The first thrilling novel in Raymond Khoury’s New York Times bestselling Templar series.In 1291, a young Templar knight flees the fallen holy land in a hail of fire and flashing sword, setting out to sea with a mysterious chest entrusted to him by the Order’s dying grand master. The ship vanishes without a trace.In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights stage a … dressed as Templar Knights stage a bloody raid on the Metropolitan Museum of Art during an exhibit of Vatican treasures. Emerging with a strange geared device, they disappear into the night.
The investigation that follows draws archaeologist Tess Chaykin and FBI agent Sean Reilly into the dark, hidden history of the crusading knights—and into a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless killers—as they race across three continents to recover the lost secret of the Templars.
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I’ve been reading for decades and love thrillers / archaeological / religious history books… how did I skip this one? Who knows… I’m a fickle nut to crack. March ’21 was all about catching up in this sub-genre. I had high hopes in the beginning… the language was simple yet meaningful, it explained everything with the proper amount of detail, and it offered a good balance or drama and history. Somewhere in the middle it faltered and I struggled a bit. The ending pulled the book back together, and I will read the next in series.
Overall, I found the characters a bit dull. FBI Agent Sean was smart but had little personal story to attach myself to his success. Archaeologist Tess seemed like just a mom visiting the museum to suddenly becoming an expert who had to solve the puzzle for the sake of her kid. Truthfully, unless the author plans to use her child and ex-husband as a major plot for the next book, that part of the story was weak. It was supposed to endear us to her, but she sent her kid away with her mother and then basically forgot about them for weeks. The diving scenes while imaginative and somewhat interesting were too long and had minimal impact from the storm until the end. I felt it needed more drama and a real sense of — how had no one else ever discovered this before?
Those were the negatives. On the positive side… wow, I learned a lot more about religion’s intersections with the Crusades and New Testament. The book’s inspired me to do some research on how Islam, Judaism, and Christianity come together in the past centuries. I found myself questioning things I believed in, and I also said, we need religion in order to keep people behaving properly. But is that always true? It worked in the past, but it doesn’t now. Today, religious is used to spew hatred, not love (as the political aspect, I mean). I saw both sides in this book, so for that alone, it’s a good read. I end up around 3.5 stars. It balanced itself out and I enjoyed it but not rushing to read because of the the suspenseful nature. I plan to read more because I feel like the book taught me something, and it also was a fun read. That’s always positive!
I enjoyed the Last Templar. It had a very Dan Brown-ish feel, and I love books that dive into the conspiracy side of historical fiction. The only reason I gave this 4 instead of five is that I found the main characters, Tess and Riley, to be a bit dry. Very educated writer and an intriguing read.
Read this book!
I think it as an interesting read, its a real page-turner and is entertaining.
Fun historical fiction
A great adventure story!
Kept your interest
Not a good book
This book will keep you engaged right to the end.
Not too much Templar about it but a good story.
Premise was interesting, but I was disappointed with the ending. Also, with more than eighty chapters, it was a large investment of my time.
Still, if you like stories that combine the history and legends of the Crusades with modern motivations, you might like this book.
Once I got into it, it was great. Really enjoyed it.
Very good book
enjoyed the book
Would love to see this become a movie!
Excellent read with great history.
Enjoyed the storyline, though I felt some of the characters were a bit hollow.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book….tho I love books of this type…had some different twists in it…and made me want to read the next one…