines happening. It was definitely not my favorite in this series.

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Method: audiobook

Rating: /5 stars

Drama: /5

Thoughts: I really need to stick to my romance - everything else just falls flat for me

Discovered Khoury during my Templar phase...and now, here's Rasputin, the man who had to be poisoned, shot, beaten, and then drowned to actually die.

But he's just the set-up, the hook. That's ok, because I have always liked Sean Reilly, but it's apparent I've missed a couple of his books...I don't remember reading about his son. In a way, that's ok with me. Children in danger make me queasy.

Russian technology, cold war that morphed into our present troubles, a conspiracy and rogue agents...all while Sean is pursuing his own personal need for revenge. Makes for a fast pace.

Lots of shifts of POV, with Sean's first person holding it all together.

The best fiction makes you shiver and worry that it could be real...I shivered.

I give extra notice for author's restraint: the ending in another writer's hands could have devolved into a drawn out sci-fi extravaganza of improbabilities; main characters could have a love interest and/or cheating spouses. The list goes on. I liked reading about Rasputin. Each aside was a little break in the story. There does seem to be a cliffhanger and I'm not sure how the prologue fits, but that might just be my brain.

Entertaining though very predictable thriller. If you've read (and enjoyed) the previous Templar books featuring Sean Reilly, this won't fail to disappoint. Doesn't exactly break new ground though.

Khoury returns with another novel in the Sean Reilly series, sure to intrigue and captivate those who take the time to indulge in this high-thrills novel. While picking up the pieces of his son's recent kidnapping, Reilly is handed a case with seemingly little need for federal involvement; a man falls to his death from an apartment building window. However, the victim is a Russian diplomat and the apartment belongs to a Russian defector, Leo Sokolov. Reilly begins searching for Sokolov, if only to fill in the missing pieces. The FSB (post-communist KGB) has also shown a great interest in finding Sokolov and will stop at nothing to silence him, but Reilly cannot figure out what secrets the lowly Sokolov might hold. After a botched kidnap transfer leaves FBI and FSB agents injured, Sokolov's secret rears its ugly head, leaving scores of others dead or seriously injured at a nightclub. The root of this secret could be devastating, should it fall into the wrong hands. Interspersed with this storyline is one that dates back to the early 20th century and the rise of Rasputin in Siberia and all over Russia. Could his powers have been derived from something related to Sokolov's secret, or was he truly a man of great power? Khoury explores these questions and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat throughout in this fast-paced thriller that dares the reader to put the book down.

Khoury's books have always had a way to draw the reader in from the outset. How could the rise of Rasputin relate to something set in current-day NYC? While he admits much has been written about the priest and his eerie powers, Khoury tackles his claims to fame from a new angle and ties it in seamlessly to the thrilling story he lays out throughout the novel. Switching from a first person narrative to a third person point of view, the story can be told from a number of angles. Khoury goes to far as to include a diary from a follower of Rasputin, which helps bring things all together, but still leaves the reader to wonder what might be around the next bend. Thrilling to the core, Khoury has the recipe for a wonderful novel and does not disappoint.

Kudos, Mr. Khoury on this masterful tale. I cannot wait to see what you have planned next.

Screenwriter Raymond Khoury has had better luck with his series featuring FBI Special Agent Sean Reilly and archaeologist Tess Chaykin than in his two standalone novels, so he returns to Sean's world as Reilly investigates the death of a Russian diplomat who was very probably pushed through an apartment window. And the middle-aged couple who live in the apartment have disappeared, deepening the mystery. Reilly will find conspiracy several layers deep as he probes the case, uncovering a potentially world-wrecking new technology that may fall into the wrong hands if he isn't successful. One of the last men to use that technology: Grigori Rasputn, the "Mad Monk" whose machinations helped lead to the downfall of Tsar Nicholas II.

The Reilly novels let Khoury flex one of his strengths, which is a crisp, fluid action scene, and they also allow him a healthy dose of wry through Reilly's dialogue and observations. But Shadow suffers from an overly-long string of flashback sequences connecting a present-day character with Rasputin and the mysterious device sought by Russian spies. The flashbacks derail the momentum of the present-day plot and wind up bringing less to the story than their rabbit-chasing is worth. But they also serve to pad the story out, since Reilly and company basically wind up in several shootouts with Russian gangsters and spies in a sort of "Rinse. Lather. Repeat" mode. There's far too little Tess in the story and a couple too many places where Khoury gives in to his habit of lecturing through character monologues, and some of the windup depends way too much on a ridiculous coincidence uncovered by Reilly. Khoury's narrative skills and fun characters still give him a lot of tools to work with, but Rasputin's Shadow might have needed another measure before being sent off as completed.

Original available here.

Flashbacks to Rasputin and the Tsar. Modern terror crisis in NY and DC. Hard to put down. Perfect vacation read.