The Templar Salvation

August 30, 2010
Khoury's entertaining sequel to The Last Templar (2006) offers characters and plot lines that hew closely to the conventions of the religious thriller subgenre. In 1310, Templar knight Conrad of Tripoli stumbled on a trove of writings documenting the early days and divisions of Christianity. The Catholic Church has kept this material hidden since the fall of Constantinople in 1453, fearful that its release would undermine the church's authority and rock the foundations of Christian belief. In the present, Mansoor Zahed, an Iranian motivated by revenge for the CIA killing of his family in the 1950s, is bent on finding the trove and releasing it to undermine Western religion and stability. Meanwhile, FBI special agent Sean Reilly visits the Vatican on a quest to find a document that may help in his effort to rescue his love interest, Tess Chaykin, who's been kidnapped. The constant suspense, ever-mounting body count, and interesting historical lore will keep readers turning the pages.

Richard Ferrone likes playing tough guys, and in FBI agent Sean Reilly, he has one of the toughest. He's on the trail of ancient documents that could shake contemporary Christianity to its foundations. Listeners are there as he wheedles his way into the Vatican archives, visits dusty caves and smoldering deserts in Turkey, and, finally, takes part in a thrilling airplane scene high above the Mediterranean. Parallel adventures in the Crusades provide historical background. Ferrone doesn't shrink from emphasizing gruesome details, but he softens his approach and his hero when he and his lover, an archaeologist named Tess, are discussing their next move. This is exciting and educational stuff, read by a master. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine