Constantinople, 1203: As the rapacious armies of the Fourth Crusade lay siege to the city, a secretive band of Templars infiltrate the imperial library. Their target: a cache of documents that must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Doge of Venice. They escape with three heavy chests, filled with explosive secrets that these men will not live long enough to learn. Vatican City, present day: In the Secret Archives of the Inquisition, to which no one but the Pope's most trusted secondi are allowed access, FBI agent Sean Reilly has no choice but to violate the trust he has earned. A vicious, uncompromising terrorist bent on revenge has kidnapped Tess Chaykin, and the key to her freedom lies in this underground crypt, in the form of a document unread for generations: the Registro Templari, a secret history of the infamous Templars that may reveal the explosive secret behind their centuries-old extermination-and in the process illuminate a lost corner of history and its colossal 21st century implications. As the bodies pile up, Reilly soon realizes that this is a foe unlike any he has battled before. An urgent, pulse-pounding manhunt will take him and Tess from Jordan to Vatican City, Istanbul and the otherwordly landscapes and underground cave-cities of Cappadoccia, Turkey, as they follow the bloodsoaked trail of their enemy.
Constantinople, 1203: As the rapacious armies of the Fourth Crusade lay siege to the city, a secretive band of Templars infiltrate the imperial library. Their target: a cache of documents that must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Doge of Venice. They escape with three heavy chests, filled with explosive secrets that these men will not live long enough to learn. Vatican City, present day: In the Secret Archives of the Inquisition, to which no one but the Pope's most trusted secondi are allowed access, FBI agent Sean Reilly has no choice but to violate the trust he has earned. A vicious, uncompromising terrorist bent on revenge has kidnapped Tess Chaykin, and the key to her freedom lies in this underground crypt, in the form of a document unread for generations: the Registro Templari, a secret history of the infamous Templars that may reveal the explosive secret behind their centuries-old extermination-and in the process illuminate a lost corner of history and its colossal 21st century implications. As the bodies pile up, Reilly soon realizes that this is a foe unlike any he has battled before. An urgent, pulse-pounding manhunt will take him and Tess from Jordan to Vatican City, Istanbul and the otherwordly landscapes and underground cave-cities of Cappadoccia, Turkey, as they follow the bloodsoaked trail of their enemy.
Khoury’s follow-up to his very popular The Last Templar (2006) begins in the year 1203. Constantinople is under siege; a small band of Knights Templars has snuck into the city and stolen valuable documents from the imperial library. After taking refuge in a monastery, the Templars are murdered, never having learned the contents of the documents. In the present day, an Iranian history professor is given an ultimatum: finish his work on a certain historical artifact, or his family will be killed. Meanwhile, FBI agent Sean Reilly—star of The Last Templar—is compelled to smuggle ancient documents out of the Vatican archives if he wants to see his lover, Tess, again. Are these the same documents we saw in the book’s opening scene? What is their import? Are Tess’ abduction and the threats against the historian’s family connected? Khoury answers these questions and a handful more in this very well constructed blend of historical mystery and present-day thriller. He doesn’t break any new ground, but there’s no denying he’s got the storytelling chops and the imagination to spin an exciting yarn. Fans of his earlier novels, especially this one’s predecessor, will eat this one up. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Khoury may be the best of the Da Vinci Code imitators, and the Templars continue to draw a crowd. --David Pitt
Description:
Constantinople, 1203: As the rapacious armies of the Fourth Crusade lay siege to the city, a secretive band of Templars infiltrate the imperial library. Their target: a cache of documents that must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Doge of Venice. They escape with three heavy chests, filled with explosive secrets that these men will not live long enough to learn. Vatican City, present day: In the Secret Archives of the Inquisition, to which no one but the Pope's most trusted secondi are allowed access, FBI agent Sean Reilly has no choice but to violate the trust he has earned. A vicious, uncompromising terrorist bent on revenge has kidnapped Tess Chaykin, and the key to her freedom lies in this underground crypt, in the form of a document unread for generations: the Registro Templari, a secret history of the infamous Templars that may reveal the explosive secret behind their centuries-old extermination-and in the process illuminate a lost corner of history and its colossal 21st century implications. As the bodies pile up, Reilly soon realizes that this is a foe unlike any he has battled before. An urgent, pulse-pounding manhunt will take him and Tess from Jordan to Vatican City, Istanbul and the otherwordly landscapes and underground cave-cities of Cappadoccia, Turkey, as they follow the bloodsoaked trail of their enemy.
Constantinople, 1203: As the rapacious armies of the Fourth Crusade lay siege to the city, a secretive band of Templars infiltrate the imperial library. Their target: a cache of documents that must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Doge of Venice. They escape with three heavy chests, filled with explosive secrets that these men will not live long enough to learn. Vatican City, present day: In the Secret Archives of the Inquisition, to which no one but the Pope's most trusted secondi are allowed access, FBI agent Sean Reilly has no choice but to violate the trust he has earned. A vicious, uncompromising terrorist bent on revenge has kidnapped Tess Chaykin, and the key to her freedom lies in this underground crypt, in the form of a document unread for generations: the Registro Templari, a secret history of the infamous Templars that may reveal the explosive secret behind their centuries-old extermination-and in the process illuminate a lost corner of history and its colossal 21st century implications. As the bodies pile up, Reilly soon realizes that this is a foe unlike any he has battled before. An urgent, pulse-pounding manhunt will take him and Tess from Jordan to Vatican City, Istanbul and the otherwordly landscapes and underground cave-cities of Cappadoccia, Turkey, as they follow the bloodsoaked trail of their enemy.
**
From Publishers Weekly
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.
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From Booklist
Khoury’s follow-up to his very popular The Last Templar (2006) begins in the year 1203. Constantinople is under siege; a small band of Knights Templars has snuck into the city and stolen valuable documents from the imperial library. After taking refuge in a monastery, the Templars are murdered, never having learned the contents of the documents. In the present day, an Iranian history professor is given an ultimatum: finish his work on a certain historical artifact, or his family will be killed. Meanwhile, FBI agent Sean Reilly—star of The Last Templar—is compelled to smuggle ancient documents out of the Vatican archives if he wants to see his lover, Tess, again. Are these the same documents we saw in the book’s opening scene? What is their import? Are Tess’ abduction and the threats against the historian’s family connected? Khoury answers these questions and a handful more in this very well constructed blend of historical mystery and present-day thriller. He doesn’t break any new ground, but there’s no denying he’s got the storytelling chops and the imagination to spin an exciting yarn. Fans of his earlier novels, especially this one’s predecessor, will eat this one up. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Khoury may be the best of the Da Vinci Code imitators, and the Templars continue to draw a crowd. --David Pitt