The Last Templar

My husband purchased this book for himself because he wanted to try another genre. He didn't particularly care for it, but decided to gift it to me, especially since he knows I'm an avid Templar history reader. This book is definitely up my alley! I loved every bit of it especially the historical references! Can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the book series.

This was the most exciting and absorbing mystery/murder that I have read in many years. Just had to read it right through to the end! Do hope this new author has plans for another book. I will be eagerly awaiting one.

What an excellent first novel from Raymond Khourri. While The Last Templar was recommended by a friend whose judgement I trust, I was still slightly sceptical before I started the novel. How wrong I was! This is an excellent, well written, researched and engrossing novel that moves at a fast pace and is full of intrigue and plot twists. I very much enjoyed Khourri's use of a historical tale meandering throughout the book which brought the story to life and gave the novel character and context. I read the book in a couple of days and have since passed it to my wife who also enjoyed it and has turned it over to our daughter who has also polished it off quickly. We have all enjoyed it and can certainly recommend the book for readers of all ages!

A good read, thriller with strong historical references, starts with a bang and suspense keeps building up. A Templar theme is very much in the air these days and parallels are inevitably drawn between Last Templar and Da Vinci Code. The resemblance stops there. After reading the latter (Da Vinci Code) and turning those pages right to the last one, I was disappointed with the ending and felt let down. Not with R Khoury's Last Templar as we are entitled to a grand finale... But then I will not spoil your fun... I was delighted to discover a strong female character in Tess Chaykin doing, for a change, her fair share of the action: An attractive, contemporary and intelligent woman unlike the usual stereotypes. Sure enough she falls in love, not without some complications... But the predicting game stops there as the main plot is yet to be discovered and the story goes from one surprise to another. As an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher I actually used some excerpts in class, making use of the suspense to keep my students interested and the contemporary language to build up their speaking skills. Writing a different end to a segment in the same style aroused more interest in what was actually going to happen. And they were not disappointed... Definitely a multi-faceted book for enlightenment on a fascinating historical period, pure enjoyment, and in-class teaching to a captivated audience. Any more in the same series?...

After reading and loving the Da Vinci Code months ago, this book is so welcome. I read it over the weekend and couldn't put it down. It was more satisfying and even more enjoyable. The last part of Dan Brown's book kind of disappointed me, whereas this one just keeps going and gets bigger and more interesting. And that final twist was just awesome. I loved the historic chapters set in the time of the crusaders and the fall of the templars, they were so epic and moving I wanted to read that story in a book of its own. And while the main story gripped me right from that great opening scene at the museum, what made this book really special for me was that although it's this huge adventure, it felt very real and credible and human. The moments when the characters are discussing religion and the history of the church and the bible were really interesting, it's rare to come across a thriller that has so much to say. It really made me think and it inspired me so positively. Tess and Reilly's conflicting opinions and the way they help each other grow and find each other was a lovely touch. In the interviews with the author that I read on the book's website and on bookreporter.com, it seems Khoury first wrote it as a screenplay ten years ago and got a big book offer which he turned down when he found out the publishers wanted to "lose the religion" and turn it into a hunt for gold. I'm glad he did, I loved this book and can't recommend it enough.

Like the DaVinci Code, this a fast-paced read that you won't want to put down. It's no surprise that Khoury is also an accomplished screenwriter. As you read this book, you can "watch" the film play out in your mind's eye. But that's where the similarity ends. In between the scenes of a rapidly unfolding crime story set in modern day Manhatten, Khoury's book seemlessly creates the time and space to dig deeper. In it, Khoury locks on to the enigmatic legend of the Templars with an historian's precision. He then meticulously peels away the layers in a way that the other book cannot. In The Last Templar, Khoury strives to engage and educate the reader - to welcome them in to a personal passion, about which he has clearly done his homework. But he does so without pontificating an agenda. Instead, he lets the reader in on a great secret, and asks the reader to draw his own conclusions. I very much enjoyed this first novel of Khoury's, and I look forward to the next.